Cowboy's Chocolate Roses (2 page)

Waking up slowly, Bri groaned. Her mind was fuzzy, her head throbbed, and it felt like something had died in her mouth. God, why did she let Charlotte talk her into doing stupid things? And it would be Charlotte's fault. Her sister constantly pushed Bri out of her comfort zone. And drinking alcohol didn't agree with Bri.
Why did I drink so much?

Because Charlotte had everything Bri wanted and might never have a chance to get. A pang of guilt wormed its way into Bri's thoughts. She loved Charlotte and wished her every happiness, but Bri would admit to having a streak of envy running through her heart, too. The perfect sister with the fairy tale wedding, a dream Bri gave up—no, she wouldn't think about it. Not now.

Blinking open her eyes, she winced when a sharp jab shot through her skull at the light, then instantly stiffened—though not from the pain. She didn't belong here. The warm beige walls and the dark, heavy furniture were nothing like those in her room.
Oh, God
.
Where am I?

Bri shifted, trying to get a better look at her surroundings, but a strong arm around her waist pinned her to the mattress. A soft sheet draped over her, kissing her skin and Bri realized she wore nothing. Heat along her back, and a firm, naked erection pressing into her had a prickle of nervous awareness skittering down her spine. Her pulse beat wildly and she struggled with the implications. Oh, God. What had she been thinking? She could have gotten hurt…again.
No!
She wouldn't think about that.

She muttered, "Geez, Bri. What have you done, now?"

Cupping a hand over her mouth, afraid she may have woken the man behind her, Bri sighed in relief when the stranger grunted but remained asleep.

Pulling herself gently away, making sure not to rouse him, she slipped out of the bed. Her knees shaking, she inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly until the wobbly feeling decreased. Turning to inspect her bed partner she gave herself credit, he had handsome features. Thick blond hair, slightly longer on top to frame his eyes, and a chiselled, angular bone structure, the term masculine work of art came to mind. With the sheet draped to just below his hip, his hard, muscular body seemed huge against the white linens.
Oh, wow
.
His erection peeked out from under the heavy cotton, long and thick, and almost begged for attention. Dampness pooled between her legs, surprising Bri. She'd never had such an instant reaction to a man before.

It scared her.

The sudden need to run became too hard to ignore. She trembled at the thought of him waking up and things turning ugly. She couldn't let it happen again. Bri fought for breath, sudden fear suffocating her. She hated being afraid. Hated feeling weak and helpless.

Grabbing her dress, she quickly pulled it on, before picking up her underwear, clutch, and shoes. Tiptoeing to the door, she glanced back, taking one last look at the beautiful man lying in the bed. Regret pierced her heart for a guy she didn't even remember, but so did an overwhelming sense of terror.

"One of these days, you're going to stop being so afraid," she said to herself.

Slipping on her shoes and stuffing the rest inside her clutch, she exited the room, then raced home as fast as she could. Home was good. Home was safe.

*****

Stretching his arms up above his head, Josh let them fall back by his side. Patting the space beside him, he opened his eyes and turned his head. Empty. He lay there dumbfounded for a moment. Josh thought he and Bri had really hit it off, but it seemed she didn't feel the same. Judging by the coolness of the sheets, he guessed she'd left some time ago.

Josh gazed at the ceiling wondering what had gone wrong. He had sensed something, knew it had her more cautious than most, but then she opened up a little. He assumed she had become more comfortable with him. Christ, he had spoken more to her than he had any other woman in his life.

"Nice one, Josh. She took you for a ride." He should have known better, but it had been nice.

No woman ever wanted to talk to him that much, most just tried to get into bed with him. They all assumed good looks and a cowboy hat equaled not a lot upstairs; he
was
just a cowboy after all. Bri clearly thought the same as those women, and that hurt. Josh actually thought they'd made a connection, one that could maybe go somewhere. He felt like a fool.

Dragging himself out of bed, he headed for the shower. Turning on the taps, he waited for the water to warm enough. Once under the spray, the hot stream melting into him bone deep, Josh realized she had left him with little choice but to shower up, and head home to Bricker with Caleb.

Ending his shower and drying off, Josh made quick work of getting dressed and packing up his things. Not that he had a lot. He was...simple. How he hated the thought of that word describing him now.

Josh had never allowed the label to affect him before, had always shrugged it off, knowing in himself there was more to him. It amazed him how one woman he had only met the day before, could do what no one else had been able to do.

Shaking himself out of useless and more thoughts, he picked up his phone, seeing it flash. One new message. Caleb.

Thought you’d be a bit...tired
.
So this is your wake up call
.
L
ol
Heading down to check us out in half hour
.
Meet you there
.
C

Josh sighed, raking a hand through his hair. Christ, he did not want to deal with his brother and his questions. He checked the time, seeing the message was sent just over half an hour ago. Caleb would be waiting for him now. Shit. Seeing no other way but to just get it over with, he tugged his bag behind him and headed for the lift. Thankfully it was empty and didn’t stop until he reached the ground floor.

Stepping out, he found Caleb leaning against one of the pillars near the checkout desk, arms folded across his chest, ankles crossed and hat on. Approaching him, Caleb's head shot up, smiling in greeting. His brother’s welcoming expression faltered slightly when he saw Josh was alone.

“Hey. Wh…”

“Didn’t ma always tell you not to wear your hat inside,” he grumbled, swiping the Stetson from his head and pushing it at him. “Now let’s go check out.”

“Damn. For someone who got laid last night, you’re seriously uptight, brother,” Caleb drawled as he followed.

Josh winced but remained quiet, walking up to the desk and finalizing their payments. He knew he shouldn’t have expected the silence to last long, but he still couldn’t help the groan that left him when Caleb started talking again.

“So what happened, Josh? Where’s the smokin’ hot lady you came back with last night? I really thought you two hit it off.” Caleb smirked. “Kinda figured she’d be coming back to see the ranch or something,” Caleb added, waggling his brows.

“She left.”

“What do you mean she left?” his brother asked bewildered, stumbling a little.

“Exactly that, numbnut,” he grumbled, not wanting to discuss it. He glanced up seeing Caleb frown, a determined look Josh knew meant his brother wasn't willing just to leave things well enough alone. He sighed in defeat. “We spent the night together, then I woke alone. No note, no nothing. Message pretty clear.”

Caleb gaped for a few seconds, before letting his shoulders slump. “Damn. I’m so sorry, Josh.”

Josh shrugged, what else was there to say. Disappointment ran deep, and he desperately tried to squash it down. “Let’s head home.”

Caleb blessedly didn’t argue, instead grabbing his own bag and followed as Josh headed downstairs to the parking bays ready to leave the hotel and the city. Hopefully he'd be able to put the disappointment he felt behind him as well.

Six
weeks later…

"You're wrong."

The doctor had to be wrong.

"I assure you, Miss Evans, I'm not," the doctor replied, wearing an understanding expression. "I can tell this wasn't planned, and therefore, a shock…but you are pregnant. I'd say, at least four weeks."

"Six," Bri whispered. There had only been one time.

She regretted her actions that morning. After getting home, she rang Charlotte to give her a piece of her mind. Charlotte calmly explained it had been Bri's choice to drink, that Bri was a 'big girl' in her own words. Her sister admitted she may have provoked Bri a few times, and being drunk, thought it harmless. Charlotte recalled Bri drinking more than she usually did; however, in her own intoxicated state, hadn't given it much thought. Only when she had sobered up had she realized what she had been saying and how it would affect Bri.

When Bri had tried to call the hotel to speak to Josh, they informed her he had checked out already. She asked for a contact number, but since she couldn't even remember his last name, they politely told her they didn't hand out guests’ information to strangers over the phone. Bri felt like crap and tried to put it behind her, but the opportunity she had ruined gnawed at her; every night she went to bed and dreamed of the most alluring golden-honey eyes that she knew belonged to Josh. The first man to bring her out of her self-imposed prison for the last two years, and she screwed it up by drinking when she knew she shouldn't.

Now she would pay further.

"I have some information that should help you with any decision you choose to make." Meaning whether she decided to keep it. "Just let me go get it for you, okay?"

Nodding, speech beyond her at that point, Bri watched the doctor close the door behind her. Looking around the doctor's office with its plain walls and usual medical posters, she desperately searched for something to latch on to, her mind completely on overload. Her breathing quickened, her pulse beat faster and Bri became a little more than hysterical just as her phone rang. Charlotte's ringtone played and Bri held onto it for dear life. She needed her sister, now.

Charlotte would know what to do
.
She always knows what to do.

Close to tears, Bri fumbled through her handbag, grabbing her cell and answering. "Charlotte?"

"Bri? What's wrong, honey?" Concern marred her voice.

"I… I… I need you," she sobbed.

Oh, God
.
There I go with the crying again.

"Where are you? I'll be right there, just tell me where you are?"

"I'm at the doctor." Bri really just needed her, before she forgot how to breathe.

"Are you hurt?" A car door opened and closed, indicating her sister was on her way.

"I-I'm p-pregnant," Bri gasped out, trying to breathe.

Bri worried her bottom lip when her sister didn't respond. Her chest grew tight and she squeezed her eyes shut to try to prevent more tears when suddenly Charlotte's voice came through strong and steady.

"It's going to be okay. I'm on my way, just stay there."

*****

Twenty minutes later, Bri found herself in her sister's car, headed for Charlotte's place. She didn't ask how she had gotten to the doctor's office in fifteen minutes, when she lived at least a half hour away.

"So, how far along are you?" Charlotte asked in her calm teacher voice.

"You know how far I am," Bri whispered, swiping a hand across her face. The tears had started falling about ten minutes ago, and hadn't stopped.

"Okay, we need to find him. Do you remember anything, besides his first name?"

Charlotte's tone held no judgment, only concern. After everything she had been through, Bri wasn't the type of person who would have a one-night stand, and certainly not the type not to be safe. She watched as the tall glass buildings of the museum and the opera house passed by, the rest of the city becoming one big blur—confusion, fear, and even a little excitement swirling around inside of her. She couldn't abort the baby, and adoption would be out of the question. Her baby needed her.

What a mess.

"No. I didn't even remember his name because of the alcohol. You were the one…" God, that sounded so bad. She stopped talking, stopped thinking, just needing everything to stop.

"We'll figure this out, little sister," Charlotte soothed as she patted Bri's leg.

Snuggling down into the seat, Bri just let it all go. They would find him, or they wouldn't, but either way she would keep her baby. She just had to work out how to do that.

They drove in silence for a while, but Bri could tell Charlotte had been holding back something. She could feel the weight of her sister’s gaze on her, and finally couldn’t take it anymore. “What is it, Charlotte? Spit it out.”

Her sister huffed. “Well, I was just wondering what made you do it.”

“Drink or run?”

Charlotte shrugged the best she could with both hands on the steering wheel. “Either. Both.”

Bri sighed, the heat of her breath fogging the windscreen even though it was still warm outside. “I ran because I freaked. I woke next to someone I didn’t recognize, someone who could hurt me. I panicked. And the drinking...I don’t know...”

“I pushed, didn’t I?” Charlotte asked, sadness tinging her tone. “I pushed...again...but this time you snapped.”

“No. Char—”

“Yes.” Charlotte sent her a quick smile. It was small and sad. “I just hate what happened. I hate you aren’t yourself anymore. And every so often the old you shines through, and I want to do any and everything to...push it out.”

“I know.”

“It’s the whole big sister thing, I guess.” Charlotte’s laugh was bitter.

“This isn’t your fault. I’m a big girl,” she insisted, reaching to cover her sister’s hand as it fell into the gearshift. “I take full responsibility for my careless actions. And the consequences. I want to track him down, I want to give him the choice, but no one is expected to do anything accept me. No guilt. No blame. Got it.”

Bri could feel the confidence in herself grow with every word. A spark of the old her. She knew what she wanted, what her options were, and for the first time in a long time, she wasn’t afraid. Nervous, maybe a little anxious. But there was no fear.

Charlotte’s smile grew into a grin. “Now there’s my stubborn little sister.”

*****

It took eight weeks before Bri found any sign of Josh. She had just about given up, had decided to confess all to her father and deal with the fall out, when her sister turned up on her doorstep.

Letting Charlotte in, she noticed her sister held an article from
The Dallas Morning News
. If the way she held the paper scrunched up in her hand wasn’t an indication of her mood, the frown marring her beautiful features was.

"You're not going to believe this." Charlotte sounded pissed.

"Believe what?"

Without answering, Charlotte strode through the apartment like she owned it, and headed for the living room. Bri followed—easier just to go with the flow when Charlotte got like this. Better than fighting it, plus Charlotte had been incredibly supportive since the day she found out about the pregnancy. Joining her on the lounge, Bri raised an eyebrow expectantly. Charlotte fidgeted with the paper she held, her mind must have been going a hundred miles an hour because Bri could practically see the wheels turning. What had gotten her sister so worked up, and why did Bri think she would rather not know? When her sister still said nothing, Bri grew even more concerned. The more Charlotte stewed on something, the worse it usually was.

"You need to see this, Bri," Charlotte said finally, her tone gentle when she handed over the article.

Taking the offered piece of paper, Bri glanced down at what looked like the front page of the newspaper, and immediately stopped breathing.
No way!
In her hand she held a story on their father and a big-business deal he had just signed. Nothing strange about that in and of itself, her father's dealing quite often made front page, but the man next to him and shaking his hand, made her draw in a shaky breath. Josh. The man she had been trying to track down for the past three and a half months.

"Oh, God. That's him." Bri couldn't believe it.

Josh stood in the picture with her father, both men with satisfied expressions on their faces. Oh, that couldn't be good.

"God, I had been hoping I was wrong, 'cause there is Joshua Kell. He's the owner of the Silver Stone Ranch and he just recently landed daddy's account to supply meat to all of his restaurants." Charlotte pointed to the picture in Bri's hand, and started to laugh. "Two years of hiding and when you finally decide to start living again, you get knocked up by one of daddy's new business partners? Good job, sis."

Charming. She didn't need sarcasm right now.

Wrenching the picture away, she glared. "If you aren't going to be helpful, then feel free to go."

"Now, don't be like that. I was just trying to lighten things up," she said, moving closer and wrapping her arms around Bri. "We'll fix this, okay?"

"How?" Bri asked, her voice hoarse as her head fell into her hands. Between crying, being sick all the time, and stressing out, she felt exhausted.

"Well, for starters, you're going to go to…where was it again?" Looking at the article, she nodded. "Right, Bricker. More specifically to Silver Stone Ranch, it's only a few hours from Dallas. Next you're going to track this man down, tell him you're having his baby and after that, leave the ball in his court."

"I can't just do that." She gaped. She needed a plan. What to say, how to say it. She couldn’t just dump something like this on the man.

"Yeah, you can. You've already decided to keep the baby, so now he just needs to figure out if he wants to be a part of all that." When Charlotte talked like that, she made it seem a lot easier than it really would be.

Or maybe not. Bri wondered if she had simply just been overthinking things, borrowing trouble where she didn't need it. Either way, Charlotte had a point; Bri had decided to keep her baby.

"All right. I guess I'm going to Bricker."

"Yep." Charlotte squinted at Bri. "Are you sure you don't want to tell daddy first?"

"No. I need to sort this out before I deal with him."

Their father wasn't an ogre, he just happened to be very protective of his girls. Poor man really should have had sons. Bri feared what her father would do, not to her, but to Josh, especially given her past. Not wanting to dwell on the memories, Bri gave herself a mental shake. Fretting wouldn't solve anything. Bri needed to head to Bricker, Texas. She had enough to deal with in the present, she didn't need to worry about the past.

*****

Five hours later, Bri turned into the first bed and breakfast she had seen since hitting Bricker, fairly certain the old, but well maintained cottage style home to be the only accommodation around, not even finding a motel on her way through. Pulling her red Prius into the parking spot nearest the front door, she turned off the engine and took a deep breath. Two hours after packing with Charlotte's help, Bri had hit the road before she could change her mind. Three hours later and she had finally arrived; no turning back now.

Sliding out of the car, she walked to the trunk, opened it, and grabbed her bags. Glancing out over the surrounding town, Bri smiled at the peacefulness that encompassed her. Not a dead town kind of quiet, just slow paced and relaxed. No hustle and bustle. She loved how most of the shops on Main Street seemed modernized, but somehow had still managed to maintain an old world charm. Some of the smaller stores had paint peeling around the edges but that seemed to add to the quaintness of it all. Seeing one antique store after another, Bri had the feeling they outnumbered the rest of the shops at least five to one. Taking in the fresh air, the beautiful sights, and the sense of calm that filled her, Bri could see being happy here.

Stopping those thoughts dead—no point in getting her hopes up before she had had a chance to speak to Josh—Bri dragged her bags behind her, and headed for the entrance, knocking when she stepped up onto the landing.

The door opened revealing a small woman, with graying-brown hair, light blue eyes, and a kind smile. "Can I help you, dear?"

"Ah, I hope so. I was wondering if you had a room free for a little while?"

"Oh, certainly. Come on in." The older woman ushered Bri inside and led her to the front desk. "I'm Adele, my husband and I run this place. So, how long will you be needing the room for?"

"Um. I'm not sure exactly. I know I'll need it tonight, but I don't know if that's it. I might be staying longer." It would all depend on what Josh's response to her news would be.

Bri still couldn't remember everything that had happened that night, but she just knew the kind eyes and gentle smile had been real. She hoped they could spend some time together and get to know each other better. Maybe a bit backwards, but she had never really been good at conforming.

Regardless of what happened between them, though, Bri had made her mind up; Josh would be a part of this baby's life. Charlotte hadn't been too happy about that. Bri shook her head, thinking of all the times Charlotte had told her how nice and sweet Josh had been, only for her to turn around and be suspicious. Apparently, she saw it as too much of a coincidence that he had just struck a deal with their father. Everyone knew daddy had a clause in his contracts, one that clearly stated he could pull out of any deal within the first five months. He couldn't walk away clear and free, but it wouldn't hurt his business, only the reputation of the other business. Brian Evans never backed out unless he had a reason, and his opinion held a lot of power.

"Well, okay then. One room, queen?" Adele asked.

"Yes, please."

"If you don't mind me asking, what brings you to our little town, dear? Bricker isn't a very big place, and only so many people live here," she inquired.

"Actually, I'm here to see Josh Kell. You wouldn't happen to know how best to get to the Silver Stone Ranch, would you?"

Adele's face closed down, and Bri fully expected to be asked to leave any minute.

"Now, what could you want from Josh? You're not from one of those big city newspapers, wanting to interview our local hero, are you?" Adele asked, looking outside at the car Bri drove as if it carried a sign announcing her as a journalist.

"Um, no. I-I'm not here for business. It's p-personal," Bri stuttered, her face flushing. "He's a hero?"

"Oh. Well, all right then," Adele said, giving her a knowing smile.

Oh, if only she knew.

"He sure is. Saved some young boys who'd had too much to drink, and then thought it would be a good idea to go for a merry drive. Anyway, let's get you a room and settle you in, then I'll write down the best way to get to the Silver Stone."

Her mind still spinning from the new information, she nodded, following the smaller woman up the stairs.

"All righty, make yourself at home, and then we'll see about getting you on your way to Josh's place." Adele smiled, leaving a key in Bri's hand while she stood in an open doorway to the room she assumed would be hers.

Okie dokie, then.