by Cara North
It stung like hell to hear it. “So, why can’t Layla and I both be on the payroll? Enlighten me since I am so stupid.”
“Well, you may be coming around after all.” She smiled a half smile at him. “If I take Layla off the payroll, she will have to find another job. It is practically winter, and I doubt she will stay on here unless you have done something to make her feel like you want her, and them, right where they are. I don’t think you have had enough time to convince her.”
“So, you want Layla to stay?” He snorted.
“Yes. We all want Layla to stay, even Jan. She likes being an aunt. And unless you have a bottle of tequila or years of history with each other, I don’t see this relationship, much less marriage happening, other than the old-fashioned way. You have to work for it.” Then a frown pulled her pretty lips down. “Unless you no longer want her.”
“You know me better than that,” he said quietly.
She smiled again. “Good. So unless you need a loan or something…”
“I’m fine. I have money saved up. I just had something else in mind.” He nodded. Bethany was right. He couldn’t do this the easy way. She was also right in that if he had the means of following through on his plan, it would make things worse not better. He wanted to improve their travel situation, yet a new car would send Layla back in a defensive position.
“Will you tell me what you were up to?” She was interested.
“I don’t know. How many tomatoes do you have downstairs?” He wiggled his eyebrows and she got up. It was just a tomato with cheese and basil, but man it was good, and Bethany always made them for him. She had a way of making people feel special, even him.
* * *
“You like being an aunt, right?” he asked Jan as she entered the kitchen. She looked a little taken aback at the question.
“I like the kids. They’re cute.” She nodded.
“Fridays are movie night. We always watch a movie and eat popcorn and some sort of junk food.”
“Yeah, so?” Jan crossed her arms and leaned against the counter.
“Buck has duty tonight, right?”
“Get to the point, Rafe.” She rolled her hand as if she could pull it out of him with the motion.
“Will you watch the kids tonight?” he blurted.
She hedged. “Well, I don’t know. I mean I’d have to ask Lucky to take my shift with the horses, and…”
“Lucky? Since when did Lucky let out or bring in the horses around here?” He hadn’t heard about that.
“Since we needed a cowboy who knew the land and the trails to take our guests on. You think Heath is going to trail out for three days with a group of tourists to show them how to rough it while Chance is pregnant?” She scowled at him. “Do you have any idea what this is like for me? Thankfully, he spends more time away from the ranch than on it. Buck has all but pissed a ring around our house. You know their friendship ended badly, and you know how close I used to be to Lucky. This is hard for me. I have to choose Buck because he’s my husband, but when I don’t know why they were fighting in the first place or how it came to this, I don’t know how to justify not talking to a man I’ve known all my life.”
“Is there anything else I don’t know?” He was irritated now. How had they kept everything from him so easily? Of course, Layla didn’t know the ranch hands from anyone else. So many people were in and out now, and they probably kept her on a need to know basis in addition to the fact that she spent most of her time there with him.
“You don’t get paid anymore. Did you know that?” She made a face that was somewhere between an apology and a smirk.
“Yeah, I found that out today. Look if you’ll watch the kids, I’ll ask Lucky to cover your shift tonight, deal?” He hoped he looked pleading enough. Jan threw her hands in the air, and he knew she was going to do it. “Thank you. And very ladylike agreement by the way.”
“Now, tell me why I’m on rugrat duty?” She headed to the refrigerator. “At least she knows how to stock a refrigerator. I thought you boys lived on steak, eggs, and beer until I realized it was only food for breakfast and beer for evenings.”
“I’m going to take Layla out tonight.” He shrugged as Jan choked on her drink of soda. “You all right?”
She glared at him. “That got up my nose.” She pinched it. “Oh, man, that hurt.” She made another face then looked at him. “Lucky is down at the stables. I made a real effort of avoiding being seen coming here since I was on foot. Why don’t you run down and talk to him? Heath said he feels bad because of your injury. He has skipped his tour to stay here and help out.”
“Layla should be home any minute,” he said the word home as natural as if it had been her home all along.
“I know. Don’t worry, Rafe. I won’t be ugly to her.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him. “But you might want to hurry back, just in case.”
“I’ll be right back.” He nodded and headed out.
* * *
Jan heard him start up the truck and knew he took her warning too seriously. Aside from being jealous of Layla and not understanding her position before, she didn’t hold much against her anymore. Now she knew more about her; she actually liked the woman. After all, Layla could have left when Rafe was hurt, but she didn’t. She could have asked for money to take care of him, but she argued against it until Bethany finally intervened and reasoned with the woman. Layla is a proud, stubborn, independent soul. Jan could relate all too well to those qualities.
“Aunt Jan!” Brice took a running start, and she lifted him up the moment he got to her.
“Hey, cowboy, how was school?” She loved the fact that they called her and Buck aunt and uncle.
“He got in trouble,” Savannah said as she came closer for her own hug. “But he’s not in trouble now.”
“Rafe, you will not believe what…” Layla stopped dead in her tracks and stared at her. They hadn’t really talked to each other. There was always someone else around when they were in a room together. It was time Layla understood why she had been so mean to her all this time.
“He’s down at the barn,” Jan said. The children were very perceptive. They could tell the air had changed, and that their mother was guarded.
“Come on, Brice. Let’s go get in play clothes.” Savannah tugged her little brother, and the children disappeared up the stairs.
Layla finally moved and hung up the coats. “I can’t seem to keep them in their coats once they get in the car.”
“I was like that, too. Drove my mom crazy. Of course she had Heath give me a coat one winter, and he told me if I wasn’t going to wear it, he was going to take it back and give it to the children in the woods.” Jan laughed. “Needless to say I kept that one on until spring, and Rafe told me there were no children in the woods. Thankfully, Heath has better communication skills when it comes to children now.”
Layla smiled a guarded smile at her.
“Do you wanna go to the living room and talk for a sec?” Jan tilted her head in that direction and headed toward the living room. Layla followed, took a seat on the couch, and looked at her. “So. I know you and I may not have started on the best foot. No, don’t say anything. I’m not good at being wrong, and I need to say this now or I might not ever get it out.”
Layla nodded.
“Okay, so I thought you were a major ‘B’ until you came here to stay with him and watch over him. I didn’t know you were guarded because of the whole family tragedy situation, and Rafe led us all to believe that there was more than the children between you. I somehow thought he knew you, but I realized after you got here, he was as clueless as the rest of us. It seemed impossible since he is generally very perceptive when it comes to women, but indeed he really screwed it up when it came to you.”
Jan smiled as Layla blushed. She didn’t mean to embarrass her, but she knew her brother needed help getting Layla to stay in his life, and it was a family effort now. They were all courting the woman they at one time didn’t like. “So
I’m apologizing. Please understand that Rafe is not like my other brothers. He’s very special; he’s my hero and always has been. He has naturally been able to swoop in and rescue a damsel in distress, whether that was letting me out of the closet when Heath or Jack locked me in to escape their little sister, or making every woman this side of Helena swoon when they met him. It comes natural, so when you were not falling all over him, it was weird. For all of us, I guess. And for me especially since you were taking time away from me, his spoiled little sister, and then rejecting him so blatantly in front of everyone, which made me resentful and suspicious of your motives for keeping him around at all.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt him, mentally or physically. I mean a part of me has always wanted everything he offered, but I wouldn’t use him. And I didn’t think he wanted me as much as he wanted them.” Layla thought quietly for a few moments. “I guess I still don’t know.”
“Well, he is a work in progress,” Jan said as the door opened in the kitchen. “Try to keep that in mind.”
“Rafe. Rafe!” Two children bolted down the stairs and into the kitchen.
“What are you wearing out tonight?” Jan asked.
“Excuse me?” Layla put one of her hands up to her chest.
“I told him I would baby-sit because he is taking you out.” Jan looked at her and realized it was news to Layla. “Sorry, I thought you knew.”
“I don’t know.” Layla searched the floor as if it held an answer.
“I’ll be right back. Don’t move.” Jan headed to the kitchen. When she came back, Layla remained in place but her expression was expectant.
“It would not be my first choice, but I’m glad I asked.” Jan shook her head. “Come on. I’ll help you pick something out.”
“I…” Layla started.
“You want to surprise him, too, right? Well, if he sees us go in there together as a team, I am quite sure he will be shocked.”
* * *
Rafe lost his train of thought when he watched Jan disappear into the guest bedroom behind Layla. He stepped through the kitchen and across the foyer to the room at the bottom of the stairs, which also led to the upstairs bedrooms. “Layla?”
“She will be out in a minute.” Jan opened the door a crack then shut it before he could say anything else.
He paced as the children talked about their day. He tried to pay attention, but the thought of his little sister and Layla becoming buddies had unnerved him. Jan could destroy everything he was working to build. Would she? Or was she serious about giving Layla a chance?
When they emerged, he knew his little sister had plotted against him.
“Mom!” Brice shouted.
“You look beautiful.” Savannah ran over and touched the fabric of her dress. “Wow.”
He couldn’t have said it any better. A stroll around the lake was no longer on the agenda. He was going to take her out to a movie and dinner as Jan had told him he should do then guaranteed it by conspiring to dress Layla like… hell like a magazine cover.
“Is that what you’re wearing?” Jan smiled with pure mischief on her face.
He shook his head, no, then headed off to put on something more suitable.
* * *
Layla worried about the outfit. It was out of her old wardrobe. Her mother had shipped everything that had been in storage out to them. It was necessary to get to the materials and supplies to continue working on the maternity clothes for Chance. She loved the first outfits and brought her more. Bethany had stopped in, too. After taking a look at her wardrobe, Jan was anxious to see what she could do for her also, especially after she pulled out this old number. For some women a little black dress goes a long way. For Layla, it was more than that. It was something she had made for herself, and thanks to a few months of normal eating, she filled it out in all the right places again.
“Layla,” Rafe called from his bedroom. She immediately set the sparkling black handbag down and went to him. It was strange to hear the clicking of her heels against the kitchen tile and then the wood floor. She looked at him and had to catch her breath. “I’m stuck.”
So was she. Stuck in place. He was gorgeous. All dressed up like a cowboy. He had on black boots, fitted jeans, a black shirt, and he was pulling on a black jacket, but his cast was not cooperating.
“Will you undo the buttons at the end of this? That’s how I got the shirt on, but I forgot to undo the jacket.” He looked at her head to toe and back. She remained frozen in place for another moment just staring at him. “Layla? Little help here?”
“Oh, Of course.” She put her feet in motion and made it across the floor without falling over herself. She undid the three buttons, and his cast fit snugly down the arm of the jacket. “Is it comfortable?”
“No,” he said. “But I’ll manage. Nice shoes. When did you get those?”
“I’ve had them for years. My mom sent all of my old stuff from storage.” She looked up at him and tried to keep a coherent thought.
“And the dress?” He reached out and touched his fingers to the material. “It’s very… soft.”
“I made it about a year before...” She didn’t want to say it.
“It’s nice.” He leaned in as if he were about to kiss her but then changed his mind. “I see you restocked the contacts, too.”
She blushed. “So, where are we going?”
“Where else is there to go? We’re going to town to catch a movie and grab some dinner.” He looked her up and down again. “Unless you would rather stay closer to home, we could grab some dinner and dancing at The Big Barn instead.”
“Definitely dancing.” She tried to control her excitement, but she loved to dance.
* * *
His right ankle was definitely over being in cowboy boots tonight, but the woman in his arms was a dancing machine. She danced with him, with all the rest of the girls when they line danced, and she danced with Lucky when he showed up, the only other man in there he let get near her. Lucky reported back that Layla was definitely worth getting busted up over. Then he proceeded to do what most young cowboys did, he danced with every free gal in the place.
“Rafe.” She looked up as he looked down. “This has been the best night of my life since… well, since I left New York.”
Taylor Swift’s song Love Story came on as they continued to sway. The lyrics didn’t escape his notice. “You want to go back; finish your degree?”
“No.” She frowned. “You want me to go?”
“No.” He stopped them from moving. “No, I don’t want you to go. I want another chance to try to… if you would let me try to… I don’t know. Can you just…?”
She reached up with her warm hand and pulled him closer. The moment his lips touched hers he was unequivocally back in love with her. He wasn’t stupid about it this time. He knew more about her. He had made it up to number four on Jan’s list of things he should know about a woman or at least done with a woman before proposing to her. The kiss was too brief for his liking and current mood. “Let’s get out of here. I know a better place to dance.”
She smiled up at him and his heart melted.
He drove them out to the lake, left the radio on, and realized it was colder outside than it had been when they went inside the restaurant earlier that evening. Layla didn’t seem to mind. She kicked off her shoes in the truck and danced barefooted on the grass with him. The moon provided light, the lake provided atmosphere, and Layla provided warmth. Their breath was visible in the night air when they spoke.
“Do you want more children someday?” Surely that would be on Jan’s list of things to know.
“I never really thought about it. I mean when I was single I thought about having kids of my own, but then when I got two kids at once, and toddlers at that, I was really not prepared. I was less prepared to find employment. I thought I could work anywhere with my skills. I didn’t realize how na I was to the world. Until I had them, and they were all that mattered.” She looked up at him and h
e waited for her to say more. “Do you want children of your own?”
“What do you mean?” He really hadn’t thought about it. He thought of her kids as his own.
“I mean do you want them to be yours, your bloodline, your genetics. Half of your DNA?”
“You mean now?” He hedged.
“Rafe.” She sighed as she said his name.
“I don’t know. I mean this is a tricky question for me. Either way I answer is going to be the wrong way, and besides, I asked you first.”
“I answered.”
“No, you didn’t.” He took a step back from her. “You started to, but then you changed it around. You never said yes, Rafe, I want to have children of my own, or no, Rafe, I don’t. So which is it?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged then put her hands on her arms and rubbed them.
“I don’t know either.” He went back to the truck and got his jacket. As he helped her put it on, he thought up more things he should know about a woman he was going to marry. “How many men have you had sex with?”
She blanched then headed for the truck.
“What?” He followed after her. “It’s a fair question.”
“What’s fair about it? You know I wasn’t a virgin so that means there was at least one other man before you. Do you really want to know how many? What does that number prove to you? That I was a slut before we met or that I have always been frigid?” Now she was mad. He had seen her irritated before, but he had definitely taken what was a great night and turned it into a disaster. He should have listened to Jan and stayed away from the lake tonight. “How many women have you slept with, Rafe?”
He stopped dead in his tracks. His mind started to register the number, adding up all of the women in his life since he was sixteen seemed to take more brainpower than he had to spare at the moment. “That can’t be right.”
“What can’t be right?” she asked and whirled around to face him. Her face was pink, her nose red, and her lips trembled.
“It’s… I asked you first,” he said and hoped she would stick to her guns and not tell him.