One Night with a Cowboy by Tanya Michaels

Author:Tanya Michaels
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-09-07T12:40:17+00:00

* * *

“Ohmigosh is that him?” The blonde woman standing next to Mia spoke in an enthusiastic and highly unsuccessful whisper.

Jace tried to bite back a grin as he approached the folding table with the animal shelter banner across the front of it. “Morning, ladies.”

“Hey.” Mia’s smile was rueful as her eyes met his, acknowledging that he’d overheard her colleague. “Jace, this is Amanda Rockwell, one of the techs from the clinic. And that’s Scott and Fiona, from the shelter.” She gestured to a man and woman who were transferring dogs from individual crates into a large, open-topped pen that allowed them to romp and play on the grass.

“It is so nice to meet you.” Amanda reached for his hand and pumped it heartily. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Well, no, actually, I haven’t. But I’ve wondered a lot about you. Are you—”

“Hey, Amanda,” Mia cut in. “I think I left my clipboard in the car. Would you mind grabbing it for me?”

“No problem, Boss.” Finally releasing Jace’s hand, the blonde bounded off toward the nearby parking lot.

Left alone with Mia, Jace seized the opportunity for a quick kiss, then pointed at some paperwork in her chair. “Would that be the clipboard in question?”

Her eyes danced with unrepentant humor. “Yes. Yes, it would.” She moved the clipboard and sat down. “I’ll wave her back over in a second. Amanda’s energy makes her a very effective employee, but sometimes it’s a lot. Especially since she found out about the baby. It’s only been twenty-four hours, and I think she’s already suggested about two hundred names.”

“Huh.” Jace blinked. Aside from the occasional “Jace Junior” joke, he hadn’t really thought that far ahead. “I guess we should talk about names at some point.” Even though he’d seen the baby’s heartbeat for himself, the idea of giving their child a name—imagining the actual person they’d be bringing into the world—made everything more real.

Mia’s answering smile was almost shy. “I guess we should.”

“I didn’t see a clipboard,” Amanda said, her sudden reappearance making Jace wonder just how long he’d been staring into Mia’s eyes. “But I grabbed this notebook just in case that’s what you meant. Oh, you found it!”

“Yeah, but thanks for looking,” Mia said sheepishly.

“You know me,” Amanda said. “Here to help!”

“Same,” Jace agreed. “Let me know how I can be useful and put me to work.”

Two hours later, Jace leaned against a tree outside the dog pen and told Mia, “I don’t know how you do it. How do you resist taking them all home with you?” He watched an adorable chocolate-brown puppy wag its tail so hard that it toppled sideways—only to spring back up and repeat its actions. A shy terrier with a sweet expression was peeking out from beneath an old towel, and a curly-haired mutt with a relaxed attitude seemed blissfully content to enjoy the fresh air and people-watching. Jace swore the dog was actually grinning.

Mia patted his arm sympathetically. “It’s tempting, I’ll admit. But hoarding animals wouldn’t be fair to them or to me.

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