The Expectant Executive

Chapter 7

Parking his truck in short-term parking at the Denver airport, Travis impatiently checked his watch as he started walking toward the terminal. He’d been tied up in a traffic jam on the interstate while the authorities cleared away a fender bender and the longer he’d had to sit there, the more he’d realized how much he’d missed Fin since leaving New York.

It didn’t matter that it had only been a few days since he’d said goodbye to her at his hotel the morning after Jessie’s wedding or that they barely knew each other. It felt as if it had been an eternity since he’d seen her. And when she’d called this morning to see if he had plans for the weekend, he hadn’t been able to tell her fast enough that he didn’t.

He refused to think about why he was so anxious to be with her again or why he’d been as irritable as a grizzly with a sore paw since his return. All that mattered was the three days they’d have together on his remote ranch. Alone.

As soon as his housekeeper, Spud Jenkins, heard that Fin was on her way, he’d suddenly remembered that he had plans to visit his brother’s family down in Santa Fe. Travis knew the old geezer had made up the excuse. Spud and his brother had been on the outs for well over twenty years. But Travis hadn’t bothered to point that out to the old cowboy.

The truth was, he needed time alone with Fin to figure out what was going on between them. And he wasn’t just thinking about how they were going to manage his role in her pregnancy and, later on, the raising of their child.

When he entered the baggage claim area, he spotted Fin immediately as she waited for her luggage to tumble out of a chute and onto the revolving carousel. Damn, but she looked good in a pair of jeans and that oversized tan sweater.

It was the first time he’d seen her in anything but dress clothes or formal wear and he wasn’t the least bit surprised that he found her attractive in more casual attire. Hell, it didn’t matter what she wore, she knocked his socks off every time he saw her.

Dodging a couple of teenagers with battered backpacks and an older woman pulling a suitcase big enough to hide a body in, he walked over to wrap his arms around Fin and lift her to him. He kissed her like a soldier returning from war and when he finally set her on her feet, they were both left gasping for some much-needed air.

“I don’t remember you greeting me like this the first time I came for a visit,”

she said, her voice sounding breathless and sexy as hell.

He felt like a damned fool, but for the life of him he couldn’t stop grinning.

“We didn’t have a history then, sweetheart.”

She laughed as she reached for a medium-sized bag that had just come down the chute. “Your definition of history is knowing each other for a month?”

Shrugging, he reached down to take hold of the luggage before she could lift it from the carousel. “If you want to get technical, what happened yesterday is history.”

As they walked through the terminal, her sweet smile sent his blood pressure up a good fifty points. “I suppose you have a point.”

When they reached the automatic doors at the exit, he shook his head. “Wait here out of the cold, while I get my truck.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she said, taking a step forward. “I don’t mind walking. I’m used to walking a lot and I’m sure it’s not that far.”

“It’s pretty cold out there and you’re not used to the altitude.” He dug his truck keys from the front pocket of his jeans. “It might not be good for you or the baby.”

She looked at him as if he might not be the brightest bulb in the chandelier.

“Travis, being pregnant isn’t a disability.”

“I know that.” Planting a kiss on her forehead, he smiled and shook his head.

“But you’re in my neck of the woods now, honey. And if I want to be a gentleman and take care of you while you’re here, I’ll damned well do it.”

Fin snuggled into the crook of Travis’s arm as they sat on the leather sofa in front of a blazing fire in the big stone fireplace in his living room. She loved the cozy feel of the Silver Moon ranch house. From the rich wood and leather furniture to the colorful Native American accents, it was warm, inviting and felt exactly the way a home was supposed to feel. Something her apartment was sorely lacking.

When she returned to New York, the first thing she intended to do was call an interior designer to have her apartment redecorated. The ultramodern, museum look wasn’t in the least bit child-friendly and she wanted a comfortable, relaxed place like the Silver Moon ranch house for her baby to call home.