Lone Star Reunion

On top of all of that, his PA had a stack of messages he needed to return, he had a pile of checks to sign and his accountant needed to speak with him urgently. Damn. He needed another vacation. But more than that, he needed Alex. Needed to see her smile, hear her voice.

Daniel looked at his watch. It was four twenty, which mean he’d need to leave the ranch by five to be on time for Alex’s doctor’s appointment. An image of Lex, rounded and beautiful, carrying his baby, flashed through his mind. He smiled. His woman was staying in Royal and in a few months’ time, he’d meet the first of what he hoped would be a few children they’d make together.

Daniel heard the knock on his office door, jarring him from his thoughts, and looked up to see his grandmother’s face between the frame and the door itself. He forced himself to keep his face blank, refusing to allow her the satisfaction of knowing her plan had worked out. Sort of.

“Can I come in?”

Daniel folded his arms as Rose stepped into the room. She looked good, he thought, and content. He liked seeing her happy but dammit, he wasn’t going to smile at her...yet. “I’m not happy with you.”

Rose didn’t look even a little intimidated. “I don’t care. I did what I needed to do.”

Daniel spread his arms open. “Do I look like a little boy who needed your help?”

“You looked like a man who was going to allow the best thing in your life walk away from you.” Rose walked over to his desk and placed her hands on the back of a visitor’s chair. “I was not going to let her and that baby walk out of your life. And ours.”

He couldn’t help the smile that lifted the corners of his lips. “Be honest, you just want to dote on the baby.”

Rose’s smile made her look fifteen years younger. “I so do.” She bit her lip and looked up at him, her eyes luminous. “So how did it go?”

Daniel smiled. “Do you use that look on Gus? Does he just fall at your feet and agree to anything you ask?”

“Of course he does,” Rose replied. Daniel laughed and Rose surprised him by walking around the desk and winding her arms around his waist. He knew Rose loved him, but she wasn’t given to spontaneous bursts of affection. Closing his eyes, Daniel gathered his grandmother close, resting his chin in her hair. This woman had been his rock and his safety net, his moral compass and his true north. He might not have had a father or much of a mother, but she’d filled the gaps with her no-nonsense attitude and her integrity. And her love. She wasn’t a hugger but he’d always known that he was loved.

But yeah, he was going to hug the hell out of his kid.

Daniel dropped a kiss on Rose’s head and started to step away. He frowned when his grandmother’s arms tightened to keep him in place. “Gran? Everything okay?”

Rose stepped back and he was shocked to see tears on her face. Bending so that he could see into her eyes, he gently held her biceps. “Are you okay? Is Gus okay? Did something happen? Crap, something has happened! Alex, is she okay?”

“Alex is fine, darling.” Rose smiled and waved her hands in front of her face. “Do you have a handkerchief?”

Who used those anymore? Daniel cast an eye over his desk, saw a marginally clean bandanna and scooped it up. He found the cleanest corner and gently wiped away Rose’s tears. “What’s going on, Gran?”

Rose held his hand and led him to the leather couch that stood against the far wall. Daniel waited for her to sit before taking the seat next to her. Rose immediately took his hand in both of hers.

A million butterflies in his stomach started to beat their wings. What the hell was going on? “Okay, you are starting to scare me.”

Rose stared down at his hands before releasing a sigh. “Have you checked your emails lately?”

Weird question. “I’ve been keeping up-to-date, mostly on my private email account. I glanced at the emails on the general account and now know that there are a lot of desperate women in Texas. Who sends an email asking a perfect stranger out on a date just because they read an article about him in a magazine?”

“Lonely girls who want to marry a good-looking, rich cowboy. You’re a real-life fantasy.”