Cowboys in Her Heart

by Jan Springer

  Brady was usually a pretty light sleeper. But last night after he’d made love several times to JJ., he’d fallen into the deepest sleep he’d ever experienced. He dreamed of white wolves with gleaming white fangs chasing him through the meadows of their ranch. He saw JJ flying her plane through glittering rainbows and then a giant raven flew into the plane’s engine making it sputter. Then JJ was screaming as the plane went down into the forest. He heard a shattering bang and a brilliant burst of orange flames rocketed skyward.

  Brady came awake on a gasp, the feeling of foreboding following him out of his dream. His heart crashed like battering ram against his chest and cold sweat blistered across his forehead.

  Pristine silence split the air. It was a total contrast to the nightmare he’d just experienced. Beside him, JJ slept peacefully, totally oblivious of his fears for her safety. He inhaled deeply and wiped a shaky hand across the stubble on his chin.

  Man! That nightmare had felt so weird. So real.

  He gazed over at his alarm clock. Six o’clock. It was time to get his ass in gear. There were pregnant cattle to be fed. Calves to be delivered and a bunch of other chores to do. But first he needed to grab a shower.

  As quietly as he could, Brady slipped out of bed, grabbed a fresh pair of clothing, and headed across the hall to grab a shower.

  JJ was humming in the kitchen frying up some bacon and eggs for breakfast when Brady strolled into the kitchen following his shower. Oh, she could already smell his clean scent and smiled when a moment later he leaned over her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

  “Morning sweetness,” he whispered.

  “Good morning. How’d you sleep?” she asked as she slid the eggs onto two plates and forked some bacon for each of them.

  Bacon was a rare treat for them. Usually they ate fried bear meat or steaks with their eggs. But this morning was a special occasion.

  “Okay,” he muttered. He poured black coffee into a mug and sat down at the table.

  She’d noticed he’d tossed and turned last night. He’d woken her up a couple of times with a couple of moans, but she’d opted to let him sleep, since they’d gone to bed so late.

  “How about you? You looked really peaceful when I left for the shower. I tried to be quiet so I wouldn’t wake you.”

  JJ grinned as she slid two pieces of toast onto his plate and set it out in front of him.

  “Late nights will do that and I just woke up on my own when your side of the bed got cold. I hope we can have a repeat performance of last night, tonight?” she hinted, already wishing it was evening again.

  Brady chuckled. “Woman, you’ll be the death of me.”

  He grabbed his fork and JJ watched as he dug into his eggs. He brought his fork half-way up to his mouth when he suddenly frowned and stopped.

  “What’s that?” he asked as he finally spied the item she’d placed beside the jar of homemade rhubarb jam.

  “What?” she whispered. She hoped he was going to like the surprise. After all, they had been trying for several months now.

  She watched his Adams apple bob as he swallowed. Could see his eyes move as he read the little inscription on the silver spoon. She’d bought the little spoon and had it engraved with a cute saying along with a couple of small feet.

  “What does it say?” she prodded.

  “We’re Expecting.”

  He looked up at her. His mouth had dropped open as the words suddenly seemed to register. He looked shocked and appeared a little pale.

  Oh dear. Maybe this had been a bad idea? Maybe she should have popped the surprise after breakfast? Or when Rafe and Dan had been here? In case Brady fainted?

  He swore softly. His eyes suddenly twinkled. Tears?

  “We’re going to have a baby?” he asked. His voice cracked with a hoarseness she’d never heard before.

  She held her breath and nodded.

  “Oh my God, JJ. We’re going to have a baby? Seriously?” He asked. He was smiling now, staring at her in a way she had never seen him look at her before. Like he was dumbstruck or maybe impressed?

  The floor creaked as he pushed back his chair and stood.

  Wow, he really was a big guy. He let out a big whoop that actually scared her for a second and then his big hands slid around her waist and he was lifting her off the ground with such ease that she felt like a feather as he twirled her around.

  She looked down at him and loved the laughter in his eyes. The huge smile plastered across his face. Oh yeah, he was happy. Truly and deliriously happy.

  “We’re going to have baby, JJ. This is unreal. We were suspecting something was up. But wow, this is still a surprise.”

  The guys had been talking? They had realized something even before she had suspected?

  He kept twirling her as he laughed. She liked when he was happy, but her tummy suddenly wasn’t liking what was happening. Queasiness wrapped around her.

  Oh no.

  “Brady, put me down,” she said. She was going to be sick.

  He put her down but didn’t appear to clue in that she was now really nauseated.

  “How did you find out? When? Did you do a pregnancy test? Where is it?”

  Too many questions.

  She held up her hand and shook her head. Then she rushed out of the kitchen to the bathroom. She made it just in time.

  “Morning sickness. Wow, is that ever cool,” came Brady’s voice a few minutes later as he peeked in through the open bathroom door.

  Cool? Oh man. Was he for real?

  “Oh baby, is there anything I can do to help?” he asked as he stepped into the room.

  She shook her head and flushed the toilet. She turned on the cold water tap and caught him watching her. He was beaming like a proud father, but she wasn’t in the mood to be happy at the moment. She felt exhausted and shaky.

  “Just go and finish breakfast. Chores are falling behind.”

  He looked at her as if she were crazy.

  “I can’t eat. And chores? I just found out I’m going to be a dad and you want me to do chores? Man, woman! We’re going to have a baby. I can’t believe it. We need to celebrate. We need to do something special.”

  Oh my gosh, his romantic side was coming out. She couldn’t deal with this right now. She needed to pull herself together. This had been the worst nausea attack yet.

  “How about you unload all the stuff from the plane? It’s a good thing I brought coolers along and packed the perishables in ice.”

  Brady laughed. “Okay, okay. In a bit. How far along are you?”

  “According to Dr. May—”

  Shock rocked his features.

  “You saw a doctor? When?”

  “Yesterday. To make a long story short, Kelly got me in to see her doctor who confirmed with a blood test. There’s more to the story, but I’ll tell you later all about it. In the meantime, we really need to keep our routine, Brady.”

  She needed everything to stay the same. She liked her life the way it was now. Especially now that she knew she was pregnant. Routine would hopefully continue to help with her anxiety issues.

  “And we’re expecting a Christmas baby,” she revealed.

  She loved the cute way his mouth went into an O shape. She could tell he was mentally calculating how far along she was.

  “We’re three months pregnant?” he said.

  JJ nodded. “I should have realized earlier when my periods appeared different. They were so light. But the doctor said some women have a bit of bleeding in their first trimester and that’s why I didn’t really clue in until the morning sickness hung around.”

  Alarm raced through her as his forehead furrowed. “Bleeding, JJ. That shouldn’t happen.”

  “It’s okay. The doctor did a thorough exam. She says there is nothing wrong. Everything is okay.”

  “But bleeding?”

  “She said it could have been from rough sex.”

  He shook his head
.

  “No more sex then. We can’t hurt the baby.”

  A jolt of panic shot through her. Oh mercy! No more? Since getting pregnant she needed sex. She craved it even more than before she’d gotten pregnant.

  She’d had the same concerns about the baby’s safety when the doctor had given her the news. Thankfully Dr. May had reassured her that the pregnancy was coming along very nicely.

  “She said we’re fine for a few more months. It looks like my bleeding has stopped anyway. As we get further along we can find other ways to…” she let her sentence dangle, suddenly feeling embarrassed at how selfish she was being, but the doctor had said the baby was fine and there wasn’t any reason for her not to have sex.

  The look of alarm fell away from his face.

  “Creative is my middle name. Are you sure we’re good? I mean last night. Man, we could have hurt the baby.”

  “Just to be safe, no more rough sex,” she decided. “And don’t worry. Last night was perfect.”

  Brady nodded. He appeared less stressed now.

  “I’m going to head out and get the stuff from the plane. You eat breakfast. You’re eating for two now, baby mamma.” Brady disappeared from the doorway.

  Baby mamma.

  JJ grinned into the mirror and gazed down at her belly. She wasn’t showing a baby bump yet but the doctor said she would be showing really soon.

  A moment later, she jumped with fright as Brady let out another whoop from somewhere toward the back of the house.

  Man, he had to stop doing that.

  Now that Brady knew about the baby, she just needed to figure out a unique way to hint to Rafe and Dan that their suspicions were correct.

  The next time Brady met up with JJ was near lunch time. When he’d unloaded the plane, and brought the first cargo of items up to the ranch house, JJ had been in the shower. He’d toyed with the idea of going in and joining her, but truth be told, he was concerned for the baby. This would be his kid and he needed to make sure his or her safety was top priority. Even if he and JJ had to settle down on the sex.

  Man, they would have to quit with the ménages too. He wondered how that would go over with Dan and Rafe. But hell, it would just make it that much sweeter when it was safe to do so.

  When he’d entered the ranch house the second time, JJ had been upstairs. He figured she was cleaning their rooms. She liked to do that in the mornings. The third time, she’d been out watering their newly planted vegetable garden, so he didn’t disturb her and he’d put all the food away that she’d purchased.

  Afterwards, he’d hustled out to the barn and adjoining corrals to check on the cows. The new mothers and mothers-to-be were now all fed and tended to. The stalls and corrals had been cleaned with fresh laid out hay, and he’d managed to some other things that had needed doing done. Now he was famished.

  His mouth watered as he smelled roast beef. One of his favorite dishes. He washed up in the bathroom and a few minutes later he and JJ were seated at the table. Thankfully JJ said she felt pretty good and her stomach had settled. She was eating like a horse and he really enjoyed watching her chow down the food.

  When she finally caught on that he was staring at her she stopped eating and grinned at him.

  Damn, she had the best smile.

  “Stop it, Brady. You’re too sexy with that grin on your face.”

  “I swear you look more and more beautiful with each and every passing day,” he admitted. And he was not kidding. She was so cute, he could barely keep himself from hugging her. If he had his way, he’d be doing it all the time.

  Her cheeks went a pretty shade of pink and her eyes sparkled. He knew she was still shy about compliments, but hell, he just couldn’t help himself.

  “My baby mama is the most beautiful woman on Earth,” he gushed. Man, he really was turning into one of those Romeo kind of guys. He’d best stop or she’d dump him for someone tougher. Which suddenly reminded him of their visitors yesterday.

  “I got news. Totally forgot to tell you,” Brady said as he forked some pasta, a bunch of onions and meat into his mouth. Salt and beef flavor burst over his taste buds and he couldn’t stop himself from moaning.

  Damn, she cooked just as good as his mother had.

  “What kind of news? Did the calves drop this morning?” JJ asked between mouthfuls.

  Brady shook his head. Calving season was almost over. There were several cows that were close to birth and he figured with his luck they would all go into labor at the same time. It had happened before.

  They used artificial insemination mostly in order to have the cows give birth within a certain period in May and June. He just hoped Rafe and Dan would be back by the time the calves dropped so one of them could help. So far, they hadn’t brought JJ into that aspect of the business, mainly because she already did so much for them around here. Now with the baby coming, they just might have to hire some extra help for her. He’d have to mention that to the guys when they returned.

  “We’ve got neighbors. Moved in across the lake. My brother, Mitch of all people.”

  JJ stared at him as if he’d grown horns.

  “Okay, it’s not April Fools Day. So why are you kidding me? Isn’t he the accountant? The one who is a year younger than you? I remember you once said he would be the last of your family to venture into the wilderness and during his first and last trip here he was climbing the walls because it was too quiet.”

  Brady laughed.

  “That’s the one. It appears he’s following in my footsteps. He and his two partners were here yesterday. They flew in with Blue. Stayed for maybe not even half an hour to let me know and then they were eager to head back to their place again. They’ll be doing something with horses. They’ve been there since the snow melted and the ice went out on the lake.”

  “You’re not kidding?”

  Brady shook his head. “No. I’m serious.”

  He could tell in the way JJ’s brown eyes flashed with excitement that she liked the news.

  “This is great! We’ll have family close by.”

  Yep, she was happy.

  Her eyebrows raised and he knew she was about to ask another question.

  “Are his partners doctors by chance?” she asked.

  “One is a veterinarian, actually. Why?”

  “It’s always nice to have someone with medical knowledge nearby. In case we run into some sort of emergency. The online first-aid course I took over the winter doesn’t make me feel overly confident in my life saving abilities. I mean I can keep someone alive for maybe awhile but we’re so far away from help.”

  Brady had to agree with her. He’d taken first aid courses also in preparation for living here, but sometimes it did bother him that they were so many miles away from a hospital. But he didn’t dwell on it. It appeared JJ did.

  “They are about a fifteen-minute plane ride. Probably not even that,” Brady replied and shoved some more of the delicious roast into his mouth.

  “Man, baby mamma, your food always makes love to my taste buds.”

  JJ’s head shot up at his comment and he winked at her. A sweet smile whispered across her lips.

  He wanted to kiss her, but that would lead to other things. He realized JJ was right, they had tons of work to do. It was best to stick to a routine.

  Tonight though, he’d be really gentle with her. It would kill him, but he needed to be with her. Talk some more about the future and about the baby.

  He steered the conversation to that new cabin they would build and that Mitch and Paul were volunteering to pitch in. She was pleased with that news and when they finished eating, he helped her wash the dishes.

  He was glad she didn’t protest when he said he’d go upstairs and gather the clothing from all the hampers and bring them down so she could get the laundry going. Helping her out made him feel good.

  This afternoon he’d get that old tractor repaired too with the part JJ had brought ba
ck and then the machine would be ready to cut some hay, which, to their surprise, was growing faster than any other year since they’d been here.

  They had planted a variety of seeds in the fields. Different meadows consisted of different qualities of food for the cattle. Nutritional demands varied during their reproductive stages. Depending on the quality of food in each meadow, the cattle were rotated every one to three weeks to prevent overgrazing. The higher quality meadows were reserved for lactating cows, the growing feeder/stocker calves and when a bull needed extra nutrition. They kept all their plantings logged in a book to keep from guessing what had been planted and where.

  Brady smiled as he left the ranch house and walked down the slope to the nearby shed where they housed the tractors and other haying equipment. The sun shone bright and warm in the yard, and a cow mooed at him from a nearby pen. He greeted the plump pregnant black Angus by scratching her behind her ears.

  “Hey, I’m going to be a dad. You know that?” Pride breathed through Brady as he spoke to the cow. She blinked up at him with big brown eyes and let out a low moo in answer. He chuckled.

  Absently he continued to rub her ears. She was one of their many older cows. Her breeding days were over and after her last calf was weened in three months she would be joining the other cows that were slated for the autumn roundup and market.

  Thankfully calving season would soon be over and they could get on with branding, castrating the little ones, the haying, moving the cattle to other pastures and building that new shelter. Then would come their weaning season, more haying, the autumn cattle round-up and then the breeding season and…their Christmas baby.

  His breath backed up as he remembered the night JJ had asked him to be the father to her child. They’d been in the shower together and he’d been surprised at her request. But he’d easily seen himself as a dad and her as a mother to his kid. He hadn’t thought about his answer. It had just been a natural yes. It was a new step in their unique ménage relationship with Rafe and Dan.

  He still couldn’t believe that she would pick him to be the father for her first baby.