The Rancher’s Baby Bargain

by Jackson, Mary Sue

  “She’s fine now.”

  Andrea glared at him. “She still needs you. As a partner, if not a husband. Isn’t that what you want? I got the impression from your lovesick expressions that you wanted to be with her.”

  “It has never mattered what I want.”

  “Aiden—” Linda attempted to cut in, but Aiden cut her off.

  “It’s always been about the family. What the family wants. What the family needs. The family business. The family legacy. I have been carrying the weight of this family on my shoulders for years, at the expense of everything I wanted.”

  His mother and sister stared at him, open-mouthed.

  “I have given everything for the family. All of my hopes and dreams have been set aside in the interest of keeping this ranch running. Why would I do that to her?”

  “Do what to her? Give her a shoulder to lean on?” Andrea wasn’t getting it.

  “Make her give up her life for me. Can’t you see what this has come to? I’m in debt. My crop is destroyed. I did it all to show you and Dad I could, and I’m on the brink of failure.”

  “Debt?” It was Linda’s turn to be shocked. “You took out loans?”

  “Of course I did. The hops plants have been struggling for years. And now, with the flood…well, it’ll be a good long time before I can pay them back. I’m trapped here. And I’m not going to hold Lucy back from doing what she wants because the Harper legacy lives in this property.”

  Linda shook her head. “No. Son, you’ve got it all wrong.”

  “Please. I’ve got it right, and you know it.”

  “You don’t. And I—I should have spoken up earlier. Or more forcefully. I don’t know. But this ranch was your father’s dream. And if it wasn’t his dream…he liked the idea of carrying on a tradition. I don’t think he necessarily cared what it was as long as it went on through generations.”

  “See? That’s why I can’t give this up.”

  “Let go of that pressure.” His mother was firm. “Yes, we get involved in each other's business. We’re a family. Of course we do. But don’t go on for another moment thinking that I need you to keep the ranch.” She stepped forward, taking his big hands in hers. “I want you to be happy and fulfilled. If that means giving up the ranch, then give up the ranch. Sell it. Pay your debts. Live your life. Or, if you want, I’ll back you on a business loan so you can start up your brewery. You could always find someone else to run the ranch. There’s enough starry-eyed men in town who’d love to have the run of a ranch this size.”

  He swallowed hard, throat aching. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “I won’t do a thing until you give me the word, Aiden. I just want you to know that you have options. You’re not trapped here. There are choices.”

  “All I wanted was to be with Lucy.” The truth tore from his throat unbidden.

  “I can see that on your face.” Behind Linda, Andrea flicked her eyes toward the ceiling, ever the sister. “And she wants a partner to live her life with. Risk or no risk. From the sound of it, she wants you.”

  “It’s too late for that.”

  “Give me a break,” said Andrea. “She’s broken up about you. It’s pretty clear she offered herself on a silver platter, and if you can’t reach out and take her, you don’t deserve her anyway.”

  “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “You can start here.” Andrea reached into her purse, withdrawing a handful of paper. “Every time we get together, Lucy has ideas about how you can improve the ranch. She gives them to anybody who’ll listen. Open your ears and stop being an idiot.”

  He took the papers in his hands and turned them over one by one. Lists of tasks he could streamline, people he could hire. One of them only had one phrase written there: Manager for the ranch so Aiden can focus on brewery?

  His eyes burned.

  “Well.” Linda suddenly turned brisk. “Let’s go, Andrea. We’ve done our work here.”

  “Are you kidding? He hasn’t even said what he’s going to do.”

  Linda grabbed her coat, then came back to Aiden and pulled him down into a hug. “Do the right thing, son. Do the right thing.”

  Twenty-Nine

  “If you’re going to skip town, you can indulge Holly and me. One last meeting won’t kill you.”

  Lucy followed Andrea down the sidewalk to the coffee shop they frequented for most of their business meetings.

  “I have so much to do,” she griped, trying to make it sound like she wasn’t complaining. “A new place to arrange in Portland, everything. I’ve got to find a new doctor, too. So…you should be thankful I’m coming with you.”

  Andrea flashed her an amused smile. “Is someone feeling a little cranky?”

  “It’s not easy being pregnant,” said Lucy, half joking.

  “My mother would tell you that it only gets harder.”

  They reached the coffee shop, and Andrea stepped ahead to open the door for Lucy.

  Lucy tried to focus on the business at hand. “What’s on your agenda today? We’ve already been over most of the fine details, so—”

  Andrea threw her arms open wide and shouted, “She’s here!”

  The coffee shop erupted in applause and cheers. The cascade shocked Lucy, causing her to take a step back into the door. “How dare you,” she said to Andrea through a giant smile she couldn’t wipe off her face. “I said I didn’t want a baby shower anymore.”

  And it was a baby shower. The entire coffee shop had been done up in pink and blue streamers, and a “WELCOME BABY” banner hung cheerily over the group of women who had gathered together against Lucy’s express wishes. Linda stood at the front of the group—no surprises there—and was surrounded by the faces of everyone she’d made friends with since coming back to town. Holly Jackson was there, and her old friend from high school, Marie. Crystal, the teller at the bank who always took the time to chat with Lucy. About twenty of them had come together.

  Lucy’s throat went tight around her surprise and joy and only got tighter when Andrea led her to a table in the back and presented her with a cake flavored with orange Creamsicle.

  “Oh, you—you shouldn’t have.” Lucy admired the gorgeous decorations on the cake, for once not wanting to eat it in one bite. It was too beautiful.

  “A pregnant lady deserves to indulge her cravings.” Andrea gave her a hug, then turned back to the crowd and started the show.

  Linda and Andrea had put together the perfect luncheon, catered by the restaurant next door and beverages provided by the coffee shop itself. They put her in the center of the group, and as the women ate and shared stories and reassured Lucy that everything would turn out wonderfully, Lucy realized a dream of hers had come true.

  She had always wanted this kind of life, growing up, and she’d never had it. It had seemed like an unattainable fantasy—all of it. Knowing everybody in town. Having a group of girlfriends who would come together and celebrate her.

  That hadn’t been easy to find in the city, either. The sciences were a male-dominated field, and while Lucy had a few fierce friendships with women in her cohort and at the lab, they were too busy with work to socialize much. It hit her as she sat at the table that she’d never had the chance to share personal moments like this with any of those women. Would she even have done it? Everything revolved around work.

  This—this tribe of women—was something she’d never allowed herself to hope for too deeply.

  And, now that she had one, she was leaving it. The sadness of it brought tears to her eyes.

  “Oh—I have something to show you.” Linda drew a piece of paper from her purse and handed it down the table to Lucy.

  She unfolded it to see a high-resolution picture of her parents’ house, warm and inviting in the summer sun.

  “PERFECT HOME FOR A YOUNG FAMILY,” read the top of the flyer.

  Lucy shot a critical glance at Linda. “You’re too much,” she said.

  Linda gave her a who me? look, then wink
ed at her and called the party to attention. Andrea took charge then, leading them in a Mad Libs-style game that had them all crying with laughter.

  Then it was time for the presents.

  Lucy opened gift after gift, growing closer and closer to tears. They had held nothing back in their generosity. Every item she’d chosen for her registry was there, along with several other handmade items. Including a blanket Linda and Andrea had made themselves. In delicate embroidery along one edge, it read BABY HARPER.

  Now the tears did drop from her face, and she found herself wrapped in a hug from both women.

  “No matter what you do,” said Linda, “we’ll always consider you and your baby a part of our family. You lean on us whenever you need to.”

  Lucy swallowed hard to keep herself from sobbing. “You’re wonderful.” It was all she could say.

  Eventually they released her from the hug, and Lucy was free to chat and mingle. Many of the women went back for seconds of the cake, but after another half an hour, she noticed them glancing at the clock.

  With a sinking feeling, Lucy realized what the problem was. This was the part of the shower when the father-to-be usually showed up with a bouquet of flowers and a big cheesy grin for the mother-to-be.

  There would be no bouquet of flowers. Lucy was pretty sure of that.

  The waiting got awkward fast. That was no way to end a party, so Lucy stepped up to the center of the room and cleared her throat. She could give a thank-you speech as well as anyone.

  But before she could speak, a whisper went through the crowd, and everyone looked away from her and toward the door.

  Aiden stood in the entryway of the coffee shop holding the most enormous bouquet of flowers she had ever seen. They were wrapped in the classic green cellophane from the florist a block over.

  Holly Jackson was the first to break the silence with a loud whoop. When she started clapping, everybody else followed suit.

  Aiden looked frozen.

  She couldn’t look away from those blue eyes.

  Finally, he nodded, waved off the applause, and said, “Thank you all for coming to celebrate the new life among us. It—” His voice grew tight. “It means a lot.”

  There was more clapping and good-natured cheering, and then Aiden made his way through the crowd, stopping right in front of Lucy.

  He looked down at her, and her stomach filled with butterflies. As hurt as she’d been, she couldn’t help being in love with him. Her heart pounded. The flowers were a good sign, but…

  “Can I talk to you for a second?”

  From over her shoulder, Andrea answered for her. “If you want to say it to her, you can say it in front of us. We’re all waiting, Aiden.”

  Aiden glanced at Lucy for confirmation; she shrugged in a way that was far more casual than she felt. “They’ll know about five minutes after this happens, anyway.”

  People had stopped getting ready to leave and were pretending to be deeply involved in other conversations.

  Aiden seemed to steel himself, and then he spoke, his big hands wrapped around the bouquet. “I’ve always been the guy everybody depends on.”

  The moment he began to speak, the cafe fell silent.

  “I’ve done my best to let everyone think I have it together. I’ve done my best to keep everyone’s dreams alive.” He looked directly into Lucy’s eyes. “But I’m done putting my own dreams aside for everyone else.”

  He looked over her shoulder, probably at Linda. “I love my family. But it’s time for me to let my own dreams lead the way into the rest of my life.”

  Eyes back on Lucy’s, he continued. “You are the biggest dream of all of my days, Lucy.”

  A muffled cheer went up from the crowd, and Lucy’s cheeks heated.

  “I’m ready to sell the ranch and move to Portland, if that’s what you want to do. All that matters to me now is being with you and our baby if you’ll have me. I love you. And you’re what matters. Nothing else.”

  Lucy took a deep breath. “No.”

  Shock flashed across his face. “What?”

  “I don’t want to move to Portland.”

  The relief wrote itself across Aiden’s face. “What about the rest?”

  “This place—” She gestured to the crowd of people listening intently to what should have been a very private conversation. “As nosy and small as it is—” They all laughed. “This is a home. This is a life. And I want a life. I’m tired of chasing goal after goal. And for what? What happens if I get everything I dreamed of, and I don’t have you? It’s not worth it to me. It’s not worth it at all.”

  Aiden beamed down at her.

  “So why give up a ranch and a brewery that are about to succeed so wildly? Why give up family and friends? I can always produce products from right here. There’s nothing stopping me.”

  Aiden took her hand in his.

  “But most of all,” Lucy said. “You. You’re what I want. None of these dreams mean anything if you’re not by my side. I love you.”

  This time, the cheers were deafening. Lucy heard Linda sniff behind her.

  “We can do this together,” she declared. “Let me be your partner in life and dreams for the rest of our days. Please. I’ve always had such a crush on you!”

  Aiden took her in his arms, sweeping her off her feet, and his “yes” was drowned out by hoots and hollers and pure joy.

  All of it faded to the background when he leaned down and kissed Lucy, deep and strong.

  They were a done deal.

  For now and forever.

  Epilogue

  “Look at this, Daisy. That’s a brewery. It’s how Daddy pays for part of the bills. Daddy makes beer.” Aiden held Daisy, their nine-month-old daughter, carefully in his arms, breathing in her baby scent as they walked through the brewery.

  “Bee,” said Daisy.

  “That’s right. Beer.”

  Aiden had taken up residence on cloud nine. Daisy was the light of his life, along with her mother, and now all of his dreams were coming true.

  He carried a letter in his back pocket. That letter could change everything.

  It would be wrinkled half to death when he was done with it, but for now, he wanted it close.

  He’d entered some of his brews in an international beer competition. If they placed, he’d win anywhere from twenty thousand to fifty thousand dollars. It would be an incredible boon, especially because the brewery and restaurant’s grand opening was tomorrow night.

  But tonight was almost a bigger deal. Tonight was Founders’ Night. Everybody who had invested in the brewery had been invited for a meal and a beverage. Aiden hadn’t expected there to be so many of them, but the town had rallied around his dream. They would have over a hundred people at the dinner tonight.

  Most of them had donated for personal reasons. He’d read the notes they attached to their contributions. “Thank you for mowing our grass when Cliff hurt his back that summer,” read one of them. “You didn’t have to hire me to work on your ranch, but it changed my life.” Another: “Your wife’s cleaning solution saved my mother’s wedding dress after it got that water damage. You’ll never know how much that means to me.”

  His wife was on his mind when she snuck up behind him, wrapping her arms as far around as she could reach. “Hey, big guy. You know everything’s set for tonight, right? There’s nothing left to do. Oh—except read this mysterious letter you’ve got in your back pocket.”

  “Hey—”

  Lucy opened it. She just…opened it.

  “I know it’s the results,” she said, batting her eyelashes at him. “The seal has been broken. You ready to find out what it says?”

  “No.” Aiden bounced Daisy in his arms, trying to hide his excitement. Looking at Lucy, he realized he wasn’t fearful. He wasn’t anxious. He was happy. No matter what happened with the contest, he had everything he wanted.

  “All right. Let’s do it.”

  Lucy unfolded the paper and took a deep breath, her
eyes scanning the words printed there.

  Then a giant smile spread across her face.

  “Guess.”

  “Third prize,” he said.

  “First!” she shouted, and then they were jumping and cheering together, Daisy laughing as if she was in on the news.

  “I did it,” Aiden said.

  “You did it,” Lucy told him, and then he kissed her for as long as he could manage before Daisy squealed and demanded he carry her somewhere else.

  They walked together to the entrance of the brewery. It was time to get ready for the dinner, and Aiden’s heart soared.

  All his dreams had come true.

  There was no better feeling on earth.

  End of The Rancher’s Baby Bargain

  Do you love handsome, rugged cowboys? Please keep reading for a preview from The Cowboy’s Heir and Home with the Cowboy.

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  About Mary Sue Jackson

  Mary Sue Jackson is the romance pen name created for all those cowboy dreamers! This Montana-based cowgirl is a rancher, and knows what hard work means. But despite being up at dawn and working past dusk, she still finds time for what she really loves... romance! With so many hours spent alone, riding across the seemingly never-ending expanse of grasslands, she has plenty of time to dream of love and the romantic tales of ranch life.

  When May Sue's not out on the grasslands dreaming up her next story, she's most often spending time with her own personal hunky rancher, her husband. One of May Sue's favorite activities is to ride the ranch with her husband in the evening and hold his hand as they watch the sun go down over the prairie.