Montana Mavericks: a hot cowboy collection

by Rebecca Zanetti

  “Tired?” He reached into his bag for a stethoscope, which he pressed to her chest.

  “Yes.” Yes, but that might be from fighting her attraction to the pissed-off lawyer.

  “Overwhelmed?” the doctor asked.

  “Yes.” Her voice thickened this time.

  The doctor reached out gentle hands and pressed lightly along her neck and glands. “Feeling dizzy now?”

  “No,” she said.

  He left the stethoscope hanging from his neck. “It’s time for you to get some rest, dear. Things will be better tomorrow.” He stood, his knees popping. “I’d like to see you for a full examination tomorrow—say, after breakfast?”

  “She’ll be there.” Jake moved away from the door.

  “She needs peace, Jake.” The doctor placed a hand on Jake’s arm while opening the door. “Don’t upset her.” With that, the doctor escaped into the stormy night.

  Silence ticked across the room before Jake moved toward her, bent, and lifted her.

  “I can walk.” Why did it have to feel so good to be in his arms? Solid and warm, the man provided a comfort she could become addicted to.

  “I know.” He climbed the stairs to her bedroom and laid her gently on the bed. “We can talk about this tomorrow.”

  “You’re not sleeping here.” Alarm flared in her as he shrugged out of his shirt. Jake didn’t answer as his hands went to his belt. She sat up. “I mean it. Mrs. Shiller would be shocked.”

  His jeans hit the floor. “Mrs. Shiller and her friend, Lily Roundbird, left this morning.”

  “Oh. I forgot about their week-long trip to Yellowstone.” Sophie relaxed. Though the man still didn’t need to stay.

  “They spend more time in the various casinos on the way down, and probably just a day at Yellowstone.” He kicked his pants to the side.

  “I’m not living in Montana.” Sophie sat still as stone while Jake gently pulled her shirt off and tugged his much bigger one over her head and threaded her arms through. Once again, her body won over her mind. She wanted to be held. Heck, she needed it.

  “We’ll figure that out, too.” He dragged the covers over them. Then he tucked her into his large body and warmth enfolded her. She couldn’t have remained awake if her life depended on it. “Where’s Leila?”

  “At mom’s,” Jake said.

  Okay, then. She slid into sleep as smoothly as warm cream from a pitcher, toasty and safe in Jake’s arms.

  Her sleep was a dreamless one.

  Orange blossoms and spice swirled around her as she struggled to awaken. She slid one eyelid open to see a thick mug.

  “Wake up, sweetheart. We have a doctor’s appointment,” Jake said, his voice deep and strong.

  Sophie groaned and rolled over before yanking the pillow atop her head. It was instantly removed. “I am not getting up.” She curled into a ball and leaped for dreamland.

  “Yes, you are.” After placing the cup on the nightstand, he lifted her from the bed.

  “No.” She snuggled her face into a warm chest.

  “Yes.” He lowered her until her feet rested on the smooth floor.

  She groaned as her feet cooled, and she pushed away from Jake. “I’m pregnant, and I need sleep.” It was a last-ditch effort that resulted in a deep male chuckle.

  “Nice try. Drink your tea, and I’ll make my famous scrambled eggs while you shower.”

  “Your scrambled eggs are famous?” She opened blurry eyes on a freshly showered man, and her libido picked up. Just a bit.

  “Extremely,” Jake said solemnly with a twinkle in his eyes. “If I leave, do you promise not to go back to bed?”

  Sophie looked longingly at the bed and then at Jake’s determined face. “Fine,” she huffed and turned to grab her toiletry bag, “but those eggs better be worth it.” She stomped out of the room and headed for a warm shower.

  An hour later found her refreshed and dressed. She sat at the table, her stomach growling in response to the aromatic concoction on the stove.

  “You’re a bit of a grouch in the morning.” Jake failed to hide his grin as he dumped scrambled eggs with ham, onions, and cheese onto a plate before her.

  “Am not,” Sophie said before taking a healthy bite of eggs and closing her eyes in appreciation. “I’m tired. And pregnant.” She glared at him before taking another big bite.

  “So this morning attitude is new?” he asked.

  “Not exactly.”

  Jake wisely sat and ate his eggs in silence, pausing from time to time to make sure she ate hers.

  “So you’ve been to the Supreme Court?” Sophie leaned back in her chair, her stomach all but bursting.

  “Twice.” Jake took the empty plates to the sink. His faded jeans curved over a rock-hard ass, and Sophie couldn’t help but lick her lips. Then her gaze trailed over the crisp black shirt and the muscles shifting beneath it when he moved.

  “You could probably get a job anywhere,” she said.

  His back stiffened as he ran water into the sink. “Probably.”

  “And make a lot of money.” Her mind spun with the possibilities.

  “More than likely.” He placed the plates in the dishwasher before turning to face her, his back against the counter, his arms across his chest. “I’m not leaving Montana.”

  “Why not?” she asked.

  “It’s my heritage. I want Leila to grow up here and know it. And know her grandparents and uncles. Maybe cousins someday.” His face hardened.

  “You’ve had this discussion before,” Sophie said softly.

  Jake nodded.

  “I like my life.” She rose to her feet.

  “Your life just changed. Both of ours did.” Jake folded the dishtowel on the counter and put a hand to the small of her back. “Let’s go to Doc’s and make sure you’re all right.”

  Sophie nodded. There really wasn’t anything else to say. She followed him out of the house and climbed into his truck. They didn’t speak on the way to the town center. All too soon Jake pulled to a stop near the spraying fountain, and Sophie turned toward a deep blue door set into a log-cabin-type building with Doc Moon written in yellow letters.

  “There wasn’t enough room for his whole name.” Jake grinned and helped her from the Jeep.

  Sophie sighed in relief at the mostly empty sidewalk before darting through the blue door into a comfortable mauve waiting room. The last thing she needed was the entire town knowing she was pregnant with Jake’s baby.

  “Well, hello, Jake.” A fiftyish woman fluffed her poufed white hair and smiled capped teeth from behind the receptionist counter. “This must be Sophie. I’m Gladys, and I need you to fill these out.” Gladys handed her a clipboard with several papers attached and a pen. Sophie took them and dropped into a wooden chair. She had finished about half of the forms when a door to the right of the receptionist’s desk opened. Doc Mooncaller poked his gray head out. He was wearing an official-looking lab coat with a stethoscope draped over his neck.

  “Sophie, come on in. Just bring those papers.” He moved back down the hall.

  Sophie stood and wasn’t surprised as Jake bounded up. She lifted an eyebrow at him.

  “Can I come in?” His hopeful expression was too much to deny.

  “Okay,” she whispered, “but you have to leave if I need to get naked.”

  “I’ve seen you naked, Sunshine,” he whispered back as they headed down the hall to the open examination room.

  Sophie raised her arms in exasperation as she walked inside and plopped on one of the two brown guest chairs.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be on the table?” Jake sat next to her.

  Sophie frowned. Suddenly, this was all too personal. “Maybe you should return to the waiting area.”

  “Too late,” Jake whispered as Doc walked into the room.

&n
bsp; “Well, Sophie. I guess you didn’t make a run for it, huh?” Doc settled onto a rolling doctor’s chair. “I’d like to do a full examination and medical history.” He nodded toward the table. “My nurse will be in to give you a gown and take your blood pressure in just a minute. Jake, you go back to the waiting room.”

  Jake straightened. “But Doc—”

  “I mean it. You can come next time. Right now you’re just in the way,” the doctor said.

  “Fine. But if you need me, call me.” Jake dropped a light kiss on Sophie’s head before grudgingly leaving the room.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sophie walked down Doc’s hall, relieved he’d given her a clean bill of health. And prenatal vitamins. She took a deep breath and opened the door to face Jake. Then she stopped cold at the sight of Loni, Tom, Dawn, Colton, Quinn, and Hawk all sitting in the waiting room.

  Jake held his head in his hands but looked up at her gasp. “Melanie Johnson saw us come into the office earlier and called Mrs. West, who called Jeanie Dixon, who called my mother.”

  Loni jumped to her feet and rushed to take Sophie’s hands. “Are you okay?” Loni wore a light blue blouse with the buttons lined incorrectly, jeans, and mismatched flip-flops. Her hair perched in a lopsided ponytail, and she’d applied mascara to only one eye.

  Sophie nodded numbly.

  “Good.” Loni patted her hands as the rest of the group rose. “We hurried down here so quickly we missed breakfast. Why don’t we all—”

  “No.” Jake reached around Loni to take Sophie’s hand and pull her toward the door. “We’re going somewhere else. To talk.”

  He led her to the truck, and she sat inside without a protest, her mind whirling. She was pregnant. Everyone knew it. She didn’t notice when he started the ignition or pulled onto the road, and she paid no attention to their trip. The truck stopped.

  “You brought me to your house,” she said woodenly.

  Jake faced her across the middle console. “Are you all right?”

  “Doc says I’m perfectly healthy. You had a huge head when you were born,” she mused.

  “He told you that?” Jake laughed.

  “Everybody knows I’m pregnant.” She would’ve liked a chance to come to grips with the idea on her own.

  He rubbed a large hand over his eyes. “I know.” He turned and unfolded from the truck before crossing and opening her door to help her out.

  “Are you going to sue me for custody?” Sophie regained her footing on the smooth drive, then lifted her eyes to meet his, which narrowed. She fought a shiver as the pine-scented breeze rippled through her hair, and thunder sounded in the distance.

  “No,” he said.

  “What about the Federal Indian Act?” Her knees trembled.

  “You mean the Indian Child Welfare Act?” Jake rubbed warmth into her suddenly freezing arms.

  “Yeah, that.” Sophie eased back from his too-appealing touch. “Don’t tribes get a leg-up in custody battles?”

  Jake studied her for a moment, realization dawning over his rugged face. “No. That is not what the Act does.”

  “Really?” Sarcasm laced her tone.

  “The Act’s purpose is to protect Indian children taken out of a home, so they are put in a foster home or adopted by another Indian couple. It does not give a leg-up to anyone in a normal custody proceeding.” Jake propelled her toward the house. “I cannot believe you’ve actually been worrying about this.” He opened the door and ushered her inside. “That you think I’d fight you in court for our child.”

  Sophie turned to face him as he shut the door with a soft thud. “What are you going to do?”

  “Negotiate.” The smile he gave her should have provided a warning. Instead, it warmed her from the toes up.

  “Negotiate? What exactly do you mean?” Sophie sat on the leather couch and stretched her legs over the matching ottoman. The view of Mineral Lake and sharp peaked mountains relaxed her, bone by bone.

  “Well, what would it take for you to live in Montana?” The matching leather chair creaked as he sat and faced her.

  Sophie stiffened. “Live here?”

  “Yes. In what circumstances can you see yourself based out of here?” he asked.

  “What about you,? What circumstances can you see yourself living in San Francisco?” she asked.

  “I don’t.” Jake’s jaw set. “It’s not only me. I can’t take Leila away from the rest of my family. Even if I wanted to.”

  Sophie could understand that. “I’m surprised you’re not spouting that we need to get married before the baby is born.”

  Jake sat back in his chair, his voice softening. “Already made that mistake.”

  Sophie clamped down on the sudden pang through her heart. She reminded herself she didn’t want to get married just because she was pregnant, either. “I don’t know where we stand.”

  “Me neither. I think we should look at it in steps,” he said.

  “In steps?” she asked.

  Determination and an odd vulnerability lit his eyes. “The pregnancy as the first step. Sophie, I would not like to miss any of it.” “You’ll come to San Francisco?” she asked.

  “I thought you’d stay here. You know, work on the tribe’s golf course and the art showing for Juliet. You’d still be working at what you want, and I’d pay to fly you to California any time you wished. So long as Doc okays it,” Jake said.

  “I’m not sure.” The idea did sound appealing.

  “Just think about it. Then we could figure out a schedule that works for both of us after the baby is born, if you decide to live in the city.” His smile was too charming.

  Sophie frowned, her mind reeling with static.

  A slam of a truck door saved her from having to answer, and Leila rushed into the room. “Daddy, look what Aunt Dawn made me.” The little girl jumped into her father’s arms and handed him a blue knitted hat.

  Jake raised his eyebrows. “Dawn learned to knit?”

  “Uncle Hawk bet her that she couldn’t do it.” Leila turned curious eyes on Sophie. “What’s ‘knocked up’ mean?”

  Sophie’s breath caught in her throat. She dropped her legs off the ottoman.

  Jake shot her a concerned glance. “Where did you hear that, sweetheart?”

  Dawn answered from the doorway. “That cow Betsy Phillips said it to Mary Whitmore at the grocery store when we dropped by for some flour for Mom.” She turned wide eyes on Sophie. “Oh. Hi, Sophie.”

  “Hi, Dawn.” Sophie leaned back again and crossed her arms over her face.

  “Well, ’bye.” Dawn made a quick exit.

  “What’s knocked up?” Leila asked again. “That cow Betsy Phillips said that you’re knocked up, Sophie. Does it hurt?”

  Sophie huffed out a laugh, and she peeked between her arms.

  “You shouldn’t call Mrs. Phillips a cow. Even if it is true,” Jake admonished his daughter.

  “Sorry.” Inquisitive eyes met Sophie’s. “Well?”

  “Um, well.” Sophie panicked as she stared at Jake.

  Jake took a deep breath before cuddling his daughter close. “It means Sophie has a baby in her tummy.”

  “Like old Bula?” Leila’s eyes dropped to Sophie’s stomach.

  Jake sputtered. “Uh, kind of.”

  “Who’s Bula?” Sophie asked warily.

  “A milk cow over at my mom’s.” Jake stifled a grin.

  “How did you get a baby in your tummy?” Leila asked.

  …

  That night found Sophie struggling to find sleep, even though her body was exhausted after Jake and Leila dropped her at home. She giggled at the thought of Jake quickly changing the subject to shoes with his daughter to avoid explaining the birds and the bees. Though they’d have to tell her about her future sibling sometime.


  As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Jake’s offer made a certain kind of sense. Designing the tribe’s course would help Uncle Nathan, and she’d get a chance to put together a real art exhibit. A dream she hadn’t dared given any hope.

  A tiny voice in her head whispered that she wouldn’t be alone during the pregnancy, either. But instead of reassuring her, that made her want to run. Fast and hard in the other direction. The phone rang, and she reached for it like a lifeline.

  “Hey, Sophie, I hope I’m not waking you,” Preston said.

  “No, Preston, I can’t sleep,” she admitted.

  The sound of Preston settling back against leather, probably his desk chair, filled the line. “I just wanted to let you know Charleton has dropped their threats of a lawsuit.”

  Sophie’s stomach heaved. “How? Why?”

  “Apparently our new attorney talked to theirs and they backed off. Fast,” Preston said.

  Sophie groaned. “We have a new attorney?”

  “Yeah. You might know him.”

  “Son of a bitch.” Sophie took a calming breath. At this rate there wouldn’t be a place in her life Jake hadn’t infiltrated.

  Preston laughed. “Well, I figured I’d give you a friendly warning. Your uncle thinks Lodge walks on water.”

  “Great. But what about the other four developments? We needed those,” she said, her head hurting.

  “Nah, we’ll be all right. I’m flying to New York tomorrow to meet with Luxem Hotel Executives. They’re building seven more hotels next year, all with golf courses. I think we’ll get the job,” Preston said.

  “That’d be great.” Hope filled her with warmth.

  “It’d be even better if you were here to help design some of those,” he cajoled.

  Sophie stared at muted moonlight playing across the ceiling and searched for the right words. The scraping of pine needles against the window was the only sound through the room.

  “Or…” Preston sighed. “I’m sure you could help design them from anywhere in the world.”

  She breathed in. “Really?”

  “All you need is the Internet and a cell phone,” he said.

  “I have those,” Sophie said softly.