A Daring Proposal (4 page)

“You gonna stand out there star gazin’ all night or come i
n and keep an old man company?”

Jed felt a lop-sided grin tug at his lips. That was the closest he would get to an invitation from his uncle. He decided it wasn’t half bad. “Got any whiskey?”

“Brand new bottle, haven’t broken the seal yet. I was hoping you’d get home soon so I wouldn’t have to drink alone.”

Home
? He’d lived here from the time he was twelve until Chaney’s father had run him off. Jed had never considered it home. Maybe things had changed.

“Let me get my bags.”

Jed pushed off from the car. Opening the trunk he pulled out a suitcase and hanging bag. He had planned to get to town the day before and rent a room. Construction and vacation traffic had slowed his cross-country drive drastically. He arrived at the church, with barely time to change into the tuxedo Steve rented for him. Jed had been shocked when told that Dale expected him to stay at the house. Later, Jed had called the few hotels in town and found no vacancies. That was why he found himself here now. With the bag slung over his shoulder and suitcase in hand, he strode toward the porch.

“Now is this the good stuff or the cheap whiskey Steve and I used to sneak from the kitchen cupboard?” His uncle’s laughter eased away more
of the day’s frustration.

“You boys didn’t really think I didn’t know, did you? Why do you think it took so long to get drunk on that stuff? I watered it down.”

It was Jed’s turn to laugh. “But we watered it down so you wouldn’t know.”

“Of course you did. All boys do. By the time you two actually drank anything it was probably about ten proof.”

“Still burned like hell going down,” Jed told him when they stopped laughing.

“But that didn’t stop you from drinking it.”

“No, that would have been the smart thing to do. Smart wasn’t my forte back then.”

They sat down at the table and Dale poured them shots. After they’d both thrown one back he poured another. “And now?”

“Now I try and consider all the consequences before I do something.”
Yeah, like you did before you dared Chaney to marry you
? His hand gripped the shot glass tightly with the reminder of his stupidity. He noticed the hint of a smile on his uncle’s face. He wondered if Dale somehow knew about the proposal and was getting ready to call him on the lie.

“Don’t let it worry you, Jed. None of us is born smart. Some have a longer row to hoe than others,” Dale said, surprising Jed.

“Don’t make excuses for me.”

His uncle smiled. “You should know by now, I don’t make or take excuses from anybody. I’m just speaking the truth. Truth is you did some right stupid things when you were younger. Most of us have. Unfortunately, you were one of the ones to get caught.”

Jed downed his second shot and let the fire burn down his throat. It settled to a warm flame in his stomach. His uncle poured another. Jed threw that one back as well before setting the shot glass firmly on the table between them. “Loving Chaney wasn’t stupid.”

“I didn’t say it was, son. The stupid part was thinking loving her meant you had to sleep with her. You were asking for trouble and you know it. Travis McBride was a proud man. He wasn’t about to let some wild stallion steal his precious daughter. You both knew that or you wouldn’t have been sneaking around to spend time together.”

“Maybe,” Jed offered grudgingly.

“No maybe about it. You were looking for a way to prove you weren’t worthy of anything and you took the surest road to that end.”

Jed didn’t say anything. He simply stared at his uncle. He wanted to deny it, but couldn’t.

His uncle tossed back another shot. Another long silence stood between them. Dale moved the bottle to
the middle of the table.

“I
’ve no doubt you know I’m not apologizing for letting you leave. I will apologize for not reaching out sooner, but after all this time I figured you didn’t want to hear from me.”

His uncle leaned back in his chair and rolled his shot glass between his palms. Jed wasn
’t sure he wanted to hear the rest. He waited anyway. His uncle sighed and Jed felt true confusion. Dale did not sigh. Ever. Something must be terribly wrong. His already tense shoulders tightened more. Was his uncle sick? Like his aunt, did his uncle now have cancer and didn’t want to tell Steve and ruin the wedding?

His uncle shook his head and grinned awkwardly. It didn’t ease Jed’s worry.

“That’s not true,” Dale said. “I was afraid. Afraid if I did call, you would tell me you never wanted to talk to me again. Then, any hope would be gone.”

Shocked by the unexpected admission and the lack of trouble, Jed was at a loss. “I
’m not sure what to say. I wouldn’t have said that to you. You and Steve are--”

“I know, but that only makes it worse that I let this go on so long.”

“Why don’t we say we both acted poorly and let it go,” Jed said.

“You
’re letting me off the hook. I don’t deserve it,” Dale said. “I’ll take it, but I want to explain a little more.”

Jed nodded and sat back to listen.

“Explaining isn’t my strength. Unfortunately, the only words I’ve ever been any good at are orders. The soft words kids and women like to hear, that was your daddy’s gift.”

Jed perked up a bit. His uncle had never once mentioned Jed’s father after the funeral. It was like an unwritten rule between them.

“And yours. Don’t look so surprised. I knew you had the gift the moment you started talking as a baby. It’s probably the reason I kept you at a distance.”

“I don’t understand. I always thought you and dad were close.
”

“We were. Jed, you are your daddy from head to toe. You look like him, you act like him, and you even talk like him. It hurt.”

“I talk like Dad?” Jed remembered Belle telling him earlier he spoke beautifully. He’d thought she was teasing him. Listening to his uncle though, had him remembering other times people commented on his speech.

At times, especially in high school, it had been a curse. The other guys called him a smooth talker, always handy with a line for the ladies. Getting A’s in creative writing wasn’t exactly cool for the football running back at the time. However, to know his dad had been the same made all the teasing worthwhile.

“If you talked any more like him it would be downright spooky,” his uncle chuckled. He stared at Jed in silence for a moment. “Anyway,” Dale paused, then looked Jed straight in the eye, “what I was getting at is, I want to take back what I said earlier.”

Jed dropped his gaze and shook his head trying to figure out why he’d let his uncle’s offer of a drink and rare glance at the past make him believe things had changed.
He still doesn’t want me around
.
Why can’t I move beyond the pain of my childhood
?

“When I said you should leave, I didn’t mean it.”

Lifting his head to look at what had to be an aberration sitting across the table, Jed waited for more.

“Steve and I’ve been talking. We want you to stay. Don’t worry I don’t expect you to work the ranch. I know how you feel about it. But, I would like you to stay here at the house.”

Jed couldn’t hold his tongue any longer. With his forearms on the table, he leaned forward a little. “Really? You’ve never wanted me here. Do you think I don’t remember how much you resented having to take me in after Mom and Dad died?”

Dale looked away for a moment. Jed knew he had hit his mark. His uncle had made the offer out of guilt, nothing more.

“I know that’s how it looked,” Dale said.

“Looked? That
’s how it was, Dale.” Jed’s anger was burning in his gut. He had never allowed himself to tell his uncle how much his rejection hurt.

Dale shook his head. “No, it wasn’t taking you in I resented. I would have done anything for my brother. It was just . . .” he shrugged. “You were so much like your father. Every morning I would wake up and his double would be staring at me across the breakfast table, just like when he and I were kids. It wasn’t just your looks. I doubt you will believe this, but your dad was a handful when he was young. He got me in more trouble than I care to remember. You were the same way with Steve.”

Jed couldn’t do more than stare. Now he was baring his soul? What was going on?

“Losing my brother, well, it was like losing a part of me. The best part. He had all the brains and talent. You got that, too. Words came easy to him.”

“But not you,” Jed said.

Dale chuckled. “You noticed, huh?”

Jed couldn’t hold back a grin. Words were never Dale’s strong suit. When Jed thought about it, this was probably the longest conversation he and Dale ever had. “As long as they were short sentences you didn’t have a problem. Like, what the hell are you doing, Jed. Or, I swear, boy, you are the orneriest creature God ever made. Is orneriest even a word?”

“Hey, it got the point across. Sometimes too well,” Dale said, shaking his head and sighing. “I didn
’t mean to hurt you; it just hurt me so much to watch you. It should have been your dad telling you those things.”

Dale capped the bottle before he stood. Jed watched warily, still not ready to let go of the past. He figured Dale’s welcoming attitude came from the emotions of watching his only son start a new life. Jed understood the loneliness of an empty house.

His uncle chuckled. “I understand your doubts. It surprised me, too. But seeing you and Steve together today, I realized how much I’ve missed you.”

“Like a splinter under your finger nail?”

His uncle shook his head turning toward the hallway, then back. “I didn’t expect you to jump up and down with joy. Maybe it took me too long to come around, but I had to say it. I want to see my boys back together and happy.”

His boys?

“It’s been a long time since I’ve known happy.”

“You deserve it as much as Steve. Maybe more with all you’ve lost. Stay and see if you can find it here. And,” he paused, pursing his lips a moment. “If you still love Chaney, go for it.”

Jed poured himself another shot after his uncle’s door closed. He sipped it slowly, thinking about what the man said.

Still love Chaney? No, he didn’t love her anymore. The only person he loved was his daughter. Could he marry someone just to win a custody battle? Someone willing to pretend to love him for the sake of a child they didn’t know? Could he pretend to love someone enough to convince a judge? Even Chaney?

With that annoying thought, he threw back the rest of the shot.

Chapter
Two

Entering the horse barn, Chaney couldn’t shake off the sense of doom that had been plaguing her all day. Concentrating on the ranch’s various issues hadn’t pushed it away. She had been amazed when she took over some of the chores her father had always insisted on doing himself. He had always seemed so efficient, so capable. The mess she found in what he called the books was atrocious. When she’d figured it all out, it had been downright frightening. None of that compared to the mess he made of her life with his will. Chaney kicked the stall door in her frustration causing the horse behind it to whinny and step back.

“I’m sorry, Sterling,” she said stroking the stallion’s long neck. “It’s not your fault my father was a pig-headed man who didn’t believe a woman could run a ranch.”

Well, tonight was her last chance. If she couldn’t convince Billy Bradley to go along with her plan, she’d have to look into one of those pick-a-date places in Denver. A shiver ran down her spine at the very thought of going out with, forget marrying, a total stranger. Besides, she didn’t have time. What stranger would marry someone within a week?

“What were you thinking, Daddy,” Chaney grumbled while pulling open the door to the house. She knew exactly what he’d been thinking. No woman, especially his stubborn, difficult, can’t-get-a-respectable-man daughter was going to be in charge of his ranch.

Chaney stomped into the house letting the screen slam behind her.

“Don’t you be slamming my screen door, young lady. I may be old, but I can still turn you over my knee any time I want,” Martha said. “And take those filthy boots off. I just mopped the kitchen floor.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Chaney said. After removing the offending boots, she walked through the mudroom to the kitchen and collapsed in a chair. Martha set a tall glass of iced tea in front of Chaney and then sat across from her.

“So, who is it tonight?”

Chaney cringed at Martha’s straightforward approach. It made the whole thing seem so sordid. “Gee, Martha, don’t beat around the bush, just ask me what you want to know.”

“Don’t get sassy with me. I knew you before your bottom got spanked by the doctor.”

The age-old line took the wind out of Chaney’s sails. Not because it irritated her, but because it was true. Martha had worked for her family since before Chaney was born. Through every trial and tribulation Chaney had faced, Martha had been there. This was why Chaney had shared her latest problem with her. Well, part of it anyway.

“I’m sorry,” she said after another swallow of tea. “Billy Bradley.” Chaney couldn’t hide the automatic distaste of the thought.

“Sweetie, you don’t have to do this. There’s got to be some way to fix this without you marrying someone you don’t want to.”

“Sure, there is. I go to court, contest the will, and tell the world what my father thought of me. Please, Martha, this is depressing enough without the whole town knowing.”

Martha reached across the table and clasped Chaney’s hand. “Your daddy was a hard man, but he loved you. I still don’t believe he would do this. Are you sure the will is real? I mean maybe--”

Chaney’s reaction was immediate. She pulled her hand away and stood. “Martha, stop. The will is real. I saw it and Daddy’s signature is unmistakable. His opinion of me was the same. Now, we’ve lived in the same house for almost thirty years. We both know the truth. I’ve accepted it; I wish you would, too.” Chaney rinsed her glass and placed it in the dishwasher before walking out of the room.

***

Chaney took a long time getting ready for the evening. It wasn’t that she wanted to look especially nice. Billy Bradley was interested in anything that wore a skirt and breathed. Working up her nerve was what took so long. Not that she really had any choice
but to go through with it.

Time was running out. She had one week. Seven days. 168 hours.

Her last chance to make everything work out waited for her at the Low Down Bar. She had to convince Billy Bradley to marry her. The only reason any of the men in town even looked at her with one eye was because the other was on her ranch. She wasn’t marrying someone only to give up control of it. She’d lose it straight out before she stood around letting someone else run it.

Climbing into the driver’s seat of her truck, she stared out over the property her father had inherited from his father. Losing it because her father made such a ludicrous demand in his will was unacceptable.
Why did you hate me so much?
The familiar pain of not measuring up stirred her determination. She turned the key with deliberation.

“You haven’t won yet, Daddy.”

She rolled down the window letting the wind pull at her hair as she drove. Billy liked his women wild, and at the moment, Chaney felt wild. Hell, she’d have to be crazy to consider this.

Finding a parking spot in front of the bar, she pulled in. Not exactly the most romantic place for a date, but romance wasn’t one of her requirements. Billy leaned against his truck with his wide, “I’m ready, willing, and able,” smile on his face.

“Hey, Darlin’,” he drawled walking around the hood of her truck and opening the door.

“Hey, Billy.”
Original. Very original
. She needed to add more syrup if she was going to convince this fly to play her game. The problem was Chaney wasn’t good at playing games. She preferred to be straight-up and honest. Of course, blabbing she needed a husband who didn’t want her ranch and could get her pregnant then walk away probably wasn’t the best way to seduce a man.

Billy’s gaze zoomed in on the slit in her skirt. It didn’t take a psychic to read his mind. She pushed the skirt down quickly as her feet hit the ground.

“You got nice legs, Chaney. You shouldn’t try to hide ‘em.” He leaned in closer.

She gave him a gentle push. “Slow down, Billy. We’ve got all night.”

“All night, ‘eh? I like the sound of that. Let’s get something to eat first.”

As food went, the Low Down served a decent meal, but Chaney couldn’t taste it over the acid tang of nerves. When the band played the first chord, Billy pulled her onto the dance floor. Twenty minutes later Chaney decided to make her move. The band played a slow number and she snuggled up close. Billy didn’t complain.

“You’re a good dancer.” Not as good as Jed flitted through her mind. She clenched her jaw hating that she still compared other men to him.

“That’s not all I’m good at, Sugar,” he growled, nibbling on her ear lobe while running a hand over her butt.

Chaney swallowed the urge to shove him away.
How in the world am I going to do this if I can’t even stand him touching me? Anyone touching me? I have to get over this.

Billy lifted his head and grinned into Chaney’s eyes. Oh, no. He’s going to kiss me. His head filled her vision. It came closer and closer. It . . . stopped?

“Buzz off, Bud--” Billy said as he looked over his shoulder.

“I don’t think so.”

Mortification swamped Chaney when she recognized the voice. Her spine instinctively stiffened and her grip on Billy tightened. “You don’t have to listen to him, Billy. We don’t want any interruptions.”

“Chaney.” Jed’s warning tone didn’t frighten her nearly as much as the thought of Billy handing her over. She was too vulnerable right now to be around Jed. She might do something stupid.
Lord, please don’t let him
--

“I’
m sorry, Chaney. But it’s Jed.”

She should have known. When they were in high school, Billy got drunk and drove his truck into the lake. While all the other boys stood around scared stiff, Jed jumped in and pulled Billy to safety. He owed Jed his life. No way would he ever stand against him. Billy stepped away. Jed’s strong arm wrapped tight around her waist. It held her prisoner as
sure as if he had lassoed her.

“Damn you,” she hissed at Jed as he began to move around the dance floor.

“You should be thanking me, sweetheart. Billy’s not known for being gentle.”

“I am not your sweetheart,” Chaney said, trying to pull out of his hold. A waste of energy, she soon realized. “Maybe I wasn’t in the mood for gentle. Did you ever think of that?”

“Nope.” Jed pulled her closer.

“Well maybe you should.” She tried to put space between them, but the steel in her spine was melting with the heat of Jed’s body so close.
Chaney felt herself leaning closer. She couldn’t resist. He rested his cheek against her head, taking her back to when she was a teenager and they would play the radio in his uncle’s barn.

She could still picture Jed
’s shirtless body, slick with sweat from working in the heat of the barn. She would turn on the radio, walk over to where he was pitching hay, and pull the pitchfork from his hand. Then she would run her hands up his chest and listen to him take a quick breath. After that, she would smile and start to move them to the music. In no time at all, Jed would take control and they would wind up rolling in the hay he had just piled up.

“Chaney, you were made for gentle,” Jed whispered, his lips brushed her temple.

Chaney’s head shot up from where it had nestled against his shoulder while she was lost in steamy thought. “Don’t.”

This time when she moved to break the embrace, he let her. But he didn’t let go. “Let’s talk.”

“I don’t want to talk to you, Jed. I don’t want to see you, or even be in the same room with you. I hate you.” She kept her tone low so the whole world wouldn’t know her business.

“I know, but that
’s too bad.”

He guided her to the booth she had shared with Billy. Before she could even think of slipping away, he slid in next to her, effectively blocking her exit. He turned so that if she’d been looking
at him, they’d be face to face.

“Explain.”

She refused to answer or even look at him. Damn the man! Picking up a napkin, she started shredding it, a habit she acquired when she stopped biting her nails.

“Chaney, we’re going to sit here until you tell me what would make you go out with that low life. Everybody knows the kind of woman Billy goes for, and honey, you’re not it.”

The honey grated against her last nerve. Tossing the napkin down, she turned, glaring up into his eyes. “Maybe I’ve changed. Maybe I got bored and decided to live on the wild side. May--”

Jed leaned so close their heads almost touched. “You can
maybe
until all your damned cows come home. It won’t change the facts. You and Billy don’t add up.”

“I hate you,” she said in an even tone turning away from him.

“I know.”

His quiet acceptance of her statement surprised her. She had been expecting a vow of innocence. Then again, she should have expected the unexpected from Jed. She stewed in silence for several minutes. Given some thought, her aggravation wasn’t really Jed’s fault. It was her father’s. Then again, if Jed hadn’t walked out on her and ruined her faith in men, maybe she wouldn’t be in this mess. On the other hand, she should have seen something shady when her father stopped pushing her to date shortly before he died. On the other hand, damn, she was running out of hands. He probably expected her to marry the idiot foreman he’d hired. That thought irritated her more than the man still staring at her.

A loud sigh escaped before Chaney could stop it. “It’s not your problem.”

“Maybe I could help.”

The compassion in his tone was almost her undoing. Then she remembered with whom she was talking. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

She tossed down the last bits of napkin and folded her hands in front of her trying to appear calm. A change of topic was necessary if she ever planned on actually finding that sense of calm.

“If you’re not going to let me out of here how about telling me why you’re still in town? I figured you would high-tail it out of here as soon as Steve and Belle left.”

“I’m thinking about moving back.”

If Chaney had been drinking, she would have spit it across the table. “H-h-here?”

No, Jed Sampson could not move back to Crescent. That would be too much.

“Yes, here. Where else would I move back to?”

Chaney swallowed. This could not be happening. She thought her life couldn’t get worse when she was rea
dy to propose to Billy Bradley.

“Why?” she asked, cursing the squeak in her voice. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I mean, you couldn’t get out of here fast enough. Why would you want to come back?”

***

Jed heard the nervousness in her voice. He’d seen her pulse jump in her throat when he first mentioned his plans. Maybe she didn’t hate him as much as she wanted him to believe.

And maybe I’m living in a dream world.

That was a distinct possibility, he thought. When he had walked into the Low Down and seen Chaney with Billy, he had done a double take. As had the rest of the people at the bar from their comments. Problem was they all just let their tongues wag about it. Jed saw a problem. There was no way in a sane universe Chaney McBride and Billy Bradley would ever go out together. But that wasn’t the current topic. He needed to focus.