“She’s no slouch in the looks department, either,” Jake said. He, too, was grinning, and B.J. wanted to strangle him.
She murmured a thank-you and said a silent prayer of gratitude that their orders arrived to end the conversation. Perhaps if she ate in a hurry, the evening could end before any more damage was done.
After a few minutes, Lucy brought the conversation around to Anna, Jake’s sister-in-law. “Do you think Anna will take me on as a patient?”
“I’m sure she will.”
“I heard she was cutting back since her marriage to Brett.”
Jake answered. “You’re close by. I’m sure she’ll want to help you out. Unless she’s expecting herself.”
“Oh? You wanting more babies, Jake?” Ben asked.
“You can’t have too many babies. We want the Randalls to continue for generations to come.”
“Good thing the first two were boys, then. What if you had all girls? I hope ours is a boy.”
B.J. wondered what Jake’s response would be. Not that it mattered, but she hated the way some men only wanted sons.
“Same blood, whether it’s a boy or a girl, Ben. It’s your family. That’s what counts.” With a sigh, Jake added, “In fact, I think I might like a little girl. They’re awful sweet.”
“Maybe you should have one yourself,” Lucy suggested, with a sly look at B.J.
Though his gaze settled on B.J.’s red cheeks, Jake said, “Nah. I’m not suited to marriage. We’ve already proved that the hard way.”
“Jake, you just made the wrong choice,” Ben insisted. “B.J.’s not like Chloe.”
“The weather has certainly been nice this fall,” B.J. said in strangled tones. Her attempt to steer the conversation in another direction was a total failure.
Ben grinned at her. “Sorry, B.J. I didn’t mean to embarrass you, but this guy deserves happiness like the rest of us.”
She was at a loss as to how to respond.
“B.J.’s a little shy,” Jake said, grinning. “I don’t think she’s dated much since her husband died.”
B.J. almost groaned out loud. Jake had managed to shift the conversation from himself to her, but the topic remained the same.
“When did your husband die?” Lucy asked.
B.J. couldn’t refuse to answer, not with the sympathetic smile Lucy offered her. “Four years ago. About six months after our son was born.”
“You have a little boy? I didn’t know that. So he’s four?”
B.J. nodded.
Jake joined in. “Yeah, Toby’s a neat kid. And growing like a weed. Did you notice, B.J.? I think he’s grown almost a foot since you moved in.”
She nodded again.
“I gave Toby one of Molly’s pups, and you never see one without the other except for the hours he’s at school.”
“It’s hard being an only child,” Lucy said. “I was so lonely until I started school. We don’t want our baby to be an only.”
B.J. hadn’t wanted Toby to be an only child, either, but sometimes life had other plans than the ones you made. She looked up and realized Jake’s gaze was on her. She looked back down at her food.
“It’s not too late for B.J. to have more children, either,” Ben offered, as if that idea had just occurred to him. “After all, you’re not exactly over the hill, B.J.”
“Thank you,” she murmured. “This food is certainly delicious. Jake, I hope you think it was worth the drive. He was questioning the wisdom of driving this far for a dinner just before we got here.” This conversational gambit was more successful than the weather had been earlier. But B.J. was beginning to wonder if their dinner companions would discuss anything but weddings and babies.
Just as they took up the topic of food, they were interrupted by several older couples from Rawhide who were leaving.
“Jake! Good to see you. Well, hi, Ben, Lucy. And B.J., what are you doing—You and Jake are together? Good job, Jake,” Henry Pollard roared with a voice loud enough to imitate a bullhorn.
B.J. cringed and tried to appear indifferent to the announcement Probably no one else knew them here. But she felt the center of attention.
“Just having a meal out, Henry,” Jake responded, standing, as did Ben, to shake their hands.
B.J. recognized the other couple and felt her heart sink. Mr. Miller ran the feed store, and his wife was the postmistress for the county. She handed out gossip with the stamps she sold.
“Well, I declare,” Mrs. Miller said, smiling at B.J. “I knew the Randall ranch was a hotbed for Cupid, but I never suspected Jake would fall to one of those little arrows.”
“We’re just having a meal out,” B.J. said more forcefully than she should have.
“Oh, of course,” Mrs. Pollard agreed, and winked at Mrs. Miller. “Nice choice of companion, though. He’s number one on the bachelor list, now that his brothers have been taken.”
Before B.J. could protest again, which was probably just as well, Mrs. Pollard turned to Lucy.
“And how are you, Lucy, dear? I heard you were in town today. Everything all right?”
“You were in town and didn’t come to see me?” Mrs. Miller asked.
B.J. knew the woman hated to be the last one to know something. She wondered if Lucy would share her news.
“I had to make a quick trip. I’ll be back in next week for a real shopping trip and I’ll stop by then, Mrs. Miller. I need a new supply of stamps.”
“Good. I’ll look forward to a little chat. Well, we must go now. Come along, dear,” Mrs. Miller said, tugging on her husband’s arm.
B.J. had no doubt she was anxious to get outside, where she and Mrs. Pollard could discuss Jake’s venture into the dating game. Poor Jake. She remembered his suggestion that they eat and then decide whether to continue the charade.
Now it appeared the decision had been made for them.
When they finally left the restaurant, after Jake and Ben amicably argued over who should pay the bill, B.J. breathed a sigh of relief. But she was worried about Jake’s reaction to the events of the evening.
He might not have wanted to continue pretending to be involved with her, but rumor would link them together for months to come. Unless he took up with another woman.
That thought bothered B.J., but she didn’t want to examine why. Jake wasn’t her property.
What would he say about tonight?
They settled into the pickup. Instead of driving off at once, however, Jake sat back and let the engine warm up. B.J. said nothing, waiting for him to speak.
“Interesting evening,” he finally murmured.
Warily she nodded, taking one hurried glance at his face before staring out at the cars around them.
He turned toward her, and she held her breath. But the words that came out weren’t what she expected.
“Do you want to have another baby?”
Chapter Seven
He watched her reaction to his question. In the dim light provided by the neon sign outside the restaurant, he saw her cheeks flush. Her wide stare quickly shifted to the cars in the parking lot.
“Why—why do you ask?”
He gave an uncomfortable chuckle. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not volunteering. It just struck me that— Never mind.” He put the truck in gear and began driving out of the parking lot.
Out of the darkness, B.J.’s soft, sexy voice answered, “Yes, I did want to have more children. I love Toby, and as Lucy said, it’s hard to be an only.”
“You were an only child?”
“Yes.”
“You and your husband planned on a big family?”
She shifted in her seat, as if she were uncomfortable. Jake stared at her in the darkness, trying to see her face.
“We really hadn’t planned that far ahead,” she finally said, her voice calm, emotionless.
He frowned, suddenly filled with a lot of questions about B.J.’s marriage. But he couldn’t ask them. Finally he cleared his throat and said, “Toby’s a great kid.�
�
“Thank you.”
They rode in silence until Jake introduced the subject he figured B.J. wanted to avoid. “So, I guess we’re going ahead with the pretense?”
“Do we have any choice? By noon tomorrow, Mrs. Miller will have told everyone in the county that we were out together tonight.”
“We could have a big fight, break up.”
“We tried that Friday night.”
He chuckled. “No, you tried it Friday. It wasn’t a joint effort.”
“True. You were too busy polishing your image as a Romeo,” she said stiffly.
“Hey, I had to do something. You slugged me in front of everyone. And then drove all the way out to the pasture to argue with me in front of my crew.”
“I didn’t come out to argue with you,” she protested. “I came out to ask for your cooperation.”
“Humph!”
They covered a few more miles in silence.
“I’m sorry, Jake,” she finally said, her voice low. He leaned toward her, not sure he’d heard her.
“What?”
“I said I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—to argue with you. I’m not used to negotiating with anyone, much less…a man.”
“Did you and your husband always get along?”
“No. But it’s been a long time. And—and we don’t have a relationship, you and I. There aren’t any rules.”
Yeah, he knew. He didn’t have the right to haul her into his arms and kiss the daylights out of her because he was frustrated. And he was frustrated.
“Guess we’d better work out the parameters fast,” he drawled.
“I think it would be best to avoid kissing from now on,” she said hurriedly, as if she’d thought of that idea for a while.
“Why? No one will believe we’re—how did you put it, an item?—if we don’t.” And he’d lose out on a lot of pleasure. Kissing B.J. was quickly becoming addictive.
“Yes, they will. You’ve kissed me enough in front of people that they will assume we’re kissing in private.”
“Nope.” He spoke firmly, determined not to lose this battle. “I’m the kind of guy who touches people. Everyone knows that. If I don’t touch you, kiss you, no one will believe our story.”
She didn’t speak, and he wondered why. He actually began to slow down, considering pulling off the road to check on her when she said, “All right, but keep it to a minimum.”
“Why? Don’t you want to convince Red and Mildred? Red knows me better than anyone.”
“Jake, you’re being difficult. You can see that our kissing all the time could cause problems. You’re not a child.”
“Are you telling me that my kissing you gets you stirred up? Heats your blood to a boil?” He was grinning, enjoying her discomfiture. Glad he wasn’t the only one turned on.
“And I suppose it doesn’t bother you?”
“Lady, one kiss from you and my jeans are too tight. I lay awake at night thinking about you in bed beside me. I’m losing sleep and my appetite just thinking about kissing you.”
A car passed by them, and he saw the stunned look on B.J.’s face. She was surprised? He must be a better actor than he’d thought.
“Then why—”
“Why kiss you any more? Because I’m a kissaholic when it comes to you. I can’t resist. Besides, we’ll never convince Red and Mildred without some kissing.” He kept his hands tightly grasped around the wheel. All this talk of kissing made him want to reach out and pull her to him, to pull to the side of the road and follow his talk with action.
“I don’t think I can do this.”
“Why?” he snapped back, afraid she was getting cold feet.
She didn’t answer him.
“You afraid you’ll lose control and go too far?”
“Yes! Yes, that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
“So what if you do? You’re not a cowering virgin, B.J. Do you intend to go the rest of your life without sex? Sounds mighty sterile to me.” His heart was beating faster. He hadn’t thought about an affair with her, but now that the possibility had entered his head, he couldn’t see any reason not to.
“I don’t have affairs,” she said icily.
“Have you noticed a parade of women going in and out of my bedroom? If you’re concerned about a disease, don’t be.”
She gasped. “You think that’s the only reason not to fall in bed with you? That disease is all I have to consider?”
“What else is there? We’re attracted to each other. We’d be discreet.”
“Everyone in the county already knows we’re dating. Is that being discreet?”
“Probably not, but they’re going to think we’re doing something anyway. We might as well enjoy it.” The more he thought about it, the more perfect it sounded. Except…
For the very reason that he hadn’t had an affair since his divorce.
Could he handle it? That question stopped him cold. What was he talking about? Of course he could. Couldn’t he? He wouldn’t get emotionally involved. It would just be sex. Plain and simple.
Only sex was never plain and simple.
And as badly as he wanted her now, was it possible he could become addicted to holding her, touching her, kissing her?
Yup. Entirely possible.
He began to sweat.
“Having second thoughts?”
Her soft, sultry voice only underlined his thoughts.
“Maybe. We might get in over our heads.”
She responded by laughing, only there wasn’t much humor in the sound. “What you’re really saying is you’re afraid I’ll trap you into marriage. That the great Jake Randall might fall into the very trap he set for his brothers.”
“Not going to happen, B.J. And you need to understand that up front. Whatever pretending we do, it’s not going to lead to marriage,” he assured her harshly.
“You sound like you think I want to marry you! I can assure you I have no intention of marrying.” She crossed her arms under her breasts.
Jake took a deep breath and turned his gaze on the road. Otherwise, he might run them off into a ditch, just thinking about touching that part of her anatomy. Unbuttoning that silk dress, button by button, peeling back the—
“Jake! What’s the matter with you?”
“Nothing. I’m not used to having serious discussions while I’m driving.” He couldn’t come up with a better excuse on short notice.
“But when else can we come to a decision? There’s always someone around at the ranch.”
“What decision are we coming to?” he asked, distracted every time he looked at her. “Pretending to be together…or being together.”
“Temporarily,” she added, imitating his slow drawl.
“What?”
“Being together temporarily. In other words, having an affair.”
“Is that what we’ve decided?”
“No! I meant those were our choices. And I refuse to have an affair. I told you.”
“So we have no choice. Discussion ended.” He figured he was the more frustrated of the two of them, but she didn’t sound very happy.
“No, we have another choice. We can choose not to—to pretend. We can stop this nonsense.”
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” He realized abandoning their scheme would be best. Already he’d discovered she was too potent for pretense. But somehow he couldn’t quite give up touching her.
“You mean Mildred and Red?” she asked, her voice falling.
“Yeah. I thought you said they deserve happiness.” He slanted a glance her way. “Mildred really made a difference when your husband died, didn’t she?”
B.J. didn’t say anything for several miles, staring out the window into the darkness. Finally, tucking her chin down, she said softly, “She did. I owe her a lot.”
“Then I reckon maybe you owe her our little pretense. It’s not going to hurt anyone. The two of us may have to exercise a little extra control, but that’s no big deal. I can if y
ou can.” He hoped like hell he was right.
Or maybe he hoped he was wrong and she couldn’t control herself. It wouldn’t be his fault if she asked to have sex with him.
That thought brought a big smile to his face.
“What’s so funny?” she demanded.
“Nothing,” he assured her as a big truck blew past them. He pretended to concentrate on his driving. When she said nothing else, he asked, “So, did you decide?”
“I guess—I guess we should pretend. For a little while longer. As long as it doesn’t hurt anything. Don’t you think?”
That was the most indecisive he’d ever heard B.J. be. Usually she made quick decisions. He’d admired that in her. But there was something about B.J. tonight, her softness, her sexiness, that was lighting him up. He couldn’t really see her in the dark, but her image was imprinted on his brain.
“Okay.” He affected a nonchalant tone.
“But you promised to keep the kissing to a minimum,” she hurriedly added.
“Right. We don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.”
“Right.”
But there was a breathless quality to her answer that told him she couldn’t help thinking about their kisses.
Silence reigned until they reached home.
Jake parked the truck in its customary spot, rather than parking in front of B.J.’s house. It was only a matter of a few yards. “I’ll walk you home,” he said as they both got out of the truck.
“That’s not necessary.” She hurriedly rounded the truck.
“Yes, it is. Red and Mildred are going to be waiting.”
“But surely…do you think they’ll be watching?”
“Could be. Come here,” he ordered, but he actually crossed the distance between them before she could move. He draped his arm across her shoulders and began walking slowly toward her house.
“I’m not sure this is necessary.”
“I believe it is. And I think you should wrap your arm around my waist. Red insinuated we should’ve cuddled in the truck on the drive home. If we’d done that, you wouldn’t be standoffish.”
“Oh?” she asked, turning to look at him. “All your dates cuddle readily?”
“Yes, ma’am. Satisfaction guaranteed,” he assured her, a broad grin on his face. “Want me to demonstrate?”
brides for brothers 04 - cowboy surrender Page 7
