You're The One: BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 12)

by Shanade White

  In a blinding moment of clarity, she realized that she was still in love with Owen and if he never came home her life would never be the same. She’d been stupid not to trust him, after all he’d come home and straight to her, but her fear of being hurt and the confusion over the pregnancy had blinded her to the truth. As if it agreed with her, the baby chose that moment to flutter in her stomach, the first time she’d felt it.

  Joe who was never far from her side now, saw her sink into the chair and came over to sit next to her. “It’s going to be okay. These people know what they’re doing, it’s not the first time this has happened.”

  Tabitha couldn’t hide her tears, but managed not to cry. “I’ve been stupid Joe. I should have believed him, now it might be too late and he doesn’t even know about the baby. I can’t help but think that if I’d told him he wouldn’t have gone up there to begin with.”

  “You can’t blame yourself, you handled it the only way you knew how.” Joe said, then added, “If you want to help him the best thing you can do now is get these people some food to take with them on the trial. Let them do what they’re good and while you and I do the same.”

  By the time the first rescue group left the restaurant the next morning, the dining room had been transformed into an emergency center, the table and chairs rearranged to make room for maps and lists of rescuers and their schedule. The plan was simple, send groups of four or five up the trails to beat them down a couple of miles at a time until they reached the stranded men and animals. It would take days, but it was the safest way to get the job done without risking anyone’s life.

  As Owen watched the fat snowflakes accumulate on the ground he began to wonder if he’d made a mistake coming up here. Tabitha’s refusal to talk to him or believe him had finally gotten the better of him and he’d retreated to the mountains in a fit of anger. But sitting there, he had to admit that he hadn’t tried very hard, simply let her stomp off every time he came into the restaurant. Stubbornly telling himself that he hadn’t done anything wrong.

  Now it looked like they might be trapped in the high-country and while they had enough food and supplies to last them for several weeks, it wasn’t nearly enough to last the winter, if they even survived this next storm, which was predicted to be the worst anyone had seen in decades. Flynn had reached him on the satellite phone only a few minutes ago to tell him that a rescue team was on its way, but he doubted that they’d make it this far.

  He went to sleep that night with thoughts of Tabitha on his mind, promising himself that if he made it home he’d make her understand that she was and would always be the only woman for him. This time he’d try harder to make her understand that, just as he was almost asleep, it occurred to him that he’d been with Mike the night of the phone call, all he had to do was get Mike to tell Tabitha that and she’d have to believe him.

  It had been four days since the first rescue party had left for the high mountains, and while they’d been successful, bringing in most of the cattle and men from the lower pastures, no one had heard from the last group that had headed for Owen and the sheep in the upper pasture. Communication had been spotty at best, and they’d all known that the last group would just have to push on to the top, possibly without any contact with home base.

  The storm that had come in yesterday had left another two feet of snow on the already ice packed street in front of the restaurant. All communication in the canyon had been shut down including the satellite phones and Tabitha hadn’t slept for more than a few hours at a time since the first flakes had begun to fall. Everyone knew that if they didn’t get the men out before the storm hit for real that they’d be forced to give up the rescue and hope that the men would do the one thing they’d been trained not to do – leave the sheep and save themselves.

  Tabitha was behind the counter making what felt like the millionth sandwich in only a few days, when there was a huge commotion out in the street. Before she could get out from behind the counter, the swelling in her middle making her slower than usual, a group of snow covered men came bursting in the door. She recognized Owen almost immediately when his eyes met hers, for a moment her lungs wouldn’t work and her heart stopped beating, her relief that he was alive so enormous she could do nothing but stare at him.

  Then the air came rushing back into her lungs, leaving her light headed and in danger of fainting. Joe was at her side in an instant, supporting her as she retreated into the kitchen, in no shape to face Owen right then. Sinking down on a chair she took several deep breaths, then nodded to Joe who immediately went back out to the dining room to offer the men food and hot coffee.

  When he came through the kitchen door, he ran into Owen who had finally managed to shuck off his frozen clothes, before heading straight for Tabitha. “Hold on for a second, you need some food and something hot to drink and she needs a few minutes.” He said, steering Owen back into the dining room and making him a plate of food. When he set it down in front of Owen, he said, “Eat this, then you can go talk to her.”

  Chapter 12

  When Joe came back into the kitchen, Tabitha practically jumped out of her skin, her nerves stretched to the limit. “He’s going to eat something then you have to talk to him. This is ridiculous, the man obviously loves you, he could have gone straight home but instead he came here to you. It’s time to face the music and tell him about the baby.” Joe said, handing her a cup of tea.

  “I know, but how am I going to tell him? I’ve made a mess of things.” Tabitha whined.

  “The first thing you’re going to do is stop whining and face up to reality. The second thing you’re going to do is tell Owen how you feel. Nothing but the truth is going to get you out of this one. I want to see that old Tabitha, the one that was sure of herself, even if he rejects you don’t forget who you are and where you came from and what you’ve accomplished.”

  Tabitha knew that Joe was right, but that wasn’t going to make this any easier, but luckily, she didn’t have long to think about the coming confrontation with Owen. Almost as soon as Joe went out the door, Owen came in. Without even thinking she was on her feet and across the room, throwing herself into his arms, so relieved to see him alive and well that all thoughts of the baby disappeared for a second.

  Owen held Tabitha in his arms, drinking in her smell, still so familiar to him. But as he held her he became aware that she felt different in his arms. Pulling back, he looked into her eyes, trying to figure out what had changed. Then he realized what it was, her belly was pressed up against his middle, a tight ball that seemed to be rolling and moving. Grabbing her firmly by the arms, he pushed her away from him and put his hand on the swelling that was now easy to see.

  “Tabitha?” He couldn’t even begin to verbalize all the questions swirling around in his mind.

  “I’m sorry Owen, I should have told you, but I didn’t know how.” She said, tears welling in her eyes.

  Owen wasn’t sure if he was happy or mad, a baby wasn’t something you hid from its father, unless he wasn’t the father. Maybe all these months of hiding and avoiding him had nothing to do with Sarah and everything to do with Tabitha being the one who was unfaithful. After all she’d had plenty of opportunity while he was gone, he knew the thoughts were wrong, but just couldn’t stop them, his tired brain making connections where there were none.

  “Is this why you accused me of cheating, because you did it yourself.” He sneered at her.

  Tabitha was so shocked at his accusation that she couldn’t speak. “I…. what?” She finally stammered.

  “That’s what I thought, and to think I’ve been waiting around for you to come to your senses and see that I love you, when all you were doing was growing another man’s child.” Owen said, stepping even farther away from her.

  Tabitha finally managed to find her voice, “Owen that’s not true.” But he was already gone, accepting her silence for an admission of guilt.

  It was several days before Tabitha had enough
energy to get out of bed, since she’d decided to leave the canyon the moment Owen when went through the kitchen door, she’d been lying in bed trying to mend her heart enough to go on. But today the baby had woken her early in the morning with the first real kick of its short life and happiness had welled up inside her. Even if she didn’t have Owen she had his child and that would have to be enough for now.

  Determined to make the most of her life just as she’d always done, she got out of bed took a shower and got dressed, then headed for the restaurant and some boxes so she could pack a few of her things. She’d only be gone for a few months and most of her clothes didn’t fit anyway, so there wasn’t much to pack. When Joe saw her walk down the stairs and into the kitchen a huge smile spread across his face, He’d been worried about his friend but she looked rested and much more serene this morning.

  “Good to see you’ve rejoined the land of the living.” He said, putting a huge plate of food down in front of her, which smelled so good she began to eat almost immediately.

  “It’s time to move on, I’m leaving tomorrow for LA. I’m going to miss you.” She said, her mouth full.

  “I’m going to miss you too, and I suppose I don’t have to tell you again that you need to talk to Owen again. He was exhausted that day and it had to be quite a shock to find you this way.”

  “I wish it was that simple and you know it’s not. I just have to face the fact that it wasn’t meant to be, and maybe it’s a good thing that Owen thinks this baby isn’t his, at least I know he won’t be trying to take it away from me. Can we please talk about something else?” She been over this with Joe many times, and was tired of talking about it.

  Joe had never been one to interfere in his friend’s love lives, but Tabitha and Owen needed some help and he was the only one to give it so when the restaurant closed for lunch, he got on his snowmobile, and headed for the ranch hoping to find Owen there. When he got to the ranch, he spotted Owen in the paddock and waved at him, expecting Owen to come over to him, but he only turned his back and went back to what he was doing.

  Cursing the man’s stupidity for the hundredth time, he slogged his way across the paddock to where Owen was working. “What do you want?” Owen barked at him, shooting him a dirty look.

  While Tabitha had been moping around in bed, Owen had convinced himself that Joe was the father of Tabitha’s baby so he was the last person he wanted to see right then. Joe seemed to read his mind, although it didn’t take a genius to read the look on Owen’s face. Fed up with the entire situation, Joe decided right then and there to spell everything out for Owen.

  “First if you’re thinking that the baby is mine, you better think again. I’ve got news for you, that baby is yours and only yours and it’s time you faced it before it’s too late. Tabitha loves you, of that I’m sure, but you’re too stupid to see that. I don’t know what happened in Australia, but nothing happened here except that the woman that loves you is waiting patiently for you to come home.” Joe said, the anger in his voice finally penetrating the wall Owen had put around himself.

  Owen opened his mouth to speak but Joe held up his hand, “I’m not finished. If you don’t fix this and fast you’re going to lose her and the baby. She’s leaving for LA tomorrow and although she says she’s coming back I’m not sure that’s ever going to happen.” Satisfied that he’d done what he could, Joe started back across the paddock.

  Watching Joe stalk across the paddock, the mud splashing under his feet, Owen began to question all the assumptions he’d made. He’d been so happy to see Tabitha, but when he’d felt the baby kicking him, he’d panicked and made the accusation. Now he could see how much that must have hurt her and could understand why she hadn’t answered. But what he still couldn’t understand was why she hadn’t told him about the baby months ago if it was his; that part still didn’t make sense to him. It shouldn’t have been something she wanted to hide.

  Unable to think straight, he knew that he needed to talk to one of his brothers, and Jack was probably the best one. Conveniently he was at the barn and not hard to find, but it took Owen several long minutes to come to the point, which Jack endured with patience, aware of the situation his brother had found himself in and the mess he’d made of it.

  “I need some advice.” He finally said, not able to meet his brother’s eyes.

  Jack took a deep breath and said, “I wondered when you come to me. Let’s go in the house and talk, Chloe’s out on a call so we’ll have some privacy.”

  After Owen had poured out the whole story, including his suspicions about the baby being Joe’s to Jack, he sat back and took a sip of the coffee that had gone cold in front of him and waited for his brother to comment. “Sometimes I think you live in a different world than I do. Did it ever occur to you that the reason the baby could kick you is because it’s old enough?” Jack, after taking a minute, finally said to him.

  “How am I supposed to know stuff like that?” Owen whined.

  “You supposed to know stuff like that because you’re involved in that baby’s life. Do you really think that child is anyone’s but yours?” Jack asked the one question Owen hadn’t wanted him to ask.

  “I know it’s mine, but I don’t understand why she didn’t tell me. I would have been there for her no matter what.” Owen said, realizing that his pride had been wounded. “I guess it hurt that she didn’t want me involved. It took me almost dying for her to realize that she wanted me around.”

  “If I recall there was the little issue of that phone call. Do you think she lied about that?” Jack was hitting all the weak points dismantling Owen’s anger and hurt piece by piece.

  “No, but I wasn’t with Sarah, Mike and I were out on the range.”

  “Where was Sarah when all this bonding was happening?” Jack asked, sure he’d just figured out what happened.

  “I don’t know, she wasn’t at the ranch when I got there and I didn’t see her when I left.” Owen said, then understood what Jack was getting at. “You don’t think she answered the call?” He asked, but then remembered that when they’d gotten home, Mike’s phone had been out in the grass not on the table where he’d left it and his phone had been in the house.

  “I think it’s just the kind of thing she’d do.” Jack said, nodding his head.

  “Our phones were moved when we got back, but it had been a long night and I never thought that much about it. I need to call Mike.” Owen said, getting his phone out of his pocket.

  “No what you need to do is go stop Tabitha from leaving. If you love her, you better not let her leave.” Jack said, letting out a deep breath, hoping that when Flynn fell in love it would be easier for him than it had been for his brothers.

  By the time he reached his cabin and grabbed a few things, it had started snowing again and it was getting dark, but Owen didn’t care. He felt like he didn’t have a moment to waste, getting to Tabitha was the most important thing right now. Now that he understood just how much he loved her and the baby, his safety seemed of little concern, he’d survived six feet of snow in the high-country, a few inches in the canyon shouldn’t be any problem.

  He arrived just as the snow became nearly impossible to see through, but there was a light burning in the restaurant window guiding him as visibility became almost zero. Cedar Ridge was closed up for the night, only a few lights shining in the windows around town, but Owen didn’t care how late it was. When he tried the front door of the restaurant he was surprised to find that it was unlocked, but then realized that there was no one who needed to be locked out, unless it was him. With that grim thought in mind, he opened the door and stepped in, relieved when a rush of warm air caressed his chilled skin. He breathed a sigh of relief to have made it safely.

  Knowing that Tabitha was upstairs in her apartment, he climbed the stairs, rehearsing in his mind what he’d say to her. He had to make her understand that it was really over with Sarah and that all he wanted to do was to spend his life with her and
their son or daughter, that thought making him smile. When he reached her door, he knocked hoping she was still awake, and was rewarded by Tabitha’s faint invitation to come in.

  He knew that she wasn’t expecting him, so he opened the door slowly, not wanting to scare her. She had her back turned to him, so he cleared his throat to get her to turn around, when she did his heart began that familiar rhythm that the sight of her always caused. But as happy as he was to see her that emotion was clearly not returned, the scowl on her face broadcasting her feelings clearly.

  Tabitha had been expecting Joe who had promised to carry her boxes down to the restaurant when she’d finished taping them up, but instead it was Owen standing in her door. He was dripping melting snow all over her carpet and looked half frozen, her first instinct was to go to him and help him out of his wet clothes, but they were far past the point where she should be taking care of him.

  Instead she demanded, “What are you doing here?”

  “Stopping you from making the biggest mistake of our lives.” He said, pulling off his wet coat and dropping it out in the hallway, then shutting the door. “We have to talk Tabitha.”

  Tabitha was done talking with Owen, “Yeah, it seems like we always need to talk, I’m tired of talking Owen. Let’s just face facts, we’re not meant to be together, there’s just too much stopping us.”

  Owen crossing the room and pulled her to him, Tabitha wanted to resist but couldn’t, she’d been waiting for Owen to come to her for months and for just a few minutes she’d enjoy being in his arms again. “Don’t say that, it’s just not true.” He said, tipping her face up to look in her eyes. “Can you honestly tell me that you believe that?”