At least one of them had found their true love. Or loves, in Grace’s case.
“Okay,” Grace squealed. “Don’t go anywhere. I’m gonna put on the dress.”
When Gracie stepped out of the room, Mercy turned toward her. “Did you ditch the cowboy?”
Hope frowned. “Of course not. He’s still holding his family reunion here.”
Mercy gave her one of those looks that said she was dumber than dirt. “I didn’t realize that you were still tryin’ to sell him on it. Based on the way you were with him at Moonshiners, it looked like a little more than that to me.”
“It wasn’t.”
Mercy frowned. “He’s got a kid.”
Now Hope was frowning. “So?”
“Why are you afraid of kids?” Faith asked, joining in.
“I’m not talking about this,” Hope muttered. “This is Gracie’s day.”
“Yep, and Gracie’s getting dressed. It’ll take her fifteen minutes to get into that dress,” Mercy told her with a snort. “During that time, you can share some of your wisdom. What made you not like kids?”
“I never said I don’t like kids.”
“No, but you avoid them like the plague.”
Hope twisted the bedspread between her fingers, refusing to look at her sisters.
“Do you not want kids, Hope?” Trinity asked. “Because it’s okay if you don’t. Not everyone wants kids.”
“I do want kids,” she said before she could stop the words from spilling out of her mouth. “I just … can’t have any of my own.”
God, she did not want to tell her sisters any of this. It wasn’t their business. It wasn’t anyone’s business.
No one said anything, and when Hope looked up, she found Mercy, Faith, and Trinity staring back at her. She could see the sympathy in their eyes. That must’ve been what sent her over the edge, because she started talking and couldn’t stop.
“I was diagnosed with endometriosis when I was eleven.” Hope focused on the comforter. “Mom knew because I’d had to tell her. When I got my first period, there was this awful pain.”
“You started your period at eleven?” Faith asked, obviously shocked.
Hope nodded. “The pain was unbearable. Mom said it was normal, that cramps could be bad. All women were different. So, I spent years suffering through it. It was unbearable. But … after Mom died”—Hope swallowed hard—“it seemed to get worse. I was missing school every month because of it.” She sighed. “Needless to say, I finally went to the doctor and they told me what it was. They also informed me that because of it, the likelihood of me ever having children was incredibly low.”
Hope had known they were being kind, softening the blow, so to speak. They’d meant that she was infertile and would never have children. Not only had she experienced so much pain for so long, she’d been told that the only dream she had in life was no longer possible. Hope had wanted kids. A whole houseful of them. But that would never happen for her.
“Did you have a hysterectomy?” Mercy asked. “I remember you had surgery. What? Four years ago?”
Hope shook her head. “No.”
She’d been super secretive at the time, not wanting her sisters to worry about her. Since their mother had died, none of them dealt well with those things. With surgery came all the risks, even though they were small. She had sworn her father to secrecy, and apparently he’d held up his end of the deal.
“What about Ben? He had a kid,” Trinity said.
Hope looked at her sisters’ faces, but she didn’t have to respond, because they all seemed to get it at the same time.
“You were hooked on Maddie,” Faith said, sounding as though it was all clicking into place for her. “And then she was no longer here. Oh, gosh. That had to hurt.”
“And that other guy…” Mercy said, her voice trailing off.
Hope glanced down at the floor again. Yep. They’d figured it out. And now, she had no desire to get attached to another man’s child, because having to lose that in her life … again … would be too painful. It was easier to keep her distance. One day she would find a man who could make her happy. They might never have children, but she would learn to live with that. She had no choice.
“Hmm.”
Oh, shit. That was never a good sound, especially when it was coming from Mercy’s mouth.
“Let it go, Mercy. Today’s Gracie’s day.”
“You’re right,” she said with a wide grin. “I forgot something I wanted to give her. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Hope lunged for her, but Mercy was too quick. She slipped out of the bedroom at the same time Gracie stepped out of the bathroom.
Hope’s eyes instantly filled with tears. “Oh, Gracie. You look … stunning.”
Grace sniffed. “Don’t make me cry. I’ll ruin my makeup.”
Trinity and Faith were also tearing up as they moved closer.
And just like that, Hope managed to push every other thought from her head while she focused on making today the greatest day of Grace’s life.
AFTER GIVING DERRICK a bath, Jared tucked the little boy into bed before getting settled in his own room. He was tired. They’d spent the entire day with Kaleb and Mason, riding horses. Since the weather was damn near perfect at this time of year, they’d wanted to take advantage of it. Derrick had run him completely ragged.
Now, the only thing Jared wanted to do was sit down, watch some TV, then drift off into a dreamless sleep. He grabbed his phone, checked to make sure he hadn’t missed any calls.
Nope. No missed calls.
Nothing from Hope. Not in the past seven days.
Damn, he missed that woman. Probably more than he should considering how little time they’d spent together. And he didn’t just miss the sex. He missed the time he got to spend with her, seeing the smile on her face. He missed going out to the ranch.
Okay, it was time he got over this shit. He would see her at some point during the family reunion; that was a given. But he had to remain aloof and cool. If Hope didn’t want kids, there was nothing he could do about that. It only meant that she wasn’t the woman for him.
His phone buzzed.
Jared reached for it, glancing at the screen to see he had a voice mail. He hadn’t even heard the damn thing ring. Then again, that happened quite frequently when he was at home. Not much cell service meant sometimes he didn’t get the call but, instead, received the voice mail.
After using his thumbprint to unlock the phone, he pulled up his voice mail and hit play.
“Hey, Jared. It’s Mercy Lambert. Here at Dead Heat Ranch. I was told that you were coming in on Monday to check out the ranch. I wanted to see if you could make it tomorrow instead. We’ve got a conflict on Monday. If you could be here around one, that’d be great. You can simply text back to let me know if this change works for you. Thank you.”
Because Sunday was a better day than Monday, Jared quickly shot Travis a text to make sure his cousin could head out there with him. Within minutes he had his answer; a simple yes was all he received. He then pulled up the number Mercy had called him from and sent a text telling her that he’d be there at one. After church.
More than likely he would see Hope tomorrow. Then again, it was possible that this was simply Hope’s way of ensuring she didn’t have to be there when he arrived.
Nothing he could do about that now, though. He’d promised Hope in the beginning that he wasn’t going to play games. If she wanted to avoid him, so be it.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t trying to remain positive. As it was, he wanted to see Hope more than he wanted his next breath.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“YOU BEEN OUT here lately?” Travis asked from the passenger seat of Jared’s truck.
“Nuh-uh,” he said honestly.
He hadn’t been here since the ni
ght he and Hope had spent sitting on the back porch of the main house. And he hadn’t heard from her since the night he’d dropped her at her hotel after her sister’s bachelorette party. One week ago. In fact, Faith Lambert had been the one to call Jared, asking him to come to the ranch to finalize the details of the reunion that would be kicking off in six short days, and Mercy had called to reschedule.
Not a peep from Hope.
It could’ve been a simple trip out to check out the cabins, but Travis had wanted to go along under the guise of handling the down payment and getting the details on all the costs. Jared figured it was more like Travis wanted to check up to make sure all would be the way he wanted. Didn’t much matter to Jared. He’d meticulously checked off every single item on the list, even thinking of a few things himself, to ensure that this reunion went off without a hitch.
Every family had responded, including Jared’s father and all five of his siblings. At last count, there would be a total of one hundred and four people in attendance, including all of the little ones being brought along. Quite the turnout, and an event that the entire family was eagerly looking forward to. Due to their sheer size, it was rare that so many of them could be contained in one area.
“So, a week on this ranch, huh?” Curtis called from the backseat.
Oh, and Travis’s father had opted to come along as well. Turned out, Lorrie had something to handle at the church, so Curtis had some extra time on his hands. The man was curious as to what they’d be doing for a solid week on a dude ranch. Since Derrick had wanted to ride along, Jared figured having Curtis and Travis there to keep the kid entertained wasn’t a bad thing. Then again, Derrick had been fully engrossed in whatever he was watching on his iPad for the past half hour.
“It’ll be good, Pop,” Travis answered. “Lots of time to spend with family. Plus, you’ll get to sit back and rest.”
“Rest? Have you met my family?” Curtis retorted with a snicker.
True. There were a lot of kids, which would mean a lot of energy to expend. But the good news was they were expecting mild temperatures. They should be able to hang around outside without issue. They wouldn’t be using the swimming pool, but there were plenty of other outdoor activities to keep everyone busy.
Jared pulled down the dirt road that led to the ranch. Travis let out a low whistle as he looked around. “Even nicer than I thought it’d be.”
Jared didn’t bother saying anything.
After he parked the truck by the sales office, the three of them climbed out, and Jared helped Derrick out of his car seat before leading the way to the door. Jerry Lambert was once again front and center, greeting them with a warm smile.
“Welcome, gentlemen,” he said jovially. “So glad y’all could make it down here.”
“Mr. Lambert, this is my cousin Travis and his father, Curtis.”
Jerry shook both men’s hands, then turned back.
“And this is my son, Derrick,” Jared introduced, putting his hand on Derrick’s head.
“Are you a cowboy, too?” Jerry asked, squatting down so he was at Derrick’s height.
Derrick nodded enthusiastically.
“Good to have another cowboy around here,” Jerry said, chuckling. “You see, I have this hat…” Jerry stood, glancing around as though looking for something.
Jared saw the pile of children’s hats stacked in the corner.
“Here it is,” Jerry announced, grabbing one of the straw ones from the top. “I think it’ll fit you just fine.”
Derrick’s smile brightened when Jerry set the hat atop his head. “Look, Dad! I’m a reaw cowboy now.”
“You sure are,” Jared concurred.
“Would you like a tour of the sleeping quarters while you’re here?” Jerry offered. “We can’t show you all the cabins since some of them are currently occupied, but you’ll get the gist of it. You’ll have to forgive some of the mess. My daughter Gracie got married last night, so we’re still working on the cleanup.”
Hope had been at her sister’s wedding last night. For some reason, that irked Jared. Had she brought a date?
“That’d be great, Mr. Lambert,” Travis agreed, pulling Jared from his wandering thoughts.
“Give me just a moment. If you’d like to step out on the back porch, have a look around.”
After a polite thank you, Jared took Travis and Curtis out onto the porch that wrapped around the entire house. He explained a few things about the layout—where the cabins were, what trail they used for the horseback rides, what they could do at the main house—and was just finishing up when he saw Hope walking toward him.
Jared was pretty sure she didn’t see him, which was probably a blessing since the instant he laid eyes on her, he felt a strange sensation flood his chest. She made it all the way up the stairs before she looked up, and the second their eyes met, he could see her shock.
“Jared.”
He forced a smile, although it wasn’t all that hard. “Hope, you remember my cousin Travis. This is Curtis Walker, Travis’s father. Uncle Curtis, this is Hope Lambert.”
Before either man could say anything, Hope’s gaze slid down to where Derrick stood beside him. She forced a smile, that was clear.
“Hi, Derrick,” she greeted softly.
“Hi,” Derrick said cheerfully, his gaze drifting up to Jared’s. “Wook, Dad. It’s the wady you went on a date with.”
Jared glanced back at Hope. She was blushing, her eyes instantly turning away from his and over to Travis.
Travis nodded to Hope. “Nice to see you again.”
“Likewise.” Hope then reached over to take Curtis’s proffered hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“You must be Cheyenne’s cousin.” Curtis grinned.
“Yes, sir.” She flashed him a bright smile. “And I’ve heard so much about you.” It was clear to Jared that she was doing her best not to look at him. “I’m glad you chose Dead Heat Ranch for your reunion.”
When she did finally glance back at him, Jared felt the need to explain his presence. Clearly she wasn’t expecting them. “Mercy called me last night. Asked me to come down and finalize the details today rather than on Monday.”
“Of course she did.” She couldn’t seem to look him in the eyes. “Please excuse the mess. Gracie’s wedding took place last night. It went way into the night and we’re still cleaning up.” Her eyes cut over to Curtis. “Since she’s on her honeymoon, I’m down my foreman and my head wrangler. She has two husbands…”
“No need to explain, sugar,” Curtis said with a grin. “My boy’s got one of each himself, so I’m quite familiar with how that works.”
Hope blushed and Jared couldn’t seem to look away from her. She looked incredible. Her jeans were dusty, her shirt damp from sweat, and her boots were caked with dirt, but still, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on.
The door opened behind them, and all four of them turned to see Mr. Lambert step outside. “Oh, Hope. Just the lady I was lookin’ for. Would you mind givin’ these gentlemen a quick tour? You can show them the bunkhouse—it’s empty—and cabin seventeen”—Jerry tossed a set of keys toward her—“so they’ll have an idea of the accommodations.”
“Sure,” she said, sounding somewhat surprised by the request.
“Thanks, honey.”
“You’re welcome,” she said to her father. “Gentlemen, if you’ll follow me. We’ll take the golf cart since it’s a good trek.”
“You’re an angel,” Curtis said reverently.
Jared wondered if Curtis knew just how close to the truth he was with that statement.
SHE WASN’T SURE if she was successful in hiding her surprise, but Hope prayed Jared hadn’t seen it when she had stumbled upon them a few minutes ago. The absolute last person she’d expected to see on the ranch today was the sexy, Wrangler-wearing, orgasm-indu
cing cowboy.
Hell, for a minute, she’d thought he was a mirage, only there were two enormous men standing beside him, one of whom she’d never seen before. Granted, the family resemblance was uncanny. Without a doubt, these men were related.
And then, of course, alongside Jared was the cutest little cowboy she’d ever seen. It was clear that her father had given Derrick one of the hats Jerry kept on hand for that purpose.
“Are you and Cheyenne close?” Curtis asked from the seat beside her. Jared and Travis were riding in the back two seats, Derrick on Jared’s lap, giggling uncontrollably every time they hit a bump.
Hope peered over at Curtis. “Not as close as we once were. She spent a lot of summers here as a kid. Her mom…” She cut herself off, realizing she was about to divulge personal information.
“No worries, darlin’. We’re well aware of Cheyenne’s parental situation. Just glad to know she has family she can depend on.”
“Yes, sir.” Cheyenne’s parents hadn’t been up for any awards, that was for damn sure. Not when she’d been a kid and certainly not now. “I didn’t spend a lot of time with Cheyenne, even when we were young, because Cheyenne’s Faith’s age. With a seven-year age difference between us, I didn’t have a whole lot in common with either of them, but because of Cheyenne’s parents’ problems, my dad’s always kept tabs on her.”
“I like the man already. So, tell me, what types of activities can we look forward to here on the ranch?”
Hope was thankful that Curtis changed the subject. While she wound her way through the ranch toward the empty bunkhouse that was currently being cleaned, she took the opportunity to tell them about the amenities. When they arrived at their destination, she gave them a quick tour.
“Who’ll be stayin’ in this place?” Curtis asked, his attention focused on Jared and Travis.
“We’re rentin’ eighteen cabins, the bunkhouse, as well as all the rooms in the main house that are available,” Jared explained. “Figured all the single folks could stay in the bunkhouse, along with some of the older kids. Married ones’ll take the cabins. Most will have to bunk together.”
Jared (Coyote Ridge) (Volume 2) Page 21
