Destined for Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens, Book 2) Contemporary Romance (20 page)

THERE WAS SOMETHING different in Jade’s mother’s eyes. In the space of ten heated minutes, the subservient softness had been replaced with confidence and an underlying beat of disturbance. Jade stood before her now and wondered if her mother was going to stand up and fight for her and Rex, or if she was going to be up against them both.

Under the light of the moon, the Bradens stood on one side of the driveway and the Johnsons on the other, with the exception of Rex and Jade, who stood in the space between.

Savannah and Josh came to Jade’s side. Savannah set her hand on her shoulder. All the wonder that Jade had felt about being accepted into Rex’s family was replaced with gratefulness, and as she watched her father’s clenched jaw and furrowed brow, she still had no idea how to soften his resolve.

“Jade Johnson, this is the position you put me in, after all the years of love I’ve given you?” Her father’s desultory tone told of his own wavering surety of the accusation.

Jade drew her shoulders back and opened her mouth to speak, but her mother stepped in, cutting her off.

“How dare you thrust this on Jade! Jade isn’t putting you in any position. She’s fallen in love, Earl. Do you even remember what that feels like? Remember how you used to call me at night and never want to hang up? Or all the walks we took in the moonlight? Don’t you have any memory of holding my hand those first few dates and telling me how it was all so new to you? Remember how much you ached when we had to say goodnight and go our separate ways?”

Jade couldn’t even imagine her father doing those things. She watched her mother searching her father’s eyes. Savannah squeezed her shoulder, and without thinking, Jade covered her hand with her own. She saw Treat walk up behind them, and she felt his hand on top of hers. Rex’s family was every bit as loving as he was. She felt safe with them as she watched her mother drawing emotion from her father’s stoic gaze.

“Earl, Jade can’t have that. She can’t have any of it. They have to go to another town just to spend time with each other. She has to lie to her own father to see the man she loves.”

Shit, how did she find out
? Rex squeezed her hand and Jade held on tight, bracing herself for her father’s harsh reaction and for possibly losing him altogether.

“Earl.” Jane softened her tone. “Your daughter can’t love the man she should because you are too scared to say you made a mistake. I lost my best friend and never got to mourn her or hold her children while they grieved for her. I never got to tell them how much she loved them. I was never able to help Hal with all those hurting babies because of your childish behavior. I can’t get those years back, and neither can they. When I think of all the promises I made to Adriana, all those previous years that I swore to Adriana I would share with them. They’re lost, Earl. Lost!”

“Mom.” Jade reached out to her.

Her mother kept her eyes trained on her father. “No, Jade. This is between your father and me. Damn it, Earl. I love Adriana’s family as much as I love our own family. I’m with Jade on this. If you want to keep us together, you need to apologize to them—all of them—and move forward. Hal has done his part. He’s accepted Jade into his family. Please. Rex is a good man.” She turned tear-filled eyes toward Rex. “He’s a wonderful man, and he loves our daughter very much.”

“Damn it, Jane. I was trying to save our property and allow us to have a future. All we had was what we made on the ranch. We didn’t have any money to fall back on. Hell, we didn’t have money to start breeding horses, which is why I bought from someone other than the guy Hal recommended in the first place, but it turned out to be too good to be true. I wanted to make something of our ranch for you. I wanted to be successful so you could be proud.” He turned away and rubbed his chin, then brought his attention back to his wife and spoke with a softer tone. “I failed at horse breeding because I tried to buy the horses for less than the normal price. I didn’t know they weren’t real thoroughbreds.”

Jane gasped. “Oh dear.”

“It’s not an excuse, Jane. It’s the truth. I was tricked, and it ruined me. Do you know what that felt like, to admit defeat? Do you have any idea what it felt like to fail so badly that I had no choice but to sell all those beautiful horses and go to work at that goddamned company? That wasn’t our plan.” He turned to Hal. “Remember, Hal? Our plan was to be ranchers, breed horses. Well, no one wanted my damned horses because they weren’t thoroughbreds at all.”

Hal’s jaw clenched; his eyes narrowed.

 Earl continued. “I’m not proud of what I did, but what choice did I have? I either had to admit that I’d been hoodwinked—which would only prove to you that I was cheap in the first place—or try to cheat the system once I realized that I’d been tricked. You know I’d never do that. I’m not that kind of man. My only other option was to do what I did and sell them to that bastard Richter. He was the only one who would buy them, and the only way I could keep the ranch was to do just that. Hal, it’s true that I knew what he’d done to Adriana, and I’m not proud of my decisions. But I couldn’t have looked you in the eye—or, Jane, God knows I couldn’t have looked into your trusting eyes—and told you what had happened. I couldn’t lose you both, so when it came down to it, I knew I couldn’t lose the woman I loved. Hal, this was the only way I could figure to at least keep my marriage alive.”

“Earl,” Jane said, “I’ve never cared about material things. We could live in town, or in an apartment, and I never would have cared. Even now, we’re having financial issues again. So what? Sell it all off.”

Earl grew silent. He took his wife’s hand in his. “We’re not having financial trouble, Jane. I told you that because I knew if I told you the truth, you’d fight me on it. I want to sell some of our land so that if something happens to me, you can remain in our house without needing to do anything more than have someone tend the yard. I’m tired, Jane. I want time with you. More than anything in this world, I want to spend less time worrying about horses and property and more time enjoying your company.” He held his hands out to his sides. “Look at me. I’m not gonna live forever.”

“Oh, Earl.” Jane wiped a tear from her eye. “You make the worst decisions, for the best reasons.” She drew him into her arms.

Jade watched her parents change right before her eyes. Her strong, self-assured father, the man she both feared and loved, approached her, looking deflated and relieved.

“Darlin’, obviously I’m in the wrong here. I’m often in the wrong, though I am terribly embarrassed that my little girl has to know that.”

“Daddy—”

“Let me finish, please, before I lose my nerve. I’ve always tried to do the right thing by you. And now the cat’s out of the bag. Your daddy is not the man you thought he was, but my love for you and Steven and your mother is more real than the mud on my shoes. If you love Rex Braden, well, hell, then I’ll love Rex Braden. If your heart hurts, my heart hurts.” He looked at Hal. “Ain’t that right, Hal?”

Hal nodded.

“Family knows no boundaries,” Earl said.

“Family knows no boundaries,” Hal repeated.

“Hal, I’m sorry about disrespecting Adriana by dealing with that thief, but if I was going to keep up with you and make a go of the ranch, I had no choice. It was the only way I could afford the horses—and, it turned out, I’d have been better off not having a ranch at all.”

“I could have fronted you the money. Hell, Earl, you didn’t need to breed horses at all,” Hal said.

“That was our plan. I wanted our plan to work. Then one thing led to another, and suddenly I was trying to save my family. I wasn’t trying to cause any more hurt to her. Treat, Rex, Savannah, Josh, your mother loved you more than life itself, and I’m sorry that your father and I stood between my wife and each of you.” When he looked into Jade’s eyes, tears welled in his. “Darlin’…”

Jade jumped into his arms. “It’s okay, Daddy. I love you.” She hadn’t realized how much anger she’d been carrying about the feud, but suddenly she felt lighter, even with the tears in her eyes and the discomfort that wrapped around each of them, tying them all together, pulling them down while they tried so hard to stay above the surface.

LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON, after the horse show had ended, the Bradens gathered for their typical afternoon barbeque. Josh manned the grill while Treat and Max stood arm in arm beside him, teasing him about adding too much pepper to the chicken. Treat pulled Max into a deep, passionate kiss, and this time, when Rex watched them, he didn’t experience the familiar flash of jealousy. He pulled Jade closer to his side and lowered his mouth onto hers. She leaned in to him, and he wrapped his hand beneath her long, dark hair and kissed her. He could kiss her forever and never tire of it—and he planned on it.

Savannah came out of the house. “Get a room!” Her cell phone rang, and she looked at the number, then said, “I’m gonna take this over there.” She walked back toward the house.

Rex finally let Jade up for air. He loved the rosy flush that covered her cheeks and the breathless way she tried to recover from their kisses. “I love you,” he said to her.

She touched his cheek. “Those words…that kiss…you’re just trying to get into my pants,” she teased.

Their families were just beginning to clear a path toward each other. It would take time, but they were making strides, and Rex wasn’t going to stop pushing until the path was no longer hidden beneath the brush, but cleared and lined with olive branches.

Hope had been fine ever since their families reconciled, although, when Rex noticed the parallel, Josh was quick to correct him.
You mean since Jade gave him that massage.

He watched his father leaning against the fence, and for the hundredth time that day, was thankful for their reconciliation.

“I’m gonna talk to my dad for a sec.” Rex kissed Jade and went to his father’s side.

“Hey, Dad.” He leaned his forearms on the fence, just as his father did.

“Son.”

“I’m sorry about lying to you. I never meant to hurt you or to disrespect the family.” He touched the silver charm that he now wore above his T-shirt.

“I know you didn’t, son.” His father looked out over the pasture, and after a minute or two, he said, without looking at Rex, “You know how I told you that your mother wanted me to tell you something?”

“Yeah.”

His father nodded, then put an arm around Rex. “She said you were doing the right thing.”

Rex looked into his father’s eyes. “I don’t know if you’re delusional or not, Dad, but right this second, I’d like to believe you’re the sanest man alive.”

His father let out a laugh and slung an arm over Rex’s shoulder as they walked toward the driveway, where Earl and Jane were stepping out of their car.

“Thank you, Dad. I know it’s not easy to welcome the Johnsons back into your life. I don’t know what that Richter guy did to Mom, but I respect your need to protect her, and I’m sorry to have put you on the spot like that with Jade.”

“You know I’ll love Jade as much as you do. She made a difference in Hope’s health, and I appreciate that you cared enough about Hope to risk our relationship and bring Jade by to help her.” They walked in silence for a minute, and then his father stopped walking and looked into Rex’s eyes. “Son, you’ve never let me down a day in your life, and I wish I could say the same for myself, but I can’t. Fifteen years is a long time to wait for the woman you love. I’m sorry.”

Savannah charged up the driveway with a suitcase in her hands. Treat, Max, and Josh were right behind her. “I have to leave earlier than anticipated.”

“Oh Jesus. Don’t tell me you’re running back to Connor Dean,” her father said as he took her into his arms.

“No, Dad. That was a call from my office. There’s a new client coming into New York City, and they need to meet me tomorrow afternoon,” Savannah assured him.

“Before you go, Vanny, Max and I have an announcement.” Treat stood arm in arm with Max, both flashing enormous smiles.

“She’s pregnant?” Savannah asked.

Max put her hand on her stomach. “No. Gosh, way to make me feel self-conscious.”

Treat and Rex laughed. They pulled Earl over to where they stood. “We came to a deal that we think will work for everyone. Earl has agreed to sell Max and me the parcel that he’s selling off, and he’s offered us first right of refusal for any other parcels that he might want to sell.”

“And last night Dad, Earl and Jane, and Jade and I came to an agreement about the unoccupied property, which will no longer be unoccupied. When Treat and Max build, Jade and I will be building our home as well.” Rex kissed Jade’s forehead.

Savannah jumped up and down. “So I’ll have two sister types living right by Dad that I can visit? This gets better by the second.”

“Give them your biggest news, Treat,” Josh urged.

“You suck at keeping secrets,” Treat teased.

“What? I didn’t tell them.”

Treat put his arm over Josh’s shoulder and pretended to punch him in the stomach. “I love you, bro.”

Max sighed. “I’ll tell them.” Her eyes lit up. “We’re getting married! We finally set the date for next spring!”

“Yes!” Savannah yelled, and hugged Max.

“And Josh is designing my wedding dress. Nothing too fancy,” Max said.

“Of course not,” Josh said, winking at Savannah.

“Oh, Max! I’m so excited for you.” Jade hugged Max.

In the past few hours, Rex had watched Jade and each of his siblings, as well as his father and Max, get to know one another, and he could tell by the smile on her face that Jade was just as thrilled about being included in their family as he was.

Hal slung an arm casually over Jade’s shoulder. “Now let’s see if Rex’ll make an honest woman out of you, too.”

Rex beamed. “One day. You’ll be the second person to know.” He blew a kiss at Jade.

Riley’s red Camry pulled into the driveway. She stepped out with a wide smile. “I’m sorry. I had no idea that there was a family gathering going on. Josh asked me to bring by my portfolio.”

Rex cast a curious glance at Josh.

Josh leaned in close to him. “I learned from your mistake.” Then louder, he said, “Riley, welcome to our home. Come on into the yard.”

Rex and Jade laughed. “What have we done?” he asked.

The End