Her Favorite Cowboy (The Watson Brothers #4)

by Ann B. Harrison

  “Layla, honey. Open your eyes.” He slid his hands under her legs and shoulders and lifted her up into his arms. Her head lolled against his shirt.

  “Bring her inside. Rory is on the way, he can deal with Jethro.” Emily held open the door and he hurried inside under her disapproving gaze. With nowhere to lay her down, Tyson sat on a chair in the reception area and held Layla on his knee, her face on his chest, stroking her hair while willing her to wake up. She was the one who always knew what she was doing, a tough and go get ’em kind of person. To see her like this didn’t seem right and it was his fault.

  Emily hurried over to him with a damp cloth in her hand. “Put this on her forehead. Should help some.”

  Tyson took it and placed the cold cloth on Layla’s head, stroking her bangs out of the way. She stirred and tried to push the cloth away.

  “Leave it there, honey. Shhh, don’t fight me, please.” Her eyes fluttered and closed before a hand went to her stomach, swiping it around the pronounced mound.

  If anything happens to my son, Jethro will die. You might not want me, Layla, but I will protect you and our baby, I promise. It’s the least I can give you.

  Her hand went up to her cheek and she winced when her fingers touched the swelling. “Ouch, that hurts.”

  Tyson could see the tears welling in her eyes and that hurt him more than anything. “I think I should take you in to see Evan. Make sure you’re okay and then I’m going to take a visit to the Hansen’s ranch. I’ll make sure those damned boys never hurt you again.”

  Layla’s hand went to her mouth and she bolted off his knee and staggered toward the bathroom. He glanced at Emily undecided what to do, stood up clutching the damp cloth in his hand. She shrugged her shoulders and looked at the door. They could both hear the retching sound from where they stood.

  He hurried over and tapped on the door. “Layla, let me help you.” The only response he got was a gagging noise followed by a groan. Tyson opened the door and found her sitting on the floor with her head over the toilet bowl. He crouched down beside her in the small space and tucked a strand of pale hair behind her ear.

  When she flicked him a glance, he could see the tears still there. Tyson lifted up the damp cloth and wiped her face, catching the tears and the sweat rolling down her temples.

  “Not so pretty this end of things, is it?” She swallowed and grabbed the cloth from him, pushing it against her lips.

  “No, but if it’s all part and parcel of having a baby, not a lot you can do about it. Not unless Evan has come up with some kind of wonder drug for morning sickness.” He paused a moment, a horrible thought racing through his brain. “This is from morning sickness, isn’t it? Nothing to do with that fist hitting you in the face?” The anger quickly welled in his chest to replace the anxiousness that had swamped him seconds before.

  “Stop! You can’t do this, Tyson. You can’t go punching anyone that annoys you.”

  “Annoys me? It was more than that and you know it, Layla. He was rude to you and made uncalled for comments about the two of us. Bloody fool, his mouth always did run off and get him into trouble.” He stood up and reached down to slip his hands under her arms helping her to her feet. “I know I’m dirt poor but that doesn’t give him license to talk about you like that. Boy needs to watch his tongue around women.”

  He walked her out of the bathroom and back to the chair she’d moments ago bolted from. They could see a commotion out the front window. Rory had picked up Jethro from the road and they stood arguing. Jethro pointed his clenched fist in their direction. “Best I go and sort this out.”

  “Best if you take Layla over to Evan and get her checked out first.” Emily glowered at him, her lips tight. “You can deal with the deputy later.”

  “I’m fine.” She hung her head over her hands, hiding her face from him.

  “Mrs. Forsythe is right. You need to be checked over. Come on.” He hooked a hand through her arm and walked her out the door holding his hand up when Rory started toward him.

  “Layla needs to see Evan before anything else. Pretty sure Jethro can tell you about how he knocked her down with a fist to her face. I’d be happy to charge him with assault if it was up to me.” He walked her to his truck and helped her into the front seat, ignoring her protests.

  “Hey, not fair. I didn’t mean to, she got in the way. I was aiming for your fat head.” Jethro tried to get his point across but nobody seemed to care right now.

  Tyson shut the door and turned to Rory. “I’ll be back later. Then we’ll sort this idiot out. In the meantime, a cooling off period might be in order. Pretty sure you’ll have an empty cell with his name on it. If you don’t, you should with all the damned trouble him and his brothers have caused.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Layla lay back and let Evan check her vital signs. Having Tyson holding her hand was an unfamiliar sensation and one she could get used to but she knew better than to even think about it. He was being kind because he felt responsible, nothing more. She withdrew her fingers and pretended the action was so she could touch the swelling on her cheek.

  “That’s going to be very pretty shades of black before the end of the day.” Evan frowned and put the stethoscope on her belly to listen to the baby. “Sounds all good to me.”

  “Don’t you need to do an x-ray or something, make sure he’s really okay?” Tyson stood at the head of the bed watching every move his brother made.

  “Nope. Baby is fine, I promise. How’s the morning sickness, Layla?”

  “Morning, noon, and night you mean. Not letting up much actually.” Having Tyson wipe her face when she was vomiting over the toilet bowl had made it all seem so much easier but that wouldn’t be happening again anytime soon. Not if she could help it anyway. As much as she wanted him there, it would only lead to heartache and that wasn’t in the plan. He wasn’t interested in her that way and she more than anyone knew that.

  “Nothing I can give you at this stage, I’m afraid. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids of course and rest up as much as you can. It should ease off soon, in fact in most cases it would be done with by now. You must be a special case.”

  “Of course she is. Any fool can see that.”

  Layla breathed in slowly, letting the breath out before turning to Tyson. “You need to stop being so overprotective, Tyson. I understand, really I do but there’s no need to be ridiculous about this.”

  “Ridiculous? You got punched in the face by that idiot and you think I’m being ridiculous?” He stood up, hands on hips as he paced the small room.

  Evan stood where he was, looking between the two of them.

  “If you hadn’t dragged him outside, none of this would have happened. I deal with unhappy clients all the time, it’s part of my job.” Layla pushed herself up into a sitting position and gave Evan a sympathetic look then stopped worrying about it. Surely he knew his little brother and his moods by now. “If things had gotten out of hand I would have called Rory and pressed charges. Simple, but I doubt he would have hit me if you weren’t there stirring things up.”

  “He all but called you a loose woman because you’re having a poor man’s baby. I don’t care what he says about me but there is no way I’m letting him get away with talking down to you like that. He deserved more than he got.” Tyson’s eyes darkened.

  “If you knew me at all, you’d know how much I hate violence and like to uphold the law, considering it’s my job and all. I don’t need you standing up for me and making a mockery of my principles, Tyson.”

  “But I have every right to protect you. Evan, tell her.” He turned to his brother for help.

  All Evan did was hold out his hands.

  Layla pounced. “Don’t go dragging your brother into this, it’s our problem not his. I need the town to see me as a law-abiding, upstanding citizen, Tyson. Not someone who has a man bashing anyone who upsets her. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve already tarnished that reputation. I’m not happy, let me tell you that
much.”

  “You’re crazy. All I did was defend what’s mine.”

  “Now there’s the mistake you’re making. This baby might be yours, but I’m not. You’ve made your position clear so let’s leave it at that.” Layla averted her head but not before she saw the hurt in his eyes. “Don’t worry about getting me back to the office, I’ll walk. You must have things to do at the ranch.” She schooled her face and looked up at him unprepared for the depth of pain in his eyes.

  Tyson looked briefly at Evan before storming out of the examination room.

  “That was a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

  Layla blushed, the heat racing up her cheeks. “I had no choice, Evan. He’s acting all macho like it’s okay to bash someone for letting off steam. I can’t have him throwing his weight around, especially at my place of work.”

  “I get that but don’t you think the two of you should sort out what’s really going on here? We both know this isn’t what’s bothering you the most.” He stood watching her, no doubt waiting for her to confess and open her heart to him but Layla couldn’t do it, no matter how understanding Evan was.

  He was a Watson boy and they all stuck together, even if they didn’t think that was how they worked. Tyson might have been the butt of their jokes growing up but when push came to shove, he was still their little brother and blood always shone through.

  “We’ve talked and agreed to both bring up this baby. That is where we’re at and I’m happy with that arrangement.” And I don’t know how much you know about his other arrangements. Not my place to fill you in either. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, raising a hand to her sore face. “Anything I can do to make this look better? Don’t want to have to explain it to everyone I see.”

  “Not really. You could ice it but it’s still going to give you a black eye and a pretty-colored bruise for the next few weeks. Besides, being a small town everyone will probably know what happened by now anyway. Are you going to press charges?”

  She looked at him, horrified he’d think that way. “No. There’s no point when I was the one who got in the way.”

  “Might I suggest then, that you refrain from ‘getting in the way’ of two big-headed idiots that have been tripping over each other with fists flying since kindergarten? They’ll never see eye to eye over anything and you’re only asking for trouble trying to pull them apart. Do what we did, Layla. Let them go for it until they’ve had enough and stay out of the firing range.” Evan held out his hand and helped her down from the bed.

  “Thanks, Evan.”

  “Might I also suggest you go home and put your feet up? Not the kind of excitement I normally suggest for my mothers to be.”

  “I would but with such short days already I have clients to see to. But don’t worry about me, I’ll be sensible. Besides, Emily watches over me like a hawk thanks to Chance.”

  “Well, she failed in this instance, didn’t she? And you’re not walking back to the office. Have her come and pick you up.”

  *

  Tyson stormed into the sheriff’s department and headed straight to Rory’s office. He pushed the door open without knocking and barged inside. Rupert Hansen sat in front of his brother.

  “Don’t you know how to knock?” Rory glanced up, a steely glare on his face. “This isn’t a damned barn, Tyson.”

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt. My apologies Mr. Hansen. I’ll wait outside.”

  Rupert pushed himself to his feet and held up a hand. “No, stay. This concerns you as well, I guess, after that damned stunt Jethro pulled today.”

  Tyson glanced at his brother and waited for the nod before he shut the door and took position, leaning against the wall beside the water cooler.

  Rupert sat back down and sighed. “I’m sorry about what happened, Tyson. Ms. Cox is a lovely woman and didn’t deserve that mouthful my grandson gave her. She was only doing what I asked.” He coughed and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, dabbed it at his eyes.

  Tyson shared a look with Rory.

  “The thing is, none of the boys are taking this well. Doc hasn’t given me much time and I wanted to sort things out so they don’t ruin everything I’ve worked so hard for. They might be rough and stupid sometimes but they’re my grandsons and all I have left. Layla and I talked it over and, to protect the ranch, I changed my will. I told them today over breakfast what I’d done. They didn’t like it, as you can imagine, even though I refused to tell them the finer details. Guessing they’re thinking the worst and so they should be too.” He sniffled. “If they had their way they’d drink and gamble it all ’til there was nothing left and I didn’t spend all my life working for that to happen.”

  “Still no reason to go and take it out on her like that.” Tyson couldn’t keep the venom out of his voice.

  “I agree and that’s why Jethro is sitting out back in a cell for a bit.” Rory sat forward. “Now, if I was a fair man, which I like to think I am, you’d be joining him for disturbing the peace.”

  “What?” Tyson pushed himself from the wall.

  “But, Rupert has asked me not to press charges against you and therefore, you can calm down. Layla may want to though, I’ll have to wait and see what she says when I catch up with her later.”

  “Good luck with that. All but told me to mind my own business.” The conversation rolled over in his mind and Tyson experienced the hurt all over again. Not his woman! And whose fault was that? He’d tried, but perhaps not hard enough.

  “Well, far be it to give advice where it’s not wanted but, in my experience, the longer you leave things the harder it is to fix ’em.” Rupert looked up at him from under salt and pepper, bushy eyebrows. “Seems to me that little lady got into the condition she is because you two had something in common. Would hate to think you were as fickle as my boys.” He heaved himself to his feet. “Let Jethro stew in there for another few hours before you let him loose, Rory. Sure as hell won’t hurt him none.”

  Tyson held the door for the old man and watched him walk out.

  “So she’s pretty annoyed at you from what I can gather then?” Rory sat back down at his desk and watched his little brother shut the door and take a seat.

  “Yeah, pretty much. Told me it’s not my business and I’ve lowered her status in the community or some such crap.” He ran a hand over his head, anger building again.

  Rory grinned. “She does have her reputation to uphold. I guess that’s pretty important to her.”

  “But he mouthed off at her. Called her a cheap woman who got knocked up by a poor cowboy. Did you expect me to stand there and take that?” He glared at his brother, daring him to disagree. “I don’t care what he calls me, I can deal with that.” He swallowed.

  He was poor and wouldn’t have the ranch without Chance’s help but he wasn’t cheap and he liked to think he worked harder than some. Sure as hell worked harder than any of the Hansen boys and they knew it.

  “But to talk about Layla like that, it isn’t right.”

  “No, it isn’t and I agree. But Tyson, dragging him out on the street and punching him in front of her place of business wasn’t a good idea. Hell, if you wanted to have a go at the guy, least you could have done was take him out the back door where there were less people to see your carrying on.”

  Tyson looked across the desk and noticed the way his brother’s lips twitched. It was nice to know he wasn’t in that much trouble, at least with Rory.

  “But, on another note, don’t go thinking I agree with you that this solves a problem. It doesn’t and I think you know that.”

  “Sure as heck made me feel better until he hit Layla on the face though.”

  “Is she alright?” Rory leaned back and crossed his hands across his chest.

  “Far as Evan is concerned, yeah. Going to have a great shiner though and I figure that’s going to annoy her.”

  “And you?”

  “I’ve tried. Lord knows I’ve tried but she won’t listen to me. Agrees we can
bring up our son together but not together if you know what I mean. I don’t know if that’s going to work for us but at the moment it’s the only option she’s giving me.”

  “Still don’t understand what the problem is or why you’d even consider the idea of finding someone else.”

  “I didn’t call her after the wedding, placed an ad for a bride, and she has thing about us being too different. I said the wrong thing too when she left apparently but, think about it, Rory, I don’t have enough to offer her anyway so maybe it’s for the best.”

  “You need to stop selling yourself short. Bet there are plenty of girls out there who would love to marry a self-made man like you.”

  Tyson snorted in disbelief. “Yeah, right. Like I can see them lining up.” He ran a hand over his head. “All I want is Layla and our son but it’s not going to happen.” Tyson looked toward the door. “Well, since you aren’t going to lock me up, best I go about the reason I came to town then. Going to place an advertisement in the window of the tourist center and the local paper. I need to start making the ranch pay for itself.”

  “Thought it already did.”

  “I get by but having the horse trail rides will be extra cash I’m going to need to help raise my boy. Need the money to add a room to the ranch house too. That’s if he gets to stay with me. Kid should have his own room.” The thought of not being able to see his son go to sleep on the ranch hit him hard. He’d not thought that far ahead until now.

  Rory stood up and came around the desk, placing his hand on Tyson’s shoulder. “I’m sure things will work out eventually. Sounds to me like she’s still a bit sore over what happened, you not calling her and everything. Women can be a bit temperamental like that. They like the hearts and flowers kind of thing.” He grinned and nudged Tyson with his hip. “You might have to do the chocolates and flowers to soften up her bad mood. You know you want to.”

  Tyson tried to smile but it got stuck in his throat.

  He coughed and slid his gaze to his brother. “You mean woo her like in dates and things?”