brides for brothers 04 - cowboy surrender (22 page)

B.J. fought back the tears and reached out to clasp Mildred’s hands. “I want you to, Mildred. I don’t know how I’ll make it without you. Not because I can’t manage, but because I love you. You’ve been my mother and Toby’s grandmother. You’ve given us the love we needed.”

Mildred’s tears slid down her cheeks. “I love you both. We’re family. Of course I’ll come with you.”

“No. You love Red now, too. I’d never forgive myself if I stopped you from living life to the fullest.” Now B.J.’s cheeks were wet, too. “We—we’ll keep in touch, write, call. Toby and I will be here for your wedding, whenever it will be.” She swallowed a sob. “But I can’t stay here.”

“Are you sure?” Mildred pleaded.

B.J. looked away, unable to bear the pain in Mildred’s gaze, and tried to smile through her tears. “I’m sure.”

Before Mildred could ask her again, or ask for an explanation, B.J. rose and ran from the kitchen.

I
T WAS
S
UNDAY
. Everyone slept a little later that one day of the week, rising slowly, leisurely. Jake could imagine his brothers lingering in bed with their wives.

He hadn’t been able to sleep.

Red had found him hunched over the table, a cup of coffee in his hands, when he entered the kitchen.

Now the two of them, with nothing to say, sat staring into their mugs.

Until Mildred burst into the kitchen.

Red leapt up, and she ran into his arms, tears streaming down her face. “She’s leaving,” she gasped out.

Her words electrified Jake. He jumped to his feet.

And worried Red. “But you’re staying?” he asked, hunger and hope in his voice.

“She won’t let me go with her.”

“What do you mean?” Jake demanded. “Where’s she going?”

“Back to Kansas City. To her old job. She and Toby.”

“When?” Jake’s voice was hard, intrusive. He knew Mildred wanted to be alone with Red. But Jake had to know what B.J. had said.

“I don’t know. Soon.”

“Did she say why?” he asked.

Mildred shook her head.

He strode from the kitchen.

“She’s still in bed,” Mildred called.

He ignored her. Besides, he couldn’t think of a better place for B.J. to be.

Leaping onto the porch, he was glad no one ever locked their doors. Otherwise, he’d have to break it down. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out his handkerchief. Without knocking, he threw open the front door and charged down the hall to B.J.’s bedroom.

When he opened this door, prepared to wake her, he discovered she was already awake, staring at the ceiling. He leaned against the wall beside the door after he shut it, afraid to go any closer. They had to get a few things straight before he could touch her.

“Jake!” she gasped, and pulled the covers to her chin.

As if he hadn’t seen her gloriously naked already.

Instead of answering, he raised his white handkerchief in the air.

She frowned, a puzzled look on her face. “What?”

“Don’t you recognize the universal sign of surrender?” he asked grimly.

“Surrender to what?” Her voice was tight, and she drew herself to a sitting position, leaning against the headboard.

“To whatever is keeping us apart.”

Her eyes darkened, as if with pain, and she looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do,” he drawled. “I’m the one who’s in the dark. I stayed up almost all night trying to figure out what went wrong.”

She flashed him an angry look.

“I know I was arrogant,” he admitted. Better to confess his sins than have her tell him. “Damn it, B.J., I didn’t know!”

“Know what?”

“That it could be like this. That I could feel this way. With Chloe, I—I wanted her. But I didn’t love her. And my wanting wasn’t much. After we married, and I slept with her, I realized it was a momentary thing.”

“Maybe this—this feeling will turn out to be momentary, too,” she suggested, still not looking at him.

“Why won’t you look at me?”

She flashed him another glare. Then looked away again.

“You know as well as I do that it’s not momentary. You’re as hungry for me as I am for you.”

“Maybe I’m a nymphomaniac,” she muttered.

“And you’ve kept away from men for four years?” Her suggestion was so ridiculous, it gave him hope.

“Go away, Jake.”

He couldn’t stay by the wall any longer. Crossing the room, he sat down on the edge of her bed. “I waved a white flag, Barbara Jo. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. If you want to go back to Kansas City, then I’ll go to Kansas City with you.”

“Leave the ranch?” She stared at him. “Jake, the ranch is the most important thing in the world to you! That’s why you found wives for your brothers. So the ranch could continue in the Randall name!”

“I want the Randall name to continue. I want the ranch to remain in the family. But that’s all taken care of. You are more important to me than any piece of land.”

“You’d be miserable in Kansas City,” she muttered, her fingers picking at the bedspread, her gaze down.

“I’ll be miserable without you wherever I am.”

The tears began again, and he couldn’t stand it. “Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he insisted, pulling her into his arms. “We’ll be happy, I promise.”

Her arms held him as much as he held her, and it filled his heart with joy. “You know how I realized things were different with you? Other than the fact that I couldn’t keep my hands off you? You couldn’t keep your hands off me, either.” He grinned and lowered his head for a kiss.

“That’s why I have to leave.”

He’d begun to believe he’d convinced her. Until those words.

Sobering, he said, “I think you’d better explain yourself.”

Instead, she buried her head in his shirt and shook her head no.

“B.J., I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You’ve got to tell me what the problem is.”

Finally she whispered, “Toby.”

Jake frowned and pushed her back against the bed. “Toby? You think he’s a problem?” His heart ached again as he considered her meaning. “He doesn’t want me as a daddy?”

“Of course he wants you as a daddy,” B.J. protested before a sob escaped. “But a real daddy. Not—not—”

“Not what? What are you talking about?”

“I don’t want him to be second-best, Jake! I couldn’t stand it!”

Completely confused, Jake shook his head. “Second-best to what?”

“Any children we might have. Any real children.”

Jake sat back, stunned. Finally he said, “Dear God, B.J., is that what your refusal was for? Because you thought I couldn’t love Toby as much as any other children we’d have?”

She nodded.

“I ought to pull you over my knees and paddle your behind! Except I might get distracted by your cute little rear before I got very far. Come here.” He suited his actions to words, pulling her back into his embrace.

“But, Jake—” she protested, tears still falling.

“B.J., Toby and I already love each other. If you’ll let me, I’ll adopt him. Then he’ll be a Randall in name. But he’s already a Randall in my heart.”

“Are you sure, Jake? He won’t have your blood.”

“Neither do you, sweetheart, but do you think that makes any difference about how I feel about you?”

A shining light was in her eyes, drying up her tears, and her hands slid around his neck. “Are you sure?”

“Very sure. And I’m ready to show you. How perfect that you’re already in bed.”

“But Toby—”

“I closed the door. And Toby has to learn that his daddy can’t always be available.” He covered her mouth with his and immediately felt his control slipping. She did that to him. “Especially when the distraction is his mommy.”

“Oh, Jake, I was hurting so,” she murmured as she surrendered to his kiss.

“Me too, Barbara Jo,” he assured her huskily, “but nothing is going to come between us ever again. The three of us. We’re a family, the Randall family.”

She closed her eyes and hugged him tightly.

“And I’ll never let you go,” they both promised together.

Epilogue

Jake pulled his truck to a halt. He’d run into town to pick up some last-minute purchases B.J. insisted she needed.

Toby came flying out of the house, running in his direction, his hat sitting snugly on his head.

Jake grinned. About time for another trip to town. B.J. was right. The boy had outgrown his birthday gift in about a year. Today was only three days away from Halloween. And it was his and Toby’s birthday.

Opening the door, he got out and caught Toby as he launched himself at him. If the boy got much bigger, he’d knock him over.

“Daddy! You’re back.”

“I am, son. How’s Mom?”

“Fine. ’Cept Anna says the baby’s coming.”

“What?” Jake roared. He tucked Toby under one arm and ran for the house.

“Anna won’t let me watch,” Toby complained, his voice bouncing as much as his body.

As soon as he got inside, Jake set Toby down. “You stay here,” he ordered, and rushed up the stairs.

He entered their bedroom, finding it full of people. Mildred, Anna and Doc were around the bed. He ignored them all, falling to his knees beside B.J. “Barbara Jo, how dare you start without me.”

“I knew you’d get back in time,” she whispered, a smile on her beautiful lips. “But it’s a good thing you didn’t take any longer. This baby is getting—” She broke off to gasp as a pain seized her.

Stroking back her hair, he attempted to finish her sentence. “Impatient?”

“Yeah,” she said after the pain passed.

And she was right. Within minutes, as he watched and held B.J.’s hand, his precious daughter entered the world. When her frail cry signaled her protest, he buried his face in B.J.’s hair, hiding the tears.

“Well, well, well,” Doc said, a smile in his voice, “you have a baby girl, B.J. A beautiful baby girl.”

“Is she all right?” B.J. asked, her eyes following Doc as he handed the baby to Anna.

Jake raised his head as Mildred, Anna and Doc all replied at once, “She’s beautiful.”

“Just like her mama,” Jake assured everyone, a beaming smile on his face.

T
WO WEEKS LATER
, after he’d held his tiny daughter in his arms for the dedication service at church, Jake greeted his family and neighbors in the big living room on the Randall ranch.

“I’m not much for speech making, but as you all know, a lot of things have changed in the past couple of years.”

His gaze turned to his wife, sitting in a nearby chair, holding Caroline in her arms as Toby leaned against the chair. “Two years ago, we were a bunch of bachelors living a pretty dull existence. Everyone teased me about my matchmaking, but it was the smartest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Here, here!” Chad called, drawing laughter from the group.

“Now B.J. and I have been blessed, not only with the love we share, but also with two wonderful children. Janie and Pete have their twins, Chad and Megan have Elizabeth. Only Brett and Anna haven’t— Yes, Brett?”

Brett had waved a hand at his brother, halting his speech. “Actually that’s not true, Jake. Anna and I are expecting our own Randall in about seven months.”

Anna’s cheeks turned bright pink amid all the congratulations. B.J. reached out and squeezed her hand, and Janie and Megan came over to kiss her cheek.

“Hey, how about me?” Brett protested. “I had something to do with this baby, too.” The Randall women laughed and kissed his cheek.

“Well, it looks like we’re celebrating more than Caroline. I guess that only leaves Mildred and Red. Got an announcement for us, Red?” Everyone broke into delighted laughter, and Mildred chastised Jake for his teasing.

Red, however, spoke up. “Me and Mildred will take care of the grandparenting, boy. You young ones just keep producing them.”

“Yeah,” Toby spoke up. “Next time we want a boy so I can have a brother.”

“Next time?” B.J. asked faintly, but Jake heard her. He smiled, his heart full. In spite of her protest, he knew she’d welcome as many more children as God blessed them with.

Ben Turnbull called out, “Yeah, next time, B.J. You know how important it is to keep the Randall line going.”

Jake nodded at his friend. “Yeah, I always thought keeping the Randall line going was important. But I’ve discovered something more important.” He paused and smiled at his wife again. “I’ve discovered that the most important thing in the world is love. Love between friends, love between brothers, love between a father and his children—” he smiled specially at Toby, who glowed “—and most of all, love between a man and his wife.”

He lifted his glass. “Here’s to the happiness we’ve found.”

Bending down, he briefly kissed B.J., Toby and Caroline, then raised his glass again before taking a deep, long drink, as his brothers did.

The Randalls had a lot to celebrate.

eISBN 978-14592-6742-8

COWBOY SURRENDER

Copyright © 1997 by Judy Christenberry.

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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure Invention.

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Table of Contents

Cover Page

Dear Reader

Title Page