brides for brothers 03 - cowboy groom (13 page)

But Brett noticed she kept a constant distance between the two of them no matter where the Frisbee might be.

After having some lemonade to refresh themselves, the men announced it was time to swim.

“But where are we gonna change?” Toby asked.

Red and Jake were already busy taking care of the problem. Since they’d driven two trucks, they opened a front door on each of them and tied the blanket they’d put the food on between the two doors.

“The girls will all change behind the blanket. Then they’ll come out and we’ll change,” Jake explained.

“I need more privacy than that!” Sylvia announced from her lawn chair, where she’d sat since they’d arrived.

Jake looked at Brett and shrugged.

Realizing Jake was telling him to deal with Sylvia’s new complaint, he said, “Sorry, Sylvia, but that’s the best we’ve got to offer. Of course, if you don’t want to swim, that’s up to you.” Brett didn’t bother to actually sound sorry. He was fed up with her being a spoilsport. “Hurry up, ladies,” he added, grinning at the others.

Even Megan gathered up her swimsuit, though Chad protested. She argued, “I can paddle around in the water for a little while. Anna said it wouldn’t hurt anything.”

“I wish I could,” Janie said wistfully.

Pete immediately plopped down beside his wife to entertain her. Brett stared at Anna as she watched the couple, a wistful look on her face.

He moved to her side. “You’d better hurry or you’ll have to change with the boys.”

She blushed and flounced away from him without speaking, but he didn’t really think she was mad. He hoped not. He was looking forward to swimming with her.

Even Sylvia, apparently tired of being ignored, followed the other women. After a few minutes of tidying up the picnic area with his brothers, Brett whirled around when Jake let out a wolf whistle.

“What a bunch of beauties,” Jake said with a grin, encompassing everyone from Mildred on down.

Brett shouldn’t have been surprised to discover Anna in a utilitarian navy swimsuit, modestly cut. Megan and B.J., too, were in one-piece suits. Sylvia, on the other hand, sported a silver lamé bikini that seemed out of place. And very revealing.

However, her curves didn’t excite Brett.

He was more interested in Anna’s slender form as she clutched a towel close to her. “You’re not going to wear that towel into the water, are you, Anna?”

“I might. The last time I swam in a mountain lake, I felt like I needed a coat.”

He grinned. She was right. The water was going to be icy, in spite of the warm temperatures. But it would be fun.

“Do you mean the water will be cold?” Sylvia asked, startled.

“This isn’t Old Faithful,” Brett assured her as he grabbed his swimming trunks and headed for the blanket shield.

The women hadn’t gotten in the water yet when he and his brothers, and even Red, emerged. Red, still wearing his boots, looked doubtful about what would come next, but Brett headed straight for the water.

In actual fact, they had built a small beach here. Jake had even had sand hauled in one year so they didn’t wade into mud. With a call for the others to follow him, Brett splashed into the shallows and then dived. The bottom fell away fairly sharply.

When he came back to the surface, Sylvia was standing on the edge of the water in her bikini.

“Is it cold, Brett?”

“Sure. That’s the fun of it. Come on in, Sylvia.” But his gaze was on Anna. She was lingering at the edge behind Sylvia, talking to B.J. and Toby.

He should’ve warned Sylvia. He would’ve, he assured himself, but he’d been watching Anna. Sylvia, not realizing how quickly the water deepened, took several cautious steps, squealing about the coldness with each move.

Then she went completely under.

Chapter Ten

She couldn’t swim.

One look at how Sylvia was floundering, and Brett swam to her. Jake and Chad hit the water at the same time, but it was Brett who reached her first, as she was going under again. With his brothers’ help, he got her to dry ground.

She didn’t go quietly. Sputtering and cursing, Sylvia would’ve put a sailor to shame.

“You tried to drown me! Damn you, Brett Randall, you tried to drown me!” she screamed after several minutes of ranting.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sylvia. I assumed you could swim.”

“You didn’t—” Sylvia began again, but her teeth were chattering.

Anna knelt and draped a towel around the shivering woman. Red appeared with a cup of hot coffee from the pot still sitting on the coals of their campfire. Sylvia reached out greedily for the cup, not bothering to say thank-you.

But if Brett thought such thoughtfulness was going to distract her from her accusations, Sylvia showed him differently.

“It’s true. You wanted me to drown!” she screeched dramatically. “Ever since I got here, you’ve been mean to me.” Tears pooled in her eyes.

Brett couldn’t help wondering if she could call up tears on command. He’d heard of some women having skills like that. “Sylvia, you’re being ridiculous.”

“I want to go back to the house.” She pouted pathetically and lowered her lashes.

Brett sighed and looked at his family, an apology in his eyes. His gaze rested on Anna. “Okay.”

“We’ll all go back,” Jake said, smiling at everyone. “I imagine we’re all tired.”

“I’ll take her back if you want to stay,” Brett offered, though he’d rather share his ride back with Anna.

“I’m ready, too, Brett,” Janie said from her lawn chair. “I’d like, a nap out of the sun.”

Pete immediately fled to his wife’s side, abandoning Sylvia. Brett knew exactly how he felt. If Anna so much as stubbed her toe—Of course, she wasn’t his wife. But she certainly dominated his thoughts.

He looked away only to have his gaze collide with deep anger in Sylvia’s eyes.
Uh-oh.
“You want to change before we go back, Sylvia? The blanket is still in place.”

“No. I want to go at once.”

Pete stood. “I’ll take my truck back right now, Sylvia, with you and Janie. The others can follow us later.”

“I want Brett with me,” Sylvia insisted, a coldness in her voice.

“But I rode over, Sylvia. I’ll be there soon.”

“No. If you really didn’t intend to hurt me, you’ll come with me. Someone can take your horse back.” She was staring at him, determined.

“I’ll lead your horse, Brett,” Anna said quietly, and turned away to help Red begin packing up the remains of the picnic.

“Go on, Brett. We’ll manage here,” Jake added, a note of command in his voice.

Brett had no choice but to leave Anna. But he was going to make sure, real soon, that he did have a choice.

W
HEN ANNA GOT BACK
to the house, after helping to unsaddle the horses and rub them down, she was tired and ready for a refreshing shower. Megan, however, was waiting in the upstairs hall for her.

“Have you got a minute, Anna?”

“Sure, Megan. Are you feeling all right?”

“Yes, it’s not that. Come to Janie’s room.”

“Is Janie all right?”

Megan smiled. “Yes. Stop being a midwife.”

Puzzled, Anna followed Megan to Janie’s door. Once they were inside, Megan and Janie urged her to sit on the bed with them.

“What’s up?”

“Anna, we want to be honest with you,” Janie began. “You know we’ve been against Brett marrying Sylvia. But we haven’t told you that we want
you
to marry Brett.”

“You’re perfect for him,” Megan chimed in, a warm smile on her face.

“No!” She almost shouted out the word, hoping it would drown out the pounding of her heart. She tried not to let herself think of her and Brett together—it was too dangerous. “No, I’m not perfect for him.”

“Why not?” Janie demanded, a stubborn look in her eyes.

“Because I’m from—from the wrong side of the tracks. I’ve told you before, I learned a long time ago that the wealthy and the poor don’t mix.”

“I wasn’t wealthy,” Megan said.

“And my parents may own a ranch, but I don’t,” Janie added.

Anna laughed, a tinge of bitterness in the sound. “There’s a difference. I would be as wrong for Brett as Sylvia is, just for different reasons.”

“I’ve noticed you didn’t say you weren’t attracted to him,” Janie argued. “Does that mean you are?”

Anna could feel her cheeks flaming, and she got off the bed. “My personal feelings don’t matter. If you want Brett’s happiness, you’ll look around for some rancher’s daughter, like you, Janie. That would be best for Brett.”

“But, Anna—” Megan began.

“I have to have a shower,” Anna said, interrupting her, and scurried to the door.

A
FTER A SHOWER
, Anna felt more in control. She had stood under the spray and reasoned with herself, squashing the dreams that Janie and Megan had nourished. She was not meant for Brett Randall. For the first time, she thought he might not marry Sylvia—but he would not marry her.

In spite of her renewed confidence, she debated going downstairs for dinner. She wasn’t ready to be put to the test. However, skipping dinner didn’t make much sense, either. When she discovered Red had prepared sandwich fixings, she made a plate and headed for the stairs. A reprieve.

The phone rang as she was leaving the kitchen. Something told her to wait.

Red motioned her to the phone. “It’s Gabe Brown.”

His wife, Carrie, was one of Anna’s patients. “Hi, Gabe. What’s up?”

“It’s Carrie. She’s not feeling well. I got her to lie down, but she keeps trying to get up again, saying she’s got things to do.”

“How is she not feeling well?”

“She’s been throwing up.”

In firm tones, she said, “You tell her I said for her not to get out of bed. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

She hung up the phone and turned around to discover Brett standing right behind her.

“Where are you going?”

“The Browns’. Carrie’s not feeling well.”

“I’ll go with you.”

She stared at him. “Why would you do that?”

“Gabe’s my friend, and anyway I think you’re too tired to go by yourself.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I go by myself all the time.”

“But it’ll be dark before you get back. And you’re not used to driving my truck.” Brett raised his chin and squared his jaw.

She shook her head in exasperation. The last thing she needed was Brett Randall beside her. “I’ve gone out in the dark before, Brett. Stay here. Sylvia may need you.”

“Sylvia’s already gone to bed for the night.”

“Is she all right? Do you want me to see her before I go?” She didn’t think Sylvia’s behavior was normal—not even for a pampered rich girl.

“Nope. I think she’s mad at me.”

That theory held water. “Well, that may be true, but if she changes her mind and finds you gone with me, she’ll be beyond angry.”

“I’m not letting you go without me.” He crossed his arms over his chest as if to punctuate the statement.

“Brett—”

“Why don’t you let him go, Anna?” Jake’s commanding voice interrupted her protest.

“I didn’t know you were here, Jake,” she said, catching sight of him over Brett’s shoulder.

“Just caught the tail end of the argument. Take him with you, that way he’ll stay out of trouble. And maybe he can be some help, too.”

Anna couldn’t tell Jake that Brett carried trouble with him. That being together in his truck would only create more problems. She licked her lips and found Brett’s gaze pinned on them. “Fine.”

She started to put her dinner plate in the refrigerator when Brett stopped her.

“What are you doing?”

“Putting this food away. I’ll eat it when I get back.”

“Nope. You need to eat. Wrap it up and eat it in the truck while I drive.”

“What about you? Have you eaten?”

“I’ve almost finished. I’ll grab another bite while you get your stuff.” He loped off for the TV room, where he’d been.

“Don’t worry, Anna. Brett will behave,” Jake said with a grin.

But did Jake understand the problem? She doubted it, since the problem was her reaction to Brett. An engaged man. A man totally out of her reach. With a shrug of her shoulders, she followed directions. What choice did she have?

B
RETT DROVE
through the night, watching Anna eat her supper out of the corner of his eye. He drank some coffee from the thermos Red had insisted on filling.

“Is Carrie real sick?” he asked.

“It may be the virus that I heard is going around. But her pregnancy hasn’t been trouble free, unlike Janie’s. I don’t want to take any chances.”

“I ran into Gabe just after they found out about the baby. Man, he was excited.”

Anna smiled, and Brett fought the urge to reach out to touch her. If he did, he might never let her go. And Sylvia waited for him back home.

“Most people are excited about having a baby. I feel sorry for the ones who aren’t, though.”

“Why?”

“A new baby is a miracle, a gift from God. Everyone should appreciate it.”

“You’re right. How many babies do you want to have?”

His question seemed to surprise her. She turned those big blue eyes on him, her brows raised. “Me?”

“Sure. Do you only deliver babies? Can’t you have some, too?” He pictured Anna, her belly swollen with his child. That thought filled him with delight. Oddly enough, he couldn’t even imagine Sylvia pregnant.

“Yes, of course, if—if I ever marry.”

“Don’t you think you’ll marry?” Something in her voice told him she didn’t expect to.

“I don’t know. Here’s the turnoff.”

“I know the way. Why don’t you think you’ll marry?”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t. And you could answer the same question,” she retorted, and then blushed, the color visible even in the dashboard lights. “Sorry, I forgot you’re engaged.”

He laughed. “That’s okay. Sometimes I forget, too.” He wanted to tell her that he didn’t expect to be engaged to Sylvia much longer, but that wouldn’t be right. Sylvia should be the first to know that he wanted to break the engagement.

They stopped in front of the house, and Anna quickly got out. Brett joined her as they waited for Gabe to answer the knock.