by Tina Leonard
“He knows the truth.”
“He does? And he’s not angry with you?”
“I would say that his anger is overridden by his determination to make certain his children stay here. Also, his brothers agree with Archer’s tactics. They came here to talk to me last night but I fell asleep.” She sighed. “It had been a long, scary day. Archer and I have incompatible Rh factors, and I’d had some cramping. Now he’s even more determined to protect me and his children.”
“I see. Well,” Lucy said, “considering that he’s had fatherhood sprung on him, he’s being damn responsible.”
Clove nodded. “Yes.”
Lucy took a long drink of coffee. “Secondly, you can’t interfere in my life without asking me. I don’t want to be a mother this way.”
Clove was shocked. “Lucy!”
Lucy shook her head. “It’s true. I’m sorry, and it’s going to sound mean, but I wanted my own children. Mine and Robert’s. But if it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be. I can accept that. I also accept that my husband is going to leave me.”
“Don’t say that!”
“I can say it because he already has.” Lucy’s eyes welled up again. “And I can be more honest and say that our problems go deeper than my inability to conceive. Robert says he feels overwhelmed by marriage to me. I don’t think bringing triplets into the picture is going to help him.”
“I don’t understand. Robert loves you. I honestly thought he just wanted to be a father so badly that he—”
“Robert does love me. But the fertility problem lies with him.” Lucy swallowed, her eyes full of pain. “I always say that I cannot conceive for his benefit. The truth is, the doctors say—and these are associates of his—there’s a problem with his sperm.”
Clove put her arms around her sister. “I’m so sorry. Aren’t there procedures for that?”
“There are. And we recently tried one. It didn’t take. I believe that was a breaking point for Robert.” She hugged Clove, burying her face in her hair. “Thank you for trying to make my dreams come true, Clove. But you can’t save my marriage, honey. You can’t make a man feel things he doesn’t, and you can’t change what a man feels about himself.”
Clove felt tears well in her eyes but she was determined not to let her sister see them. Lucy had already been through enough. “I wish I’d been there for you.”
“Actually, it was time for Robert and I to face this by ourselves. While he loves you, he feels that I pay more attention to you sometimes than I do him.” Lucy laughed a little. “Since he works odd hours, it’s probably true.”
“I didn’t know he felt that way.”
“Oh, well.” Lucy pulled away, leaning her head back against the sofa to look at the ceiling. “I believe at the end he was just angry and saying things. Anything. People lash out when they’re hurt. He feels that he’s let me down.” She rolled her head to look at her sister. “I’m glad I came to visit you. I wanted to tell you in person that Robert had left me, but I also needed to get away. It’s so simple and comfortable here.”
“It is.” Clove sat next to her sister and put her head back on the sofa as well. “There’s something very comfortable about Archer. He makes me feel better about everything.”
“It’s that lordly I’ve-got-everything-under-control attitude of his.”
“Maybe. Although he really doesn’t have everything under control, you know? His horse, for example. Tonk is tricky. And he likes that. I know from his e-mails that he likes rodeo, and there’s no control in that. His family life—same thing. They’re always out of control.”
“It’s an inner confidence he has. Very attractive. He has control of himself.”
“That’s true,” Clove said with surprise. “I’ve never met a man so sure of himself. He just goes for it, with all his heart, when he wants something.”
“Something you two have in common,” Lucy said. “Heart. Inner confidence.”
“I have no inner confidence.”
“Right. You just leave home and go around the world to get pregnant so your sister’s marriage will be saved. Clove, you’re scarily brave. Just like Mom always said.”
“Maybe she meant that I was an insane risk taker. I think she was just being polite.”
“What are you going to do about him?” Lucy asked. “Now that you’ve taken this insane risk of trying to catch this cowboy?”
Clove rolled her head to look at her sister. “I am not trying to catch Archer. He wasn’t remotely interested when he met me. We were together one night and accidentally hit the big bonanza, and I’m not sure which one of us was more stunned. Now he’s determined to keep me here, but it’s all about the babies.”
“It’s a start. Robert and I started our relationship with a rose,” Lucy said thoughtfully. “A rose that led to a long courtship without sex. He saw me in a mall one day, gave me a rose and told me I was beautiful. I was still recovering from losing our adopted parents, and I’m afraid I jumped at the attention. Still, we didn’t have relations right up until the night before we married. For you and Archer, sex came first. Maybe the love and the marriage will come later.
“Two years of correspondence is a pretty powerful getting-to-know-someone device. People generally write more than they say, especially men. They’re tough on verbalizing their feelings sometimes.” She blinked.
“One time, a long time ago,” she confirmed softly, “Robert wrote me a love poem. It was the most beautiful thing I ever read. When he puts his feelings on paper, it’s thrilling.” She sat up, snatching the red grapes off her plate. “That was the only time he ever wrote me anything, though.”
“I know we’ve discussed this before, but you’re certain adoption isn’t an option?” Clove asked, still disbelieving that her sister’s marriage could be over.
“At this point, definitely not,” Lucy said, “since there’s no father in the picture. However, you and I were adopted, Clove. I…something in me wanted my very own flesh and blood. And Robert wasn’t keen. I think…he didn’t want to announce to the world that he couldn’t—that we couldn’t—get pregnant.”
“I see.” Clove took her sister’s hand in hers, squeezing it. “I love you, Lucy. Thank you for coming here. I needed you.”
“I needed you, too. I can’t believe you’re going to be a little mother!” Putting one hand on Clove’s tummy, she laughed. “You’re going to be the most beautiful mother in the world.”
“Not me,” Clove said. “That would have been you. Remember, I’m the dowdy little sister.”
“If you believe that, you haven’t looked in the mirror lately. Pregnancy—or something else—agrees with you.” Lucy gave her a saucy wink. “Maybe it’s Texas air that agrees with you. Or love.”
Clove stood. “I’m going to take a nap. I don’t know why I’m tired, because I slept hard last night.”
“I don’t know how you could sleep with that gorgeous man in your bed! I must admit I was completely surprised, Clove. My little sister in bed with a man!”
Clove blushed. “Archer tends to make himself at home.”
Lucy laughed. “It’s wonderful to be the object of a man’s attentions.”
Clove wasn’t sure about that yet. “Wake me up in an hour, okay? I’m sorry to bug out on you, but I seem to get very—”
Lucy waved her hand. “Go on. I am going to sit here like a lady of leisure and enjoy my vacation by reading a magazine. And maybe cooking a little. The farm keeps me so busy that I never have time to relax.”
Clove nodded, feeling guilty. “I shouldn’t have left you with all the work.”
“Well, it was time for you to get away, Clove. Truthfully, I’m happier about you than I’ve ever been. You always worked so hard. Always were older than your years. It’s great to see you blossoming.” Lucy smiled. “We’ll figure something out about the farm later. Let’s think about the babies first. Triplets, my word!”
Clove swung around. “Lucy! Robert left you when you told h
im I was having triplets, didn’t he?”
Lucy looked at her.
“It’s true, isn’t it? That was the final straw?”
“Clove, infertility is infertility. He was happy you were pregnant—”
“But three babies. Not just one, but three. That made him feel bad, didn’t it?”
She hesitated a second too long for Clove not to know she’d hit the truth. “Well, he may have been a bit hurt. I mean, it’s probably hard on a man’s self-esteem to know that his sister-in-law can have children but he can’t give them to his—”
“So instead of helping your marriage, I ended it,” Clove said frankly.
“Now, Clove,” Lucy said, “we were already having troubles—”
“But that’s when he finally left. I called you and told you about the babies and you were excited for me, and you told him, and he left.”
“It doesn’t matter, Clove. I really think he would have left eventually. The strains were tearing us apart.”
“It matters to me, Lucy,” Clove said, her heart breaking. “It matters more than anything to me.”
Chapter Twelve
Two hours later, Archer let himself into the little bungalow. “Clove?” he called.
She came out from the bedroom wearing a pretty dress and a frown. “Yes?”
“Oh.” He glanced around. “Where’s Lucy?”
“Right here.” Lucy walked to join her sister. “Hey, Archer.”
“Is everything all right?” he asked, wondering why they looked so serious.
“Did you need something?” Clove asked, glancing around. “Did you leave your hat here?”
“No. I’ve got my hat.” He was perplexed by her sad expression. Clearly, the sisters had an issue on their minds. “And I don’t need anything. Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She sighed. “We’ve been chatting. That’s all.”
Well, woman talk probably made women frown sometimes. “Well,” he said, “can this little monster chat with y’all?” He pulled his hat from behind his back, and the little kitten Clove had adopted in Lonely Hearts Station popped her head up from inside, meowing.
“Tink!” Clove gasped, running to take the kitten from his hat. “Look, Lucy. This is my little kitty!” She rubbed Tink against her chin. “You’re still so soft, Tink!”
Lucy gave Archer a droll look. “Nice, cowboy. Very nice.”
He grinned. “Thank you.”
“Thank you,” Clove said. “I thought you didn’t like cats!”
The grin slipped from his face, turning his expression uncomfortable. “I’m going to make a huge effort to like Tink. And she’s going to make a huge effort not to be so fond of my hat. Aren’t you, Tink?”
Tink cared about nothing except batting at Clove’s earrings. She laughed. “I love this little ball of fur.”
Lucy was still looking at Archer, he finally realized. “What?” he said to her.
“Just watching you do your thing, cowboy,” she said.
“And it’s a very good thing, too,” he replied. “You two keep bonding. I’m off to haul in some feed.”
“Bye, Archer,” Clove said.
“How are you feeling, by the way?” he asked as he turned in the doorway. “Do you feel like eating at the big house tonight? I can drive you up and we can make it a quick evening. The boys would understand you couldn’t make an all-nighter of it.”
“I’d like that,” Clove said. “Lucy?”
“It should be interesting,” Lucy said, her eyebrow lifting.
Archer laughed. “Wait till you meet my brothers. They’re even more interesting than me.”
Clove smiled, waving Tink’s paw at him. “Can you bring me an extra hat to transport Tink tonight? I think she feels at home in your hat, but I assume you don’t always want to share such a conveyance with her.”
“Sure.” Archer settled a long look on her, taking in her dress and her hair, and last, her lips. “I’ll be back around six,” he said. “Call if you need anything.”
He closed the door behind him.
“Whew,” Lucy said. “He warmed the room twenty degrees with the way he looked at you!”
Clove blushed, thinking about the kiss they’d shared last night. He’d warmed her without trying to, in ways she didn’t even know a woman could be warmed. “He’s just sexy,” Clove said. “It’s not that he’s doing anything extra for me.”
Lucy was still staring at the door. “Clove, you’ve got to get down off your fence.”
“What do you mean?”
“Either you want that sexy beast or you don’t.”
Clove sank onto the sofa and looked at her sister. “Lucy, it’s not that simple. I didn’t come to America to find a man. I could have found a man in Australia.”
“But that hunk is here,” Lucy said, “and it’s time for you to figure out you’ve got one devilishly manly fellow trying his best to pay attention to you.” She looked at the kitten sitting in Clove’s lap, swatting at the buttons on her dress. “Men do not fetch kittens for women they’re not interested in.”
“It was nice of him.”
“It was extraordinary. Makes me wonder what else he has up his sleeve.” Lucy smiled. “Kind of fun finding out, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I got the distinct impression that he intends to woo you until you go over to his side.”
Clove’s female pride flowered a little. “Did he say that?”
“In so many words, and then a few more. He seemed to think that anything standing in his way was only a flimsy challenge to his right and might. I like that in a man. I really do.”
Clove sighed. “Lucy, if you had seen him when he first met me, there was no spark. No ember to burst into flame. It just wasn’t there. And I wear baggy nightwear and dresses to hide the fact that I am beginning to lose my waist, and now he finds me attractive? I just don’t buy it.”
“Well, there are two things at work here that you probably don’t understand. Men love babies. They may not tell you this, but they love the look of a woman carrying a baby, specifically when it’s his baby. It’s a proclamation to the whole world of his manhood. You’re carrying three of his, and you can get as big as his barn, and he’s just going to find you more attractive. This is how the men who are really worth loving act. There are the losers out there who don’t get it. But real men love to see their woman blossoming.”
“Eh,” Clove said with distaste. “And the second thing at work?”
“Oh. Well, you may not want to let the mirror tell you this, but you are more attractive now. You’re filled out, you look happy, rested…content. It just shows. And it makes you more alluring to him. So don’t think about what happened when you first met him. Goodness, Clove, not every love is destined to happen in the first instant two people meet. Sometimes it’s the ones that take a long time that are the most tested and meaningful.”
Lucy looked sad and Clove changed the subject. “So, do we go eat with the boys?”
“Sure!” Lucy’s eyes widened. “I’m nearly divorced. I deserve an evening with attractive cowboys!”
“Lucy!”
Her sister laughed. “Oh, my goodness, quit being such a silly. A girl can look and not touch, can’t she? What’s the harm in that? Besides, I’m not a cowboy sort of girl. I married a doctor who hated our farm. Doesn’t that tell you everything?”
Clove shook her head. “I don’t know anymore.”
“Don’t be upset, Clove. There’s so much good in your life that I want you to enjoy it. Be happy.”
“I’m trying,” Clove said. “But right now, I’m just looking forward to eating dessert tonight.”
Lucy laughed. “That’s my girl.”
ARCHER WAS NERVOUS as he went to pick up Clove and Lucy. He figured it had to do with the fact that tonight felt oddly like a date; Lucy was somewhat parental about Clove, and he and Clove had never truly had a date. The picking-up and eating-with-the-family phase was one they hadn’t
done before, so this had special meaning. He straightened his bolo, hoping his brothers would behave in this first sit-down meal with his lady.
Just thinking about it made him more nervous. He worried about moving Clove from the bungalow for an hour, but surely eating a delicious meal Helga had prepared constituted resting. Then he wondered if he should take flowers for Clove. He fumbled with his hat and picked up a bucket for Tink that he’d spread a towel in for easy, clean, comfortable transport.
No, flowers would be seen as a sign of wooing on his part, and that would spook Clove. Delivering Tink had been enough. Dinner with his family would be a hurdle they should successfully cross before more was done.
Looking at his teeth, he slicked his hair once more.
“Nervous?” Last said, coming into his room.
Archer grunted.
Last leaned up against the wall. “You like this girl.”
“What gives you that impression?” He checked his teeth. White, with maybe a small uneven crook on the side. He was shaven, except that his face always seemed a bit dark with stubble around his chin.
“You and I are the new dads in the family. Unexpected fatherhood is a bit of a jolt, isn’t it?”
“I’ve had bigger jolts.” Archer checked his fingernails to make certain no dirt resided beneath. “Should I wear cologne, or is that overdoing it?”
“Overdoing what?”
Archer met his brother’s gaze. “It.”
Last laughed. “Ah, you must mean the eager-swain routine.”
“No, I don’t mean that,” Archer retorted. “I just don’t want to be a dope.”
Last shook his head. “You’re a dope no matter what, as far as Mason’s concerned. You didn’t use a condom. Get over it. You cost the ranch money. Blah, blah, blah. You know the routine.”
“I don’t care,” Archer said. “I like her. For the first time in my life, I really like someone.”
Last nodded. “I know.”
