Daniel (12 page)

Placing a hand over her flat stomach, Jennie smiled. A baby. I'm going to have a baby. She hadn't been to a doctor yet, although she could have talked to her mother's doctor about the possibility when he had visited yesterday. But she knew, just knew with all her being, that she carried Daniel's child. Oh, Daniel, I have such wondrous news for you. She just hoped he would be as happy as she was and she refused to think otherwise.

"Jennie," came a weak voice from behind her. "Is that really you?"

Heart pounding, Jennie spun around and hurried to the bed. Tears trickled down her face and she gently sat on the side of the bed. She reached out to cup her mother's cool face. "Mother." That was all she could manage to say, but the word held great emotion.

A furrow creased her mother's brow and she appeared startled that Jennie had touched her. "I'm so glad you came to your senses and...."

Jennie pulled her hand away and stood, fighting with annoyance. Be patient. But it was difficult since her father had expressed time and again much the same sentiment from the moment she'd walked into the house.

Forcing calmness, she said, "You had a terrible accident, Mother. Of course I would come see you."

Her mother tossed aside the comment about an accident, focused only on why Jennie was here. "Your father and I have been waiting for--"

Hearing her father's familiar footsteps entering the room and unable to remain patient, Jennie straightened her shoulders. She looked directly at her mother, but wanted her father to hear her as well. "My coming here has nothing to do with coming to my senses."

"Don't aggravate your mother," her father chastised. He walked up beside Jennie and looked down at his wife. For the first time that Jennie could remember she saw what appeared to be genuine love in his expression. "You had me worried, Carolyn."

Her mother glanced at him in surprise, evidently hearing the rare tenderness in her husband's tone. She studied him for a second, looked toward the window where sun shone in, and back to him. "What are you doing home now, Geoffrey? Shouldn't you be at work?" She winced and lifted a hand to rub her forehead, frowning as she felt a bandage wrapped around her head.

Again acting out of character, her father leaned down to lightly kiss her mother. Jennie watched in astonishment. As far as she could remember, she didn't recall seeing them kiss, barely recalled seeing him do more than touch her arm.

He straightened as her mother's eyes widened and her pale cheeks grew pink. "You, my dear wife, have been unconscious for nearly five days now." He choked up and cleared his throat. "The doctors weren't sure you would ever awaken. I knew they were wrong."

"Unconscious? Five days?" Her mother's face pinched in confusion, which clearly made her head ache more. "Why am I not in a hospital?"

The rather plump, stiff-natured nurse her father had hired chose that moment to walk into the bedroom behind them all. She snorted and drew her parents' attention. "You should have been." She scowled at Jennie's father. "This foolish man wanted you cared for at home."

Jennie watched shock stretch over her mother's face, a shock much like Jennie had experienced when she'd found out about her father's insistence that her mother not linger in the hospital. He'd wanted her as comfortable as possible, which meant being in her own bed. He'd also told Jennie that if her mother were going to pass on, she would do so at home. This had been a side of her father Jennie had never expected to see.

"Geoffrey." Her mother looked at him with such gentleness it made Jennie glad that she was here to see it. Not once in all her years growing up here had she seen such warmth expressed between her parents. How sad that was. She didn't want that kind of relationship with Daniel. She wanted warmth, wanted to be hugged by him and to hug him in return.

Pushing her thoughts about Daniel aside for now, she saw her father reach down to squeeze his wife's hand. Only for a second, and then he pulled back and stepped away from the bed. "Now that you are back with us, I need to get into the office."

Her mother's happiness dimmed but she nodded acceptance. "I understand."

Jennie nudged the nurse, who had been watching her parents, toward the door. "Leave us. You can check on Mother in a few minutes." She closed the door firmly behind the annoyed woman.

Now that they were alone, she turned to face her father. He frowned in disapproval but hadn't moved to leave yet. "And you, you will stay here a bit longer."

He raised an eyebrow at her obvious impertinence. "I don't have time for your nonsense, Daughter." He attempted to shift by her.

Jennie in turn shifted to block him. Her stomach fluttered with a swarm of nervous butterflies. But she was determined to talk to both of her parents. "You will stay and listen to what I have to say."

"Jennie, your father is a busy man," her mother protested, sounding puzzled.

"I realize that, Mother. Lord knows that he hardly has time to spare--"

Her father stiffened and drew in a deep breath of exasperation. "Young lady, you are being quite disrespectful. Perhaps I was wrong all these years to not have taken you over my knee. A good spanking would--"

"Geoffrey!" her mother gasped.

Jennie gaped at her father. Never had he spoken of spanking her. In truth, he had hardly ever taken the time to even show her anger at something she'd done wrong. Well, he had yelled at times, although only briefly. She thought about Daniel. He certainly took the time to let her know when he believed she'd misbehaved. He had no problem at all with baring her bottom and burning it with his hard hand.

She shoved away those thoughts, forced back how much she missed her husband. Steeling herself to be calm yet firm, she looked toward her mother, who watched her warily. "You were right, Mother, I have finally come to my senses. But not in the way you think." She raised her gaze to her father's narrowed eyes and called on even more inner strength to get this said. "Father, I am not being disrespectful, but I am asking--no, telling--you to show me some respect for once in my life."

He puffed up in his tailored suit, his chest shoving out the vest to its limits.

"I have always done as you wished." She watched his skin turn purple in his dislike at being chastised in any manner. She swallowed hard. "Yes, I know you did not wish me to marry Daniel. You made that abundantly clear from the moment I told you he had asked me to marry him. But you did approve of his family, in particular his father."

"That man was not good enough for you. Never will be," her father barked, his hands fisting at his sides.

Words she had heard too many times before she had left Boston to go to Daniel. Her father had had another man in mind for a marriage match. She wiped her sweating hands on her skirt. Facing down her father was even harder than she'd expected it would be, but it had to be done once and for all. There was now more than just her marriage to Daniel to consider.

"Daniel," she emphasized his name, "may not be perfect, but I love him. Truly love him." And she did, with all her heart. She was far from perfect, too.

"Oh my," her mother commented, sounding almost envious. But then love was never mentioned outright in this home.

Her father opened his mouth, but Jennie raised a hand to stop him from speaking. "No. You will hear me out." She locked her knees to remain steady. "I am not returning to Boston to live. My husband does not wish to do so and I will live where he chooses to. In truth, I've learned to like Dryfork and I've made some good friends there." Friends she missed. She couldn't recall even one supposed friend she'd had here that she missed. A depressing thought.

"Don't be foolish. That is not the kind of life you were raised to have." Her father shook his head and started to move around her. "I really do not have any more time to waste on this subject. You are here in Boston now and you will stay here."

"Geoffrey, maybe--" her mother interrupted only to have him turn to glower at her.

"I will not stay here," Jennie snapped, bristling at the ridiculous way her father believed she would do as he said now that she was married. "In fact, I probably won't ever return to Boston again. You have chosen to make it impossible for me to even consider returning for a visit."

Jennie ignored how her father's eyes bulged at her daring and stepped back toward her mother. This was breaking her heart, but she had to make everything clear to them both. "Daniel is my husband. I love him. I will be with him wherever he chooses to live, and that place will never be Boston."

She put a hand over her stomach beneath a new day gown her father had insisted on buying her. She would be strong for all of them. "Daniel and I are going to have a child. One you will probably never see." The idea made her even sadder.

"A child?" her mother questioned incredulously, tears misting her eyes. "Did you say you are with child?"

"If you are going to have a child, then you are damn sure staying in Boston." Her father walked closer, pinning her with a look that brooked no discussion. He had spoken and that was that.

Jennie leveled her most fierce glare at him, not impressed this time. "No. I am not."

She moved toe-to-toe with him, surprised when he took a step back. "If you ever want to see this baby, you will learn to accept my marriage to Daniel. You will stop trying to conspire with his father to change him, to force him into being someone he does not wish to be. And you will have to come to Dryfork to see your grandchild."

With that, she smiled gently down at her mother. "I am so glad you survived that awful accident. Glad I had at least this one more chance to see you. But now I am leaving."

Her father grabbed her arm as she started by him. "I will not be threatened by anyone, certainly not you."

Jennie felt tears wetting her cheeks; her heart pinched. She shook off her father's hand. "It was not meant as a threat, but a statement of fact."

"Nevertheless--"

"Geoffrey, do shut up," her mother said abruptly, sounding stronger than ever.

They both turned to her, equally stunned.

Carolyn Gardner, a woman adored by many in Boston's society but who never spoke against her husband, appeared a different woman today. Bold for the first time. Defiant. Even though it was clear she suffered pain, she rubbed her head and said with determination, "Let us know when the baby arrives. We will come see the child." She pinned a disgusted look on her husband, who was scowling. "If your father cannot come to terms with the situation, then I will come alone."

* * *

Daniel was sick to death of his own company. He hadn't gone back to town since returning with the posse and learning Jennie had left him...again. He'd been here two full days working near to death catching up with ranching chores, driving his one ranch hand nearly crazy with his bear-like attitude. And he hadn't slept in his bed, couldn't bring himself to do it. Jennie's scent was there. Her trunks were there in the bedroom as well, which had surprised him. Until he'd decided her parents had more than enough money to buy her a complete new wardrobe. She'd left her clothes behind...and him.

The morning was hotter than Hades already and sweat dripped off his forehead, down his nose, and made him swear a blue streak in annoyance. He lifted his sweat-stained hat and wiped at the moisture with his shirtsleeve. After struggling to rebuild a section of fence around the coral next to the barn, he stunk worse than a skunk. But there wasn't anyone around to care. His ranch hand had ridden into town earlier to make sure his deputy was handling what should be Daniel's duties all right. He felt guilty about shirking his responsibilities, but not enough to go into Dryfork and face the pitying glances of his friends and neighbors.

He twisted from side to side in an attempt to ease a kink in his back. On a final twist, he noticed a rooster tail of dust behind a wagon headed down his road. Shit. Visitors. Just what he didn't want or need.

His mood worsened when he noticed Ben driving the wagon and Angelica perched on the high seat next to him. She'd been the one to tell him about Jennie leaving. She was Jennie's good friend. He didn't want to see or talk to her. Jennie's leaving him was still too painful. He supposed it wasn't right to blame Angelica, but he did anyway. She could have talked Jennie out of leaving.

Still, he knew they had spotted him and he refused to go off somewhere to hide, even though he was tempted. He planted his hat back on his head and waited.

"Are you done moping around and ready to listen, Sheriff?" Angelica asked the instant the wagon pulled up a few feet from him. She ignored Ben's sour look of disapproval. "You're a pig-headed fool."

"Angelica." Ben shook his head at her, but she simply slid out of the wagon and marched toward Daniel.

Daniel stood rigid, fisted his hands at his sides. "Say what you've got to say and then get the hell off my ranch."

Ben climbed down form the wagon and moved next to Angelica. He put an arm possessively around her slender waist. Then he raised his gaze to meet Daniel's and he looked disgusted. "Angelica has been stewing about whether or not to tell you why Jennie left. Ever since you acted like an ass the other day."

Daniel gritted his teeth, but he couldn't deny how he'd acted. "Say your piece." He focused on Ben's woman standing there looking so judgmental, so defensive of her friend.

Angelica shook her head and her long raven-colored curls bounced around her shoulders. "I honestly don't know why Jennie loves you, but she does."

"Hell of a way to show it, leaving me." Daniel's anger still hummed just below the surface. But he'd been missing her, too. And he'd been thinking about going after her, fool that he was.

"She got a wire from her father. Her mother got hurt real bad, Daniel," Ben stated, holding his gaze. "Some kind of buggy accident."

Daniel sucked in a breath. He knew Jennie wasn't close to her mother, but the woman was her mother. She would have wanted to go see her. "Well, shit! Why didn't you say so before now?"

Angelica rolled her eyes. "I tried to tell you the other day, but you wouldn't listen. You turned your horse around and raced away to come here and feel sorry for yourself."