Читать книгу: «Baby's First Christmas»

Baby’s First Christmas
The Christmas Twins

By

Tina Leonard
Santa Baby

By

Laura Marie Altom

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

The Christmas Twins

By

Tina Leonard

Dear Reader,

I love Christmas stories! They are one of my favourite things to write because, for me, the underlying themes of the season are family, friends and tradition. And a Christmas story is a chance to relive all of those wonderful emotions!

I hope you’ll enjoy the story of Zach Forrester and Jessica Tomball Farnsworth, two very different personalities from opposite walks of life. I believe that Christmas works its magic on the most stubborn people, and magic in even the most challenging of circumstances can bring love to the most impossible situation. May your holiday season be lit by this very special spirit of love, charity and fulfilment.

Best wishes and much love,

Tina Leonard

About the Author

TINA LEONARD loves to laugh, which is one of the reasons she enjoys writing. In another lifetime, Tina thought she would be single and an East Coast fashion buyer forever. The unexpected happened when Tina met Tim again after many years—she hadn’t seen him since they attended school together. They married and now Tina keeps a close eye on her school-aged children’s friends! Lisa and Dean keep their mother busy with soccer, gymnastics and horseback riding. They are proud of their mum’s “kissy books” and eagerly help her any way they can.

Tina hopes that readers will enjoy the love of family she writes about in her books. A reviewer once wrote, “Leonard has a wonderful sense of the ridiculous”, which Tina loved so much she wants it for her epitaph. Right now, however, she’s focusing on her wonderful life and writing a lot more romance! You can visit her at www.tinaleonard.com.

“I’ve tried to be perfect. I’ve lived in a world. Imperfect is a lot more fun.”

—Jessica Tomball Farnsworth.

“I’ve tried to be perfect. I’ve lived in a world that wants perfect. Imperfect is a lot more fun.”

—Jessica Tomball Farnsworth

Chapter One

Zach Forrester freely admitted that boredom was his worst enemy.

He didn’t mind living in Tulips, Texas, on the Triple F ranch, but he wanted to do more in his life than just take care of a family property. He had plans to build a new elementary school in the small town, a challenge he would enjoy.

But now it was time for a different challenge. Maybe the late September moon was getting to him, but excitement seemed to be a hard-to-find commodity.

One thing was for certain, he wasn’t giving up his life the way Duke had, to diapers and a wife and a round-cheeked baby. He loved his little nephew, but a baby put a certain stop to one’s life. Nor would he ever let a woman lead him around by the nose as Liberty had Duke. She had left the altar with Duke standing at it, then made a surprise return with his baby, finally marrying Duke in a wonderfully romantic ceremony.

Of course, Duke was insanely happy with his new wife and child, but it had been hell on Duke getting there. Zach had to admit it had been fun watching his older brother struggle mightily to get his woman. Everything always seems to come easy for my brother and sister and harder for me.

He was enjoying his pity party as he drove, until he saw the hot pink convertible T-bird and the madwoman standing next to his favorite bull, which she’d clearly hit. She was talking on her cell phone as if it was just any old piece of meat she’d struck. But Brahma Bud was his best and finest!

Hopping out of his truck, Zach stared at the imperious woman with whiskey-colored hair. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

She snapped her cell phone shut. “I am trying to get this beast to move, Cowboy. He seems to think he has the right of way.”

“He does!” Zach stared at his poor bull, which gazed back in return, not bothered in the least by the annoying woman who had hit him.

“Well, he’s been having his way for an hour,” she replied, her voice so haughty it belonged in New York. “Do you think you could move his plump hide?”

Perhaps Brahma Bud had only been lightly tapped, because the bull didn’t seem any worse for wear. He did, however, seem quite mesmerized by the pink T-bird, and as Zach forced himself to calm down, he had to admit the car—and the woman—were definitely worth second looks. “What’s the rush, City?”

“I have a life,” she told him. “I just can’t stand here and watch the grass grow.”

Well, hell, Zach thought, wasn’t she special. Of course, she certainly looked special in her tight dress. When she spoke, she emphasized her words so that all of her bounced in the right places. “He might move tomorrow,” Zach said. “Once he gets to a spot he likes, he tends to stay there.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” she exclaimed, enunciating and bouncing, to Zach’s delight.

Ah, city folk. So much fun. He leaned against her T-bird and gave her his best leer. “When I get to a spot I like, I tend to stay there, too.”

“Cowboy, I know all about guys like you, and believe me, the words are bigger than the deed. Just take your cow and go home, okay? And I won’t charge you for the dent in my fender. Not to mention I think he used his antler to lift my skirt when I tried to make certain he was all right.”

“Yeah, that would be the easy way out,” Zach said slowly, suddenly realizing what he wanted more than anything was to shake things up, and this gal was a smoking-hot challenge even if she didn’t know horns from antlers. “I’ll do two things for you—one, I’ll ask my prize longhorn here to move, if you’re nice. Two, I won’t ask why you’re trespassing on my private drive, if you’re nice. I won’t even be mad that you hit my livelihood, here,” he said, dropping a casual hand to Bud’s horn. “However, I do insist upon a kiss.”

She gasped. “I consider kissing to be sex. Why would I have sex with a stranger?”

He laughed out loud. “Make it a brotherly peck, then.”

“No. You’re weird. It might be catching.”

“I think you’re the weird one.” Crossing his arms, he decided this exceptional woman was his next challenge. “So, I noticed you didn’t protest that you had a boyfriend or were married or something.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I just broke up with my boyfriend. He was too possessive.”

Zach raised his brows. “Possessive?”

“He thought he owned me.”

“Boyfriends will act like that sometimes.” He wondered if he’d feel the same way if she was his girlfriend. Nah. He’d never felt that way about any woman. Safe!

Her back stiffened. “Being possessive is bad and being bossy is worse. But if you’d like to boss someone around, why don’t you tell that cow to move so I can get back on the road?”

He shook his head. “You’re not going anywhere.”

She put her hands on her hips, prepared to give him a nor’easter full of cold sass. “Why not?”

“It’s not just the fender you damaged. It’s hanging off.” He pointed to the front of her car. “And you have a flat tire. I notice you didn’t respond to my offer of a kiss, by the way.”

Jessica Tomball Farnsworth looked at the cowboy. He was hunky, to be sure, but so was her ex-fiancé. She’d learned that a man that hot was usually firing more than one pistol at a time—just as her possessive ex-boyfriend had. He’d found a more available set of female arms while she’d been away on business, traveling with her cosmetics company.

That thought led her to consider dropping straight into this willing man’s arms and slathering his face with kisses since he wanted kissing so badly. After all, revenge was sweet.

But she felt a stronger desire to get as far away from men as possible. She wasn’t bitter; she was simply willing to acknowledge that either she was a poor judge of character or all men were louses.

Until she had that figured out, she wasn’t kissing this cowboy, or any male. She narrowed her eyes at him. Make that hot cowboy. “Smooth come-ons like yours put me off.” Taking a deep breath for bravery, she gave the large animal a push on his rump to encourage him to move.

He swished his tail in response.

“We could be here all day,” the cowboy said.

This seemed, unfortunately, to be true. She had places she needed to be. With her heart beating too fast, she rose on tiptoe and kissed the cowboy full on the mouth, more than ready to get the hell out of wherever she was.

He looked at her when she sank back to ground level.

“You call that a kiss?”

“Yes, I do,” she said tartly. “Do you keep your promises or not?” A delicious zing of wonder had struck her when she’d brushed his lips, along with a wayward desire for more, more, more.

He took a peppermint from his pocket and let the giant bull smell it before tossing it into the winter-touched yellow meadow. The bull casually strolled after the candy treat while the man inspected the broken fence, which had allowed his beast to escape and wander the roadside. Never in her life had she seen an animal that big up close. But then its kind, curious eyes had stared over the hood at her, and she’d been grateful it didn’t appear to be hurt.

“Why do you keep animals like that?” she asked. “He deserves to be wild and free.”

The cowboy laughed. “He is wild and free, City. This is my best friend. He lives in the lap of luxury.”

He was clearly amused by her lack of knowledge of his world. Jessica sniffed, not liking his attitude at all. “I suppose you think it’s cute to give him candy. What happens when he gets a cavity?”

He sent a slow, amused grin her way. Shaking his head, he went to inspect her car.

Jessica ignored him, keeping her gaze on the bull, which appeared to be just as happy inside the meadow as out.

“What’s your name?”

“Jessica,” she said, unwilling to share more.

“Mine’s Zach,” he replied, though she hadn’t asked. “I can help you get on your way, Jessie.”

She turned, staring at him.

“Or you could kiss me again,” he said conver-sationally. “I know you liked it as much as I did.”

She gasped. “No. I didn’t.”

He smiled, the expression in his dark eyes registering disbelief. It made Jessica mad that he knew better, and madder to know she was so easy to read.

“So,” he said, drawing near to her, “was it good sex?”

Not as good as it could be. “I’ll thank you to not make fun of my sense of decency,” Jessica said. “Thank you for stopping and moving your cow out of the way. Now please tell me where I can get this tire fixed.”

“You certainly have issues, lady,” Zach said, catching her hand in his, “but I’m not afraid of issues. In fact, I look forward to helping you solve yours, Jessie.” He ran a thumb over her bottom lip. “Tell me your full name.”

“Jessica Tomball Farnsworth,” she whispered, wondering why she bothered to answer. “I don’t have as many issues as you do, by the way.” She backed away, knowing full well he was messing with her senses.

“Sure I do, City,” he said, moving closer. “Where I come from, a man’s not a man unless he’s got a full plate of issues. Sins.” He gave her a wink and slid a hand around her waist. “We’re born with issues, and we use them to lure women ‘cause they think they can save us from ourselves. Then we die with our issues, knowing we’ve enjoyed them every step of the way.”

“You’re crazy,” she whispered, unable to make her escape because of the way he was pressing her against the car.

“And you like it,” he said against her neck, shifting his hands under her Versace skirt.

“I think I do,” Jessica said, closing her eyes. What the hell. I was never cut out for boredom.

And Jessie T., boyfriend-dumper and responsibility-escaper dragged the bad boy into the back seat of her hot pink T-bird, embracing sins and issues and everything else that came with the sinfully hot package.

Chapter Two

Two hours later, Zach stared up at the sun in the Texas sky from the back seat of the T-bird, glad his ranch was off the beaten path and that he’d had enough privacy to enjoy this wonderful surprise gift from the city.

Who said you couldn’t find a city girl worth wasting country on, anyway?

He examined the blanket he’d found in the back seat. The label read Saks Fifth Avenue. “So I’m guessing you’re on the pill,” he said idly, wondering if he could talk the beautiful stranger into staying at his ranch for about another day. Only his sister, Pepper, was ever around the ranch anymore, and she pretty much kept to herself. “Ow!”

He rubbed the spot on his cheek where City had slapped him. It had actually been a light tap, but it was enough to get his attention.

She stared at him, angry again, reminding him that her spirit was one of the many things he liked about her. “So are you?” he asked, thinking with some trepidation about Liberty and Duke and their unplanned pregnancy.

“You are not a gentleman!” Jessie exclaimed. He nodded, and said, “We already established that. Let’s get to the answer.”

Her cheeks pinked. “I use a method of control.”

He glared. “Don’t they discuss birth control where you’re from?” He glanced at the blanket label again. “Saks Fifth Avenue?”

She ignored him.

Okay. She obviously didn’t want to talk about it. A faint trickle of unease slithered through him.

“I have to go,” she said abruptly. “Please get the hell out of my car.”

He frowned. “Not until you tell me about your ‘method.’”

“You should have asked before,” she said. “No matter what my method is, if it’s not any good, it’s too late.”

He digested that, realizing she was right. Had he lost his mind? His gaze ran over her tight, smooth skin. The luscious curves had bewitched him, and all of her attitude set off raging emotions inside him.

Duke must have felt just this way about Liberty.

He had never wanted to be like Duke, despite the fact that, to him, his sheriff brother was pretty much a hero in all ways. If not a hero, then a major example of what a good man should be.

But he’d never wanted to be out-of-his-mind wild over a woman, and he sure as hell had never wanted to get one pregnant out of wedlock.

That would spell commitment for certain, and he hated everything about the sound of that particular word.

“I’ve been seeing twins,” he murmured, going for jackass and making it pretty well, he thought. That should run her off quicker than wildfire, which he needed her to do if he was going to escape this growing dilemma and the future his brain was imagining.

“I don’t care,” she said, laughing, “if you’re dating triplets. Or quadruplets.”

He scratched his chin, noticing she wasn’t leaping out of the back seat. In fact, they felt rather companionable together, their legs stretched out along the soft leather. She fit him very well. “Got a sister?” he asked, trying to save himself.

She gave him a thorough eyeing. “Really working those issues, aren’t you?”

She wasn’t falling for it. Women always fell for his routine! Jessie got out of the car, fixed her skirt and hair and pulled a huge carpetbag-sized purse from the front seat. She rummaged around in it, fishing out a pair of red panties. “Close your eyes.”

“I can’t,” he said. “Watching you is the most fun I’ve had lately.”

She shrugged, reaching under her skirt to shimmy her lacy panties into place. He felt himself wanting her again. She had impossibly long legs and nothing he didn’t want to see. She was an intriguing beauty, tempting his eyes. Silently, he handed her the panties he’d previously removed and tossed to the floor. She snatched them from him, stuffing them into the carpetbag.

The panties went into the carpetbag. He realized with a pang and a worrisome erection that she was used to traveling or undressing because most women didn’t carry a change of underwear in their purse. “Don’t suppose you’re going to change your bra, too?”

She shook her head at his hopeful tone. “Hand me the one you took off.”

It was soft and silky, like her. He wanted her where he could enjoy her for hours, without the top and skirt, which had been left on out of necessity. He’d been lucky to discard her bra and panties, actually, because he’d discovered she had a cute shy side despite her projected carefree attitude. “You’re beautiful,” he said, knowing she was that way without trying to be.

“It’s my business,” she said. “It’s all a mirage.”

There, he thought, that’s an answer to scare the hell out of even the baddest, bootwearing hardass around.

Jessie was thinking through the birth control issue, more concerned than she was letting on. The truth was, she’d been fitted with a vaginal ring when she and her boyfriend had gotten serious enough to discuss marriage. But they hadn’t had sex in the past couple of months, as he’d claimed to be working late—an excuse she was to learn was code for: Your chief business rival and I aren’t just discussing the latest spring palette after-hours. So she hadn’t been wearing the ring when she’d left the city and the man behind.

Babies had been the first thing on her agenda, following a wedding. But there was no reason to tell that to Zach. He seemed like the worrying type. Any other man would have simply let her drive off into the sunset. Then again, he had issues, as he’d calmly and proudly admitted. She decided to keep her desire for a baby a secret. “I’ve got to go, cowboy,” she said.

“My name is Zach,” he said, sounding a bit cross about it.

She nodded. “I know.”

“No, you didn’t,” he said. “Jessie T., you’re not a good liar. You forgot my name.”

She looked at him.

“You’re not even on birth control, are you?”

He was going to be difficult. “Are you?” she asked, stalling for time. “Maybe you were wearing a condom and I didn’t notice.” She would have noticed, definitely, because it had been skin-on-skin passion, nothing between her and him in the most wonderful connection a man and woman could share.

His jaw set. “Great. This is my worst nightmare.”

She didn’t usually have a temper but irritation crept into her. More like raging than creeping. “It’s none of your affair.”

“Well, now,” he said, his voice a stony drawl, “that’s where you’re wrong, Miss Jessica. One thing about us Forresters is that we make everything our business. After you’ve been in Tulips for a while, you’ll know this to be true.” He snagged her car keys from the ignition. “Come on, city girl. No doubt you’re going to make me crazy for the next month, but there’s always a little hell to pay for a little pleasure.”

She grabbed for the keys but he held them above her head. “You can’t keep me here.”

“I’m not keeping you,” he said, scooping her up to deposit her into his truck bed. “Your car is out of commission.”

“No, it’s not,” Jessie protested. She’d bitten off more than she could handle with him. Zach was nothing like her ex, a man easily led by his groin and whichever way the wind was blowing at the time: Blonde, brunette, redhead. “Look, you were a great fantasy, but—”

He stopped her in the act of crawling out of the truck bed. “If you’re going to be easy about this, you can ride in the front seat. If you’re going to be difficult, you ride in the back and I’ve got some throwing rope to make sure of it. But you leaving is not an option. It’s one of my issues, you see.”

He grinned at her. Jessie pressed her lips together. “I have a business convention I have to attend. It’s really important. We’re presenting holiday looks for the upcoming season. This being September, I’ve got to get the wares on the road.”

“I sympathize.” He nodded. “But you can clearly see that your car is leaking something.”

Jessie stared at the ground in horror. Something was leaking from her precious T-bird!

“I can’t have you running off around the world to Saks Fifth Avenue and the like if you’re carrying my child.”

“I’m not!”

He leaned against the truck, crossing his arms. “Let me share with you the problem. My brother fell in love with a woman, and they were supposed to get married. They were in the middle of getting married, in fact, but she got cold feet at the altar, and before we knew what was happening, Liberty went running off faster than a greased piglet in a pig race.”

“That has nothing to do with me,” Jessie said, trying to sound like she didn’t care. However, she could see where Zach would empathize with his brother.

“Well, it turned out Liberty was pregnant,” Zach continued, ignoring her, “though she didn’t tell Duke. She was afraid to, and then the little old ladies in our town, and the men, too—you’ll meet them all soon enough—well, the Tulips Saloon Gang got involved—”

“Gang?” Jessie whispered.

“Gang.” Zach nodded. “You don’t know anything about issues until you meet the Gang.”

She blinked, not wanting to get drawn into this sexy man’s loony life. “I’ll call you if I’m pregnant.”

“You wouldn’t,” Zach said. “And then I’d be like Duke almost was, with a son of mine wandering around out there, never knowing that his daddy was a caring man who wanted to play football with him and teach him to hunt and shoot beer cans. Budweiser beer cans only, which is how my great-horned beast out there got his name, Brahma Bud. I keep my life simple, as you’ll learn.”

“Oh, no,” Jessie murmured, the impact of her flyaway good sense dawning on her. “Where is the rewind button on my life?”

IT WASN’T HEROIC of him to do what he was doing to the flitty woman who’d blown into town, but it wouldn’t be fair if he had a son that never knew its father. Zach was quite satisfied that he’d made the best possible decision considering the circumstances.

His sister, Pepper, would tell him he should have kept his pants zipped, and he should have, but he didn’t regret making love to that little firecracker out there staring sadly at her car, which had been towed to the drive of the Triple F Ranch. He watched Jessie through the window, smiling when the family dog—who was supposed to be Duke’s dog but couldn’t be trained to one person—greeted Jessie with a big doggie smile and a wave of a golden plumed tail. Her name was Molly, or Jimbo if other members of the town of Tulips were asked.

Zach grinned. Jessie knew nothing about issues until she met the citizens of Tulips. It was time to introduce her, even though he’d be painted as the black villain of the piece—a part which he’d relish, much as Duke had.

Actually, his older brother had suffered under the good-hearted critiquing of the town’s elders. But Zach was prepared for it. He knew what he’d done—and he was prepared to pay the price.

He would take his critiquing in stride, because every time the elders tried to point out the error of his ways, he’d just think about Jessie’s partially nude body and smile like Molly-Jimbo with a new bone.

“OH, MY,” Pansy Trifle said when Zach walked through the heavy glass-and-wood doors of the Tulips Saloon.

Helen Granger stood, her hands on her hips. “This is Ladies Only Day, Zach.”

“I know,” he said, with a most regretful tone, to the room at large, “so I’ve brought you a lady.” He tipped his hat to all of them, and gave Jessie a gentle push. “Take good care of my friend from Saks Fifth Avenue.”

He left, a broad grin on his face. Very soon he would be in big trouble with the elders of the town, and he was going to enjoy being the cause of all the uproar.

In the meantime, he had a T-bird to “hide,” just in case Ms. Saks decided to take a fast hike, à la Duke’s wife, the cagey Ms. Liberty Wentworth.

History would not be repeating itself.

Chapter Three

Helen and Pansy stared at the newcomer with surprise, sympathy and curiosity. Nervously, Jessie said, “I’m not really from Saks.”

The ladies in the room laughed.

“Sit down here,” Ms. Pansy said, patting an antique chair. “Zach must want us to get to know you better or he wouldn’t have brought you here.”

“Which makes him even nuttier than we’d previously surmised,” Helen said. “I’ll get you a cup of tea while Pansy introduces you to everyone. Then we’ll be more than happy to advise you on whatever problem that Forrester male is giving you.”

Following some brief introductions, Jessica told her story. “Well, you see,” Jessie said, after being introduced, “I hit his steer. Or maybe it was a bull. I’m not certain of the proper terminology.”

Pansy looked at her. “Not Brahma Bud?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Oh, my,” Helen said. “I do hope Bud’s all right. Zach’s had him since he was a child. Won’t part with him.”

Jessie blinked. “I didn’t realize it was a pet.”

“Well,” Pansy said, “it was a gift from his parents. So it’s a link with the past, you might say.”

“I might have been a bit callous,” Jessie said. “I might have called Bud a hunk of steak or something. I don’t remember. I was very angry.”

“Why were you angry, dear?” Pansy asked gently.

“I was in a hurry to get somewhere,” Jessie said, “and the bull—do you call it a bull or a steer?”

“Not important,” Helen said, dropping a lump of sugar into her teacup. “Continue, please.”

Jessie sighed, realizing they didn’t want to have to explain something to her that was plainly obvious to everyone in the room. “There are places I need to be. Bud stopped me. He wouldn’t move. I thought maybe he was hurt or in shock, but I really barely tapped him. In fact, he did more damage to my car than I realized, because Zach said my car was leaking.”

“Hmm.” Pansy put some cookies on a plate for her. “We’re so glad you’ve come to Tulips, dear.”

“But we understand you want to be on your way.” Helen smiled around at all the ladies in the gathering. “Are you staying with Pepper and Zach?”

“I don’t want to,” Jessie said. “Is there a hotel in town?”

“We’ll have one in the future, I feel certain,” Helen said. “Or at least a bed-and-breakfast.”

Jessie shook her head. “My family isn’t used to me being anything other than right on schedule.”

They perked up. “Do tell us about your family,” Pansy said.

“Well, my mother and father own a cosmetics company called Jessie’s Girl Stuff. I have two brothers. They’re lawyers,” Jessie said.

“Lawyers,” Pansy said, glancing at Helen.

Helen smiled at her. “Did you call them, dear?”

“I let them know where I was. And I told them I’d be on time for the convention in two days.” Jessie took a deep breath. “Zach says I can’t leave, though.”

“Until your car is fixed,” Helen said.

“Until…” Jessie paused, not about to admit her plight.

“Oh, my,” Pansy said, “I do believe our Zach is developing feelings for you, Jessie.”

Jessie’s eyes went wide. “Just the opposite. He’s quite pigheaded.”

“Aren’t they all?” Helen said with a smile. “Do you like him?”

“No,” Jessie said. “Bossy men are not my thing.”

“We completely understand.” Pansy nodded. “So what we want you to do is call this number.” She scribbled a number onto a tulip-printed pad and handed it to Jessie. “We have a few men in our town, very few, mind you, but the ones we have are mostly useless. I mean, useful.”

“Yes,” Helen agreed. “Ask to speak to Bug Carmine. He’ll be more than happy to taxi you wherever you want to go. Where is this convention of yours, dear?”

“California,” Jessie said. “Do you think it will take that long to fix my car?”

“You could call roadside assistance,” Pansy said. “They’d probably be out here lickity-split and fix you right up.”

Jessie straightened. Of course they would! “You ladies are marvelous! I never thought about that! I don’t know why I didn’t, except that I never hit a bull before—”

“And Zach swept you off your feet,” Helen inserted.

“Yes, and that’s never happened before, either. I mean, how many people hit a poor sweet animal like Brahma Bud…But roadside assistance is the perfect answer! Shame on Zach for saying you all had issues,” Jessie said. “You’re clearly as smart and capable as anyone I’ve ever met.”

Helen sniffed, reaching for a cookie off the tray Pansy had set down. “Zach said we had issues?”

“Oh, yes,” Jessie said, nodding. “He said I didn’t even know the meaning of the word until I’d met ‘the Gang.’”

“Well.” Pansy smiled brightly. “Helen, dear, why don’t you hand sweet Jessie the phone so she can make her call? I’ll telephone Sheriff Duke while you’re doing that, and let him know his baby brother needs his brotherly supervision.”

Helen grinned and gave Jessie the old-fashioned, floral-painted phone.

“And if they can’t fix your car today,” Pansy said, “you’re welcome to stay at my house for as long as you like.” She and Helen shared a secretive and satisfied glance as Jessie dialed.

FAR FROM BEING SUPPORTIVE and helpful, Zach learned that the Gang wasn’t going to be as conniving about him and Jessie as they’d been about Liberty and Duke. Much to his chagrin, they’d ratted him out to his brother about Jessie’s presence at the ranch, earning him a lecture on propriety and a babysitter in the form of Pepper.

Pepper was the soul of responsibility. A hardworking student and now a much-lauded doctor, she was well respected not just in Tulips, but in the medical community. With Duke and Pepper on his case about his houseguest, Zach was certain he’d never feel the glory of Jessie’s skin again.

But what had he expected from the Gang? They never operated the way one suspected they might. Now he understood why Duke had been so miserable as the object of their machinations.

Secretly, he’d hoped that they would try to encourage some type of romance between he and Jessie. He’d been looking, in fact, for some matchmaking by the little old ladies, and perhaps a bolstering of his worth in Jessie’s eyes.

Something had gone terribly wrong. Jessie was now staying with Pansy, and Helen wouldn’t speak to him. Duke was breathing down his neck, and even Molly hesitated to allow him to pet her.

He was in the proverbial doghouse, and it was a very uncomfortable place to be.

But a man had to stand firm. When the roadside assistance fellow came out to the Triple F ranch, Zach told him the car had been repaired and that he could leave. It was lucky he’d thought to hide Jessie’s car in one of the outlying barns on the ranch.

“It’s hard to be the villain,” he told the chickens that were checking out the white-walled tires of Jessie’s T-bird. “Being dishonorable is not fun. But if I let that gal out of my sight, I could very well end up worse than Duke.”

He and Duke and Pepper had grown up in a traditional family. Liberty had been raised by parents who mainly ignored her, but luckily she’d lived nearby and had been befriended by Zach—who had always looked at her as a brother would—and by his parents. But her sad upbringing had hurt her all her life. He could never do that to a child of his own.

He sat on the bumper of Jessie’s car. “I wish I could say I shouldn’t have done it, but I liked being with her,” he told Molly as she sat beside him, her golden fur soft and reassuring under his touch. “I liked being with Jessie more than I ever liked being with a woman in my life.”

Molly barked at him.

“Yeah, it’s crazy.” He got off the bumper. “I just hope she’s not as fertile as she looks, because as hard as it’s been to keep her in Tulips, I’d likely never get her to the altar!”

JESSIE PUT her carpetbag away in Pansy’s guest room, glad she always carried makeup and a change of clothes. She had a secret, one of many, only this one was a big one, and the cowboy had made her realize how much she didn’t like hiding it.

She was afraid of settling down. She’d simply wanted a baby, and her ex-boyfriend had been the way to achieve that.

She’d come to the unhappy realization that she’d probably never been in love with him, which probably meant she was shallow and vain. Her family was successful; she shouldn’t have needed to conjure up a relationship in order to validate her goals in life.

Maybe she was lacking a fundamental building block in her personality, like patience or strength of character. “Trust a relaxing jaunt through the country to give me more time to think and be hard on myself. Just what every second-thoughts bride needs.”

She heard the doorbell ring as she put away her belongings. A second later, Pansy called, “Jessie!” up the stairwell.

Jessie walked down, surprised to see Zach sitting very properly in Pansy’s living room. “Hi, Zach,” she said, trying to ignore the excitement rushing through her.

Pansy sat down in a nearby chair and began to knit, a quiet chaperone. Jessie sat in a floral chair across from Zach.

Zach looked at her. “Settling in all right?”

Jessie nodded. “Yes, thank you. And I sent roadside assistance out to repair whatever was leaking on my car.”

Zach shifted on the sofa. “Would you like to take a walk?”

Jessie shook her head. “I’m pretty tired. It’s been a long day.”

“Okay.” Zach stood, nodding to Pansy. “See you all later.”

He departed, surprising Jessie. She looked at Pansy as the door shut behind Zach.

“Oh,” Pansy said. “I do think he likes you.”

Jessie knew what was really on Zach’s mind. “I don’t think so. I just think he’s very protective.”

Pansy put away her knitting. “You know, it’s been difficult for Zach. He’s the middle child, and was often pushed to the side. Not quite the man of the house, and not the baby. Sometimes I thought he was never certain whether he wanted to follow in Duke’s footsteps or be a role model for Pepper. He tried to do both and somewhere along the line, he became a bit arrogant and somewhat overly determined.”

“I can see where women would be attracted to that trait.”

“Yes,” Pansy said with a smile, “but he’s never bothered to ask any of them to take a walk.”

Jessie shook her head. It didn’t matter. She was leaving as soon as her car was fixed. There were enough stray matters in her life to occupy her time. “Thankfully my car might be repaired tomorrow. Good night, Pansy. Thank you for everything.”

Pansy waved a hand as Jessie stood. “I’m enjoying having you here, Jessie. Plan on staying as long as you like.”

Until the morning, Jessie thought. And then I’m out of here.

Before she was waylaid by the temptation of an attentive, opinionated cowboy who had “bad for you” written all over him.

JESSIE SLEPT WELL. In the morning she showered, ate breakfast with Pansy and Helen—scones and hot tea—packed her carpetbag and hitched a ride in Sheriff Duke Forrester’s truck to the Triple F.

“If my brother gives you any more trouble,” Duke said, “you just let me know. I’ll give him a pounding he’ll never forget. Or better yet, just tell Pepper. Zach hates it when Pepper gets on to him.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Jessie smiled. “My car should be fixed by now, and I’ll be out of everyone’s hair.”

“Well,” Duke said, “if you ever want a place to visit, I know the ladies would love to have you back. They’re always trying to entice people to settle here.”

“Oh.” Jessie looked out at the passing countryside. “It’s pretty here, but—”

“Not your kind of place,” Duke said kindly. “I understand completely.”

“You do?”

“Sure. Liberty has a wedding shop in Dallas, as well as one here. I go into town with her from time to time. There’s a lot to offer folks in the city. Here in Tulips, we live life at a snail’s pace.”

“The Gang doesn’t seem very snail-like to me,” Jessie said. “They seem rather lively.”

He grinned. “Be careful. They’d just love to figure out a way to bring you into the fold. Wait until you meet Liberty. Together, they got me to the altar.”

She heard the pride in his voice. “I rather like the single life.”

“I did, too, for a while. But Liberty had other plans.” He laughed. “Actually, that’s a small-town big tale. It was hard to catch that little girl, and I did all the chasing.”

Jessie smiled as they pulled into the Triple F. “I think I may have heard that from Helen and Pansy.”

“You watch those two. If they decide Tulips would be better off with you on the census rolls, here you’ll remain. All I do as sheriff is make certain everyone behaves.”

Jessie got out of the truck. “Thanks for the ride, Sheriff.”

“Sure.” He glanced around. “Where’s the pink Caddy I’ve heard so much about?”

“T-bird. Maybe the roadside assistance person moved it.”

Zach walked out on the porch, waving. “Good morning.”

“Where’s her car?” Duke asked.

“I sent it over to Holt’s to look at. The roadside repair guy was terrible. Didn’t know his hat from his ankle.”

“Holt’s our town hairdresser,” Duke said to Jessie. “It’s in good hands now.”

Jessie’s eyes went wide. “I don’t see how hair relates to automobiles.”

“Oh, he can fix anything,” Duke said easily. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

Jessie felt her teeth grinding. “Did Holt say how long it would take for him to fix it?”

“No,” Zach said. “Come on in and have some breakfast. Pepper’s cooking.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Duke said, striding toward the porch. Jessie hung back.

“Is there a problem?” Zach asked.

“Yes,” Jessie said. “I can’t seem to get my car back into my possession.”

“It’s Saturday,” Zach said. “What’s your hurry?”

Jessie took a deep breath. “I don’t trust you. I want away from you, and this town. I feel like I’ve fallen into Peyton Place, or maybe even Brigadoon, and I want back into the twenty-first century—my life as I know it.”

Zach nodded. “You can borrow my truck to get wherever it is you need to go.”

Jessie’s breath left her for an instant. “Really?”

“Of course.” Zach frowned at her. “You’re not a prisoner, Jessie. For Pete’s sake!”

“I—” She narrowed her eyes.

He shook his head. “You’re not being a drama queen, are you?”

Jessie put out her hand. “Keys.”

A moment stretched long between them as he stared at her. Reaching into his pocket, he tugged his keys out and handed them to her.

Jessie looked at him another long moment, clutching the metal pieces of freedom.

“It’s over there,” he said, pointing. “Happy trails, Jessie.”

Chapter Four

Giving Jessie his truck was the fair, manly thing to do. After all, he was hiding her car. This way, he wasn’t exactly kidnapping her, as Duke had claimed, threatening to put him in the jail until Jessie left town if he didn’t behave. Zach was wisely keeping a bargaining chip. Something precious to her for which she would return. When she came back after the convention, perhaps there would be some light shed on the subject he was most worried about.

He looked at Jessie as she considered his offer, dismayed to realize he was envisioning her in a maternity dress. Liberty could whip Jessie up a beaut.

Shoving that thought from his mind, he shrugged. “The truck’s got a full tank of gas. Hit the pedal.”

“I don’t know,” Jessie said. “It seems unfair to take your truck after I hit your livelihood.”

“Call me a gentleman,” Zach said. “I don’t want you in trouble with your boss.”

Jessie glanced over at the truck. “My family owns the company. I’m the president of Jessie’s Girl Stuff.”

He couldn’t help smiling. “I sensed you might be a bit of a princess. Tell me more.”

“In case I’m the future mother of your child?”

“It’s an intriguing thought. I’m not as put off by it as I probably should be, under the circumstances.”

“And what are those?” Jessie asked.

“You’re a highly excitable female,” Zach said. “But I was looking for some excitement so I’m okay with that.”

“Funny,” she said, “you don’t seem like the type to like a high-maintenance woman.”

“True. There’s a difference between high-maintenance and excitement. I love independence in my women.”

“Excellent.” Jessie jangled his keys at him and headed toward his truck. “Thanks for the wheels.”

“No problem.” He headed after her, getting into the passenger seat. “My wheels are your wheels. It’s the least I could do for a lady who gave me an afternoon I’ll never forget.”

She barely glanced at him as she switched on the engine. “Wow. Listen to all that vroom.”

“Yep,” he said happily, putting his arms behind his head. “It’s a lot of horses.”

“And won’t I just look sophisticated when the valet parks my truck at the convention?” She glanced at him. “You can get out now. I’ve turned on the amazing vehicle without incident.”

“Oh, I’m not getting out.” Zach grinned at her. “My stuff’s all packed and in the truck bed. I like your style of traveling, so I tossed my change of clothes into a hefty bag.”

“This hefty bag of mine,” she said, holding up her carpetbag, “is a Merada Fine. It cost one thousand, nine hundred and fifty-four dollars. Please do not refer to it in the same breath with a plastic garbage sack, as convenient as one is at times.”

“That much money and it doesn’t even carry itself. Gosh, you’d think it could run by remote control or something. Or voice activation. ‘Purse open,’” he said. “‘Purse close.’”

“Very funny. My girlfriend makes these purses, so I’ll thank you not to make fun of them. I’m supporting her efforts.”

He touched her cheek. “Meradas are actually a respected breed line of horses in Texas. So it’s interesting that you’re carrying something that’s a little less urban than you’re used to.”

“Coincidence. Nothing more.”

He grinned at her stiffness. “We actually have the same sense of humor if you’d ever let yourself smile.”

“I smile. Just not around annoying men.”

He laughed. “I don’t annoy you that badly. Do I?”

“Need you ask?” She backed down the driveway. “I’ll take you with me, simply because you’re such an excitement freak. This is going to be the most boring thing you’ve ever done in your life.”

“Lots of women there, though.” Zach pulled his hat over his face, preparing to snooze while Jessie drove. “As long as my eyeballs are busy and excited, that pretty much takes care of my brain’s need for activity.”

“It’s nice of you to trust me to drive your truck.”

“No trust involved. I’m right here, overseeing the whole adventure.” Assuaging his conscience from the front seat of his truck was no difficult task, but she didn’t know that. Although he tried to drift off, Zach could smell Jessie’s fragrance, making it entirely too difficult to relax.

Possibly his senses were overstimulated because he’d been thinking of the upcoming holiday season, which Jessie had mentioned after their glorious afternoon together. He’d always loved winter holidays, most of all when he was a child.

He might have a child one day to decorate the house for, bake for and share stories with. A longing burst inside him that he’d never before recognized. “I never thought I’d want children,” he said slowly, and Jessie nodded.

“You’ve alluded to that.”

“If I had kids, though, I’d have a reason to hang candy canes. I like to decorate at the ranch.” Zach frowned. “Duke tells me I’m being childish because I love Christmas.”

“Didn’t you say he’s just had a baby? He’ll probably beat you to the decorating this year.”

Zach grinned, enjoying the thought of the tables turning on his big brother. “I’ll be at his elbow every time he puts one raisin on a gingerbread man, every time he hangs an ornament, to tell him how childish he is.”

“Probably one reminder of a person’s mistakes is enough,” Jessie said. “I sure wouldn’t want anyone belaboring me over mine.”

He raised a brow. “Story time.”

“I’m busy driving.”

He sent an assessing look her way. “Try one on me. I know nothing at all about you, except that you have a strong sense of adventure.”

“Change has been my downfall. Really.”

“Not from my point of view,” Zach said sincerely, “unless you count T-bird sex as a pastime.”

“I don’t,” she said, and he grinned.

“Maybe I’m the catalyst for change in your life. I’d count that as being a positive influence.”

“Maybe just a pain in the ass,” she said, a trace of irritation in her voice.

“Hmm.” Zach thought about the sheets of plastic he’d dragged over her pretty T-bird to keep the chickens out of it and decided not to push his luck. No one ever knew what the future would bring. “So did you love him?”

“Who?”

“The ex-boyfriend who cheated on you.”

She turned her head to look at him briefly. She’d put on big black sunglasses with gold G’s in the corners that made her look like a reclusive movie star, and she had on way too much red lipstick for kissing, although it did look porn-star sexy on her. When they got to know each other better, he was going to tell her that all these girly enticements she was using to subconsciously lure him were not necessary. He liked his women plain and natural.

“I did not,” she said. “If I’d loved him, why would I be sitting in a Ford?”

He mulled that. “Perhaps you said Ford in a slightly disdainful tone.”

She laughed.

He noticed irritation slipping into his comfort zone. “Fords are the kings of the road, I’ll have you know.”

There was no response to his allegation. No argument, no comment, nada. He rolled his eyes. “If you’re going to have my baby, you’re going to have to understand a few things.”

“I am not having your child,” Jessie said. “As much as I wanted a baby, I would not want to make one with you.”

Rubbing his chin, he said, “So you’re not going to claim your pregnancy is a result of wanting to catch me?”

“I don’t think so. And who says I’m pregnant?”

She’d become so saucy. Snooty, even.

“I wouldn’t even be talking to you right now if you hadn’t stolen my car,” she said. “Never mind claiming you as the father.”

“Aha! You admit it! You wouldn’t have told me if I’d given you a baby.”

“I would have told you,” Jessie said, “but it wouldn’t have mattered to me. I wasn’t trying to catch any old guy just to get over my broken heart.”

“I thought you said you weren’t in love with him.”

“Oh.” She glanced at him, her lovely eyes hidden by the dark glasses. “My ego was bruised like any normal woman’s would be.”

“That’s code to mean you did love him.” Zach thought about that. “So you slept with me on the rebound. Revenge lust.”

“Oh, hell no,” Jessie said, laughing. “I just—”

He waited, watching the smile slip from her face.

“Well, it’s one or the other,” he said. “Either you slept with me to subconsciously avenge your boyfriend’s treatment of you, or you are, in fact, attracted to me.”

“Maybe I was just having a bad-girl moment?”

He rubbed a light finger down her arm. “I don’t think so, Jessie T. You’re possibly a case, but I also think you’re a damn sexy woman who just needs the right man to unlock all your secrets. And I have to warn you—I’m pretty darn good at knowing just how a woman likes her lock picked.”

SEVERAL HOURS later it was time to stop for gas. After Zach had bragged about his prowess with women, Jessie turned on the radio and lost herself in her thoughts. Much of what he’d said bothered her—though she would never admit that she’d simply slept with him to avenge herself on her ex. The thought had crossed her mind, of course, but she didn’t have to do that to make herself feel better. The simple act of walking away from him had washed away any need for salving her hurt feelings.

The truth was, attraction had surged inside her fast and hot the second she realized Zach had every intention of seducing her. Her answer had been yes, yes, yes. The focus of her body had been entirely in the here-now-more with Zach.

Her desire for a baby with her ex had been a misplaced sense of emptiness she’d been trying to fill. She knew that and more about herself now. Thanks to the cowboy, she could move past all those feelings of confusion and concentrate on growing as a person and as a woman.

“I don’t need change as much as I used to now,” she said. “I don’t have to beautify everything.”

“Yeah, you do,” Zach replied, his voice muffled by his hat.

“I was always afraid of letting people down, so I learned to fake everything. I’m never faking again.”

“I have to worry about a woman who admits to being a fake. I’d almost worry about our sex life except I know for damn sure you weren’t faking anything then.”

He didn’t have to sound so proud. “You never know. A woman who’s had as much practice as I have at faking might be very good at it. Super-convincing.”

Grunting, he shoved his hat off his face. “Want me to drive? You’ve been driving for four hours solid.”

“I like driving this beat-up Chevy,” Jessie replied, happy to tweak him.

“Jessie, there are certain things I would never do in my life,” he began, his voice full of that pompous confidence she had begun to recognize and maybe even admire. “Drive a Chevy is one.”

“Really?” she asked, as if she hadn’t known he was going to get crazy over her remark.

“Second, I would never let a woman annoy me.” Zach took her black sunglasses from her face. “I’m damn tired of not being able to see your big baby blues.”

“Give me those.”

“Nope,” Zach said happily, sticking them inside her carpetbag. “Take you a week to find those now that they’re safe inside the loch.”

“The loch?”

“A deep, mysterious lake. This purse is symbolic of the loch in your life. You could hide a baby inside this bag, actually,” he said, holding it up with wonder, “and lots of other secrets, which is how you operate your life, I’m betting. You know what, I’ve had saddlebags smaller than this handbag.”

“You’re obsessed with my purse.”

“But the question is, is it a purse or a suitcase? For the woman who’s always prepared to run from the first sight of danger?”

She pursed her lips, fully aware he was probing her for information. “Zach, I’m a simple girl. You’re making this too hard.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight.”

“Just a baby.”

She conducted a mental eye roll or two to allow herself to stay calm. “How old are you, grandpa?”

“Twenty-eight.”

She laughed. “And Duke?”

“Thirty. Pepper’s twenty-seven. She’s the pistol of the family.”

“I liked meeting her. She seems very level-headed. And somehow sad.”

“Sad? Pepper’s not sad. Pepper’s the smartest one of the family.”

She had definitely picked up on some wistfulness in Pepper’s personality. “Zach, while we’re at the convention in Los Rios—”

“Which I’m looking forward to, by the way.”

“Maybe you could find something to do locally.”

“Nah. I know one of the convention speakers and I’m hoping for a front-row seat.”

She didn’t think that was such a good idea. “There aren’t as many women at the conventions as you think there are.”

“Oh.” He touched her hair. “I had a horse once with hair the color of yours. Very shiny.”

“I suppose that’s a compliment.”

“But you’ve got all this stiff stuff in your hair today, and your lashes suddenly look like spider legs,” he said, drawing near to inspect her. “And there’s a lot of red gloss on your lips.”

She frowned. “So?”

“So it bugs me. You look like you’re hiding the real you. Like you’re in costume or something. So is this convention for the grand poobahs of fakers? Because I thought you were giving up on that stuff.”

He was in for a big surprise. “Zach, you should call and check on my car.”

“I’ll do that when we get to the convention. I’m sure I’ll have time between seminars.”

She shook her head. “You’re not going to any seminars.”

“I’m not?”

“No,” she said, knowing she didn’t want Zach that much in her life. There needed to be a fine line between what she did and who she knew. Not every family was homespun like his, not every community was apple-pie sweet. “Here’s where you and I part ways.” She parked the truck outside the hotel, handed him the key and grabbed her carpetbag. “Happy trails, Zach.”