He refused to believe that. He had a feeling it had everything to do with waking up at daybreak and breathing in the brisk Wyoming air.

  And maybe spending time with Brianna.

  He set the plates in front of her and then poured the coffee into cups before joining her at the table. The pensive look on her face bothered him. “Brianna, is anything wrong?”

  * * *

  Brianna shook her head. “No, why do you ask?”

  “Usually you’re more talkative than you are this morning.”

  Yes, usually she was. There was no way she would tell him that her meeting in Jackson at the fertility clinic hadn’t gone quite the way she’d hoped. Everyone at the facility had been nice and positive, yet when she reviewed the bios of the men they’d selected for her to consider, she had found them all lacking.

  Now she wished Miesha hadn’t planted that seed in her head about Cash becoming the father of her child.

  “I just have a lot on my mind.”

  “Anything I can help you with?”

  If only you knew, she thought. Instead she said, “It’s something I need to deal with on my own.”

  “Alright. If you change your mind, let me know.”

  She nodded. She would be letting him know soon enough. They didn’t say much as they climbed the stairs to the attic, and once there moved to their respective areas of the room.

  As she was about to go through the bins, she found an envelope with her name on it. She glanced over at Cash, but he had his back to her. She opened the envelope to find a note.

  I really did miss you yesterday.

  Cash

  Brianna couldn’t help but smile as a warm feeling flowed through her. It touched her deeply that he’d missed her and hadn’t had a problem letting her know it.

  She thought he deserved the same. “Cash?”

  He turned around. “Yes?”

  She gave him a bright smile. “I missed you yesterday, too.”

  He returned her smile. “Good.”

  Was it good? Would he still think it was good after she told him the decision she had made about the fifty acres? A decision that had taken her a few sleepless nights and thought-provoking days to ponder.

  It hadn’t been easy, but Miesha was right. Brianna couldn’t think of any other man she would want to father her child. There were a number of reasons she felt that way, but she knew the main one—the one she could not deny—was that she had fallen in love with Cash.

  Brianna honestly believed a part of her had given him her heart that day, close to nine years ago, when she had come across his picture. Whether he knew it or not, he had replaced the pain in her heart with hope. Seemed that was still true.

  “I guess we better get to work,” she then said, rolling up her sleeves.

  Pretty soon a few hours had passed and Cash said it was time to stop for lunch. Glancing over at him, she said, “I’m not hungry. I think I’ll work through lunch.”

  He stared at her for a minute and then nodded. “I’m not hungry either. I suggest we work for couple more hours and then call it a day.”

  It seemed as if the two hours had rushed by when he said, “That’s it for today. How about if we share a glass of lemonade?”

  “Sounds good,” she said, moving across the room.

  She was walking past him when he reached out and took her hand, studying her features. “Are you sure you’re okay, Brianna?”

  She was about to nod and tell him yes, and then thought better of it. It was time for her to give him her answer about the land and then face the consequences.

  “I need to tell you my decision about the land, Cash.”

  He leaned against a wall, still holding her hand. “And what is your decision?”

  She nervously nibbled on her bottom lip as she looked at him. “I will sign over all fifty acres to you, Cash, free and clear, if you give me something in return.”

  He bunched his forehead. The look on his face clearly showed his bemusement. “And what is that?”

  Brianna didn’t say anything as she nervously gnawed on her bottom lip and glanced away. She needed to focus on anything but him. She could feel the heat of his stare on every part of her body.

  After forcing a deep whoosh of air through her lungs, she said, “I will give you the fifty acres, Cash, in exchange for your sperm.”

  THIRTEEN

  Cash stared at Brianna. There was no way she’d said what he thought she’d said. He must have misunderstood. “Excuse me, but could you repeat that?”

  She held his gaze and repeated it.

  So she had said that. “My sperm?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why do you need my sperm?”

  “Because I want a baby.”

  Duh, Cash thought. That had been a stupid question for him to ask. What other reason would there be for a woman to need a man’s sperm? “Why do you want a baby? You aren’t married.”

  “If I was married, I wouldn’t be needing your sperm. You don’t have to be married to have a baby, Cash.”

  He knew that. Maybe he wasn’t asking the right questions. Maybe it was the heat in the attic frying his brain cells, or the fact that normally, women didn’t go around asking men for their sperm. “Let’s get out of here.” He needed something to drink, and for him it had to be something stronger than lemonade. “We’re going to sit down at my kitchen table and you’re going to tell me what the hell is going on, Brianna.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “After you,” he said, standing back for her to move ahead of him. He hung back a minute to get himself together.

  When they reached the kitchen, she went straight to the refrigerator for the lemonade and he went to the liquor cabinet. He pulled down a bottle of vodka and a shot glass.

  When he walked back to the table, she was already seated, staring into her glass. She looked nervous. Hopefully, that meant she didn’t make it a habit of going around asking a man for his sperm. He honestly didn’t think she did, but he would know for certain in a minute.

  He slid into the chair across from her, placed both the bottle of vodka and the shot glass on the table and poured. “So, why a baby and why my sperm, Brianna?”

  * * *

  Brianna took a sip of lemonade before she said, “I’ve always wanted a family, Cash. I was an only child, so I dreamed of one day getting married, becoming a mom with lots of kids. At least four. Alan had wanted a large family, too. That was one of the things we agreed on.”

  She paused. “I had everything planned. We would marry like he promised, the year I graduated from high school, and I would travel with him and support his military career and have his babies. It was my dream to have all four before my thirtieth birthday.”

  She couldn’t help but smile at the lifting of his brow. “I know that sounds crazy because it means my being pregnant most of the time, but I was okay with that. Alan was, too. The kids would each be two years apart. Like I said, I had it all planned out.”

  The smile on Brianna’s face faded when she continued. “But none of those plans happened. My dreams were destroyed.”

  He nodded. “Yes, you told me.”

  She took another sip of her lemonade. “Nobody knew how much I wanted a family more than my parents. Especially Dad. I think at one time that’s all I ever talked about. Marrying Alan, being a good wife to him and a good mother to our babies. Dad knew the pain Alan’s betrayal caused me and I told him I would never marry. He believed me.”

  Brianna paused again. “Dad knew he was dying and wanted to prepare me for a life without him. He didn’t want me to be alone. He knew it was likely I would never fall in love and marry, which meant I would never have a child and be the mother I’d always wanted to be.”

  She fought back tears. “The night before he died, Dad sat me down on the sofa beside him and made me promise him that I wouldn’t be alone on my thirtieth birthday. And that I would have the one thing I’d always wanted.”

  “A baby?”

  “Yes.”

  He looked at her. “A child and not a husband?”

  “Yes. Dad figured I would get pregnant without a man’s involvement like Miesha did.”

  He lifted a brow. “Who’s Miesha?”

  “Miesha James is my best friend from college. She still lives in Atlanta and owns a communications firm there. For reasons I’d rather not go into, Miesha wanted a baby, so she went to a sperm bank. She had the procedure done, got pregnant, and now Darrett is six and in first grade.” Brianna paused. “Dad figured right. I had planned to do the same thing when it came time to have my baby.”

  She took another sip of her lemonade. “However, I recently discovered the sperm bank might not be the best approach to motherhood after all.”

  “Why not?”

  She poured more lemonade before answering. “It was a hard decision to make, but there were no donors there who felt right to me.”

  “Why me, Brianna? Why would you want me to father your child?”

  Brianna gave him the reasons that had convinced her she would be doing the right thing. “You are kind, thoughtful and caring, Cash. Besides, you don’t live here. You said you would be living in Alaska and would hire someone to run the ranch for you. That means I could raise the child on my own. You and I wouldn’t have to see each other. But more than anything, I believe you would do right by our child and take responsibility for him or her if something happened to me.”

  When he didn’t say anything, she pressed on. “I wouldn’t want anything from you, Cash. This won’t be a love match and I’ll sign any papers waiving my rights to your possessions. I can afford to raise my child on my own. This will strictly be a business arrangement. You get the fifty acres. All I want is your sperm.”

  “How?”

  Now she was the one lifting a brow. “How what?”

  “How am I supposed to give you this sperm, Brianna?”

  By asking that question, did that mean he was at least considering it? “By artificial insemination. That way you won’t have to be concerned about any physical contact between us.”

  Brianna stood, took her glass over to the sink and washed it out, noting he hadn’t said anything. She came back to stand by the table. “I realize you’re going to need time to think about it, Cash. However, if you can let me know something by next week, I would appreciate it.”

  Without saying anything else, she grabbed her purse off the counter and walked out the door.

  * * *

  Cash sat at the kitchen table until he heard Brianna’s car drive off. Then he threw back the shot of vodka.

  He wanted fifty acres of Brianna’s land and she wanted to use his sperm to have a baby. By artificial insemination.

  A slow heat stirred in his groin when he thought of another way that he could share his sperm with her. He quickly brushed the thought from his mind because he wasn’t sharing his sperm with anybody. What made her think that if he got a woman pregnant, he wouldn’t want to be a part of the child’s life?

  Damn that guy who had destroyed all her dreams of becoming a mother and wife. Now she was willing to become a mother without a husband. She deserved her whole dream. She said she thought Cash was kind and caring. Well, he thought the same thing about her. He had seen firsthand how she’d gotten along with his cousins and friends last weekend. And those times when he had accompanied her in town, it was obvious to him how well liked she was.

  The one thing she was wrong about was her assumption that she knew Cash. If she did, then she would know there was no way he would get a woman pregnant and not want to be a part of his child’s life. Especially after his mother had chosen not to be a part of his. He would not make that same mistake with his own child.

  Then there was the way she said she would get pregnant. Artificial insemination? Not hardly. And what did she say about eliminating any concern about physical contact between them? Did she honestly think that was a concern of his? Especially when there had been an overabundance of sexual chemistry between them from the start?

  Brianna never did say what would happen if he didn’t go along with this idea of hers. Did that mean she would approach someone else? He rubbed his hands down his face in frustration. The bottom line was that there was something he wanted more than those fifty acres of land.

  He wanted her.

  She wanted them to handle this like a business deal. In that case, she would see just how he operated. Other than Garth, Cash was the Outlaw who didn’t pull any punches when it came to negotiation. When he had a challenge, he overcame it each and every time. He could be steadfast and unmovable, and could play hard better than anyone. In other words, when confronted with opposition, he could be a force to reckon with.

  Cash grabbed his Stetson off the hat rack as he headed for the door. He intended to ride around the range and was confident that when he returned, he would have come up with a plan.

  * * *

  Brianna had eaten and cleaned up the kitchen by the time the sun went down. She had then showered and changed into a comfortable sundress. Now she was enjoying a glass of wine in the swing on the porch.

  She couldn’t help wondering if Cash was giving her proposition any thought. Asking a man to father her child was a very bold thing to do. But then, desperation would give a person the courage to do just about anything. She had given him until next week for an answer, but what if he didn’t agree to it? Would she withhold the land from him? Probably not, but at least she would have tried playing her hand.

  Hearing the sound of a car approaching, she tilted her head to see the driveway. It was Cash. Her heart began beating fast in her chest, like it did whenever Cash was around.

  Why was he coming here? Did that mean he had made a decision already? If he had, that also meant he really hadn’t given her proposal much thought. Was he here to tell her he had no intention of being the father of her baby?

  Placing her wineglass aside, she stood when he came up the steps. She saw he had that just-showered look and had changed into another pair of jeans and a Western shirt. He smelled good. Too good.

  Whatever he’d come here to say, the best thing would be for him to say it and leave.

  “Hello, Brianna.”

  The deep, throaty sound of his voice put sensuous goose bumps on her arms. “Cash? I am surprised to see you. Is anything wrong?”

  “No. I came to deliver my answer to your proposition.”

  It was just as she’d assumed. He hadn’t given it much thought if he was turning her down already. “I was enjoying a glass of wine. Would you like one?”

  “I prefer a beer if you have one.”

  “I do. Come on in,” she said, entering the house.

  He followed her into the kitchen and leaned against one of the counters. “You’ve eaten already?”

  She grabbed the beer out of the refrigerator. “Yes. If you want something, I—”

  “No, thanks,” he interrupted to say. “I have a taste for a hamburger and fries and was on my way to Monroe’s.”

  She nodded, handing him the beer. “You’re getting addicted to the place like the rest of us.”

  “Looks that way.” He took a slug of his beer and then licked his lips.

  Watching him do that made her pulse rate increase. She didn’t want to wring her hands together but was doing so anyway. “What is your answer?”

  “I’m here to make you a counteroffer, Brianna.”

  That’s not what she’d expected to hear. “A counteroffer?”

  “Yes.”

  “What kind of counteroffer?”

  Covering the distance separating them, he came to stand in front of her. She tilted her head back to look up at him. “I will give you the baby you want, but there will be something I want from you,” he said.

  Brianna lifted an arched brow. “In addition to the fifty acres?”

  “Yes, in addition to the fifty acres.”

  She nervously licked her lips, not knowing what that could be. “What is it you want from me?”

  “Marriage.”

  FOURTEEN

  Cash saw Brianna’s eyes widen. “Marriage?”

  “Yes, marriage. The only way you can have my sperm is to marry me. Also, when I get you pregnant, it won’t be by any insemination procedure. It will be the traditional way with us sharing a bed as husband and wife.”

  He saw the color drain from Brianna’s face.

  “But why would you want us to get married? That doesn’t make sense,” she said, honestly looking confused.

  “I happen to think it makes perfect sense. You want my baby and I want marriage.”

  She shook her head as if still not understanding. “But why would you want marriage?”

  “There are a number of reasons. The foremost is that I’ll be thirty-five at the end of the year and it’s time for me to settle down,” he said, knowing it was a bald-faced lie even as the words flowed from his lips. He could have gone through life and never married, and he certainly hadn’t given any thought to settling down before now. But she didn’t have to know that.

  “What do you mean, ‘it’s time’?”

  He shrugged. “What I mean is that it is expected. My older brother Garth married last year. My brother Jess would be next in line to tie the knot, but he’ll need a wife who wants to be married to a politician, so we’re giving him more time.”

  He took another swig of his beer. “Being married comes in handy when you’re negotiating business deals with men with single daughters who think it should be a package deal.”

  Brianna frowned. “But I have no intention of ever moving to Alaska.”

  “And I have no intention of ever living here. For us, it wouldn’t matter since our marriage will only be a business deal.” That was another lie. “I will come and visit from time to time to see my child.”