brides for brothers 02 - cowboy daddy (7 page)

“What have you been telling her?” he asked Janie suspiciously.

“I was just describing your expertise at putting the groceries
in
the truck.”

The flash of Janie’s eyes, accompanied by a broad smile, reminded him of happier times. The urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her until she melted against him almost overcame him. But the knowledge that she would resist made him hold back.

That and Lavinia’s presence.

He headed back out for the other groceries. When he set these sacks on the counter, Lavinia fulfilled his hopes.

“You’ll stay for dinner, Pete? It’s the least we can do for your helping Janie at the grocery store.”

“I’d love to stay, Lavinia, on one condition.”

“And that is…?”

“You have to promise not to let Janie near the food before I eat,” Pete said deadpan. “She’s sure to poison my share if she gets the chance.”

“L
AVINIA
,” P
ETE SAID
with a sigh, “don’t you tell Red I said so, but you must be the best cook in the whole state of Wyoming.”

“Thank you, Pete, but I can’t take all the credit. Janie made the apple pie.”

Janie wanted to stick out her tongue at Pete and assure him she hadn’t made it for him. Instead, she received his praises with a nod of her head. But she lost her calm with his next remark.

“You don’t have to convince me Janie would make a good wife, Lavinia. I know that already. She’s the one who’s being stubborn. Maybe someone should be praising
me
to the skies to change
her
mind.”

“Maybe
someone
should accept the answer he’s already gotten!” Janie snapped.

“Janie!” Hank protested.

More effective than her father’s protest was Lavinia’s steady regard. Dinner had been fun, like old times, and Janie immediately regretted losing her temper. Especially when she knew she’d disappointed her mother.

“Sorry,” she apologized with a small smile.

Pete leaned across the table toward her. “My fault. I shouldn’t have brought up such a personal topic here at the table.”

“I don’t see why not, Pete. It concerns all of us,” Hank asserted, his chin jutting out in stubbornness.

“It may concern us, Hank, but the decision has to be Pete and Janie’s.” Lavinia stood. “Just to show you how generous I am, Pete, I’m going to let you and Janie do the dishes, which should give you half an hour alone. Then Janie might want you to leave so she can get some rest.”

When Hank didn’t move, instead staring at his wife in surprise, she prodded him. “Come on, Hank. These young people want to be alone.”

“Thanks, Lavinia,” Pete murmured as Janie’s parents left the room.

Janie, on the other hand, promised herself to have a talk with her mother tomorrow. Lavinia
knew
her daughter didn’t want to be alone with Pete.

Janie got to her feet. “I’ll rinse and load the dishwasher. You clear the table.”

“Let’s talk first,” Pete suggested.

“Oh, no. One or both of us will get upset, and you’ll leave and I’ll be stuck with all the work. You’re not getting out of it that easy, Pete Randall.”

“Well, I thought I’d give it a try,” he said with a grin, and began stacking the dishes to bring them to the sink.

They worked in silence for several minutes. Janie was determined to leave any talking to Pete. But she dreaded what he might say.

“Did you really make that pie?” he asked, surprising her.

She turned from the sink to stare at him. “Yes, of course I did. Did you think Mom would lie about it?”

“Nope. I just didn’t know you could cook.”

Janie chuckled. “I’m not as good as Mom, but she made sure I wouldn’t starve to death if I ever left home.”

“Isn’t that strange? If anyone had asked me, I would’ve said I knew everything there was to know about you. After all, I watched you grow up.”

“There’s lots you don’t know about me,” she assured him, amused by his words.

“Oh, yeah? Like what?”

“Do you know who gave me my first kiss?”

The sudden glower on his face tickled her, and she laughed.

“I don’t find that question so funny,” Pete said.

“I was just making a point.”

He set a pile of dishes down beside her at the sink. “I need to ask you a question.”

The sudden seriousness of his tone made her stomach clinch. “What?”

“Did you sleep with Manning?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

“I know it’s not, but—but he said the baby was his.” Pete didn’t look at her. He kept his gaze on the dishes in front of him.

“I thought you said you believed this is your baby. Have you changed your mind? If so, I bet you’re glad I turned down your marriage proposal.” She tried to keep her voice light, as if his answer didn’t matter. Inside, her heart was breaking.

His hands, resting on the kitchen cabinet, clenched. “No, I don’t think it’s his baby. You wouldn’t lie to me.”

“Ah. Thanks for that, at least.”

“What?”

“You think I’m a loose woman but an honest one.”

“Janie! I didn’t mean—You have every right to— I just wondered.”

“Is that all of the dishes?” Maybe if they talked of mundane things, she could hold back the hunger that filled her.

“Uh, no. I’ll get the rest of them.”

She rinsed more dishes and was bent over, stacking them in the dishwasher, when Pete reached around her to catch her braid, hanging down in the open washer.

“Careful. You might get your hair caught on something.”

The shivers that coursed up and down her body warned her again that Pete’s touch had a tremendous effect on her. As if she could’ve forgotten. “Thanks. I’m—I’m thinking of cutting it.”

“No!” Pete’s voice was filled with horror.

She turned to stare at him. “It’s just hair, Pete. It’ll grow back.”

A slow, sexy grin appeared on Pete’s face. “Well, now, Janie, it may be just hair to you, but undoing your braid is one of my favorite memories. And when I’m holding you in my arms and those silken strands slide across my shoulders…” He paused and took a deep breath before finishing in a low voice, “I feel like I’m in heaven.”

Janie fought the desire that filled her, that pleaded with her to turn into his arms, to feel his strength around her. She swallowed and licked her lips, playing for time.

“Aw, Janie, look at me.”

She was powerless to refuse. Slowly she lifted her gaze to his, knowing that when she did so, he would kiss her. But she’d already expended her energy resisting him all evening.

When he pulled her against him, his big, hard body heating her skin even through their clothes, she gave in to her cravings and met him more than halfway. Still, the flash fire of desire that filled her was a surprise. Not that she hadn’t always been sensitive to Pete’s touch, but somehow she’d envisioned less interest in sex now that she was pregnant.

If anything, however, she was discovering her nerve endings were more finely tuned to the stimulus of his touch. When his lips left hers to trace the slender line of her neck, she gasped. Breathing became more and more difficult. Her hands roamed his broad shoulders as she clung to him.

“Janie, I need you,” Pete muttered just before his lips returned to hers.

Her mind was racing as fast as her heart as she tried to respond to his words. She needed him, too, so much. But she needed more than his body. His heart was her goal, and she could settle for no less.

With a groan, she wrenched her lips from his. “Pete, we can’t.…Mom and Dad—”

“If we’re getting married, they wouldn’t say anything,” he said eagerly, his hands roaming her body with intensity.

“We’re not getting married,” she reminded him. She had to keep saying those words over and over again for her own sake as well as Pete’s. It was too tempting to give in to his touch if she didn’t.

“Damn it, Janie! How can you turn me down? We’re good together. We’re having a child. Marriage is the answer to everything.”

“No, Pete. Love is the answer to everything. And you don’t love me.” She grabbed hold of the kitchen cabinet with both hands as she leaned against it, hoping to keep from reaching out to touch his tempting body.

“You know I don’t believe in love.”

“Why, Pete? Why don’t you believe in love? Just because of Chloe? You’re going to let one rotten apple spoil everything? Are you saying I’m like Chloe?” She stared at him, a challenge in her gaze.

“Of course you’re not like Chloe! I never said that!”

“But you’re lumping me in the same group as Chloe.”

“Look, Janie, love doesn’t last. People—people leave. It’s better not to—”

“Who left you, Pete? Did you have a lover who left you?” She’d tried to follow his love life while he was on the ranch, but he’d gone away to college. And then he’d ridden the rodeo circuit.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I wasn’t a virgin when we made love, Janie. But I’m certainly not going to give you a summary of my past love life.”

Before her very eyes, she watched him withdraw, pull in, the eager lover disappearing. In his place was a withdrawn, hard man, protective of his secrets.

“Then how will I understand why you refuse to love me? Is it because I’m not lovable?”

“No!” he barked, anger in his eyes. “Janie, drop it! I want to take care of you and our baby. That’s all you need to know.”

“No, it’s not. How old were you when your mother died?” She wasn’t sure why that question popped into her head, but his reaction told her she’d touched a tender spot.

“My mother’s death has nothing to do with us. Don’t start talking like a shrink, Janie.” Before she could say anything else, he turned toward the door. “I have to go. Tell your mom I said thanks for dinner.”

Stunned by his abrupt about-face, Janie stood silent until he’d reached the back door. Then she remembered something she’d intended to tell him all along. “Pete?”

“Yeah?” he asked, but he kept his back to her.

“I didn’t sleep with Bryan.”

He remained still, as if frozen in place, for a few seconds. Then he walked out. She stood there, unable to move or react. Then as the door closed, Janie thought she heard a loud cowboy yell split the night air.

A
LL THE WAY HOME
, Pete tried to concentrate on his happiness. Janie hadn’t slept with Bryan. Since she was a virgin when they’d begun their affair, he knew he had been her only lover. And he intended to keep it that way!

As much as he celebrated the good news, even more did he try to avoid thinking about Janie’s questions. He knew the problem wasn’t Janie—she was more lovable than anyone he’d ever met. The problem was with him. But he didn’t think it was unusual for a man to resist loving a woman.

And he didn’t want to think about it.

Unfortunately Jake was waiting for him when he got home. Waiting to talk about the upcoming marriage.

“Well? You haven’t been at the grocery store all this time, have you?” Jake demanded when Pete walked into the kitchen.

“If he has, he’s bought out the store,” Brett teased his brother.

“No. I had dinner with the Dawsons. Sorry I didn’t call, Red.”

“That’s all right. You can eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow,” Red assured him. He was busy at the kitchen counter while Pete’s brothers sat at the table, their customary cups of coffee in front of them.

“So I guess Janie talked to you at the store.” Jake said. “Did she agree to marry you?”

“No. And—and we didn’t do much talking. Manning showed up right after I got there.”

“So what did you do?” Brett asked.

“We helped her do her shopping.”

“You and Manning?” Brett asked, as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard his brother correctly.

Pete grinned. “Yeah. It wasn’t pretty.”

“What happened?” Red asked, coming to the table.

Pete ran a hand through his dark hair, wondering how to explain the escapade at the store. Finally, he just stated the facts.

“Mercy,” Red muttered. “It’s a wonder the girl’s still speaking to you, much less inviting you to eat.”

“Lavinia invited me. But Janie and I made up.”

As always, Jake got back to the heart of the matter. “Then why won’t she agree to marry you?”

Pete was saved from answering by the sound of a vehicle coming down the driveway. Everyone looked up in surprise. It was a cold, dark night in Wyoming, not a good night for visits.

Red went to the window, but whoever was arriving had already turned off his or her lights. Jake stood to go to the front of the house, assuming whoever had come would knock on the front door. Before he could leave the kitchen, however, the back door opened. There were two people there, but only one walked in…carrying the woman with him.

“Chad! Megan!” Brett exclaimed, and all the Randalls, plus Red, conducted a group hug. When they eventually separated, Chad, the youngest of the four Randall brothers, let his bride slide to the floor.

“Did we surprise you?” he asked.

“Yeah. Why didn’t you call us to pick you up instead of renting a car?” Jake asked as he gestured to the table.

Chad and Megan sat down as Red poured two more cups of coffee. “We didn’t fly. We drove,” Chad explained.

“I wanted to bring a lot of things with me,” Megan added.

“Of course, I hadn’t thought of that,” Jake agreed. “You’d need to move out of your apartment. Are you shipping the rest of it?”

Megan glanced at Chad before answering Jake. “I’m not giving up my apartment just yet, Jake.”

“Why not? You two are living here, aren’t you?”

There was a tense silence before Chad replied, “Jake, of course we’re living here, but Megan wants to keep her job while her company does the work here, and she’ll need to go back to Denver occasionally.”

Pete watched the others, an amused smile on his lips. It was a relief to have someone else the center of Jake’s attention. Ever since Jake had invited three decorators to redo the house, he’d been scheming to marry off his brothers.

When Chad and Megan, one of the decorators, fell in love and called to say they were marrying, Jake had been full of himself. Pete was as pleased as the rest of them for Chad’s happiness, but he thought it might not be a bad idea for Jake to discover he wasn’t in control of everything Randall.