One Hot Momma (16 page)

The kid had his undivided attention. “All right, cowboy. Where do you want to talk?” He shrugged.

“How about the living room?”
Rafe
asked.

“Can we go outside?” The kid’s expression was so serious
Rafe
got up from the table and grabbed both of their coats before he realized he was doing it.

Savannah didn’t excuse herself. She jumped up from the table and ran upstairs.

“I’ll go this way.”
Layla
frowned then headed after Savannah.

He nodded then stepped outside with Brice.

* * *

“I have to ask you something.” The little man toed his boot in the snow just off the step.

“All right, ask.”
Rafe
took a seat in one of the rocking chairs, leaned forward, and rested his elbows on his thighs. He wanted to be a bit more on Brice’s level for something so serious.

“Why won’t you marry my mom?” He sniffed.
Rafe
couldn’t tell if he was about to cry or if it was due to the cold air.

“Do you want me to marry your mom?” He could feel his heart hurting for the little man in front of him. If
Layla
had said yes the first time, they wouldn’t be going through this now. Of course, he wouldn’t know
Layla
like he did now. It was a double-edged sword. Someone was hurt either way. Hopefully, they would all stop hurting and soon.

“We want you to be our dad. Savannah told me not to say anything, but it’s hard not to. When you used to come over, we would wait until you were gone and say goodnight dad.” He was definitely crying now. “Why can’t you just be our dad,
Rafe
?”

Rafe
could feel the tears sting his own eyes. Never did he want to hurt these children. “Hey.” He reached out and grabbed Brice’s coat sleeve. The little boy ran into his hug, and
Rafe
picked him up. He hugged him. “You’re a very brave little man, Brice. I’m proud of you for asking me these questions. I do want to be your dad. I’ve thought of you and Savannah like you were my own little boy and girl for as long as I have known you. Your mom and I had to do some grown-up thinking is
all.
”

“But you’re not married, and you don’t act like a mom and dad. You act the same way as before, but you talk more.” He faced him. “I know she isn’t my real mom, but I love her. I know you’re not my real dad, but I love you, too.”

“I love you, Brice. I love Savannah, and yes, I love your mom.
Layla
may not have given birth to you, but she is your momma, and I am your dad, son.” His heart hurt. He needed
Layla
. He needed to tell her it didn’t matter what Jan’s questions were, he was going to marry her, and they were going to do it as soon as possible. “Let’s go talk to them.”

“Savannah’s going to kill me.” He frowned.

“No, she won’t”
Rafe
smiled. “You did the right thing. It is hard to do the right thing sometimes. We all waited too long to do the right thing, but it doesn’t mean we can’t fix it.”

* * *

“He’s going to ruin everything.” Savannah cried into her pillow.

“How sweetie?”
Layla
pulled at her strawberry blonde hair and finally found her face. “Tell me.”

“He’s going to tell him we want him to be our dad. I told him to wait, but he can’t wait anymore.” Savannah cried. “He said you had enough time to fix it; he had to talk to
Rafe
.”

Good Lord,
Layla
thought they were growing up fast, but they were mature beyond their years. She knew why, but it didn’t make it better or any easier to deal with. “Honey,
Rafe
is fine.”

“He’s not our dad.” She sobbed.

“Yes, I am.”
Rafe’s
voice was heard from the doorway. She turned to see him set Brice on his feet, and he took long strides to get to Savannah as she sat up. “Your mom and I are getting married, and I will be your dad, Savannah, I’ve been your dad for months now, Baby-girl. It’s time we made it official.”

“
Rafe
?”
Layla’s
heart thumped.

He shrugged. “Come here.”

Savannah sat up and then jumped toward him as she continued to cry. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” he asked Savannah as
Layla
tried to fight her own tears.

“I’m sorry I was afraid to ask you.” She sobbed, sniffed.

“Don’t be sorry, Savannah. That was a hard thing to do, but we’re a family now. You know I made this room just for you? I put the tiles in pink and yellow because they are your favorite. I made Brice’s bathroom blue and green because those are his favorites. I can show you pictures of this house before I met your mom and both of you. I always knew you would be my family. I didn’t know it was going to be so hard for all of us to get to this point.”

Layla
held Brice and hugged him. She looked at
Rafe
holding Savannah. He held out a hand to her. She took it. “
Layla
, will you marry me?”

“Yes.” She nodded and smiled. There was no doubt about it this time.

“So let’s call your aunts and uncles and see what we can do about it tonight.”
Rafe
kissed Savannah’s forehead.

“Really, you will be our dad tonight?” She beamed up at him.

“Well, if we can get it done tonight, then yes. If not, as soon as possible,” he promised them all.

“Do we have to wait until then to call you dad?” She frowned.

“No,” Brice,
Rafe
, and
Layla
all answered in unison.

December

Getting married was not as simple as they had planned. Once everyone knew, they also wanted a wedding.
Layla’s
dad wanted to walk her down the aisle. His mother insisted on being there. It was all too much to deal with, so they took the children, Lucky, and Jan to the justice of the peace and eloped. Everyone was sworn to secrecy, but being legal in front of the children allowed
Layla
to move into his bedroom. Everyone else would and could wait for a spring wedding.

“Why did you choose Lucky as your witness?” Jan hissed at him.

“Your husband is on duty. I need a witness, and I can’t very well have Jack or Heath do it since it is a secret.”
Rafe
looked at his little sister. “What’s the problem?”

“Buck does not want me around Lucky,” Jan said.

“Still?”
Rafe
looked over her shoulder to the man leaning against the wall looking at the floor. Lucky didn’t look in her direction, not once. Brice sat on the bench patiently, a big smile on his face. “You really need to talk to him. Maybe he will tell you what happened. If Buck won’t, maybe Lucky will. He isn’t going to go back to the rodeo, Jan. He is staying to work at our ranch, and he is starting school. You are bound to run into him, and the sooner it is resolved the easier it will be for everyone.”

“If I talk to him, do you promise not to tell Buck?” Jan gave him a fierce expression.

“I think I can manage to keep it a secret since we are all here in secrecy.”
Rafe
propped his hands on his hips.

“Fine.
I’ll talk to Lucky.” Jan let out a long breath. “You think the kids can keep it secret?”

“Have you met those children? Savannah kept the truth a secret for years, and Brice kept their frustration at me not being their father secret for months. Yeah, I think they understand, and they are just as anxious for us to be legal as we are.”
Rafe
looked at Lucky once more. He hadn’t moved an inch. “We will have the huge spring wedding, and the family will be happy. No one gets hurt.
Layla
and I get to sleep in the same bed this winter, and the kids can officially call me dad.”

“Well, go on, dad. Your bride and daughter are ready to leave.” Jan nodded and smiled over his shoulder. He turned to see
Layla
and Savannah both smiling and indeed ready to go home.

“Do we get to be Johnson’s now, too?” Brice asked as he came up beside him and grabbed his hand.

“We’ll get the paperwork ready Brice, but not until the wedding in the spring okay?”
Layla
gripped
Rafe’s
other hand.

“Now we get to go eat?” Savannah asked.

“Our first official family meal.”
Rafe
nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Aunt Jan’s not coming to?” Brice asked and looked back at Jan as they walked out.

Rafe
looked at his sister who waved. She hadn’t moved an inch, neither had Lucky. “Nope, it’s just the four of us.”

* * *

Jan stood there until
Rafe
and his
family were
out of sight. She was happy for her favorite brother. She was not happy about being left alone with Lucky.
Rafe
was right though; she did have to get to the bottom of things. If Lucky was staying, it was necessary to know why he and Buck no longer spoke, and why she was “forbidden” to speak to Lucky. She laughed, as if she could be told what to do.

“Hey.” Jan turned to look at him as he pushed up off the wall and stood straight. There was a day when the sight of Lucky stole her breath away.
When the sound of his voice made her heart thump harder in her chest.
“You wanna grab a drink?”

“You
talkin
’ to me?” he asked, and she realized when he looked directly at her, and he spoke directly to her, he still had an effect on her.

“Yep.”
She nodded. She did not like that he had this effect on her. She loved Buck. She married Buck. Buck didn’t leave for the rodeo, and Buck didn’t care about what her brothers thought.

He lifted a shoulder and looked off into the distance, past her.
“Why not?’

That was Lucky.
A true cowboy.
Distant, brooding, and devilishly handsome, and boy could he sing. The first time he sang a song at the honky-tonk she thought she was in love. “We can go back to the ranch or… the lake if…”

“I’ll meet you at the lake.” He nodded and walked by her putting his hat on his head and not looking back.

“Okay,” she said to the empty room.

* * *

“I brought this for you.” Chance handed her a framed picture from the Halloween bash at the ranch.
Rafe
and Brice had dressed as Batman and Robin. She and Savannah had dressed as Glenda and Dorothy.
Rafe
had a lot of fun being Batman and rescuing Glenda from the wicked witch of the west.

“Thank you.”
Layla
smiled at the first family portrait. “We had so much fun that night.”

“I can’t wait to see what Heath will dress up as for this one.” Chance rubbed her belly. “I know it is a long way off, but have you two thought about adding to this picture?”

Layla
shrugged.
“Maybe.”

* * *

They were married early in the morning, took the children to lunch and then to the movies. When they got home,
Rafe
went to work at the barn. Chance had stopped by. They went to Momma’s Kitchen to have dinner, and
Layla
found herself walking back to the house later than
Rafe
and the children because she stayed behind to help Chance,
Malina
, and Bethany clean up. She thought it was odd that Jan and Buck were not at dinner, but when she asked about them, Heath said Buck had to work late and Jan said she needed to study.

The snow crunched beneath her boots, and the walk seemed short and long at the same time. When she walked in that door, she was going to be Mrs.
Rafe
Johnson. Not his bride to be, but his wife. This also meant she didn’t have to sleep in the guest room. A sense of excitement and anxiety washed over her. How could she be nervous after all they had already done?

“Hey.”
Rafe
smiled as he helped her out of the coat. “Your nose is red.”

“It’s cold out.” She didn’t hear the children. “Are they already in bed?”

“Yeah, it’s nine o’clock. I was about to call down and see if you were coming home tonight.” He laughed.

“Time got away from me.” In more ways than one she realized. The entire day had been a blur, everything happening so fast one minute and moving in slow motion the next.

“Well.” He looked at her then without warning picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. “It’s the best I can do for a threshold since you stayed behind at dinner.”

“
Rafe
.”
She looked at him as he sat her on their bed. “We’re married.”

“Yeah, I know.” He smiled and then bit his lower lip.

“Aren’t you nervous?” She watched his brown eyes as they watched her.

“What’s there to be nervous about?” He sat next to her and took her hand. His thumb stroked across her knuckles.

“I don’t know. I just feel different. I mean I feel good, but…”

“But what?
Tell me and don’t hold back.” He looked at her intently and she frowned.

“I guess I am still afraid of letting everyone down.”
Layla
shrugged.

“I understand that.” He nodded. “I realized the other day how much work goes into all of this.
Life, family, raising children, and loving you.”

“And?”

“And I think there will be times I make a wrong decision. I will have to apologize more than once before our lives are over, and they will, too, and so will you. We aren’t perfect. I don’t really feel like I have to be anymore. I can be me. We can have our flaws and still love each other. We can make mistakes and still raise good children.” He leaned in and kissed her lips. “I think in a year we might even want one with our DNA sequence combined. That way when they are teenagers we can make them stay home and baby-sit.”

She laughed. “Did you see the picture Chance brought us?”

“I put it over the fireplace in the living room.” He let go of her hand and began to undress. “We need to start thinking about Christmas pictures. I know my mom will want some, and I am sure your parents will, too.”

Layla
removed her clothes and got under the blankets on her side, his left side, of the bed. “We should be getting the school pictures in pretty soon. Savannah said she wants a horse for Christmas. I mean there are so many out there already, what would she do with a horse?”

“Learn to ride it.” He slid under the blankets with her. “I think an animal would be good for them, help them settle into their new life and also teach responsibility. Maybe we can get a puppy for Christmas?”

“
Rafe
.”
She loved saying his name.

He grunted.

“We’re really doing this aren’t we? We’re really going to sleep in this bed tonight and every night after this together.” She turned to face him as he turned to face her.

“Yeah.”
He pulled her in close. “I love you,
Layla
Johnson.”

“I love you, too,
Rafe
.”

“Call me Batman.” He held her as she laughed. “
Ahhh
, this is the way it should be.”

“I was thinking of a wedding present for you,”
Layla
spoke against his throat.

“Yeah?
I thought we said we would wait until the fancy one before we got each other a gift.” He stroked her hair, her back.

“Well, I was thinking. I could give you something no one has ever had before. It is our wedding night, and there is one way I am still a virgin.” His hand stilled on her lower back.

“You don’t have to…,” he started but she cut him off with a kiss.