Cowboy's Heart

by Rhonda Laurel

  “Here, here.”

  * * *

  Tate’s nerves dissipated as soon as the doors opened and he saw Isabelle in her wedding dress. She looked beautiful in the strapless white satin gown. He was going to be a father. Each time he said it, the statement hit him like a ton of bricks all over again.

  Crystal, one of his backup vocalists, was happy to sing the wedding song he picked for the occasion. He’d been working on a song Lila had started titled “Second Chances” and thought it was an apt theme. He was getting a second chance at a life without the pain of the past. Tate looked over to see Teri-Lyn wiping tears from her eyes with John Jacob’s handkerchief. His normally stoic father looked misty-eyed too.

  He took Isabelle’s hand as she finished her walk down the aisle with her father. It always felt so good holding her hand. Today was the first day Colonel Reed didn’t look like he wanted to throttle him. Tate was surprised when Colonel Reed extended his hand. He shook it and nodded, acknowledging the peace offering. Despite all the turmoil this week, he knew that he loved his daughter and didn’t want to see her hurt again.

  They looked into each other’s eyes, making promises of love and happiness even before the reverend began to speak. He wondered if somehow the baby knew what was going on. Instead of taking the traditional stance, he pulled her close with one hand and placed the other on her stomach.

  “I love you so much,” he whispered in her ear.

  “I love you too.” She kissed him.

  * * *

  “Mr. and Mrs. Tate McGill,” Tyler announced as they entered the banquet room. Everyone applauded.

  “Sorry we’re late. I couldn’t decide what to wear.” A pink sheen spread across Isabelle’s face. She hoped the family would swallow the lie and not point out the obvious fact that she and Tate had been fooling around in their room for the past hour while the family mingled and snacked on appetizers.

  “The bride gets to do whatever she wants today.” Morgan handed Tate a champagne glass. She turned to Isabelle with another glass. “Apple juice. You get the same stuff the boys are drinking since you’re knocked up now.”

  “You look pretty, Aunt Isabelle.” Jake smiled and tugged on her sleeve.

  “Thank you, Jake.” Isabelle gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  Everything looked so good Isabelle couldn’t decide what to eat first. Everyone was talking and laughing, including her father, who was having a lively discussion with John Jacob and her Uncle Curtis. From the sound of it, they’d stayed up playing poker all night and talking. Her mother, Teri-Lyn, and Sydney were passing baby catalogs back and forth, looking for ideas for the nursery.

  Isabelle’s marriage to Ned seemed like a million years ago. The pain from the experience had lessened as she’d begun to heal emotionally. Abuse was no longer a taboo subject for her or Tate. She acknowledged in their couples therapy sessions that before the broken arm, there had been some arm-grabbing in the past. They gave each other the courage to acknowledge that even though something bad had happened to each of them, they were nobody’s victims.

  Isabelle smiled when she saw that Sam had her head on J.J.’s shoulder. It must have been exhausting being in charge of the security of this family.

  “Congratulations, you two.” Channing approached them.

  “Thank you, Channing.” Isabelle kissed him on the cheek. “Michelle tells me your friend Cassidy is very pretty.”

  “Did she?” Channing laughed nervously.

  “You should tell her.”

  “Tell her what?” Channing gave her a curious look.

  “That you like her.” Isabelle held up her hand. “Before you protest, I can recall a few conversations we’ve had about her at the ranch. I also see how your face lights up when you talk about her.”

  He shrugged. “Well, I’ll be back in Texas full time and she’ll be in D.C. working for a prestigious law firm.”

  “Says the man whose family owns a fleet of private planes.” She gave him a nudge.

  She looked around the room and saw everyone enjoying themselves. Bo had struck up a conversation with Charisma, of all people, and Morgan had conspicuously nestled between them. Her cousin looked much better than she did when they went to her room, and she would be flying back with the family. Someone from Lamont’s entourage came looking for her but ran into Luther instead. Lamont returned to the hotel with his friends, but they were denied access to the fiftieth floor. Heated words were exchanged, and Luther offered to twist them all into pretzels if she said the word, but Seth and a few of the guys went downstairs and had a chat with his teammate Lamont. He didn’t go into what was said, but Lamont got the picture and left the hotel. Isabelle wondered how Lamont would react to Seth when they started training camp. She was glad that Morgan suggested they go get her. She just hoped Charisma could see that she could do better than Lamont.

  “I have an announcement to make,” J.J. bellowed. “Now that my baby brother has married his beautiful bride, Isabelle, Samantha Jane and I have set a wedding date. After cross matching schedules of everyone in the family to make sure all of us will be in attendance, we have set a date for three months from now.”

  Isabelle smiled as the family gathered to congratulate the couple, but Sam stopped them. Isabelle had a feeling there was something bigger coming.

  “And…” Sam covered J.J’s hand with hers. “We’re pregnant.”

  “Hot damn! There’s going to be two more babies in the family!” Teri-Lyn said happily.

  Seth looked at Morgan and smiled. “Another baby sounds nice.”

  “We’ll table the discussion for later,” Morgan said to her husband.

  J.J. looked like he’d just won the Super Bowl again and couldn’t stop kissing on Sam. Sam managed to get away from the group and came over to Isabelle.

  “I wanted to wait to talk to John when we got back to Texas. This time is for you and Tate to celebrate.” Sam patted her hand.

  “Are you kidding me? It’s the best news ever.” Isabelle hugged Sam.

  Sam continued. “I apologize for not telling you about Georgia. I was just—”

  “Doing your job.” Isabelle finished her sentence. “I felt like someone was watching over me. I’m glad it was you. You take great care of this family, Sam. We’re lucky to have you.”

  Morgan approached. “I am so happy for the two of you. This family just keeps getting bigger.”

  “So Morgan, do you have any advice for two new mothers-to-be?”

  “Get ready to pee, a lot.” Morgan smirked at their stunned faces. “Yes, ladies, sexy time is over. Seth caught me sleeping on the toilet one night and—”

  “Maybe we should find out as we go,” Isabelle said.

  “But I will tell you this. When it’s all said and done, and you feel like total crap after the delivery, you’ll have this precious being in your arms and it’ll be worth falling asleep on a thousand toilets to have them.”

  “I look forward to it.” Isabelle smiled as Tate, J.J. and Seth huddled in a corner talking.

  “I don’t like it when they huddle,” Sam murmured.

  “Probably discussing plans for a future football franchise. Nervous?” Morgan put her arm around Sam.

  “We’re in for some serious revising of our agreement.” Sam sighed.

  “Love has no steadfast rules. I say go for it.” Isabelle smiled as she gazed at Tate.

  “J.J. has never been happier since you came into his life. I think he’s ready for all of it and he’s going to be a madman trying to convince you to cut back on your work duties,” Morgan said.

  Michelle came over and hugged the women. “Looks like you both got McBlaked.”

  “Maybe you’ll be joining the club soon?” Isabelle waggled her eyes as her.

  “Oh no. Tyler and I are just fine juggling our hectic schedules to have quality time, and it’s wonderful. The sex is outrageous, and I get him all to myself for a while. And I’m content with being crazy Auntie Michelle.”

  “
And you play that part very well.” Morgan stuck her tongue out at her.

  Isabelle started crying. “I’m so happy to have all of you in my life.”

  “I know. It’s really touching how everyone has been so nice to me.” Sam started tearing up too.

  “Morgan is more like a sister to me, but I feel like I have two more.” Michelle waved a hand in front of her eyes to hold back her tears.

  Music began playing. Tate came over to Isabelle. “What’s wrong?”

  “No worries. Tears of joy all around,” Morgan quipped.

  “Let’s dance.” Tate pulled her into his arms.

  They swayed to the music for a while before Isabelle spoke.

  “You’re still going to love me if I get huge?”

  “The bigger the better,” he mused.

  “What?” She snapped her head back.

  “Seth is teaching me pregnancy lingo, but for now just know everything I say is meant as a compliment.” Tate laughed.

  “OK.” Isabelle laughed too.

  “I promise to give you plenty of foot rubs, massages, and to tell you every day how much I love you and how grateful I am that you came into my life.”

  “How about feeding me ribs on the couch?”

  “I think I can do that.” He nuzzled her neck.

  “Will you sing to me?”

  “That’s my favorite thing to do.”

  Colonel Reed came over to the couple. “Tate, if you don’t mind, I’d like another dance with my daughter.”

  Isabelle tried to suppress a smile when Tate’s face lit up in response to her father using his name.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Tate left the dance floor feeling optimistic after the colonel said his name. It was a small victory, but he’d gladly take if it meant they were on the road to a better relationship. He made his way to the bar after being kissed on by every female relative in the room. All the love flowing made him feel good. He was going to be a dad. He needed a scotch to calm his nerves.

  “There’s my boy.” Teri-Lyn beamed as she came toward him and gave him a hug. “I am so happy for you.”

  “Thanks, Momma.”

  “Lila would have been so proud of you for marrying such a wonderful woman like Isabelle.” She squeezed his cheeks. “Are you excited about being a dad?”

  “I’m terrified.” He downed the scotch the bar tender set in front of him.

  “All new parents feel that way. Didn’t I tell you everything would work out?”

  “Yes, you did. And Daddy and Colonel Reed didn’t even have to come to blows.” He put his arm around her.

  “That would have been a sight, but I’m glad that particular crisis was averted. They’re just two strong-willed men who love their children. That fire is what I love about your father. He’s always done what was necessary to protect this family. And you’ll do the same thing to protect Isabelle and the baby.”

  The baby. He was having a baby with Isabelle.

  “There’s the father-to-be. How you feelin’?” John Jacob motioned to the bar tender to get him a scotch as well.

  “Like I won the lottery. Twice.” Tate grinned.

  “When we get back to the ranch I want to talk to you about a few things. J.J. and I have had our eye on a few properties and I’d like to give one to the baby.”

  Of course he did. John Jacob had given Jake a golf resort for his first birthday, and his twin brothers Connor and Colby had each received a hotel.

  “That’s very generous of you. Thanks. Daddy, how would you feel about me spending some time at Blake Enterprises every now and again? Maybe help out when I can?”

  “You already have an office. Might as well use it.” John Jacob motioned to Isabelle and her dad on the dance floor, where they were joined by Jake, Connor, and Colby. “How are things coming along with Lucas?”

  “He hasn’t glared at me all day.”

  “All I’ve ever wanted for you was to be a good man that stood his ground and owned up to his mistakes as well as his successes. I knew when the time was right you’d settle down with the woman of your dreams.” He patted Tate on the back.

  “I learned from the best.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Isabelle may have been able to talk Tate out of retiring from music, but she couldn’t stop him from remodeling the cabin. Jared designed an extension that damn near doubled its size. She was happy he nixed the idea of a whole new house. She liked the cabin. It felt like him, and with a few touches of color and some furniture, it felt like her too.

  The whole family got together again when J.J. and Sam had a beautiful wedding in their back yard. Sam’s family was able to attend, and the Blake family welcomed them with open arms. Sam fussed about looking like a tent in her wedding dress when she really looked stunning. She was a few months behind Isabelle, but the two of them bonded over their expected bundles of joy. They shopped and talked, and Isabelle had to admit it was nice to share the experience with someone. Teri-Lyn was on cloud nine, with two pregnant daughters-in-law and spoiling the boys when they visited. John Jacob even bought her a vehicle big enough to transport all of the grandbabies. Every once in a while she’d catch Morgan with that look in her eyes and knew it wouldn’t be long before she and Seth added another football player to their roster.

  Each day they woke to her growing belly and talked about their plans for the future. Tate fawned over her, but she didn’t mind; he was happy and excited about being a dad, and that’s all she wanted. He was good about the ice-cream runs to a gourmet shop in Dallas and her craving for ribs four times a week, and in the evenings he would ride her around the ranch in the golf cart, which had a calming effect on the baby. She was very emotional too these days. He sang her one of Lila’s finished songs, and she was so touched she cried for an hour.

  They both agreed they wouldn’t pressure the baby to pursue music but agreed it would be awesome if their kid would be some sort of child prodigy. The baby kicked up a storm whenever Tate played his guitar or Isabelle practiced her violin, they were both pretty sure it wouldn’t be an issue.

  Tate and the colonel were working on building a relationship of trust and mutual respect, and her parents had even visited the ranch a few times. Cecilia loved spending time with her daughter and helping her to get the nursery ready. Isabelle loved that her father accepted that she was happy.

  Tate was finally able to go through all of Lila’s things. There were no more boxes lying about. She would live on in the songs she’d started and that he finished, his next album was sure to be a hit. A piece of his soul, his past, his pain, was enmeshed in those lyrics.

  Finally the day had come. The extension on the cabin was complete. There were three additional bedrooms, a playroom, and a new soundproof recording studio. Tate could get more work done at home, and it wouldn’t take him away from his family so much. Isabelle walked through each new room, and tears fell as the magnitude of their happiness hit her.

  “Hey, we can change anything you like.” Tate comforted her in his arms.

  “No, it’s all wonderful. This was a great idea. We are going to have such a great life here.”

  “We already do, and it’s only going to get better.”

  A cool breeze blew on the porch as he and Isabelle sat enjoying the sunset. Tate went into the house to get a blanket for her and saw the letter on the coffee table. After the long talk with Teri-Lyn, Tate knew it was time to read Lila’s last letter.

  “Thanks babe,” she said as he wrapped the blanket around her.

  “You’re very welcome.” He kissed her cheek.

  “Thinking about reading that today?” She motioned to the letter.

  “I know it sounds silly, but I just can’t do it.”

  “How about I read it to you?” She took it from him.

  “Sure.”

  Isabelle cleared her throat and began to read.

  Dearest Teri-Lyn,

  How’s our boy? Imagine my surprise when I read the last letter to find out tha
t Tate met someone! I know it’s premature, but if he’s trying to keep the boys away from her, that’s a very good sign that he’s smitten, he just don’t know it yet. Looks like our son is growing up. I hope he can find it in his heart to love someone despite what he saw me and Joe going through. He would have soured on love a long time ago if it weren’t for you and John Jacob. Sometimes I feel like I never had a chance at life, with my own family being so screwed up. Then I met Joe and went from bad to worse.

  I’ve only done two things right in my life: having our boy and letting him be raised by you. I know they just met, and I hope all is going well for him Philadelphia. I had one of the girls at the diner look her up on the symphony Web site on her smartphone. She’s very pretty and has kind eyes. Eyes that look like they can see past the painful mask he wears and see the real Tate. He deserves all the happiness I was never able to give him and more.

  It seems like only yesterday we were best friends. My friendship with you has been one of the greatest joys of my life. We may have gone our separate ways, but you were always there for me, even when I wasn’t making the right decisions. Thank you for keeping your promise that you would love him as your own. Fingers crossed for a happy ending with Isabelle.

  Your Friend,

  Lila

  “Isn’t that nice? Lila was rooting for us?” Tears streamed Isabelle’s cheeks.

  “Yeah, it was.” He put his arm around her and rubbed her belly.

  “You were always in her heart. Don’t ever forget that.”

  Tate closed his eyes. Happy memories came flooding back. The way she smiled. Her throaty laugh. Those beautiful blue eyes he got from her. Tate embraced Isabelle. They stayed that way for a while, enjoying the warm feeling that surrounded them. Tate knew his mother was there in spirit, with her arms around both of them.