“Not until I confronted her. She was nauseated this morning and—and I suddenly sensed…I realized…I asked her.”
“Just like that? She said, ‘Oh, yes, I’m pregnant’?” Brett scoffed.
Anna looked at him for the first time since they’d entered the kitchen. “Pregnant women are my business. I won’t doubt your knowledge of your stupid cows. Don’t doubt my expertise.”
He almost grinned at her feistiness. As serious as the situation was, he was beginning to understand Anna’s behavior in the hall. And was relieved. It wasn’t that she wanted him to be with Sylvia. She’d been concerned about the baby. Unbelievable relief filled him.
“Well, if she really is pregnant—and I’m not convinced she is, that would explain her behavior,” he said, speaking his thoughts aloud.
“What do you mean?” Jake asked, making Brett regret his lapse of control.
He could feel his cheeks flaming, but he answered his brother’s question. “Sylvia’s been working hard at getting me into her bed.”
Jake chuckled. “I can testify to that. When she mistook your room for mine, she wasn’t hiding any weapons.”
“And you resisted?” Chad asked in surprise, looking at Brett. “Man, I’m beginning to worry about you again.”
Brett wanted to choke his younger brother, but he had to settle for an angry glare. “I’d already realized I’d made a mistake by the time Sylvia came here. It would’ve been…” He couldn’t think of the proper adjective.
“Dishonorable?” Anna suggested softly.
“Yeah,” he agreed, smiling at her. Maybe she had some feeling for him after all. He hoped so. He thought he was becoming obsessive over her.
“I think you need to go back upstairs and explain to Sylvia that the engagement is over. We’ve got time to get her back to Casper before dark,” Jake said firmly.
“We?” Brett hated to think of a long drive with just him and Sylvia.
“I’m going with you. I want to be sure her father understands the situation.”
“You don’t have to go with me, Jake. I can tell Donald, I assure you.”
“I know, Brett. But I thought you might like some company.”
Brett exchanged a look with Jake that warmed him to his toes. Jake was the best brother a man could have. It went a long way to erase the hurt he’d experienced in the hall.
“Thanks.”
ANNA STOOD out on the porch, one arm looped around a timber that held up the roof. Taking a deep breath, she stared out at the distant mountains.
She loved it here so much. Not just the Randalls, though she couldn’t imagine a more perfect home. No, she loved Wyoming, the hugeness of it, the incredible beauty, the big hearts of the people in it.
Was she going to have to leave it?
She’d fallen in love with Brett Randall.
And he was real enough to break her heart.
Too many times in the past, she’d been snubbed because her father was an alcoholic. Cruelly teased because she couldn’t afford nice clothes. Not invited anywhere because she didn’t have a home she could invite friends to.
When she’d gone to nursing school, she thought she’d left her past behind. She’d thought no one would know about poor Anna O’Brien. But she’d been wrong. Spending her meager earnings on cheap store dresses hadn’t changed things.
Her taste had improved over the years, and the money she could spend had increased a little, but she didn’t try to fool herself anymore.
She would always be the same person.
Surprisingly she was a person that Brett Randall wanted. That in itself was amazing.
But it was also the reason she might have to leave a place she’d been hoping to call home.
After all, she’d had trouble resisting Brett when he wasn’t really trying to seduce her…and he’d been engaged. How would she manage to resist him when neither of those things was true?
He and Jake had taken Sylvia back to Casper only minutes after Anna’s revelations. They were due back anytime now. Brett would no longer be engaged. And he would be trying to seduce her.
Maybe she should agree to go to bed with him. Why fight him and her own feelings when her heart would be broken either way? At least she’d have memories to dream of in her lonely bed.
She blinked back tears, knowing she was only tormenting herself. She couldn’t give in to her wants. Or Brett’s. Not unless she wanted to follow her father’s path of self-destruction.
If she remained strong and resisted temptation, she would at least have self-respect. She’d fought her past too hard and too long to give that up for anyone. Even Brett.
She’d have to stay until Janie had her babies. She’d promised. But then she’d find a new place, start over again. It wouldn’t be so hard. She’d made friends here, but she could make more friends somewhere else. It wasn’t as if she had family here to tie her down. She could pick up and move whenever she wanted.
Her brave thoughts faltered at the pit of yearning that filled her. How she wanted to have roots, a family.
But that wasn’t what Brett wanted. Not with her. He wanted her…for a while. For pleasure. But that pleasure would turn to heartbreak when he finally chose someone to be Mrs. Brett Randall.
The future Mrs. Randall would be like Sylvia, only with a good heart. Beautiful, refined, well educated. She’d have gracious parents, polished silver, sorority girlfriends. And she’d love babies. And, most of all, she’d love Brett.
Oh, please, let her love him with all her heart.
The sound of an engine disrupted her thoughts. It had to be Jake and Brett returning. She should go inside, hide among the others. But she didn’t move.
Just this last time. In the cover of twilight, she’d let herself look at him. She’d pretend everything was fine. And she’d feast her eyes upon him enough to last her a lifetime. Just this last time.
BRETT COULDN’T IMAGINE a more beautiful sight than Anna standing on the porch, waiting for him. It was certainly more than he expected. He didn’t see Jake precede him up the stairs and into the house. All he could see was Anna, her red hair lighting the growing darkness, her slender form drawing him.
Filled with a sudden elation, he leapt on the porch, grabbed her and lifted her in the air, spinning in a circle. Before she could even think of protesting, he set her back on her feet and swooped down to cover her lips with his.
Her hands were already on his shoulders, in an attempt to maintain her balance. He took it as a good sign when they linked around his neck, her fingers sliding through his hair. He’d waited forever, it seemed, to taste Anna’s soft lips, but the wait had been well worth it.
The growing hunger urged him to greater closeness, and his tongue teased for her to open to him. His arms held her even tighter against him, and his fingers caressed and stroked her. He lost all sense of time and place. All he knew was Anna. And she was all he wanted to know.
Unfortunately a voice intruded on the happiest moment Brett had experienced in a long time.
“I guess I don’t have to worry about my brother’s sexual orientation anymore,” Chad drawled.
Brett reluctantly lifted his lips from Anna, his gaze trained on her beautiful face. “Go away, bro,” he muttered, wanting to be alone with the woman in his arms.
Her eyes popped open, and the pleasure on her face disappeared, replaced by a panic Brett didn’t understand. She broke free of his embrace and quickly followed Chad into the kitchen. Brett hurried after her.
“Sorry, Anna,” he apologized at once. “I was celebrating my bachelor status.” Anything to take that look off her face.
Clearly Chad had informed the others of what he’d interrupted.
“I’m glad I wasn’t on the back porch,” Janie said from her seat at the table. “Pete would be upset if you kissed me like that.”
“Upset? I’d take his head off,” Pete agreed with a grin.
Brett ignored their teasing. He kept his gaze on Anna as she put as much dis
tance between them as the kitchen would allow.
“I’d say that’s a good way to lose your bachelor status. That’s probably how you got into trouble with Sylvia,” Chad suggested.
“No, not exactly,” Brett replied. He didn’t go into details, as he had with Jake, but Sylvia had been the one wanting to kiss. And her kisses had been pleasant, stimulating.
Anna’s kiss was a knockout.
He didn’t want dinner. He wanted Anna. If she so much as smiled at him, he’d pursue her. Hell, he was going to pursue her anyway. But it wouldn’t take much of an invitation from her for him to take her to bed.
Just thinking about it was producing a result that would soon be obvious to everyone in the kitchen. He quickly sat down at the table. “I’m starving.”
Chad gave him a knowing grin. “I bet.”
He was going to have to beat up his brother. A quick look at Anna told him she didn’t comprehend Chad’s dig.
Anxious to make sure Anna had forgiven him for that kiss, he said, “Anna, you don’t mind sitting next to me, do you?”
Anna gave him a quick glance and then looked away, her cheeks pink. “No, of course not, but—but I’m not very hungry. I think I may skip dinner.”
Brett desperately sought a reason to keep her there with him, but Jake came to his rescue.
“I wish you’d stay, Anna. We’ve got something to celebrate tonight, and we’d like you to be a part of it.”
“Maybe it should just be family, Jake,” she offered, not looking at Brett.
“You feel like family, Anna. I wish you’d sit down and eat with us.”
Anna licked, her lips and then bit down on her bottom one, and Brett thought he was going melt. Damn, he’d never been this out of control, and he’d only kissed the woman. The strength of his desire was beginning to scare him.
“Besides, I bet you’d like to hear about our talk with Sylvia and her father.” Jake’s grin was an invitation to relax.
Brett breathed a sigh of relief as even Anna came to the table. As she sat down next to him, he took care not to touch her. After all, he didn’t want to scare her away. And he’d like to ease the tightness of his jeans, which hadn’t come from overeating. He had yet to take a bite. Of anything but Anna.
Jake made an amusing story of the afternoon’s strife. Brett even laughed at the picture he presented. In actual fact, he hadn’t enjoyed the encounter at all.
And he wasn’t convinced that the story came as a surprise to Sylvia’s father. The father of her child wasn’t someone Donald would choose for a son-in-law.
Both Sylvia and her father had tried to convince Brett to go ahead with the marriage, offering a brilliant political future as his reward. He’d refused.
Even if he wasn’t interested in Anna, it wouldn’t have been a difficult choice. He had no interest in politics. Or in Sylvia.
“So you weren’t tempted by a combination of the lovely Sylvia and being president of the United States?” Chad teased.
“Not even for a second,” Brett muttered, and cast a look at Anna. She concentrated on her eating, and he allowed himself the luxury of watching her.
“Does that mean you’re beyond temptation, brother, or you didn’t care for the bait?” Chad continued, grinning at him.
He glared at his brother, knowing Chad wouldn’t hesitate to embarrass both him and Anna. “Mind your own business.”
As if she read her brother-in-law’s mind, Megan changed the subject. “Chad, we’re going to have an old-fashioned social at church as a fund-raiser. I forgot to tell you I said we’d go.”
Brett noted with relief that his wife had snagged Chad’s attention.
“When is it?”
“Saturday night. It’s a box social. You know, where the women bring a picnic supper and the men bid on it.”
“I have to pay to eat a dinner you fixed?” Chad asked, frowning. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“Yes, it does, brother,” Jake said, a grin on his face. “What you’re paying for is the right to keep the other men from having dinner with your wife.”
Chad’s face clouded up. “Is that true? Another man could outbid me and eat dinner with you?” he demanded of his wife.
“Yes,” Megan said serenely, continuing to eat her dinner.
“They’d better not try,” Chad muttered, and then looked around the table. “What are you hyenas laughing about? Someone’s going to go after your women, too.”
“Well, I think I’m safe,” Pete said, an amused grin on his face. “No one’s going to want a surly woman about to give birth to twins.” He sustained a punch on the shoulder from said pregnant wife, but she didn’t really seem to mind.
Brett immediately took Chad’s point to heart. As casually as he could, he asked, “You going, Anna?”
Even as Anna nodded, Megan answered, “Of course she is. She promised. After all, there’s a shortage of women. We’ll need everyone to participate. Both B.J. and Mildred promised, too.”
Jake gave a dry chuckle. “Talk about change. There’ll be five women participating from the Randall spread. Last year, we didn’t have one.”
Pete nodded. “Good thing only two of them actually belong to us, or our neighbors would accuse us of being greedy.”
With a worried tone in his voice that surprised the others, Red asked, “But how will we know which ones to bid on? Don’t you have to keep whose box it is a secret?”
Brett looked at him sharply. He’d already been reviewing his bank account, to make sure he had plenty of money for bidding. “What are you talking about?”
Megan explained. “It’s part of the fun. The men aren’t supposed to know whose box is whose.”
“What?” Brett roared. “Then how can I—? I mean, how can the man bid on his wife’s lunch?”
“That’s why the bidding will be exciting,” Janie said, and Brett noticed her gaze traveled between him and Anna. “Of course, some women won’t follow the rules. It always happens.”
“But since the money is going to be used to repair the church roof before winter arrives, no one really minds,” Megan explained.
“So you’ll tell Chad which lunch is yours?” Red asked Megan.
“Never,” she said with a wicked smile.
Chad squared his shoulders. “Maybe I’ll just bid on another lady’s lunch. Maybe I’ll have an even better time with some other woman.”
Megan sent him a mournful look. “If you do, I’ll probably go into early labor.”
Chad’s pretense collapsed at once, and he figuratively groveled at his wife’s feet. Brett didn’t even crack a smile at his brother’s capitulation. He knew exactly how he felt.
Already he was trying to figure out how to identify Anna’s picnic lunch.
Because he was damn sure going to be the one to share it with her.
Chapter Thirteen
Thursday night, Brett paced the kitchen floor, pausing each time he neared the window over the kitchen sink. It was after eleven o’clock. She should be home.
The kitchen door opened, and he spun around to discover Pete.
“What are you still doing up?” Pete asked as he headed for the refrigerator.
“Couldn’t sleep,” Brett muttered. “How about you?”
“I can sleep. Janie can’t. She thought a glass of milk might help her. She’s having a hard time these days.”
Brett reached up for a glass from the cabinet as his brother brought the carton of milk over.
“Thanks.” As he poured the milk, Pete added, “Maybe you should try some milk, too. Six o’clock is going to be here before you know it.”
“No, thanks.”
“You waiting for Anna?”
Brett jerked away from the window. “No! I told you, I couldn’t sleep.”
“I didn’t sleep much, either, when Janie broke up with me,” Pete said.
Brett stood with his hands on his hips, staring across the kitchen. He didn’t want to reveal how vulnerable he was right now. But h
e could count on sympathy from his brothers. “She’s been avoiding me,” he finally admitted.
“No kidding,” Pete said with a laugh.
So much for sympathy.
“Why? What did I do?”
“Well, let’s see. You break your engagement with another woman and then grab Anna and kiss the breath out of her. Didn’t you ever hear of subtlety?”
“At least I didn’t kiss her before I broke the engagement,” Brett argued.
“True, but I think at least a day’s mourning period would’ve been appropriate before you hit on Anna.”
“What was there to mourn? I felt more like celebrating.” The sound of a car had him forgetting his brother and turning back to the window. Dual headlights bumping down the long driveway told him his wait was over.
“I’d better get this milk up to Janie before she gets cross with me,” Pete said, grinning at Brett. “You might think about not pushing so hard, Brett. Anna’s a sweetheart, and Jake will be upset if you make her uncomfortable. In fact, maybe you should wait until she’s not living here to, uh, you know, make a move on her.”
Pete didn’t wait for Brett’s reply, but Brett turned to stare at his brother as he left the kitchen. Wait until Anna left before he let her know she was driving him crazy? Not touch her, hold her, kiss her, until after Janie had her babies? That could be weeks!
When Anna entered the kitchen, Brett was in a state of confusion. Desire urged him to pull her into his arms and kiss any silliness about avoiding him out of her head. But Pete’s words had struck home.
Not that he could completely ignore Anna while she was living in his house, but—but he could restrain himself. After all, that was the reason he’d given for not sleeping with Sylvia.
But Sylvia hadn’t tempted him.
“Brett! What are you doing up?”
He studied her pale features, noting the alarm in her eyes. Maybe Pete was right. With a sigh, he used Pete’s excuse for being in the kitchen. “I couldn’t sleep and thought I’d pour myself a glass of milk. Want some?”
“No, thanks. I think I’ll head for bed.”
“Aren’t you pushing it a little this week, filling in at Doc’s office, as well as making house calls?”
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