Seducing Zeb (Tarnished Saints Series) (20 page)

“This one,” said Ca
t finally, staring out the wall-to-wall windows on the front of the house that looked out over a hill and large lawn and down to the lake. There was a pier and a small beach out front, and even a rowboat.

“Are you
sure?” asked Angel, glancing at her watch. “After all, you’ve only changed your mind eight times since you’ve looked at them.”

“I think so,” she said looking
over to Laney who still had the baby. “What do you think, Laney? Do you think Zeb will like it?”

“He’ll love it,” said Laney picking up the baby carrier with the sleeping baby
inside it. “Angel, fast, give her the keys before she changes her mind. I’ve got to get back to the shop already. Nate was kind enough to watch it for me today, but I’ve really got to hire someone soon because this is just too much with having to take care of J.D.’s baby all day. I can’t wait til she graduates and can watch Matthias full time because although I cherish these times, I think I need a break.”

“Good thi
ng you don’t have a baby of your own,” said Cat. “If you did, you’d probably have to close your antique store.”

Suddenly, Laney burst into tears and Angel ran over and put an arm around her.

“What did I say?” asked Cat innocently.

Laney and Angel looked at each other and then whispered something between them. “Go
ahead and tell her,” said Laney.

“Tell me what?” asked Cat, not understanding what was going on.

“Oh, Cat. Laney and I were going to keep our secret between just the girls for now,” said Angel, not making any sense at all.

“What secret? What girls?”

“The secret between us - and also Candace. But now, since you’re part of the family, we’ll let you in on the secret as well.”

“Oh, I love secrets,” she said with a smile, happy that the girls were including her.

“I think I’m pregnant,” said Laney with a half-smile.

“Really? Congratulations. So does your daughter or Judas know about this?”

“No,” said Laney. “They’ve both been through so much lately that I didn’t want to tell them until I was sure. But I am sure. I’ve been having morning sickness for the past week and I’ve also been tired and have skipped a period.”

“And she’s not the only one
,” said Angel with a smile.

“You too?” asked Cat with wide eyes
.

“Yes,” Angel admitted. “And Candace
just discovered she is pregnant also.”

“Oh my goodness, there must be something in the water,” said Cat.

“That’s right so be sure not to drink it or you may end up pregnant as well,” Angel said with a laugh.

“
These Taylor men must be prolific at planting their seeds.” Cat couldn’t get over the fact all three women were pregnant at the same time.

“Well, maybe not all of them,” said Angel. “After all, none of the other nine brothers have kids. But then again, I’m sure they’re being very careful.”

“That’s right,” said Laney. “Zeb has a reputation for being with women. I’m sure he uses lots of protection.”

“I . . . I’m not sure,” said Cat.

“Didn’t you two use protection?” asked Angel. “After all, I can’t believe Zeb would be so careless especially if he’s still planning on going through with the annulment.”

“I guess we just got lost in the moment and the subject never came up. Besides,” said Cat, trying to laugh it off, “we’ve only done it once.”

“That’s all it takes,” Laney told her. “Look at my daughter. She did it once and now I’m a grandma.”

“Or so she says
it was only once,” Angel pointed out.

“True
,” said Laney, looking down to the sleeping baby. “And now it looks like my baby and his Uncle Matthias will be growing up together. How odd is that?”

“
Well, I know exactly when I got pregnant,” said Angel. “It was on our honeymoon in the Caribbean. It was so romantic and Thomas and I were so excited not to have a bunch of kids around, that we made up for lost time. And I know Thomas will be thrilled when I tell him, because he wants twelve kids just like his parents. Still, I’m a little concerned because I’ve already got my hands full with seven kids already.”

“And Candace is so busy at the restaurant
, and now I’m so busy still trying to get my shop set up as well as take care of my new grandchild, that we are all exhausted,” Laney added. “I don’t know how we’ll get through this.”

“Well
, I can help,” Cat volunteered. “I’ll take that job at the antique shop after all, Laney.”

“You are a godsend, Cat.”

“And if Candace and Levi need any help with the books at the restaurant, I can handle all that for them too. I love numbers, and when it comes to filing and organizing - no challenge is too big for me.”

“I’ll tell Candace,” said Laney. “She’ll be elated since we all know Levi is no good with any kind of finances or paperwork.
The past seven years will verify that.”

They both laughed and Cat knew they were talking about the fact Levi went to prison for not paying his taxes.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen to him again, I promise,” said Cat.

“You can hire yourself o
ut as the town accountant,” suggested Angel. “Almost everyone in town has their own business and no one likes to do the books. I’ll let them all know at the next town meeting.”

“Thanks, Angel.”
Cat was really starting to feel accepted. And Sweet Water was starting to feel like home. That is, a place where Cat could put down her roots and start a new life. She liked that. “Maybe I can help you out sometime by watching your kids as well.”

“That would be wonderful,” said Angel. “T
he kids are at school all day, but since Thomas and Levi left this morning to pick up another car that Thomas is going to refurbish, I’m all alone. The men will be gone a few days and I planned on helping Candace out at the restaurant. Dan and Sam are capable of watching all the kids, but I need an adult at the house with Eli after school and until I get back, in case CPS stops by on an unexpected visit. They’ll stop coming by after awhile, but it is still too early and it’s just procedure.”

Angel quickly filled Cat in on how she and Thomas met and everything they’d been through in the past few months, and Cat realized that not only Thomas
, but Levi and Judas as well had all gone through some very trying times just like she had, but in a totally different way.

“I’ll be looking forward to spending some time with the kids
,” said Cat.

“Then let’s get back to the shop,” said Laney
picking up the baby carrier and heading toward the door.

“I agree,” said Angel. “Cat, t
he school bus will be dropping off the kids soon down at CR325. I’m sure Nate won’t mind giving you a ride to where the bus stops. Then you can just walk back to my house with the kids and stay there til I’m done helping Candace at the restaurant if you don’t mind. Oh, and Candace’s twins and J.D. and the baby will be there too.”

“Sure,” said Cat, wondering what she’d just got
ten herself into. After all, she knew nothing about kids and now she’d just volunteered to watch nearly a dozen of them and all by herself. Well, if she could make it through this, then maybe if she and Zeb stayed married she would be able to handle having a child someday as well.

* * *

Zeb had worked late and it was already getting dark by the time he got back to Thunder Lake.

He was so tired from
trying to juggle all his new clients and trying to find things in his messy office that he just wanted to have a cocktail and go to sleep. He still hadn’t had the chance to organize his office, nor did he have a secretary. But he contacted the employment agency and they said they’d send a girl over by the end of the week.

He pulled up to Thomas’s house, somehow knowing Cat would be there. Sure enough, he could see her playing ball with the kids. She looked good in her tight jeans and tee shirt with
her hair pulled back in a ponytail and a baseball cap on her head. She was up to bat, and as he drove down the long driveway toward them, she hit the ball hard and it went flying right over his head. He was glad the top was down on his car or she would have hit it.

“Slow down, Slugger,” he called out, know
ing the power behind those beautiful arms of hers. His eye stung just thinking about it. It was starting to heal but he had a lot of people asking questions about it today. He’d had to lie and tell them he walked into a door in the dark because he wasn’t about to tell him his new wife labeled him with a right hook.

He saw headlights in his rear view mirror and realized it was Angel’s SUV
with Candace’s car right behind her. He wondered what was going on and why Cat was watching all the kids. He got out of the car and Cat came over to join him.

“Hi
, Zeb,” she said, pulling off her baseball cap and flashing him a smile. “How was work?”

“
Grueling,” he grunted. “I’ve got so much work to do that I think I’m going to have to take on a partner. Not to mention my office is so unorganized that I had to request a secretary today. Only thing is, she won’t even be there til the end of the week.”

“You don’t need a secretary, I can help you with all that
,” she told him, but he didn’t think it was a good idea for a husband and wife to work together. He knew that Levi and Candace worked together, but Levi was also not at the restaurant much as his mayoral duties kept him busy at the town hall.

“No, Cat, it’s fine. You just keep watching the kids.” Her smile turned into a frown at his comment and he had the feeling he’d somehow insulted her. But before he could ask her about it, Candace and Angel walked up and intervened.

“Hi kids!” Candace called out.

“Mom,” called out Candace’s twins, running up to hug her.

“Hi Vance and Val, I hope you didn’t give Cat any trouble.” Candace bent down and scooped them up in a big hug and kissed them both.

“We didn’t,” Val
said. “She’s nice, we like her.”

“Well, so do I,” Candace told them.

“We brought some leftover food from the restaurant,” said Angel. “Is anyone hungry?”

“Cat made us apple pancakes
and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” said Angel’s daughter, Gabby. “But Josh and Jake had to show her how.”

Zeb heard that and decided he’d better snag a sandwich from Angel, because he was starving and wasn’t sure Cat really knew how to cook even if s
he had pulled off an impressive skillet this morning.

“I’ll take something,” Zeb said, and Angel held out the bag and Zeb picked up a hero sandwich and a side of fries, popping a fry into his mouth.
“Did you want one?” he asked, holding one out to Cat.

“No thanks,” she said. “Not hungry.”

“Okay, suit yourself. Oh, by the way, I told Nate he’d have to kick his friends out of the condo cuz we’re going to be living there again. He said they’d be out by tomorrow.”

“What?” She looked at him and sounded so disappointed. “I thought we were going to live on the lake.”

“Oh, that’s right,” he said. “About that – I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

“But I picked out a house for us to
live in today. It’s got wall-to-wall windows in the front,” she blurted out.

“Honey, no place could have as many windows as my apartment.
And I don’t plan on living in a small musty lake house when I have a beautiful furnished condo right on the lake.”

“The wrong lake,” she mumbled, looking down to the ground.

“Well, you’ll have to stay in your lake house for tonight,” said Angel, interrupting. “So you two run along now so I can get the kids inside and ready for bed.”

Cat knew Angel was trying to help her by sending her and Zeb to the lake house. She’d been so excited to stay there with Zeb, but now she was disappointed because it sounded as if he had no intention of ever living there with her.

She got in the car and they drove off, and once again they were back to silence. And the worst part was that Zeb didn’t even seem to realize anything was wrong between them. He just kept eating his sandwich and turned the radio louder saying it was a song he
liked. Cat felt like crying because all the happiness she’d found with Zeb last night was gone. And now she realized she’d been happier before they’d actually consummated the marriage being Mr. and Mrs. Zeb Taylor.

Chapter 17

Cat had faked being asleep last night when Zeb got out of the shower and came to bed, rubbing her back and obviously wanting sex. But she was so angry with him that she decided she wasn’t going to give him what he wanted until she got some kind of confirmation on his part about their marriage.

She rolled over in bed and the sun streaming in through the crack of the blinds hit her square in the face. She expected to see Zeb lying next to her and hoped they could talk before he took off for work, but
instead she found a note atop of his pillow.