Chad was damn sick of hearing it.
“Uncle Chad’s takin’ me fishin’,” Sean said, interrupting Chad’s thoughts. The little boy munched on a corncob.
“Don’t talk with your mouth open, sweetie,” Dusty said. “That’s nice of you, Chad. He sure had fun the last time.”
“I did, too,” Chad said truthfully. “I love hanging out with the critter.”
Yep, he sure was a dead ringer for his pretty ma. Chad stole a glance across the yard at Catie’s table, where Dallas and Annie sat with their twin girls. Those pretty little things looked just like their daddy.
For just a flash, an image burned into Chad’s mind. He held a little boy with mahogany hair and brown eyes. A little boy who looked at him the way Sean was looking at Zach right now. With blind adoration.
Hell, what was he thinking? He didn’t want a kid. And he sure as hell didn’t want a wife.
Try as he might, though, the image niggled at the back of his mind the rest of the dinner and beyond.
His pulse raced and his skin tingled as the face on his wife became clear in his imaginary family portrait.
This wasn’t normal.
He needed to stay far away from Catie Bay.
Chapter Six
The party had been fun, Catie had to admit, even though her heart had fallen just a little bit more when she’d spied Chad leaving with Amber. But her spirits were renewed a bit when she saw the moon rise full in the sky overhead.
Four long years had passed since she’d taken Ladybird on a moonlight ride. She headed into the house to change into riding clothes, and then to the barn where she saddled the mare. They took off together, riding as one through the warm summer night.
Her Stetson fell off her head and dangled around her neck by the strings as she and Ladybird galloped through the breeze. Her hair whipped about her face. It would be a mass of snarls when she returned, but she didn’t care.
She had missed this. How had she stayed away so long?
As she neared the border of the McCray land, another rider slipped into her view. Probably a hired hand checking things out for the night.
Her heart leaped as she rode closer. A black lab ran beside the rider. Marnie. And she knew those shoulders. That broad back. They belonged to the youngest, tallest, and best looking of the M
cCrays. Her tummy did a little tumble. He was out on a night ride rather than in Amber’s bed, finishing what he’d started with Catie.
Chad.
He turned around when she and Ladybird trotted toward him. His gorgeous black gelding kicked at the earth.
“Looks like we had the same idea,” Catie said.
“Hey, sugar. I guess so.”
“Want to ride together?”
He smiled, and his golden skin glowed in the luminescence of the full moon. “Sure. I ’spose so. Wouldn’t mind the company.”
“New horse?” Catie didn’t recognize him.
“Yeah, this is Eclipse. I call him that ’cause he’s black as night.”
“He’s beautiful.”
“That he is. So is your lady.”
“Yeah.” Catie smiled. What a beautiful night. “Let’s ride.”