Rory frowned and then looked ashamed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know, you should have said.”
“Oh, come on. As if you would have believed me anyway. To you guys I was the annoying little brother who was only tolerated when you wanted something.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I think it’s time I was treated the same as you treat the others.”
“Fair enough I suppose. Now tell me what’s got you all in a lather. Gina said she had a visitor yesterday but won’t say anything because it’s not her business.”
“Layla’s in town. She’s staying at Chance’s place.”
“Oh, I see. And she has you all hot and bothered under the collar just like at the wedding, eh?” He grinned and punched Tyson on the shoulder.
“Kind of. She’s pregnant.”
Rory’s jaw dropped and he was lost for words, something that never happened before.
“And I said the wrong thing.” He rubbed his hand over his chin, watching the change in his brother’s eyes. “I know, I know, if my mouth was any bigger I’d get both feet in it.” He sighed.
“What happened? Tell me from the top and don’t leave anything out if you want my help.” Rory watched the two officers leave the lunchroom and gazed back at Tyson.
Just thinking about this was painful. “You know we left together at your wedding. I think everyone saw that.” He grimaced. “Anyway, we had a great time. She’s all I could ask for and more but I didn’t think things would go beyond great sex over the weekend. I mean, look at her and look at me.”
Rory put his sandwich down, folded his arms and looked, saying nothing and for that Tyson was grateful.
“Anyway, I didn’t call her, thinking if she wanted more she would call me. I didn’t want to pressure her, you know, the country hick hitting on the slick, city lawyer.” He copped a kick to the ankle when he said that. Tyson frowned but didn’t lean down to rub the aching bone deciding it would only get him another kick. “I have nothing to offer her. Don’t care what Pa says, my place is rundown and I can barely afford to feed me let alone a wife. What woman would want to move into something like my little rundown house? It’s nothing like what you have.”
“Have you forgotten what Gina found when she arrived at my place?”
“Yeah but at least you had the money to fix it. I don’t, not yet anyway.”
Rory watched him, arms crossed.
“So anyway, the other day Chance pops over and tells me she’s coming to visit only she visits him not me. And that he let her place an ad for a wife for me.”
“He what?” Rory sat forward, his mouth open.
“I got drunk after she left, alright? Tried to drown my sorrows and Chance convinced me to write an ad.” He glanced at Rory, suddenly defensive. “Look, it worked for you, why shouldn’t I have a turn?”
Rory leaned further across the table into his face. “But, as I recall, brother, you were royally pissed at us for doing it. And why on God’s earth would you even contemplate that when you have the likes of Layla drooling over you?”
“Why do you think?” Rory continued to stare. “I have nothing to offer her. Why would I even try?”
“You’re an idiot, you know that, right?”
“At least hear me out. I was never going to put that in the paper. It was Chance’s fault. Nosy bastard took it from my house and gave it to Layla to deal with. I knew nothing about it until he told me she was coming to stay.”
“I don’t believe you, Tyson.”
He bristled. “It’s the truth. You can ask Chance.”
Rory rolled his eyes. “Continue.”
“Last night, I went over to see her and she tells me she’s pregnant and next thing I know Chance has me pushed against my truck threatening me with all sorts of bodily harm.”
“Sure. It’s never that simple, Tyson. From what I hear, you gave her a mouthful.”
“I did not. I couldn’t get the damned words out is what happened. She only heard half of what I was trying to say and freaked out.” He hung his head. “Then Chance wouldn’t let me say anymore. Sent me packing.” He glanced at Rory. “Thought you didn’t know anything.”
“Chance called me. What were you trying to say then?”
“That how could she not hold me responsible. I was the one who supplied the condoms.” He blushed under his brothers unwavering scrutiny. “I only got out half that sentence.”
“How could she… you mean that part?” Rory shook his head as if he knew the answer.
“Yeah.” Shame crept up his neck.
“You idiot. Can you imagine how that must sound to a woman who is baring her soul to you? Announcing that she is going to have a baby, your baby?”
“I know, I understand that.” Frustration made Tyson cranky and he knew better than to try and take it out on his brother. Rory was the only one who would help him out. “I want to go and see her but I’m afraid to put my foot in it again.”
“You don’t have any choice the way I see it. Go grovel and get it over and done with, the sooner the better. I’d also tell her that you only wrote that ad in a fit of despair or something similar. See if you can salvage a relationship with her. Either way, whether you two make a go of it or not, you have a child to think of. That’s bigger than you or her and your desires. At least prove to me you can act like a man and take responsibility for your mistakes. And if you used a condom, how on earth did you get her pregnant?”
“Um, I think, I mean, they were kind of old.” He ducked the palm doing its best to connect with the side of his head.
*
Tyson was out when Layla decided to go down to visit. She’d cried herself to sleep over his comments last night but today in the dull light of early morning, she thought it over and decided to give him another chance. Of course he was stunned. So was she when she found out she was carrying his child. Stunned, excited, and terrified all at the same time. It was enough to make anyone lost for words or incapable of a decent conversation. He deserved more and she was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt as she remembered her own feelings. And she knew how words or lack thereof could affect the outcome of a particularly bad situation. Heaven knew she’d seen it often enough in the course of her day job. One more chance to talk things through without emotions getting in the way. At least that was the idea when she arrived.
Finding no one at home when she got there had thrown that plan into the wind.
Teary now and annoyed with herself for feeling that way, Layla stood on the sagging porch and looked around. There was a certain amount of charm in the ramshackle old ranch house. She’d imagined Rory and Gina’s place was very similar when they brought it listening to conversations and it had turned out fine once the renovation was finished.
Tyson didn’t have that kind of money but Layla certainly did. Not that he would accept it and not that she would offer if she was living in town but if their child was going to be spending any amount of time here on the ranch, the least she could do was contribute to some of its upkeep. Make it safe.
She tried the door and found it unlocked. That weekend they’d spent in bed was the only time she felt alive outside of the courtroom and she ached for a reminder if only for a moment. Her life was one big round of appointments, meetings, and the law. Hardly any time in the last eight years since she’d finished studying had been for her or her enjoyment alone. That was why, when she laid eyes on Tyson standing outside at Chance’s place, she’d let her attention wander and focused on him.
And boy had she noticed him. Her hormones had stood to attention and literally sang with joy when he looked her way, his eyes showing how interested he was.
He was younger than her, but only by a year or two and she was smitten enough to not care about marks on a calendar. After all, it was only a number. Tyson was a good-looking man. Ruggedly handsome, not uncouth exactly, but more like a person who was cozy in their own skin without the glam and shine she was used to. Shut off from the big, outside world, untouched almost. And that appea
led to her because she was feeling particularly jaded with her life. Someone as unassuming as Tyson made her feel like a different person, a person she yearned to be, if only for the weekend.
When she finished up the case for Rory and Gina, she’d jumped at the chance to come back for their wedding. It meant she got to spend more time with the family she’d bonded with and the handsome cowboy who’d piqued her curiosity and her libido. In him, she saw herself before the law made her immune to the nastiness of people. Tyson thought good of most and it was refreshing. And she soon found out he was incredible in bed. So good that she didn’t want to leave and go back to Denver but theirs was a relationship that wouldn’t last and she had responsibilities.
She had them now but they were changing. There was a baby to think of and he or she would come first from now on.
Layla stepped into the small, rustic kitchen, directly off the porch. Tyson’s breakfast dishes sat on the draining board on the small kitchen counter. A red and white check tea towel hung over the door of the woodstove, a basket of chopped wood sat tucked in the corner of the room ready for use. She wandered through an open door into the family room. His big armchair sat in front of the television set, the only modern appliance in the house. An old coffee table next to it covered in horse magazines and newspapers.
The gold and brown carpet had seen better days and came right out of the seventies but that didn’t bother her. Tyson’s bedroom door stood open and she felt drawn to it just as she had a mere few months ago. He hadn’t made the bed back then either. The sheets were rumpled as if he’d had a bad night. A pillow lay crumpled and ignored on the floor and she leaned down to pick it up, bringing it to her nose. The smell of him made her eyes water. Damned hormones. Nobody warned her about them, the constant tears and the mood swings.
“Oh, Tyson, where did this go so wrong?” She hugged the pillow to her chest and sank to the bed, sobbing uncontrollably as the floodgates she’d held closed finally opened.
Eventually she lay down with the pillow clutched against her breast, not willing to let go of the only contact she had. Last night hadn’t gone as planned and, as much as she’d promised herself she would be cool and professional over this, seeing him had ruined everything.
A car door slammed and she startled. Should she walk out casually pretending nothing was wrong?
His voice called out. “Chance, you in there?” Of course, I have the truck and he thinks it’s his brother.
Layla kicked her feet down and tried to stand up but a wash of dizziness came over her and she moaned, falling back onto the bed.
“Layla?” The door slammed and footsteps sounded her way.
Tyson hurried in and stood at the bedroom door. She tried to speak but couldn’t find the words, tears blocked her throat. He stepped over and knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. The rough skin grazed against her soft palms.
“Are you okay? You’ve gone as white as a sheet.” He brushed her hair from her forehead and eased her back on the bed until her head hit the pillow. Then he moved to lift her feet up so she could stretch out. “Shhh, rest a minute. It’s okay.” He held her hand in one large fist and with his free hand, stroked her hair.
Her tears ran freely down her cheeks, pooling in the slant of her nose before rolling over and down her other cheek and soaking his pillow. Layla sniffled and took a couple of steadying breaths. This wasn’t how she wanted it to be.
Chapter Six
Tyson sat on the edge of the bed holding Layla’s hand and watched the color slowly come back into her face. His gut ached, watching her cry, but he wasn’t sure he had the right words to make her feel better. As much as she made his body stand up and take attention, he still wasn’t convinced he could offer her a decent life. In his mind, this baby would probably bring them together but surely the passion would eventually wane and things would go downhill from there, just as she had said. He could see it in his mind. That was no life for a child, especially his.
She shuffled over and inched her way up the bed to a sitting position, his pillow still gripped against her chest.
“Feeling better?”
Layla nodded her head.
“Listen, about last night. What I was trying to say didn’t come out right.” She met his gaze and then looked away. “What I was trying to say was, how could you blame yourself when it was all my fault.” Tyson looked at the ground, focusing on the tip of his boots, the leather scuffed and almost worn through at the point.
He needed new footwear but there were other things that he needed more. New saddles, blankets, and bridles, if he was going to open the ranch up for trail riding, and fencing and the list went on and on.
She spoke, her voice trembling. “I’m pretty sure I had something to do with it. You might as well know that the first time I met you I promised myself I’d get you into bed and I got my wish.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Not saying I’m proud of myself but what’s done is done. No point in blaming each other or ourselves for that matter. I’m strong enough to know we can get through this if we put our minds to it.”
She already had a plan and she hadn’t consulted me before making up her mind. I was right all along. I’m not good enough for her no matter what Pa and Rory say. Not that what Chance did helped my cause in any way.
He would play this close to his chest for now. “Care to share again what that might be? I was in shock and didn’t really take it in last night.”
She looked at him with cool blue eyes and he could see the moment she went into lawyer mode, leaving the crying woman of seconds ago, behind. Layla ceased to be the lover who was warm and pliable under him, she became the focused domineering woman he first met at Chance’s. Tough and intent on winning. There would be no changing her mind, this he knew.
“I’m moving to Marietta. I’ve put an offer in on a family law firm in town and I’ll find a suitable place to live. I want our child to have access to both parents, Tyson, as well as your brothers and their children. You might not believe me but there’s nothing I want or need from you. I don’t want there to be any animosity between us and I know firsthand that you’ve moved on with your life.”
“About that, I didn’t…
She held up her hand. “Stop right there. I don’t need, nor do I want to know about the whys and wherefores of this process we have going to find you a bride. It is what it is and I’ll do what I promised Chance. We don’t need to discuss it.”
She cleared her throat and glanced at him from under her lashes. “I’ve seen far too many relationships torn apart that damaged children in my career to wish that on my own child. My own upbringing left much to be desired.”
Tyson went to put his arm around her but she held up her hand.
She took another deep breath. “My parents loved me, I know they did but they both had their high-powered careers to think about, which meant I saw more of the housekeeper than I saw of them and I refuse to let my child grow up that way. He or she needs to come first and that is why I’ve turned my back on my career to move here and make sure you can be involved. Part-time parenting doesn’t cut it with me. I plan to share raising this baby with you and I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t fight me on this. After careful consideration, I think it’s best for all concerned.”
“Is there any point me trying to have my say, Layla? How can you make up your mind already without giving me a chance?” She had, he could see it plain as day.
He had been right all along, he wasn’t worthy enough to be with her. Tyson supposed he should be glad she at least told him about the child and her plans to share its upbringing with him but he didn’t feel as though he was winning. He felt used and abused, given the short straw in this scenario. She’d had time to think all of this through and he’d only had a day, and not really even that.
He had to fight for what he wanted. “I thought there was something between us, something we could work with.”
Layla shuffled around, put her feet on the ground and stood up,
glancing down at him. “It was fun and you’re a great guy and all but the thing is, I don’t need you, Tyson.” She looked out the window. “Besides, you’d already decided to move on before I found out I was pregnant, so let’s leave things how they are. I’ve thought long and hard about this. I want what’s best for this baby and having two parents who can help raise it without wanting to kill each other is the best way.”
“Even if those two parents aren’t together?” Now it made sense why she’d never called after the wedding.
He was an urge, an impulse, and nothing more. A roll in the hay for the high-flying city lawyer, nothing more. Distaste rose in his throat. Who’d of thought Tyson would ever have reason to think of himself as a man whore? It didn’t go down well.
“There has to be a way for us to fix this, Layla. I don’t think it’s fair that you make the rules without giving me a chance. Can we go back to how it was at the wedding? Surely we haven’t changed that much in, what – three months?”
“You have, as far as I’m concerned.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tyson demanded.
“Tyson, you wanted a mail-order bride,” Layla said coolly.
“That was Chance’s doing,” Tyson denied sick of this topic because he felt like she’d already judged him guilty. “I don’t want a mail-order bride for goodness sake. I want you.”
Layla turned so he couldn’t see her face and for a brief moment he had a sliver of hope. Her shoulders rose with each breath and he counted one, two, three before she turned back to him.
She smiled, albeit sadly and shook her head. “It won’t work between us. We’re too different and I think deep down you know this. The last thing I want to do is break your heart, Tyson, but I’d rather do it now than later. You know what they say about taking off a plaster quick to cause less pain? I thought about it a lot and that’s the decision I’ve come to. Regardless of what either of us might want, I think this is for the best.”
Her Favorite Cowboy (The Watson Brothers #4) Page 4
