She was powerless to refuse. Slowly she lifted her gaze to his, knowing that when she did so, he would kiss her. But she’d already expended her energy resisting him all evening.
When he pulled her against him, his big, hard body heating her skin even through their clothes, she gave in to her cravings and met him more than halfway. Still, the flash fire of desire that filled her was a surprise. Not that she hadn’t always been sensitive to Pete’s touch, but somehow she’d envisioned less interest in sex now that she was pregnant.
If anything, however, she was discovering her nerve endings were more finely tuned to the stimulus of his touch. When his lips left hers to trace the slender line of her neck, she gasped. Breathing became more and more difficult. Her hands roamed his broad shoulders as she clung to him.
“Janie, I need you,” Pete muttered just before his lips returned to hers.
Her mind was racing as fast as her heart as she tried to respond to his words. She needed him, too, so much. But she needed more than his body. His heart was her goal, and she could settle for no less.
With a groan, she wrenched her lips from his. “Pete, we can’t.…Mom and Dad—”
“If we’re getting married, they wouldn’t say anything,” he said eagerly, his hands roaming her body with intensity.
“We’re not getting married,” she reminded him. She had to keep saying those words over and over again for her own sake as well as Pete’s. It was too tempting to give in to his touch if she didn’t.
“Damn it, Janie! How can you turn me down? We’re good together. We’re having a child. Marriage is the answer to everything.”
“No, Pete. Love is the answer to everything. And you don’t love me.” She grabbed hold of the kitchen cabinet with both hands as she leaned against it, hoping to keep from reaching out to touch his tempting body.
“You know I don’t believe in love.”
“Why, Pete? Why don’t you believe in love? Just because of Chloe? You’re going to let one rotten apple spoil everything? Are you saying I’m like Chloe?” She stared at him, a challenge in her gaze.
“Of course you’re not like Chloe! I never said that!”
“But you’re lumping me in the same group as Chloe.”
“Look, Janie, love doesn’t last. People—people leave. It’s better not to—”
“Who left you, Pete? Did you have a lover who left you?” She’d tried to follow his love life while he was on the ranch, but he’d gone away to college. And then he’d ridden the rodeo circuit.
He shrugged his shoulders. “I wasn’t a virgin when we made love, Janie. But I’m certainly not going to give you a summary of my past love life.”
Before her very eyes, she watched him withdraw, pull in, the eager lover disappearing. In his place was a withdrawn, hard man, protective of his secrets.
“Then how will I understand why you refuse to love me? Is it because I’m not lovable?”
“No!” he barked, anger in his eyes. “Janie, drop it! I want to take care of you and our baby. That’s all you need to know.”
“No, it’s not. How old were you when your mother died?” She wasn’t sure why that question popped into her head, but his reaction told her she’d touched a tender spot.
“My mother’s death has nothing to do with us. Don’t start talking like a shrink, Janie.” Before she could say anything else, he turned toward the door. “I have to go. Tell your mom I said thanks for dinner.”
Stunned by his abrupt about-face, Janie stood silent until he’d reached the back door. Then she remembered something she’d intended to tell him all along. “Pete?”
“Yeah?” he asked, but he kept his back to her.
“I didn’t sleep with Bryan.”
He remained still, as if frozen in place, for a few seconds. Then he walked out. She stood there, unable to move or react. Then as the door closed, Janie thought she heard a loud cowboy yell split the night air.
ALL THE WAY HOME, Pete tried to concentrate on his happiness. Janie hadn’t slept with Bryan. Since she was a virgin when they’d begun their affair, he knew he had been her only lover. And he intended to keep it that way!
As much as he celebrated the good news, even more did he try to avoid thinking about Janie’s questions. He knew the problem wasn’t Janie—she was more lovable than anyone he’d ever met. The problem was with him. But he didn’t think it was unusual for a man to resist loving a woman.
And he didn’t want to think about it.
Unfortunately Jake was waiting for him when he got home. Waiting to talk about the upcoming marriage.
“Well? You haven’t been at the grocery store all this time, have you?” Jake demanded when Pete walked into the kitchen.
“If he has, he’s bought out the store,” Brett teased his brother.
“No. I had dinner with the Dawsons. Sorry I didn’t call, Red.”
“That’s all right. You can eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow,” Red assured him. He was busy at the kitchen counter while Pete’s brothers sat at the table, their customary cups of coffee in front of them.
“So I guess Janie talked to you at the store.” Jake said. “Did she agree to marry you?”
“No. And—and we didn’t do much talking. Manning showed up right after I got there.”
“So what did you do?” Brett asked.
“We helped her do her shopping.”
“You and Manning?” Brett asked, as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard his brother correctly.
Pete grinned. “Yeah. It wasn’t pretty.”
“What happened?” Red asked, coming to the table.
Pete ran a hand through his dark hair, wondering how to explain the escapade at the store. Finally, he just stated the facts.
“Mercy,” Red muttered. “It’s a wonder the girl’s still speaking to you, much less inviting you to eat.”
“Lavinia invited me. But Janie and I made up.”
As always, Jake got back to the heart of the matter. “Then why won’t she agree to marry you?”
Pete was saved from answering by the sound of a vehicle coming down the driveway. Everyone looked up in surprise. It was a cold, dark night in Wyoming, not a good night for visits.
Red went to the window, but whoever was arriving had already turned off his or her lights. Jake stood to go to the front of the house, assuming whoever had come would knock on the front door. Before he could leave the kitchen, however, the back door opened. There were two people there, but only one walked in…carrying the woman with him.
“Chad! Megan!” Brett exclaimed, and all the Randalls, plus Red, conducted a group hug. When they eventually separated, Chad, the youngest of the four Randall brothers, let his bride slide to the floor.
“Did we surprise you?” he asked.
“Yeah. Why didn’t you call us to pick you up instead of renting a car?” Jake asked as he gestured to the table.
Chad and Megan sat down as Red poured two more cups of coffee. “We didn’t fly. We drove,” Chad explained.
“I wanted to bring a lot of things with me,” Megan added.
“Of course, I hadn’t thought of that,” Jake agreed. “You’d need to move out of your apartment. Are you shipping the rest of it?”
Megan glanced at Chad before answering Jake. “I’m not giving up my apartment just yet, Jake.”
“Why not? You two are living here, aren’t you?”
There was a tense silence before Chad replied, “Jake, of course we’re living here, but Megan wants to keep her job while her company does the work here, and she’ll need to go back to Denver occasionally.”
Pete watched the others, an amused smile on his lips. It was a relief to have someone else the center of Jake’s attention. Ever since Jake had invited three decorators to redo the house, he’d been scheming to marry off his brothers.
When Chad and Megan, one of the decorators, fell in love and called to say they were marrying, Jake had been full of himself. Pete was as pleased as the rest of them for
Chad’s happiness, but he thought it might not be a bad idea for Jake to discover he wasn’t in control of everything Randall.
“Keep her job?” Jake bellowed. He turned to his new sister-in-law. “Megan, you don’t have to work. You and Chad will be wanting to start a family, like Pete here, and—”
Jake’s words set off an uproar from Chad and Megan. Megan immediately protested Jake’s dismissal of her job, and Chad wanted to know what Jake was talking about.
Questions flew around the table, but answers were in short supply until a sudden clanging got everyone’s attention. Red was standing by the sink beating a skillet with a large spoon.
“Here, now! You all are gonna have to settle down or I’m kickin’ you out of my kitchen.”
Brett grinned at his oldest brother. “Guess Red’s got a point. Maybe you’d better stop laying down the law and listen to what the newest member of the Randall clan wants.”
Jake glared at his sibling, but he carefully wiped the frown away when he turned to Megan. She’d rapidly become a favorite with all of them even before they realized she’d be joining their family. “Megan, I didn’t mean to step on any toes. I just assumed—”
“Sorry, Jake, but Chad and I haven’t discussed—” her cheeks heated as she sought the right word “—starting a family. And I don’t want to miss out on redoing the house. I’m looking forward to working with Adele.” Adele, the second of the three decorators, was older, but she and Megan got along well. They’d decided to combine their ideas for the ranch house.
The other three brothers looked at Chad, as if wondering how he would react to his wife’s response. Chad leaned back in his chair and grinned. “Boys, whatever makes Meggie happy is fine with me. Now, what’s this about Pete?”
Pete immediately realized his time out of the spotlight had come to an end. But he left it to Jake to do the explaining.
“Janie’s pregnant.”
Talking about Janie and the baby made Pete tongue-tied, but even he could’ve done better than Jake’s blunt statement.
Megan looked puzzled, but Chad put things together quickly and turned to Pete, a frown on his face. “Yours?”
Pete nodded.
“So, when’s the wedding?”
With a sigh, Pete confessed, “I don’t know.”
“You offered, didn’t you?” Chad demanded, tensing. “You can’t treat Janie like some—some…”
“Of course I offered. Hell, I insisted. But you know Janie. She’s as hardheaded as they come.”
“You mean she turned you down?” Chad asked, astonishment on his face.
Pete studied his cup of coffee, and no one said anything.
Finally Megan reached out to pat Pete on the arm. “I’m looking forward to meeting Janie. I saw her the night you all took us to the steak house, but we weren’t introduced.”
“Maybe Megan could talk to her, woman to woman, you know?” Brett suggested.
Five pairs of male eyes focused on the only female in the room.
“Well,” Megan said, before pausing to run her tongue over her lips, “I’d certainly like to—to talk to her, but I don’t know—”
“Great!” Pete replied before she could finish. He was desperate for help. “I’ll bring her over tomorrow.”
Chapter Six
Chad settled beneath the covers with a sigh of satisfaction. Megan, emerging from the bathroom, noticed how much more comfortable her husband was here than in her apartment in Denver. “Happy to be home?”
He grinned, putting his big hands behind his head. “Yeah.”
His muscular physique still took her breath away, but she tried to concentrate on other things. “You don’t mind that I want to work on the house, do you?”
“Of course not. Like I said, whatever makes you happy.”
“We haven’t discussed children.” She slipped off her robe and slid into the bed beside her handsome husband.
He chuckled and drew her into his arms. “Don’t let Jake get to you, Meggie. I didn’t marry you so we’d have another generation of Randalls. That’s Jake’s plan, not mine. I married you because I love you more than anything, even the ranch. Remember?”
She remembered. Afraid of marriage because of her mother’s numerous trips down the aisle, she’d had a hard time believing Chad was serious about his commitment until he’d presented her with a prenuptial agreement promising her his share of the Randall ranch if he should ever leave her.
Offering her lips to assure him she remembered, Megan found herself wrapped in his powerful arms, his lips devouring hers.
When his mouth moved on to nibble on her neck, she asked, “But do you want children?”
He pulled back and stared at her in the night lamp’s glow. “He really spooked you, didn’t he?”
“No. But everything happened so quickly, I just realized we didn’t discuss a lot of important things.” She ran her fingers through the black hair on his chest, her gaze not meeting his until his fingers lifted her chin.
“You’re not having regrets, are you?”
“No! Never!” Again she kissed him, with his complete cooperation. “But what do you think about children?”
Brushing back her silky hair, he said, “I think kids would be great, when you’re ready. But Pete’s taking care of the next generation, so there’s no hurry.”
“But what if she doesn’t marry him?”
“She will. She’s been in love with him forever.” Then, with a laugh, he added, “Besides, Pete’s got you on his side. You’ll talk her into it.”
Megan’s eyes widened in panic just before Chad turned off the light and proceeded to distract her.
JANIE RODE OUT with her father the next morning, in spite of her mother’s protests. “Mom, I’ll be okay. I asked the doc, and he assured me any normal activities could be continued for a few more months. And Daddy needs me.”
“I’ll have a word with your father,” Lavinia insisted.
“No, Mom. I’ll be careful.”
Lavinia knew her hardheaded daughter and gave up the fight, only saying a silent prayer that Janie was right. But she was relieved to find a like thinker when the phone rang about ten o’clock.
“Lavinia, may I speak to Janie?” Pete asked.
“She rode out with her father.”
“What?” Pete roared. “What did you say?”
“Janie rode out with her father. She said he needed her help.”
“Damnation! Crazy woman,” Pete muttered.
Lavinia felt her regard for Pete rise until he asked his next question.
“Why didn’t you stop her?”
“Pete Randall, you know Janie as well as I do. Do you think you could’ve stopped her if she’d made up her mind?”
“But the baby…”
“I know. She said the doc okayed it.”
Pete muttered something else under his breath, but Lavinia didn’t catch the words. And she decided not to ask him to repeat himself.
“Look, I called to see if all of you could come to dinner tonight,” Pete finally said. “Chad and Megan are back home. I want Janie to meet her.”
“I’m sure she’ll want to meet Megan. But you don’t have to include me and Hank.”
“Janie wouldn’t come without you.” As if suddenly realizing how inhospitable his words sounded, Pete hastily added, “And we want you and Hank to meet Megan, too. After all, we’re all going to be family.”
“I hope so, Pete,” Lavinia replied. “Shall we come about six?”
“That’ll be great. See you then.”
When Janie and her father returned for lunch, Lavinia repeated Pete’s invitation.
“I don’t think I’ll go, thanks anyway,” Janie said, sinking into a chair with a sigh of relief.
“Why not?” Hank demanded.
“Because I don’t want to.” She raised her chin and stared at her father.
“They’re our neighbors, Janie Dawson. We’ll all go. It’s the neighborly thing to do.” He joi
ned her at the table as if the conversation were over.
“But, Daddy—”
“Janie, I think it’s the least you can do. We’ve left the choice of marrying Pete up to you, but we shouldn’t have to give up our association with the Randalls.”
“Of course not, Mom, but I can stay at home, and you two—”
“We’ll go as a family,” Lavinia said firmly and sat down to dish up the food she’d prepared.
After a silent lunch, Janie decided not to return to the saddle with her father. Her mother let her help with the dishes and then shooed her upstairs. “You need a nap, young lady, and don’t bother denying it.”
With a weary smile, Janie shook her head. “I’m not a child, Mom…but you’re right.”
“I’ve been pregnant before. The most important thing now is your health.”
“Yes, Mom.”
As she started up the stairs, her mother added one more thing. “By the way, Pete was very unhappy that you were in the saddle this morning.”
Janie was tempted to tell her mother what Pete could do with his concern, but she decided to save her words for the person who needed to hear them. Words she would deliver after a good nap.
HER AFTERNOON REST DID a lot to restore Janie’s sense of humor. She could face Pete now and handle any arguments he threw at her concerning going about business as usual.
What she wasn’t looking diding forward to was meeting the newest Randall. The bleached blonde who’d partied with the best of them that night at the steak house when she’d seen the Randall group from a distance hadn’t impressed her.
The other decorator, an attractive young woman dressed in a classic fashion, had been clinging to Pete’s hand. At least she wouldn’t be there. Janie didn’t want any competition for Pete’s attention, much less competition that made her feel unattractive.
“Are you ready?” her father called up the stairs. “We don’t want to be late.”
He could speak for himself.
Janie joined her parents downstairs and apologized for keeping them waiting. On the drive over to the Randalls’, she firmly kept the conversation on the running of the ranch. Her father loved to talk about business. According to him, the Dawson operation was the best in the state. He would allow the Randall spread, almost twice the size of theirs, to be secondbest, but no better.
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