The Baddest Virgin in Texas

by Maggie Shayne

  "So I guess we got Zane by the short hairs, huh?" Lash said, and he took a step backward, only to meet up with the cold steel bars behind him. "I explained everything to that officer out there," he said, speaking quickly. "Just as soon as they confirm it all—and he's not gonna let 'em slaughter any cattle until they do—we can just send some rigs down here to fetch 'em back home and…"

  Garrett gripped the front of Lash's shirt in both hands and picked him up off the floor, backing him against the bars.

  "Gee, Garrett, is it just me, or have I done something to tick you off?"

  Garrett said nothing. It was Wes who spoke up. "Jessi's pregnant, Lash. She says you got her that way."

  "Jessi?" Lash blinked, his gaze swinging to Wes's, then back to Garrett. "Pregnant? She's pregnant?" He blinked slowly, some kind of warm yellow light filling him up inside from his head to his toes. "My God, she's carrying … my … my baby?"

  "What the hell are you grinning about?" Garrett demanded. "Don't you feel the cold breath of the reaper on the back of your neck, son?"

  "Jessi's gonna have my baby," he repeated. And he smiled even more. He couldn't seem to help himself. It was like a miracle. It was a miracle. And he loved her. He loved her, and had for quite a while now. It was going to be okay. Everything was going to be … just fabulous!

  He dragged his gaze back to Garrett again. Well, it was going to be fabulous, assuming he lived long enough to marry her.

  "You're gonna do right by my sister, Lash Monroe. Make no mistake about this. You're gonna marry her, and not just because she's pregnant. You're gonna treat her like she's made of twenty-four-karat gold, pal."

  "You're damn right I am," he said.

  Garrett's eyes narrowed.

  "I love her, Garrett," Lash said. "I love her so much I'd take on every one of you, if that's what it took to be with her. And maybe you'd break me up into little pieces before we were finished, or maybe you wouldn't. I've had some experience with bullies on the rampage, you know. But it wouldn't matter. I'm so high right now that I probably wouldn't feel it if you broke every bone in my body. So you gonna put me down, or you wanna take me on, here and now?"

  Garrett's eyes widened. Then widened still further when his little sister's voice came to them, loud and low and mean as she shouted, "Open that cell door right now, mister, or prepare to meet your maker!"

  He dropped Lash, and they all turned to stare through the bars at a guard with shaking hands held high above his head, and a pretty desperado with a neckerchief tied around her face, pointing his own gun at him. She backed the guard all the way to the cell and waggled the gun barrel at him. The guard put the key into the cell door, turned it and opened it.

  "Good," she said. "Now, just so we're clear on this, those guys in that other cell are the criminals. These guys aren't guilty of anything. And I'd wait for you to figure that out for yourself, but I have pressing business to tend to, and it can't wait. You got it?"

  The guard just nodded as the Brands and Lash crowded out of the cell. "Truck's waiting out back. You boys pile in. In the back, dammit, or I'll leave you sitting here. Lash, you wait right here. You, amigo—" she dipped the gun toward the guard "—into the cell."

  He moved into the cell and she locked it, then tossed the keys back down the hall. Then she popped the cylinder of the guard's gun open, and gave it a spin. "Just so you know, pal, it wasn't loaded. I'd never point a loaded gun at a peace officer. Even a chauvinist one." She dropped the gun on the floor. The boys were already piling into Garrett's pickup. She told Lash to get in the front, and then she got behind the wheel, yanked the neckerchief down to let it hang around her neck and pointed the vehicle toward the border. "I only hope we get past the checkpoint before they report us missing," she said. As she drove, she dug Lash's wallet out of her pocket and tossed it onto the seat. "Found this on that officer's desk. Didn't look like he'd been through it yet."

  Lash couldn't take his eyes off her. Her cheeks were flushed with color, and her eyes just sparkled. And his gaze dipped down to her flat tummy and he thought about the tiny bit of life she was cradling inside her. And then he thought he was gonna just about burst with the love he felt for her. It was unbelievable to him that he hadn't ever recognized this feeling for what it was.

  He adored this woman.

  "Jessi," he said, and he slid closer, reached out and touched her hair.

  She smiled at him. "We could get in big trouble for this," she said. "Garrett's a sheriff. I hope he had the good sense to give a false name. But I figure we can gift the town with some cattle. Breeding stock or something, to make up for their loss. Maybe with a show of goodwill like that, they'll let this little incident slide."

  "Jessi," he said again, and he knew he was smiling stupidly.

  "I found a prostitute outside the bar and gave her twenty bucks to drive my truck back to our side of the border. We can pick it up there tomorrow."

  "I love you," he said.

  She blinked, turned her head fast, and stared up at him.

  "I want to marry you. Not as penance or out of guilt or anything else. I just want to marry you."

  She smiled, and tears sprang to the surface of her brown eyes. "Lash…" But her voice trailed off, and that bright smile faded very quickly. The moisture in her eyes, though, remained. She looked away. "So my bigmouth brothers told you, did they?"

  He didn't know what to say. So he decided to tell the truth. "Yes. I know about the baby."

  He should have lied. He could see the tears that glittered in the glow of the dashboard lights. "That was so good, Lash, you know? For a minute there, I almost believed you."

  "You have to believe me, Jessi. It's the truth."

  "Hell, Lash, you were willing to marry me to pay for my virginity. Naturally you see it as even more necessary now. Your preacher sure as hell raised you right, I'll give you that much. But I'm sorry. It's not gonna work."

  "You're wrong. Whatever you're thinking, you're dead wrong."

  She braked so hard and fast that the Brands in the back were jostled against the cab. Lash could hear the tears in her voice, see her distress. "Promise me … not one more word about this. We'll talk later, okay? I can't … discuss this right now. It's making me physically ill, to tell you the truth. I could just about…" She put a hand to her stomach and shook her head. "Just … just sit there and shut up, or I'll make you ride in the back with those idiots."

  "Don't be mad at them, Jess. This isn't their—"

  "The hell it isn't! Dammit, Lash, I was just beginning to think there might be some chance for us. And they ruined it! You'd say anything to get me to marry you now, and how the hell could I ever know if it was true?"

  "Jessi, I—"

  "No. No more. The last time we talked, you told me you didn't want to marry, to settle down, to have a family. You said you just weren't that kind, Lash. Now you say you've changed your mind. I'd be a fool to believe you. It's because of the baby. That's the only thing that's changed, the only thing you know now that you didn't know before. No. That's the end of it. Don't say any more."

  He closed his eyes, and he knew that from where she was sitting, what she'd just said made perfect sense. And how the hell was he ever going to convince her now?

  "Jessi, the thing I know now that I didn't know before is that I love you. I have all along. I've done nothing but think about you since I left, and it hit me like a—"

  She clamped a hand over his mouth, reached past him and opened the door. "Get out."

  Lash got out. Jessi did, too. She stepped up to the pickup's bed and said, "Garrett, drive. Wes, you come up front with me. Lash, climb in with Ben and Elliot.

  Ben, if you lay a finger on him, I swear to God I'll leave you stranded in the desert. I've never asked you for a damn thing, but I'm asking now, and if you can't do this for me, then—"

  "All right, all right. I got the message. I'll behave."

  "Elliot, if he does anything, toss his oversize bulk right over the side."


  Elliot gave her a two-fingered salute. "On your side, sis. Just like I always am."

  She got back in the truck, Garrett and Wes doing just exactly what she'd asked them to.

  Lash felt defeated. He'd hurt her, all over again. And maybe caused her to lose any trust she ever could have had in him. How in the world was he ever going to convince her that he really did love her? How?

  He racked his brain all the way back to Texas, but didn't have any flashes of inspiration. He stared miserably at the back of Jessi's head through the glass that separated them. When she leaned tiredly back against it, he pressed his fingers to the glass, as if he could touch her hair.

  "You said you loved her," Ben said softly. "Did you mean it?"

  Lash lifted his head and met those perpetually sad blue eyes. "I meant it."

  "Then don't give up," Ben said. "Life's too short, Lash."

  Lash held his head in his hands, and wished to God he could win. But it looked to him as if the game were over, and he'd lost. He felt just like one of those damned country songs.

  * * *

  Chapter 13

  « ^ »

  Jessi had a pounding headache, and her stomach was churning. Maybe because she'd pretty much figured out how she was going to handle all of this. She needed to tell Lash exactly how it was going to be, and then she'd tell her brothers. But Lash first. It was only fair.

  When Garrett pulled into the familiar driveway of the ranch, she started to cry. She just couldn't keep it in any longer. Wes looked as guilty as Garrett did, and he slid an arm around her shoulders and hugged her. "Aw, honey, it's gonna be all right."

  "I wish my mother were here," she sobbed, and she lowered her head, dropping her face into the haven of her warm palms.

  "I know you do, Jessi," Wes went on. "Look, we were hotheads down there. You know we're gonna stand by you. You know we'll treat Lash like family once he marries you."

  "Ah, hell, Wes, you just don't understand anything, do you?" She lifted her face to stare at him, and saw his wide-eyed confusion. "I can't marry him now. Don't you see that?"

  Wes frowned at her. "Damn straight I don't see it. Hell, Jessi, you have to marry him now more than ever. You're carrying—"

  "Lord, Jessi," Garrett said, touching her shoulder. "Honey, tell me you haven't decided to… I mean, I know, it's your decision. I know that. It's the nineties. But … honey…"

  His stricken expression touched her, and she lowered her palms to her belly—damn, but it hurt. "I'm keeping my baby, Garrett. I love that idiot. How could I not want his baby?"

  Garrett sighed in relief. Wes, on the other side of her, swore softly. "Dammit, Jessi, you aren't making any sense. If you love him, then why the hell can't you marry him?"

  She met his eyes, wondering how he could be so dense. Then she just shook her head and got out. The guys piled out of the truck, and Chelsea stepped out of the house, onto the front porch, to greet them. Jessi was exhausted. Handling all these men was just too much. All she wanted to do was tell Lash her decision and collapse into her bed.

  Chelsea met her eyes, and read them with that uncanny intuition of hers that sometimes gave Jessi the shivers. Chelsea nodded once and said, "Okay, boys, it's nearing dawn and you all have a big day coming up. Get your butts in here and get some rest. Give your kid sister a break for once, okay?"

  Garrett walked up onto the steps and met his wife's eyes. "You knew about this, didn't you?" he said.

  She drew a breath and nodded. "I gave your sister my word I'd let her tell you when she was ready. And I love you too much—love her too much—to break a promise like that."

  He closed his eyes slowly, nodding in understanding.

  "It's gonna be okay, honey," Chelsea told him. "I promise you, it will." She hugged Garrett hard.

  The others muttered in protest, but they went inside, and Chelsea kept one arm around Garrett, leading him in last of all.

  Lash stayed outside with Jessi. She sat down on the topmost step of the porch, and he came over to sit beside her. "We really have to talk about this," he said.

  "Yes, I guess we do, Lash. Because I've come to some important decisions, and you have a right to know what they are."

  "But not to have any say in them?"

  She met his eyes. He went silent. "Here's what I've decided," she said. "I've decided to keep the baby. I've got my own home, my own business, and I can support a child just fine all by myself. But if you want to chip in, I won't refuse you. And I'll give you all the visitation rights you could possibly want."

  "Aw, honey, I don't want any damn visitation. I want us to be a family. Dammit, Jessi, you have to believe me."

  She lifted her chin and looked him right in the eye. "I'm one hell of a woman, Lash Monroe. And there is no way in hell I'm gonna settle for a man who doesn't love me with every bone in his body. I shouldn't have to. You shouldn't ask me to."

  "I'm not."

  "Guess I'll never know for sure, will I?"

  He let his chin fall to his chest. "I had my chance and I let you get away," he said. "I suppose I deserve this."

  She shrugged.

  "Jessi, I'm not giving up. My drifting days are over, and I'm gonna convince you that I meant what I said. I'll follow you around like a lonely pup. I'll camp out on your front porch. I'll serenade you in the moonlight, and buy you flowers and write you poetry. All the things I should've been doing in the first place. Damn, I never thought I was a fool, but it's pretty obvious now. I love you, Jessi. Sooner or later, I'm gonna convince you."

  She smiled very slightly, feeling a little dizzy on top of everything else. "I hope so," she said. "But I don't see how you can." She got to her feet, staggered a bit, and gripped the railing for support.

  "Jessi?"

  "I'm going to bed. I just can't take any more tonight." She turned and went up the steps, but had to pause in the doorway to catch her breath and battle the dizziness. The sudden, violent urge to get into her own warm bed overcame her, and she managed to propel herself through the doorway, stumbled through the house to the stairway, and gripped the bannister.

  Lash was right behind her, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders as she trembled. "Jessi, what's wrong?"

  "I don't know… I feel—"

  "Garrett," Lash called. "Chelsea! Get down here! Something's—"

  The first cramp hit her, and she felt as if she'd been kicked in the belly by a mule. She doubled over, clutching her middle, and she cried out in pain.

  That cry more than Lash's, she knew, brought her brothers and Chelsea running.

  "God in heaven, don't let her lose the baby," Lash muttered. He bent over her, and scooped her up into his arms. "I'm taking her to the hospital," he told the others. "Hold on, Jessi. Hold on."

  Lash carried her gently through the automatic double doors of the emergency room, whispering to her that it was going to be all right. That he loved her. That he wouldn't let anything happen to her. Once inside, he shouted, "Get me a doctor. She's pregnant, and—"

  Jessi cried out again, clutching her middle, tears pouring down her cheeks. And Lash felt a warm wetness on his own face. Several nurses rushed forward, one dragging a gurney with her and instructing him to lower her down onto it. Then these strangers wheeled her away from him.

  He lunged forward, but one of the nurses caught his arm and shook her head. "Please, sir. We can take better care of her if you wait out here. I know it's hard, but it's best for her, really."

  Lash stood there staring until they'd wheeled her out of sight, through another set of doors. Then he pressed both hands to his head and turned in a circle. Damn! If he lost her now… God, this was probably his fault. If he hadn't gone to Mexico … if she hadn't come after him… Maybe she'd been hurt in that damned brawl in the cantina. Maybe the drive over those rutted roads had instigated this. Maybe it was the stress, or the hurt brought on by not being sure of his feelings.

  The doors swung open again, and Lash looked up to see the entire Brand family
surging through. The boys stopped where they were, staring him down. Chelsea handed a sleepy-looking Ethan to Garrett and hurried forward, wrapping Lash in a warm hug. "She's gonna be all right, Lash. You'll see. She's tough."

  "Toughest woman I've ever met," he said. "Stubbornest, too. Damn, Chelsea, I can't lose her."

  "You won't." Chelsea stood back a bit. "You look like hell, Lash."

  He closed his eyes and let her guide him to a chair. He took the coffee she brought him moments later.

  He drank it, and watched those doors. Time ticked by, every second dragging out into a hundred of them. He got up and paced, stared at those doors some more, sat for a while, questioned a couple of nurses who knew nothing at all. And all the while, he felt the hostile eyes of Jessi's brothers on him. They blamed him for this. Hell, they ought to. He blamed himself.

  Two hours later, he was on his third cup of stale, machine-generated coffee, and getting more nervous by the minute, when Garrett finally got around to saying what was on his mind. "So you guys talked, before she got sick?"

  "Yeah," Lash told him.

  "And you convinced her to marry you?"

  "Nope." Lash crumpled his paper cup in his fist and tossed it.

  "Well, then, we will," Garrett said. "She's gonna marry you, and that's final. We can't have her trying to raise a kid on her own."

  Lash got to his feet, very slowly. "No," he said. He stared at each of the brothers, one by one. "No, it's time you guys figured something out. Your sister is tough, smart, beautiful, and perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She doesn't think I love her. And she isn't going to marry a man unless she knows beyond any doubt that he loves her the way she deserves to be loved. So no, I'm not going to marry her. I'm not going to let you pressure her into accepting me. The only way I'm going to marry Jessi Brand is by working my tail off to convince her that I really do love her. And it might take a while, but I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it whether she…" He closed his eyes, swallowing hard. "Whether she loses this baby or not. I adore that woman, and she doesn't deserve not to be sure."