by McBain, Mara
Gen laughed. “Maybe Trey’s old-fashioned streak is bleeding over to Cole.”
“Either that or he’s not looking forward to my attempts at cooking,” Adri said, still grinning.
“If you’re bound and determined to set your own table instead of joining us, then we should take advantage of the time that we do have to sharpen your cooking skills.”
“I think your hulking husband is more than ready to have his table, house, and wife all to himself. From what you said, you were barely married before his uncle and family landed on your doorstep. You no sooner got rid of them and I showed up to turn his life upside down, and now he has his spoiled little brother to deal with. I’m sure Trey’s looking forward to more than a night or two of alone time.”
“It doesn’t seem to slow him down any,” Gen said, rubbing her belly with a giggle.
“You make me laugh every time you do that. You do realize that no one would even guess that you’re with child yet, right?”
Gen just smiled and shrugged. “Maybe not, but I know.”
The glow on her face was beatific.
“You’re going to be such a wonderful mother. You can see the love already.”
“Aww, thank you! I really hope so. I wish that I’d had the opportunity to meet Trey’s mom. Heather sounds like she was perfect. All that my mother supplied was a list of things not to do, or to do better.”
“Trust me. You’re going to be great.”
Gen rubbed her concave belly for another dreamy moment and then pulled herself out of it with a shake of her head and a light blush. “Come on. I need to bake some bread. If you’re going to learn to feed your husband, you can start with the basics.”
“Shake your ass, boy. We don’t have all day,” Trey growled from the chicken coop’s doorway.
Nate grimaced and poked his hand under another hen. He cursed when the bird pecked at him. “How did Mama make this look so easy? And why in God’s name would you choose to come back and do this for a living after growing up here?”
“So city people like you can eat,” Trey shot back.
The agitated chicken came off her nest, making Nate throw his arms up to protect his face from her flapping wings and sharp talons.
“You actually make your wife do this when I’m not here?”
“I don’t make my wife do it, she chooses to.”
“Is this anything like I chose to be out here this morning?” he grumbled.
“Nope. I made you. She likes to help.”
“No one likes to do this. Mama was crazy, and Cole and Genevieve do it so they don’t have to listen to you bitch.”
“They do it because they like to eat.”
“If you quote Daddy’s ‘If you don’t work, you don’t eat,’ here I’m going to throw an egg at you.”
“Why are you here, Nate?”
He looked up in surprise and then hissed as another hen got his hand. “What do you mean?” he asked, shaking the assaulted appendage.
“You showed up unannounced and you haven’t once mentioned why.”
“I can’t just want to see my family for the holidays? I have a right to a third of this farm if I want it. I don’t think I need an invitation to come home.”
“You have a right to a third of this farm anytime you wish to come home and work it. Get that right.”
“If I’m not welcome in your house, I’ll stay at Mama’s and Daddy’s.”
“I didn’t say you weren’t welcome and that house is Cole’s now. After the way you worked him over, I wouldn’t be too damn sure of your welcome there.”
“You two sure stick together,” he said petulantly.
“It’s what brothers do and something you seem to have forgotten.”
“Do you think I have any shot with Josie after what happened?”
The sudden change in conversation startled Trey. Frowning, he mulled the question over. His heavy shoulders rolled.
“Is that what you want?”
“I don’t know,” Nate admitted, running an uncertain hand over his jaw. “Seeing her today just brought all the old feelings up again. It was like tearing a scab off.”
“I’d be sure you’re serious this time. That girl doesn’t deserve to be hurt again.”
“I know. I’ve been thinking about it since I got here. I saw Hank when I was sitting at the station. Obviously, he didn’t see me. Josie’s face popped to mind, and this dark cloud of loneliness just descended on me.”
“Is that when you and Martin decided it was a good idea to venture out in a blizzard?”
“Pretty much,” Nate said with a chuckle.
“Makes sense. Men do crazy things when women have their minds all messed up.”
“Lord knows Gen has you in a constant state of confusion. Just seeing the way she wraps you around her little finger was worth coming home for.”
Trey rolled his shoulders again.
“And you love it. Watching you with Catherine was pathetic. You did anything that woman wanted, but looked miserable seventy-five percent of the time.”
“I think your numbers are low,” Trey grumbled.
“The truth is, the closer to the holidays it got, the lonelier the city seemed. Brick and shoulder-to-shoulder bodies just don’t compare with snow covered pines and rolling pastures for Christmas.”
Trey looked over his shoulder at the landscape his brother was referring to. He’d enjoyed living in Texas, but there was something about these mountains and blue pines that had always soothed his soul. He hadn’t thought Nate would miss it. He’d seemed at home in Philadelphia in a way he’d never been here on the farm. Frowning, he stroked his goatee, unsure if he was reading the youngest right.
“You know there’s more to Virginia than farming,” he offered slowly.
Nate hesitated, taking an inordinate amount of care putting an egg in the basket.
“I’m not getting the feeling I’d be welcomed home as eagerly as you were after Texas.”
“You’ll always have a place here, Nate. I just don’t think farming is for you. The town could always use a lawyer they could trust.”
“You’d be okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You haven’t exactly turned out the welcome mat.”
“I might not have rolled out the red carpet, boy, but I haven’t been inhospitable,” Trey said, prickling a bit.
“You’ve been on my ass since I got here.”
“You almost got yourself killed,” Trey said in disgust. “I can live with your fancy clothes and city views on what I consider an honest day’s work, but I can’t abide stupidity.”
“Would you’ve been that hard on Cole?”
“Absolutely,” Trey said without hesitation.
Nate scuffed his boot in the loose straw littering the floor.
“You do realize that it doesn’t all fall on you? We’re men now too. We’re responsible for our own actions.”
“You’re always going to be my baby brothers,” Trey said with a dismissive shrug.
Nate rolled his eyes. “Would you’ve really stepped in if Hank had tried to continue the fight yesterday?”
“It didn’t look like much of a fight.” Trey said with a chuckle. “But, yeah. He had the one free shot. I was serious about that.”
Nate just shook his head in bemusement. “I guess I should thank you for stepping in then. It would’ve just upset Josie further to see her brother and I go at it.”
Trey nodded.
“And I slipped Brutus some extra scraps, but I don’t think I actually thanked you for what you did for me. All McCade bravado aside, I was exhausted. I don’t think that I would’ve made it.”
“Your big mouth came in handy for once. I’m glad I heard you.”
Nate laughed at the backhanded compliment. “Me too.”
Silence hung between them for a moment, but Nate made no move for the door. “I know you can’t speak for Cole, but how would you feel if I did decide to come back,
maybe set up an office and house in town?”
“I’d be glad to have you home, Nate. If that’s what you decide to do, I’ll do everything I can to help you.”
“I appreciate that. It means a lot.”
“What’re brothers for?”
“And here I thought it was making my life hell.”
“Nah, that’s just a bonus,” Trey said with a grin. “Now come on. I’m starving.”
“When aren’t you?”
Trey cupped the back of his neck when Nate tried to slip by with the basket. Giving him a shake, he shoved him toward the house.
“You have a retort to absolutely anything. I bet you’re a good lawyer.”
“I’m much better in a courtroom than a chicken coop.”
“If you want a chance with Josie, I hope you’re much better with females of your own species than those of the fowl variety.”
“Foul is right, nasty tempered little biddies,” Nate muttered shaking his hand again.
“You just have to have the right touch and pick your battles.”
“I’ve heard that a couple of times. When did pick your battles become the new McCade battle cry?”
“I don’t know that it’s a new one. I think Daddy said it more than a few times. Get married and, all of a sudden, it makes a lot more sense.
“It works with chickens and women, huh?”
“I think it’s a safe bet with females in general.”
“I appreciate the advice, but I’d suggest you leave that thought on the porch. I don’t think that would be one of those that earn you those cute awws from the ladies.”
“Good call,” Trey said, clapping his brother on the back with a chuckle.
Threading his fingers through Adrienne’s black hair, Cole watched the chess match unfold in front of the fireplace. Nate was a student of the game. He enjoyed exploring different strategies. Trey played on instincts. They were unlikely competitors, but both enjoyed it. Adri turned her face into his chest and smothered a yawn.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
“Tired, beautiful?”
“I shouldn’t be. It’s early.”
Kissing the top of her head, he continued to run his fingers through her hair.
“Mmm. That feels good,” she sighed and then laughed through another yawn. “Between you petting me, and the heat rolling off you, it’s going to knock me out.”
“Relax. If you fall asleep, I’ll carry you up.”
She rubbed her cheek against his chest, her response nothing more than a happy murmur. At the other end of the couch Gen shifted the lamp closer and studied the small, neat stitches in the cuff of the shirt she was making. Watching her, with her head bent over her sewing and the light playing over her red hair, reminded him of Mama. Nate said Trey’s name twice. Catching his older brother’s eye, Cole was sure Trey had been watching Gen and thinking the same thing.
Tilting his head, he peeked at the woman on his chest. Adrienne’s eyes were closed, her breathing even. Gen must have worn her out. Earlier in the day, he’d found his bride-to-be covered in flour and learning the art of baking bread. He smiled; remembering the delight on her face when she’d popped the first loaf out and fed him a hot slice slathered in butter. It had been delicious, but he hadn’t dared tell her that he didn’t care if she ever learned to bake. It was her he wanted.
Letting his head fall back, he simply enjoyed the feeling of Adri in his arms and having everyone he loved right here together. The towering Christmas tree and the carols on the radio made the evening idyllic. Even Trey had shoved aside his natural pessimism and seemed to be enjoying himself. Closing his eyes, Cole sent up a simple prayer of thanks and wishes for those less fortunate. Sometimes he felt guilty. They worked hard but, compared to many, they had so much. Adri’s hand slid across his abdomen in the slowest of caresses and he had to smile. She was petting him in her sleep, as if to comfort him. It didn’t get any better.
The click of the latch on the chess set’s box pulled him from his comfortable doze a while later. He looked up to see Trey putting the game set away. That meant that Nate had won again. The smug grin on their youngest brother’s face confirmed it as he stood up and stretched. Gen’s head was still bowed over her sewing, but a soft groan slipped from her lips when Trey paused behind her and gently massaged her shoulders.
“Put that away for tonight, darlin’, and come cuddle with your man.”
“I’ll do anything if you keep doing that,” she sighed.
The corner of Trey’s lips quirked and his hands continued to work her stiff muscles.
“I hope it was our chess game and not you that bored your fiancée to sleep,” Nate teased.
Cole smiled at the jest and stroked her long hair. “I hope she’s not coming down with something. She wasn’t feeling well after dinner and she was just drained.”
“She didn’t say anything to me. Did she think it was something she ate?” Gen asked, brow furrowing in concern.
“We all ate the same thing, darlin’. Dinner was good as usual,” Trey said firmly. When she looked over her shoulder at him, uncertainty still lining her face, the big man moved around the end of the couch to sweep her up and drop onto the couch in her place with Gen in his lap. “You worry too much. She’ll be fine.”
“She probably ate too much dough when you were teaching her to make bread,” Nate said. “I used to steal pinches when Mama was mixing and it can upset your stomach when it rises in there.”
“I didn’t think of that. I have been hounding her to taste everything when she cooks.”
“It’s not hounding, it’s reminding,” Trey said.
“And he should know because he’s the master of reminding,” Cole muttered, making them all laugh. Adri stirred in his arms and he rubbed her back. “It’s been a good night, but I think I’m going to take Adrienne up to bed.”
“Thanks for sharing.”
“You know what I mean, smart ass.”
“I do,” Nate admitted, eyes sparkling. “Do you need some help?”
“I think I got her covered.”
“I meant getting up.”
“No problems there with her,” Cole said, scooting to the edge of the couch and rocking to his feet with Adrienne in his arms.
“Get your mind out of the gutter,” Nate said, trying for affront around his wide grin.
“I saw yours while I was there. I’d have waved but my hands are full.”
“That’s enough. Both of you,” Trey growled.
Cole turned back and smiled as he caught Gen soothing the big grouch. “Goodnight.”
“I’m going to turn in too,” Nate said over his shoulder.
Partings offered, Cole then climbed the stairs. Nate pushed open the bedroom door for him with only a suggestive eyebrow waggle. Shaking his head, Cole nudged it shut behind them and eased Adri down on the bed. Rolling her onto her shoulder, he was relieved to find a zipper on the back of her dress.
“I can get it. I’m sort of awake,” she mumbled.
“Shh. I’ve got it.”
Making her comfortable, he hastily ditched his clothes and slid them both under the covers.
“Perfect,” she whispered, snuggling into his side.
“Yes you are.”
“Sweet talker.”
Cole smiled at the accusation muffled by a yawn. Kissing the top of her head, he patted her bottom, rocking her back to sleep. He closed his eyes. Another week until Christmas and then he could make her his wife. A big part of him didn’t want to wait. Sunday would be Christmas Eve. A good portion of the day would already be spent at the church. Could they squeeze in a small, intimate ceremony? Cole sighed. He didn’t know where the nerves came from, but each day felt like he was holding his breath and crossing his fingers.
Adri shifted slightly, rubbing her face against his chest before settling back into the crook of his shoulder with a soft sigh. Opening his eyes, he glanced down at her. Eyes still closed, she didn’t look like she had a care in
the world at the moment. He smiled. It still blew him away that this beautiful woman had agreed to be his wife. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She’d already agreed to a small family wedding, he didn’t want to rush through it as well. She deserved better. The time would come soon enough and she would be Mrs. Cole McCade.
Her hands shook as she splashed cold water on her face. Cupping one, she took a cautious mouthful and rinsed. She’d woken up with her stomach pitching. It had taken every ounce of control she had to manage a whispered reassurance to Cole before donning his robe and slipping from the room to dash to the bathroom. Her body trembled from weariness and the violence with which her stomach had expelled dinner. She was exhausted. Even brushing her teeth felt like an effort.
Leaning against the vanity, she checked her reflection in the mirror and tried to gather herself. Cole seemed preoccupied about the holidays and the wedding. There was no reason to worry him needlessly. Her queasiness could easily be attributed to nerves. Keep telling yourself that, the little voice in her head taunted. Swallowing hard, she took another deep breath and wrapping the robe tighter, she made her way back to the bedroom.
Cole lifted the blankets, welcoming her back with a yawn. Adrienne turned her back to him, not wanting to answer questions if he smelled the toothpaste.
“Are you okay?” he asked, pushing up on his elbow behind her.
She winced. He wanted her head on his chest. Reaching back, she caught his top arm, dragging it around her. “Spoon with me. That seat was cold,” she said, keeping her tone light. It worked.
Cole chuckled and molded his body against her backside. She pressed back into him and smiled as his calves enveloped her cold feet. Tucking her head under his chin, she settled deeper into the pillow and sighed in content at the toasty cocoon.
“Perfect.”
“That’s still you, beautiful.”
“So you say, cowboy.”
He yawned again and tightened his arms around her. It didn’t take long for his breathing to settle into the deep rhythm of sleep. At least he wasn’t snoring. Adrienne stared into the dark for a long time, worries and what-ifs playing tag in her mind. She’d always taken every precaution in previous relationships, mindful that pregnancy wasn’t the only worry. Chewing her bottom lip, she mentally counted the days. It had only been three weeks. Surely, that was too soon to be causing such results. How soon had Gen known? Sliding a hand under the quilt she cupped a breast, gently kneading it. She winced at the tenderness. None of this was helping to put her mind at ease.
