“My goodness.” Jan Robinette gave a laugh tinged with relief. She was a petite woman with tousled brown hair streaked with gray and kind eyes. “You’ve certainly perked up, little man.”
“Yeah.” Larry, a tall thin man with a thatch of wheat-colored hair, let out a breath. “By a thousand percent.”
Cam hung his head and his smile faded. He shifted his gaze to his dad. “I thought you left me and wouldn’t be back.”
“That’s not happening, sport.” He pulled his son close and gazed over the boy’s light brown hair to the Robinettes. “No way am I ever letting you go.”
The warning in the words and the promise in his gaze was unmistakable.
Larry’s eyes darkened. He opened his mouth to speak.
Before he had a chance, Hailey extended her hand and offered the couple a warm smile.
“I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Hailey Randall, Winn’s fiancée.”
Larry and Jan exchanged a quick significant glance. Beside her, she felt Winn still.
“Winn never mentioned that he was engaged.”
“Can I see what’s in the basket?” Cam asked.
“Certainly.” Hailey tousled his hair, then, ignoring a stunned Winn at her side, refocused on the Robinettes.
“It’s recent.” Hailey let the abundance of love in her heart show in her eyes.
“I haven’t had a chance to ask her father yet.” Winn offered a rueful smile and played along. “Frank is a traditional guy, so I want to do everything by the book.”
“Cam mentioned you like to fish.” Hailey smiled at Larry. “My father has a couple of ponds on his property. I know my parents would love to meet you. If you’re not busy tomorrow, we could all go fishing.”
“Even me?” Cam looked up from the basket he’d begun unloading.
“Of course you,” Hailey said.
“You could meet Bandit,” Winn added. “Cam could show you his tricks.”
“I—we’d—” Larry took his wife’s hand “—like that.”
“Grandpa had a snake in his house last time I was there.” Cam spread his arms wide. “It was this big.”
Jan turned white. “A snake?”
“Just a garter,” Hailey said reassuringly. “They’re not poisonous.”
“Thank God.” Jan paused and looked at Winn. “Grandpa? Your father?”
“No,” Hailey answered quickly. No need to bring Jim Ferris into the mix. “My dad. Cam and he bonded almost instantly. My parents don’t have any grandchildren yet, although my brother and his wife are expecting their first this spring.”
“Brandon was our only child.” Jan’s eyes turned shiny with tears as she laid her hand on the boy’s brown hair. “Cam is all we have.”
“He loves you,” Winn said in a soft voice so Cam wouldn’t hear. “You love him. I was his father for six years before he was taken from my life. I know what it feels like to have someone you love snatched from you. I want you to still be involved.”
“A child can’t have too many people in his life who love him,” Hailey added.
“Jackson Hole is just so far away,” Jan murmured.
“Not that far,” Winn said, seeming relieved when Tripp and Anna walked up.
Hailey performed the introductions, earning a curious look from Tripp when she introduced him as her brother, the mayor of Jackson Hole. The way she saw it, if anyone got to trade on her brother’s status, it should be her.
Hailey sensed the pent-up tension in Winn. It didn’t even dissipate when Tripp let him know the development was slated for approval.
It wasn’t long until Tripp and Anna wandered off. Then Cam decided he wanted a snow cone. Larry and Jan left to take him to get one, promising to return shortly.
Neither Hailey nor Winn were worried, noticing the P.I. Winn had hired to monitor the couple’s actions, standing at a discreet distance.
Winn cocked his head, staring at her. “You told them we were engaged.”
She swallowed past the sudden dryness in her throat. “We are.”
“When did this wonderful event occur?”
Despite his stern facade, the fact that he’d inserted the word wonderful gave her hope.
“The other night. When you told me you loved me and wanted us to be a family.” She took his hand, twining her fingers through his. “I don’t believe I gave you my answer. But I do want to marry you. I think it’d be a good idea for you to ask my dad for my hand tonight so he’s not blindsided tomorrow when the Robinettes start talking about our engagement.”
“Our engagement.”
“Yes. And don’t worry about a ring. I’m okay with a simple wedding band.”
“Well, I’m not.” His gaze searched her eyes. “You deserve only the best.”
“I’ve got the best,” she stubbornly insisted.
Winn realized his instincts had been right—and all wrong. Hailey believed in him, trusted in him, loved him. He’d been wrong to hold back for appearances’ sake. To be sure, he’d done it with the best of intentions, but he hadn’t fully taken into account the most important factor—what she wanted and needed from him.
Hailey’s heart dropped as a second of silence turned into three.
“You say you’re okay with a simple wedding band.” Winn pulled a velvet box from his pocket, flipping it open revealing a chocolate oval diamond surrounded by even more glittering stones. “Are you saying you want me to take this back?”
“No. Ohmigosh. No.” She stared down at the ring. When she lifted her gaze, tears swam in her eyes. “You said we had to wait.”
“I meant we had to wait to make it official.” He gave a self-conscious laugh. “I saw this in a window and it reminded me of you. I knew it was the one. Just like the stone, you’re warm and down to earth yet full of vitality and life. There’s a spark about you that comes through in everything you do.”
“Just call me Sparky,” Hailey said with a smile.
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. Tell me more. I like hearing how wonderful you think I am.”
“I’m so lucky to have you in my life.” He slipped the ring from the box and dropped to one knee, his eyes meeting hers. “I feel like I’m poised at the starting gate of the rest of my life. I’m ready—hell, I’m eager—to take on all the joys and sorrows, all the laughter and the pain, but only if you’re by my side. I can’t imagine making that journey without you. When I look into my heart, I see only you. I know my life will never be complete without you beside me to share it. Will you marry me? Will you be a wife to me and a mother to Cam?”
“I love you, Winn.” Her voice shook with emotion. “No one else will ever hold my heart the way you do. I would be proud to be your wife and a mother to Cam.”
He slipped the ring on her finger then rose to kiss her long and hard.
“Now,” he said with a smile, “we’re engaged.”
Epilogue
Less than two months later, on a warm September day, Hailey married Winn in a small ceremony on her parents’ ranch. Under an arbor of flowers, they said their vows, surrounded by family and close friends.
Winn’s father and grandfather were there. So far, Jim had been on his best behavior, complimenting his son on his choice of bride and not even flinching when Cam called him Grandpa.
Jan and Larry had flown in for the wedding and were staying at the ranch. Hailey’s parents had gotten along so well with the Robinettes that they’d kept in touch. When Cam went to visit them over his school’s fall break, Frank and Kathy would fly with him.
Winn’s adoption of Cam was on track, only it would be both him and Hailey making Cam their forever son.
“Mrs. Ferris.” Winn’s lips lingered on the name as he twirled her on the dance floor. “How does it feel to be married to someone w
ho’s unemployed?”
She laughed. “I’m not sure my salary at the new clinic will be enough to keep you in the style to which you’re accustomed, but I promise to do my best.”
Tired of the antics of GPG, Winn had quit his job and was in the process of opening his own business, specializing in golf-course design and development. They both wanted to remain in Jackson Hole and although some travel would be required, Winn could do a lot of the design work from home.
“I’ll work hard to make the business a success,” Winn assured her. “But family will come first.”
“Family and friends,” Hailey said with a happy sigh, snuggling against him. “They’re what makes a life complete.”
“I didn’t realize we’d invited Tim Duggan,” Winn said, catching sight of the lanky physician on the edge of the dance floor.
“Cassidy asked me to invite him.” Hailey slid her fingers through the back of Winn’s hair, desire coursing through her like warm honey. She was ready for the honeymoon to begin.
“Why?”
Hailey wondered if it would be unseemly if she nibbled on her husband’s ear.
“Why did she want you to invite him?” Winn repeated.
She pulled her attention from the lobe to her husband’s handsome face. “I believe she’s got the hots for him.”
“Really?” Winn’s expression was dubious. “I can’t see them together.”
“I can,” Hailey said with a smile. “If anyone can make it happen it’ll be Cass. She’s got a boatload of terrier in her.”
Winn opened his mouth then paused. “I’m not even going to ask what that means.”
“Good. I’ve got something else in mind for your mouth than talking.”
His gaze sharpened and heat flared in those beautiful hazel eyes. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Hailey grinned, a shiver of anticipation coursing up her spine. Not just for later tonight but for every night and day to come.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from A BRIDE BY SUMMER by Sandra Steffen.
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Chapter One
Reed Sullivan wasn’t an easy man to read.
Not that the two women waiting in line behind him at the drugstore in Orchard Hill weren’t trying. In the security camera on the wall he saw one nudge the other before motioning to the small carton he’d pushed across the counter. The pharmacy tech held any outward display of curiosity to a discreet lift of her eyebrows as she dropped his purchase into a white paper bag.
Apparently men didn’t buy paternity test kits here every day.
He didn’t begrudge any of them their curiosity. Most of the time he appreciated that particular trait inherent in most women almost as much as he enjoyed the way they could change the atmosphere in a room just by entering it. He had a deep respect for women, enjoyed spending time with them, was intrigued by them and appreciated them on so many levels. He did not leave birth control to chance. And yet here he was, making a purchase he’d never imagined he would need to make.
He paid with cash, pocketed his change and left the store, by all outward appearances as cool, calm and confident as he’d been when he’d entered. Out in the parking lot, a bead of sweat trickled down his neck and under the collar of his shirt.
Reed understood profit margins and the challenges of zoning issues. Those things always made sense in the end. This was different. Nothing about this situation made sense. Gnawing worry had jolted him awake at 4:00 a.m. It didn’t require great insight to understand the cause. It all centered around the innocent baby he and his brothers had discovered on their doorstep ten days ago.
The very idea that someone would abandon a baby in such a way in this day and age was ludicrous. And yet there the baby had been, unbelievably tiny and undeniably alone. Reed, Marsh and Noah were all confirmed bachelors and hadn’t known the first thing about caring for a baby, but they’d picked the crying infant up and discovered a note.
Our precious son, Joseph Daniel Sullivan. I call him Joey. He’s my life. I beg you take good care of him until I can return for him.
Our precious son? Whose precious son?
The handwritten note hadn’t been addressed. Or signed.
Reed wasn’t prone to self-doubt, but now he wondered if they should have performed a paternity test immediately. He should have insisted. What had he been thinking?
He hadn’t been thinking. None of them had.
They’d spent the first week fumbling with formula and feedings, diaper changes and sleep deprivation while doing everything in their power to determine what the infant in their charge needed and wanted.
Joey had a lusty cry he wasn’t afraid to use, and yet before his first night with them was over, he’d looked with burgeoning trust at the three men suddenly thrust into this new and foreign role. He didn’t seem to mind their ineptitude.
Until that night, Reed and his brothers hadn’t considered the possibility that one of them might have become a father without their knowledge. To make matters worse, they had no way of knowing which of the women from their respective pasts might have been desperate enough to leave Joey in such a manner. The million-dollar question remained.
Which of them was Joey’s father?
Reed placed the small paper bag containing the paternity test kit on the passenger seat and started his car. As he pulled out of his parking space, the impulse to squeal his tires was strong. He quelled it because he was the middle brother, the one who thought before he reacted, who kept his wits about him and his head out of the clouds, the one with nerves of steel and the willpower to match.
Minutes later he was on Old Orchard Highway, a few miles from home. The sunroof was open, the morning breeze already fragrant and warm. The radio was off, the hum of his car’s engine little balm for the uncertainties plaguing him today.
That first night, he, Marsh and Noah had put their heads together and had come up with a schedule for Joey’s care, as well as a plan to try to locate his mother. It hadn’t taken Noah long to find the woman from his past. A daredevil test pilot, he’d realized soon after coming face-to-face with Lacey Bell again that covert moves weren’t her style. Joey wasn’t Lacey’s baby, and therefore Noah had been certain he wasn’t his, either. That hadn’t kept him from pulling out all the stops to rekindle the love affair of his life. Noah and Lacey had eloped two nights ago.
Paternity came down to Marsh or Reed.
They’d hired a private investigator to follow clues and leads regarding the whereabouts of the women who seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Under ordinary circumstances, he and Marsh didn’t talk about their sex lives. If not for Joey’s arrival, Reed wouldn’t have known that Marsh had spent an idyllic week with a woman named Julia Monroe while on vacation last year or that she’d seemed to disappear into thin air as soon as the week was over.
Like his brothers, Reed liked to keep his private life private. There was only one woman, and one night, he couldn’t account for. She was a waitress he’d met on a layover in Dallas during a business trip last year. She’d told him her name was Cookie—now he wished he’d asked a few que
stions. Could she have left Joey on his doorstep a year later?
He and Marsh had hired a P.I. with an impressive success rate. But so far every lead Sam Lafferty had followed had turned into a dead end. At least, once Reed and Marsh determined which of them was the baby’s father, Sam could focus on finding one woman instead of two.
The test kit slid to the edge of the seat as Reed approached a banked curve in the highway. Behind him a red car that had been a speck in his rearview mirror a few seconds ago was closing in on him fast. The sports car came so close to his bumper he braced for a rear-end collision. All at once, the car swerved across the double yellow line and began to pass.
Up ahead an eighteen-wheeler was barreling around a curve straight toward them. An air horn blasted and tires screeched. The driver of the Corvette cranked the wheel to the right, thrusting his car back into Reed’s lane. With no other place to go, Reed took the shoulder of the highway. He braked, but it was too late. His tires broke loose. And he started to spin.
Around and around he went, on the highway and off, from one shoulder to the other. Gravel churned and dust rose. He somehow missed an oncoming vehicle but clipped a highway sign with one of his mirrors. When he finally came to a complete stop, his engine was racing and so was his heart rate. He gripped the steering wheel, his foot pressed hard on the brake.
The dust was settling when he noticed that another car had stopped a short distance ahead of him on the opposite side of the road. The door opened. The next thing he knew, a slender, sandal-ensconced foot touched the ground.
* * *
Ruby O’Toole hit the pavement running.
She raced across the highway toward a silver Mustang sitting at an odd angle along the side of the road. The driver was looking at her through the windshield, his eyes narrowed and his jaw set. She stood back as he got out, and watched as he opened his fists and unclenched his fingers, straightened his arms and rotated his broad shoulders, as if checking to see if everything was still operational.
Ready, Set, I Do! (Rx for Love) Page 20
