by Tina Leonard
He dropped a kiss on the back of her neck, sending a delightful shiver over her.
“I’m sorry about tonight,” he murmured against her skin. “I had romantic plans for us.”
“It may be hard to find time for romance with all the commotion you have going on here. I thought my family tree was thick with drama.”
He turned her toward him, his dark gaze searching hers. “I know you’re wondering about a lot of things. I’ll tell you a few family yarns in between riding lessons with the girls.”
“Not my girls,” Aberdeen said, her heart jumping.
“No time like the present for them to get in the saddle.” Creed winked at her. “And you, too. You’ll make a wonderful cowgirl.”
“Sorry, no.” Aberdeen laughed. “Lincoln Rose is staying right in her comfy stroller. My other two nieces can look at the horses, but there’ll be no saddle-training for them.”
“We’ll see,” Creed said, his tone purposefully mysterious. “Learning to ride a horse is just like learning how to swim.”
“Will not happen,” she reiterated, and stepped away from his warmth. She already wanted to fall into his arms, and after everything she’d heard today, she’d be absolutely out of her head to do such a thing. If she’d ever thought Creed was wild, she had only to come here to find out that he probably was—at the very minimum, he lived by his own code. And the judge was looking for stability in her life before he awarded her permanent custody of her nieces. An adoption application needed to be smooth as well. She shot Creed a glance over her shoulder, checking him out, noting that his gaze never left her. He was protective, he was kind, he was strong. She was falling in love with him—had fallen in love with him—but there were little people to consider. Her own heart needed to be more cautious, not tripping into love just because the man could romance her beyond her wildest imaginings. “Goodnight, Creed,” she said, and after a moment, he nodded.
“Sweet dreams,” he said, and then before she could steel herself against him, he kissed her, pinning his fingers into her waist, pulling her against him.
And then he left, probably fully aware that he’d just set her blood to boil. Tired as she was, she was going to be thinking about him for a long time, well past her bedtime—the rogue. And she was absolutely wild for him.
She wished Creed was sleeping in her bed tonight.
Chapter Fourteen
“You can’t marry her,” Aunt Fiona said when Creed went back to the main house. Fiona was sitting in the library in front of a window, staring out into the darkness. Burke had placed a coffee cup and a plate of cookies on the table. Creed recognized the signs of a family powwow, so he took the chair opposite Fiona and said, “I’m surprised you’d say that, Aunt. Doesn’t Aberdeen fill the bill?”
Fiona gave him a sideways glance. “If there was a bill to be filled, I’m sure she’d do quite well. However, I don’t believe in doing things in half measures, and I think that’s what you’re doing, Creed.”
He nodded at the cup Burke placed beside him, and sipped gratefully. He didn’t need caffeine to keep up with Fiona, but he did need fortification. It was going to be a stirring debate. “You’re talking about the little girls.”
Fiona shrugged. “They’re darling. They deserve your best. We don’t have a best to give them at the moment, as Bode’s untimely visit indicates.”
“We’ll be fine. Give me the real reason you’re protesting against me marrying her.”
“Stability. We don’t have that.” Fiona sighed. “Have you told Aberdeen about this situation?”
“No. It didn’t seem necessary. I’ll take care of her and the children.”
Fiona nodded. “I would expect that. However, we’re at war here. Bode was sizing us up. I don’t mind saying I’m afraid.”
Creed shrugged. “I’m not afraid of that old man.”
“You should be. He intends to make trouble.”
“What’s the worst he can do?”
Fiona looked at him. “You should know.”
“I think the choice should be Aberdeen’s.”
Fiona nodded. “I agree. Be honest with her. Let her know that we’re not the safe haven we may appear to be at first glance.”
Creed didn’t like that. He wanted to be able to give Aberdeen and the girls the comfort and safety he felt they needed. Protecting them was something his heart greatly desired. And yet, he knew Aunt Fiona’s words of caution probably warranted consideration. “I’ll think about it.”
“Do you love her, Creed?” Fiona asked, her eyes searching his.
“Aberdeen is a good woman.” He chose his words carefully, not really certain why he felt he had to hold back. “I think we complement each other.”
After a moment, Fiona sat back in her chair. “Of course, you know that it’s my fondest wish for you boys to be settled. I haven’t hidden my desire to see you with families. But I wouldn’t want to bring harm to anyone, Creed.”
He stared at his aunt. Harm? He had no intention of causing Aberdeen any pain. Far from it. All her wanted to give her was joy. He wanted to take care of her. That’s what they’d agreed upon between themselves: Each of them needed something from the other. He intended to keep his side of the bargain.
But as he looked at his little aunt fretting with her napkin and then turning to stare out the window, searching Rancho Diablo in the darkness, he realized she really was worried.
For the thousandth time in his life, he wished Bode Jenkins would somehow just fade out of their lives. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen. They just couldn’t be that lucky.
“If I only believed in fairy tales,” Fiona murmured. “But I have to be practical.”
“You pitting us against each other for the ranch is very practical.” Creed smiled. “Nobody is complaining, are they?”
Fiona gave him a sharp look. “Is the ranch why you’re marrying her?”
Creed drew in a deep breath. Why was he marrying Aberdeen—really? Was he using the ranch as an excuse to bolster his courage to give up rodeo, give up his unsettled ways and get connected to a future? Aberdeen, a ball and chain; the little girls, tiny shackles.
Actually, Creed thought, he was pretty sure the little girls were buoys, if anything, and Aberdeen, a life preserver. Before he’d met them, he’d been drowning in a sea of purposelessness. “I can’t speak to my exact motivation for marrying Aberdeen Donovan,” Creed said. “I haven’t had time to pinpoint the reason. It could be gratitude, because I think she saved my life in the literal sense. It could be she appeals to the knight in me who feels a need to save a damsel in distress. It might even be that she’s gotten under my skin and I just have to conquer that.” Creed brightened. “Whatever it is, I like it, though.”
Fiona smiled. “You do seem happy.”
He grunted. “I haven’t got it all figured out yet. But when I do, I’ll let you know.”
TWO WEEKS LATER, the magic still hadn’t worn off. Mornings bloomed so pretty and sunny that Aberdeen found herself awestruck by the beauty of the New Mexico landscape. Riding in the golf cart with Burke, who’d come to get her and the girls for breakfast, Aberdeen couldn’t imagine anything more beautiful than Rancho Diablo on a summer morning.
And the girls seemed tranquil, curious about their surroundings, staring with wide eyes. Horses moved in a wooden corral, eager to watch the humans coming and going. Occasionally she saw a Callahan brother walking by, heading to work—they always turned to wave at the golf cart. She couldn’t tell which brother was which yet, but the fact that Creed has such a large family was certainly comforting. She liked his family; she liked the affection they seemed to have for each other.
She was a little surprised that Creed was a twin, and that his brother, Pete, had triplets. What if she had a baby with Creed? What were the odds of having a multiple birth in a family that seemed to have them in the gene pool? The thought intimidated her, and even gave her a little insight into why Diane might have become overwhelmed. One at a ti
me would be best for me. I’d have four children to guide and grow and teach to walk the right path. I wonder if I’ll be a good mother?
When Aberdeen realized she was actually daydreaming about having Creed’s baby, she forced herself to stop. She was jumping light years ahead of what she needed to be thinking about, which was the girls and putting their needs first. They were so happy and so sweet, and she needed to do her best by them. She saw Johnny ride past in one of the trucks with a Callahan brother, and they waved at her and the girls, who got all excited when they saw their uncle. Johnny, it seemed, was fitting right in. He hadn’t come in to the guest house last night, and she suspected he’d slept in the bunkhouse with the brothers. “Your uncle thinks he’s going cowboy,” she murmured to the girls, who ignored her in favor of staring at the horses and the occasional steer. It was good for Johnny to have this time to vacation a little. He’d had her back for so long he hadn’t had much time to hang out, she realized. They’d both been tied to the bar, determined to make a success of it, buy that ticket out of Spring, Montana.
She hugged the girls to her. “Isn’t this fun?”
They looked at her, their big eyes eager and excited. For the first time she felt herself relax, and when she saw Fiona come to the door, waving a dish towel at them in greeting, a smile lit her face. It was going to be all right, Aberdeen told herself. This was just a vacation for all of them, one that they needed. If it didn’t work out between her and Creed, it would be fine—she and Johnny and the girls could go back home, create a life for themselves as if nothing special, nothing amazing, had happened.
As if she’d never fallen in love with Creed Callahan.
She took a deep breath as Burke stopped the golf cart in front of the mansion. Aberdeen got out, then she and Burke each helped the girls to the ground. Aberdeen turned to greet Fiona.
“Look who’s here!” Fiona exclaimed, and Aberdeen halted in her tracks.
“Mommy!” Ashley cried, as she and Suzanne toddled off to greet Diane. Aberdeen’s heart went still at the sight of her older sister, who did not look quite like the Diane she remembered. Cold water seemed to hit her in the face.
“Aberdeen!” Diane came to greet Aberdeen as if no time had passed, as if she hadn’t abandoned her children. She threw her arms around Aberdeen, and Aberdeen found herself melting. She loved Diane with all her heart. Had she come to get her daughters? Aberdeen hoped so. A whole family would be the best thing for everyone.
“How are you doing?” Aberdeen asked her sister, leaning back to look at her, and Diane shook her head.
“We’ll talk later. Right now, your wonderful mother-in-law-to-be has welcomed me into the fold,” Diane said, and Aberdeen remembered that they had an audience.
“Yes. Aunt Fiona, this is my older sister, Diane.” Aberdeen followed her nieces, who were trying to get up the steps to Fiona. Aberdeen carried Lincoln Rose, who didn’t reach for her mother. The minute she saw Fiona, she reached for her, though. Fiona took her gladly, and Aberdeen and Diane shared a glance.
“I’m good with children,” Fiona said, blushing a little that Diane’s own daughter seemed to prefer her. “It’s the granny syndrome.”
“It’s all right,” Diane said quickly. “Come on, girls. Let’s not leave Mrs. Callahan waiting.”
“Oh.” Fiona glanced back as they walked through the entryway. “Please, just call me Fiona. I’ve never been Mrs. Callahan.”
“This is gorgeous,” Diane whispered to Aberdeen. “How did you hook such a hot, rich hunk?”
“I haven’t hooked him,” Aberdeen said, hoping Fiona hadn’t heard Diane.
“Well, find a way to do it. Listen to big sister. These are sweet digs.”
“Diane,” Aberdeen said, “what are you doing here? And how did you get here?”
“Mom and Dad told me where you were, and it’s not that difficult to buy a plane ticket, Aberdeen.”
“What about the French guy?”
“We’ll talk later,” Diane said as Fiona showed them in to a huge, country-style kitchen. At the long table, the largest Aberdeen had ever seen, settings were laid, and each place had a placard with their names in gold scrolling letters. There were even two high chairs for the youngest girls, with their own cards in scrolled letters. Each of the children had a stuffed toy beside her plate, and so they were eager to sit down, their eyes fastened on the stuffed horses.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Fiona said. “We have a gift shop in town and the owner is a friend of mine. I couldn’t resist calling her up to get a few little things for the girls.”
“Thank you so much,” Diane said, and Aberdeen swallowed hard.
“Yes, thank you, Fiona. Girls, can you say thank you?”
The older ones did, and Lincoln Rose saw that her sisters were holding their horses so she reached for hers, too. And then Burke brought them breakfast, and Aberdeen tried to eat, even though her appetite was shot.
They were being treated like princesses—but the thing was, she wasn’t princess material. She eyed her sister surreptitiously; Diane seemed delighted by all the attention Fiona was showering on them, and Aberdeen felt like someone dropped into a storybook with a plot she hadn’t yet caught up on.
“Quit looking so scared,” Diane said under her breath. “Enjoy what the nice lady is trying to do for you. This is great.” And she dug into the perfectly plated eggs and fruit as though she hadn’t a care in the world.
“Diane,” Aberdeen said quietly, so Fiona couldn’t hear, even though she had her head in the fridge looking for something—a jam or jelly, she’d mentioned. “What are you doing here? Really?”
Diane smiled. “Little sister, I’m here to see my daughters. Who will soon be your daughters, by the looks of things.”
“I think you should reconsider,” Aberdeen said, desperation hatching inside her. “If you’re not traveling with that guy, and you seem so happy now, I mean, don’t you think…” She looked at her sister. “These are your children, Diane. You can’t just abandon them.”
“I’m not abandoning them.” Diane took a bite of toast. “I simply recognize I’m not cut out to be a mother. I wish it were different, but it’s not. I get depressed around them, Aberdeen. I know they’re darling, and they seem so sweet and so cute, but when I’m alone with them, all I am is desperate. I’m not happy. I think I was trying to live a dream, but when my third husband left, I realized the dream had never been real.” She looked at Aberdeen. “Please don’t make me feel more guilty than I do already. It’s not the best feeling in the world when a woman realizes she’s a lousy mother. And, you know, we had a fairly dismal upbringing. I just don’t want to do that to my own children.”
Fiona came over to the table, setting down a bowl full of homemade strawberry jam. “I’m pretty proud of this,” she said. “I had strawberries and blackberries shipped in special, and I redid my jam stock after I lost all of last year’s.” She beamed. “Tell me what you think of my blue-ribbon jam!”
Aberdeen tore her gaze away from her sister, numb, worried, and not in the mood for anything sweet. She glanced around at her nieces who seemed so amazed by all the treats and their stuffed horses that all they could do was sit very quietly, on their best behavior. They were obviously happy to see Diane, but not clingy, the way kids who hadn’t seen their mother in a while would be. Aberdeen sighed and bit into a piece of jam-slathered toast. It was sweet and rich with berry taste. Perfect, as might be expected from Fiona, as she could tell from everything Creed had said about his aunt.
Her stomach jumped, nervous, and a slight storm of nausea rose inside her. Aberdeen put her toast down. “It’s delicious, Fiona.”
Fiona beamed. It was delicious. If Aberdeen had eaten it at any other time in her life, she’d want to hop in the kitchen and learn Fiona’s secrets. There were probably secrets involved in making something this tasty, secrets that could only be passed from one cook to another. Her stomach slithered around, catching her by surprise. She felt strang
ely like an interloper, a case taken on by these wonderful people and Creed. That wasn’t the way she wanted to feel.
And then he walked into the kitchen, big and tall and filling the doorway, her own John Wayne in the flesh, and sunshine flooded Aberdeen in a way she’d never felt before.
“It’s wonderful jam,” Diane said, and Aberdeen nodded, never taking her eyes off the cowboy she’d come to love. He grinned at her, oblivious to her worries, and if she didn’t know better, she would have thought his eyes held a special twinkle for her. Ashley got down from her chair and tottered over to him to be swept up into his arms. Lincoln Rose and Suzanne sat in their high chairs, patiently waiting for their turns for attention from Creed. Creed walked over and blew a tiny raspberry against Lincoln Rose’s cheek, making her giggle, and did the same to Suzanne. They waved their baby spoons, delighted with the attention.
Then Creed winked at Aberdeen, in lieu of a good-morning kiss, and Aberdeen forced a smile back, trying to sail along on the boat of Unexpected Good Fortune.
But life wasn’t all blue-ribbon strawberry jam and gold-scrolling placards. At least not her life.
Diane poked her in the arm, and Aberdeen tried to be more perky. More happy. More perfect.
She felt like such a fraud.
Chapter Fifteen
Pete and Jackie strolled in, carrying their three babies and a flotilla of baby gear, and the mood in the kitchen lifted instantly. Creed rose to help his brother and sister-in-law settle themselves at the breakfast table.
“We figured there’d be grub,” Pete said, “hope you don’t mind us joining you, Aunt Fiona.”
She gave him a light smack on the arm with a wooden spoon. “The more, the merrier, I always say.” She beamed and went back to stirring things up on the stove. Jackie seated herself next to Aberdeen.
“So, how do you feel about the royal treatment, Aberdeen?” Jackie asked.
“It’s amazing. Truly.” Aberdeen caught Creed’s smile at her compliment. “Jackie, Pete, I’d like you to meet my sister, Diane.”