by Jill Lynn
“It’s probably the wool blanket. Itchy and allergies. My coat was in my suitcase,” she paused and sighed. She didn’t want anyone to know about her tears. “It’s a long story.”
Gabe looked over at her then and his eyes narrowed. “Pregnant women are always more emotional about everything. Those aren’t real tears. Don’t think you can sway that attorney.”
“I’m not—” Bailey started to protest and then realized she didn’t have much to say in her defense. She was at least eight months along and she did cry at odd times. “I’m not trying to influence anyone—at least not more than—”
Bailey stopped. She wanted some of that ranch and Gabe knew it. She needed to support Rosie and the baby that was coming.
“Not more than is fair,” Bailey finally finished her statement. That much was true.
“We should get inside,” Mark said.
Bailey wasn’t deterred. She turned to Gabe. “You know that it’s not unusual to be emotional at a funeral.”
Then she turned to Mark. “The ladies of the church prepared a luncheon for everyone.” She glanced over at Gabe and nodded to include him, too. “I hope you will both join us.”
“Of course, we will,” Gabe said as though it was his right. “It’s starting to snow and downstairs is the only place in town to get something to eat since the café is closed for the funeral. Besides, that attorney is reading the will to us after everyone leaves. I’m not leaving until then.”
“I hope you won’t try to sway him.” Bailey threw the accusation back at Gabe as she turned and defiantly took the arm Mark offered. She’d thought it would make her feel better to shoot something back at Gabe, but it didn’t. It just left her cold and damp.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Gabe sputtered as she started to walk away. “I don’t need anything from Eli. I’m a partner in a very successful law firm, for goodness sake. I’m not the one who needs a handout.”
“I don’t need a handout,” Bailey turned and snapped back, no longer sorry she’d poked at him just seconds earlier. “I earn my way on the ranch. And I might go to law school someday myself. So there.”
Bailey put her face forward again and started walking, leaning a little more on Mark’s arm than she had earlier.
“I can’t believe you married Junior,” Mark muttered as they moved.
“Well, I did,” Bailey said and then pressed her lips together so she wouldn’t say anything else about that. She didn’t want to whine about how unfair life was, especially not when it had been her own fault for thinking people changed.
“I didn’t think you liked Junior that well,” Mark persisted, sounding puzzled.
“It’s complicated,” Bailey answered, not looking up at Mark. At the end, she hadn’t liked Junior. That’s why she’d tried so hard to make him happy by looking her best all the time. She’d used facials to remove her freckles and had worn high heels around the house. She knew it made no sense. But she didn’t want to tell all of that to Mark. She just needed to keep walking.
After Junior was killed, she realized she’d exhausted herself with all of her efforts. Marriage shouldn’t be so hard. She figured that she just wasn’t cut out to be a wife. She supposed it was best to find that fact out in her twenties rather than to be miserable with some other man in the future. She had Rosie and the coming baby. That was enough family for her. She’d silently pledged to herself never to worry about a husband again.
She looked up at Mark as they came to the doors of the church. He’d left his hat inside and the wind was blowing his black hair. Snowflakes had settled on his forehead. He was handsome and he looked like he could move mountains with just a shrug of his muscled shoulders. It was too bad he knew even less about marriage and family life than she did. Besides, he probably expected women to spend their lives parading around on high heels, too.
“I’m never getting married again,” she announced.
“But you have to,” he protested, looking a little shocked. “You have a baby coming.”
“Being married or not won’t change that fact,” she said. “Not at this date.”
She’d forgotten that Mark could get indignant if family things weren’t done just so. He thought every child needed both parents, but especially a father. Fortunately though, he didn’t press her further.
She wondered where his army career had taken him. He likely had a girlfriend in every port around the world by now. His blue eyes would tempt most women to thoughts of romance. His body would do the rest. Of course, she supposed, it was not the ports, but every military base since he was in the army and not the navy. Either way, he was off-limits for her.
Copyright © 2021 by Janet Tronstad
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ISBN-13: 9781488070914
Choosing His Family
Copyright © 2021 by Jill Buteyn
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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