Her Cowboy Daddy

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  “And in a roundabout way, so is Jeb.” Briefly, Cady explained about the videoconference with Tina earlier that day.

  “Jeb McCabe actually committed to that on the spot? He made a lifelong commitment to the child you’re going to adopt?”

  “He didn’t have to even think about it!” Just as she hadn’t had to consider whether or not she wanted them to be exclusive, when he had asked. She had just known that it was the right thing to do, the right thing for her and for him. And now they’d be sharing the experience of adopting a baby. Not in the usual, expected way, but still!

  “Hmm.” Oblivious to the romantic nature of Cady’s thoughts, Suki continued thoughtfully, “Maybe Jeb McCabe has changed from the guy he was when he left Avalynne Stone at the altar in front of the entire community.”

  That again. It was all Cady could do not to moan.

  Wishing she could explain, knowing she couldn’t without breaking her implicit promise to Jeb not to divulge what he had told her, she bit her lip in frustration.

  “I’m sorry. I should just let that go,” Suki said eventually, when the silence drew out. “Everyone should.”

  “You’re right,” Cady said, even more firmly. “They should.” The problem was, they wouldn’t. Not until something very important changed.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Do I need to have some bouncers or security guards handy?” Emily McCabe quipped late the following afternoon, after Cady had settled her three nephews in a back booth of the Daybreak Café.

  Cady smiled at Jeb’s little sister. “No. You don’t. And thanks for agreeing to let me have this meeting here, even though your restaurant is technically closed for the day.” The bustling eatery served only breakfast and lunch.

  “No problem.” Emily regarded her with the confidence one would expect from the renowned proprietress and head chef of one of the most popular cafés in the area. “Although I am curious.” She waggled her eyebrows and leaned in confidentially. “Does Jeb know you’ve arranged a meeting with his ex?”

  Cady glanced at the three boys, who were coloring happily while waiting for their promised cookies and milk. “No. And I’d prefer you wouldn’t say anything.”

  “Hey.” Emily poured two glasses of tea and set a plate of lemon slices on the table. “If you can get Mrs. Stone to cease and desist with all the trash talk she has been spreading about my big brother, I’ll help in any way I can.”

  Cady tensed. “You heard about that?”

  “Honey, everyone in town has heard about that. I think that’s the reason Avalynne is heading back to Europe a few days ahead of schedule. And speaking of ex-fiancées…” Emily patted Cady’s arm. “…here she is.”

  Jeb’s sister gave her an encouraging smile and went back to the booth to sit with the boys.

  Cady walked to the front of the restaurant to meet with Avalynne. As soon as they sat down, the stunning auburn-haired artist cut straight to the chase. “I gather this has something to do with Jeb?”

  She nodded. “Your mother came to see me the other evening. She went to see Jeb’s parents, too.”

  Avalynne did not seem surprised or particularly upset. She stirred sweetener into her tea, her expression guarded. “I’m sure Jeb told you and his parents that the two of us are just friends,” she stated.

  Cady held out hope that Avalynne would finally see the light and do the right thing. “Unfortunately, I don’t think your mother believes that—and her doubt has spread to Jeb’s parents.”

  The other woman sipped her tea. “If you know anything about my mom, you know I don’t have any sway over her. She does what she wants. And my father always backs her up.”

  So as far as Avalynne was concerned, trying to deal with her parents was a lost cause. But while Cady understood you couldn’t change someone who didn’t want to change, there was a larger issue at stake. She tried again to get Avalynne to see the light. “All this talk is not fair to Jeb. It’s dredging up the past.”

  “I’m sure he can handle it.” Avalynne gulped the rest of her iced tea and stood. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a plane to catch.” She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out the door.

  So much for her plan to subtly bring out the truth and clear Jeb’s reputation once and for all, Cady thought.

  Emily returned to her side. “That didn’t go well.”

  She grimaced, wishing otherwise. “No. It didn’t.”

  The chef shook her head in consternation. “For the life of me, I can’t figure out why Avalynne and Jeb are still friends.”

  Because Jeb is a good guy and he wants to protect those he senses need protecting.

  Emily brought another glass to the table and poured some iced tea for herself. “I get why Jeb is nice to her—he has all that guilt about what he did, leaving her at the altar. But why she would forgive him to the point she has—when she is clearly not in love with him—is beyond me. It’s almost as if she’s sort of…dependent on him in some way.”

  Heck yes, Avalynne was dependent on Jeb, Cady thought sourly. The adventuress needed Jeb to keep her secrets from her family.

  Emily peered at her speculatively. “But I can see you care about him, Cady.”

  She gazed back at Jeb’s little sister. “I do,” she admitted honestly. In fact, I may very well be falling in love with him. Not that I dare disclose that, either.

  Concern glimmered in Emily’s eyes. “Be careful.”

  Cady guessed where this was going, but Emily’s assumption was based on a falsehood. “He’s not going to break my heart,” she assured her resolutely. That much she knew.

  Emily sighed and looked out the window, in the direction Avalynne had gone. “That,” she said sorrowfully, “is what all the women who fall in Jeb’s path say.”

  “YOU WERE BUSY TODAY,” Jeb said, later that evening after the kids were asleep.

  Cady flushed guiltily. She had only to look into his eyes to realize he knew what she had been up to while in town that afternoon.

  She turned the oven knob to 350 and headed for the walk-in pantry. “How’d you hear about my meeting with Avalynne?”

  Jeb watched her get out the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and carry them back to the work island. “A couple of ways. Emily called, fishing for information. Avalynne texted, too.”

  Cady felt a little twinge of jealousy despite herself. She reached into the cupboard and pulled out a baking pan and two stainless steel mixing bowls. “And?”

  Jeb leaned against the counter. “She apologized for her mother’s behavior and suggested I talk to my folks again and clear up any misunderstanding.”

  Cady paused to look at him. “Did you do that?”

  The features of his face set grimly. “No. It wouldn’t do any good. They’re going to believe what they believe.”

  Cady measured dry ingredients into a bowl, glad she had a task to occupy her. “You sound like Avalynne now….”

  He shrugged. “I guess that’s something my ex and I have in common.”

  Silence fell as Cady creamed the softened butter and sugar, then mixed in egg, milk and vanilla.

  Jeb looked at her as if he wanted to do a lot more than stand there and talk. “Do you want to know what else Avalynne texted?”

  Cady wanted to do a lot more than stand there and talk, too.

  “I don’t know.” She made a comical face. Figuring as long as Jeb was there, he might as well make himself useful, she handed him a stack of paper baking liners and the muffin tin. “Do I?”

  He lifted a brow. “She wanted to know if I was hooking up with you.”

  Cady blushed and ignored the thrill rushing through her. Her need to protect her privacy warred with her equally strong wish to tell the world. She studied the inscrutable look on Jeb’s handsome face and swallowed self-consciously. “Why would she think that?”

  Finished with his task, he edged even closer. “She thought you seemed very protective of me.”

  Aware that their shoulders we
re nearly touching, Cady concentrated on folding the dry ingredients into the wet. “I was just looking out for you.”

  The oven dinged, signaling it was preheated.

  Jeb’s gaze narrowed. “Because of our bet?”

  And because I adore you. And want only the best for you. Leery of saying anything that sounded too cheesy, however, Cady shrugged. “I know you encouraged me to forget about our wager, but it doesn’t seem right, given the fact you’ve so clearly won.” She paused to look into his eyes, then, leery of the feelings welling up inside her, rushed on. “You do have what it takes to go the distance with the kids. And in fact, have helped me greatly, when it comes to caring for them and calming them down. I’ve gained a lot of confidence, thanks to you.”

  Jeb’s eyes lit with pleasure. He tucked the curtain of hair behind her ear. “So in return, you’re going to use your considerable brain power to figure out a way for me to put the scandal with Avalynne in the past where it belongs.”

  Cady folded chunks of fresh peaches into the batter. “It’d be easy to do if I could just tell the truth about what really happened that day.”

  His smile faded and he moved away. “I told you— I’m not going to do that. It would cause way too much drama.”

  And personal drama was something the easygoing Jeb hated.

  Cady scooped batter into the cups and slid the pan into the oven. She set the timer, then turned back to him.

  Caring enough to risk irritating him further, she approached him once again. “The only problem is I’m not sure I can succeed in freeing you from the past without that.”

  Their eyes meshed.

  She took his hand in hers and went on, “Because it seems like you’re right—people won’t ever forget about what happened with you and Avalynne without knowing the real story.”

  Even Emily had brought up the ignominious tale. Although Cady had no intention of telling Jeb that. He’d been hurt enough by the continuing gossip.

  Jeb’s free hand covered their entwined fingers. “You’re probably right,” he said, squeezing gently. “The destructive talk won’t end until my present is a lot more interesting than my past.”

  Cady didn’t trust the sudden glitter in his eyes. She tensed. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Simple.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I let everyone see me with someone else.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her closer. “We go public with our romance and let everyone know we are now exclusive.”

  Our romance. Cady’s heartbeat quickened as she splayed her hands across the hard muscles of his chest. “Are you sure you want to do that?” She contemplated the implications. “It would cause a lot of talk. And put a lot of extra pressure on us, too.” Plus, ill-conceived dalliances could easily crash and burn, when put too harshly to the test. She certainly didn’t want to risk that!

  Jeb rubbed his thumb over her cheek. He wasn’t worried. “Or doing so might make us even happier and help us succeed as a couple.”

  “Jeb…”

  He backed her up against the wall and caged her with his arms. “This feels right, Cady. That’s all we need to think about….”

  What felt right in the moment was all Jeb ever seemed to consider. Yet as he lowered his head and kissed her, being with him like this was suddenly all Cady wanted to consider, too.

  He made her feel so desirable and so wanted. And he made her feel cherished, too, and foolish or not, she was not willing to give that up.

  “GOT A MINUTE?” Jeb’s brother Hank asked, at four-thirty the next afternoon.

  Jeb ushered him into the house. “Sure. If you don’t mind coming back to the kitchen. It’s my turn to make dinner.”

  “Wow,” Hank remarked as they strolled into Suki and Hermann’s elegantly appointed kitchen. He breathed in the aromatic scents of garlic, browning beef and tomato sauce. “The rumors about your domestication seem to be true.”

  Jeb adjusted the flame beneath the sizzling meatballs. He made no apology for his culinary skill. “You’re one to talk. You’ve been nothing but a homebody since you married Ally.”

  He beamed. “What can I say? She makes me happy.”

  Jeb could see that.

  “Where is Cady?”

  Jeb emptied a box of spaghetti into the pot of boiling water. “Out back, supervising the kids on their swing set.”

  Hank looked out the window over the sink, to the backyard. He smiled at the boisterous activity going on. “Ah, yes. So, are you and Cady getting as serious about each other as our baby sister seems to think?”

  Jeb knew the once untamable Emily had been incredibly romantic since she’d married Dylan Reeves. To the point she was seeing and feeling love everywhere. But…serious? Jeb knew how he felt, and had for some time, but he also knew there was a big difference between the infatuation of a new fling and actually being in love with someone. It didn’t mean you couldn’t get there. But it didn’t necessarily mean that you would, either.

  So he called on what he and Cady had agreed their public stance on their relationship would be, and stuck to that. “We’re romantically involved—exclusively.”

  His brother ambled closer and helped himself to one of the croutons Jeb had set out for the salad. “That’s all?” He looked disappointed.

  Jeb avoided answering the question directly. “I prefer to play my cards close to my chest.” He didn’t want to jinx it. Things were going so well….

  Hank nodded, understanding the need for privacy. “Fair enough.”

  The back door opened and Cady walked in. She smiled at Hank in surprise. “Hey, stranger.” She gave Jeb’s brother a one-armed hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I didn’t know you were here.”

  Hank hugged and kissed her back. “I came over to talk business with Jeb.”

  “Well, don’t let me stop you,” she said merrily. “I just came in to get some Popsicles for the boys.”

  She went to the freezer.

  Hank turned back to Jeb. “I heard you were passing on the black baldie bull you looked at over in King County.”

  Jeb went back to stirring the meatballs sizzling in the skillet. “That’s true.”

  The two of them continued talking as Cady went back out, frozen treats in hand. When she returned to throw away the sticks ten minutes later, Hank had already departed. “Everything okay?” she asked Jeb.

  That probably would depend on who you asked, he thought with no small trace of irony.

  Casually, he brought Cady up to date. “Hank was trying to convince me to purchase the bull.”

  Suddenly, her mood became as cautious as his brother’s. “Why aren’t you?” she came closer, wanting to understand. “Is there something wrong with it?”

  “On the contrary,” Jeb said, with no small trace of regret. “It would be a great stud. The best I’ve seen.”

  Cady narrowed her eyes in confusion. “Then?”

  Jeb grimaced. “It’s too much of a financial commitment at the outset. I can use artificial insemination and embryo transfers to multiply the offspring from my herd for a lot less money.”

  Seeming to understand he needed a sounding board, she put her hands into the pockets of her shorts and slipped into business mode. “In the short run, I can see why that would be advisable. What about the long run?”

  Jeb turned his glance away from her sleek, sexy legs and slim feet. “I don’t know that I’ll want to be in the cattle breeding business for more than a few years.”

  He expected Cady to understand that, as she did most everything about him. Instead, she went very still.

  He emptied the cooked pasta into the strainer in the sink. Fragrant steam scented the air. “A lot of things could happen.” I could decide I wanted to live closer to Houston. Or maybe in Houston. “I don’t even know if I’ll still have this ranch.” Jeb transferred the cooked spaghetti to the serving dish. He carried the platter to the stove, added sauce and meatballs.

  Her expression thoughtful—and sudden
ly, maddeningly inscrutable—Cady handed him the wedge of Parmesan cheese and the grater. “You could be on to something new and different and exciting?” she summed up, as if that would be the most natural occurrence in the world.

  “Change can be good.” Jeb added a sprinkling of cheese then looked over at her. “Especially the unexpected kind.”

  Cady nodded again, a distant look in her eyes. “Well, good luck with your new breeding operation,” she murmured. “I’m sure whatever decision you make will be the right one for you.”

  Without another word, she opened the door and called the boys to come in for dinner.

  “YOU SOUND DOWN TONIGHT,” Suki noted, hours later.

  Cady snuggled in the covers of her bed, her cell phone pressed to her ear. She had told Jeb she had some work email to catch up on—which was true—and turned in early…alone. He’d looked puzzled, but she had known she needed time to process everything that had happened in the last week. “I think I’m just tired,” she fibbed now.

  Suki sympathized. “No doubt the boys have worn you out.”

  It wasn’t that, Cady knew, so much as her renewed worry over the way she was recklessly risking her heart to a man who didn’t seem to know the first thing about long-term commitment to anything. Except maybe the necessity of frequent change. But not wanting to get into that with her protective older sister, she just said, “You’re probably right.”

  “Then you’re really going to be happy with what I have to tell you right now,” Suki said, sounding remarkably joyous herself.

  Cady furrowed her brow in confusion. “And what is that?” she asked drily, wondering what Suki was up to now.

  “Go downstairs and open the front door, and see for yourself,” she ordered.

  Surely not another birthday gift! “Are you serious?”

  “As the rain in July. Seriously, Cady,” Suki insisted, even more firmly, “do as I ask!”

  With a sigh, Cady got out of bed, found her slippers and her robe, and headed down the stairs.