brides for brothers 03 - cowboy groom

by Christenberry, Judy

  He did have a momentary thought about a condom, since Jake had always preached responsibility, but he couldn’t stop now. It didn’t matter, since he and Anna would be married right away.

  When he entered her, Brett felt the most incredible sense of peace and homecoming, of rightness, that he’d ever felt. It was immediately replaced by intense excitement, a driving urge to completion that consumed him. Fortunately Anna was urging him on, crooning to him with a sweetness that made the final explosion all that much more powerful.

  As silence and stillness fell in the little car, he twisted the pair of them so he was on bottom and she could rest atop him.

  “We should—”

  “Rest, sugar. Rest. We’ll deal with everything later.” He knew how tired she was and, more than ever, he wanted to take care of her. Soon he’d take her back to the ranch and they’d sleep in his bed, but for a few moments, he needed to hold her here.

  He kissed the top of her head and held her against him, feeling her relax, sinking onto him, making him feel even more that they were one.

  Anna let a small sigh of contentment escape as she snuggled into Brett. She wasn’t willing to debate her behavior tonight. She’d tried too long and hard to resist this man, but tonight she couldn’t. Tomorrow she’d face the pain of loving him. Tomorrow she’d worry about the future. Tonight she’d just love him.

  With a grand, glorious, incredible love.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The ringing bothered her.

  It wasn’t close. Muffled. That was how it sounded. She should answer it. If she knew where it was coming from.

  But she was so comfortable, so warm, so…content.

  The ringing came again. She opened one eye, expecting to see her bedroom. Instead, she saw the car dashboard.

  About the same time, she realized she was stretched out stark naked on top of Brett Randall.

  “Dear God, what have I done?” she said with a gasp, her words as much a prayer as anything.

  The ringing of the phone again sent her diving over into the back seat, scrambling for her bag. She kept the cellular phone there and only used it in emergencies.

  “Hello?” she gasped.

  “Anna? Where are you? It’s time!” Pete’s voice was frantic, and he didn’t bother to take time to breathe. “She’s in labor. Hurry, Anna.”

  “I’m on my way. Ten minutes at the most.”

  Brett’s head appeared above the seat. “Anna? What’s wrong?”

  He looked groggy, but Anna couldn’t spare the time to be concerned about him.

  Or about what she’d done.

  “Janie’s in labor.” She twisted and turned, trying to find her clothes. Her jeans were in the back seat, but she couldn’t find her panties or her sweatshirt anywhere. “Damn it, where are my clothes?”

  Brett held out her panties, and she snatched them from him. “Is my sweatshirt up there?” Later, she was going to be horribly embarrassed about her situation. She didn’t have time now.

  “Get dressed, Brett,” she snapped as she grabbed her top from him and shrugged into it. By the time she had her clothes on, Brett had pulled on his jeans and was buttoning his shirt.

  She clambered back over the seat and slid behind the wheel, shoving Brett’s leg out of the way. Without looking at him, she started the car and rammed her foot on the accelerator.

  Dawn was just breaking, but there wasn’t much light because a thunderstorm was building all around them. “This storm is going to panic Pete.”

  “He’ll be all right. But what about Janie? She’s not due yet, either.”

  “She’s thirty-three weeks, only three weeks early. That’s fairly normal for twins,” she said tersely, staring at the road ahead of her, checking her watch.

  He didn’t ask any more questions. Much to Anna’s relief. She was focused on getting to Janie. But on the fringes of her mind, she was replaying what had taken place in her car a few hours ago.

  Their lovemaking had been unbelievably wonderful…and incredibly stupid. She wasn’t the kind of woman who slept around. But Brett wouldn’t know that.

  He probably thought they would have an affair.

  She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t offer him casual sex when the urge overtook him. All she had to offer was her entire being, in particular her heart. And when he rejected it, she would be devastated.

  The lights of the ranch house drew her thoughts, but she took one last look at Brett, one lingering look of love, before she faced what lay ahead. Both for Janie and herself.

  When they reached the ranch, Jake was on the back porch watching for them. Anna didn’t ask Brett to bring her bag this time. She didn’t want him anywhere near her.

  “I’m here,” she announced unnecessarily as she ran past Jake.

  Within seconds she was in Janie’s room, reassuring both Pete and Janie that everything was progressing as it should. She sent Pete out to call Janie’s mother and Doc, and she drew her first deep breath since the phone had awakened her.

  “WHERE HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?” Jake asked as he led Brett into the kitchen and poured him a cup of coffee.

  “Uh, I went with Anna, remember? Carrie and Gabe Brown. If it hadn’t been for Anna, Carrie and the baby might not’ve made it.”

  “Everything’s okay now?”

  “Yeah.” Brett cleared his throat. Yeah, everything was great. He and Anna had worked out their differences. Hadn’t they? He only knew they belonged together. No question about that now. He grinned, his gaze dreamy.

  “So you just left the hospital?”

  Jake’s question brought him back to reality. He looked at his sharp-eyed brother and dismissed any idea of lying to him. “Uh, no, not exactly. When we left the hospital, Anna seemed okay, but after a few minutes, she started crying. I stopped the car to console her and—and we decided to rest for a while. And—and we fell asleep.”

  Kind of an expurgated version of the truth, but—

  “I guess that would explain why your shirt is buttoned up crooked,” Jake said, a grin on his face.

  Though he felt his cheeks heating up, Brett couldn’t hold back a smile. Damn! Being with Anna felt so good he wanted to tell everyone. “Yeah, I guess it would.”

  “She’s a good woman,” Jake said softly. “You got lucky, brother.”

  “Yeah.”

  JANIE WAS TAKING HER TIME.

  Brett felt sure he was going crazy. Several times, he’d gone upstairs and rapped softly on the door of Janie’s bedroom. Each time, Janie’s mother, Lavinia, opened the door to tell him Janie was doing fine. When he asked about Anna, she told him Anna was doing fine also.

  “But she hasn’t had much rest,” he whispered back the second time.

  “She’s taken several naps.”

  “Can I bring her some food? And you, too, of course,” he hurriedly added, remembering his manners.

  “Red has brought us some food, thank you, Brett. Why don’t you get Pete to go downstairs for a while?”

  So instead of getting to see Anna, he escorted his brother downstairs. And paced with him. And listened to him talk.

  “I think Janie should go to the hospital,” Pete burst out.

  “Want me to call an ambulance?” Brett offered.

  “No, she won’t go. She wants the babies to be born here. Like we were. And Anna says there’s no reason to transfer her to the hospital right now.”

  “Did she talk to Doc?”

  “Yeah. They’re talking all the time. I’d better go back up there.”

  As Pete headed for the stairs, Brett grabbed his arm. “Your mother-in-law told me to keep you down here for at least half an hour, and it’s only been five minutes. Let’s go to the kitchen and get something to eat.”

  He watched the struggle on Pete’s face, knowing his brother couldn’t think of eating while Janie was in labor. He could sympathize with him.

  And he hoped his and Anna’s…activity only a few hours ago didn’t result in a pregnancy. Not that he d
idn’t want babies. Of course he did. But he wasn’t ready to face what Pete was going through just yet. He wanted some time with Anna. Just the two of them.

  Chad and Jake, along with Janie’s father, were in the kitchen with Red when they entered. All conversation halted as Pete and Brett entered.

  Waiting was difficult, Brett decided, but having family around certainly made a difference. He thought about how hard it must’ve been on Anna, being all alone. But she wasn’t anymore. She was going to be a Randall. And their family was growing every day.

  “Does this ever get any easier?” Pete asked as he plopped down beside Jake.

  “Don’t look at me,” Jake returned. “You’re the first one to go through this fathering business.”

  “But he’s not going to be the last,” Chad said.

  No, he wouldn’t be the last, Brett agreed silently.

  “It never got any easier for me,” Hank muttered.

  Everyone remembered that he and his wife had suffered several miscarriages.

  “It was pretty hard for Gabe and Carrie last night,” Brett said. “Looks like she and the baby will be all right, but I’m not sure about Gabe. He passes out at the sight of blood, but he went into the operating room to be with her.”

  Pete nodded grimly. “I’m going to be there for Janie. It’s not fair to let her be alone.”

  As he finished speaking, Doc came in the back door and hurried past them without a word. Pete watched him, his eyes large as he straightened in his chair. “Maybe I should—”

  “They’ll call you, boy,” Hank assured him.

  Pete had just subsided against the back of the chair when the door swung open and Anna appeared. Brett leapt up, but he wasn’t the one she wanted.

  “Pete, it’s time,” she announced.

  Without waiting for him to respond, she turned and ran out the door. Pete almost beat her to it.

  ANNA HAD MADE A DECISION while she helped Doc deliver Janie’s twin boys. She had to leave. Obviously she couldn’t be trusted to resist Brett’s charms. Indeed, resisting them now would be almost impossible, now that she knew how powerful and wonderful those charms were.

  She should never have lost control.

  “Brilliant conclusion!” she muttered as, having reached her bedroom, she began pulling open drawers and dumping her clothes on the bed. She slid the suitcase out from under the bed, threw it open and placed the stacks of clothes haphazardly into it.

  She wasn’t aware she was crying until a big, fat tear landed on her hand. She swiped her cheeks and kept on packing. The sooner she got away from the Randalls’, the sooner she’d be back in control.

  Why had she been so stupid? She’d told herself all along that Brett wasn’t for her. She’d known he wouldn’t choose someone like her. Of course, that wouldn’t stop him from sleeping with her. Especially when she threw herself in his arms and encouraged him.

  But when he kissed her, she forgot all her warnings.

  And never would she forget the moments spent in his arms this morning. But he hadn’t spoken of the future, of love.

  Her hand stole to her stomach as she realized they’d taken no precautions. The thought that she might even now hold Brett’s child inside her both thrilled her and brought a dose of despair. If that were true, she’d have to move away. She wouldn’t fall to Sylvia’s level, trying to trap Brett with a baby, even if it was his.

  With a sob, she admitted she’d have to move away whether she was pregnant or not. She couldn’t remain in the area, watching Brett from a distance. Possibly running into him on the street. Watching him eventually marry and have his own children.

  She sniffed and wiped her face again. Then she fastened the suitcase and hefted it off the bed onto the floor. She had to get away. She couldn’t think this close to Brett. The lack of sleep and emotional stress made a coherent thought impossible to find.

  Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she straightened. Returning to Janie’s bedroom, she whispered a goodbye to Mrs. Dawson, checked on Janie and the babies one more time, then slipped from the room. Returning for her suitcase, she then started down the stairs.

  She could hear voices from the kitchen and knew, as always, the family was gathered in their favorite room. Which was why she headed for the front door. She’d have to walk around the house to her car by the back porch, but no one would notice her departure. They were too busy celebrating the two newest Randalls.

  She stowed away her suitcase and slid behind the wheel. As quietly as possible, she started the engine and eased down on the accelerator. In seconds she was leaving the Randall ranch behind.

  And tears were rolling down her cheeks.

  “DID I HEAR A CAR?” Brett asked, thinking they were having company as word spread about the babies. Maybe B.J. was coming to see Janie.

  Even as he casually rose to go to the window, his brain registered that the sound was getting fainter rather than louder. Curious, he leaned toward the window.

  Just in time to catch the taillights of Anna’s car.

  He whirled around to glare at Doc. “Where’s Anna going? She’s too tired to take another call.”

  “Anna?” Doc asked, sitting up straight. “What call?”

  Brett didn’t ask any more questions. He raced for the stairs. He slowed down to quietly open the door to Janie’s room, and Janie’s mother met him.

  “Where’s Anna? Did she say where she was going?”

  Lavinia stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. “She said she was going back home,” she whispered. “I thought everyone knew.”

  Panic filled Brett. Gone home? She was home! He’d been congratulating himself all day that Anna was now his, a part of his family, the center of his heart. Without a word, he left and ran to Anna’s room. The open drawers and empty closet told their tale.

  With no logic or discernible thoughts, Brett ran back down the stairs, through the kitchen, ignoring the questions shouted at him, and out to his pickup. Fortunately he’d left the keys in it. Within seconds he was spinning out of the yard, chasing Anna.

  She couldn’t leave him. She loved him. He knew she did. And if she didn’t, he’d teach her to love him. Because he couldn’t live without Anna.

  Her little yellow car was pulling onto the highway when he first saw it. She wasn’t traveling very fast. Brett pressed down even more on the accelerator and began honking the horn.

  He knew the moment she became aware of him because her car slowed, as if her foot had slipped from the accelerator. But instead of pulling over, as he’d hoped she would, she sped up.

  Damn the woman! What did she think she was doing? He whipped onto the highway and charged after her. Though he’d had Mike tune her car to good condition, it didn’t have the power of his pickup. In a minute, he’d passed her. Then, after he’d gotten a little way ahead of her, he jammed on the brakes and slewed his truck across the two-lane highway, blocking Anna.

  She had no choice but to stop.

  He jumped out of the truck and reached her car door by the time she’d come to a halt.

  “Where the hell are you going?” he demanded as he yanked open the door.

  “Home,” she said, but she didn’t look at him.

  He took her arm and pulled her from the car. “Look at me!”

  Instead, she tried to turn away. He took her chin between his fingers and pulled her face around. The tears streaking down her pale cheeks almost broke his heart.

  “Sugar, what are you doing to us?” he asked as he lifted her against him.

  “Put me down. I have to g-go—”

  “Where? Where do you think you can go so that I can’t find you?” He buried his face in her neck, breathing in the scent of her.

  “I—I can’t stay, Brett. I’m not what you need. Megan and Janie pushed you into—into thinking you might like me. You haven’t had time—”

  He slid her down his body until her lips were even with his. His mouth covered hers, swallowing the words that were spilling out. Later
there would be time for explanations, arguments. Now he had to persuade her that she wasn’t going anywhere.

  And he was persuading as hard as he could.

  She pulled away, her fingers slipping between their lips. “Brett, you’re—you’re not listening to me.”

  “Because you’re talkin’ nonsense, sugar. No one persuaded me to ‘like’ you! Damn it, I love you!” He dipped his head and trailed kisses down her neck. He heaved a sigh of relief when her arms went around his neck and she buried her head on his shoulder.

  “That’s it, sugar. That’s it. We’re together. Forever and ever,” he crooned, as if he were comforting a baby. Indeed, her body trembled against him, and he felt her sobs. “Don’t you love me, Anna? Even a little? You tried to save me from a bull. I thought that meant you cared about me.”

  “Of course I do!” she almost screamed, rearing back from his embrace. “I love you, you idiot!”

  “Then why were you leaving?”

  “Because I’m not right for you, just like Sylvia. I know we—we strike sparks off each other, but you need someone appropriate, someone important—”

  “Strike sparks?” Brett shouted. “Damn it, we’re a nuclear warhead! I’ve never felt anything like I felt this morning, in this little bitty car.”

  “We shouldn’t have—I lost control,” she confessed, collapsing against him again.

  “I think that’s my line, Anna darlin’.”

  “No, it was my fault. I threw myself at you. But it’s okay. I don’t expect anything—”

  “Well, I do! If you don’t promise to marry me right away, I’m going to tell everyone you seduced me and then abandoned me. And after I paid five hundred dollars for your company, too.”

  Her head popped up again. “Brett, don’t be silly. Men don’t—What? Paid? You didn’t know it was my box.”

  “Yes, I did. I bribed the mayor. I need you, Anna O’Brien. No one else will do. You’re perfect for me.”

  “Oh, Brett…” Anna whispered, her gaze roving his face as if searching for the truth.