The Baby Truth

by Stella Bagwell

  She waved away his words before he could finish. “The doctor said it would be fine for me to ride. As long as I don’t tire myself and am careful not to fall.”

  “To be honest, Sassy, I don’t think Jett would like it.”

  She bristled. “What’s Jett got to do with it? There’s nothing wrong with me riding a horse across the pasture!”

  He thought for a long moment before a crafty smile spread across his face. “Okay. I’d like the company. I’ll saddle Rascal for you. He has two gears. Slow and slower.”

  “Great,” she told him. “While you get Rascal ready, I’ll go change into my boots.”

  * * *

  For the next hour they rode along a fence that ran due north from the house. Rascal, the black horse that Noah had saddled for her, was a sweet-natured animal that clopped along at a leisurely pace and followed Sassy’s commands without any protest.

  From the few times she’d been in the man’s company, she’d quickly concluded that Noah was not a talker. So, as they rode along, she’d not expected him to hold any sort of conversation. Other than making a comment here and there about a cow or calf or a piece of the fence, he said little. And that was fine with Sassy. At least she was out of the house and not staring at the walls, wondering what she was going to do about Jett.

  Not that there was much she could do about the man. They were at loggerheads, and she’d come to the conclusion that the best thing she could do for herself and her child was to get back on a plane and head home to the Chaparral. At least her old job would be waiting and she’d be back among friends.

  When they reached a windmill with a watering tank, they let the horses drink, then Noah announced it was time they turned around and headed back to the house.

  They were somewhere near a quarter of a mile away from their destination when Sassy spotted Jett’s truck barreling toward them.

  Noah said, “Looks like the boss is in a hurry.”

  The two of them continued moving forward until Jett pulled alongside them, and then they reined their horses to a halt.

  Expecting him to roll down the window and speak to Noah, Sassy was surprised when he left the truck and walked over to her and Rascal.

  “What are you doing?”

  His incredulous tone had her frowning at him. “What does it look like? I’m out getting some fresh air and exercise. We’ve been riding fence line.”

  His jaw tightened. “What if you fall? What if the horse spooks and pulls a runaway?”

  “Rascal? Pull a runaway?” Noah’s chuckles said what he thought about that possibility.

  Stunned that the other man came to her defense, she glanced over to see Noah’s gloating grin.

  Jett glared at him. “You’re the one who let her do this! For two cents I’d fire your ass!”

  Seemingly unruffled by Jett’s threat, the hired hand reached into his jeans pocket, pulled out two pennies and tossed them at his boss.

  “There. You have it. Go ahead and fire me.”

  Not saying another word to Noah, Jett grabbed the shank on Rascal’s bit to prevent the horse from moving. “Come on,” he ordered Sassy. “You’re riding back to the house in the truck. Noah can lead Rascal home.”

  Flabbergasted, she said, “Not on your life! I’m riding Rascal back. Now turn loose of his bit!”

  Instead of doing as she asked, he started to reach up and haul her off the horse, but Sassy quickly put a heel in Rascal’s ribs and made the horse sidestep.

  “Leave her be,” Noah quietly warned Jett. “The lady knows what she wants. And right now, it ain’t you.”

  She’d thought she’d seen Jett angry before, but clearly she’d never seen him looking like this, as though he could explode at any second.

  “I’ll see you at the barn,” he growled at Noah, then he jumped in the truck and gunned it in the direction of home.

  Sassy looked over at the hired hand. “This is awful, Noah. Just awful. Why did you have to say all those things to him? You were making matters about a hundred times worse!”

  Noah grinned. “I know. I did it on purpose.”

  She let out an incredulous gasp. “You what?”

  He reined his horse close enough to pat her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Sassy. I just gave Jett a little of what he’s been needing. He’ll get over it.”

  Still unconvinced, she shook her head. “But what if he really fires you?”

  Noah chuckled. “I’ve been fired before. Now come on, we’d better get back to the O.K. corral. I got the feeling a shootout is about to happen.”

  * * *

  Back at the barn, Jett angrily continued to heave bales of alfalfa into the back of the feed truck even though he’d far surpassed the daily ration. There was no way he’d let Sassy and his hired hand make a fool out of him again. As far as he was concerned, they could ride off into the sunset and never come back!

  I need to figure out how a man can cure himself of being a fool.

  He understands that life isn’t perfect and contracts can always be broken.

  The exchange he’d had with his sister popped into his brain just as a hay bale plopped with a heavy thud into the bed of the truck. And, with a mindless shake of his head, he dropped the hay hook and wiped a hand over his face.

  What the hell was he doing? He wasn’t a jealous, raving idiot. At least, he hadn’t been until he’d come home and found Sassy and Noah out on the range. Seeing her enjoying herself with another man, even in a totally innocent way, had hit him hard. Even the fact that Mary and Max had joined them on the trip had seemed like a betrayal.

  Sassy had told him that she loved him, and in spite of himself, Jett had clung to those three words these past few days while hoping and praying they’d be enough to make her stay and be a part of his life. But a lifeline needed a person at both ends to make it balanced and strong. Now he was beginning to see that he’d not put his whole heart and soul into his grip.

  Dear God, out there on the range he’d been behaving just as maniacally as Erica had, he thought miserably. Is that what love did to a person?

  The question had him grabbing a seat on an overturned feed bucket and dropping his head into his hands. All this time he’d been fighting so hard not to love Sassy. Yet, all the while, he’d been falling in love with her more and more. Why hadn’t he been able to see that and admit it before now, before he’d caused Sassy to throw up a cold wall between them?

  The sound of hooves striking the hard earth had him looking up to see Noah and Sassy riding into the ranch yard. His first instinct was to run out to her, to beg her to forgive him for being such a blind, stubborn bonehead. But he needed to give her enough space to cool off and himself enough time to figure out how he was going to convince her that his heart was finally in the right place.

  As soon as she climbed down from Rascal’s saddle, she gave the reins to Noah, and after exchanging a few brief words with him, walked straight to the house. Once she was out of sight, Jett walked out to help the other man tend to the horses.

  “Is she all right?” Jett asked as he glanced once again in the direction of the house.

  Noah shot him a look of warning. “I don’t think you ought to be asking her that right now. Her red hair is showing—she’s hopping mad.”

  Jett groaned. “I’ve made a real mess of things, Noah.”

  “We all do from time to time. Forget it.”

  As they led the two horses inside the barn, Jett pulled two pennies from his jeans. “Here.” He handed the coins to Noah. “I don’t want these.”

  With a half grin, the other man stuffed the pennies into his shirt pocket. “I never thought that you did.”

  Noah’s cocksure remark had Jett bursting out in laughter and giving his friend’s shoulder a companionable shake. “C’mon, buddy, let’s get t
hese horses taken care of and then I’m going to go to the house and try to convince Sassy that I’m not the bastard she thinks I am.”

  “That’s a pretty tall order. How do you plan to do it?” Noah asked.

  Jett’s expression instantly sobered. “Noah, do you know what happens to a marriage license when there’s no love behind it?”

  “You’re asking the wrong guy.”

  “Well, I’ll tell you what happens.” He made a tearing motion with his hands. “You might as well rip it into tiny pieces before the I dos are ever spoken.”

  The other man looked highly skeptical. “That’s going to fix things with Sassy?” He shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s gonna take a hell of a lot more than that to convince her.”

  “Not if I know Sassy.”

  Chapter Twelve

  When Jett entered the house a few minutes later, he found Sassy removing her clothes from the closet and carefully folding them into her suitcase. The sight chilled him to the bone, but he didn’t let it stop him from his purpose.

  “Is this the way you want to resolve things, Sassy? By running away?”

  She barely acknowledged him with a glance as she continued to pack her belongings. “I’m not running. I’m going home. Where I belong, I might add. Finn can contact me later with the results of the DNA test. I’m not sure I even care one way or the other anymore.”

  “You’re only saying that out of anger at me. You do care. And this is your home. You belong here.”

  She merely grunted and quickened her pace. “Under the circumstances, I think it’s best that we quit torturing each other. And the only way for me to make that happen is to get away from you.”

  He tried not to let her stiffly spoken words skewer him or change his course of action.

  “Sassy,” he said quietly, while cautiously reaching for her arm. “Sassy, darling, I’m sorry. I was totally out of line. More than that—I was wrong. I’ve been wrong for a long time.”

  When she refused to look at him, he took her by the shoulders and forced her to face him. By then tears were slipping onto her cheeks and he used his fingers to gently wipe them away.

  She sniffed. “About what? Inviting me to stay here? For going to bed with me? I’m sure that right about now you’re regretting a lot of things—especially ever meeting me!”

  He didn’t know how he could smile at a time like this. But finally recognizing the love he felt for Sassy had filled his heart with such joy that he couldn’t contain it.

  Fortunately, she didn’t resist as he drew her against him and tucked her head into the curve of his shoulder. “The only thing I regret, Sassy, is not realizing how much you mean to me before now.”

  Her head jerked back and forth. “No. You’re saying that just because I’m leaving!”

  “I’m saying it because I mean it.” He pointed to the bed. “And not because of a suitcase and a bunch of clothes piled on the bed.”

  “No,” she said again, then turned her back to him. “It’s too convenient, Jett. And way too late.”

  He tried not to let his heart sink. What he felt for Sassy was too precious to lose, and he would fight to his last breath to keep it and her and the baby. “I don’t blame you for feeling that way, Sassy. I only ask that you give me time. Give me a chance to explain, and then I believe you’ll understand.”

  She hesitated, her blue eyes dark with suspicion. “I’m not sure about this—or you—or anything anymore.”

  The fact that she wasn’t refusing him flat-out gave him a thread of hope. “Oh, Sassy, you can’t imagine what these past few days have done to me. I want to—”

  His words were suddenly interrupted by the ring of his cell phone, but he paused for only a moment and shook his head. “I don’t care who that is, we need to talk until this is settled.”

  The ringing stopped, but as he guided her over to the bed so that they could both sit down, the ringing began again.

  Sassy sighed. “You’d better at least see who it is, Jett.”

  “Better than that. I’ll turn the damned thing off.” He pulled out the phone and just as he was about to push the off button, he noticed the call was from the Silver Horn. “Hmm. It’s someone from the Horn. Do you want me to answer it?”

  “Yes. Or the person will probably keep ringing until you answer,” she told him.

  Deciding Sassy was right, he swiped the phone. As soon as it landed against his ear and he heard Bart’s voice, his mouth fell open with shock. He couldn’t remember the last time Bart Calhoun called him after hours. Whatever the reason, it had to be something urgent.

  “Jett, is that you?”

  “Yes, this is Jett,” he answered.

  “Bart here. Is that woman there with you?”

  That woman. He had to hold his tongue to keep from cursing a blue streak at the man. Yet, at the same time, he wondered what was making the man behave so out of character. “Are you talking about Ms. Matthews?”

  “What other woman would I be talking about?”

  Jett searched for every bit of patience he could find. “Sassy is here. Why?”

  “I want you to bring her over here to the Horn. I want to talk to her. Now!”

  Jett turned an uncertain look on Sassy. “I—I’m not sure if she’s up to it,” he hedged. “What is this all about, anyway?”

  There was long pause and Jett realized the man wasn’t used to being questioned, especially by one of his employees.

  “It’s none of your business. This is between me and that woman. Just get her over here and I’ll take care of the rest.”

  Jett opened his mouth to tell Bart to go to hell but the connection ended abruptly, cheating him out of the pleasure.

  As he put the phone away, Sassy looked at him with concern. “What was that all about? Who were you talking to? You look like you want to wring someone’s neck.”

  His mind whirling, Jett frowned. “That was Bart Calhoun. He wants to see you.”

  Clearly stunned, she pressed a hand to her throat. “Wants to see me?” she echoed. “Why? Do you think— Maybe Finn got the test results?”

  “No. I have the feeling Finn and his brothers know nothing about this phone call. Bart sounded even more demanding and arrogant than his normal self. I hardly think he wants this meeting to welcome you into the family.” Wrapping a bracing hand around her elbow, he asked, “What do you want to do? I was about to tell him to get lost, but he hung up on me. All you have to do is give me the word.”

  Sassy lifted her chin. “No. I’m going to face the man. It’s probably what I should have done from the very beginning. If you can take me now, I’ll change clothes and we’ll be on our way.”

  He suddenly felt very anxious. For her and himself. Whatever affected Sassy’s life affected his just as deeply, and he had no idea what this meeting with Bart would yield. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be waiting in the kitchen,” he told her.

  * * *

  For some unexplainable reason, Sassy felt remarkably calm as, nearly an hour later, they entered the Silver Horn ranch house and climbed the stairs to Bart’s study. She didn’t know what the man wanted, and though Jett had intended to alert the rest of the family to this meeting, she’d asked him to wait. There would be plenty of time to talk to Orin, and Finn and his brothers after she learned what the Calhoun patriarch had on his mind.

  After Jett knocked on the closed door, the two of them entered a room paneled in dark wood and furnished with oxblood leather furniture. Along one wall, heavy drapes were pulled aside, and a large window gave a view of dusk falling across a ridge of distant mountains.

  Bart Calhoun was sitting behind a mahogany desk, and Sassy had to admit that for a man in his early eighties his appearance was impressive. Even at this advanced age, his shoulders were broad and strong, his salt-and-pepper ha
ir was thick and wavy. A pair of tortoise-framed glasses were perched on the end of his nose and a whiskey tumbler filled with ice and amber-colored liquid occupied one hand. Clearly the man believed he was above following doctor’s orders, or he wasn’t the least bit worried about his blood pressure.

  As they moved into the room, she felt Jett’s arm settle against the back of her waist, and though she didn’t know what was going to happen to their relationship once this meeting was over, his touch comforted her.

  Not bothering with a greeting, Bart said, “I want to talk with Ms. Matthews alone, Jett. She doesn’t need a lawyer at her side to hear what I have to say.”

  Jett’s fingers tightened against her side as they came to a stop a few feet in front of the wide desk. “I’m not leaving Sassy in here alone with you, Bart. So get on with it.”

  Bart arched a brow at Jett. “You’re sounding awful uppity for a man in your position, aren’t you?”

  “Call it what you want, Bart. I’m just saying it like it is.”

  “All right, I’ll say it like it is,” he retorted, his dark eyes boring a hole through Sassy. “I think it’s time we put an end to this little matter.”

  Jett said, “I’ve wondered how long it was going to take before you decided to man up.”

  Bart’s eyes narrowed on Jett. “What are you talking about?”

  “Everybody has been wondering if you’re developing dementia, but in my opinion, using that medical explanation for your behavior would be too kind. You’re cunning and manipulative. You could have enlightened Sassy weeks ago about her parents. Instead, you’d rather play a hateful game of chess.”

  “I know what Sassy is interested in. The same thing her mother was interested in. And don’t think that just because you have Finn and the rest of the family on your side means you can fool me. You think I don’t know about that ridiculous DNA test?” He turned an accusing eye on Jett. “Or you and Orin digging through files like a pair of dirty moles? You two aren’t going to find anything. There’s nothing to find.”

  Shocked, Sassy stared at the old rancher. Could it really be true that he knew her mother? Or was the old man using some twisted ploy with her just because he didn’t want her around?