Kelsey stood. “I need to get Maddy home. She’s been watching movies with some of the other kids.”
“I’ll walk with you.” They began walking up the path lit by torches, and he put his arm around her shoulder again. But as they passed two of the outbuildings, he pulled her off the path and into the shadows.
“What—?”
He cut off her words with a kiss. It had been torture sitting next to her and not being able to kiss her all evening. She belonged in his arms, in his bed and in his life.
Slanting her head, she brought her arms up around his neck, and he pulled her closer.
This wasn’t a kiss to seduce. It was a kiss to let her know how he felt, even when he couldn’t form the words, or allow them out of his head. Or his heart.
He eased back, then led her once more to the path. Sliding his hand down, he twined his fingers with hers as they continued up to the lodge to gather Maddy.
Maddy was sleeping in front of the TV, and he stopped Kelsey before she could reach her daughter. “I’ll get her,” he whispered.
Kelsey stepped back, nodding her thanks.
He bent over and picked Maddy up, nestling her close. She tucked her head against his shoulder, and he knew this was right. He wanted to make a family with Kelsey and Maddy.
Now, he just had to convince Kelsey.
Chapter Nineteen
Nash walked up to the door of Kelsey’s cabin a few minutes to seven, excitement and nerves warring with each other. Voices from inside drifted out the partially open window.
“Mom, it turned blue.”
“Oh, honey. Are we happy?” Bunny asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, now you can marry Nash and stay here. Problem solved.”
“No, Mom. Look what happened last time. Besides, I don’t know how he’ll feel about this.”
“Well, you need to tell him, and the sooner the better.”
“I know. But maybe I should make an appointment first, just to make sure. These things aren’t always accurate.”
“That would be wise.”
“I wonder if there are any obstetricians in town.”
“Just know that whatever you decide, I’m here for you, sweetie.”
Obstetrician?
Nash’s heart dropped so fast he thought he’d pass out. His head whirled, thoughts spinning, and he couldn’t grab one long enough to focus. He didn’t want her to think he’d been eavesdropping, so he walked back to the truck and opened the door, then slammed it loud enough the metal clanged.
He headed back to the front door as it opened, and Kelsey stood framed in the doorway.
His heart just about stopped dead to see her wearing a long, flowery skirt, topped with a white blouse, and a denim shirt, tied at the waist. And cowboy boots.
He stared at her, not sure what to say, trying to interpret how she was feeling.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi.” He cleared his throat. “You look beautiful.”
“I wasn’t sure what to wear.”
“You look great. Ready to go?” He hoped so, because he didn’t want any conversation with Bunny.
She nodded, and he opened her door, helped her in, stood stock-still just breathing in her scent.
Shaking his head, he berated himself as he went around the hood and climbed in. He waved at Bunny and Maddy as they stood in the doorway, then pulled out onto the road.
Just after he passed beneath the ranch sign, he pulled the truck to the side of the road.
“Did you forget something?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yeah. I forgot this.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, long and sweet, letting his lips just slide over hers, drinking her in. He pulled back and looked at her face. Her eyes were still closed, her mouth partially open.
“You okay?”
Her eyes opened, and she nodded.
He wondered what was going through her head, and if she would decide to tell him she might be pregnant.
* * *
A COUPLE HOURS LATER, they were back on the road to the ranch. He was about to come out of his skin because she hadn’t said anything. She’d been distant, withdrawn, and just picked at her food, claiming to be tired. He’d tried to fill the conversational lags with stories about the rodeos he’d been in and anecdotes about growing up with his brothers.
As they neared the ranch, he turned on the side road that led to his favorite spot at the pond.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
He parked and turned off the engine. “Want to kiss you, but didn’t think you’d want to do it right in front of your cabin.”
Silence descended fast, the only sound the pings as the engine cooled down.
He unhooked his seat belt, then hers, and slid closer to her, brushed her hair back over her shoulder. Leaning close, he whispered in her ear, “Unless you don’t want to get kissed in the moonlight.”
It was dark in the truck so he couldn’t see her expression, but the shiver trembling through her body encouraged him.
Lifting his hand, he slid a finger along her jawline, turned her head to face him. Moving slow, he kissed her, coaxing her lips open. When her tongue met his, he groaned, his body instantly going hard.
Her fingers gripped his shirt, her nails lightly scoring his chest. “Nash,” she whispered his name, over and over, until she moved in closer to him, her fingers running feather-soft through his hair.
He cupped her breast and squeezed lightly. She gasped, and he felt her fingers slide over his, pressing his hand tighter to her.
“I want you, Kelsey,” he groaned. “So damn bad.” He ran a hand down her leg, then slid her skirt up until he felt the smooth skin of her thigh.
He was too old to be necking, or anything more, in the front seat of his truck, but damn if he wasn’t about to explode.
She stilled his hand on her leg. “I don’t have anything with me. We need to stop.”
“It’s not like you can get pregnant again, right?”
The minute he said the words, he wanted to yank them back.
“Excuse me?” she asked, her voice stone cold.
He saw the shadow of her arm lift up, and the overhead light came on, blinding him. Once he could see again, he noticed her eyes had slitted, and her lips were pressed together.
“You want to repeat that?” she said, her arms crossing over her chest.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it that way. I got to your cabin a little early, and I heard you and your mom talking through the open window.”
She didn’t say anything, but he heard a sniffle from her side of the truck.
“Shouldn’t we at least talk about this?”
“Nothing to talk about.”
“You’re going to the doctor to make sure, right?”
She nodded.
“Want me to go with you?” Why the hell did I say that? I’d rather get my wisdom teeth put back in, let them get impacted, then have them pulled back out again.
Taking a deep breath, he searched for patience and started the engine, then backed out the way he’d come. “If you are, then don’t worry. I’ll do the right thing and stand by you. Okay?”
Silence reigned, and the atmosphere in the Ranger was as cold as a deep Montana blizzard. He couldn’t interpret the one-and-only glance she’d thrown at him. She looked hurt, but he couldn’t figure out why, since he’d offered to be there for her.
The short drive to her cabin felt like twenty miles, and he was relieved to pull up to the driveway.
“If you don’t want me to go—” slam “—with you, at least tell me what he says.” The last of his sentence was said to the wind she was gone so fast.
He finally began to understand why someone had written a book about men and women being from
two different planets.
And why he felt as if he were on planet Hell.
Chapter Twenty
It was official.
A baby.
Back in the same boat as before.
Only last time she’d been confident Rob loved her, had wanted to marry her and start a family.
The miles back to the ranch ticked off slow as an iceberg moving across the sea.
She thought back to two nights ago, when Nash had said he’d do the right thing and stand by her.
Not one word about becoming a family.
Not one word about being happy.
Not one word about loving her.
That’s the one that hurt the most, considering she’d gone and fallen in love with the idiot.
She’d been blindsided when he mentioned the pregnancy and hadn’t known what to say.
When his only words were about responsibility and nothing about his feelings, it felt as if she’d been stabbed. Granted, her hormones were all over the place, but she hadn’t expected him to talk of being together like it was a duty.
He may have thought she was being bitchy, but the truth was, the pain cut so deep she didn’t trust herself to say anything without melting into a crying mess of hurt feelings and pregnancy hormones.
Now, with the pregnancy confirmed, she’d give him one more chance. Turning onto the ranch property, she headed toward his cabin, but on the way, saw his truck parked by the barn.
“Might as well get it over with,” she muttered to herself, pulling up her proverbial big girl maternity panties when all she wanted to do was keep driving as far as her piece of shit car would take her, then lick her wounds.
She parked and climbed out of her car, heading toward the barn. A muffled curse made her pause, then she continued on, forcing one foot in front of the other. Peering inside the cavernous space, she saw Nash at the opposite end, outside his horse’s stall. He was bending over, holding Thunder’s hoof and using some tool on it.
“Is Thunder hurt?” she asked, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice.
Nash looked up, then gently set the horse’s hoof down. “Just a rock.” He smoothed a hand down the horse’s flank, then led him into the stall.
Trying for a peace offering, she got a scoop of oats and put them in Thunder’s feed bucket.
“Thanks,” Nash said, coming out and closing the stall door.
“So,” she said, and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for the way I behaved the other night. I was pretty much in shock.”
He moved closer to her, and she looked up at his face, aching for him to understand, to take her into his arms. Tell her it would be okay.
“I figured that much out later on.” He picked up a strand of her hair and twirled it around his finger. “Find out anything?”
She nodded.
“And?” he asked, a slight croak in his voice.
She nodded again.
“Okay,” he said, and blew a breath out. “So here’s the plan.”
“Oh, you have a plan, do you? Well don’t keep me in suspense.”
“We can get married right away, if you want. I’ll pay for everything, and since your cabin is bigger, I can move in there with you and Maddy. That way I’ll be on hand to help with anything you need.”
Fighting for a calm tone, she squared her shoulders. “Is that it? All of your plan?”
He frowned. “Yes. Well, wait, there is one more thing.”
One more thing, like you love me? she hoped.
“If at some point after the baby is born, you were to meet someone and fall in love, I’ll let you go. But I insist on being part of the baby’s life. It’s half-mine, after all.”
Her blood turned to ice water, and she really fought hard not to punch his lights out. She stalked away from him.
“You’ll let me go if I fall in love with another man. Just like that, you’ll unbuckle my leash and let me go.” Her voice shook, and an intense heat flooded her body. Sweat broke out on her forehead, and she swiped it away.
“I’d understand. If you find someone, a whole man, to love, I’d understand. I want you to be happy.”
“A whole man?” Grabbing a currycomb off the bench, she planted her feet wide, and threw the comb at him. It bounced off his chest and fell to the floor.
His eyebrows raised high. “Hey, calm down. It’s okay.” He walked forward and reached for her shoulders, but she jerked away.
“Goddammit, you are a whole man! You lost a leg, not your life, you stupid, pigheaded dumbass!”
Rage kept bubbling up from within, followed by the most acute hurt and betrayal. She clawed at her chest, trying to breathe. This hurt worse than the moment she’d found out Rob had died.
“I’m so in love with you, and this baby would have loved you, you big jerk!” She turned around and kicked a bucket out of her way, sent it skittering across the floor, oats flying along the way. “You’ll let me go if I fall in love with someone else,” she muttered, looking for something else to kick or throw at him.
“Kelsey—” He grabbed her arm.
With every ounce of her being, she shoved him backward, and he fell on a pile of hay.
“Don’t. Don’t touch me. Ever again. I’m done.”
She turned on her heel and almost ran into Angus, who stood there with his mouth hanging open. “Thanks for hiring me, and for the use of your cabin.” She jabbed a finger at his chest. “And you better take good care of my mother, or I’ll come back here and kick your ass.”
* * *
THE DOOR SLAMMED behind Kelsey and echoed across the rafters of the barn. Nash’s world was caving in all around him. He lay on the pile of hay, her words screaming through his head.
A pair of legs crowded into his vision, and he looked up to see his dad. “Get up, son.”
He tried to scramble up, but didn’t have his left foot placed right, and he fell back. His dad reached a hand out, and Nash latched on, let his dad pull him up.
He absently brushed bits of hay off his jeans, avoiding eye contact with his father.
“So, you lost a leg, huh?”
Nash nodded.
“I guess that makes sense,” his dad said, his voice catching. He reached toward Nash, and he was shocked when his dad hugged him tight. “I love you no matter what, Nash. Always.”
Nash stepped back, and his dad cleared his throat. “I know I haven’t always been a good father, and I tend to push too hard. But I love all my boys, and I want you to be happy.”
“Yeah, you did push hard. Pushed me at sports, pushed me on the ranch. Eventually, it pushed me away.”
His dad closed his eyes, took a deep breath. “You’re right. I had to be mom and dad to you boys, and it was the hardest thing I’ve had to do, besides laying your mother to rest. I guess I buried my feelings the day her coffin went in the ground.”
“We’ve never really talked about it.”
“I know. I felt as if I’d died along with her, but I had to continue on for you boys. Keep a roof over our heads, build up the ranch.”
“The ranch.” Nash snorted. “It always felt as if the ranch was your firstborn instead of me, and you gave it all your attention and love.” The words just kept bubbling up, along with the pain of childhood.
“I made a lot of mistakes, but I promised your mother I’d continue on with our plans to build the ranch up into what it is now. A place she’d be proud of. I’m sorry, son.”
A surprising warmth flooded Nash. “We’ve always butted heads. I had to leave when I did. I felt suffocated by you, the ranch. I had to find my own way.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Didn’t turn out the way I expected, but it brought me back here. Thanks for letting me come home, Dad.”
“It’ll always be your home. For all of you.”
Nash realized this was
the longest conversation they’d had in years. Maybe ever. It felt good to get it all out. Except now he’d been the one to push the love of his life away.
“So,” his dad said, clearing his throat. “A baby, huh?”
Nash nodded.
“You love her?”
Nash nodded.
“Did you tell her?”
He thought back through their conversations—disasters, really—and slowly shook his head. She loved him, and he’d driven her out by being afraid to express his own feelings.
“Sounds like you need to go over there and tell her, then get her to the altar before I get her mother there.”
Nash nodded, like a brokenhearted bobblehead.
“So get moving!” his dad said, and clapped him on the shoulder.
He started to leave the barn, but turned back. “Do you still have Mom’s ring?”
His dad grinned. “I do. You want it?”
“Yeah. I want to do this right.”
They left the barn and walked up the path to his dad’s house. “I’ve got it in the safe in the den.”
While he waited, Nash looked at the pictures on the mantel of his parent’s wedding day. They’d looked so happy. He hoped he hadn’t screwed it up with Kelsey. The realization that he loved her shook him to his toes, and he was desperate to get to her, make things right.
“Here it is,” his dad said, and handed him a ring box.
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Your mom would be happy to know you’re going to give it to someone you love. All she wanted was for each of you to be happy.”
Nash nodded and started to leave, but stopped and looked back at his dad. “You know, I think she’d be happy to know you’ve found someone to love after all this time,” he said, his voice gruff.
“Thanks, son.” He cleared his throat. “Now go get your girl.”
Just as he opened the front door, a truck pulled in and Bunny hopped out, crying. She saw him, and headed his way. “What did you do to my daughter?”
“It’s a misunderstanding. I’m heading over to your cabin now,” he said, and pulled his keys out of his pocket.
“You’re too late. She’s gone, and it’s all your fault,” Bunny cried, and raised a handkerchief to her eyes.
A Family for the Rancher Page 17
