Imperfect Justice (17 page)

“Excuse me, but I also have an announcement,” Ty said in a booming voice. “Has anyone wondered where Royce is?”

As a matter of fact, Jared had been wondering that exact thing but his brother had been known to disappear for a day or two and then turn up. Usually he was shacked up with some woman in another town.

“Well, get on with it,” Gerald said impatiently. “Where is he?”

Ty placed his fork next to his plate. “Your oldest son borrowed your truck, Dad, since his is in the shop from hitting that telephone pole a few weeks ago. Anyway, he had a few too many – again – and hit the storage shed out in the pasture. Ran it clean over.” Ty scratched his head. “And totaled your truck, Dad.”

Jared’s father slammed his fist down on the table again. Royce might be his favorite son but that truck was practically a family heirloom. His dad had babied that thing for almost three hundred thousand miles.

“Where is that boy?” Gerald thundered, his face red with anger.

“I drove Royce to a rehab center in Denver two days ago. He’ll be home in about a month,” Ty said calmly, picking up his fork again and shoveling a mouthful of pot roast into his mouth. “One more thing I wanted to announce. I’m gay.”

Sheer pandemonium.

Becky was frantically texting God-knows-what on her cell phone while Gerald pounded the table a few more times. Ty simply sat there with a smile on his face eating dinner. Despite the playful grin, Jared had a feeling Ty was being totally serious.

“What about Sally Simmons?” Gerald demanded. “You dated her for over a year and not that long ago.”

Ty broke his dinner roll in half and buttered it generously. “Sally’s a sweet girl but not my type. I’m actually dating her brother Kyle Simmons.”

Jared snuck a glance at Misty, wondering what the hell she must be thinking about the Monroe family but she was serenely eating her dinner and watching the floor show.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Jared asked the question everyone was thinking. “Are you serious, Ty?”

His brother’s smile faded and his jaw tightened as if waiting for a punch. “Yes, I am. And if you all don’t want me to be part of this family I sure as shit know where the door is. As for Royce, rehab for him has been a long time coming. At least there he won’t wreck anything else. Unless he tries to break out or something.”

“I don’t have a problem with you in this family,” Jared replied quickly, wanting to put any question to rest. He loved his brother no matter what. Both of his brothers.

Becky looked up from her phone. “Me neither.”

All eyes turned to the patriarch of the family.

“Can we call Royce or something?” Gerald asked, his voice now calm. His father might be ailing but he’d found his famous self-control and was displaying it now. “The boy might be lonely.”

Ty nodded, his expression guarded. “He can have calls and visitors in a few weeks.”

Gerald nodded and picked up his own fork. “Hope he gets straightened around. Are you sure the truck is totaled? Maybe Hays at the garage can take a look at it. We can discuss it after dinner when we go over the ranch invoices.”

It was as close to an admission of support as Ty was going to get from his old-fashioned father. The fact that Gerald was talking with Ty about ranch business as if nothing had been said spoke volumes. Ty was accepted.

“Sure, Dad. More potatoes?” Ty asked, a smile playing around his lips. “Misty, how about you?”

“I’m full, thank you.” Misty shook her head but Gerald reached for the large bowl and spooned out a serving.

“You’re eating for two now,” Gerald grunted, his eyes on his plate. “You should have more roast. Protein is good for pregnant women.”

God bless Misty. She smiled and reached for the platter of meat. “You’re right, Mr. Monroe. Protein is good for me.”

She only took a tiny piece but she’d made miles of progress with Jared’s stubborn father. Becky stood up abruptly, the legs of her chair scraping on the maple floorboards.

“I’m leaving,” she announced dramatically. “If anyone cares.”

“Then go,” Gerald answered irritably. “No need to make a spectacle out of yourself. Your mother–”

Becky didn’t wait around to hear what her mother might have thought of things. She was out the front door in seconds. Jared had a good idea where she was headed. She was going to meet her friends with the gossip scoop of the decade. Sheriff Jared Monroe had knocked up Misty Foster and she wouldn’t marry him.

It was pure gold. Becky was sure to get days, if not weeks of mileage from it.

After she left the four of them ate quietly for a few minutes, tension still in the air. When dinner was over Gerald retired to the living room to watch television and the remaining three cleared the table. Jared rinsed plates while Misty stacked them in the dishwasher. Ty brought in a fresh armload from the dining room and placed them on the counter.

“How’d I do, big brother? I think I made your news sound pretty trivial compared to mine.”

Ty had a smirk on his face and Jared had to chuckle in response. His little brother certainly had taken the wind out of their father’s sails tonight, although it could have easily backfired on Ty. He’d taken a real chance.

“You did, but it might not have turned out so well you know.”

“I know but I’ve been waiting for just the right time to say something. It’s not often that all three Monroe boys have something to make their father crazy on the very same day. It’s like the planets aligned or something.”

“You should have said something to me before now. Did you think I would care?” Jared asked.

Ty scraped his fingers through his hair and gave them a sheepish smile. “I couldn’t be sure. You have some stubborn ideas about how you and others should act.”

Jared didn’t know what to say. Ty was right and Jared needed to rethink a whole lot of things lately.

“So,” Misty said brightly, obviously trying to lighten the atmosphere between the two brothers. “That Kyle Simmons is pretty handsome. Way to go.”

They ended the evening laughing in the kitchen, Ty and Misty getting along like old friends and future brother and sister. Despite the fiasco of an evening she fit in just fine. He just needed to convince her that marrying him was the right thing to do.

Chapter Thirteen

D
inner hadn’t been near the horrific disaster Misty had predicted. Sure, Rebecca had a hissy fit right there in the middle of the dining room and Gerald Monroe hadn’t been happy they weren’t getting married, but all in all she’d actually enjoyed the latter part of the evening when she, Jared, and Ty had sat around and exchanged stories about their childhoods.

At least Ty and Jared had; she hadn’t wanted to bring up those early years all that much and both men seemed to understand. Ty had changed the subject to baby names and nursery decor. He wanted them to name the baby after him. Boy or girl.

He was silly and sweet and if she’d had a brother she would have wanted him to be just like Ty Monroe.

“My brother really liked you. And Dad will come around.”

She and Jared were sitting in the living room of his house. She was ready for bed – pajamas and robe, face washed, teeth brushed. She’d made two mugs of hot chocolate and after giving him one she was now relaxing in front of the fire and staring into the flames. Jared had a pile of paperwork around him and looked to be settled in for a good long while.

“I liked Ty. Your dad was fine. He just wants us to get married, that’s all.”

She didn’t mention his sister, as Misty’s mother had always said not to say anything at all if one didn’t have anything nice to say.

“I want that too.”

“I’ve explained why I can’t.”

Although after seeing how he stood up for her at the diner at lunch and then with his family, she was beginning to think she might not be able to do any better than Jared Monroe.

But they still weren’t in love. Was it too much to ask?

“And I’ve explained why I think we should. But I won’t push it tonight.”

She didn’t want to be a
should
. She wanted to be a
want
and a
need
. There had to be someone out there who could love her.

Finishing her hot chocolate, she rinsed the cup in the sink and dried her hands on the dishtowel on the counter. Jared’s home was comfortable and well-equipped. Decorated in masculine tones with a minimalistic flair, the living area and kitchen were one large great room. A formal dining room was off to the side but Jared admitted the only thing he used the table for was to wrap gifts on Christmas and to fold laundry. There was a large master suite with an attached bathroom that was almost as big as her entire apartment, plus two other bedrooms with one being used for workout equipment. The last one Jared had suggested as the nursery since it was closest to the master bedroom and had a nice southern exposure.

She hadn’t answered at the time, still overwhelmed by all the space he had for one person. Her clothes barely took up ten percent of her side of the closet and the bed looked like something from a movie it was so huge.

And that had been another issue today.

When he’d invited her to live with him he really meant
live
with him. In his bedroom. In his bed. She’d pictured some sort of roommate arrangement where she slept in a spare room. But when he’d pointed out that the horse was out of the barn so to speak, she had to agree. Besides, to say she wasn’t thinking about their one night together would be a lie. She was thinking about it. Way more than she should. Would he still find her desirable now that she was pregnant?

“I’m going to bed,” she said, loath to bother him when he was working. “It’s been an eventful day and I’m beat.”

She’d probably fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. That was normal these days.

Jared gave her a crooked grin. “It has been and you were terrific about everything. I need to get some paperwork done and then I’ll come to bed.”

Just like an old married couple. Her flannel pajamas and robe didn’t inspire a burning lust from the looks of things, so she’d take herself to bed before she did something embarrassing. Like kiss him goodnight.

“Well, goodnight.”

“‘Night, Misty. Sweet dreams.”

He didn’t look up from his paperwork so she padded back to the bedroom and slid between the covers. In the blink of an eye everything in her life had changed. She’d gone from being all alone to now having a family albeit, a rather dysfunctional one. Her “sister” hated her, one brother was sweet, and the other was an alcoholic. And a womanizer. The father was very old-fashioned and tragically losing his memory to boot. Jared was obviously the middle son who kept the peace and tried not to make waves. And how did she fit in? If she did at all. This was going to take some getting used to.

Jared shoved the paperwork back into the file folder and tossed it on the coffee table. He wasn’t in the right mindset to get anything done and he’d known it before he even tried. But he thought Misty might be more comfortable going to bed without him on her first night here. She’d looked exhausted and he needed to remember that she was in her first trimester. The book had said she’d be tired all the time and it was his job to make sure she didn’t overdo.

And that included sex.

Damn if she hadn’t looked adorable in her red plaid flannel pajamas and her face scrubbed clean of any makeup. He’d had to fight the urge to lift her up in his arms, carry her straight to bed, and show her how much she aroused him. But she needed her sleep, not an all-night marathon lovemaking session with some horndog of a guy.

It was times like this he really missed his mother. She would have known what to do or say to get Misty to marry him. Even if she didn’t, she would have made a pan of brownies for her middle son and talk to him about anything and everything as if she had nothing else in the world to do. As if he was the most important thing in the universe to her.

He glanced at the clock and realized a couple of hours had passed since she’d gone to bed. She should be deeply asleep by now and hopefully he wouldn’t wake her when he climbed in bed. Pulling off his shirt as he made his way to the bedroom, he tossed it in the hamper along with the rest of his clothes. Misty was a motionless lump under the covers so he quietly shut the bathroom door behind him and brushed his teeth.