Excerpt of The Cowboy's Pride by Charlene Sands

The Arizona sky over Worth Ranch was cloudless blue, the air clear enough to view a distant yellow cab ambling up the road that led to the main house. A small cloud of crimson dust billowed up in the taxi's wake, before scattering to earth again.

"Looks like your wife's finally here," Wes said.

Clayton Worth followed the direction of his ranch foreman's gaze and gave a curt nod. He didn't have to tell him that Trisha Fontaine wasn't going to be his wife much longer. Everyone in Red Ridge knew their marriage was over.

"Cover your ears, Wes." Clay pulled off his leather work gloves and drew oxygen into his lungs. He shouldn't care so damn much that Trish was late getting here—by three days—he hadn't seen her for almost a year. "The fireworks are about to begin."

Wes Malloy sent him a halfhearted smile. "Breaking things off ain't ever easy, Clay."

His foreman had worked the ranch with Clay's father way back when, helping Rory Worth build his massive cattle empire. Nothing had mattered more to Rory than the family and the ranch. The two went hand in hand. Rory's dying plea had been for Clay to take over the reins at Worth Ranch and provide heirs to keep the family legacy strong.

But Clay hadn't been able to keep that vow to his father.

Not only had Trish refused him children, but she'd suspected him of betraying his marriage vows. Her accusation cut deep and when she'd walked out on him, it had been the last straw. If he'd had any doubts about the divorce, it vanished when he'd gotten Trish's voice mail message three days ago that something important had come up and she couldn't make the Penny's Song opening.

Something important was always coming up.

She should have been here. Despite their yearlong separation, the charity she helped him develop on Worth land for children recovering from illness should have meant more to her than that. He never thought she'd blow it off.

He'd been wrong.

Clay jammed his gloves into the back pockets of his Wranglers and took slow deliberate steps as he made his approach to the idling cab. He watched Trish get out of the backseat, stretching out her legs as she rose to her full height. Chest tight, Clay's breath caught and he recalled the first time he'd met her, the first time he'd seen those beautiful mile-high legs, backstage at a black-tie function in Nashville. Clay's country music superstardom had always brought big donors to charity events.

He'd bumped into her by accident—his big frame no match for her slender body. She toppled and he lunged for her just before she collided with the ground. He'd heard a rip from her too-tight dress and witnessed the gown split along the seam clear up to her thigh. Under the dim lights, her exposed skin glowed soft and creamy and something powerful happened to Clay then. Before he'd gotten her to a standing position, he asked her out to dinner. She'd refused him flat, but with a smile, and handed him her business card so he could make arrangements to pay for her ruined dress.

Hell, he never could resist a challenge and a beautiful woman.

But that was then.

"Trish." He stood a few feet from her. "Hello, Clay," she said softly.

Unnerved by the breathy sound of her voice, he braced himself. It surprised him that she still could affect him that way. Trish's sighs and little gasps poured fire into his veins. That much hadn't changed. With a practiced eye, he skimmed over her body.

Half of her white blouse was out of the waistband of her pinstriped skirt. It hung along the side of her hip, haphazardly bunched. The tailored button-down blouse itself was travel-wrinkled, as she would say, stained by some mystery food and looking like it had seen better days. Long strands of her honey-blond hair stuck out of a cockeyed velvet bow in a bad attempt at a ponytail. Smudges of deep cherry-red lipstick colored the lower part of her chin.

In short, Trisha Fontaine Worth, his soon to be ex-wife, was a beautiful mess.

She caught his look of confusion. No one could ever say she was slow. "I know. Don't say it. I look like something the cat dragged in."

He was wise enough not to comment. "Bad trip?"

Trish shrugged. "Bad everything lately." She darted a quick glance inside the backseat of the cab and then spoke to the taxi driver, "Give me one minute, please."

When she faced him again, the weary tone of her voice bordered on apology. "I missed the opening of Penny's Song.

I tried reaching you a few times and well, I didn't want to explain it to your answering machine."

Clay had been piss angry with her for half a dozen reasons, but at the moment, he wasn't so much mad as he was curious. What the heck was up with her? He'd never seen Trish look so...scattered. What happened to the ever capable, wellorganized and fashion-conscious woman who'd stolen his heart three years ago?

"I never thought you'd miss it, Trish." They'd caused each other injury and frustration, but the one thing they'd always agreed upon, the one thing that rose above their personal trials, had been the founding of Penny's Song.

"Neither did I, and believe me, I tried to—"

He heard little whimpers coming from inside the cab. The sound brought him up short. "What's that? Don't tell me you got a dog."

Her eyes widened. She whirled around so fast that he nearly missed it when he blinked. "Oh! It's the baby. She's waking up."

Baby?

But by that time, Trish had already reached inside the backseat of the cab.

When she reemerged, she was gently shushing a baby wrapped in a delicate pink blanket. Hips swaying, she took careful steps, rocking the bundle in her arms with a soft smile. Clay noted her entire demeanor changed the minute she'd lifted the baby. "It's okay, sweet baby. It's okay." She spared Clay a glance and offered, "She fell asleep in the car seat."

Clay stepped forward. He'd been focused solely on Trish. He hadn't noticed a car seat in the cab or anything else for that matter. He peeked over the blanket, taking in the baby's honey-wheat blond hair and crystal blue eyes. The same shade as Trish's. A tick worked at his jaw. He didn't know much about babies, but he sure as hell knew that the child was at least four months old. Trish had left him one year ago. Doing the math wasn't rocket science.

His heart pounded against his chest. "Whose baby is that?"

Trish snapped her eyes to his and began shaking her head. "Oh no, Clay...it's not what you think. The baby's not yours."

Clay blinked and rocked back on his heels. The implication was there, out in the open, and his gut clenched with the knowledge. He tried a deep breath to steady his rising temper.

For the sixteen years Clay had been in country music, women had flung themselves at him nearly every day. He'd fended off groupies by the dozens. There were always rumors hard to live down, but once he'd met Trish, he'd made it publicly known he was attached and planned on staying that way. He'd never betrayed her. Not during those days when he traveled on the country circuit and not now as he ran the Worth empire. Even throughout their separation, he'd been faithful to his vows.

And damn it, he'd expected the same from her. "But she's yours?"

She nodded, sending him a look of deep regret. "Yes, she's mine."

Clay let out a string of curses that would shock his poker buddies. He didn't know which news troubled him the worst. That the child was his and she'd kept it from him, or that the baby wasn't his, which meant she'd cheated on him during their time apart.

"You got pregnant?"

Color drained from her face and her eyes filled with pain.

What was with her anyway? Did she think that showing up here with a baby that wasn't his wouldn't rile him? Did she think that he would welcome her and accept them both without question? The divorce she came for today couldn't happen soon enough for him now.

"No, Clay. I didn't get pregnant." She acted like the idea was absurd and that he was a jerk to even think it. Her voice trembled with indignation. "There...there hasn't been anyone else."

Her earnest admission split his anger in half. He narrowed his eyes staring at her expression, remembering one thing about his wife. She wasn't a liar. He believed her. Relief raced through his body. He wasn't sure why his heart tripped hearing her declaration. Or why he'd felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He shouldn't feel like doing a tap dance because his estranged wife hadn't cheated on him.

He tipped his hat farther back on his forehead, trying to make sense of it all. Determined to get to the truth, he folded his arms across his chest and eyed her carefully. "I'm still waiting for that explanation."

Trish inhaled deeply. Her eyes softened when she glanced at the child in her arms. "I'm adopting her."

Adopting her?

Clay blinked and shook the cobwebs out of his head. Wasn't this the woman who'd told him over and over that she wasn't ready for motherhood? The woman who'd told him she needed more time, until the waiting seemed like it would never end. Wasn't this the woman who'd caused him to break his vow to his dying father?

"What?"

She turned sideways to shield the baby from the afternoon sun and looked at him over her shoulder. "Clay, can we talk inside the house? Meggie's squinting. And I'm pretty sure she shouldn't be out in this heat."

That was the first thing she'd said during their conversation that made any sense. Clay gestured with a nod toward the house. "The door's unlocked. Take the baby and go on inside. I'll deal with...