Her hand rested on her stomach. Somehow the words hadn’t seemed true until this moment. She was carrying Pete’s child. Forever she would have a part of him in her life. She faced her mother with another smile, this one warm and real. “I don’t know what you and Daddy want. I mean, I don’t want to embarrass you. If you want me to go away, I will.”
“You’ll do no such thing, Janie,” Lavinia assured her, reaching over to enclose her daughter in a hug. “You’re our daughter and you’ll have your baby here. If you choose to be an unwed mother, you’ll need our help.”
“I can manage, Mom. I’ll move to Casper and get a job. People will talk if I don’t marry.” Janie didn’t want to be selfish, taking her comfort while causing her parents pain.
“Absolutely not! I’m not having my grandbaby born in Casper! Raised as a city kid? Why, she’d probably grow up and join a gang!”
“Mother! In Casper?” Janie couldn’t help laughing, though her eyes were clouded with tears.
“You just never know. No, we’ll keep the Dawsons here on the ranch, all of us, where we belong.”
“Mom, you’re so wonderful. Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Now, are you going to tell anyone who the father is? Or did you want to keep it secret?”
“I guess that’s up to Pete. Dr. Jacoby asked me if I knew the father but—”
“He did what? Did he think you’d sleep with someone you didn’t know? Of all the nerve! Wait until I get my hands on him.”
“Mom,” Janie said, touching her mother’s arm, “you’ll have to expect that kind of reaction. Are you sure you don’t think it would be best if I went away?”
Lavinia settled back down in her chair. “No, you won’t go away, and I don’t want to hear another word. And I’ll try to restrain myself, but I can’t believe Fred Jacoby would—”
“Mom, it’s okay. Anyway, I told him I knew who the father was but I’d rather not say.”
“And did you and Pete discuss—I mean, what did he say?”
“He said he’d marry me.” Janie closed her eyes, fighting the pain of turning him down.
“And you said no?”
She nodded.
“Did you discuss—?”
“Nothing. I—I had to leave. I didn’t want him to feel sorry for me.”
The two women sat in silence until the roar of a truck approaching the house roused them.
“Daddy! That’s him, isn’t it?” Janie asked. “What are we going to tell him?”
“Well, we’ll have to tell him the truth sometime, sweetheart. You know he loves you.”
“Yes, I know, but I don’t think he’ll take it too well. Could we wait just a little while? It won’t matter. I’m sure Pete won’t tell anyone for a while, if ever.” She couldn’t bear the thought of facing her father with her news.
“Okay, we’ll wait…until an opportune moment arrives, when your father’s calm.”
Janie almost laughed. With that criterion, she’d have to keep her news from her father a very long time. She only hoped he had a calm moment before she started showing. Otherwise, the roof would come off the house.
The back door swung open, and Hank Dawson strode into the kitchen. In spite of her distress, Janie smiled at the energy that filled the room when he entered. Her mother was the center of the tornado, calm, cool, serene. Her father was the tornado, blustery, quick, powerful.
“Hello there, ladies!” he boomed as he walked to the wall phone. Without any other words, he dialed, then waited impatiently. Abruptly he hung up the phone.
“Damn, line’s busy. Well, I’ll be back in half an hour, Lavinia, and I’ll be plenty hungry.” He patted Janie’s shoulder and dropped a kiss on Lavinia’s lips before starting for the door.
“Where are you going?” Lavinia asked.
“To the Randalls’. I’ve got to talk to Pete. Some of his herd has escaped.”
Before Janie could voice a protest at his destination, he was out the door, already getting into his pickup truck.
“I hope you’re right about Pete keeping quiet, Janie. I sure would hate for your father to find out about the baby from Pete.”
“You and me both,” Janie agreed, rolling her eyes. The explosion such an event would occasion might make the citizens of Wyoming think they were experiencing their first major earthquake.
Chapter Two
The three Randall brothers and Red were still sitting around the kitchen table, trying to sort out the situation, when they heard a truck coming down the long driveway.
“Who could that be?” Brett asked, and stood to walk to the kitchen window. “Damn! It’s Hank. Janie must’ve already told him!”
Everyone stood, though none of them seemed to know what to do.
Jake placed his hand on Pete’s arm. “You’d better stay here. I’ll go talk to Hank.”
“Nope. It’s my problem. I’ll deal with it, Jake.” He wasn’t looking forward to this conversation, but Pete wasn’t about to hide behind his brother’s coattails. Besides, he’d offered to do the right thing. It was Janie who’d refused.
Pete strode to the door, reaching for his coat hanging beside it, but Hank opened the back door before he could intercept him.
“Howdy, boys. I woulda called, but your line was busy. Just wanted to warn you.”
“Look, Hank, the others don’t have anything to do with this.”
“I know that, Pete, but—”
“Why don’t we go outside and talk?” Pete suggested, desperate to avoid having an audience, even if it was his brothers and Red.
“Outside in the cold? You must have feathers for a brain, son. It’s twenty degrees out there. What we have to talk about isn’t that world bending.”
Pete stared at him. The man didn’t think his daughter getting pregnant was important? “Hank, I promise I didn’t intend for this to happen.”
“’Course you didn’t. Accidents do happen,” he assured him with a grin. “I know you’ll take care of it.”
“Well, I tried.”
“Oh, so you already knew about the problem?”
“Yeah. But just today.”
“Then everything’s settled. And I won’t protest if one or two of my little ones look a lot like a Randall brand.”
Pete couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “That’s it?” he asked.
“Well, if the little mama gets ornery, I may send her over to you to take care of until after she delivers. How about that?”
“Hank, didn’t she tell you? I’m willing to marry her,” Pete said in a strangled voice.
Hank’s genial smile disappeared, and his brows lowered. “What are you talking about?” he demanded.
“Janie. What were you talking about?”
“Janie? Why were we talking about Janie? I was talking about your bulls getting into my herd and—” Hank’s eyes widened, and his face turned a mottled red. “You got Janie pregnant?” he roared, and started toward Pete.
Jake quickly moved between them. “Now, Hank, wait just a minute. Pete offered to marry Janie. She’s the one who said no.”
“She said what? Well, that don’t excuse Pete. He shouldn’ta been messing with Janie! My little girl! How dare you, boy?” He tried to push past Jake.
Brett joined Jake in his attempts to calm Hank. Pete almost wished they’d move aside and let Hank do his worst. Maybe it would assuage the guilt Pete felt.
“Hank!” Jake protested. “Pete didn’t do it by himself. Janie’s a grown woman. She didn’t have to fight him off, you know.”
“Are you sure?” Hank growled.
Jake stepped back, and Brett with him. “You ought to know better than that, Hank.”
“Hell, I didn’t mean any insult,” Hank assured him, his gaze seeking Pete’s over Jake’s shoulder. “So why haven’t you been to see me, to settle things manlike? That’s what your dad woulda wanted.”
“Because Janie just told me this afternoon, about an hour ago. As soon as she told me, I asked her to m
arry me, but she turned me down. We were just trying to figure out what to do.” Pete paused and then added, “I’m sorry, Hank. I wouldn’t have hurt you and Lavinia for anything.”
“How about Janie? I imagine she’s going to be hurt the worst,” Hank said, sadness replacing his anger.
“Hank, I swear I’m perfectly willing to marry her and take care of her and the baby.”
“Fine. Then we’ll make the arrangements. And we won’t have any hide-in-the-closet kind of marriage, either. Our Janie is our pride and joy.”
“With good reason,” Pete agreed, smiling slightly for the first time. “She’s a wonderful woman.”
“Yeah,” Hank agreed. But his voice was faint, and he suddenly reached for a chair. “Janie pregnant,” he muttered. Suddenly he looked up at Pete, his gaze sharpening. “I didn’t even know you two were seeing each other.” Before Pete could say anything, he asked another question. “Didn’t you think about the consequences?”
“Of course I did. But, like you said, accidents happen.”
Silence fell, and the Randalls and Red joined Hank at the table. Jake leaned forward. “Hank, Pete says Janie refused him. Are you sure you can change her mind?”
“Of course I can,” Hank assured them, straightening his shoulders. “Janie always does what I tell her to do.”
With that statement, Pete realized he knew Janie better than her father did. And he also came to the conclusion that the next few days were going to be difficult.
“Why’d she turn you down?” Hank asked, swinging his gaze to Pete.
He ran his finger around the collar of his shirt. “Uh, she asked me to marry her before she told me she was pregnant.”
“And?”
“I said no.”
“You’ve been sleeping with her but you didn’t think she was good enough to marry?” From the sound of his voice, Hank’s hackles were up again.
“Hank! You know better than that. It’s not Janie who’s the problem. She’s—she’s wonderful.” He paused to clear his throat. “I never planned to marry. After Jake’s—” his gaze flicked to his older brother, hating the regret he read there “—divorce, I decided I didn’t need that kind of pain. But the baby—” Again he broke off. Just saying those words threw him for a loop. “The baby makes a difference.”
“Did you tell Janie that?” Hank retorted.
Pete drew a deep breath and then exhaled. “She didn’t give me a chance. I tried to make some plans, and she said they weren’t necessary because she wasn’t going to marry me. Then she left.”
Hank rose to his feet. “Well, I guaran-damn-tee you there’ll be a wedding before my first grandchild takes a breath, so get your best suit pressed, boy. You’re about to become a member of my family.” Then he strode out of the room without saying goodbye.
Jake was the first to speak. “Do you think he’ll convince her?”
Pete shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, I remember Janie’s stubbornness,” Brett threw in. “I have my doubts.”
Pete stood. “We’ll find a way. My baby is too important.” He left the kitchen in a hurry, as if he needed to be outside to breathe.
“Man, I hope he’s right,” Jake muttered. Then he looked at Brett. “And if he is, and he and Janie marry, you’d better start looking for a likely bride for youself, too, ’cause you’ll be next on my list.”
“Hey, Jake, two out of three ought to satisfy you,” Brett protested.
“Nope. I want all my brothers married with lots of little Randalls underfoot. And don’t you forget it.”
JANIE HAD TROUBLE concentrating on any of her chores as she waited for her father’s return. Even if Pete kept quiet, she needed to tell her father that she was pregnant.
He’d be upset. Unlike her mother’s reaction, her father would explode. And his anger wouldn’t all be directed at Pete. Rightly so. In fact, if she was honest with herself, she was probably more responsible than Pete.
After all, what single man, when faced with one hundred percent cooperation, wouldn’t take a reasonably attractive, single young woman to bed? And she’d been totally cooperative. She’d loved Pete for so long, it had seemed natural to melt into his arms, to let passion surge between them.
But she’d been wrong.
Now she had to face her father and explain to him why she’d made this mistake…and why she wouldn’t marry Pete.
The phone rang and Janie, in her father’s office doing some of the paperwork that weighed down a rancher, stared at it. Was it her father? Had Pete told him?
“Janie?” her mother called from the kitchen. “Phone for you. It’s Bryan.”
Not her father, but almost as bad. Bryan Manning had dated her a few times after she stopped seeing Pete. He had recently moved from Chicago and didn’t know too many people.
He was a nice man, but she couldn’t continue to see him.
“Hello, Bryan,” she said, trying to make her voice cheerful.
“Hi, Janie. How’s life?”
If he only knew.
“Um, fine, Bryan.”
“How about dinner tomorrow night? We could grab a steak in town.”
“I can’t.” She should explain, but how could she?
“Then Friday night? I’ve thought about you constantly. You’re the best thing I’ve found since I left Chicago.”
The warmth in his voice was touching, as well as his words. She’d give anything to hear that sentiment from Pete. In fact, everything about Bryan was great. He was handsome, successful, warm, loving—but he wasn’t Pete.
“I can’t go out with you anymore, Bryan,” she finally managed to say.
After a tense silence, he asked in a low voice, “What did I do, Janie? Whatever it is, I’ll change. You mean a lot to me. I can’t—”
“Bryan! It’s not you. It’s me. I—I can’t date for a while.”
“Problem with your parents? You could move out. I’ll gladly share my digs,” he offered with a laugh he couldn’t quite pull off.
Trying to inject some lightheartedness into her voice, she replied, “Thanks for the generosity, but I can’t do that. After all, I work here.”
More silence. “What is it, Janie? Is there anything I can do?”
Tenderness. Concern. His reaction was soothing, but she couldn’t take advantage of him. Maybe she should just tell him the truth. After all, she would tell her father as soon as he returned, so it wouldn’t hurt to tell Bryan now.
“No, there’s nothing you can do. I—I’m pregnant, Bryan.”
She expected him to retreat at once. Babies tended to scare bachelors.
“So you’re getting married?” he asked instead.
“Um, no,” she replied. “I really have to go, Bryan.”
“Wait. Did the father refuse to marry you?”
“No.”
“Then why aren’t you getting married?”
“Bryan, you really shouldn’t—”
“I’ll marry you.”
She was speechless.
After waiting for her to respond, Bryan plowed on. “Look, I know it’s too soon to tell you, but I love you. I’ll love your baby. I’ll take care of the two of you.”
“Bryan, please. This is impossible. You can’t—This doesn’t make sense.”
“Yes, it does. Think about it, Janie.”
The urgency in his voice convinced her he was serious. But she still couldn’t consider his offer. “No, I’m sorry, Bryan.”
“Look, can I at least call you? Take you out? I mean, if you’re not marrying the man, then we can still see each other. Give me a chance, Janie.”
“I’ll—I’ll think about it.” That was all she could promise him. She just needed some time.
“Janie!”
Her father’s roar drew her attention away from Bryan.
“I have to go now, Bryan.”
He was still protesting as she hung up, but she couldn’t spare any time for him at the moment. She had to face her father.
/> When she entered the kitchen, she discovered her mother and father facing each other, hands on their hips. Oh, great. Not only is my life a mess, I’m going to ruin theirs, too.
“She will too!” her father shouted.
“Hi, Dad.”
Her greeting drew his immediate attention. He didn’t waste any time making his position clear. “Young lady, I’m very unhappy with you. But you will marry Pete Randall. Make no mistake about it!”
“No, Daddy, I won’t,” she replied softly, refusing to join him in a shouting match.
He gaped at her, as if she’d never opposed him before, though they had had some spectacular arguments in the past. After all, she was her father’s daughter.
“What did you say? Janie, you have to! You’re going to have his baby.”
“I know that, Daddy.” She knew it better than anyone. “But I’m not going to marry Pete. He doesn’t love me.”
“He wants to marry you!” her father insisted.
“That’s not the same thing.”
“Hank,” Lavinia interrupted before he could speak again, “Janie’s tired. She doesn’t need all this harassment.”
“Harassment? What are you talking about, woman? I’m her father, in case you’ve forgotten! It’s my duty to guide her. I know what’s best for her, and she’ll do what I say.”
Lavinia stepped to Janie’s side and put her arm around her. “No. She’ll do what she thinks is right.”
“Surely you’re not on her side? Lavinia, what are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking about Janie,” Lavinia said quietly.
It wasn’t often her parents disagreed. They were a wonderful couple, as loving now as when they’d married. But neither of them gave in easily, either.
“Now, Lavinia…” Hank began, eyeing his wife warily.
“No, Hank. I will not have you browbeating Janie. She’s not at full strength right now.”
Janie’s heart filled as her father spun around to face her, panic and caring on his face. “You’re not well? Is something wrong with the baby?” he hurriedly demanded.
“No, Daddy. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”
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