WARRIOR'S BRIDE Page 8

  She let out a little breath of exasperation, frustrated in her need to completely settle things between them. She looked up and found him carefully watching her expression.

  "We'll talk," he said gently. "I promise. I'll even try to keep my temper."

  She gave him a tentative smile, knowing she shouldn't let the subject go, but not wanting to ruin the tentative truce he'd declared. "All right."

  In a companionable hush, they continued to walk. Fingers of darkness reached out from the trees along the street as the last sliver of sun disappeared. When they rounded the corner, Cole asked, "At the obstetrician's you mentioned classes. What are you studying?"

  "Nursing. When I graduate in June I can take the exam to be a registered nurse."

  "Like it?"

  "Very much. It's always been my dream to be a nurse. I'm determined to finish this time."

  "You've started before?"

  She nodded, plucking some leaves from an overhanging tree. The air rustled through the branches, sighing softly. She tore up the leaves and tossed them in the gutter. "My ex-fiancé made me quit."

  "This the same guy who didn't want you distracting him in bed?"

  Her cheeks burned under his gaze. She couldn't believe he remembered she'd said that. Right after he'd plunged deep into her and she'd come apart in his arms. Do you have any idea what it does to a man's ego—

  She closed her eyes against the sensual vision, barely aware that they had stopped. Fiercely, she banished the memory. "He liked being in control."

  "He liked being a jerk." Cole ran a hand over his face, then turned, and they continued walking. "Sorry. None of my business."

  She stole a glance at him, her mind wandering over the disastrous end to that day in May, then to what he'd said in his office. Suddenly, she had the sinking feeling maybe she had misjudged him back at the powwow. She should…

  A twinge of terror rushed through her body at the thought of lowering her defenses long enough to find out. She reached deep inside and exorcised the chiding of her mother and David, drawing on the memory of her father's love to give her strength.

  "Is it true you weren't flirting with those women at the powwow? That they meant nothing to you?"

  He stopped so abruptly she was forced to halt and turn around.

  "Those were my… I coach some students in Native American dancing." He rubbed his fingers over the front of his shirt, as if seeking something, and started walking again. "Sometimes they get a little carried away."

  "Just a little?" she muttered, following along beside him and feeling strangely giddy. "What about the older one? The one you were kissing."

  He gazed up at the moon and said quietly, "That was my ex-wife, Lindsay. And I wasn't kissing her."

  It was Katarina's turn to stop dead. "Wife?"

  "Ex-wife. It happened a long time ago, and it was over almost as fast as it started. She left me after less than a day of wedded bliss." He took Katarina's arm and led her on.

  She looked up at him, a twinge of something niggling at her conscience. "That must have been rough."

  "Lindsay graduated same year as my brother, Billy. Her father was a gen-u-ine bigot. Big man in the country club set. She rebelled by getting drunk and hanging around with the Indian kids from the local rez."

  He kicked a pinecone and continued. "One night Lindsay and her dad had a big fight and she got back at him by running off to Vegas and marrying one of them—me. She vowed her ever-lasting love and I believed her. Of course, it was all just a big joke. Unfortunately, I didn't know that until it was too late. See, I was actually in love with her."

  "Oh, Cole. That's awful." Katarina's stab of sympathy materialized as a small contraction. She put a hand lightly on the baby.

  He shrugged. "I seem to be cursed with women running off on me."

  His voice was light, but Katarina detected a wealth of emotion behind the words. She swallowed a huge wave of guilt. She'd had good reason to run off. At least she'd thought so at the time.

  "Anyway, Lindsay's daddy had the divorce papers drawn up the next day." He looked grim as they went around another corner. "I see her now and then, mostly at the powwows. She was there the day you and I… Anyway, she gets a sort of perverse pleasure tormenting me with the kind of display you witnessed. It's annoying, but everyone knows she isn't serious."

  "You didn't look particularly annoyed," Katarina observed testily. She rubbed her belly as the volley of contractions continued. Lord, she'd be glad when this pregnancy was over.

  He smiled at her and winked. "For some reason, I was in a good mood."

  She wanted to smile back but was hit by another cramp, sharper than the others. She took a deep breath and put both hands on her stomach as it continued to tighten.

  Cole's smile faded, his brows drawing together. "Are you all right?"

  "Yeah." She let out the breath. "Just a bout of Braxton Hicks."

  "Huh?"

  "Contractions." She laughed at his alarmed expression. "Just practice ones. Don't worry, I'm not going into labor. But I may have overdone this walk thing. Could we sit down for a minute?"

  "Of course." His eyes searched around, the concern in them apparent.

  She felt her heart do a little flip-flop. "The curb's fine. Really. You'll just have to help me up is all."

  Cole held Rini's hands, easing her down onto the shallow curb. He hoped like hell she wasn't going to have the baby right there on the street. He might be looking forward to being a dad, but that would be pushing it a bit. "Jeez, Rini. Are you sure about this?"

  "Not to worry. I'm almost a nurse, remember? Watch out for your suit!"

  He sat down beside her. "Forget the suit. Is this normal?"

  "Perfectly."

  A nervous laugh escaped him. "Guess I need childbirth classes or something."

  She shot him a sidelong glance. "You want to come to mine?"

  He stared at her, not quite believing his ears.

  "Alex will be tied up with some award presentation for Kenny next time." She shrugged. "But I can go alone."

  "No! I mean yes. I mean, yes, I'd like to come."

  "It's Friday night. You don't have a hot date?"

  He grinned. "I do now." He watched her smile shyly, her cheeks glowing as rosy pink as her soft, full lips. Damn, there she went again, going all shy and sexy on him. It was all he could do to resist leaning over and crushing the velvet of those rose petal lips with his.

  He clamped his teeth together. No, this was too much. He'd really have to get hold of himself. This made twice in a week he'd almost lost his head. Rini Herelius was not the kind of woman he should ever let into his life.

  But what was it about her that reduced him to a sparking tangle of live wires ready to short-circuit his common sense?

  He stood quickly, schooling his expression. "We should get back. Feel up to walking?"

  She nodded and reached up. He grasped her hands and pulled her to her feet. She teetered against him, wincing.

  "Rini?"

  "It's okay. I just got up too fast." When he saw the thin film of sweat on her brow, fear coiled in his gut. "To hell with this." He swept her up into his arms and started down the sidewalk, carrying her.

  "Cole!"

  "Put your arms around my neck."

  "This really isn't—"

  He strode quickly down the street, ignoring her irritated glower. "Look, my mother would kill me if anything happened to you or the baby while I was delivering her blasted cookies. So stop squirming and enjoy the ride."

  A wistful smile slid over Rini's face, and she relaxed a bit. "You love your mother very much."

  "I do." His mom and her damned cookies.

  "Do you look more like her or your dad?"

  Cole turned up the walkway to her sister's house and adjusted her weight before mounting the steps. "Neither. I'm adopted." On the porch, he set her on her feet.

  "Now I understand," she whispered, closing her eyes. One hand went to her temple as the other
dug into his shoulder.

  "Rini!" The door flew open and a woman shrieked as Rini slumped against him. The sister, Alex, he presumed. "What have you done to her?" she cried.

  Cole hooked one arm around Rini's limp form and another under her knees, then scowled at the hysterical woman. "Where can I take her?"

  Alex pointed frantically. "The sofa."

  He laid Rini out on the couch, going down on his knees beside her. Her eyes opened and she struggled to sit up, but Cole put a hand on her shoulder. "No way. You stay put."

  Alex pushed her way next to Rini and glared at him. "Just who the hell are you, anyway? Can't you see she's having a baby soon?"

  "My name is Colton Lonetree."

  "Cole…" Alex stared at him, eyes narrowed in fury. "You!" She turned to Rini, stroking her hair. "What has he done to you, honey? Did he threaten—"

  Rini interrupted. "Alex, I'm all right. I'm having contractions and stood up too fast."

  "You're not needed here, Mr. Lonetree," Alex snapped. "I'll thank you to leave my home."

  Rini held out her hand to him. "No, wait!"

  Rising, he looked at her hand. He shouldn't take it. It would just complicate things. He shouldn't even be here. She'd abandoned him. She was nothing but trouble. And all he wanted was to pull her into his arms and hold her tight. He was so scared. Scared something was wrong.

  More scared something was very right.

  He took her hand. "What?"

  "Do you still want to go to class Friday, or have I scared you off?"

  He cleared his throat. "Scared? Me? Not a chance. What time shall I be here?"

  * * *

  Chapter 7

  « ^ »

  Cole watched in the mirror over the bar as two mean-looking, leather-clad Mohawks parted the Christmas revelers like the Red Sea. He squinted over his tequila and lime, and the two Mohawks merged into one mean-looking Paiute with really bad hair. "Renegade," he greeted his friend.

  "Hey, compadre. Merry Christmas."

  Cole grunted. "Warrior." He tossed back the rest of his shot.

  Renegade looked at him quizzically as he climbed onto the stool next to him and ordered a mulled wine.

  "Not compadre. Warrior."

  "Warrior, eh? Soundum like heap bad script to me."

  Cole snorted. "This coming from a man who calls himself Renegade." Roman "Renegade" Santangelo was Cole's best friend, right after Tanya. The three of them, along with RaeAnne Sommarby, had been inseparable those years back at Rincon Rez.

  The other man chuckled. "Hey, the name Renegade was your idea, remember?" He straightened his leather motorcycle jacket and flicked one of the chains dangling from it. "At least I look the part."

  "I'm wearing the anthropologically correct garb for an urban warrior."

  "Anthrop—" Renegade squinted at the empty glass in front of Cole. "Jeez, Cole, how many of those have you had?"

  "Three. I'm celebrating."

  His friend glanced around. "Alone?"

  Cole motioned for the bartender to bring him another round. "It's Christmas Eve, I'm thirty-six, about to have a baby, and I'm completely and unequivocally alone." He propped his elbows on the bar and leaned his chin on one hand. "Pathetic, isn't it? How'd you find me?"

  The bartender brought the drinks, and Renegade sipped his mulled wine appreciatively. "Called your office. Someone named Charlie said you'd had a run-in with a batch of your mom's cookies. He suggested I try the bars in the area."

  "An excellent judge of character," Cole muttered.

  "What's this about a baby?"

  He sighed and told him the whole, wretched story.

  "So let me see if I've got this straight. You fall for this chica at the powwow, but she runs away. When you finally find her, she doesn't want to know you, but you've still got it bad. Why does this story sound familiar?"

  "We're not talking about you and RaeAnne, here."

  Renegade took another sip. "You want the kid?"

  "I'm ready for a family, Roman." He sighed. "You know, it's weird. You spend twenty years trying to prevent this from happening, but when it does, all you can think about is how terrific it'll be when you're a father. When you're holding your own kid on your knee. You've got no idea how incredible it is to look at a woman who is big with a child and know it's yours. Your blood. Your body. Your future."

  "Whew. Heavy stuff, man. What about the woman?"

  Cole squeezed lime into his untouched drink. "What about her?"

  "You going to marry her?"

  "Nope."

  "Because she ran away?"

  "Among other things."

  "Thanks, pal."

  "You had good reasons when you ran away." Renegade spun his stool to face the crowded room. "So did Rini."

  Cole blew out a breath, shaking his head. "So she claims."

  "Hmm." Renegade swirled his wine, watching a pair of legs in a green spangled miniskirt saunter by. "This woman of yours, she pretty?"

  Cole licked the lime off his fingers and smiled dreamily at his friend's reflection in the mirror. "As a picture. Her eyes are gorgeous—like brilliant blue opals. I call her Fire Eyes. You should have seen her that day at the powwow." He frowned. "On second thought, I'm glad you didn't. Women never could resist your nasty image."

  Renegade grinned. "It's the hair. I'm convinced of it." Surveying the unruly strands of raven black coursing down the man's back—long on top and cropped short on the sides except for a thin braid above one ear—Cole made a disgusted sound. Even at its longest, his own hair had never looked this disreputable.

  "If you say so. Man, doesn't the Bureau have rules about weird hair?" Renegade might have looked like an extra for the Road Warrior movies, but he was actually a special agent for the FBI.

  "Not as long as I get the job done. So, you don't want this pretty woman who's having your baby?"

  Light sparkled like fire off his shot glass as Cole lifted it to his lips. "Oh, I want her, all right. Every damn time I look at her. But I'll deal with it."

  Renegade raised an eyebrow. "She want you?"

  He laughed. "She wants my head on a platter."

  "Sounds like you're going to have yourself an interesting couple of months." He crossed his arms over his leather jacket. "Me, I'm hittin' the road tonight. Got a job up north."

  "Why don't you stick around for a day? Have Christmas dinner at my folks' place tomorrow."

  An indecipherable look crept into his friend's eyes. "Thanks, but I'd rather get moving. Give your mom a hug for me."

  "Still looking for RaeAnne?"

  Renegade threw back the rest of his wine and gave Cole a world-weary smile. "I'll find her sooner or later."

  "I know you will, compadre."

  Motorcycle boots hit the floor and Cole felt a warm hand press onto his shoulder. "I hope it works out with the baby and your woman. Do me a favor and give her a second chance. We all deserve one. I'll see you in a few months."

  Cole swung his stool around and watched Renegade disappear through the crowd as quickly as he had appeared. The man was a specter, coming and going at the oddest times and places. He was also a romantic fool.

  His woman. Ha! No way. Cole would not claim Rini Herelius as his woman. Sure, he might lust after Fire Eyes in a weak moment, but lust was where he drew the line. Clearly and unmistakably. And as for giving her a second chance, well, his friend would just have to understand. He couldn't do it.

  He tossed a twenty on the bar and headed for the door.

  She was not his woman, and she would not be getting a second chance. And going to some harmless childbirth class with her would not change that one bit.

  No sir. Not one little bit.

  * * *

  "Are you out of your everlovin' mind?"

  Katarina winced. Alex always did cut right to the chase.

  "You're the one who wanted me to be nice to him."

  After a call to Dr. Morris just to be sure her spell wasn't something to worry about, Katarina h
ad gone upstairs for a nap. Afterward, she had managed to get through dinner and opening half the Christmas presents without Cole being mentioned. But now she and Alex were in the kitchen washing up, while the boys played with their new toys, and Katarina knew she was in for a grilling.

  "Don't remind me. But after the way that despicable man treated you at his office I can't believe you would even speak to him, let alone take a walk with him. What were you thinking of?" Alex's angry tone demanded an explanation.

  The familiar pain of wanting to please stabbed through Katarina's chest. She'd grown up with that feeling, always trying so hard to keep from doing or saying anything that would vex Mama. Never being a bother, always doing what would please her—so Mama would love her. The pain was so natural to her, she'd never even noticed when David had started making her feel the same way, always finding fault, never giving support. But, finally, she'd seen what was happening and had begun to heal herself by leaving David and breaking the pattern.

  Composing herself, Katarina carefully shook a dash of nutmeg into a glass of eggnog. "He brought me cookies. And I picked the fight at his office, not him."

  Alex huffed. "So what changed?"

  "I thought it was best to patch things up."

  "I see." Her sister slammed the dishwasher door shut and spun the dial. "What did you talk about?"

  She stirred her eggnog absently, thinking about Cole. "Oh, this and that. What I'm studying. You know."

  "No, I don't know." Alex stood, her arms crossed over her chest. "I don't like the idea of him sniffing around you, Rini. It's some sort of lawyer's trick. I swear—"

  Katarina looked up when the words suddenly halted in midstream. The expression on Alex's face could only be described as scandalized. "My God! You think you're still in love with him, don't you?" Her sister's eyes widened. "You're hoping he'll—"

  "Love? Don't be ridiculous," Katarina said crankily, staring into her glass to avoid her sister's suspicious gaze. "Besides, he doesn't want any part of me. Except this part." She put a hand on the baby. "Cole told me he was adopted. I imagine that's why he's so adamant about being part of the baby's life, regardless of his feelings for me."