by Becky McGraw
“I sang to her while I was pregnant too,” Jess said then leaned down and kissed her little fist. “She likes it.”
“So, do I,” Wade said then swallowed down the regret that almost overwhelmed him, then he told her, “I wish I could have been with you while you were pregnant.” He wished he could have been there when Angel was born, too, but regrets weren’t going to get him anywhere. They could only move forward, no looking back.
“You were riding bucking broncs, and I was cutting demo tapes…things happen when they’re supposed to,” she told him and smiled down at Angel.
Wade needed to broach the subject of her staying in Bowie, and he guessed now was as good a time as any, since she seemed to be in a good mood, and Jazzie and Travis were here to help him. “What would you say if I told you, the owner of the bar in Bowie offered you and your band a contract to play there, while you’re ankle is healing?”
“He couldn’t afford our expenses, and our rate,” Jess said, but then looked over at Jazzie, who shook her head and smiled.
“I was at the bar last night, and mentioned you guys were in town, and told Red what happened, and he was very interested…he has two apartments over the bar, where your band could stay. He said he could include that in the compensation. You’d only have to play Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.”
“Sounds too good to be true,” Jess said and he looked at her in the rearview and saw her eyes were wary.
“Like you said, things happen the way they’re supposed to. Think about it, talk to the band and let me know. He gave me a contract last night.”
“Wow, you have it all worked out…” Jess said sarcastically, and the hackles on his neck raised, but he fought down the urge to defend himself.
“I’m trying to help, Jess…not interfere, or control things. Stop being so defensive, and give me a chance,” Wade said evenly.
“What other choice do I have…you have my baby, and I have a broken ankle and a burned up van. Give me the contract,” she said and leaned forward to put her hand over the seat.
“I’ll tear it up right now, Jess, if that’s what you want,” he pulled it out of his pocket and held it between his fingers. “The choice is yours…I’m not forcing you to do anything, except allow me to be a part of my daughter’s life. I was trying to help you, but if you don’t want that help, I’ll be done with it.”
“Jess, don’t be an idiot,” Travis piped up. “Quit being a jackass—thank him and sign the damned contract. I’ll work on getting bigger gigs, once your ankle is healed. At least you can keep the band together for now.”
Travis was right, but she still didn’t like not having a choice. When Jess got cornered, she came out fighting like an alley cat, and that’s what Wade had done with that custody order. She might have been out of her mind at the hospital, because what mother wouldn’t be when faced with a paper that told her she was had no control over her baby anymore? Her head was clear again now though, and she wasn’t going down without a fight…but she had to time her battles.
Not having money was an issue, and Travis was right, she needed money, because as soon as she could, she was hiring an attorney, and giving Wade Roberts a run for his money. He wasn’t going to kick her while she was down again. Until then, she’d play nice, so she could keep her baby.
“I’m sorry, Wade…thank you for getting that set up…I’ll sign it,” she reached forward again and he handed it to her. Digging around in the diaper bag, she found a pen and signed it, then handed it back to him, and huffed out a breath.
“There’s something else, I want to run by you, Jess…” Wade said then met her eyes in the rearview again.
More? Oh, boy…she wondered what other delightful news the asshole had to impart. She couldn’t wait to hear what else in her life he was going to try to control now. ‘What’s that?” Jess said trying to keep her voice calm and even, although inside her stomach was a burning pit of acid.
“I’m buying a house for you and Angel…” he told her then looked over at Jazzie, “And Jazzie too, if she wants to stay there.”
She couldn’t help the singsong quality of her voice when she said, “Oh, and where will you be staying?” It certainly wasn’t in the house with them. She could barely tolerate his overbearing personality for a few hours, there was no way she was going to be able to do it, if they were under the same roof.
“Stop, it, Jess…” Jazzie hissed and her eyes sparkled angrily.
It seemed like they were both on Wade’s team, her brother and her best friend, and Jess had never felt so alone. Clenching her jaw, she said sweetly, “What did you have in mind, Wade?”
Jess saw a muscle in Wade’s jaw work a few times, then he told her, “What I was going to suggest, is that I buy a house, and you, Angel and Jazzie live there, while you’re in town, then when you go on tour, I’ll stay there and take care of Angel. Otherwise, I’ll be at the bunkhouse at the Double B.”
What he said made perfect sense, and Jess fought her inner wildcat instinct, and tried to be reasonable, “That sounds fine, but our stuff is in Dallas, we have an apartment there.”
“We can go get your stuff…that’s not a problem,” he told her, then it looked like he was holding his breath.
If she was lucky and waited long enough, maybe he’d pass out. “Fine, just let me know when you find something,” she told him, then folded her arms under her breasts and added, “Jazz and I can stay at the bar, until then with the band.”
“You’re going to be living in that house, Jess, so you need to go with me to find a place. And as for you staying at the bar, until we get something set up…” Wade took a deep breath then blew it out slowly, evidently rephrasing what he was about to say, “There are three extra bedrooms in the bunkhouse, and I’m sure Cassie and Luke wouldn’t mind you and Jazzie using them, until we close on a house. That way your band members can have some space.”
Jazzie smiled, then winked at Wade, and Jess wanted to throw up when she said, “I’d love to stay at the bunkhouse Wade…it sounds like we’d have plenty of room to spread out there too.”
His warm smile for Jazzie, put Jess’s teeth on edge, then she ground them to dust when he said in that low sexy voice of his, “And I’d love to have you there, Jazz…it’s only temporary, but it’s a helluva lot more comfortable than shoving six people into two one-bedroom apartments.”
Wade looked over at Travis and offered, “You’re welcome there too, you can have the third bedroom.”
“Thanks, man, but I’ll just stay with the band…” Travis said then added, “Hopefully, I won’t be in Bowie too long…if I can get them signed with a label, or at least opening for a big name.”
“With Jess’s talent, you shouldn’t have a problem,” Wade said without looking at her, and he turned his focus back on the road, and kept quiet the rest of the ride back to Bowie.
The humming of the tires, and whisper of the air conditioner put Jess to sleep, and she stayed that way for most of the ride, but when they pulled up in front of the big farmhouse, her nerves went right back on edge. A claustrophobic feeling squeezed her throat and she had to get out of the truck, quickly.
Wade was at her side in an instant, as she slid down to the ground. “Wait, baby…I’ll carry you to the bunkhouse so you don’t trip on one of the holes between here and there.”
“No, need…I’ll be fine,” she said and turned her back to him, then unbuckled Angel from the car seat and lifted Angel to her shoulder. Wade leaned over her shoulder and took Angel from her, and she spun around on him, with her hands on her hips, then hissed, “Jesus, you have to control everything, don’t you?”
“Goddammit, Jess, stop being so prickly. You can bust your ass if you want to, but I’ll be damned if you’re taking Angel down with you!” Wade spat then grabbed a few bags from the back of the truck and took off toward the bunkhouse.
Jess huffed a breath, and admitted to herself, she was being prickly with him, and that attitude wasn’t going to mak
e the time she was forced to spend with him any better. She needed to get a grip on her anger, for Angel, and deal with this man better, because it looked like he was going to be in their lives for a while.
Jazzie came up to her side, and put her hands on her hips, then got some head action going, “You need to quit being a bitch to him…he’s done nothing but try to help your sorry ass, Jessie…and all you’ve given him is hell. Grow up!” her best friend told her then grabbed the rest of the bags from the truck bed and stomped off toward the bunkhouse.
It looked like she was batting a thousand…now everyone was pissed at her…she was even pissed at herself. Jazzie always told her like it was, and that’s why they got along so well. She could count on her best friend to lay it all out there without soft soaping anything.
Jazzie was right this time too, even if she was mad at her for siding with Wade. She was a twenty-seven-year-old mother, and needed to start acting that way. Wade Roberts was accepting responsibility for their daughter…way above that really…and she needed to do what was best for her daughter, accept what he was offering, at least until she could do something else.
Travis finally came around to her side of the truck and looked at her with sympathy in his eyes, “I know this is tough for you Sis, but Jazzie is right…Wade is helping, and you need it.”
“I know…but I’ve worked hard to take control of my life from Dad…then Ray…and giving even a piece of that control up is hard now…and scary.”
“Wade is nothing like them…he’s not going to use you, or rob you blind…he just wants to take care of you and Angel,” Travis told her then slipped his arm around her shoulders and finished, “I’m going to try and get ya’ll signed as soon as I can, but you need to be writing, while you’re off. You need some new stuff to cut some demos. The bar would be a good place to try them out too.”
Jess said in a trembling voice, “I do need to start writing again…I still have a few songs that Ray didn’t get his hands on, and I need to polish them, then start some new ones.”
Reaching inside the truck, she got the diaper bag, then stuffed in the toys that Wade had bought for Angel, and the cute little angel shorts set, then slammed the door. “Can you get my suitcase?”
They walked toward the bunkhouse with the heated sun beating down on her head, and Jess had to carefully pick her way around the dirt clods and holes, trying to make it there without breaking her other ankle. It didn’t take her long to figure out she should have let Wade carry her, because it was taking three times as long to get there. When her cast landed wrong and she twisted her knee, Jess sat down on the ground with a grimace. She dropped the diaper bag, then just sat there a second resting her head on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Travis left her there and kept walking to the bunkhouse.
“You done being stubborn, sugar?” Wade’s deep voice made her jerk her head up to see his eyes sparkling with amusement, and a sexy grin on his damned face that made that irresistible dimple dent his cheek.
“Yeah, I guess I am,” she said with resignation pouring through her. That stubbornness sure hadn’t gotten her anywhere, except on her ass in the middle of a pasture.
“Good, let’s go then,” he leaned down and picked her up in his arms then told her, “Put your arms around my neck.”
Looking into his warm brown eyes, she slid her palms up his chest then around his neck. He held her gaze as he carried her toward the bunkhouse. “Better watch where you’re going, or you’re gonna find one of those holes, and we’ll both wind up on our butts.”
“I won’t let you fall, sugar…” he told her, seeming to impart a message with his words and his eyes that went far beyond the surface.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Three days later, the real estate agent Wade had contacted, the only one in Bowie, had several houses he wanted them to look at. Wade had gotten up really early to get all the chores done at the ranch, before Angel and Jess got up, so they could go see them later.
He was just finishing up feeding the horses, when she walked into the barn behind him. “You’re up awfully early this morning,” she said with a yawn then a smile. She’d been doing a lot more smiling in the last few days, since she’d gotten some rest, and was eating right, thanks to Imelda, and the groceries he’d stocked up the bunkhouse with. Her whole attitude had improved tremendously, and he was thankful for it.
Since he was an early riser anyway, and wanted to spend quality time with Angel, he’d been getting up to feed her when she wailed at four in the morning, because she was wet and hungry. He didn’t mind, those quiet times with his daughter had made him fall even more in love with the little bundle of energy, and it gave Jess more time to rest. When Angel looked up at him with those green eyes, so like her momma’s, while she drank her bottle, he felt like their hearts were connected by a string. There wasn’t anything Wade wouldn’t do for her.
“Thought I’d get done early…we have some appointments to go look at houses this afternoon,” he told her, looking up from inspecting Titan’s hoof. It had seemed a little tender when he’d exercised him yesterday.
“That’s great…I cooked some breakfast, if you’re interested, and made some fresh coffee,” she said with a proud smile.
Wade’s eyebrows raised and he stood up, he didn’t even know she could cook. “You did? Thanks, darlin’,” he said with a grin, then walked over to give her a hug, and she pulled back a little, probably because he was sweaty and dirty. “I smell like horses, sorry,” he said stepping back and looking down at himself.
“You don’t smell bad…” she said then grinned, and told him with a wink, “And I kinda like you a little dirty.”
He had been walking back toward Titan and stumbled when he heard her words, then turned back to face her. “Watch what you say, sugar…or I might misunderstand your signals,” he said in a low gravelly voice.
These last few days, being in such close quarters with the beautiful blond, had been sheer hell on his libido. At night, when he closed his door, with her down the hall, all he could think of was the magical night a year ago they’d spent wrapped up in each others arms.
“What’s to misunderstand?” she said saucily, then turned around and walked back to the door to the bunkhouse. “Come in when you’re done,” she told him then went inside.
“Holy, shit,” he hissed then hurried up with Titan, so he could go inside.
The smoky scent of fried bacon teased his nostrils when he walked through the door, and his stomach rumbled. Wade saw a platter with scrambled eggs and bacon and a bowl of grits, on the long table, and his mouth watered. It also watered seeing the leggy blond in the short shorts and worn out t-shirt standing at the stove. With her hair pulled back in the perky ponytail, and her face bare of makeup, she looked young and fresh, and good enough to eat with a spoon.
Wade swallowed thickly against the desire that flooded through him, and said, “Um…I’m going to take a quick shower, I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry up, or it’ll get cold,” she said and smiled at him over her shoulder.
“Yes ma’am…won’t be but a second.” The only thing that would get cold hopefully was the heat that poured through him, from the cold shower he was going to take.
Dragging his eyes away from her delectable ass, Wade walked down the hallway and went to his room to get some clean clothes. The small bathroom with the shower was off to the right of the kitchen, so he headed back that way. When he passed Jess and Angel’s bedroom again, the door was ajar and he heard soft crooning coming from the room, and he stopped to listen. He loved hearing Jess sing to Angel, it didn’t just tug on his heartstrings, it yanked them tight.
“Hush, little baby, don’t say a word, daddy’s gonna buy you a mocking bird, and if that mocking bird don’t sing, daddy’s gonna buy you a diamond ring…” she sang sweetly to the little girl in her arms, who stared up at her as if she was hanging onto her every word. He knew he was…because that song was supposed to say ‘momma’, and she’d
replaced it with daddy. Happiness welled up inside of him, and he held onto the moan that wanted to escape. When she got to the last line, “Hush little baby, don’t you cry, daddy loves you and so do I,” he had to go inside.