The Kentucky Cowboy's Baby

by Heidi Hormel

  Chapter Seventeen

  AJ stood with his dusty booted foot on the lowest rung of the corral. Another time in his life, there would have been bulls or horses on the other side of the fence. Not in his new life. No. Here was a milling herd of furballs. Alpacas and llamas. He shook his head, amazed at the turns his life had taken. He couldn’t even be upset that Gene had a lot to do with those curves because he’d ended up with Pepper and EllaJayne. No regrets in either case. Maybe one small regret that EllaJayne’s mama wouldn’t know her wonderful daughter. Some women just weren’t cut out to be mamas.

  “I could hear you stewing from the house,” Pepper said.

  He turned and smiled because, well, he was happy as a bull in a field of heifers. Well, one heifer and he was a smart enough cowboy to not share that thought. “Not stewing,” he said to her. “Thinking about how lucky I am.”

  “You think you’re getting lucky tonight?” she asked with a secret smile as she walked up to him and snuggled into his side, despite the lingering heat of the day.

  “I didn’t think tonight would be about luck. Thought that was a sure thing.” She poked him in the ribs. He laughed. “I meant lucky that Gene decided to play matchmaker. Lucky Suzy would take money over motherhood. And, luckiest of all? That Angel Crossing is allowing us to rent to own Santa Faye Ranch.”

  “I don’t know if I believe Daddy Gene had any plans for you and me,” Pepper said seriously. “I’m just going to say EllaJayne couldn’t have a better daddy than you, and Suzy is going to miss out on knowing an awesome person. But I hope if she ever changes her mind on wanting to see her daughter, you’ll think about it.”

  “She doesn’t deserve—”

  “It’s not what Suzy deserves. It’s what EllaJayne might want and need.”

  He squeezed her hard because that was Pepper. Thinking about others. “You’re right, of course.”

  “I like the sound of that.” She squeezed him close, then said with a hint of jealousy and humor, “One day I’ll want to hear all about your sordid past. But not tonight.”

  “Good. It’s a lot less sordid and a lot more ordinary than you think.” They stood arm in arm watching the furballs find a comfortable place to settle. Faye and EllaJayne were spending the night with Grammy Marie. He’d cut off Faye when she’d tried to give him advice on how to spend the evening.

  “Faye told me that our astrological charts indicate we will make beautiful babies,” Pepper said.

  “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to her...how she... Aw, hell...let’s go to bed.” He didn’t want to think about the future. All he wanted to focus on was Pepper and letting her know again how much he loved her. She pressed her soft breasts against him as she pulled his head down for a kiss, saying softly, “Bed. My favorite three-letter word.”

  Pepper’s lips were petal-soft under his. When had he gotten addicted to them, and to her? He lifted her against him, wanting her supple heat. He deepened the kiss until both of their breaths jerked in and out.

  He pulled away, slowly, reluctantly. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she said, cupping his face, her brown gaze locked on him, shining. His chest swelled. He gave her a quick kiss, then pulled her toward the house, his feet moving faster and faster. Pepper’s laughter rang out as they ran into the house, landing on her bed with a bounce.

  He wanted her now and he knew he’d want her in ten years...twenty, fifty. That was heady stuff. He took her lips and his hand loved her curves as he quickly stripped her. When he got down to her plain white panties and bra, he thought they were sexier than any lace and silk. They made what was under them a mystery that he needed to discover. He buried his face between her breasts, his hand slipping into the cup of her bra to tease her nipple “Yes,” she gasped, her hands holding his head in place as she moved under his lips. Her responsiveness sparked his own scalding need.

  AJ’s mouth tasted the sweet skin as his hands slipped her bra from her breasts. When he shifted for a moment, Pepper shuddered and whispered, “You have too many clothes on.” Then she wriggled out from under him. Her hands, small and competent, opened the snaps on his shirt and pushed it off in one motion. She went for his jeans and he reached for her, clasping her butt and making her jump. He wanted her to hurry or this would all end before it had even started.

  “I want you naked and I want you on that bed,” she said, her voice rough. She bent over to take off his boots. As she shook her fanny at him, a deep-from-the-gut groan broke from behind his clenched teeth. She had to know the sexy power she had over him.

  She stood and turned. “Your pants. Take them off. No, wait,” she said, a gleam in her eyes that made him wish he had a whole case of condoms. “That’s my treat.” She brushed her fingers along his shuddering abs, dipping her fingers under his waistband before opening the metal button. He reversed their positions, kissing her while he stripped her and him of the final barriers of their clothing. No more teasing. He fumbled his condom on and slid into her. Finding a thrill and contentment that he hadn’t known he’d been chasing.

  “I love you,” she said, holding him still for a moment before moving her hips and sending them both flying.

  “I love you,” he whispered as he tucked her already familiar curves against his body. They were both where they needed to be now and forever.

  * * *

  AJ LOOKED OUT over the dusty parking lot filled with pop-up canopies and plastic tables. He refused to panic. His daughter was here somewhere. He could find her. She hadn’t done a disappearing act like this in a while. He looked over the large lot that had been empty just yesterday. Today was a big party, where the town was celebrating the weekly farmers market, planting for the new year and the second grant they’d gotten from a big foundation that understood Pepper’s vision.

  Darn it. Where was his daughter? Where was Pepper, who was wearing a bright lime-green hat today. She said it was easier to see her, plus her mother had given it to her for luck with the new planting season. Faye had told him it was to increase their fertility. EllaJayne was enough for them right now, thank you very much.

  “You missing something, cowboy?” Chief Rudy asked, catching AJ off guard.

  “Not missing, exactly.”

  The older man squinted at him from under the brim of his cowboy hat. “They’re over there by the mayor’s tent.” He gestured with his chin.

  AJ nodded and headed that way. He got waylaid twice by members of the Community Garden. He hurried on and managed to avoid the ladies who used the furballs’ fleece. They were trying to convince him the spinners and knitters needed Santa Faye Ranch to get “just one or two angora goats.” That’s what they’d said when they’d talked him into increasing the number of alpacas—two more in a buff color, which turned into six because otherwise they would’ve been put down. He’d told them firmly they were not running an alpaca rescue group.

  AJ checked at the mayor’s tent, but Danny said he hadn’t seen Pepper or EllaJayne for at least twenty minutes. AJ scanned the crowd again, looking for Pepper and his daughter. Soon to be their daughter. The adoption process was nearly complete.

  Where the heck were they? He got stopped a dozen more times, turning down tastes of dishes being created for the Best Potluck contest. Everyone had just seen Pepper. Finally, he got pointed in the direction of the old movie house that hadn’t been in operation since the 1970s and hadn’t been grand even in its heyday. Everyone had been wondering how much longer it would stand. That sort of headache was for his friend Danny. AJ had his work cut out for him at Santa Faye Ranch, running herd on the furballs and setting up a website, Lord save them all. Pepper still worked at the clinic because she loved it and the town needed her. That meant the running of the garden had fallen to him and Faye, who was surprisingly sharp when it came to the farm. Of course, she’d grown up in a commune. She knew how to get pe
ople to work for free. She was organizing tonight’s feast, even though it included meat. She said next time they would do an all-vegetarian potluck. He didn’t think the meat-eating residents would go for that, but he was learning Faye could accomplish anything.

  He heard Butch barking. EllaJayne couldn’t be far behind. The two of them were attached at the hip. She still called him Boot, even though her nearly three-year-old vocabulary had gotten so much better. “Baby Girl,” he shouted. “Butch. Come here now.” He waited for an answer. Nothing. Darn it. He might just have to go back and ask the chief for help finding—there they were. EllaJayne was walking down the sidewalk toward the old theater with Butch keeping watch at her side. Where was Pepper?

  EllaJayne screeched in joy. He followed the sound into the abandoned movie theater. Great. Creepy old theater with rats and who knew what else.

  “Baby Girl,” he yelled, as he walked in, blinking when he noticed it wasn’t dark.

  “Darn it, EllaJayne,” Pepper said. “You were supposed to stay with Grammy Marie.”

  “Oops,” his daughter said, her new word for getting out of any mischief.

  “Pepper,” he said.

  She turned around, looking even guiltier than his daughter and the dog. The three of them stood in the theater’s lobby, lit well from a duo of chandeliers.

  “I was going to surprise you.”

  “Surprise me?”

  “Danny found an angel donor and more money from somewhere—he’s a genius with that. We—Angel Crossing, I mean—bought the theater. We’re going to turn it into a permanent, undercover Farmers Market for our extra produce and for the urban gardens in town and for all the items the ladies make from the furballs. It’ll take a year or so, but won’t it be great?”

  He could see how much work it would be. He’d trust her on this, but he figured it’d take much more than a year.

  He hugged her. “‘Great’ might not be what I’m saying in a couple of months. Who’ll be running this project?” She was quiet and he got suspicious. “No. I already have the new fields laid out and the chickens ordered.”

  “Chickens? You got me chickens?” She kissed him hard.

  A year and a half ago he’d never have imagined a passel of hens would get him a lip-lock. He squeezed her butt for good measure. “That was supposed to be my surprise for...later,” he said quietly with a waggle of his brows.

  “You thought laying hens would get you laid,” Pepper whispered for his ears only. “You do know your woman.” She gave him another deep kiss.

  He liked the sound of that. He wished he could thank his cousin for his matchmaking. Damn right, and you’d better do right by her, Gene’s voice rang out in his head.

  “What?” Pepper asked at his expression. “I know the theater’s a lot to take in.” She turned and gave the narrow, dusty space a loving look, exactly like the one she used on the fields of beans and kale.

  “I’m just trying to figure out how you turned a cowboy into a farmer,” he answered.

  “S-e-x.”

  He laughed until he heard Baby Girl singing, “S-e-x. S-e-x. S-e-x.”

  “You’re going to explain that to Grammy Marie.”

  “No problem. I’ll just tell her it’s Grana Faye’s fault.” Now, his daughter added Faye’s name to her chant.

  He held Pepper again in his arms and watched his daughter move little piles of nuts and bolts around the lobby, while Butch trailed behind her. In these kinds of moments, he realized he was happy, beyond happy. He wasn’t sure exactly when that had happened. He knew it would last until the next time the furballs got out, but he couldn’t imagine his life any other way.

  “You told him,” Faye said from where she stood at the entrance to the small old-fashioned theater.

  “She told me,” he answered, not moving away from Pepper. “But she still hasn’t told me who will be running the project.” He tried to sound stern.

  “Me and you, of course,” Faye said. “I’m a water sign.”

  “Of course. Makes total sense.” It did in some weird Faye way. “When will you start?”

  “The mayor and I are discussing that. I need to cleanse the building, then we’ll be ready. We have great plans. Gene would be so happy.” Faye’s smile wavered a little. She still obviously missed him.

  Pepper pulled away from him and went to her mother. “He would. He’d like what you’ve helped us do at the ranch, too.”

  “He would not like that you’ve turned his ranch into a farm, but he’d do it for you.” Faye hugged Pepper. He saw tears in both women’s eyes. His own chest tightened.

  “Don’t cry,” his little girl said as she hugged the women’s legs. Butch sat on Pepper’s feet in sympathy.

  He couldn’t take the tears. He knew they would flow. They were women who felt deeply but their tears cut him down to the soles of his boots. “Enough of that. Gene’s good in cowboy heaven and there’s a potluck to judge.”

  “S-e-x, s-e-x, s-e-x,” EllaJayne sang.

  He joined the women’s laughter, catching the happy glint in Pepper’s gaze along with the promise for later. Yep. Sex. It was a good thing.

  * * *

  IF PEPPER SAW another pie, she was going to throw up. The Potluck Contest had been more popular than she’d expected. Next year—if she survived tonight—they needed more judges. She thought even AJ was feeling a little queasy from all the tastings. She pulled EllaJayne tight against her where she sat listening to Danny read off the winners. She hoped by later tonight her too-full stomach wouldn’t be still making her feel a little green around the gills because she had lots of plans for her cowboy. She glanced over at AJ again. He leaned back in a lawn chair, looking as comfortable there as on the back of his horse Benny who’d found his way to the ranch to live happily among the furballs. She smiled to herself. Santa Faye Ranch was more ranch-like than she’d ever imagined even with the gardens. She was content. For now.

  She felt more than saw AJ sit up. What had happened? What was going on? She looked around and noticed everyone staring at them.

  “AJ and Pepper, get up here,” Danny said, motioning for them to approach the stage. Grammy Marie whisked EllaJayne from her arms.

  “Go on,” the older woman said, a huge grin splitting her face.

  What was Danny up to?

  AJ grasped her hand and she figured she could face anything. As they walked by smiling faces, she mouthed to him, “What’s going on?” He shook his head, for once not covered by a hat. She needed to cut his hair. That warmed her from stem to stern. She liked giving him a haircut.

  “Stop the lollygaggin’, folks. We’ve got dancing to do,” Danny said, giving them a mock glare.

  She and AJ stepped onto the low stage with the band now set up.

  “Up here to the microphone, so everyone can hear you.”

  AJ pushed her a little forward. He might be a big brave former bull rider but speaking in front of a crowd made him a palm-sweating mess.

  “Faye,” Danny said into the mic and her mother magically appeared on stage.

  AJ squeezed Pepper’s hand hard. With Faye involved, this could be anything. Everyone in the crowd were smiling. They were listening.

  “All of you have been touched by my daughter and her cowboy. We’re all here because of them. Look at this amazing event and what’s planned for next year. Who would have imagined her idea for a garden to provide us all with good wholesome food would end up with a weaving circle and a soon-to-be Angel Crossing Market, where we can sell what we grow and make, no matter the weather and more than one day a week. Gene would be so proud.” Faye’s voice broke a little but she went on immediately. “So how do we repay that sort of commitment and kindness? The pie was great, as were all the other dishes, but we—the women of Angel Crossing—decided we needed to do more.”

&n
bsp; Oh, crap. She glanced at AJ and saw a similarly worried look on his face. She started forward to tell Faye she didn’t need to do anything. Her mother went on before she could take one step.

  “With the help of the ladies—”

  “And the men,” one of the cowboy-hatted guys who hung out at the diner piped up.

  “And men. We laid out the foundation for a house of your own at Santa Faye Ranch. We’ve got the plan and most of the materials. It’s time you and AJ and, of course, that darling EllaJayne started a home of your own. Plus my place is too small. I looked at your tea leaves, and you’ll have at least five children.”

  Everyone cheered and laughed, while Pepper gasped in surprise. She and AJ figured they would make do with the cobbled-together, too-small ranch house until they could afford to build what they needed. She’d never imagined they’d have the money to move into a place of their own for years and years.

  “Oh, my, they are speechless.” Faye laughed. “We did it.”

  Pepper looked over the crowd of smiling faces. She saw patients. She saw people who needed her help. But what she also saw were friends, who would do this for AJ and her because they cared. It didn’t matter if anyone saw her tears. This was such an amazing day. She looked at her mother, who was openly crying. She ran into her arms for a hug. “Faye. Mom. Thank you. Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me. Thank Angel Crossing. They love you almost as much as I do.”

  Pepper gathered her wits and wiped at her eyes. She went to the microphone and knew AJ was beside her without having to see him.

  “Thank you,” she said into the microphone. “I thought today couldn’t get any better. We had this amazing potluck, and everyone had a good time. And we even had a few healthy dishes. We are so on our way. That was thanks enough for me. Honestly. This house. Well, I never expected or would have asked—” She couldn’t say anymore because of the tears.

  AJ stepped forward and wiped his palm on his jeans. “When I stopped in Angel Crossing to pay my respects to my cousin, I expected to stay one night, maybe two. I was a bull rider with a baby. I had no real plan. Then I met Pepper. She took us in...even if she didn’t want to.” Everyone laughed. “In less than two years, I went from cowboy to farmer. You know what that’s like.” More laughter.