Cowboy's Heart

by Rhonda Laurel

  “Right! Jared, you’re in charge of the wallets,” Tyler said.

  “Jared should be the quarterback tonight,” Tate said.

  “Why does Jared get to be the quarterback?” Channing raised an eyebrow.

  “Because he’s the only one who understands what’s going on,” Tate quipped.

  “I think it’s safe to say we’re not looking for love tonight? Just a pleasant evening gambling and playing the field.” Jared looked at Bo and Channing, who nodded in agreement.

  Sam’s radar must have been up because her partner Kendrick knocked and entered the room, dressed like the guys. “Gentlemen, I will be your primary security specialist tonight. Let’s go have some fun.”

  “Is a security detail really necessary?” Channing asked.

  “Sam said it’s either me or her, and J.J. wasn’t happy about the prospect of her escorting you around tonight.” Kendrick laughed.

  Tate wished them well as they filed out of the room.

  “Is this wise?” Tate looked at Tyler.

  Tyler scoffed. “Are you kidding me? How much trouble can three nerds get into?”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Isabelle slathered on the sunblock and checked her bag for poolside essentials. In addition to helping Morgan with the boys, she was going to try to catch up on some reading. She shook her head when she saw the boys coming out of their suite looking like undiscovered sea creatures. Morgan must have put every floating device within a five-mile radius on them.

  “They’re going to hover above the water with all that stuff on.” Isabelle squeezed the dinosaur floatie around Jake’s waist.

  “They’ll be fine.” Morgan stuck her tongue out.

  They stopped by Robert’s suite to get Avery, who came to the door in tears wearing her new bathing suit.

  “What’s wrong?” Isabelle put her arm around her.

  “Daddy said I can’t wear my bathing suit down to the pool. I have a cover up. He’s such a kill joy.” Avery rolled her eyes.

  Isabelle and Morgan looked at Avery. The teen had curves galore.

  “Over my dead body!” Robert yelled.

  “Let’s see the cover up,” Morgan said. As soon as Avery went into her room, she motioned for Robert to come to the door.

  “She’s not wearing it.” He folded his arms across his chest.

  “Wow. Déjà vu.” Isabelle bit her lip. She remembered the ruckus the Reed men made when she and Morgan were fifteen and wanted to wear swimsuits to the lake.

  “You pulled this crap on us once upon a time, and I spent a good ten years trying to piss you off even more. You would think you learned something from it. She’s growing up. You making a big deal about her body is going to make her hit that rebellion button her hand is already hovering over. Now relax. She’ll be with us and I will watch her like a hawk,” Morgan said.

  Avery came back wearing her cover up. She looked like daddy’s little girl again.

  “That’s really cute,” Isabelle said to break the tension.

  “We were just explaining to your dad that you’re a young lady, and you know better than to flaunt your bits all over the place. He’s not giving in, he just trusts you to be the lady he raised.”

  Robert and Avery were both happy, and the teenager even managed an apology to her dad and gave him a hug. Isabelle tried to fight back a smile. Morgan had just managed to appease both father and daughter. Damn she was good. Isabelle and Morgan settled in a cabana by the kiddie pool, watching Avery and the boys splash around.

  “Looks like Avery inherited the Reed hips.” Isabelle removed her hat.

  “Yeah. She’s so stinkin’ cute that Robert isn’t going to get a wink of sleep for the next ten years. Not to mention the rest of the men in this family. A boy smiled at her in the gift shop, and Jared, Seth, and Channing were drawing straws over who was going break his legs.” Morgan shook her head.

  “You handled that like a pro. I’m impressed.”

  “You’re going to be my new apprentice. I will teach you how to navigate all those personalities that will be floating around the cabin.” Morgan looked around to make sure no one in the family was in earshot, then leaned over and rubbed Isabelle’s stomach. “Hey, baby, it’s your aunt Morgan. I can’t wait to meet you. Your mom and dad are pretty talented, so you’ll probably be some kind of curly-haired music prodigy. But the ranch is football country, so your cousins may ask you to toss the ball around every now and then.” She looked up at Isabelle. “How many little Tates do you think you’ll have?”

  Isabelle’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t thought about more than the one that’s growing in my belly.”

  “I know you’re an only child, but think about broadening those horizons.”

  “That’s what cousins are for, to keep only children company.” Isabelle laughed. “How about you let me tell Tate about the first one, and then we’ll go from there?”

  “OK. I’m going to get us some non-alcoholic drinks.” Morgan jumped up.

  Isabelle watched as Morgan walked over to the cabana bar. Curvy women did run in the family. She ran her hand over her hips; she could tell she’d filled out a little. Had Tate noticed?

  * * *

  Three hours later Isabelle took the twins by the hand and ushered them back to her suite. Morgan and Jake were having such a good time in the pool, she volunteered to take the boys when it became obvious their energy was waning and they needed a nap. She could tell Jake’s impending schooling left Morgan wanting to spend as much time with him as she could. Her little boy was growing up, and she was a little sad about it.

  The twins were getting a bad rap in the family for being precocious, but they were good with her. After giving them a quick shower and something comfortable to wear, she put them in her and Tate’s bed hoping they’d fall right asleep. They didn’t, and asked for everything from juice to a story. She gave them a snack and finally got them to settle down as she read one of their favorite books. While she read she thought of the baby growing inside her, and thinking about how wonderful it would be to read to him or her made her feel all warm inside. She couldn’t wait to be a mom and hoped that Tate would be equally excited about being a dad. It scared him to think he could be anything like Joe. She thanked God that man was no longer in Tate’s life.

  * * *

  Tate put Loulabelle in her case and was ready to head upstairs to talk to Isabelle. Since the hot sauce and waffles, he’d noticed her appetite had done a one-eighty from the birdlike rations she’d been eating for the past month. His momma’s comment about pregnancy cravings kept playing over in his mind, but that was absurd. Isabelle would have told him if she were pregnant. But then he rethought it. There was so much going on right now, and he knew she was determined to make things run smoothly for him.

  But a baby would be big news. How would she be able to keep that to herself? Maybe she thought it wasn’t the right time to tell him, if she should tell him at all. Suddenly images of the colonel trying to persuade her to dump him and go home with her parents flashed in his head. He needed to have a talk with her.

  He absentmindedly exited through the main door, and the fans were waiting for him. He autographed the memorabilia of a group of bubbly, chatty girls and declined a very tantalizing offer from the brunette wearing the mini-skirt, reminding her he was engaged to be married.

  “Ladies, I don’t do that sort of thing anymore.” He smiled.

  “What a shame. Does that mean you don’t want to party with us tonight?”

  “I’m having dinner with my fiancée and going to bed early.” It felt good to say that. He was ready to leave when an older woman with blond hair stepped in his path.

  “Tate McGill, I’m a big fan. I made this trip to Las Vegas just to see you in concert. Would you sign this for me?” The woman held out a CD.

  “Sure thing. I hope you enjoy the many things Vegas has to offer while you’re here for my show.” He smiled at her. It always amazed him how dedicated his fans were to travel so
far to hear his music. “What’s your name?”

  “Dee Dee Culpepper.” She smiled.

  “Nice to meet you Dee Dee, and thanks for making the trip all the way out here. Where are you from?” Tate scrawled his name on the CD cover.

  “I’m from Texas, just like you.” Dee Dee grinned.

  “Is that right? Well, we have a few Texans in Vegas this week. My family is here.” He smiled.

  “I know. I saw them.”

  The hairs on the back of Tate’s neck stood up. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was harmless and who was crazy, but it suddenly didn’t feel right talking to her. “Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to back up,” the Regency rep said sternly and stepped between them.

  “Here you go.” Tate handed her the CD and turned to leave.

  “Wait, I’m not a stalker or anything. I was hoping you’d know who I was. I’m your father’s fiancée.”

  “I don’t know who you are. My father has been married to the love of his life for over thirty-five years,” Tate shot back. The nerve of this woman to insinuate John Jacob would mess around on Teri-Lyn.

  “I meant your biological father, Joe. He’s here in Vegas too. We came to see your concert. He wants to make amends and I was hoping you’d sing at our wedding.”

  Tate froze. “Joe McGill has been many things to me, but he has never been a father.”

  “We would love it if you and your fiancée Isabelle would join us for dinner here tonight in the hotel.”

  “I have nothing to say to Joe, and if you knew him well you’d know why.”

  * * *

  The boys were getting kind of quiet, which was a good sign. Soon nestling comfortably between the two devils became too much, and Isabelle drifted off to sleep with them. An hour later she felt the familiar stubble brushing across her cheek.

  “Hey.” Isabelle smiled.

  “Hey, yourself. How did these two con you into taking a nap with them?”

  “I volunteered. Jake wasn’t tired, and the boys were, so Morgan and I split the difference.” She extended her hand so he could help her out of the bed.

  Isabelle shut the door, hoping the boys would finish their nap. One look into Tate’s eyes and she knew something was wrong.

  “What happened?” She searched his face.

  “I just met some woman downstairs who claims to be Joe’s fiancée.”

  “Joe McGill?” So much for just thinking how wonderful it was that he was out of the picture. “What did she want?”

  “She said he’s in town for the concert and wants to make amends. They want to have dinner with us tonight.”

  Isabelle’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe it. She doesn’t sound like she knows the real Joe if she said that.”

  “I don’t know what he’s told her, but I’m sure it’s all a bunch of bullshit.” Tate clenched his teeth.

  She caressed his arms. “Those are Joe’s lies, whatever he told this woman. You don’t have to get involved with him, and you definitely don’t owe her any explanations.”

  “It’s like the Bright Star incident all over again. He wants to destroy any place where I find happiness.”

  “No, it’s not. You have Sam and a team of armed security people to handle situations like these. Does John Jacob know he’s here?”

  “I don’t know.” He shook his head.

  “I think you should tell him.”

  “Yeah, maybe I should.”

  “When you get back we can take the boys for a treat at the mall. We can stop off at Seth and Morgan’s room and get Jake too.” Isabelle kissed him and watched him walk out the door. She felt for him. He was having the worst luck this week.

  * * *

  Tate knocked lightly on the door, hating himself for intruding. He was beginning to think he was better off handling it himself when the door opened.

  “Hey, superstar.” J.J. ran a hand over his face. “Come on in.”

  “I hate to barge in on you like this.” It was clear he’d interrupted something. J.J.’s clothes were disheveled, and he had lipstick on his cheek.

  “No worries. We were just taking a nap.”

  “In the middle of the day?” Tate raised an eyebrow.

  “It wasn’t that kind of nap.” Sam laughed as she came out of the bedroom and wiped her mark off J.J.’s face.

  “What’s up?” J.J. asked.

  “I was hoping to talk to Sam about something. I’d like to get a professional opinion before I do something stupid.” He sighed.

  “Of course.” Sam ushered him to the couch. “What’s going on?”

  “I was approached in the lobby by a woman named Dee Dee who’s claiming to be Joe’s fiancée. She said he’s in Las Vegas and wants to meet with me and Isabelle for dinner.”

  “What! The nerve of that jackass. I’m going to tell Daddy—” J.J. headed to the door, but Tate stopped him.

  “Wait. I thought about that too. He’d go after Joe, and I don’t want to ruin his vacation. I suspect Joe’s angle is to create some sort of scene with one of us and get some media coverage. I just want him to go away.”

  “Let me make a call.” Sam went for her cell phone.

  J.J. fixed Tate a drink, and the two of them watched as Sam sprang into action. She spouted off some instructions to a Regency employee on the phone, and within minutes she got a call back. She scribbled down some notes on a pad and then called her partner Kendrick and asked him to come up to the suite in a half hour.

  “Here’s the skinny. Joe is staying at a low-end hotel down the strip with the woman Dee Dee. Apparently they’ve been dating for six months, and they work at the same trucking company. My guess is that he’s trying impress Dee Dee and may not have gone into detail about the true nature of your relationship with him. The motel room is in her name, that’s why Joe’s name didn’t make a blip on Regency’s radar.”

  “A blip?” Tate looked puzzled.

  “Ever since Lila’s funeral, Regency has been keeping an eye on him at John Jacob’s request. I’ll talk to Joe tonight and escort him and Dee Dee to the city limits.”

  “I can’t let you do that, Sam.”

  “I want to make sure Joe understands, in no uncertain terms, the urgency in which he needs to leave town,” she replied.

  “I agree. Samantha Jane should go.” J.J. nodded.

  “You can’t be serious.” Tate whipped his head around to J.J.

  “I may not like the dangerous element of what she does, but she’s good at her job. Besides, I’m going with her.” J.J. grinned.

  “Why does this entire family think they’re junior crime fighters?” Sam shook her head.

  “I just want to keep you safe,” J.J. countered.

  “I know.” She caressed his cheek.

  Tate let out a deep sigh. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.” That would be one less explosive landmine lying around Las Vegas for him to step on.

  “Anything for family. Don’t worry about a thing.” Sam gave him a hug.

  “Sounds like there’s no need to tell Daddy.” Tate nodded.

  “I’m afraid not. My boss has Joe flagged. You can’t say his name without having to give a detailed report. He promised John Jacob he would monitor Joe personally.”

  “Come on, we can let Momma and Daddy know that it’s already handled, and that there’s nothing to worry about.” J.J. patted him on the back.

  As they walked down the corridor to their parents’ room, Tate stopped and looked at J.J. “Just when I’m ready to move on, Joe pops up to remind me I’m his son, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

  “You have a bright future ahead of you with Isabelle. Concentrate on making a life with the woman you love.”

  “You’re right.” Tate shook his head.

  “One more thing.”

  “Sure.”

  “Can you please get married so I can get hitched to Samantha Jane? She refuses to discuss a date until you and Isabelle walk down the aisle,” J.J. said.

 
; Tate laughed. “I promise you by the end of the week, Isabelle and I will have a wedding date set.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  When Isabelle’s father called and invited her to lunch at Nico’s, a steakhouse in the casino, she was elated. It had been a rocky few days trying to get him and Tate to agree on anything. She was sure if she got her dad alone she could persuade him to be a little nicer. She made the long trek across the casino floor, lamenting the fact that he probably picked the restaurant furthest away on purpose. Luther still shadowed her, as ordered, despite the fact that the casino was filled with family. As she got closer to Nico’s she could see her cousin Jared standing in front as if he was waiting for someone.

  “Jared, do you have lunch date too? I’m meeting my dad here.” She hugged her cousin.

  “In a manner of speaking.” He put an arm around her shoulder and escorted her into the restaurant. “Izzy, I want you to know I was totally against this.”

  “Against what?” Isabelle’s smile faded when Jared stopped short at a table where the Reed men were seated.

  “Hi, Peanut.” Her father stood and gave her kiss on the cheek.

  “Don’t hi Peanut me. You brought me to the Reeds’ lion’s den.” She folded her arms across her chest and turned to her uncle. “Uncle Curtis, I can’t believe you’re a part of this. You’ve spent time with Tate and his entire family.”

  “Izzy, your dad is just concerned about you. Please sit down?” Her uncle Curtis held out a chair for her.

  Isabelle sat down on the edge of the chair. A wave of nausea rolled through her tummy, but she had to focus on the ambush. She wanted to strangle all of them. Lucas started his speech by listing his reservations about Tate. In addition to his Internet searches, her father had hired a private detective to check him out. The P.I. only got so far before a Regency specialist appeared in his office one day asking why he was investigating Tate. The investigator eventually relented and gave them her father’s name after the specialist gave him what her dad called a veiled threat about snooping around the Blakes. That convinced her father that the country crooner definitely had something to hide.