Daring Wes: Cade Brothers Series

by Jules Barnard

  He glanced away. “I came back.”

  Concern crossed her face. “Did something happen?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Given how open you’re being, I take it you’re not going to tell me what’s up?”

  “Correct.”

  “Fine, but you can’t be here right now.” She peered toward the doorway of the Fireside Lounge, where they could just make out Kaylee lifting her next orange juice shot.

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Because Kaylee is feeling sad. It’s not easy being a single pregnant lady.”

  “She doesn’t have to be a single pregnant lady,” he said. “I’ve been trying to show her that I want something serious.”

  “Well whatever you’ve been doing, it isn’t working.” She turned and started toward the lounge. “Maybe you should be more direct,” she said over her shoulder, leaving him stammering.

  Wasn’t that what he was doing by leaving the pro tour to be with Kaylee?

  Wes missed the club and his students, so leaving the tour wasn’t only about her. He wanted to be there for his brothers as well. The truth was, he was happier in Lake Tahoe than on the road.

  He’d been trailing Kaylee every chance he got when he was home, trying to show her he was there for her. But until today, the things he’d been doing were actions worked around his schedule.

  Wes and Kaylee were adults with a child on the way. He needed to show her that he was serious and in it for the long haul.

  Kaylee wanted direct? He’d show her direct.

  Chapter 34

  The next week, Wes put in forty hours at the club pro shop and golf course, making sure things were running smoothly. Bella came into town with her parents for the weekend, and he got in a couple of lessons with her as well. She was getting damn good. He couldn’t wait to see where she’d be in a few years when she was a little taller. Even so, Bella had talent, and he got a rush out of helping her improve.

  He got a rush helping all of the kids improve. Not the same kind of excitement he experienced on the tour, but maybe this was better. It wasn’t all about him—the satisfaction he gained reached farther, touching more than just his life.

  Bran walked up to the pro shop counter and leaned his arms against it. “You ready?”

  Wes tucked away next week’s schedule and grabbed his keys. “Yeah. You got the list from the broker?”

  Bran patted his button-down’s front pocket. “These should have what you’re looking for. You were so fucking specific, the agent said there were only a couple of places that met your needs.” He shook his head. “Why so many details?”

  Wes nodded to his second in charge, indicating he was taking off, and came around the counter. “Actions, man. They’re important.”

  “Actions?” Bran gave him a funny look. “Have you been drinking on the job?”

  “No. Now come on, asshole. I’ve got a house to buy.”

  * * *

  Wes stared at the bright pink walls of the children’s bedroom. “Pepto-Bismol pink. This color won’t do.”

  Bran shrugged. “The other house you liked had that one room with neutral kid colors.”

  “True, but this is the house. We’ll just have to change the color in here.”

  The house they stood in was perfect, sitting in a cul-de-sac in a nice neighborhood, with wide lots, a three-car garage, and a large family room. The ideal place for his kid to play and make a mess of things.

  Growing up, Wes lived in a mansion, and his father liked to keep it in perfect order for when his business associates came into town. They had a huge yard for Wes and his brothers to play in, but the house itself was off-limits for grimy little boy fingers. Wes wanted a home his kid could roam and feel comfortable in.

  “I’m going to make an offer on it.”

  Bran looked around. “You sure this is what Kaylee wants?”

  “No. But it’s the gesture that counts, right?”

  “I don’t know.” Bran shook his head slowly. “Don’t women like to pick out their homes?”

  How should Wes know? He’d never cared what a woman thought. Except for Kaylee. And he hoped like hell she’d like the place he chose for her.

  He had been picky, insisting on a house close to the club, but far enough away for privacy and a natural landscape. The place also had to be well built and big enough for a family. And it needed to be in a nice, safe neighborhood for his kid. Which meant it cost a fortune. But Wes could afford it, especially after he’d pulled in decent earnings from the tour. But those weren’t the only reasons he liked this place.

  This home had a bright kitchen with a dining nook and tall windows that looked out onto the forest beyond. Kaylee had always loved that about her parents’ place, and he hoped this house would make her happy too. With four bedrooms, three baths, and an office, there’d be plenty of space for her and their daughter. Or all of them, if Kaylee let him be a bigger part of her life.

  He hoped he’d be included, but no matter what, this house was hers to do with what she wanted. She could sell it and find something else, or live in it forever. Either way, he would have it put in her name.

  Wes smacked his brother’s chest with the back of his hand. “Come on. Let’s go make an offer.”

  Chapter 35

  Wes held up two paintbrushes. “Well? What do you think?” he asked his brothers, plus Jaeg, who’d been recruited for his woodworking skills. They were all piled in the small bedroom of the new home. It closed yesterday, two weeks after Wes had made a cash offer. Technically, the room they stood in wasn’t small, but with six strapping men inside, the place filled up fast. “Light green or lavender?”

  “Green,” Levi said. “No way you can know it’s a girl. Green’s more versatile.”

  “Fuck you. I know.” Wes looked to Adam. “What do you think?”

  Adam tilted his head and scratched his neck. “Both?”

  Wes looked at the paintbrushes. “That’s not a bad idea. Do we go half up the wall with one color, add a chair rail, then paint the top half with the other color?”

  “You mean, will I add the chair rail?” Jaeg said.

  “You think I know how to do that shit?”

  Jaeg stretched his large arms over his head, briefly touching the eight-foot ceiling. “Just making sure I know my duties here.”

  “Manual labor,” Bran said. “That’s what we’re good for.”

  “Or,” Wes said, ignoring the jackasses, “we could paint an accent wall.”

  Adam looked up from his phone, pausing in what Wes assumed was a text to Hayden. “Since when do you know about accent walls? I didn’t know you’d turned into Martha Stewart.”

  “Fuck you, asshole.” Wes set the paintbrushes back in the trays. “I’ve been poring over design magazines and talking to people. Thank God I’m only doing one room.” He brushed his hands on his work jeans. “Executive decision time. Jaeg will build the chair rail and we’ll do half up and half down, green on the bottom. Then Levi can use his manly muscles and put up the delicate girly decals on the walls.”

  Levi bit into a sandwich. “On it.”

  Jaeg cut the wood for the chair rails in the large garage, where Wes had set up a work space equipped with a fridge full of beers and snacks, and Wes put together part of the crib while the rest of the guys painted the bedroom.

  Wes wasn’t sure the finished crib would fit through all the doorways, so he set up the sides while he waited. He would finish putting the crib together once the walls were painted in the baby’s room. The rest of the furniture he’d bought local and came already assembled.

  Emily had helped him out with some of the other items she thought Kaylee might need in the nursery, like a rocking chair and an ottoman and a diaper pail. And about a million other little things Wes had no idea what to do with. He’d shoved them in the closet for Kaylee to organize later.

  If she liked the house.

  God, he hoped she liked it.

  With six strong guys�
�one of them actually skilled at construction—the room was ready in a few hours. Now it was time to visit Kaylee.

  Wes hadn’t been around Kaylee as much as he would have liked these last couple of weeks, but he’d still made sure to bring her lunch every day and check in on her.

  Okay, he walked by Club Kids about six times a day, but who was counting? Weekends were torture. He could only get away with checking in on her once or twice, though work and preparing the new house had kept him busy.

  Kaylee was already asking him questions he couldn’t answer. About the tour and why he’d been home these last few weeks. He didn’t want her to think he was giving up his dream for her. She’d feel guilty, and she’d worry. So he’d waited until he could explain things properly. And the time had come.

  Wes drove home, cleaned up, and went to Kaylee’s parents’ house. He and the guys had gotten started early this morning, so it was only six in the evening by the time Wes rolled up to her place.

  He knocked on the front door and waited. And shifted his feet. And waited some more. Kaylee was almost halfway through her pregnancy and was getting slower. Or Wes was impatient. Mostly, he was impatient.

  The door swung open, and there she was. Sweatpants, small ponytail on the top of her head, holding up only half of her hair because the rest was too short, with yellow gloves on her hands. “Wes? Is something wrong? I wasn’t expecting you.”

  He glanced at the giant yellow rubber gloves. “I can see that.”

  “Oh.” She stepped inside, pulled off the gloves, and set them on the kitchen counter. “Sorry. I was scrubbing the floor.”

  Wes frowned. “You shouldn’t be doing that. I’ll hire someone to clean the place.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m pregnant, not incapacitated. Besides, I’ve got strong nesting instincts going on right now. I need the release.”

  Wes’s mind went straight to other forms of release, which he quickly shut down. Not the time. Hopefully, if he was a lucky son of a bitch, there would be. Until then, he’d used his memory bank of naked Kaylee images to pleasure himself. It was like high school all over.

  “I’ve cleaned this entire house, top to bottom,” Kaylee said, cutting into Wes’s sexual musings. “Just need to decide which room to make into the baby’s.”

  On that note… “I came by because I wanted to show you something. Do you have time?”

  “Sure, when?”

  “Now?”

  She stared down at her outfit. “Not sure I’m fit to go out in public.”

  He looked at her stomach, swollen with their child. Her cheeks were flushed from the activity she’d been doing, and she wore no makeup.

  He swallowed, overwhelmed by all he felt for this woman. “You’re beautiful.”

  Kaylee smiled slightly, her expression soft but curious. “Give me a sec.”

  She wobbled slightly as she hurried into the kitchen and washed her hands. She pulled the small ponytail from her hair and smoothed down the dark strands, then slipped on a pair of flip-flops. “I hope this is okay, because it’s about as good as it gets for me today.”

  Chapter 36

  Wes had never been more nervous in his life. And that included the time he’d played in his first professional golf tournament.

  What if Kaylee hated the house? Or the nursery? What the fuck did he know about decorating?

  He focused on the road and tried to not think about all the reasons this could go badly. But he had to give it a shot. Had to show Kaylee how much she meant to him. This wasn’t only about the baby. It was about grabbing his second chance at being with the woman he’d always loved and had never gotten over.

  He pulled into the driveway of the three-thousand-square-foot house that boasted rustic accents, like many of the newer homes in Lake Tahoe. The place carried a mountain vibe, with a triangular vestibule and log accents, but it didn’t look like the club’s version of mountain chic. Which was good, because he wanted Kaylee to feel like she was home and not at work.

  Kaylee glanced around as Wes got out of the Range Rover and walked over to the passenger side. “Where are we?”

  He helped her out of the car and closed the door, shoving a nervous hand in his pocket. “We’re at the house I bought you.”

  Her head slowly turned to him. “What?”

  Was that a good what? A bad what? Fuck.

  “Your house. I bought you a house with the money I earned on the tour. I still have the trust my father gave me, and I’m hoping you can help me figure out how best to spend it. Or save it, if we want to save it for our daughter.” He rubbed his mouth. “I don’t know.”

  “Whoa.” She held up her hands. “Slow down. No, actually, back up. You bought me a house?”

  He nodded. “For you and our daughter.”

  “Or son.”

  “Whatever.” But it was a girl. And he was pretty damned ecstatic about it too. Ever since they dated in college, he’d wanted a daughter who looked like Kaylee.

  She waved her hands in a halting manner. “Why did you buy me a house?”

  Wes faced her and grabbed her hands. They were unsteady, and he squeezed them reassuringly. “I want to provide for you and our child. I want you to feel safe and important. And I want to love you. This is how I show my love. Not by buying you something extravagant, but by taking care of the two most important people in my life: you and our daughter.”

  “Or son,” she said dazedly. “Love. You said love.”

  “I love you. I’ve always loved you. I only said I was fine with a casual relationship because I didn’t want to scare you away. But then I knocked you up with my powerful sperm”—she smiled—“and I had some figuring out to do. I thought I could take the opportunity I’d been given with the tour as long as I spent my off time with you. But I couldn’t have both.”

  “Wes,” she said, “I didn’t want you to have to choose.”

  “I know that. Which is why I needed to figure it out on my own. And you know what? Fuck the tour. Success is empty if you’re not there at my side. You deserve to be happy and not waiting around for me to show up after I’m done doing my thing.”

  He pulled her close and felt her pregnant belly tuck up against him. “To be honest, the tour got old. There was a moment when I realized I wasn’t even happy. I love golf, and who doesn’t want to be a star on the tour? But nothing makes me happier than being with you.”

  A tear escaped her eye and she swiped it away. “That was beautiful.” She waved her hand at the house. “This is beautiful. But I’m still worried you’ll regret letting go of your dream.”

  Of course she was. She wouldn’t be Kaylee if she didn’t worry about that.

  He nodded. “Come on. Let’s go inside. I have something else to show you.”

  Wes opened the front door, and Kaylee gasped. “The windows.”

  The front opened up to the kitchen, which was highlighted by those tall glass windows Wes thought Kaylee would like. “I chose this house because of the kitchen and the view. It reminded me of you.”

  She pressed her lips together. More tears ran down her cheeks. “Nope. Not budging. Sticking to my guns,” she mumbled. “Gotta take care of the baby.”

  She seemed to be talking to herself. Was this some sort of pregnancy thing?

  They walked through the house and Kaylee oohed and aahed, which was a relief. And then Wes took her upstairs to the bedrooms.

  They walked down the hallway, and he showed her the spare bedroom and the master. Kaylee walked onto the deck off the master suite and breathed in the pine-scented air. “You have good taste, Wes.”

  He smirked. “I certainly do. I chose you.” She gave him a look, and he laughed. “Come on. There’s one more bedroom I want you to see.”

  After the guys had left and Wes had cleaned up, he’d closed the bedroom door to the nursery, leaving the window open to air out the fresh paint scent. He didn’t want the surprise to come too soon when he showed up at the house with Kaylee.

  Wes pau
sed at the door, nervous as hell. What if the room was ugly? God, he should have hired a professional. But then it wouldn’t have meant as much.

  He held his breath and stepped back, opening the door for her.

  Kaylee’s mouth parted, but she didn’t say anything, simply gazed around the room with wide eyes. Was that a good sign?

  “Damn you.” More tears streamed down her face. But she’d been doing that a lot lately. He couldn’t tell if they were good or bad tears, but he hoped like hell they were the good kind.

  “Does that mean you like it?”

  She turned to him and swallowed. “I love it. This room is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  It really wasn’t. The room was light green and lavender, with rustic-looking baby furniture and colorful forest fairy decals. But he figured once Kaylee rearranged things and made it homey, it would be nice for their daughter. He just wanted it to be set up for when the baby came. And to show Kaylee how much he loved her and their child. “You sure you like it?”

  She turned and wrapped her arms around him, her head tucked to his chest. “I love it.”

  “You think you’d want to live here?”

  Her head bobbed up and down. “You’ll have to drag me away tonight.”

  He grinned. “Good. Because I have one more surprise.”

  “You’ve already given me so much.”

  “Not everything. Go look inside the crib.”

  Kaylee walked over and Wes followed, his heart hammering in his chest.

  He heard her gasp. “Wes…” She reached down to the small pillow at the top of the crib. Apparently, baby bedding was supposed to be minimal, so there wasn’t much except a sheet and this thing called a bumper. But Wes had bought a small pillow for his last surprise.

  She picked up the dark blue jewelry box and opened it. More tears spilled from her eyes and her nose turned rosy. He wanted to lean over and kiss it, but he had a job to do.

  Wes dropped to one knee. “Kaylee Isabelle Evans, I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you at a shady fraternity party in college. People say there’s no such thing as love at first sight, but that’s what it was. I thought we’d spend the rest of our lives together. And then I screwed up. And life took a turn neither of us was ready for. But my heart never moved on. It was always with you.