Caleb (Seven Sons Book 3)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  “You’d really do that? Help me get scholarships for college?”

  Caleb nodded. “You keep your grades up, and we’ll make sure you get to go to a university. If your grades are bad, then we can’t make that happen.”

  “Oh. I see.” Nick frowned down at the ground. “Isn’t now when you tell me that I’m worthless, and no college would ever want me?”

  Hunter frowned at his friend. “They don’t say that here. The sky is the limit. We can do anything we set our minds to. Our pasts do not define our futures.”

  Caleb grinned, ramming his shoulder into Hunter. “You listen!”

  Nick looked at the two of them, shaking his head. “I listen, too. Sometimes.”

  “When you want to. Just let Hunter tell you what you should know. He obviously gets it!”

  After the boys were in bed, Caleb filled Benjamin in on the new things that were going on with Nick. “I really think he’s settling in better than any of us expected.”

  “Good,” Benjamin said. “I think that kid has a whole lot of potential.”

  “He told me today that he doesn’t want to be a cowboy. He wants to be a business tycoon.”

  “Good for him!” Benjamin grinned. “You off to see your girl?”

  “Yup. We had lunch together, and I think we’re making good strides. Miss Mae was complaining about how lovey we were acting in her diner.”

  “Sounds like Miss Mae.” Benjamin waved a hand. “Go. Have fun.”

  “Just like that? You’re too happy about this!”

  Just then Melissa pulled up, getting out and walking toward Benjamin. “Hey! Am I early?”

  Caleb looked at his brother and shook his head. “Busted!”

  “It’s not against the rules!” Benjamin protested, kissing Melissa in greeting. “Three more nights.”

  Caleb walked straight to his truck. He didn’t want to hear their sweet whispers. He wanted to go and see his own girl.

  On the short drive to town, he was tempted to drive fast, just to get some adrenaline going. But he remembered his promise to Natalie, and he drove the speed limit the whole way. When he got to her apartment, he hurried to the door, knocking softly.

  She came to the door with a grin. “Hi, you!”

  Caleb leaned down for a quick kiss. “Hello! Sorry I’m a little late. I needed to fill Benjamin in on some things that happened today.”

  “It must be interesting to work so closely with your brother on things. Do you ever wish you were more independent?”

  “Not at all.” He walked over and sat on the couch, wondering if they’d finally get around to that movie. “Benjamin was my roommate at home when we were growing up. He’s always been my partner. When I wanted to do something crazy, then I asked Benjamin, and we got in trouble together.”

  “Sounds like a natural pairing.” She sat down close beside him, and his arm immediately went around her shoulders. “I sometimes wish I had siblings. I never really cared, but hearing you talk about yours makes me lonely for what I never had.”

  “I’ll share mine with you. In fact, I’ll just give them to you if you want. Six is more than anyone should have to put up with.”

  Natalie studied his face for a moment. “Do you want many children?”

  He shrugged. “I want at least three or four. All girls.”

  “All girls? You wouldn’t know what to do with a girl!”

  He frowned. “I know what to do with you…but you’re right. That’s not the same at all.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, and she giggled.

  “Maybe we could have two of each. That would make me happy.”

  “Are you asking me to have babies with you, Natalie? Cuz I have to say, I’m a bit shocked, and I think we should wait until after we marry for that kind of relationship. I’m just not that kind of man…”

  She swatted his arm. “You know as well as I do that’s not what I was saying.”

  He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I probably have another hour I can be here. Want to start the movie? Or we could sit here and make out…”

  “You’re a mess, Caleb McClain! What would your mother say if she heard you saying all that?”

  He shrugged. “No idea. Good thing she’s not here!”

  Natalie shook her head at him. “How did such a sweet lady raise you?”

  “There were seven of us! I slipped through the cracks!”

  “I have a feeling your mother knew what you were doing all the time.”

  “Yeah, she and Dad were on top of things. It was so annoying. We didn’t get to get into a whole lot of trouble.”

  She poked him. “From what I can tell, they were amazing parents.”

  “They really were. When one of the boys has a bad day, we send them to Mom. They usually end up being her kitchen slave for the day, but they love it because she showers them with praise, no matter what they do.” He stared off into space for a moment. “It was nice, because we all learned the best way to treat the boys who came to live at the ranch because she showed us with everything she did.”

  “You sound like you had amazing teachers. You must be really good at what you do.”

  “I try. I’m not sure I could say I’m good. Adam is really good with the kids, and so is Gideon, because they feel the emotions. I’m decent, but I feel like I fail often. I just don’t let it get me down.”

  She was surprised to hear him say he felt like he failed often. He seemed like such a good man to her. “What happens when you marry?”

  “What does that mean? I’ll keep working with the boys, of course.”

  “But what happens with the house? People have to stay there with them, and if you’re married, who stays in the house with the boys? I know you said Benjamin is moving in with Melissa.” She couldn’t think of his future being separate from hers. In her mind, they were practically married already. She just needed to iron out a few small details to be able to make a commitment.

  He frowned. “You know, I’m not sure. I think when we’re first married, we could live in the house with the boys. But we may need to hire someone to stay there after the babies start coming.”

  “What if we couldn’t have kids? Would you be upset?”

  “That’s never happened in my family. We seem to be able to have millions of babies.”

  “So you think your heredity will overrule mine?” She frowned at him. “Is that even possible?”

  “With my family it is. I don’t know why, but it’s true. Remember I’ve done a study of my family’s history.”

  “I sure wish you had someone who could write it down. What’s the first ancestor you know about?” She couldn’t express how fascinating she found his family.

  “Let me think. The first one I know of was a girl named Edith, who married a seventh son, so it was already happening. She was born in 1068, and her mother was said to be a healer.”

  “A healer? Like Daniel is?”

  “The stories say she was a great deal more powerful than Daniel. She could cure any disease or anything. She’s rumored to have brought people back from the dead, but I can’t imagine that’s true.”

  “Maybe it is. I think that’s really cool. I wish I could learn more about them. I wonder if there’s any kind of information out there. Do you know the girl’s mother’s name?”

  He thought for a moment, trying to remember every detail his grandfather had given him about the family history. His brothers hadn’t been willing to sit and listen to some of the old stories, but Caleb had been fascinated by every word. “I think her name was Marina. I know that sounds strange, and I’m not sure, but that’s what it seems like I was told.”

  “You need to hire a genealogist. Can they go back that far?”

  “You know, I really think they can go back at least as far as the thirteenth century. Further, if the families were noble.”

  “Do you know if yours was?” She wanted to volunteer to take on the project herself, but she was sure people would think she was insane. Her own fami
ly history didn’t fascinate her half as much as his did.

  He nodded. “Yes. At least from what I was told. Remember this is all just family stories with no real proof.”

  “That’s really cool, though.” She looked at him, wondering what he was thinking about at that moment. Was he thinking that he wanted to spend forever with her, like she was thinking about him? She was actually surprised that he hadn’t yet asked her to marry him. Yes, they’d only known one another a little over two days, but they had felt an instant connection, and his father had seen them as destined to be together. Suddenly, it was enough for her.

  Caleb had a ring in his pocket, and he desperately wanted to ask her to marry him, but was two days of knowing each other too soon? He knew it would be under normal circumstances, but he’d never had a normal circumstance in his life. Never.

  They chatted for a while longer, but he didn’t find the courage to propose. Finally, he stood. “I need to get home. Six comes awfully early after a late night.”

  “Can you go back to sleep after the boys leave for school?”

  “I have the time to go back to sleep, but my body doesn’t allow it. I know you get up early, too.”

  “Yes, but I’ve been sneaking in naps when I get home from work. That way I can spend more time with you.”

  He leaned down and kissed her softly. “Goodnight, Natalie. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

  “I’d like that.” Natalie found she was now looking forward to every minute she could spend with Caleb. She’d moved all the way to Bagley to open a candy store, and she was spending all her time with a man. She’d never thought she could be a woman like that, and here she was.

  With one last kiss, Caleb hurried out the door. He wanted to stay all night, but that wouldn’t be good for either of them. He had to find a way to propose. Why was he suddenly so nervous about it?

  Then it struck him why. Because he loved her. If he hadn’t loved her quite so much, whatever answer she gave would be fine. Now he needed her to say yes. It meant everything to him.

  Chapter Ten

  On Friday evening, Caleb picked Natalie up at the store to take her to the ranch’s weekly cookout. The ring he’d gotten her was burning a hole in his pocket, and he wanted to find just the right time to propose that evening.

  When he pulled onto the ranch property and she saw the sheer size of the gathering, her eyes grew wide. “Your mother does this every week?” The woman had to be crazy to put herself through that.

  He nodded. “Every single week. We have fire pits around it for bonfires if it’s too cold, but there are only a couple of weeks that are too cold. The rest of the time we use them for fun! The area is covered, so we can be out there, rain or shine. This has always been a big deal to Mom, so she had the covered picnic area built when I was a little boy. I don’t remember a time when we didn’t do this every week.”

  “What if Christmas falls on a Friday?”

  “More to celebrate. At least that’s how Mom looks at it.”

  “I like the way she thinks.”

  He held her hand in his as they approached the area where everyone was standing around laughing and having a good time. His mother spotted them and hurried over to hug her. “It’s good to see you, Natalie!”

  Natalie smiled. “Thank you for letting me come. This is amazing.” She had a grocery bag in her hand and she gave it to Lillian. “I brought some sweets for everyone.”

  “Oh! I’ve heard such good things about the candy you make. Not just from Caleb, but from Nick as well.” Lillian hugged the bag to her. “I have half a mind not to share!”

  “You sound like Caleb and his need for sugar!”

  “The only thing that surpasses his need for sugar is his need for those adrenaline rushes. He’s never been hurt though, so his powers work.”

  “He’s never been hurt?” Natalie looked at Caleb with surprise.

  “Not seriously, at least. He’s never broken a bone, but he’s skinned his knees and gotten little injuries.” Lillian looked at Caleb. “You need to bring her around more often. We like her and she brings candy!” With those words, she hurried off to get back to her hostess duties.

  Caleb led Natalie over to Adam, hoping his brother could tell him what she was feeling. He needed to know if it was a good time to propose or if he should wait. “This is my brother Adam and his new wife Tiffani.”

  Natalie sat down across from Adam. “I’ve heard wonderful things about both of you. It’s so nice to meet you.”

  Adam smiled. “And you’re Natalie. I’ve heard good stuff about you, too. Caleb thinks a lot of you.”

  “He’d better, if we’re destined to be married.”

  Adam leaned forward. “I know you know all the family secrets, but remember, the boys don’t, and neither do the ranch employees. You’re free to talk about those things, but keep your voice down as you do.”

  Natalie nodded. “I’m very sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “It’s all right. It’s a secret we’ve held close since we were able to know what a secret was. It’s not the same for someone who just learned about it all.” Adam smiled at her, his head tilted to one side. “You know my power I suppose?”

  “Yes, I do. It makes me a little uncomfortable to be around you.”

  “Don’t let it,” he said. “You love my brother, and that’s good enough for me.”

  Caleb heard that and frowned. “You love me and I have to hear it from my big brother? I’ve been a walking mess trying to figure out how you felt!”

  Adam looked at Natalie and shook his head. “Ignore him. He loves you, too.”

  Caleb glared at Adam. “You can’t say that for the first time for us!”

  “Looks like I just did.”

  Tiffani elbowed Adam. “Not very nice at all!”

  Adam sighed, looking between Natalie and Caleb. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have told you both that way. Very rude of me.” He looked at Tiffani. “Better?”

  She nodded. “Somewhat.”

  “They were never going to tell each other, because they were both afraid the other didn’t feel the same way. I was trying to help!”

  Caleb decided not to listen for another minute. He took Natalie’s hand and pulled her away from his brother and the rest of the crowd. “I do love you, you know.”

  “I love you, too.”

  That was all he needed to hear. He dropped to one knee, right there in front of his entire family, all the boys on the ranch, and the ranch’s employees. “Natalie Smythe, I’ve loved you for hours and hours. Will you do me the great honor of being my wife?”

  She nodded, tears popping into her eyes as he pulled a ring from his pocket and slipped it onto her finger. She ignored all the people she knew were watching and went into his arms, raising her lips for his kiss. “I can’t wait to be married to you.”

  He kissed her quickly. “You haven’t even met all my brothers yet. You’re going to get a quick lesson on all of them. You ready?” She nodded. “First is Frank. I don’t think I need to give you birth order. Frank is the one with the calming aura.”

  He led her to a man who had the same blue eyes as the other men in the family. She found them fascinating. “Hi, Frank. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Frank enveloped her in a hug. “Welcome to the family.”

  “Thank you.” Her heart had been beating altogether too fast after the surprise of the proposal, but she found the beat slowing down to normal, and a sense of peace settled over her. “Do you have to activate your power? Or does it just happen?”

  “Feeling calmer?” he asked, his eyes twinkling. He obviously wasn’t going to answer her question.

  “Yes!”

  Caleb laughed and took her hand, pulling her off toward the next brother. “This is Benjamin. He’s the one who’s been letting me sneak off to see you at night.”

  Natalie hugged Benjamin. “I already feel like I know you.”

  “Ditto.” Benjamin grinned. “And this is my Melissa. You�
�re coming to the wedding tomorrow, right?”

  “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away from it!” She smiled at Melissa. “So nice to meet you. I heard you had a bumper crop of pumpkins this year!”

  Melissa laughed. “I sure did! So nice to meet you. I’ve heard good things from Caleb.”

  Next Caleb tugged her to Gideon. She could see that he was younger than the others, but he had a presence that Caleb lacked. He seemed older than he should. He had a woman beside him, and the two were laughing at something. “This is my kid brother, Gideon, and our receptionist, who guards Adam as if she were a fire breathing dragon! Natalie, Brittany.”

  Brittany smiled at Natalie. “Are you the next victim?”

  Natalie laughed. “I like to think of myself as extremely fortunate.”

  “Caleb’s a good one. Just be glad you weren’t stuck with this one.” Brittany jerked her thumb at Gideon.

  “It’s really good to meet you both.” Natalie barely had time to get the words out when she was dragged over to two brothers standing together.

  “This is Daniel, and that one is Ephraim. Two of our resident doctors.” Caleb grinned at his brothers.

  “You must be the Candy Girl. I want to break into song!” one of the men said to her. “I’m Ephraim, the veterinarian brother.”

  “It’s nice to meet you. Will you always call me Candy Girl?”

  Ephraim nodded. “You’re my new sister. We have our fundster, the country bumpkin, and now you, Candy Girl.” He elbowed Daniel. “You’re next. Who are you going to bring home?”

  Daniel shrugged. “No idea, but I bet Dad could tell you.”

  Natalie grinned, liking Caleb’s brothers. “I’ve always been an only child, and I’m about to get six brothers and two sisters overnight!”

  “When are you two getting married, anyway?” Ephraim asked. “No one ever tells me anything!”