Love Inspired January 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: Her Unexpected CowboyHis Ideal MatchThe Rancher's Secret Son

by Debra Clopton

  She ended the call and addressed Odelia. “I’m sorry, but that’s the first sale I’ve made today. I couldn’t put him on hold again.”

  “No need to apologize. You’re working. We’ll just get out of your way.”

  “Come on, kids,” Phillip said, lifting an arm.

  “Everyone have their shoes?” Carissa asked.

  While Tucker and Grace hurried to find their discarded shoes, Nathan hopped out of reach, shouting, “I’m not going! I’m not going!” With that, he bolted for the bedroom.

  Stunned, Carissa sat frozen.

  Now what? Hadn’t he just begged to go out?

  She stared helplessly at Phillip, who said pointedly, “He saw us last night.”

  Carissa shook her head. “I don’t understand. Saw us?”

  Phillip gusted out a sigh and shot a glance at Odelia, muttering, “On the couch.”

  Carissa recalled the kiss, her cheeks heating. She quickly looked away, her hand going to her throat.

  “That...that was my fault.” She shoved aside the laptop and got to her feet, tearing off the headset and dropping it to the sofa cushion as she started forward. “I’ll explain it to him. When he knows what his grandmother attempted—”

  Phillip stopped her in midstride, his hands clasping her upper arms. “Are you sure that’s wise?”

  “You’re right. Nathan already carries a heavy enough load as it is, and that’s my fault, too. He’s tried to replace his father with the younger children, and I’ve let him, even though I’ve known all along that it’s too much responsibility for a boy his age.”

  “Let’s not place blame,” Phillip said, his voice wrapping around her like a warm blanket. “I’m sure you’ve done what you thought was best.”

  “Perhaps Phillip should speak to Nathan, dear,” Odelia suggested gently.

  “Me?” Phillip queried.

  “Man-to-man, so to speak,” Odelia said.

  “Oh. Well, if you think that’ll help.”

  Carissa hesitated, one hand going to the back of her neck. “Uh, I—I’m not sure that’s... I mean, I doubt he’ll be receptive.”

  Phillip shrugged. “Won’t hurt to try.”

  Carissa sucked in a deep breath then let it out again. “Go ahead.”

  What was the worst that could happen? Nathan would dig in his heels and refuse to go to the park with his brother and sister. It would serve him right, and she could still get some work done. Maybe she’d have an opportunity to speak with her eldest son in private, too.

  Folding her hands, she smiled lamely at Odelia Chatam Monroe and sent up a silent prayer.

  * * *

  Phillip gathered his courage as he marched toward the bedroom. He didn’t knock on Nathan’s door—why give the boy another chance to reject him?—just opened it and stepped inside.

  Nathan didn’t waste any time beating around the bush. Phillip had barely closed the door before the boy rolled into a sitting position on the side of the bed and demanded, “Are you going to marry my mom?”

  The question took Phillip by surprise, but a moment’s reflection lessened the shock of it. Of course Nathan would view every man who came into Carissa’s life as a potential husband. Phillip himself had already known that, which meant that he should have been able to give Nathan the firm denial that he so obviously wanted.

  What he actually said was “I doubt it.” That was more stunning than the question itself.

  Nathan glared and asked, “How come?”

  Phillip searched for an answer. “For one thing, people who get married should be in love.”

  “And you’re not in love with my mom?”

  Oh, boy. He’d walked straight into that one. After gasping like a fish out of water for several seconds, he did the only thing he could: he answered honestly.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why not? On account of us kids?”

  “No. I’ll admit that I’ve never thought of myself as husband or father material, but if I was going to be someone’s father, I would be honored to be yours.”

  Nathan thought that over some then shook his head. “Grace and Tucker maybe, but not me. I know you don’t like me.”

  “That’s not true. I have a lot of respect for you, Nathan.”

  “Like I’d believe you about anything,” Nathan sneered.

  “I don’t like the way you act sometimes,” Phillip admitted. “But you stepped in to help your mom after your dad died, even though, after her, you’re the one who misses him most. I’m not sure I’d have done that myself. I’m more like Tucker, frankly—all fun and games.”

  Nathan narrowed his eyes behind the lenses of his glasses then looked away. “Tucker’s okay most of the time,” he muttered.

  Phillip hid a smile. If Tucker was okay, then he, Phillip, must be okay, too, in his way.

  “Put your shoes on,” he said. “Let’s go to the park.”

  Making a great show of his reluctance, Nathan slowly got off the bed, went to the closet and found a pair of shoes. He stomped his feet into them without untying the strings and dragged himself toward the door. As he stood next to Phillip, he looked up and asked, “My mom’s pretty, isn’t she?”

  Phillip’s breath caught. Did this kid actually want him to marry his mom?

  “Your mom’s beautiful,” Phillip told him flatly. “But I’m not sure she really likes me very much.”

  Screwing up his face, Nathan gave his head the barest of shakes, as if to say that Phillip was too stupid to live. “She likes you.”

  Phillip tilted his head, studying Nathan like a bug. “What makes you think so?”

  “She kissed you, didn’t she?”

  Phillip’s heart skipped a beat, but he kept his expression blank. “She did, but maybe not for the reason you think.”

  Nathan rolled his eyes, yanked open the door and marched out, as if to his doom. Phillip stood there a moment longer, wondering if Nathan knew something he didn’t or if wishful thinking was about to get him in way, way over his head.

  By the time he entered the sitting room, Odelia and Carissa had herded the children to the door. Phillip joined them there, and they all quickly took their leave of Carissa. Phillip ignored her curious looks, uncertain himself what had really happened with Nathan. True to his nature, he simply put the matter out of mind.

  Phillip was used to an active lifestyle, but in the space of the next few hours, the children wore out him and the other two adults supervising them. Phillip wound up chasing Nathan and Tucker all over the park while Odelia and Kent took turns pushing Grace on the swings and the merry-go-round. She obligingly matched her pace to theirs, making Phillip muse that Grace often seemed to be a happy adult in a child’s body, while too many adults behaved like spoiled children. Nathan and Tucker, on the other hand, were active little boys. They went from driving on imaginary roads to fighting imaginary battles to riding imaginary dinosaurs, and all of it involved running, jumping, climbing, hiding and making loud noises. Phillip had his hands full making sure they didn’t get lost or hurt. He was ready to tie them to the picnic-table bench by the time they all sat down to eat lunch.

  Thankfully, Hilda had packed such a hearty meal, crammed with all their favorites, that the children stuffed themselves. Afterward they could barely keep their eyes open. Odelia spread a blanket in the shade of a tree, and even Nathan dozed for a few minutes, but then he and Tucker were up and off again. Odelia and Kent looked positively exhausted by the time they got the picnic basket repacked and the children loaded back into the car. Even Odelia’s hat was drooping.

  On the way home, Kent asked the children how they liked living at Chatam House. Tucker and Grace had only good things to say, but Nathan shrugged and grumbled, “It’d be okay if I had my own bed.”

  Phillip decided
then to get those bunk beds moved into the master suite ASAP.

  Hypatia and Magnolia agreed to watch the children swim in the pool while Phillip, Odelia and Kent went upstairs to clean up and, in Kent and Odelia’s case, nap. Phillip was expected at his brother’s for an early dinner, and he’d promised to pick up Dallas on the way. After delivering the children back to the suite in their wet bathing suits and towels, he asked Carissa for a report on her day and was pleased that she was pleased.

  “I know you engineered this outing,” she said, “and I thank you.”

  “Well, if it helps you work...”

  “Yes,” she said, “the more money I make, the sooner we’ll be out on our own.” That wasn’t his point, but he let it stand. “This will all be so much easier once school starts again,” she went on. “We’ll be in our own place, and even Grace will be out of the house half days.”

  “That will be helpful,” Phillip commented idly, thinking how to broach the subject of the bunk beds. “Listen, I know you don’t want to get too comfortable here, but Nathan really wants his own bed. Would you mind if I set up the bunk beds?”

  She seemed troubled by the prospect. “Oh, I’d hoped to avoid that.”

  “I think it really would help.”

  “It would give the boys more room to play,” she considered.

  Phillip took that as consent and promised to take care of it then hurried off to pick up Dallas.

  They arrived at Asher and Ellie’s sprawling, modern, blond-brick house just as their sister Petra and her husband, Dale, did. Dale was in the construction business with his father, and Petra had taken over the day-to-day operation of the office. Phillip still couldn’t get used to seeing his once-quite-sophisticated sister in jeans and casual tops, but he loved the fact that she always seemed to be smiling. Petra had a soft look about her now, a warmth, that he’d never suspected was part of her personality. Dale seemed his usual easygoing self, nodding as Phillip asked to borrow a truck again in order to move a set of bunk beds from storage to Chatam House.

  “I’ll do you one better,” Dale said. “I’ll help you move them later tonight.”

  Phillip grinned, and they shook hands on it. “Can’t pass up that deal.”

  Asher let them in and led them to the living room, his two-month-old daughter cradled in the crook of one arm. She didn’t stay there for long. First Dallas, then Petra snatched her up. When Ellie called from the kitchen, Petra passed the baby to Dale as casually as if she was passing him a puppy or a pillow, and Dale took her just as easily, cradling her tiny head in his palm and making a bed for her of his forearms. She kicked and cooed and generally seemed to be trying to join in the conversation as the men chatted about golf and baseball and Asher’s passion, soccer. Then, suddenly, for no apparent reason, she screwed up her little face and screamed. Horrified, Phillip couldn’t believe it when both Asher and Dale began to laugh.

  “Guess we know what that means,” Asher announced, rising from the sofa in the sunken living area. Before he could say or do anything else, Ellie swept in to throw the baby onto her shoulder.

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  She went out again, and only as she and the infant disappeared did Phillip realize that they had taken a rather loamy smell with them.

  “That child cannot abide a dirty diaper,” Asher said with unusual pride. Phillip could only shake his head.

  “Ought to be a snap to toilet train, then,” Dale observed idly.

  Phillip coughed into his hand and changed the subject. “We have a situation at Chatam House I need to discuss with you, Ash.”

  He gave his brother a quick rundown on Carissa’s situation with her mother. As always, Asher listened attentively. Finally, he spoke.

  “Well, there’s nothing to be done unless this Alexandra acts. If she forcibly takes one or more of the children, or if she files suit, even if she should file a complaint with Child Protective Services, then Carissa can intervene legally. Otherwise...” He spread his hands.

  Phillip nodded. “I understand. But if the need arises, you’ll help Carissa protect her children, won’t you? She’s a wonderful mother, and she’s done the very best she could under very tough circumstances. I want her to know she’ll have help.”

  “She’s Chester’s niece and the aunties have taken her in,” Asher replied. “That’s enough for me.”

  “Great,” Phillip said, relieved—not that he’d really doubted Asher would help—but then Ash grinned.

  “With you championing her cause, though, I’m wondering if legal representation is enough. Maybe we should be preparing to welcome her to the family.”

  Phillip’s mouth fell open. “Why does everyone automatically assume—”

  The words died as Ellie unceremoniously dropped his niece into his hands, declaring, “Sounds like you should be getting used to this. I have to get back to the kitchen and take care of dinner.”

  Phillip made a strangling sound and bobbled the child but managed not to drop her. She seemed not to mind, if her toothless grin was any indication. To his surprise, she stared straight into his eyes and lifted a brow as if to ask what he thought of her. Having never held a baby before, he was too busy trying not to break her to form many impressions at first, but soon he began to realize how soft and tiny she was. Soft, tiny and very real. This was a person, a whole, complete person in a tiny, gurgling, strangely adorable package.

  He thought of Grace, and then he remembered a box of baby photos that he’d stumbled across—well, accidentally dumped—while helping Carissa clean out the apartment. Images flashed before his mind’s eye: Carissa with very long hair, holding one of the boys on her lap and mugging for the camera, baby smiles and baby feet, fat tummies and chubby hands, a single tooth in a wide smile, drooping diapers and first steps.

  He concentrated on the niece he’d avoided all these weeks, this little bit of helpless humanity in his lap. Soon she would be as engaging and charming as Grace. Or not. He couldn’t really imagine any little girl being as engaging and charming as Grace, but Marie Ella would almost certainly be bright and athletic and treasured, and he would love her. He did love her, soft, sweet, little thing that she was. He swallowed a lump in his throat, thinking of her growing up. She would change so much over the weeks, months and years ahead.

  So would Grace and Tucker and Nathan.

  He realized suddenly and with surprising gratitude that, in some way, Marie Ella would always be a part of his life, but he wondered if he would be around to see the changes that time would bring to the Hopper kids. The insight that he wanted to be there to see them grow stunned him. He could only imagine how much Carissa wanted to see her own children grow up, what it would do to her if Alexandra for some reason gained custody of one or two of them.

  No, that could not happen.

  Lord, he prayed silently, staring down at his wriggly little niece, please, don’t let Carissa be separated from her children. Make the path easier somehow for all of them. She’s had enough pain, enough loss, enough difficulty.

  For some reason, he thought of the phone app. They’d just been playing around with it, but could that really turn into something profitable? He went over it in his mind, realizing that he needed to make some phone calls, ask some questions.

  A poke in the shoulder made him jump.

  “Well?” Petra asked as she took the baby from him.

  He blinked at her, wondering when she’d come into the room. “Well what?”

  “Weren’t you listening?” She hoisted the baby onto her shoulder and began to pat her little back. “Have the aunties said anything about the Fourth of July?”

  The aunties often hosted an Independence Day celebration at Chatam House, but with all that had been happening lately, Phillip wondered if it was a good idea this year. Perhaps they were wondering the same thing.

&nbs
p; “Uh, with Carissa’s dad, uh, that is, Chester’s brother, having passed away recently, they may want to curtail activities this year. I’ll, um, have to ask them.” Someone ought to ask Carissa how she felt about it. She ought to have a say. Chatam House was her home, too, at least for now.

  * * *

  “So what did you and Phillip talk about before you went to the park today?” Carissa asked as she tucked Nathan into bed beside his brother that evening.

  Nathan smoothed the covers and looked away, shrugging. “Oh, he said he wasn’t good husband or father material, stuff like that.”

  Carissa’s heart thunked heavily inside her chest, but she kept her gaze bland. It was no more than she’d expected, no more than Phillip had essentially said to her.

  “What else?” she probed lightly.

  Nathan looked down at his hands. “He said you missed Dad more’n I do and I miss him more’n Tucker and Grace.”

  “Uh-uh!” Tucker protested, sitting up sleepily.

  “Do too!” Nathan insisted. “You don’t hardly even remember him.”

  “I still miss him,” Tucker insisted glumly, plopping back on his pillow. “And I think Phillip is good husband and father ’terial.”

  Carissa straightened the covers. “It doesn’t matter,” she said briskly. “Now, go to—”

  A tap at the door to the suite had her looking into the hallway. Nathan rolled up onto one elbow.

  “I bet that’s him.”

  “Go to sleep,” she instructed, her heart rate accelerating as she moved swiftly around the bed and headed out the door, pulling it closed behind her.

  She rushed across the sitting room and flung open the outer door, only to be greeted by a mattress. It shifted, so that the narrow end poked through the doorway. She recognized the bunky boards that were part of the boys’ bunk beds as Phillip and another man carried them into the suite. She noticed that Phillip clanked as he moved, his pockets full of tools.