by Reece Butler
“What are you saying?”
“If my mother finds out you’re carrying a child with Simpson DNA, she will do anything and everything in her power to take it. And, thanks to her father, she has access to one hell of a lot of money and power.”
Lila’s lip trembled. Her hands went under the table. He figured they were over her belly, protecting their child.
“The safest way to protect your baby,” said Jet, “is for you and me to get married.”
“No!” She shook her head rapidly.
“This child is not going to be born a bastard,” said Jet coldly. “He, or she, is going to have a father’s name and a mother’s name on the birth certificate. And that birth certificate will be dated after the wedding.”
Houston thought over all the probabilities, his mind spinning. There was a chance…
“Or we could get married,” he said. “You’re carrying my child, after all. Your family would help me fight Mother for custody.”
“What about Sonia?” demanded Lila.
Sonia? Lila glared at him as if he’d done something wrong. “What’s she got to do with this?”
Her chin trembled. She raised it and shot him an accusing look. “How can you marry me when you’ve promised yourself to another woman?”
Houston shook his head to clear his ears. “I’ve what?”
“One morning I heard you calling out to someone named Sonia. You said you’d always love her and you were coming back for her, to take her away.” Her voice trembled, along with her chin. “You have a fiancée in Texas. This is just like what happened to my grandmother. Don’t deny it!”
“A fiancée? Oh, for the love of…” He must have been dreaming, and called out. Was Lila jealous, because she wanted him? “Lila, Sonia’s not my fiancée, she was my little sister.”
Lila’s face went from red to white. “Your sister? The one who died? I thought…” She ducked her head.
“You thought what?”
She shrugged as if she didn’t care one way or the other, but he saw her chin quivering.
“You wanted me to have those feelings for you?” he asked gently.
She picked at a cuticle. He took her hands in his. She didn’t want him to, so he had to work at it.
“Lila,” he said softly, “Sonia’s remains are in an urn in the family crypt. I want her out of there. She hated the dark. I promised after she died that I would take her away to someplace bright when I was settled. I’d hoped to bring her here.”
“Oh.” She tugged her hands away, folding them tightly in her lap.
She had a good reason to be upset. He’d told Lila about his sister, but he didn’t like to say her name out loud, as it made the pain of losing her worse. Anyone could have a little sister. There was only one Sonia, and he was the only one who’d really loved her.
It served him right for not talking with Lila and letting her into his heart. She wasn’t like the people he’d grown up with. She wouldn’t use every bit of personal knowledge, especially of his pain, as a tool to crush him.
“I still don’t want to get married,” she said quietly. “To anyone. It’s not that I don’t like you, but I’ve only known you a few weeks. My baby isn’t due until March. There’s lots of time.”
“Not if my mother finds out.”
“What could she do? It’s my baby!”
He liked that Lila’s eyes flashed with anger, her embarrassment gone. However, it meant he had to explain the reality of things, and that wasn’t very pleasant.
“You are a single woman who is dependent on your parents.” He held up a finger before she could blast him. “Yes, I know you work on the ranch, and that you are an integral part of it. However, you have no salary. I expect you have little savings either, because everything is tied up in the ranch.”
“Of course everything is tied up in the ranch! It’s what we do.” She shook her head. “No, it’s who we are.”
“I understand, and agree with you. The family lawyers are slick. They’ll turn everything around. They’ll find a judge who looks down on ranching. In court, my mother’s lawyers will make you look like a whore, a woman who had sex with two men without being married to either, therefore has no morals and is not fit to raise a child. They will show your family as ignorant country people who know nothing, or as a cult. My mother sees people only for what they can provide to her. You are not a person in your own right. You are an obstacle standing in the way of her control over her grandchild. She will go for full custody.”
Houston hated that tears rolled down Lila’s cheeks. When he arrived at this ranch and saw how tough she was, he’d been impressed. He’d never imagined she could look so lost and frightened. It was his fault. He was the one with the hard cock. Then, and now. He couldn’t keep his hands off her any longer. He got down on his good knee beside her chair.
“I know my mother. She will do almost anything to get what she wants. She doesn’t care who she hurts because they mean nothing to her. We have to do what we can to protect our child. And that means you getting married.”
“Does she know you’re here?”
His face itched from grimacing. He clenched his fists to stop scratching it.
“Not yet as far as I know. She has a private investigator to dig up dirt she can use. If Sheriff Gibson runs my name through the system, she’ll learn about it. I don’t know what she’ll do then, but it won’t be good.”
It bugged the hell out of him to see Lila in pain. This was not the women he’d fallen in…He swallowed. Not love. He didn’t do love. But he liked her more than any woman he’d met.
“You’ve had an upsetting day,” said Jet. “I want you to lie down for a bit and rest. Houston and I have something we have to do.”
“What’s that?” she demanded.
“I spoke with Tom White this morning. Next on the list is your Uncle Lance.”
“Why? I talked with him this morning while you two were getting in trouble. He knows all about it.” She glared from one to the other. “Why do you think he drove me into town?”
Jet held up a finger. Surprisingly, she quieted. “He’s asked us to drop by. We have to tell him about Houston’s mother, and how we’ll protect you. I want you to promise to stay on the ranch while we’re gone.”
“Your mother doesn’t even know you’re here!”
“We don’t know that. And we’re worried about you,” added Houston. “Humor us and promise you’ll stay.”
Houston wished they could tell her about Tank and his threats. Without that, how were they going to keep her on the ranch, and safe? At least the MacDougal ravens would watch for Tank. She should be fine on the Circle C for a couple of hours while they worked out a plan.
“Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I won’t go anywhere.”
“We’ll hold you to that,” said Jet.
* * * *
Lila was tired, and the thought of a nap without any men to bother her seemed a treat. She didn’t like them telling her what to do, but she’d go along with it. For now.
Why hadn’t Houston told her about his sister? No, the question was, why had she avoided asking him?
If she really did have to marry, would it be Houston, or Jet? She didn’t know.
Rascal was already in the truck, eager to go places with the guys. She couldn’t get angry with him because she’d also rather not hang around the house. She’d told them that, too, but they’d insisted she stay. It was her ranch, she was the boss, and they thought they could make the rules, just because one little sperm wiggled its way into her egg! She would lie down today, but she was not going to spend the next nine months being ordered about. She had things to do, and people to see. She’d promised to make a fourth hand for poker that afternoon, and—
“I’ve got to tell them about the baby!”
She raced to look out the kitchen window. The truck was gone. Cell phones didn’t work because the mountains blocked the signals. Therefore, there weren’t any towers outside cities.
She could use her land line and leave a message with Uncle Lance, but what if they told her to stay put?
“Damn, damn, damn!” She stomped across the kitchen three times before making up her mind. “I am not going to let someone else tell Gram, Grandpa, and Popsy about my baby!”
She’d deal with the men later. There was no reason why she had to stay on the Circle C. She was perfectly healthy. There was nothing different about her today, compared with yesterday, other than them knowing about her pregnancy. So she’d made a promise for no real reason. They’d taken the only truck, but she still had Blue. She raced to the barn to saddle up.
It was a lovely day for a ride. The Tanner’s Ford Hotel used to be closer, but it had been moved a couple miles to just outside Climax. Their neighbors to the east, the Taylors, had donated the land from the Flying X Ranch. The narrow piece lay between an almost sheer cliff and the road. It wasn’t good enough to plow, or big enough to put cattle on, unless you wanted them rustled right from the highway. It was, however, perfect for a senior’s home with all the paramedical services right in the building.
Uncle Tommy had blasted deep into the rock before they moved the hotel. Anyone who asked was told it was for the search and rescue helicopters, to keep them out of the weather. He did keep a couple of them behind huge rolling doors, so it was at least partially true.
It was an easy ride across Sweetwater Creek, which she followed to the old Tanner’s Ford road. She got to the Home without incident. She hobbled Blue, leaving him on the front lawn to graze. She’d deal with that later, too. She ran across the grass. Her feet slowed when she saw the three familiar faces waiting by the south entrance. Someone must’ve seen her coming and warned them.
“What do you think you’re doing?” demanded Popsy without getting up. “You shouldn’t be riding in your condition.”
“My condit—oh.” A mixture of fury and disappointment filled her. “Dagnabbit, I rushed here to tell you myself!”
“Where are those men of yours, letting your ride like that?”
“Letting me?” she demanded. “I’m the ranch boss now.”
“No, right now you’re our pregnant granddaughter, and our children are not here to deal with those scallywags,” said Popsy. “Where are they?”
“They’ve taken our truck to talk to Uncle Lance,” she said.
“Ten bucks says he meets them with his bullwhip,” said Grandpa.
“Claymore,” said Popsy. They glared at each other, more for the sake of argument than anything. They’d been doing it all their lives as far as Lila knew.
“Men!” Gram shoved on her chair arms to get up. She walked toward her, arms open. “You know the way things are, Sweet Pea. It’s a small town. We really appreciate you coming. Three hand poker isn’t as much fun. I feel lucky today.”
Lila inhaled the scent of gardenia. She’d always associate it with her grandmother.
“I really wanted to tell you myself,” she said.
Gram held her at arm’s length. “Let me look at you.” She peered into Lila’s eyes. “Yes, you’ve got that twinkle, which means I’ll be a great-grandmother before I die. We’d rather you married first, but we’ll take what we can get. Let’s hope the gossips are wrong.”
“About what?”
“We heard you’re having triplets,” said Grandpa, adding a wink. “The father is either a mobster specializing in beating people up for not paying gambling bills, or he’s a thief who steals top-of-the-line Lamborghinis. I’ve got five bucks on the car thief.”
“I’ll agree with the thief,” added Popsy, “but Jet’s the father, not that Texan. Yep, my first great-grandson is going to be tall with dark hair.”
“What are you—” Lila blew air out from between pursed lips. “Neither of them are car thieves, or belong to the mob. Where do you people get these crazy ideas?”
“We make them up.” Popsy winked at her.
“Life gets boring when you pass ninety,” said Grandpa. “We like to spice things up. You don’t mind do you, Sweet Pea? You were always a good sport.”
She looked at the three of them. They’d always supported her. When Daddy was far away, and Mom and Papa working long hours, her grandparents were always there. She rolled her eyes, exaggerating it.
“No, I don’t mind, but I am going to beat the pants off you at five card stud today. Who’s got the cards?”
An hour later she was one million, five hundred and forty-two thousand dollars in the hole, which was better than Popsy, who was more than three million in the red. Grandpa was in the black, up a hundred thousand dollars. Gram was gleefully rubbing her hands, laying it on thick about having millions of dollars more than any of them.
Each toothpick was worth a hundred thousand dollars. They could play for a penny a point, but the grands liked high stakes poker. She was laughing, getting ready to deal, when Gram, who sat across from her facing the parking lot, looked over Lila’s head with wide eyes.
“Oh, my,” she said, pressing her hand over her chest.
Lila, concerned about her heart, leaned forward. “Are you okay, Gram?”
“Your grandmother is fine,” said a familiar deep voice. “You, however, are not.”
“Jet?”
She tried to shove her chair back with her feet to turn and look. The body behind her made it impossible. A set of big hands clamped down on her chair arms, caging her in from above. Jet dropped his head beside hers. His familiar alluring scent, and the tension in his hands where he gripped the chair, made her inhale, tingling.
“What part of I promise do you not understand?” He growled, quiet and controlled, near her ear.
Oh, shit! Heat flashed across her body, immediately followed by cold dread. She pushed those aside to put up a brave front.
“I had to tell my grandparents,” she explained patiently, as if he was in the wrong. “I remembered I’d promised to visit them just after you left, so I couldn’t tell you, and I—”
“Disobeyed my orders and rode your horse off the property. Luckily someone phoned Simon and we found out before anything happened to you.”
Popsy glared at her. She hadn’t seen him that mad since she got tossed off the bull.
“Lila Frost! You promised your men to stay on the Circle C, and then tacked up your horse and rode here?”
“I wanted to tell you about the baby,” she explained.
“There’s this newfangled gadget called a telephone,” said Grandpa sarcastically. “I’m sure I remember seeing one plugged into the kitchen wall. We’ve got one in our room, too.”
Both he and Popsy frowned at her, disappointed. She suddenly felt like a young child who’d done something terribly wrong. She looked to Gram for reassurance. But her grandmother sighed and shook her head.
“Sorry, Sweet Pea, but I agree with Jet. You made a promise to the men protecting you, and then you broke it.”
“I don’t want them protecting me!” she snapped back, furious that Jet had turned her loving grandparents against her. “I don’t need protection. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m barely pregnant for God’s sake! I never asked them to take care of me, and they’re not my men!”
“My sons would not have left on vacation unless they knew you were safe with Jet and Houston,” said Grandpa. “I have no doubt these men promised your fathers they would do everything in their power to keep you safe and happy.”
“I am not happy when they are trying to keep me safe!”
“Sorry, Sweet Pea,” said Gram. “Safety comes before happiness, especially now. You can’t go running off on the spur of the moment anymore. Not only are you the ranch boss, you have to start thinking like a mother.”
A sob exploded from her chest at Gram’s disappointment.
“Damn baby hormones,” she muttered, going for tough rather than weepy.
“We’ve had words about your language before,” said Jet mildly, though his hard eyes promised more words later. Or worse.
Houston hadn’t said
anything, which meant he agreed with Jet. It was five against one. She’d never had to think before acting before. Or maybe it was more correct to say she hadn’t bothered to think before acting. She was not going to apologize, not when they were all mad at her. So she did what she always did, she fought back.
“If Mom was here, she’d tell you there’s nothing I need to do differently just because I’m a little bit pregnant.”
“There’s no such thing as a little bit pregnant,” said Gramps. “You either are, or you’re not. And from the tears you’re unable to hold back, I’d say you are.” He turned to Gram. “You were the same with both boys. You’d turn on the waterworks for no reason.”
“I always had a reason,” said Gram. “Just not one you would understand.” She turned to Lila. “It’s time for you to grow up. Our sons, and your mother, have let you run wild. That has to stop.”
The heavy burden of disappointment almost crushed her into the chair. It felt like her skin had shrunk, that everything had tightened down. Her lungs wouldn’t expand, her throat was almost too tight to breathe, and her belly clamped. She fought back the first stages of a panic attack. Her breath came easier. She clasped her hands tight together between her knees.
You are a total fuckup.
Tank had said that, and so had a few girls at college, though they used different words. She finally realized the truth. When she looked back at all those times she’d screwed up over the years and then laughed it off, she realized the others had not been laughing with her. She wanted to go home, crawl into bed, pull the covers over her head, and just lie there, sobbing, until her parents came home and took over.
What was she going to do with her life now? So much for being ranch boss. She couldn’t even last a few weeks. She had to get out of here without falling apart. She was not going to give them that that satisfaction. She forced air into her lungs.
“I’m sorry for disappointing you,” she said, her voice so tight it almost squeaked. “If you let me up, I’ll ride Blue home.”
