Meet the Blakes (3 page)

“Kent won’t be a problem. We had a long discussion last night.” He grinned.

“Let me guess, with your fists?”

“I saved Kent a world of hurt. You don’t love him. You love me. Always did. Always will.”

She scowled at him. “How do I know you’re back for good?”

“Woman, I said I’m back and I’m not going anywhere. We have a future to start planning.”

John Jacob was a man of few words. As a matter of fact, that may have been the longest conversation they’d ever had. She knew his leaving last year had been a knee-jerk reaction to the closeness they’d both felt after spending the night talking in her father’s barn and watching the sun come up. But what if he left again? Or worse, what if he stayed? His absence helped her get a handle on her emotions. She loved him, sometimes more than she ever thought she could love anyone. “There’s no chance in hell I’d take you back, John Blake. My heart can’t take it.”

“There’s always a chance.” He winked at her, got back in his truck, and drove off.

 “Mama!” Channing raised an eyebrow. “You shot at Daddy?”

She shrugged. “It was just birdshot.”

“Mm-hmm.” John Jacob laughed.

“Simple mistake. I thought he was a thief.” She took another sip of her coffee.

“It was the middle of the day and you could plainly see my face. But you’re right about one thing. I was there to steal your heart.” He nuzzled her neck.

“Well, you did do that.” She smiled and caressed his face.

Tyler stood up with plates in his hand. “And this is where we say goodnight. Please, no mysterious injuries before the wedding. I don’t want to get married on the hospital lawn.”

“Leave the dishes. Your daddy and I have it covered.”

Everyone stood and began collecting their belongings. She gave them all hugs, and it took ten minutes to say good-byes. Finally, she shooed everyone out of the house.

Back in the dining room, she found that John Jacob had cleared the table, so she went into the kitchen to help.

He kissed her on her forehead and continued to load the dishwasher. “You worked pretty hard today. Why don’t you take a seat on that stool over there?”

“You are too sweet to me.” Still, she flung a dish towel over her shoulder and handed him a glass. “I think that was a very productive meeting.”

“Yes. As always, you are on top of everything.”

“Cassidy’s mom has been dodging me ever since the wedding announcement. What do you think it could be?”

“Maybe she objects to her marrying C.J.”

“Nonsense.” She set down a wineglass on the counter so abruptly that the last of the contents splashed onto the surface. “I don’t believe for a moment that someone out there in the world doesn’t like my baby.”

“Easy, Mama Bear.” He continued loading the dishwasher.

“It has to be something else. My baby is a ray of sunshine, and not liking him is pure horse pucky. He’s handsome, smart, kind, funny, and considerate. It would be like hating Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. I—”

John Jacob smiled at her. “All right, it’s definitely not about C.J. then. Cassidy doesn’t really say much about her family, but the few times I’ve talked to C.J., I got the feeling something was amiss. Which might explain why she decided to work through her cancer diagnosis on her own.”

“Not being there for family, that’s worse that not liking C.J.” She slammed down a bowl on the counter.

“No more help. You’re going to break every dish we have.” He caressed her shoulders. “On to more important things. I think your memory’s fuzzy on some of the events of our courtship.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Me? What about you? You painted me as some kind of gun-wielding lunatic.”

He chuckled and pulled her close. “Weren’t you?”

She scrunched her nose. “I was a spitfire back then, wasn’t I?”

“Back then?” He gave her a skeptical look.

“I was so crazy back then, no thanks to you.”

“And you drove me to distraction in those tight blue jeans you used to wear.”

“I did have a cute little figure back then.” She giggled.

“What are you talking about? You still have it.”

She leaned in and kissed him. “How about we finish cleaning the kitchen in the morning? I’m in the mood for some romance.”

“I like how you think.” He led her out of the kitchen and upstairs to their bedroom.

CHAPTER TWO

Teri-Lyn said he was loony for buying a horse with all the wedding stuff going on around the ranch, but John Jacob had a promise to keep. He’d already purchased a stallion for Cassidy three months ago and thought it would be nice if Michelle could have her own horse too when the family went on the trail ride together. As they drove to his friend Jeb’s horse farm, Michelle chatted on about the one she had as a child and how much she loved to ride. He’d seen her in action, and she was a natural with horses.

The thing he loved most about Michelle was her bubbly personality. She was pretty, smart, loved to talk, and had a dry wit. But best of all, she had a great effect on his son. Tyler had wielded the Blake charm like a weapon until he met the one woman who decided the playboy needed to be taught a lesson. It made John Jacob chuckle many a day at the effort the women in the family had put in to help Michelle kidnap Tyler and take him to Colorado so they could hash things out. The love they were both looking for blossomed into a great relationship, and Tyler was intent on getting it right with Michelle.

“Am I talking too much?” Michelle asked, stopping her chat about horseback riding as a child.

“On the contrary. Your lovely voice is like music to my ears,” John Jacob replied.

Michelle smiled. “I want to thank you again for offering to walk me down the aisle.”

“No thanks necessary, darlin’. You may be marrying my son in a few days, but you’ve been a daughter for a long while now.”

“Can I tell you something?”

“You can tell me anything.”

She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Tyler scares the hell out of me driving that car. I know he loves it, and he’s dedicated a lot of time shaping his career as a serious driver, but every time he gets in that car, I want to jump in front of it.”

“I know the feeling. I still think about the wreck he had a while back. His mama and I were in a panic. I won’t lie—it looked really bad on the television, but I’d prepared myself for the worst.”

“He supports me in everything I do. I feel like a selfish idiot for asking him not to race anymore because we’re getting married.”

“You own a bookstore and you host a cooking show. The most dangerous thing I’ve ever seen you do is have all five of the boys on your show to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”

“They had to bring in professional cleaners to scrub the sound stage.” She laughed. “Be honest, don’t you think doling out ultimatums will make me look like a manipulative shrew? It took a lot of time and patience to build the love and mutual respect we have, not to mention your son’s history of being gun-shy in the love department.”

“I think that when you love someone, you worry about their welfare. Teri-Lyn and I have compromised over many things over the years because we were committed to our family. I have had some dangerous jobs in my time, and Teri-Lyn worried about me. But I always knew her wrath would be worse than any injury if something happened to me. Heck, she worried about me sitting behind a desk at Blake Enterprises.” He smiled.

“I don’t want to lose the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I want to have babies with him some day.” She blushed.

“Don’t worry too much about it. Let him know how you feel and why you feel that way. That will remind him to be extra careful when he’s whipping around the track.”

Michelle was in a better mood when he pulled into the horse farm parking lot. John Jacob helped her out of the truck, pointed her in the direction of the animals, and said he’d be along after he talked to the owner. He knew there was a special bond between horse and owner, and picking the right one would make a world of difference. It would be interesting to see which horse she liked.

Jeb came out of his office and gave him the gist of his inventory. Then they ventured over to look at tack. John Jacob got a delightful surprise when he saw his old friend and owner of the Texas Tomcats, T.K. Holbrook, accompanied by his latest wife, Selene. She was all of twenty-seven and stunning. T.K. met her when she worked as a weather girl at a television station he purchased. He loved to show her off and spent a considerable amount of money on his new bride. At first it seemed like he was having the time of his life, but lately his friend looked a little run down. T.K. gave Selene an overzealous kiss on the lips and sent her on her way.

John Jacob smiled as his friend approached and shook his head. “T.K., you old coot.”

“I see we have the same idea.” He motioned to Michelle. “Does Teri-Lyn know you’re catting around with that beautiful young thing?”

“That’s Tyler’s fiancée, Michelle.” John Jacob’s jaw ticked. T.K. always had some slick comment to make about his marriage. “You know I’m a one-woman man. Always have been. Always will be.”

“She’s pretty. Is she the attorney or the chef?”

“Chef. She makes a mean grits casserole.”

“Congratulations on the double wedding. Teri-Lyn must be thrilled. Thank you for the invite. Selene and I will be there. Finally, we can attend a function together that doesn’t cause a conflict of interest for Seth.” He made a ticking sound with his teeth.

“In a little while that won’t matter anymore. He’ll be out of the NFL for good.”

T.K. shook his head in disbelief. “I still can’t believe he’s going to do it. He still has five, maybe seven good years ahead of him. You should have a talk with him.”

“Seth has his priorities straight. He’s making a wise decision.”

“Do you know what he has planned after?”

“Why?” John Jacob gave him sideways glance. “You offering him a job?”

“He may be retiring his body, but the man is a fine strategist. He’d be an asset to the Tomcats.”

“And you’d finally get what you want.” He chuckled.

“I still think Seth is the key to me getting a championship. A psychic told me that.”

“Are you kidding me? A psychic? Did she also tell you that you’d be on your fifth marriage by now?”

T.K. grinned. “No, I predicted that one myself.”

John Jacob looked at Michelle. She was examining the same horse she’d been admiring for fifteen minutes and stroked his mane again. “I think my daughter-in-law has made her choice.”

“That one looks strong-willed.”

“She can handle him.”

“I was talking about your daughter-in-law.”

John Jacob laughed. “She sure is.” He slapped his friend on the shoulder. “It was good seeing you, but I’m off to make Jeb an offer he can’t refuse. See you at the wedding?”

“You bet. Maybe we can get a round of golf in after you marry off them boys. I want a chance to win my money back.”

“You can try.” John Jacob laughed and headed toward Michelle.

“John Jacob, what do you think?” Michelle said. “Isn’t he beautiful?”

“He has strong legs. He seems a little high-spirited, but I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t handle.” He smiled at her and gave the horse a firm pat.

“I like his eyes. He looks like a deep thinker.”

John Jacob eyeballed the beast. “I know that look. He wants an apple.”

“He has an excellent pedigree. Jeb’s records say he’s healthy as a—” She stopped and smiled.

“Horse?” He laughed.

“Yes.” Michelle laughed too.

“Well, Jeb has a good reputation, but I always get our vet to have a second look. There are saddles I want you to take a look at, and there’s a clothing store on the other side of the farm. We can get you some riding boots and a crop. It’ll be just like your old competition days.”

“How did you know about that?”

“I saw the ribbons in the study.” Tyler’s racing trophies and Michelle’s blue ribbons graced a shelf in the study of their new home.

“This is an excellent wedding present. I don’t know what to say.” She threw her arms around his neck.

“Say you’re going to have a long, happy life with my son who adores you.”

“I will.”

John Jacob nodded to Jeb that they were taking the horse.

“Do we have to fill out the paperwork and get him registered to the Twelve Horseshoes?” she asked.

“Bo takes care of that. So what are you going to name him?”

“I was thinking about Heaven’s Helper.”

“I like it.”

“Was that T.K. Holbrook you were talking to?”

“Sure was.”

“And who was that with him? Please tell me his daughter or a niece.”

“That’s his latest wife, Selene.”

Michelle sighed. “I’m not against the May-December romance thing. It happens. But why on earth would you want to be with someone with that big of an age gap?”

“I think the attraction is more carnal than anything else.”

“Or maybe it’s all that money he throws around. You’d think he’d have learned something from you and Teri-Lyn.”

* * *

Teri-Lyn had had an adventurous day and it was only one o’clock in the afternoon. She took Matt and Jack to get fitted for their wedding attire and it had been quite an adventure. Already active and curious on their own, the two of them together were an adorable bundle of trouble when they were set loose in stores. But this needed to get done, so she promised them if they behaved she would give them a treat. The boys squirmed but kept their promise as she got them to try on the tuxedos and they stole the hearts of the staff in the process. They looked so handsome, but she knew the tots liked to play. She would consider herself lucky if they remained even semi-spotless throughout the ceremony.

They returned home, and as promised she gave the boys a treat. Within an hour they were knocked out. With Matt and Jack finally down for a nap, Teri-Lyn thought it was the perfect time to have a glass of lemonade and finish wrapping the bridal party gifts. She took the pitcher out of the fridge and got out two jelly jars from the cupboard and went into the dining room. If her motherly intuition was right, Tate would be joining her. He usually took a break from the recording studio around this time. Lately, he looked like he had something on his mind. She heard the front door open and the sound of his favorite pair of boots on her parquet floor headed her way.