The Cowboy's Bride (3 page)

“Oh, really? How come I am just now hearing
about you two? How many dates have you been on?”

Jake winced. It really wasn’t like that. The
way William acted made him look like a creep. His feelings for Tess
were nothing common.

“I love her, sir.”

“You don’t have to fake it with me,
son.”

“I’m not your son.”

“That’s right. You aren’t. My son would have
asked a girl out. Taken her to dinner. Courted her. Not slept with
her at an opportunity. Did you even use protection?” Tessa’s dad
fumed.

Jake gritted his teeth. “Don’t say something
you are going to regret, Mr. Jons.”

“Oh now all of a sudden you are going to use
respect?”

“I have always respected you.”

“Yeah, I can see your brand of respect. Now
my daughter is going to have your child. How long will the marriage
last? A marriage based on—what exactly?”

“It will be based on love.”

“It’s based on lust.”

Will shook his head and kicked at the
ground. He had never been so angry in his life. It took everything
in him not to hit Tessa’s father.

“I really don’t care what you think right
now. I love her. I have always loved her.”

Will shook his head then opened the door to
his truck and got in. “If this marriage actually happens, you
better be good to her. And I will tell you one thing, you better
treat that baby right.” After that, he slammed the door.

Jake shook his head,
what kind of man did
they think he was?

Two hours later, Jake received a call from
Lilly Scott. Apparently, Tessa had fainted and they took her over
to the hospital to run some tests. It took Jake all of two seconds
to get into his truck and head to the hospital. On his way, he
called Tessa’s parents, who were already there. Jake felt like
screaming.

When Jake made it to the second floor of the
hospital he nearly choked at the tears he saw on Tessa’s face. Jake
came in to the room and stopped in front of her. “What’s happened?
Honey, what’s wrong?”

“She’s…she—”

“It’s okay, Mom,” Tessa said quietly, tears
catching on her lashes. “I’ve got cancer, Jake. It’s bad.”

A million thoughts raced through Jake’s
head. How could this be happening to her, to them. Just that
morning they were talking about their future, planning a wedding,
rocking chairs, babies—the whole nine yards. And now—
what
exactly was happening now?

“Why didn’t anyone call me?” Jake asked
angrily. “I was at the ranch all morning. Lilly said this happened
right after I left!”

Tessa flinched at his tone, deep sobs
wrenching out of her. Mary Jane put her head down, but it was Will
who spoke out. “You aren’t anything to her. You’re not married. You
didn’t need to know!”

Jake felt as if he were slapped—hard. The
impact straight to the gut. “We’re engaged! We’re getting married
in two weeks. I think I have the right to know.”

Will scoffed. The fighting was upsetting
Tessa so much that her heart monitor was beeping fast. A few
seconds later the nurses were in the room and ordering the family
away. Will escorted Jake out of the room, while Mary Jane stayed
behind with Tess.

“What the hell did you think you were doing
in there?” William yelled. “She’s been through enough without you
going all half-cocked!”

Jake could only see red. His Tessa was
hurting and he still didn’t know what was going on. “Why is it
bad?” Jake asked quietly. The sound of the question tore at
William. William closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“She’s been having spells.”

“What kind of
spells?”

“Fainting. She hasn’t said anything to
anyone.”

Jake closed his eyes then opened them back
up. The pain was almost unbearable. “She fainted today, but I swear
to God, William, I just thought it was because you and Mary
overheard our argument.”

William nodded in agreement. “We didn’t
think anything of it either. Then she fainted again—only this time,
it took her a lot longer to come to. Lilly Scott, as you know,
called us, then she must have called you.”

Jake nodded. “Well, what do we know so far?
Does she have to do Chemo?”

Chemo—such a dirty word—one associated more
often with death than any other.

“Yes,” William rasped. “She’ll have at least
eight weeks of it, and then following that—radiation.”

Jake’s lips trembled. “Then she’ll have it.
And everything will be okay.” As soon as the last part left his
lips despair set in. “What about the baby?”

The baby. They didn’t even know if they were
pregnant. Nothing like jumping the gun, but it was the one thing
Jake wanted more than anything—to see their baby grow inside Tessa.
Tears slipped out of his eyes.

William noticed. “If there is a baby, then
it will have to be aborted, or Tessa won’t stand a chance.”

Jake felt as if he was going to be sick. “Of
course.”

“That’s what’s tearing her up, Jake. The
thought of killing your child. It’ll ruin her. You need to
cooperate with us.”

Jake wanted to punch William in the mouth.
“What kind of a man do you think I am, Will? I’ve loved her nearly
my entire life! Haven’t you noticed? I wouldn’t do anything to
harm, Tess. Nothing!”

William’s face was red, but he kept quiet,
only nodding a few times during Jake’s rant.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d give me a few
minutes alone with Tess. I want to talk to her.”

“Don’t—”

“I’m not going to upset her, Will.”

Will nodded as Jake went into the room.

***

Mary was sitting next to Tess, holding her
in her arms when Jake walked in. Tessa sat up and her gaze bore in
to Jake’s. Jake asked Mary if she could give them a few minutes,
and before they knew it, they were finally alone.

“So, Tess, what kind of cancer are we
dealing with?”

Tessa swallowed her tears down as Jake took
her hand in his. “Lung cancer.”

Jake wanted to punch something. As far as he
knew, Tess never smoked a cigarette in her life.

“I know—not a smoker. Go figure,” Tess said,
sounding somewhat light-hearted.

“Well, you know what they say,” Jake
smirked, “beginner’s luck?”

Tessa laughed. “I guess. When they did the
scan they saw what they believe to be cancer—the doctor is almost
100% positive. Of course, they won’t really know until they take a
biopsy.”

“When will they take that?”

“Tomorrow.”

Jake’s eyes widened. Everything was going so
fast. “Tomorrow. Well, I’ll be here with you.”

“Jake, you can’t. You have branding and you
have to get ready for the Round up.”

“Tessa, I will be here with you. Nate or
Jack can take care of that stuff. That’s what we pay them for.”

“Jake, there’s something else.”

Jake thought for sure she was going to bring
up the baby. He braced himself for the conversation, then looked
into her eyes.

“We can’t get married.”

“No.”

Tessa looked affronted. “Jake, I mean it. We
can’t. It’s really bad, and I don’t think…”

“Tessa, I swear to God, if another dumb
thing comes out of your mouth I will put you over my knee right
now. We are getting married in two weeks. You promised.”

Tessa’s lips quivered. “Why?”

“Because I love you.”

“Because of the baby?”

“No. Because of you. You’re such a brat, you
know that?” Jake asked. His lip quirked to the right in its
familiar place and Tessa smiled. Jake used to always say that to
her growing up.

“Yeah, takes one to know one,” Tess replied
her own quip. “It’s going to be hard, Jake.”

Jake didn’t care. Nothing good in life was
never not worth a bit of work. “I look forward to it. Besides, Ms.
Soon-to-be-Anders, you promised me grandchildren.”

Tessa slumped down in her bed, fearing that
her promise would be short-lived.

Chapter 4

T
hat next week
turned out to be chaotic. Nearly every day of the week, Tess was
getting some kind of test done. The results from the biopsy came
in, and sure enough, it was Stage 2 cancer. Not the worst it could
get by any means, but it was still cancer, none the less. Chemo was
scheduled for the following Monday, and their wedding was scheduled
for the Saturday after.

Jake knew that it was a bad idea to get
married right now, especially while she was going to be so sick. He
offered to marry her before the chemo, but Tess wanted everything
to be perfect, and he wanted that for her, too.

The wedding plans were coming along nicely.
They were going to get married in a private family ceremony on the
small area that split both properties. Jake planned to build an
arch for them to get married under, and then after the wedding they
would live on Jake’s ranch with Jake and his mother, where five
generations of Anders had lived before.

It was a good thought, knowing that he would
live in the same place as would his and Tessa’s children.

Tessa got her period a few days after the
cancer diagnosis, which was a good thing. With the way Tessa’s life
had been going lately, Jake didn’t think she could take another
disappointment. Jake, however, was still disappointed. He couldn’t
help but mourn the child that never came to be. He wanted a family
with Tess, and couldn’t wait for the cancer to be gone, so they
could have that.

Jake knew he was selfish, but he waited
twenty-nine years for Tess, and he didn’t want to wait a moment
longer. Sitting on his front porch steps, waiting for Tessa to come
home from dress shopping with her mother, Jake thought about how he
and Tess finally got together.

“
Jake,” Mike, the bartender at Recluse,
called. Jake turned to the sound and grinned. He put one finger up,
singling his need for a beer. A tall one—no foam.

“
Mike, what’s up?” Jake asked,
fist-bumping the bartender. He and Mike went to school together and
had been pals ever since.

“
You meeting up with Tess?” Mike
asked.

Jake turned his head to the left and then to
the right. “Why? Is she here?”

“
In the back,” Mike said, motioning with
his chin. “She looks like she needs a stress relief.”

“
You watch yourself,” Jake said,
half-jokingly/half-serious. “See you later.”

“
See ya.”

Jake walked toward the back of the bar and
noticed Tessa right away. She wore a pair of Levis like they were
made just for her. Tight, form fitting to each and every curve of
her hot body. She wore a peasant top in white, that came down to a
‘V’ a little lower than appropriate for work. Jake smiled. Tessa
looked up right away.

“
Look what the cat drug in,” Tessa
remarked, bringing her Bud Light up to her lips. She took one small
swig, then placed it in front of her. Jake walked over to her booth
and sat down right beside her, bumping her thigh into his.

“
Gees, leave a girl some room,” she said.
There was a tremble in her voice that showed Jake she was just as
affected by his presence as he was to hers.

“
Don’t mind if I don’t,” Jake commented.
“So, slick, you drowning in your sorrows?”

“
Eh, last day of school—thank
God.”

Tessa was a third grade teacher at Benton
Elementary. She was well loved by everyone.

“
I bet. Kids driving you nuts?”

“
Not so much the kids, but Mr.
Radely.”

“
Radely’s a dick. I’m glad you are rid of
him for the summer.”

Radely was the school’s principal. He
graduated with Tessa and Jake and had tried to act like his shit
didn’t stink ever since. He was a pain in most people’s asses and
twice daily on the days that school was in session.

“
Yeah, definitely. So, are you getting
ready for Round up?”

“
Sure am. So’s your dad.”

Nothing like small talk. How do you go about
asking a girl out that you’ve known your entire life?

Tessa nodded then went to get up, forgetting
that Jake blocked the way, she touched his thigh with her left
hand. “Oh!” she squealed. “I’m…” her face went red.

Jake’s did, too. “That’s okay, darlin’,
although, I’d think a lady would at least by a gentleman a beer
first.” Jake smiled at his joke, then got out of the booth so Tessa
could use the restroom. She practically ran. Jake didn’t know if
she had to go that bad, or she just needed to get away from
him.

She needed to get away from Jake. The close
presence to the one man that, she knew, could set her whole world
on fire was Jake Anders. Jake. Sexy—confident—hardworking—yummy,
Jake. And she touched his thigh! Tessa grabbed her lip gloss from
her purse and applied some, and then with a smack she looked into
the mirror. Perfect. Her hair was a bit mussed, but didn’t take
much to look great. She wore a good, I’m a hot chick at a bar
shirt, and her signature pair of Levis. Taking a deep breath, she
looked at her Auburn hair once more, and then walked out into the
bar. Jake was sitting at the booth where she left him.

Jake smiled as she walked toward him; he
stood up, then handed her another Bud Light. Tessa smiled her
thanks, took a drink then quickly set it on the table. Jake grabbed
her hand, then took a drink out of the same bottle—swoon—then
twirled her around once. “Let’s dance, beautiful.” His voice was a
bit gravely, sexy and she wanted to hear more of it.

He pulled her close, bodies touching bodies,
and they danced. It was the first time that she danced with Jake,
and she never wanted it to end.

Hour after hour, dance after dance, and then
drink after drink, they had fun, until the bar announced closing.
Jake and Tess stumbled out onto the street and went toward the
parking deck.