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“I have a friend who’s offering us the pick of his string for the charity. They’re thoroughbreds and mustangs that have served him well but are a bit older, like Sunflower here.” Tagg stroked the horse gently. “All we have to do is choose the ones we want and arrange transportation. He’s giving us a dozen horses.”
Callie immediately thought of how the children would benefit. She pictured a dozen children riding the mares with smiling faces. “That’s fantastic. Are you sure you need me to go?”
Tagg glanced at Jed, then redirected his gaze back to her. “Clay wants you in on this.”
What about him? Did he want her in on this? The idea of spending alone time with Tagg appealed to her on so many levels. But was his disgruntled mood because Clay had insisted Tagg take her along? Or was it something else?
“We’ve got plans to discuss, Jed,” Tagg said. “Suppose you could see to the horses? I’ll walk Callie back to her car.”
“Sure,” Jed said, looking at Callie. There was no disputing who the boss was here. The employee had just been ordered away.
“Bye, Jed,” Callie said with a smile.
“See ya, Callie.” He swatted each horse’s rump and they trotted into the stable. Jed followed behind.
Callie ran a hand through her hair and inhaled deep. Tagg had just saved her from an awkward situation with his ranch hand.
“Were you going to go out with him?” he asked, gesturing toward the stable.
“Jed? Uh, no. I wasn’t.” She lifted her chin a notch. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
A spark of mischief entered his eyes. “Granted. None of my business.”
“I don’t have too many friends around here. Jed and I used to be friends in school. It’s nice getting reacquainted.”
“He had it bad for you.” Tagg smiled.
“You did hear! You were listening to our conversation!”
“It was fascinating. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“But you managed to. The minute Jed asked me out.” She looked at him with suspicion.
“Don’t pretend I didn’t save your butt just then. You were stumbling … looking for a way out.”
Callie opened her mouth to protest, but Tagg was right. And he’d recognized her dilemma. “True.” Though she hated to admit it.
“Then it’s not a problem going to Vegas?”
“You mean I have a choice?” She sent him a teasing smile.
“You don’t have to go. But you are the ‘kid expert.’”
“So, it’s a request?”
He nodded.
“From Clay?”
Tagg shifted his gaze to the ground. He scratched the side of his cheek. “I haven’t told Clay about this yet.”
“But you made it seem …” Callie stopped for a second and eyed him. Could it be possible that Tagg wanted her to go? That this was all his idea?
“We need to leave by five tonight.”
Callie blinked. “We’re leaving tonight?”
“John’s an old rodeo buddy. He invited us to dinner. Under the circumstances, I couldn’t refuse. Are you in?”
Yes! “I’m in. I’ll be ready at five.”
With bells on.
“You are one lucky girl, Callie Sullivan,” she muttered later that afternoon as she packed. She folded her jeans and a plaid no-nonsense blouse into the suitcase before closing it shut, grateful that her father had left for Houston that morning. There would be no arguments about where she was going and no repercussions when she got home. If she were really fortunate, she’d return before her father this weekend and he’d never have to know she’d been gone.
Fate had a way of looking after her. At least, this time. When Tagg had called a few hours ago arranging to pick her up at home, she’d been happy to inform him that her father wasn’t around and it wouldn’t be a problem.
“You mean, I won’t face a shotgun?” Callie had laughed at his joke, though she’d never have let Tagg on Sullivan property to face her father’s wrath had he been home. She would have made other travel arrangements to save them all a nasty confrontation.
In truth, Callie had been looking forward to having the house to herself for the entire weekend. But nothing topped this turn of events—even if it was just an overnight business trip.
Because she’d be with Tagg.
Callie zipped up her suitcase, leaving it on the bed and strode into her walk-in closet, searching for just the right outfit to wear tonight. She came up with a black dress that crisscrossed over the chest but wasn’t too revealing. The dress hit her knees in a flow of material and gathered at the side with a bit of rhinestone bling. It was appropriate for a dinner invitation and yet nothing too provocative.
She’d tossed ankle-high boots in her suitcase for tomorrow. For tonight’s dinner she chose a pair of strappy black heels.
Callie combed her hair, applied light makeup to her eyes, glossed her lips and then slipped into her dress. She was ready by four-thirty.
At exactly five o’clock, a black Lincoln pulled up to her front door. She watched from the window as Tagg got out of the backseat and straightened next to the limo. Her breath caught and she whispered, “Oh, wow,” grateful he couldn’t see her initial reaction.
He looked deadly handsome wearing a white shirt under a stunning black suit coat with wide Western lapels. A dark felt Stetson sat low on his head and his jeans were brand new. He strode up to the front entrance and knocked.
Callie opened the door. “Afternoon, Callie,” he said.
He looked even better up close. A whiff of his cologne wafted over to her. His scent alone was enough to send her over the edge but the whole Tagg package got her heart pumping hard and heavy.
She smiled tentatively, realizing this was her big chance to dazzle him. She wanted to be smooth and elegant tonight. She wanted to know the right thing to say, to keep him intrigued and interested.
Then the reminder came.
They were checking out horses on a ranch.
Not having a romantic rendezvous.
Tagg looked her over, his gaze resting on her hair, which she’d put partially up and away from her face. Loose tendrils flowed down her back. A gleam of approval shone in his eyes. Then his gaze shifted down to her neckline and even farther down to her chest. Her nipples hardened under his scrutiny and she wondered if the arch of his brow meant he’d noticed. He finished his perusal by checking out her legs and then returned to her face with a slow nod. “Nice.”
Inside, she sighed with happiness. “Not so bad yourself, cowboy.”
“Are you ready?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yes, I’ll just get my—”
“Got it.” Tagg reached past her to pick up her overnight case. He clutched it easily and glanced inside the house before turning around. “Anything else?”
“No, that’s it.”
“Then let’s go.”
Callie locked the front door and moved silently alongside Tagg as they strode down the inlaid stone pathway leading to the car. In many ways Big Hawk Ranch was situated the same as any other wealthy ranch, including the Worths’. The sprawling two-story ranch house that glistened with pristine paint and wood sidings was the centerpiece. A barn, stable, bunkhouse and storage buildings made up the backdrop of eighty thousand acres of prime grazing land. Cattle roamed off in the distance and the slight sweet scent of wildflowers and tall grass mingled with earth and cattle smells.
A chauffeur stood waiting by the passenger side of the car and Tagg handed him the suitcase. “Thanks, Emmett.”
Tagg allowed Callie to get into the car first, then climbed in after her. It was spacious in the backseat with room to stretch her arms and legs. Yet she couldn’t mistake Tagg’s formidable presence inside the car. He took up space with confidence, as if he had a right to it. The door slammed shut from the outside and the driver got behind the wheel. “I’ll get you to the airstrip in good time, Mr. Worth.” And soon the car was moving off Sullivan land.
Tagg the CFO was just as formidable as Tagg the rodeo champion and equally as cool and distant. Callie wondered if she could penetrate the walls he’d erected. She wondered if Tagg would ever let her get close enough to try. Before she had to tell him about the baby. Keeping her secret from such a man could prove dangerous, and she prayed every day she wasn’t making a colossal mistake.
She slid a glance his way and caught him looking at her legs. When their eyes met, he smiled then turned away to gaze out the window at the passing scenery: miles and miles of the same, pastures and cattle, horses and fences.
She hated that his smile alone could wilt her.
He’s your fantasy man, she reminded herself.
Hang in there, Callie.
Tagg didn’t like airports. He didn’t like flying. But he never let that stop him from getting where he needed to go. It wasn’t fear, but a deep-rooted loathing of anything related to planes. Heather’s crash came too easily to mind when he was near a small airstrip. After that fateful day, he’d stopped taking the Worth family jet and, shortly thereafter, his brothers had decided to close down that piece of land in his wife’s memory.
They boarded a commercial airliner at Sky Harbor International Airport. Tagg made sure they had secluded seating in first class. He didn’t want Callie to be cramped or uncomfortable. And he wanted her to have a good time, but he wouldn’t delve too deeply into why that mattered to him.
Once they were settled and the plane had taken off, Tagg unfastened his seat belt and turned to Callie. “I get how you know horses. You pretty much can’t not know about them growing up on a ranch. But I’m puzzled. How are you an expert with children?”
He watched as she tried to undo the seat belt, her slender fingers fumbling with the stubborn latch. “I, uh, oh, this is really impossible,” she said, her mouth creasing down.
Tagg grinned. “Here.” He leaned over and worked the clasp. Without the slightest resistance, he managed to free her. He was close, leaning in so that his shoulder brushed hers. The subtle female scent he’d resisted while on the drive over invaded his nostrils and he breathed her in fully. Was it her hair, her skin, her perfume that made her smell so damn good?
Tagg slid her a glance and looked into her soft dark eyes. They glistened like melting caramel as she met his gaze softly. “Thank you,” she said.
Tagg looked at her for another second before righting himself and leaning back in his seat. “No problem.”
She relaxed a little, the frustrated frown gone from her face now. “To answer your question, I went to Boston College. I earned my degree in psychology and I worked for some time for the Department of Social Services. It was dry, boring work, not what I really wanted to do. But then something happened to me. I got … mugged.”
Tagg blinked. That was a word foreign to small towns and big ranches. “You got mugged?” he repeated.
“Yeah, I did,” she said, and then her expression turned soft. Almost dreamlike. “It was sort of strange. I couldn’t believe it was happening.”
“Did he hurt you?” Tagg asked. He didn’t understand her wistful expression.
“Oh, no, nothing like that. And it wasn’t a he. It was a she. And she was all of eleven years old.”
“A little girl mugged you?”
“Yes. I could hardly believe it. One minute I’m walking down a crowded street in an upscale part of town, and the next, I feel my purse being yanked off my shoulder. She caught me so off guard that even as I watched her run away, I didn’t understand what had just happened. She was so young and obviously neglected. I could tell from her clothes and the way her hair spiked in ten different directions, like she hadn’t seen a bath in weeks.”
“Did you call the police?”
“No. I ran after her.”
Tagg narrowed his eyes. “You?”
“Of course me. Hey, I was raised chasing dogs and riding horses. I climbed fences with the best of them. And there was something so … I don’t know … so vulnerable and almost apologetic in that girl’s expression that I knew I had to find out more. I had to catch up to her and, well, I had to get my purse back.”
“And did you?”
Callie smiled quickly. “Yes. She led me on a wild goose chase for blocks and blocks. I ended up in a bad part of town. Rundown buildings and all. Finally, she stopped and turned to me and we stared at each other. Both of us were completely out of breath. She flung my handbag at me and told me to take my dumb stupid purse.
“When I thought she’d run away, she started sobbing big, uncontrollable tears.”
Callie shifted in her seat and faced him. “Her name was Amber. And she had a little brother named Georgie. Her mother had been ill for a long time and they had very little money. Amber told me she’d never stolen before and I believed her.”
Callie went on to explain how she’d gotten Amber’s mother the medical help she needed. And how she’d begun working at a foundation for underprivileged children in her spare time. Amber and Georgie were the first of many children she’d counseled at the foundation. “From then on, I knew I wanted to work with children.”
“But, if you loved it so much, why did you come back?”
Callie smiled. “I never intended on living back East. I’m really a country girl and when my father had a scare with his heart, I knew it was time to come home.”
Her lips pulled down and she spoke with frustration, “But nothing I do seems to matter. He’s like a tornado. I can’t stop him or slow him down. And he thinks he knows what’s best for me. Even now.”
From her tone Tagg could tell it was a sore subject. He didn’t want to get into a conversation about Callie’s old man, so he let the subject drop.
The plane landed right on time and the taxi drive to the hotel took less than fifteen minutes.
Callie turned to him when the taxi pulled into a long driveway on the Las Vegas Strip. “The Bellagio? I assumed we’d stay with your friend at his ranch.”
Tagg shrugged. “We own a suite here. On the top floor. I like to stretch out when I’m in town.”
“Okay.” Her eyes flickered over the length of him but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
Stretching out was the very least he wanted to do tonight. And he’d finally admitted that to himself when he saw Jed drooling all over Callie today. He’d declined John’s invitation to stay at his house in North Las Vegas. He wanted Callie. Alone. If she was willing. He was through denying it.
“Do you come here often?”
“A few times a year. On business and for the rodeo finals.”
Tagg helped Callie out of the taxi and with a hand to her lower back he escorted her through the lobby. As they strode toward the elevator, Tagg gestured to the ceiling adorned by a chandelier sculpture made up of thousands of multicolored glass flower blossoms catching and reflecting light. “I always get a kick out of those petals up there. Feels like a scene out of a fairy tale,” he said.
Callie stopped and lifted her gaze. “They are sort of surreal. I’ve heard about them. Seeing them is something else.”
“So, you’ve never stayed here?”
