Beauty and the Bull Rider (Hotel Rodeo #3)(9)

So he waited. He’d already waited eight years for another chance with this woman. He wasn’t about to blow it again.

“You’ve decided to appoint yourself my champion? Why, Zac? And what are you really doing here? Last I knew, you had your own place. What made you want to come here and run Ty’s?”

“I had my reasons,” he said. “My place needed a lot of work. By the time I fixed everything that needed fixing, there wouldn’t have been any money left to buy livestock. I need the livestock to make a living and don’t want to get into debt, so I decided to sell out instead and invest what I have in something that’ll make me money. Ty said he was looking to get back into stock contracting, so I asked if he’d take me on as a partner.”

“I guess that makes sense,” she said and went back to playing with her wineglass.

“There’s another reason I wanted to come here,” he said. “A more personal one.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

He’d been looking for a chance to broach the subject all night, and she’d finally given him his opening. “You, Delaney. You’re the other reason I came here.”

Her brows drew together in a questioning look. “Me?”

“Yeah, you,” he said. He swallowed hard and took a breath. “I thought you could use some help with your . . . er . . . breeding.”

“I don’t need any help. I have it all worked out.” She began ticking off on her fingers. “I have a dozen healthy cows and as many straws of frozen semen from some of the rankest bucking bulls the pro tour has ever seen. And now, thanks to you, I have my first bucking bred heifer. What more do I need?” She finished with a bright smile.

“That’s not the breeding program I was talking about.”

Her smile disappeared. “What exactly are you talking about, Zac?”

“You want it straight? I heard you were looking for a stud of your own, and I’d like to offer my services.”



Delaney gaped in mortification and disbelief. “What did that treacherous son of a bitch tell you?”

Zac raised a staying hand. “Hold on now, Delaney. It’s not like he broadcasted it to the world. He only told me.”

“Why? Why would he do that?” she demanded. “This was supposed to stay just between Ty and me. It doesn’t concern anyone else.”

“He wasn’t being malicious. I think he was just trying to solve your problem.”

“What problem?” she asked. “I don’t have a problem. I just want a baby.”

“He doesn’t want to do it,” Zac said. “And he doesn’t need your money anymore. He and Monica have worked out a deal on the hotel. That’s another reason I’m here, but I’m not free to discuss it.”

“But you’re at perfect liberty to blurt my most guarded secrets?” she snapped.

“I haven’t talked to anyone but you.”

She released an exasperated breath. “And we’re done talking. Thanks for dinner. I’m leaving.” She snatched up her purse and slid out of the booth.

“Wait a minute, Delaney. We’re not finished discussing this.”

“Yes. We. Are.” She spun to leave.

“You want that heifer or not?” he asked.

She halted in her tracks and speared him with a deadly look. “You’d hold that over my head? That’s blackmail.”

He shrugged. “Call it what you like, but one way or another, you’re gonna hear me out. Please sit down and finish your dinner,” he urged, eyeing her barely touched T-bone. “And maybe we can figure something out.”

She took a breath and blew it out in a long huff, then plopped unceremoniously back onto the bench on her side of the booth. Zac took it as a sign and signaled the server for two more drinks.

“I told you I don’t want to talk about this,” she said sullenly.

“Have you changed your mind then?” he asked. “About wanting a kid?”

“No. I haven’t changed my mind. I’ve wanted a family of my own as long as I can remember, but I don’t see it happening any other way. Not anymore.”

“Why the hell would you think that? You’re still young. Are you even thirty yet?”

“Twenty-eight.” She grimaced.

“There’s forty-year-olds that have kids these days! So why would you just give up? I’m trying to understand.”

“Because I never want to marry again. I don’t want or need a husband, Zac. I’m perfectly happy on my own.”

“No, you’re not. You just said you want a family.”

“Yes. Family as in children. I don’t need a husband for that.”

He gave her a slow smile. “But you do need a man.”

“Yes.” She rolled her eyes with a sigh. “I haven’t found a way to work around that part yet.”

“So you were putting all your eggs in Ty’s basket? No pun intended,” he added with a hint of a smirk.

“I hadn’t counted on him saying no,” Delaney said.

“But he did say no.”

“That’s right. What more do you need to know that’s none of your business?”

“Why Ty?” he asked.