Nelson's Brand

by Diana Palmer

  His easy expression faded. “I didn’t think you’d agree if you’d known we wouldn’t be staying with Morgan and Samantha.”

  “You’re right.” Blowing out a frustrated breath, she folded her arms beneath her breasts. “That’s fine. You can take Amber and me to the bus station tomorrow and we’ll go back to Oklahoma.”

  Colt’s mouth flattened into a tight line, but he remained silent until they topped a rise overlooking a peaceful-looking valley. “That’s my place down there,” he said, pointing to the far end of the basin.

  Kaylee’s breath caught at the sight of a gorgeous two-story log home with a split-rail fence surrounding the yard. Several horses grazed contentedly in the pastures surrounding the structure and a beautiful black stallion pranced in the corral at the side of the big barn.

  “Do you like it?” he asked.

  “The word ‘like’ doesn’t even begin to describe it,” she said as she tried to swallow around the huge lump clogging her throat. Until Mitch’s death, she’d lived on a ranch all of her life, and she missed the quiet solitude of an uncluttered landscape. “This is absolutely beautiful, Colt.”

  “Thanks.” He seemed pleased that she liked his home as he steered the truck off the road and onto a narrow gravel lane leading up to the house. “I still have a storage shed I’d like to build next spring, and eventually I’d like to add an indoor arena with a couple of bucking chutes.”

  At the mention of his wanting to construct an area where he could practice riding bulls, a chill raced through her. She’d lost her enthusiasm for bull riding when she lost her brother to the sport.

  Parking the truck beside the house, Colt grinned. “Welcome to my part of the Lonetree, ladies.”

  Amber giggled and hid her face behind her hands.

  “You like Daddy’s house?” Colt asked.

  Shaking her head, she kept her face hidden but continued to laugh.

  Colt’s grin widened. “More progress.”

  Kaylee’s chest tightened at the love she saw in Colt’s expression when he gazed at Amber. No matter what had taken place between her and Colt, Kaylee knew for certain that Amber had a daddy who loved her with all his heart.

  She sighed wistfully. There had been a time when she’d dreamed of coming home to the Lonetree with Colt and their child. Only, in her fantasy, they’d been married and hopelessly in love.

  She almost laughed at her own foolishness. That had been several years ago—before she’d grown up to realize that the world wasn’t made of fairy tales and not every story had a happy ending.

  “Kaylee? Are you all right?”

  Looking up, she saw that Colt had gotten out of the truck and was standing with the passenger door open. “I’m fine.” She unbuckled Amber’s shoulder harness, then lifted her daughter from the car seat. “I was just thinking about how many things have changed over the years.”

  He stared at her for a moment before he offered his hand to help her from the truck. He smiled sadly, and she knew he was thinking about Mitch. “Some things do change, honey. We don’t always like it, but we can’t stop it.” When he met her gaze, the look in his vivid blue eyes took her breath. “But some things stay the same, even if it doesn’t seem that they have.”

  She had no idea what he meant by his last comment, but deciding it was time to lighten the mood, she set Amber on her feet, then took hold of her hand. “Does the inside of your house look as good as the outside, or did you decorate in modern bachelor?”

  Colt laughed as he guided her up the front porch steps. “It’s actually a combination of modern bachelor and cast-off Wakefield.”

  Kaylee grinned. “Let me guess. You raided the attic at the homestead.”

  “Yep.” Opening the front door, he stepped back for her and Amber to precede him into the house. “I do have a new recliner and a kick-butt entertainment system, though.”

  “That would be the modern bachelor part of the decor, right?” she asked, leading Amber into the foyer. Before he could answer she caught her breath at her first glimpse of the great room. “Colt, it’s absolutely perfect.”

  The golden hue of the log walls and wood floor were perfectly accented by the bright red, blue and yellow Native American print upholstery on the couch and matching chairs. Grouped on a huge braided rug in front of the stone fireplace, it made the room very warm and inviting.

  “I love the colors and the Western accents,” she said, noticing several pieces of vintage leather tack and Native American artifacts hanging on the walls, along with a pair of spurs and a bronze sculpture of a bull and rider on the mantel.

  “Samantha and Annie really got into helping me decorate it,” he said, sounding pleased. “Annie bought a do-it-yourself book on reupholstering, then coerced Brant and Morgan into helping her with some furniture she and Samantha found in the attic at the homestead. While they recovered the couch and chairs, Samantha made drapes. I came home after a PBR event in Colorado Springs and didn’t recognize the place.”

  “They did a wonderful job,” Kaylee said, meaning it. She looked around. “But I thought you said you had a lounger and an entertainment system.”

  “They’re in the family room just off the kitchen,” he said, pointing toward one end of the great room. “And there’s a weight room back there, too.”

  Kaylee glanced in the direction he indicated and felt compelled to take a closer look. She wasn’t interested in the other rooms as much as she was the kitchen. She loved to cook and had always felt that it was the heart of any home.

  Holding Amber’s hand so she wouldn’t wander off, Kaylee walked past the snack bar separating the two rooms and immediately fell in love with the light oak cabinets, highly polished black-marble countertops and terra-cotta-tiled floor. Everything about the room appealed to her.

  “Like it?” Colt asked, leaning one hip against the end of the snack bar.

  “What woman wouldn’t like it?” she asked, smiling.

  A sudden thought caused her smile to fade and a deep sadness to fill her soul. One day Colt would be sharing this beautiful home with a woman, and it wouldn’t be her.

  “Up, Mommy, up,” Amber said, rubbing her eyes with one little fist.

  Thankful that she’d been distracted from the disturbing thought, Kaylee picked up her daughter. “It’s about time for your nap, isn’t it, sweetie?”

  Amber shook her head, then laid her cheek on Kaylee’s shoulder.

  “I don’t think she likes admitting that she’s sleepy,” Colt said, smiling.

  Kaylee nodded. “She’s afraid she’ll miss something.” She glanced toward the family room. “Is there somewhere I could lay her down once she goes to sleep?”

  “I guess the couch in the family room would be best,” he said, looking thoughtful. “I think the first order of business will be to borrow a crib from Morgan or Brant, and a couple of those gates they put up to keep their kids away from the stairs.”

  When Kaylee nodded her agreement, then carried Amber into the family room, Colt released a relieved breath. He couldn’t believe how good it felt to know Kaylee liked his home. He really hadn’t expected her opinion to mean so much to him.

  But at the moment he had a more pressing concern than Kaylee’s approval. He hadn’t been prepared for a toddler, and the house needed to be child-proofed for Amber’s safety.

  He took a deep breath, then crossed the great room to enter the study. He wasn’t looking forward to the phone call he was about to make. No matter which brother he called to borrow the items needed to make the house safe, he was going to get the third degree.

  Deciding Brant was the less intense of his two brothers, Colt picked up the phone and punched in the number. “Hey, bro,” he said when Brant answered. “I need a favor.”

  Twenty minutes later, when Colt parked the truck in his brother’s driveway, he wasn’t at all surprised to see Brant standing on the porch waiting for him.

  “Okay, little brother, spill it,” Brant said as soon as Colt opened th
e driver’s door. “Why do you need all of this baby stuff?”

  “Hello to you, too, bro,” Colt said, stalling.

  He’d told his brother he would explain everything when he arrived to pick up the portable crib and other items he’d requested. But he sure as hell wasn’t looking forward to it.

  Both of his brothers liked Kaylee a lot. They’d known her almost as long as Colt had, and from the time they’d figured out that she had a huge crush on him, they’d warned him not to hurt her, unless he wanted to answer to both of them. Now, meeting his grim-faced brother’s stormy gaze, Colt knew for certain Brant wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear any more than Colt liked having to tell him.

  Deciding there was no better way to break the news than straight-out, Colt took a deep breath. “I need the crib for my daughter, Amber.”

  Clearly dumbfounded, it took a moment for Brant to respond. “Let me get this straight. You have a daughter named Amber, and she’s staying with you?”

  “Yep.”

  “Her mom is with her?” Brant asked, his frown darkening.

  “She’s getting Amber down for a nap,” Colt said, nodding. “That’s why I need to get the stuff and get back.”

  Brant shook his head. “You’re not getting off that easy, little brother. You left out a whole bunch of real important details. Like, how old Amber is, how long you’ve known about her and her mother’s name.”

  Pushing his Resistol back with his thumb, Colt sighed heavily and sat on the porch steps. “You might want to have a seat.”

  “I don’t like the sound of this,” Brant said, sitting beside him.

  “Well, I’m none too wild about having to tell you about it, either,” Colt said, staring out across the pasture. He should have known Brant wasn’t going to settle for a bare-bones account of what was going on. “Amber is a couple of months younger than Zach,” he finally said, referring to Brant’s little boy. “And I didn’t know anything about her until four days ago.”

  Brant whistled low. “That’s unfair,” he said, his voice filled with understanding. “I’m sorry to hear the woman didn’t see fit to let you know. Do I know her?”

  “Yeah.” Colt glanced at his brother from the corner of his eye. “Kaylee is Amber’s mother.”

  From his stunned expression, Brant looked as though he’d been treated to the business end of a cattle prod. “Kaylee Simpson?”

  Nodding, Colt didn’t say anything as he waited for his brother to digest the news. It didn’t take long.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” Brant demanded, his dark scowl formidable. “Besides the fact that Morgan and I both warned you not to hurt Kaylee, why didn’t you make sure you protected her?”

  Colt rubbed at the tension gripping the muscles at the back of his neck, then readjusted his sling to a more comfortable position. “Neither one of us was doing a whole lot of thinking that night. We were both too torn up over losing Mitch.” He took a deep breath and met his brother’s gaze head-on. “I swear I didn’t intend to sleep with Kaylee that night. But as soon as I saw my little girl, I knew I wasn’t sorry that I had.”

  Brant’s deep frown faded as his eyes filled with understanding. “I felt the same way the first time I looked at Zach. But that doesn’t explain why Kaylee didn’t tell you when she found out she was pregnant.”

  Staring out across the pasture, Colt shrugged his good shoulder. He wasn’t proud of his actions, nor was he eager to share the details. “Let’s just say she had her reasons, and leave it at that.”

  Brant nodded. “I guess that explains why none of us has seen or heard from Kaylee since Mitch died.”

  “Yeah.” Colt sighed heavily. “It also explains why she turned down Morgan’s request last year when he emailed to see if she’d teach horseback riding at Samantha’s camp for underprivileged kids.”

  “How did you find out about Amber?” Brant asked suddenly.

  “I stopped by Kaylee’s place to see how she’s been. When she opened the door, she was holding Amber.” Colt met Brant’s questioning gaze. “All it took was one look and I knew Amber was my little girl.”

  “She looks like a Wakefield?”

  “Same black hair and blue eyes,” Colt said, nodding.

  They sat in silence for some time before Brant asked, “Are you going to marry Kaylee?”

  Colt whipped his head around to stare at his brother. “Did you work the PBR event this past weekend?” One of the best rodeo bullfighters in the country, Brant worked most of the PBR events plus several of the major professional rodeos.

  Brant looked puzzled. “Yeah, but what does that have to do with—”

  “You must have taken a pretty good hit and ended up landing on your head,” Colt said disgustedly. “How do you figure Kaylee would want to marry me if she wouldn’t even tell me she was pregnant?”

  “Have you asked her?”

  “No.”

  “Then how do you know she wouldn’t?” Brant asked seriously.

  “I just know,” Colt said, shaking his head.

  He’d already thought about asking Kaylee to be his wife when he first found out about Amber. But it had taken him all of about two seconds to come to his senses. Even if Kaylee was willing to marry him, which he knew for certain she wasn’t, they had Amber’s happiness to think of. Getting married for the wrong reasons could prove disastrous.

  What would happen if their marriage didn’t work? Amber could be hurt worse by a breakup than if they never married at all.

  “But you are going to make things right between the two of you?” Brant asked.

  Colt nodded. “That’s why I brought Kaylee and Amber home with me. First and foremost, I’m going to do some major fence-mending.”

  “Good idea,” Brant said. “I don’t know what happened between you, but I do know Kaylee. Whatever it was had to be pretty bad for her not to tell you about your daughter.”

  “It wasn’t one of my prouder moments,” Colt admitted, his gut twisting when he thought about how badly he’d handled the situation. “But after I make amends for being a real bonehead, I want to see if we can’t rebuild our friendship, as well as come to an agreement about how we want to raise Amber.”

  “You’ve got a lot to accomplish,” Brant said. “How long will Kaylee and Amber be staying with you?”

  “Until the end of October,” Colt said, rising to his feet. “And unless I want to do more groveling, I’d better get the crib and other stuff loaded and get back to them.”

  “Well, congratulations on being a father, little brother,” Brant said, standing. “And best of luck with straightening things out with Kaylee.”

  “Thanks,” Colt said, following him into the house. “I have a feeling I’ll need all the luck I can get.”

  Standing in the bedroom she would be sharing with Amber, Kaylee watched Colt as he tried to put the portable crib together with one hand. “I know you like to do things for yourself,” she said diplomatically, “but I think you’re going to need a little help with that.”

  “I think you’re right.” He didn’t look happy. “I can’t hold it up and lock these braces in place without using both hands.”

  “I’ll support it while you secure it,” she said, moving to help him.

  “Son of a bi—buck!” Colt stood, slinging his hand.

  “What happened?” Kaylee asked, rounding the crib to take his hand in hers. She examined his thumb as she tried to ignore the tingling sensation zinging up her arm. “It doesn’t appear to be cut.”

  He shook his head. “I just pinched the—” he glanced over at Amber sitting in the rocking chair watching them “—heck out of it.”

  Amber giggled and grabbed the doll Colt had given her, but didn’t hide behind it when she noticed them watching her.

  “She thinks you’re funny,” Kaylee said, smiling fondly at her daughter.

  “Do you think Daddy’s funny?” Colt asked, grinning at Amber.

  When Amber broke into a fresh wave of g
iggles, Kaylee laughed. “I’d say she finds you very amusing.”

  “I remember a time when I used to amuse you, too,” Colt said, suddenly serious.

  Needing to put distance between them, Kaylee tried to release his hand, but his fingers tightened around hers. “That was a long time ago,” she said, hating that she sounded so breathless.

  “Not that long ago, honey.”

  When she looked up at his handsome face, his expression caused her heart to stutter. “Colt?”

  “Hush,” he said, lowering his lips to hers.

  Before she could come to her senses and push him away, he released her hand to put his arm around her shoulders and pull her close. Mesmerized by the feel of his firm mouth, his musky male scent and the strength of his hard body pressed to hers, Kaylee didn’t even think to protest. Instead her eyes drifted shut and she brought her hands up to rest on his wide chest.

  Colt traced her lips, seeking entry to the sensitive recesses beyond, and Kaylee opened for him without hesitation. He touched his tongue to hers to engage her in a game of advance and retreat, sending heat streaking through her veins and making her heart skip several beats. But when he slid his hand down her back to cup her rear, then pull her lower body to his, Kaylee felt as if she’d gone into sensory overload. His burgeoning arousal pressing against her lower stomach, the taste of his passion and the sound of his deep groan made her knees wobble and her head spin. Gripping the front of his denim shirt, she wasn’t sure she could keep herself from melting into a puddle at his big, booted feet.

  “Mommy, up,” Amber said, slapping Kaylee’s leg with her little hand. “Up.”

  Brought back to her senses, Kaylee would have jerked from Colt’s embrace, but he held her close as he slowly broke the kiss. “I think a certain little pixie is jealous,” he murmured, his words vibrating against Kaylee’s lips.

  Stepping back, Kaylee shook her head. “That shouldn’t have happened.”

  Colt stared at her for endless seconds and she felt as if she just might drown in the depths of his incredibly blue gaze. “Maybe not, but I’ll be da—darned if I’m sorry it did,” he finally said.