by Tina Leonard
“We’re more than shorthanded now, Archer,” Mason concurred. “We can’t have you jetting off to Australia to lie on the golden beaches and chase little joeys. We need you here. You’re going to have to make certain you don’t mess this up. Last has gone to make an offer on Mimi’s house and land. Before it goes on the market to the general public.”
“Last did? Is there something wrong with your mouth?” Archer glanced at his brothers incredulously. Crockett and Bandera shifted uncomfortably, staring out windows as they leaned against walls. “Are you the world’s biggest yellowbelly? How can you sit here and lecture me when the best thing that’s ever going to happen to you is moving off her family ranch into town where you’ll actually have to make an effort to see her, the baby and the sheriff?”
“Archer,” Mason said on a growl, “you’re mouthing off about stuff you know nothing about.”
“Peace, brothers,” Crockett interrupted. “Let’s get on with the business at hand. Archer, Last is making an offer to Mimi that’s fair. As the member of the family who can get the job done with a minimum of wrangling, not to mention hard feelings, we felt Last was the proper one to offer. We want you to make an offer to Clove. Mimi’s house for her and her children so that she’ll feel comfortable staying here.” He took a deep breath. “It’s the right thing to do, Archer. You got her into this boat—or vice versa—but she has no choice but to return to Australia, unwed and her children fatherless, unless you act.”
“You know,” Archer said, “I would like to act. I really, really would. But it’s hard when you show up acting like all Clove needs is a roof over her head. I’m telling you, this girl is not that simple. This is not a scheme on her behalf to hook me. She does not want me. She is not acting out of a desire to be with me for the rest of life as we know it. I wish it were that easy. I could have all the gold in the world and she would not be one whit more interested in me than she is at this moment.” He frowned. “Hang on. Clove’s gotten very quiet.”
He strode off to find her. The bedroom door open, she obviously felt no need to act as if she wasn’t listening to their conversation. And indeed, she wasn’t, he realized, as she was fast asleep in a bed with a set of deer antlers as a canopy. He sighed and closed her door.
Rejoining his brothers, he said, “Everybody out. Thank you for your concern and worry, but my girl has had a very rough day. She can’t handle intrigues and house offers. The doctor says she needs rest and that is what she is going to have. You’re jumping the gun, anyway. If she doesn’t get rest, who knows if she’ll carry these children to term. I don’t understand enough about pregnancy to know, but my guess is it’s a good idea to follow doc’s orders. Thank you for the food—I’ll take very good care of her. Good night.”
After a moment of glancing at each other, his brothers silently filed out, their faces downcast. They meant well, Archer knew, but Clove required the kind of handling they would never understand.
When the house was empty, he turned off the porch lights. Miss Daisy would have to wait for another day, so he put the tape away and returned the sofa pillows to their proper positions. As all the groceries were stored, he headed to Clove’s chosen room. Pulling off his boots and stripping to his boxers, he crawled in bed beside her, sighing as his chilly skin was warmed by hers. In her sleep, she rolled over, putting one hand on his chest and her cheek on his shoulder. Closing his eyes, Archer’s chest relaxed, all the pressure he’d been feeling melting away.
This was heaven.
But then she stirred against him, tucking herself up under his chin. His eyes widened in the darkness.
“Archer?” she murmured.
“Yes. What is it?” he asked, suddenly worried that she wasn’t feeling well.
“Do you ever wonder if…what might happen if it’s not just our blood types that are incompatible?”
He blinked. “No.”
“Oh.”
None of this sounded good. “Do you wonder?” he asked.
“Sort of,” she whispered. “I mean, we had sex and that’s pretty cut-and-dried. But people have to be really compatible if there’s going to be anything else.”
So there was a chance. She was thinking about the future, wondering what it held in store for them. He thought about Last and Valentine. No compatibility for the long haul there, so Clove had a good point. “Go to sleep,” he said. “We don’t have to have all the answers tonight. You’re supposed to be resting happily and thinking good thoughts. Not worrying.”
“I’m not worrying,” she said softly. “I just don’t see us being compatible.”
Well, she’d been right about everything until now. Gently, he rolled her onto her back. He stroked her face with his palm. “Can you see me?”
“No.”
“I can’t see you, either. That means this is a blind compatibility test.” Then he kissed her. Softly at first, then more deeply when she didn’t resist. When her lips touched his more urgently and he felt her tongue experimentally touch his, he kissed her harder, faster, his mouth moving against hers in a sexual mating dance that had her moaning beneath him.
She cried out, a small, surprised squeal against his lips, her fingers suddenly clutching at his shoulders. He pulled back in alarm. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice astonished in the darkness.
“Are you sure?”
She took a moment to answer, her hands sliding down his arms. “I think so. Give me a couple seconds to figure it out.”
He frowned. “Figure what out?”
“I think I just…you know.”
He passed a hand across her stomach. “Tell me.”
“Had a climax,” she whispered, then giggled.
Relief swept over him. He rolled over onto his side, saying gruffly, “Go to sleep. The babies probably wish you’d settle down. The doctor said we weren’t supposed to have relations, and I assume that means all forms of pleasure.”
He felt her turn over. A sigh left his chest, the worry lifting from him. That crazy little giggle floated across his memory, and he grinned to himself in the darkness. “Guess you answered the compatibility question, though.”
She gave a little backward kick, her heel lightly grazing his calf, which made him chuckle. “We can run a retest tomorrow, if you’d like.”
“Archer!”
He laughed.
ARCHER WAS SLEEPING like a dog until his senses warned him something was different from the easy comfort he’d been enjoying last night. Keeping his eyes closed, he assessed his surroundings. Warm, soft body next to him—check. In fact, Clove’s hand lay dangerously close to his maleness, and if not for the sheet, he’d be getting pretty close to happiness. His body acknowledged this fact, slowly stirring up an erection.
But his mind countered his desire. Something was still not right.
His eyes snapped open, to find a stunningly lovely woman staring at him from the foot of the bed. “Hello,” she said.
“Crap!” He jumped from the bed, startling Clove. She sat straight up, clutching the sheet.
“Lucy!” Clove jumped from the bed, rushing to hug her sister. “Why didn’t you call me? I would have met you at the airport!”
Lucy eyed him over Clove’s shoulder as they embraced. Archer stared right back at her, until he realized he was wearing nothing but black boxers and this was no way to meet his children’s auntie for the first time. Grabbing his jeans, he jerked them on, never taking his eyes off Lucy. For added composure, he snatched his cowboy hat off the headboard and jammed that on his head.
“My taxi driver knew exactly where the ranch was,” Lucy said, in a voice much like Clove’s. “And then the man I met at the ranch said I’d find you here. So the taxi driver brought me. The door was unlocked,” she said, more to Archer than anyone. “I assumed you were awake and about, but when I called out, no one answered. So I came on in. Of course, I expected you to be alone, Clove,” she said, her tone slightly surprised but not necessarily disappro
ving, Archer noticed.
“I’ll get us a cup of joe,” he said, retreating. “Clove, can you drink coffee? Or do you have to have water or juice or something healthy?”
“Orange juice, please,” Clove replied. “Lucy, this is Archer Jefferson.”
The sisters moved out of their embrace so that Lucy could shake Archer’s hand. He wasn’t certain how he felt about that, since he didn’t have a shirt or boots on, and this was Clove’s sister. And she was gorgeous like a movie star, though he suspected it was all natural. “Sorry I’m not clean-shaven,” he said, trying to be polite.
“It’s fine,” Lucy replied. “I had visions of Clove being alone. I’m happy to see she’s been in good hands.”
Uncomfortable, he merely nodded, retreating to the kitchen so the ladies could talk. He fixed coffee, his mind racing. So this was the Lucy who couldn’t have children, the sister Clove loved more than anything. She certainly hadn’t seemed to be hurting for money, style or manners. Scratching at his chest, he thought about Clove’s determination to help her sister. He would help his brothers if they needed him to, but there was something deeper between the two women. Perhaps because there had been so many brothers in his family, they had shared the bonding and emotions equally amongst all of them, so that it seemed less intense. Would he have a child for one of them? He didn’t think so.
Of course, it was a little hard to compare, because he didn’t hold the key of creation within his body. Other than the sperm donation, the male of the species got off pretty light. He wondered how much heart a woman had to have to use her body to help her sister.
Lucy walked into the kitchen, picking up a coffee mug and pouring herself a cup. She looked at him, her gaze frank.
“Cream? Sugar?” he asked.
“No, thank you.” She sipped the coffee, her eyes gauging him over the rim.
“Long flight?” he asked.
“Very long, but not bad. The prospect of visiting my sister kept me from noticing any discomforts.”
He nodded. “Where is Clove?”
“Showering. She said she hadn’t had a chance to last night.”
“It was a long day for her.”
Lucy put her mug down. “So what does the doctor say, exactly?”
“That she needs rest. And possibly another round of whatever that injection was to keep our Rh factors compatible. Mostly rest.”
Lucy went a bit pale. “Is it likely or unlikely that she’d miscarry?”
“With rest and care, her chances going full term are pretty good.” Archer shrugged. “The next couple of days are pretty important for her.” He looked at her, his gaze curious. “So. I guess you really wanted to be a mother for Clove to have gotten pregnant.”
“This was not my idea,” Lucy snapped. “I didn’t know Clove was trying to help me like this. When I put her on the plane in Australia, she told me she was coming to America to see the world. She needed to unwind from stunt work. That was it.”
“Sorry.” Archer took a deep breath. “I know Clove well enough to know that she would take the path she thought best and not consult a soul.”
“Clove has always been brave. Very kind and generous.” Lucy looked at him. “Not to put too fine a point on it, but the last thing I expected to find was a cowboy in my sister’s bed.”
The lady was inquiring, he figured, and a man should always be honest. “Fine points don’t trouble me,” he said mildly. “And, with all due respect, I hope you realize that I’ll be doing everything in my power to stay in Clove’s bed.”
Chapter Eleven
“And if she doesn’t want you in her bed?” Lucy asked Archer.
He smiled. “We’re very, very compatible.”
“You’re not at all what I expected,” Lucy said.
“I could say the same,” Archer replied, pouring himself another cup of coffee.
“So you didn’t just balk when you found out my sister was pregnant? Have your way with her and then go on?”
He dug around for some bagels his brothers had put away. “No, ma’am. Do I look like that sort to you?”
She sighed and took the plate of bagel and red grapes he offered her. “Thank you. Then I don’t understand. If your intentions are to care for my sister, why is she returning to Australia?”
“You’d know the answer to that better than me.”
“I meant, without you,” Lucy said. “Why is she returning without you?”
“This is my home,” Archer said simply. “I’m not planning to leave it. And she hasn’t invited me. She wasn’t planning to tell me she was pregnant.”
Lucy put her plate down, her fingers trembling. “I guess Clove told you that I—”
“She did,” Archer said swiftly, his tone kind. “I don’t need further details.”
She glanced down for a moment. “Did she also tell you that my husband and I—”
“She mentioned something about it.”
“I see.” Lucy bit her lip, clearly humiliated. “I guess she told you that the farm isn’t doing well.”
He shook his head.
“It’s ours,” she said. “Mine and Clove’s. My husband is a doctor and doesn’t know a lot about such things. We don’t ask him for money for the farm. It’s ours, and it’s all we have left between us. We’re adopted,” Lucy said quietly. “Did she tell you that, too?”
“No.” Archer’s mind scrambled to keep up with that information. “Clove and I really haven’t had a chance to get to know each other to that extent.”
She blushed. “This is very awkward.”
“You’re telling me.” But he was starting to understand Clove’s desperation better.
“Good morning,” Clove said, walking to stand beside her sister. They hugged each other briefly around the waist, then Clove sighed over the bagel and grapes her sister held. “Would you mind if I have some of that?” she asked Archer.
He grabbed a plate. “Feeding you well was what my brothers had in mind.” With two plump stems of red grapes beside a bagel, he handed her the plate.
“Glad to see you with an appetite.” After he’d poured a glass of apple juice, he said, “I’m going to head out. You two will enjoy being alone for a while. Lucy, I have work to do. I’m sure you can take over here.”
Lucy nodded, her eyes grateful. “I can.”
“All right.” He went into the bedroom, grabbed his shirt, put on his boots and slipped on his belt before walking back out of the bedroom. “I’ve got an Appaloosa that wants breakfast, too,” he told the women, “and she gets ornery if her food isn’t right on time.”
Clove looked at him, her gaze a bit nervous. “Say hello to Tonk for me.”
He was pleased that she still thought kindly of his horse. “I will. Nice to meet you, Lucy.” Tipping his hat, he left, thinking it was a great time to get out and clear his head.
Between his brothers trying to buy Mimi’s house for Clove, and Lucy’s small, elegant satchel that foretold her plans for a very short visit to Texas, he had a lot to think about.
He did not want to lose Clove, not when she’d started getting under his skin in the kind of way no other woman ever had.
LUCY TURNED TO CLOVE after Archer left. “So. You left out some important details,” she said. “Let’s sit on this nice, terribly western sofa and you can fill in the story.”
“Starting with?” Clove followed Lucy to the sofa, plate and cup in hand.
“The fact that you just happened to land one of the most handsome men on the planet.”
Clove shook her head. “Archer would smirk at both your description of him and the notion that he’s been landed.”
“I don’t know. He seems…interested in you.”
“Archer’s hard to explain. I wouldn’t be overly impressed with his interest.”
“And you met him how?”
Clove looked at her sister. “Over the Internet. We’ve corresponded for two years.”
Lucy thought about that for a moment. “So, in l
ight of the fact that you came straight to Texas and haven’t ventured from your original destination, I can assume that your trip was less about seeing the world than about seeing this cowboy. Those must have been some e-mails.”
Clove shrugged. “They were pretty tame, actually.”
“Did he know you were coming to meet him?”
She shook her head. “No. I didn’t tell him my real name. I wanted to meet him first.”
“Good move. That first meeting must have been impressive.”
Clove looked at her sister carefully. “He was more attractive than I thought he’d be, certainly.”
“I’ll say.” Lucy laughed. “And so you met him, gave him a fake name for safety’s sake, and he seduced you?”
“I seduced him.”
Lucy laughed at her. “Clove. Not you.”
“Yes. Me.”
The smile slipped from Lucy’s face. She stared at her sister for a long moment. “All right. Let me run through this again. You flew around the world to meet this man, and decided to seduce him, and then called me and told me you wanted me to raise your children.” She frowned. “It’s not like you to act so crazily.”
Clove was silent for a moment. “Stunt work.”
“No.” Lucy shook her head. “Those are calculated risks. You threw yourself out on a huge limb for no reason that I can see. This makes no sense.” She stared at Clove for a long moment. “No, wait a moment. You decided to get pregnant and give me the children to save my marriage because I couldn’t have any? Is that closer to the real crazy truth? That’s the idea that cowboy seems to be peddling.”
Clove sighed. “Lucy, as wild as it sounds, it’s not unusual for women to use a surrogate mother. That’s all I wanted to be.”
Tears welled in Lucy’s eyes, which she wiped away. “First of all, honey, you can’t take advantage of this poor man because of me. You’re going to have to tell him the truth. I think he’s falling in love with you. Or something. He certainly seems fond of you, and quite concerned for your well-being.”