by Diana Palmer
"Can I help you?" she asked.
They stared at her waistline and at the wedding ring on the hand that was resting over it, and they exchanged complicated glances.
"Is Cash here?" the eldest brother asked.
"Yes, he's out back playing catch with my brother."
"And.. .who are you?" the father asked.
"I'm Tippy Grier, Cash's wife," she said simply.
There were shocked faces.
"You said it was a tabloid fairy tale, like all the other lies they print," the eldest of the sons growled at the old man.
"Well, it could have been," the old man defended himself.
The older brother transfixed her with dark eyes like Cash's and blond-streaked wavy light brown hair. "You're pregnant, aren't you?" he asked bluntly. "Don't mind him, he works for the FBI," the youngest said with a grin. "No sense of humor, just like Cash."
"Cash does so have a sense of humor," Tippy said abruptly.
"Do you think he might talk to us?" the father asked quietly.
"Of course he would," Tippy said with certainty. "Won't you all come in?"
They hesitated.
"Really, it's all right," she said, opening the door wider and with a beaming smile. "I've got a fresh pot of coffee and I made a cheesecake. I was about to call Cash and Rory in to have some. There's plenty."
They took slow steps into the house, looking around uncomfortably.
"I'll go and call Cash," she began, but the men were all looking over her shoulder and looking apprehensive. "No need," Cash replied, joining the small group. He looked from one of them to the other.
He stared at the family he hadn't seen in years, except for an unexpected visit from his older brother Garon late last year. It had been a visit to open doors. Apparently, it finally had. He had mixed feelings about the two younger brothers, because they, along with his father, had taken sides against Cash in the days following his father's remarriage.
Cash pulled Tippy to his side. "Have they introduced themselves?"
"Not individually," she replied, smiling up at him. The other men were transfixed by that radiant smile. It transformed her immediately into the model whose face was internationally famous.
"I'm Vic," Cash's father introduced himself. "That's Garon—" He indicated the FBI agent, who was almost as tall as Cash. "That's Parker—" he indicated a slim man with dark wavy hair and green eyes "—he's state game and fish enforcement. The one in the cowboy hat, which he never takes off, is Cort," he added with deliberate sarcasm, which went right past the muscular man with dark eyes and a sardonic look. "He manages our ranch holdings in West Texas."
"I'm Tippy," she replied with a smile. "Nice to meet you all. How about some coffee and cheesecake?"
They relaxed and followed Tippy and Cash into the kitchen.
"You cook?" Garon asked politely as she made coffee.
"Of course she cooks," Cash replied a little stiffly.
"Ah. That would explain the iron skillet we read about," Parker murmured with a wicked grin.
'That was just a tabloid story," Garon said with disgust.
Cash stared at him. "In fact, it was the truth, for once. She knocked a .45 automatic out of his hands and laid about him with the skillet. When I got here with two squad cars on my tail, he was outside on his knees begging us to save him from her."
He smiled warmly at his wife. "She's a local legend."
She grinned at him. "I'm having that skillet framed," she chuckled.
"We thought the marriage was just a tabloid story, too," Garon murmured.
"No chance," Cash said, his dark gaze possessive on Tippy's pretty face. "She'll never get away from me." "Or want to," Tippy added softly. Vic sipped coffee and studied his son and daughter-in-law quietly. "I never
imagined that you'd marry and settle down," he confessed. "But I hoped you might, one day."
"It took me a long time to find roots," Cash confessed.
"That was my fault," Vic said quietly. "I hoped it wasn't going to be too late to apologize. Garon said you didn't kick him out last year, so we decided to give you a little time and then see if we could mend fences. What do you think?" he added without looking up. But his hands were rigid around his coffee cup.
Cash took a deep breath. "I finally understood why things happened the way they did," he confessed. His dark eyes went to Tippy's radiant face. "I couldn't walk away from Tippy, whether or not I was already married," he said bluntly.
Tippy caught her breath at the look in his eyes as well as the words. She felt as if she could float in midair. He'd never really mentioned how he felt, even if it showed just a little occasionally.
He reached over and caught her long fingers in his, smiling at her before he turned his attention back to his father. "None of us is getting any younger," he said at last. "I suppose it's time to bury the hatchet."
Vic smiled for the first time. "It's time," he agreed.
"We've got some news, too," Garon told him. "We're buying the old Jacobs place."
Cash was surprised. "I heard you were looking at it. But you don't deal in horses."
"We're not going to, either," Garon replied. "We're going to run purebred Black Angus." "You?" Cash persisted, because his oldest brother was a lawman. "I have to live somewhere," he said and looked hunted. He glared at the youngest,
Cort, who hadn't taken off the cowboy hat still. "He's thinking about getting married."
"Someone local?" Cash asked, because he barely remembered people from his youth. "He hasn't picked out the lucky woman yet," Parker said with a grin. "He wants a family. He figures to start looking sometime this year for a suitable candidate." "He's conceited," Garon added with twinkling dark eyes. "He thinks he's
handsome."
"I am," Cort said easily.
They all laughed.
"But that isn't the only reason I thought about the property here," Garon added. "We want a base of operations closer to you than West Texas."
"Besides," Vic added, "we hear there's a very efficient police force here."
Cash grinned at him. "You can bet on it."
The visit was lengthy, and enjoyable. Rory joined them and was introduced. He was fascinated by the FBI agent and spent half an hour pumping him for information about what subjects to study so that he could get in when he graduated from high school.
By the end of the long visit, Cash felt that the future was going to be good for all of them. There were still some wounds, but they were small, old ones. They would heal.
Tippy and Cash waved them off at the door while Rory went back to his movies.
Tippy had noticed things about the other Griers during the visit. They were wearing designer clothing, subtle but expensive. They were driving a Mercedes, a new one by the look of it, and the most expensive model.
"They're wealthy, aren't they?" she asked.
He nodded. "Very. Dad thought money would keep me home and make me conform. He was wrong." She slid her arms around him and pressed close. "I knew better than that the first time I rode alone with you, from the hospital to my hotel when Crissy was shot." He was surprised that she'd moved into his arms, because it seemed so natural. He wrapped her up tight. "You surprised me that day. I liked what I saw."
"You didn't show it," she returned.
He smiled warmly. "I didn't dare. I wasn't being taken in by a hotshot model, dangling sex appeal." "It was all show," she replied. "I learned to put on a good act. But underneath, I've always been shy and introverted." He drew his lips down her nose. "And you still won't wear your glasses," he pointed out.
She laughed. "I do, occasionally, when you aren't home."
"Vanity," he accused. "And unnecessary. I think you'd look sexy in glasses," he added, bending to kiss her tenderly. "I think you'd look sexy any way at all." "Really?" she exclaimed breathlessly.
He kissed her harder, keenly aware of her soft body so close against him. His own body reacted immediately, and he groaned against her lips. Sh
e bit his lower lip, hard. "I feel weak. I need to lie down. You can bring me a damp washcloth and lock the door."
"Rory..."
"Will think I'm having morning sickness and watch his movie," she whispered. "And we'll be very, very quiet." "Speak for yourself." He groaned, and kissed her harder. She smiled under his devouring mouth.
THE BEDROOM WAS HOT, but they didn't have the presence of mind to turn up the air-conditioning. Cash barely had time to lock the door before he bore her down hungrily on the bed, too feverishly hungry to pull back the covers.
Tippy helped him get the clothes out of the way, but just barely. "Sorry," he whispered as he moved in between her long legs, his powerful body shuddering with need. "I can't wait...!" "It's all right, because I can't, either," she panted, shifting quickly to let him take possession of her. She gasped at the power and intensity of his hunger, her eyes staring straight up into his as he lowered his hips and pushed down, hard. Her nails bit into the hard muscles of his upper arms involuntarily at the intense shock of pleasure.
"Did it hurt?" he asked at once, stilling.
"No," she exclaimed, shivering. "Do it again!"
His eyes began to glitter. He felt her around him, warm and moist and soft. He lifted and pushed down again, filling her, his motions quick and urgent. He shifted, nudging her long legs apart, swearing when he had to pause to strip away her jeans and underwear to accommodate the wide sweep of his own leg.
She didn't protest. She could barely think.
"Come on," he whispered huskily. "Wrap those long legs around me and feel how deep I can go."
She gasped again, on fire for him. She slid her legs around his, lifting her hips in a blatant pleading arch. He came down on her hungrily, his hips driving into hers, while he watched her face grow taut and wild with growing pleasure.
"We're good together," he whispered unsteadily. "It gets better, every time."
"Yes. Better. And better." She arched helplessly, shivering as the driving motion of his body began to push her up the spiral of fulfillment, one glorious step at a time. Her expression became fixed, her eyes dilated. Her gasps were rhythmic, matching the frenzied rhythm of his body as he drove for satisfaction.
Explosions, she thought blindly. Beautiful, hot explosions that made her swell and
swell and finally burst with the most exquisite release of her life. She arched her back and bit down hard on helpless little cries of pleasure that she couldn't contain. She didn't recognize her own voice.
He was overwhelmed at the same time. He shuddered convulsively, and a hoarse, aching groan of delight tore out of his strained throat as he stilled and then, finally, collapsed on her damp body in total exhaustion.
She shivered with him in a pulsing delight of fulfillment, her eyes closed, her arms wrapping him up tight against her. She felt his weight with wonder, so close to him that they seemed to breathe in one body.
"It's never the same way twice," she whispered softly. "And it's always better than the last time, even when the last time was fantastic." "I noticed," he whispered back. His mouth touched all over her flushed face. He smiled as he kissed her lovingly. She laced her long fingers into his damp hair at the back of his head and she smiled drowsily. "It wasn't that urgent before."
"We're more attuned to each other now," he replied. "And there's the baby." His big hand went to her stomach and pressed tenderly over the swell of his child. "You excite me. It's awesome to think that you have my baby under your heart. I can hardly believe it."
She touched his hard mouth with her fingertips and she smiled. "I love being pregnant," she whispered. "Almost as much as I love you."
He lifted his head and looked down into her wide eyes. "And I love you, Tippy," he said solemnly. "With all my heart. For all my life, and yours."
She gasped audibly.
"Didn't you know?" he asked tenderly. "Everyone else did."
Tears stung her eyes. "You never said it. I only hoped. I hoped, so much!"
He kissed away the tears. "You'd never have given yourself to me that first night if you hadn't loved me. I knew that, and I was scared to death of history repeating itself. I thought, when you knew me, you'd turn away, too."
"Never in a million years," she whispered. "I loved you too much."
"I realized that, finally." He kissed her tenderly. "I'm sorry I've given you such a hard time, honey."
She smiled and relaxed back into the mattress. "You've more than made up for the rocky start we had. So I guess we live happily ever after in Jacobsville, Texas, with a houseful of kids and maybe a dog."
"I could get the snake back," he began.
"Maybe a dog," she repeated. "Rory loves dogs."
He sighed. "Maybe a dog," he agreed at last, with a smile.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
FEBRUARY ARRIVED with an unexpected period of unseasonably warm weather, and Tippy's baby was due any day. Despite the fact that her life with Cash and Rory had been idyllic, she was worried because he'd had a call from the nation's capital that he hadn't shared with her. She was almost certain that it was the offer of a clandestine job. He was restless sometimes, in spite of the love between them. She wasn't quite sure, even now, that he was going to be able to settle for good in a little town like Jacobsville. If he tried to go back to the danger of his old life, she wasn't certain that she could bear it.
Her life, on the other hand, was becoming very comfortable. She'd long since finished Joel Harper's movie and was now drawing residuals from her first motion picture. Joel had offered her another part, but she wanted to wait until after the baby was born before she made any decisions. While many women did combine careers and motherhood, Tippy wasn't sure she wanted to. Between them, she and Cash had more money than they were ever going to be able to spend. She'd had an amazing career as a model and now as an actress, but she didn't want to live her life in a goldfish bowl. Especially not when she had children to think of. In Jacobsville, she felt very much at home, and no hordes of reporters would ever run her to ground here. People were still talking about the way Matt Caldwell had fielded the press before he married his lovely Leslie, who had a tragic past to overcome. Tabloid reporters rarely came near Jacobsville anymore.
Tippy thought of that with amusement. She'd have her privacy and her family, and she really thought that was going to be as much as she needed to make her happy. Later on, if she was adamant about having a career, she knew that Cash would help her any way he could. It was nice to have choices.
At the moment, though, her only concern was her upcoming delivery. Her obstetrician had given her a target date, but babies were notoriously unpredictable. What if she went into labor when nobody was around?
Ironically the very next day after Cash's mysterious phone call, her water broke while she was cooking breakfast. Rory had just come downstairs with his books and Cash was buttoning his shirt when the floor was suddenly awash with water.
Tippy stood in the middle of it, stifling a scream of mingled fear and embarrassment.
"It's nothing to worry about," Cash said at once, smiling reassuringly as he put her gently down into one of the kitchen chairs and sent Rory for two bath towels. "The baby's coming, that's all. We'll get you right to the hospital. Don't worry, okay?"
"Okay," she said, calming immediately.
Rory put one towel on the floor and handed the other to Tippy. "I'll go ahead and open the car door," he said.
"Good man," Cash replied. "We'll be right out."
He swung Tippy up into his arms grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Let's go get our baby," he whispered mischievously. She linked her arms around his neck and buried her eyes in his warm throat. "Oh, Cash, I'm so happy!"
"Me, too. Contractions starting?" he added when she stiffened and moaned.
"Yes!"
"Breathe, honey. Breathe the way we practiced in Lamaze class, okay?" He demonstrated the rhythm and she began to follow suit, although the pain was getting worse and the contractions harder with every bre
ath. He put her in the front seat, on her towel, and Rory got in back. Cash drove them to the hospital with a calm and efficiency that was reassuring to Tippy.
He phoned the emergency room on the way over and alerted Lou Coltrain, Tippy's family doctor, that they were en route. Lou said that she'd contact the obstetrician and have him standing by. As luck would have it, he was already at the hospital, having just delivered another baby.
Cash carried Tippy to the gurney and followed her in, with Rory on the other side, both holding her hands. The nurses got her into the delivery room and started prep-ping her at once, while Cash was put into a gown and mask. Poor Rory had to sit in the waiting room.
