by Tina Leonard
No, they’d revealed secrets to him because they didn’t want him to give up hope. He was the guardian of the magic.
John dived into the wellspring of hope they’d gifted him. “Daisy, listen. Whatever you want is fine with me.” He swallowed, his throat dry, completely aware for the first time that the sexy woman across from him regarded him as an obstacle of sorts, maybe even an enemy.
Oh, hell, who was he kidding? She’d never given him an ounce of encouragement. He didn’t even know why she’d made love to him, unless she’d only wanted a child.
She’d been on that funky medication. But she claimed she hadn’t wanted his child. Which would really dent his ego massively, except Cosette and Jane claimed she’d been a virgin. Still, how the hell would they know? Daisy was a grown woman, she wasn’t going to share her exploits—
He shut down that train of thought. He knew he was her first.
“Daisy, you were a virgin. I know you were.”
She eyed him steadily. “So?”
He grinned, the whole matter going crystal clear for him. “So, either you’re not being honest because you’re trying to get the upper hand here—very Robert Donovan of you—or you’re not letting your subconscious tell you the truth.” He reached across, took that delicate little hand of hers that had always wrapped around him so sweetly in his. “You were taking medication to get pregnant. You chose to seduce me, little lady. That means either you wanted me or you wanted my baby or both, but it’s time for you to start telling both of us the truth.”
* * *
THE PROBLEM WITH John was that he was annoyingly macho, Daisy thought, feeling his big paw engulf her hand. He had no idea how sexy he was, and by all rights, she shouldn’t have fallen for a man who’d lived out of a trailer most of his life. It didn’t make sense. But the thing was, she was in love with him, and that love had made her do stupid things.
Like hop in the sack with him every chance she got.
In fact, she’d like to hop in a sack with him right now—her whole body seemed to miss his, miss him—but she was going to fight it with everything she had.
“How far along are you?”
She hesitated. “You should know. Six months.”
He grinned, so happy, and so handsome because he was that happy, that she tugged her hand out of his grasp. “Don’t look so thrilled.”
“I am thrilled. I’m over the moon. Hey, Jane!”
“Don’t!” she hissed, but when had John ever listened to anything?
“Daisy and I are having triplets!” he told Jane, his voice carrying to the diners who’d begun pouring in for breakfast once the doors had opened.
Daisy felt her face turn red, her neck burning with embarrassment. “John!”
Jane grinned at Daisy. “Well, what do you know? That medication our resident quack gives out strikes again! Hey, everybody, muffins on the house to celebrate Daisy and John’s new triplets!”
A roar went up, and applause, and the diner burst into chatter. She glared at John, who was glancing around at everyone, waving hello to this person and that, and generally enjoying his moment as the big man of Bridesmaids Creek.
“Was that necessary?” Daisy demanded.
“To share our good news with our friends? Indeed it was.” He winked at her. “I don’t mind public opinion helping me to shanghai you to the altar, beautiful.”
She sniffed. “I’ve never bowed to public pressure.”
He laughed. “I’m going to marry you, Daisy Donovan. And you’re going to ask me nicely to do so.”
She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t deny his claim as well-wishers began crowding their booth. She didn’t think she’d ever seen John look happier than he was at this moment.
It was endearing, and it was sexy. Daisy felt a bit of the glow steal over her, finally living one of the big BC moments that had always seemed to escape her.
But it couldn’t last. And no one knew that better than her.
Chapter Seven
“Into bed you go.” John took her home, placing her tenderly in his bed in the bunkhouse. “A little nap is good for the soul, they say. I’m sure you’re jet-lagged, and you really should be resting up for my three sons. They’re going to keep you very busy in a few months.”
Daisy told her heart this wasn’t exactly where it wanted to be, eyeing him as he tucked her into the covers. “I’m not much of a napper.”
He looked at her. “You look a bit pale. I’ll get you some water. Air travel is dehydrating.”
“I don’t want to be smothered during this pregnancy.” She tried not to notice how manly and lean he looked in his worn jeans. “It’ll be a long few more months if you mother-hen me.”
“You rest. Then we’ll proceed.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, and Daisy basked in the feeling of being revered. It was certainly a novelty for her—but John had always treated her this way, she realized.
Her heart warmed even more.
“Proceed with what?”
“We have a lot of planning to do.” He landed next to her in the bed but didn’t touch her, practically hung on the edge, creating distance. “I have to close my eyes now. My brain’s on overload.”
She didn’t know if she could rest with him so close to her. Surely he should be trying to kiss her.
Of course he should be trying to kiss her. She wanted him to kiss her.
He began to snore instead. Daisy sucked in an outraged breath. In Montana, all she’d had to do was think bed and John had seemed to appear to tumble her into one. If not a bed, then a hallway, a blanket near a wooded stream—even once on a cliff top gazing up at the stars. Parts of her that shouldn’t get warm not only warmed but wished for John—who was resting his “overloaded” brain with enthusiasm, judging from the expulsion of jetlike snores coming from his handsome frame—to wake up and focus on the way they’d created these children she was now carrying.
Daisy reached over, gave him a tap.
“Mmm?” he asked, the snores coming to a full stop.
“The doctor says it won’t be much longer before I lose my, er, sexy—”
“I’m on it. No worries.” He patted her hand, rolled onto his side facing the wall.
Okay, that hadn’t worked.
“Also, I’ll be on bed rest, probably in a few weeks.”
“Sounds good to me. We can start now, if you like.”
She didn’t reply, and soft snores began to emit from him again. “John Lopez Mathison, I think you’re playing hard to get.”
“I am. It’s working, too.” He rolled over, scooped her against him, kissing the back of her neck, shooting tingles all over her. “If you sleep off some jet leg, I promise to buy you an ice-cream cone at the Haunted H tonight. You’ll be surprised how much that place has changed now that you got it moved to the creek.”
His arm tucked solidly around her, holding her to him in the most intimate way. He was being dense, as dense as a thick, night-shrouded forest, but this felt good, too—and he had received a shock. Rest was probably a restorative for his bachelor system—so Daisy relaxed into his warmth and fell asleep.
* * *
“SORRY,” JOHN SAID, waking he wasn’t sure how much later. But clearly he’d napped for hours, as the sun was beaming high outside. “I didn’t mean to pass out on you.” He had a delicious brunette in his arms, his dream come true—and he’d sacked out like a large bag of potatoes.
“I’m sure the news was hard for you.”
He released Daisy and sat up, trying to remember what chores he was on the list for this afternoon that he might be late for. “No, I’m happy about the babies. I appreciate you coming home to tell me in person. The old ladies dragged me out of bed last night and I missed about six of my eight typical, desired sleep hours.”
John tugged on his boots. “Cosette and Jane. That was probably disrespectful. I should have said, the time-enhanced matchmakers of BC.”
Daisy giggled. “They kidnapped you?”
“They encouraged me to join them for some late-night high jinks.” He leaned over and dropped a fast kiss on her lips. “That’s to keep you happy until later.”
“Later when you plan to ravish me?”
He laughed. “Later when I get you that ice-cream cone I promised you. Make yourself at home, if you want. I’ve got to get to my chores. I’ll be done in about eight hours.”
She swung her legs over the side of the bed, and John thought he’d never seen a more sexy woman. “I still need to see Dad.”
He felt a tremor of unease. “Okay, so I’ll get you for dinner, then take you down to the new and improved Haunted H.”
“Sounds good.” She smiled at him. “Remember what I told you.”
“Remember what I told you.”
She raised a brow. “That you’re going to get me a cone tonight?”
“That I’m going to marry you, and you’re going to ask me nicely to do it.” He grinned. “And if your doctor’s right and you’re going to be couch-bound very soon, you’d better hurry, beautiful, if you want some of what you were trying to get from me a little while ago.”
“You think highly of yourself, don’t you?”
“I think highly of you.”
“Here’s the thing, John,” Daisy said, taking a deep breath, and he heard it—the I-can’t-marry-you-because—so he cut her off as fast as he could. Whatever it was, they’d deal with it. If it was Robert, they’d deal with him and so on. Nothing was going to keep him from Daisy and his sons—not anymore.
“I’ve got to run,” he interrupted, before she could get to the juicy part that was sure to make him cry. “You save that thought for later.”
“All right.”
She actually looked a little relieved. John dropped his hat on his head, decided against stealing one more fast kiss, and headed out the door. She followed, hopping onto her motorcycle.
He frowned. “Daisy, I’d like you to give up the bike while you’re pregnant.”
She shrugged. “I’d like you to give up letting Cosette and Jane drag you around in the middle of the night.”
“Why?”
“Because they’ll eventually get you into trouble. They’re very sweet and very darling, and I love them dearly, but I feel like anything that’s done in the dark in BC might be dangerous.”
He grinned. “You just remember that tonight when you tap on my back again. Interrupting a man’s REMs for a little sexy playtime. Whatever were you thinking?” Now he did kiss her—he could no longer resist it—especially as she’d let out a demure little gasp at his comment, her lips parting too prettily to pass up. She clung to him, surprising him a little.
“Tonight I’m all yours,” he told her.
“I flew two days to be with you. Be ready to do more than talk.”
John laughed, tipped his hat and headed for the barn, thinking there had never been a saucier, sassier lady. And the way things were going, she was soon going to be all his. Mrs. Daisy Mathison.
It had a very nice ring to it.
Which reminded him, he needed a ring to do an honorable proposal—when she finally got up the courage to ask him. And he was going to make her ask him—she’d waited far too long to cast her dark eyes his way.
Daisy Donovan was going to have to jump off the spot and fight for him for a change. He whistled, everything in his life looking up, skyward, even. He was going to be a father, he was about to have a wife.
That BC charm stuff really had some kick to it.
* * *
“I CAN’T FIX this for you.” Robert Donovan gazed at his only daughter, his eyes sorrowful. “I wish I could. I’d spend all my fortune to see you happy, Daisy.”
“I know.” Daisy sat in the garden room with her father, gazing pensively at the beautiful statues and blooming flowers outside.
“When are you going to tell him?”
“Soon. Tonight.” Daisy took a deep breath. “I tried to today, but he cut me off. Almost like he knew I was going to drop some bad news on him.”
“He’s no dummy.” Robert leaned back in his favorite chair and sighed. “I actually have a lot of respect for John Mathison, as I told you when I called you in Australia to tell you of his visit. He was a little opinionated, but that didn’t trouble me. I rather appreciated him stating his case for my little girl with such enthusiasm.”
Daisy managed a smile, but the man who walked into the room next made her hesitate. “Ty, what are you doing here?”
“I invited him,” Robert said. “Welcome home, son.”
He got up to hug the son he’d discovered two years ago. Daisy didn’t know what to do, so she remained seated. As much work as she had to do to make it up to people in Bridesmaids Creek, she wasn’t sure what to do with a new half brother. Ty Spurlock was a good man and a SEAL, obviously on leave from the Navy, home to see Jade and their new twins.
“Daisy,” Ty said, nodding in her direction, and Daisy nodded back, feeling very out of her element now that she and her half brother had been called home at the same time so the father they shared could speak to them. “Congratulations on the triplets.” He grinned, completely comfortable, a happily married man and favored town son.
“This is all your fault,” Daisy said. “You brought a bunch of bachelors to town to find brides.”
“And you fell right into the trap?” Ty laughed and took the seat Robert gestured him to. “Don’t feel bad. I fell into my own trap before you did.”
“Speaking of traps,” Robert said, “Daisy doesn’t want to get married.”
Ty grinned at her. “She will when the time is right.”
Daisy was shocked by this show of support. She looked at her father to see how he was taking Ty’s comment. As she suspected, her father looked none too pleased.
“I asked you here today for a couple of reasons, one of which was to help me convince your sister that she has to marry this John.” He mused silently for a moment. “Believe me, that’s not an easy thing for me to say. I never thought I’d be talking about marrying my little girl to a man formerly named Squint.” He brightened. “However, he has convinced me that he has my daughter’s best interests at heart, and that he loves you, Daisy. Trust me, you don’t want to pass up love.”
“You can pass it up,” Ty said. “If you don’t love my buddy, just tell him you don’t love him. He’ll be devastated, he’ll follow you around like a puppy for the rest of your life because you’re having his children, and you’ll always have all the support and backup you ever needed because he’s that kind of guy. He’ll never ask you a second time, because he’s got too much pride, so it’ll never be awkward or weird for you.”
“It’s already awkward,” Daisy said. “I’m pregnant with triplets. And we were as careful as could be.”
“Then it was meant to be.” Ty seemed quite amused by this. “You got hit by the BC magic. Isn’t that what you always wanted?”
“Tell your brother why you don’t want to marry the father of your children,” Robert urged.
“When I met his family, I met his two brothers. Who, by the way, are very nice. But Javier happened to mention that John has never been in a relationship for very long. They never stuck, was the word he used.”
“So?” Ty shrugged. “Most of us hadn’t. It’s no reason not to give the man a chance.”
“But that’s the thing,” Daisy said. “I’ve never been in a relationship at all!”
Her father and brother stared at her.
“Oh,” Ty said, “I forgot about that. I guess I always assumed with that gagg
le of boys hanging around you that one of them—”
“No,” Daisy said. “I never dated any of my friends.”
“They were in love with you,” Robert said.
“So they claim.” She sighed. “And that’s how I’m going to renew Bridesmaids Creek. It’s going to be my ultimate act to ingratiate myself into a town I want desperately to accept me.”
“How?” Ty asked.
“Get married,” Robert said. “If you throw a wedding party, you’ll be forgiven. Around here, forgiveness comes with a couple slices of wedding cake real easily. Haven’t you noticed?”
Daisy frowned at her father. “Dad, I don’t think John and I have what it takes to be parents together. According to his brother, John’s never stayed in the same place more than a few years, as a consequence of the way they were raised. Not that Javier and Jackson were complaining. They just noted that their way of life isn’t for everyone.”
“Let me get this straight.” Ty leaned back in his chair, smiling his thanks when the butler put a tray on the table in front of them. It had a whiskey decanter, some glasses, some soda and small edibles. “You guys live differently here, don’t you?”
“Thank you, Barclay,” Daisy said to the butler as he mixed them up some whiskey and sodas. “Just some sparkling water for me, please.”
“Anyway,” Ty continued, “if I understand you correctly, you’re afraid.”
“Not exactly,” Daisy shot back.
“You don’t want to raise your children on the road. In a trailer, going from rodeo to rodeo.”
“We’re having boys,” Daisy said. “Eventually John’s going to remember how he grew up.”
“Maybe he didn’t like it,” Robert said.
“I’m going to ask him,” Ty said thoughtfully. “I’ll just say, ‘Hey, John, old buddy, are you planning on raising your boys in rodeo?’”
“Would you mind?” Daisy asked. “I don’t want to ask him.”
