The Texas Tycoon’s Christmas Baby

by Brenda Harlen

  That should have been the end of it, but Jason found himself thinking about her long after he left the airport—or not Lindsay Conners so much as her situation. He didn’t know how she managed on her own, or how Penny would manage on her own if she insisted on doing it that way. He knew that single mothers were hardly an anomaly in the current day and age, but he wondered why a woman would choose to go it alone if she didn’t have to.

  He could understand a wife booting her cheating husband to the curb, but he would never be unfaithful to the woman he chose to marry. He believed strongly in the sanctity of marriage and would neither commit nor forgive any infidelity. Of course, Penny didn’t know him well enough to be sure of that, and recent revelations hadn’t painted him in the most favorable light, but he figured he could prove himself over the next fifty or sixty years of their marriage.

  Except that he still hadn’t quite figured out how to get her to agree to the marriage.

  When she left her mother in the library, Penny was feeling more confused than ever.

  Follow her heart?

  That’s exactly what she’d thought she was doing when she made the decision to have her baby on her own. She didn’t need a husband, and she sure as heck didn’t need Jason Foley.

  Except that Jason wanted to be a father to their baby, and she knew she couldn’t refuse that. Still, there was a lot of ground between coparenting and cohabiting with legal ties.

  But now even Paige was pressuring her to get back together with Jason, so they could raise their child together. Of course, her sister was blissfully in love and wanted everyone else to be, too.

  At least Blake seemed to be firmly ensconced in her corner, insisting that Penny shouldn’t feel pressured to get married simply because she was pregnant. Of course, he had his own reasons for taking that position.

  Only Tate had seemed neutral on the subject of her pregnancy. On the other hand, Penny hadn’t really had an opportunity to talk to him about it, either.

  But Penny wouldn’t let herself be swayed by anyone else’s thoughts and opinions. She already loved the child growing inside of her and would ultimately make a decision based on what was best for that child. And even though her relationship with Jason hadn’t been everything she’d wanted it to be, she would never regret a single moment of the time she spent with him, because he had given her the greatest gift she could ever imagine in the baby growing inside her womb.

  Jason was tired when he got home, and not particularly happy to find his father waiting in his living room.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Your doorman let me in,” Rex told him.

  “I didn’t mean my living room,” he clarified. “I meant Houston.”

  “I had a meeting that went late, so I thought I would crash here tonight and drive back to Dallas in the morning.”

  Jason didn’t mind his father dropping by or planning to stay. What he minded was the third degree he knew he was going to get.

  “I brought a six-pack and ordered pizza,” Rex said.

  “I ate on the plane.” But he went to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of beer he didn’t particularly want and twisted off the cap. “Why are you really here, Dad? Because if it’s to tell me that I screwed up, I don’t need that pointed out to me.”

  “You did screw up,” Rex agreed. “But you can still fix it.”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “Then you do plan to marry Penny?”

  Jason took a long swallow from his bottle. “Yes,” he said. “As soon as I can convince the bride.”

  “Then you should be busy planning a wedding, because I’ve seen you work impossible business deals, and I know that if you want this badly enough, you’ll find a way to make it happen.”

  “Penny seems a little…resistant…to the idea.”

  Rex frowned, as if that possibility had never occurred to him. “She was happy enough to date you for the past couple of months. Why wouldn’t she be jumping at the chance to marry you?”

  “Maybe because she knows she was manipulated and she’s determined not to be manipulated any longer.”

  “There’s a difference between manipulation and finesse.”

  Jason set his half-empty bottle on the counter and scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I’m not going to manipulate or finesse her into doing something she doesn’t want to do.”

  “Then make her see that it’s something she wants.”

  “I hope it is,” he told his father. “But I had a lot of time to think while I was in Denver, and the one thing I realized is that no one has the right to decide what’s right for Penny except Penny—not you, not her mother or her sister and especially not me.”

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Rex said softly. “You have real feelings for her, don’t you?”

  Jason scowled. “Of course I have feelings for her.”

  “Do you love her?”

  “Why do I have to put a label on my feelings?”

  Rex shook his head. “I would have expected all of your experience with women to have taught you a few things.”

  “What things?” Jason asked warily.

  “That women are romantics. They like candlelight dinners and flowers and wine—okay, maybe skip the wine because of the baby. But make an effort, show her how you feel, tell her how you feel. Women like words, too.”

  “I’m not going to lie to her.”

  “Of course not,” his father agreed. “After all, lying’s what got you into this mess.”

  Jason would have said that having unprotected sex was what had gotten him into this mess, but then he realized his father was right. The “mess” wasn’t Penny’s unexpected pregnancy but their separation, and Jason was determined to fix it.

  Chapter Eight

  “Penny, hi.”

  She heard the surprise in Jason’s voice and knew he’d expected her to ignore the call, as she’d ignored so many of his calls and e-mails and text messages over the past few weeks.

  “Hello, Jason.”

  “I just wanted to touch base to let you know that I’m back from Denver.”

  “Did you have a good trip?” she asked politely, because she’d promised herself she would make an effort to have a civil conversation with him. She was still hurt and angry, but she knew she had to get over those feelings if they were going to work together for the sake of their baby.

  “It was successful, at least from a business standpoint,” he told her. “But it took longer than I expected, so now I have to go in to the office tomorrow.”

  “I work in retail,” she reminded him. “I have no sympathy for anyone who complains about having to work an occasional Saturday.”

  “Are you working tomorrow?” he asked her.

  “No,” she admitted.

  “Good, because I should be finished at the office by noon and I thought I might make the trip into Dallas after that, so that we could talk.”

  “Actually, I have plans for tomorrow,” she told him.

  “Oh.” He managed to express both disappointment and skepticism in the single syllable.

  She couldn’t blame him for being skeptical, not after the way she’d been dodging him over the past several weeks. But she did have legitimate plans this time, as she explained, “Someone was considerate enough to give me a spa day, and I’ve booked it for tomorrow.”

  “Then I guess I shouldn’t complain,” he said.

  “And I should say ‘thank you’.”

  “You thought it was considerate, huh?”

  She’d thought it was thoughtful and sweet, and she still remembered the note he sent via e-mail to her. The subject line had read simply SPA-tacular, and Penny had nearly deleted the message, assuming it was an unsolicited advertisement. Then she recognized Jason’s e-mail address and curiosity had prompted her to read further.

  Please contact Gina at SPA-tacular to schedule a day of pampering for yourself and a friend. My treat. Because I know I’ve been the cause of far too much stress in your life re
cently.

  Enjoy,

  Jason

  “I did think it was considerate,” she said now. “But that doesn’t mean I forgive you.”

  “I know. And I don’t blame you. I just wish—”

  “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t push,” she said. “Let’s just both be satisfied that we’ve managed to have a fairly civil conversation tonight.”

  “Okay,” he agreed. “I won’t push. But what would you say if I invited you to go for dinner tomorrow night after your spa day?”

  “I’d say you were pushing.”

  “I take it that’s a no?”

  “That’s a no,” she confirmed.

  “Then I’ll say good night now, and maybe I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Maybe,” she agreed, but she was smiling a little when she said it.

  Penny had never felt so pampered.

  She knew what Jason was doing—softening her up so that she would be more amenable to his plans, which apparently included getting married so they could raise their baby together. And at the moment, she definitely felt like she was softening. She’d been buffed and polished and massaged and oiled so that her skin was like silk and her muscles were completely lax. But while she was definitely feeling appreciative of his efforts, she still had no intention of giving up her dreams and settling for a marriage of convenience.

  “It’s occurred to me,” Paige said, lounging in a cushy leather chair identical to her sister’s as they waited for the polish on their toenails to dry, “that maybe I was wrong about Jason.”

  Penny’s brows lifted. “Or maybe being slathered in warm mud made you mellow.”

  “Maybe,” Paige agreed. “I did like the mud. And the massage. But you have to give the guy points for thinking of it. I mean, what woman wouldn’t want a man who is willing to pamper her like this?”

  “This woman,” Penny said firmly. “Because he didn’t do it to be thoughtful and generous, although he can be both. He did it to score points.”

  Her sister raised her arms over her head. “Touchdown.”

  Penny picked up her glass of mineral water, sipped. “You’re so juvenile.”

  “Youthful,” Paige corrected, with a saucy grin.

  “Juvenile,” Penny said again.

  Her twin stuck out her tongue, then she asked, “Have you given any more thought to his proposal?”

  “How can you think I would even consider it, after everything he did?”

  Paige was silent for a minute, no doubt remembering how furious and indignant she’d been when she’d learned about Jason’s plans—and she wasn’t the one he’d been sleeping with.

  “Okay, I can understand why you’d be reluctant,” she allowed.

  “I’m not reluctant, I’m firmly opposed.”

  “Then you’re stronger and braver than I am, because I’d find the idea of having a baby on my own a little daunting.”

  “Believe me, I’m daunted,” Penny told her sister. “I’m just not convinced that getting married for the sake of a baby would be anything less than a disaster.”

  “If the baby was the only reason you were getting married,” Paige agreed. “But you and Jason had something good going. You were happy with him.”

  “I was oblivious.”

  “You were in love.”

  “I think my toes are dry,” Penny said.

  Paige reached over and covered her hand so that she couldn’t get up and flee. “I know you, Penny. And you never would have slept with him unless you had pretty strong feelings for him. Those feelings don’t just disappear because you want them to.”

  “I want him to disappear,” she grumbled.

  “I don’t see that happening, either,” her sister warned.

  “I want…” Penny sighed, then finally admitted, “I want what you have with Travis.”

  “Why do you think you can’t have that with Jason?”

  “Because he doesn’t love me.”

  “Did he say that he doesn’t?”

  “No, but he didn’t say that he did, either.”

  “And even if he did, you wouldn’t trust his motives at this point,” Paige guessed.

  She nodded.

  “Well, no one would disagree that you have reason to be wary. On the other hand, without risk there is no reward.”

  But for Penny’s bruised and battered heart, the risks were just too great.

  When Jason went into work Saturday morning, his secretary was already at her desk. Since Barb rarely worked overtime and never worked weekends, he couldn’t help but wonder why she was there.

  “Coffee’s on in your office, there’s a fax on your desk from EDI Drilling and a pile of correspondence to be reviewed and signed so that I can get it into the mail before the post office closes today.”

  “Thank you,” he said cautiously.

  But his surprise must have been evident, because she said, “You can thank me with a bonus in my next paycheck.”

  Jason made a mental note to do that.

  First things first, though. He poured himself a cup of coffee and glanced at the fax. It wasn’t anything urgent, so he set it aside and directed his attention to the correspondence.

  An hour later, he took the stack of letters out to Barb’s desk. She was busy at the computer, and he took a moment to glance around at the assortment of photos that were taped around her work station. It was like a family history in pictures.

  In a place of honor beside her computer was the photo of Barb and her husband, Ted, on their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. Then there were photos of each of the three sons they had together: the eldest with his wife on their wedding day; the middle one in his military uniform; and the youngest in his cap and gown at his college graduation. Then there were the photos—at least half a dozen—of her new grandbaby.

  Jason had no photos on his desk. Of course, there were no macaroni pencil holders or floppy stuffed elephants hanging over his computer monitor, either.

  But as he moved closer to drop the papers on her desk, he found his gaze again drawn to the anniversary photo.

  “Thirty-five years,” he mused, realizing—probably for the first time—that his secretary had been married for more years than he’d been alive.

  Though Barb looked up from her computer screen, her fingers never stopped moving on the keys. “Did you say something, Mr. Foley?”

  “I was just remarking on the fact that you’ve been married thirty-five years.”

  Her eyes moved automatically to the photo and her lips curved. “Actually, it’s almost thirty-eight now.”

  Thirty-eight. His dad and his mom had barely shared half that number of years together before she died. He’d never known anyone who had been married—and apparently happily—for so long.

  “Thirty-eight years ago, when you were exchanging your vows, did you know it would last?”

  She stopped typing and swiveled in her chair to give him her full attention. “Of course,” she said, then chuckled. “But I was nineteen years old and incredibly naive. I had no idea how hard it would be at times to make our marriage work.

  “Had I known then what I know now…” She shook her head. “Let’s just say I probably wouldn’t have been so eager to rush down the aisle. On the other hand, I also wouldn’t give up a single day that we’ve had together. I couldn’t imagine my life without him.”

  “You’re lucky,” he said, “that your marriage succeeded when so many fail these days.”

  “Lucky?” The scorn in her voice left him in no doubt as to her opinion about that. “Luck has nothing to do with it. It’s hard work and commitment that get you through the tough times. The reason so many marriages fail is that young people nowadays don’t know what it means to stick it out through the tough times.”

  He was no stranger to hard work or commitment, and if he managed to convince Penny to marry him, he would stick it out. He had never walked away from his responsibilities and he sure as heck woul
dn’t walk away from his child.

  “Why the sudden interest in my marriage?” Barb’s gaze narrowed. “Did you meet a special lady who has you thinking about forever?”

  Jason wasn’t in the habit of talking to his secretary about his private life. In fact, he wasn’t in the habit of talking to anyone about his private life. On the other hand, it seemed as if everyone had an opinion these days on what he should do—and a vested interested in his plans. It would be interesting to get the opinion of someone who had nothing to gain, and Barb was nothing if not discreet.

  “Someone very special,” he said, because that part, at least, was true.

  “And you love her?” she prompted.

  Jason hesitated, and she huffed out an impatient breath.

  “If you have to think about that, then you have no business thinking about marriage.

  “Hard work and commitment may be the building blocks of a solid marriage, but love is the mortar that holds it all together. Without love, any wind of discontent or distrust—and believe me, there will be storms—will have the blocks tumbling down.”

  It was hard to argue with thirty-eight-years’ experience, but Jason wasn’t discouraged. Because he would love the baby, and he knew Penny would love the baby, and he just had to trust that would be enough. Because he wouldn’t risk anything more.

  Penny called Jason when she got home from her spa day with Paige. It was the first time since their breakup that she’d initiated contact, and she was more than a little nervous about doing so. Especially when he didn’t immediately answer.

  Not that she’d expected he would be waiting by the phone, but she was a little disappointed that he didn’t seem to be home. And then she wondered, it being a Saturday night, if he had a date.

  The thought came to her out of the blue, but it wasn’t an unreasonable one. Yeah, he’d proposed to her, but only because he knew she was carrying his baby. In reality, they’d broken up weeks before, and there was no reason that he couldn’t be dating someone else by now.

  Just when Penny had resigned herself to leaving a message—or not leaving one—he picked up.