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But she still wore her boots. He couldn’t leave her to sleep in her dirty boots on that white bed.

If he were smart he would. But he hadn’t been very smart where Mona Grainger was concerned. If he had, he’d never have agreed to take the job in the first place.

Lifting one leg, he eased off her boot and sock, marveling at how delicate her foot was, the fine bones surely too fragile to carry her about all day long, riding, roping and dealing with redneck cowboys. Her shirt had crept up, exposing the jeans she wore unbuttoned and half unzipped to allow for the slowly expanding belly, now a smooth curve.

Reed was familiar with pregnant women from his time working for the Chicago police. Once, he’d come close to having to deliver a baby in the back seat of a taxi cab. Thankfully, the Emergency Medical Services arrived in time to do the job.

But he remembered the joy of watching that baby being born. The miracle of life in the making and the love the woman had for a little person she’d held in her arms for the first time that day. What would it be like to watch the birthing of Mona’s baby? Would she have someone with her when the time came?

“I’ll take care of her,señor,” a voice said from behind him.

Reed spun, caught in the act of staring at the boss as she slept.

Rosa Garcia smiled. “She’s an angel, isn’t she?”

Had she read his mind? Could she see he’d been thinking the same thing, longing to touch Mona’s soft cheek, the swell of her breasts and the curve of her hips? With heat rising up his throat, Reed dropped the sock he’d been holding and laid Mona’s leg softly on the bed.

Tomorrow, after a good night’s rest, he’d pack his bags and leave.

Chapter Seven

“I thought I fired you.” Mona entered the barn to find Reed brushing her horse.

When she crossed to where her saddle lay across a saddle tree, he made it there before her.

“You need to quit lifting heavy objects.” He carried the saddle and a blanket to the horse and tossed them on its back.

“Hey, I’m the boss. I give the orders around here.” For a moment she’d bristled at his high-handedness, but then she’d recognized that he was only trying to protect her and her baby. That made her feel entirely too warm and fuzzy inside. Not a good sensation when you’re trying to establish yourself as a ranch owner capable of doing anything a man can do.

Okay, so she was almost six months pregnant and her doctor had told her to slow down, saying pretty much the same thing Reed had. She wasn’t supposed to lift anything over twenty pounds.

Rather than argue with the help, she chose to be thankful. She did insist on tightening her own girth and bridling the mare herself. “Where’s Jesse?”

“Rosa had him down with an icepack on that eye. It was swollen shut this morning.”

“I should have fired Dusty a long time ago. He’s always been cocky and looking for trouble. More so since my father died. He didn’t think a woman could run this ranch.” She shrugged. “Maybe he was right.”

“I’m not sure anyone could do any better under the circumstances. Shorthanded, cattle rustling and…” He nodded toward her belly.

She laughed. “I’m doomed, aren’t I?”

“I wouldn’t say that. The odds are stacked against you right now, but that could change.” His gaze captured hers. “I’ll do my best to make it change.”

Deep down, she knew he meant every word and it gave her comfort she hadn’t felt in weeks. A flicker of hope sprang in her chest. With Reed helping her, she could conquer anything. She’d just have to remind herself, he wasn’t permanent. No man was.

He was nothing more that hired help, loading a saddlebag with a come-along, hammer, nails and a coil of barbed wire. He knew what needed to be done and he did it. No prodding necessary.

They rode in silence, checking the perimeter fences with a few stops along the way for her to find a lone bush to pee behind. The treeless Texas prairie wasn’t the best place for a pregnant woman to find relief. But it couldn’t be helped and Reed was considerate, giving her the necessary privacy.

Mona didn’t have anyone else to do the work, so she needed Reed to help her. The weather had been dry lately and the herd couldn’t be kept locked up long in the smaller pasture close to the house. They’d shear the grass to a nub in a day and she couldn’t afford to feed them baled hay or grain. Hell, she could barely afford groceries for the hired hands and the house, much less the animals.

“See that?” Reed nodded ahead.

They’d made it all the way around to the north pasture, the one she’d planned on turning the cattle loose in as soon as possible. It was also the most vulnerable, being next to a gravel county road. A broad tangle of barbed wire lay on the ground, leaving a gaping hole in the fence.

Reed dismounted and reached up to help Mona down.

“Thanks, but I can do it myself.”