And Cowboy Makes Three (Cowboys To The Rescue 2)

by Martha Shields

  “I can’t believe it happened so quickly.” He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. “I thought because of your condition it would take several months.”

  “Are you glad?”

  He grinned. “You mean you can’t tell?”

  “Because now you’ll have your heir.”

  The words hit Jake right between the eyes. Though getting an heir was why he talked her into marrying him, that hadn’t crossed his mind in days. He’d done a helluva job convincing Claire that love wasn’t part of the deal, however, and now he had to show her he was in this relationship heart, line and sinker. “No, that’s not why I’m happy.”

  “It’s not?”

  He shook his head. “I’m happy because you and I together have created a new life, one I hope will turn out as delightful as your—and my niece and nephews. No matter what happens, I’ll always have a little bit of you in our child.”

  Claire ran a hand down his cheek. “Is that really how you feel?”

  He turned his head to place a kiss on her palm. “Yes.”

  Her smile trembled. “Why, Jacob Anderson, that almost sounds like love.”

  “Does it?” he asked seriously.

  She nodded. “I thought you didn’t believe in love.”

  “I thought I didn’t, either. But I think I may be changing my mind.”

  Claire searched his eyes, then pulled his head down to kiss him. “There may be hope for you yet.”

  He kissed her thoroughly, then held her tight. “I feel like I should be doing something for you. Buying you something extravagant. What do you—”

  “No!” She placed a finger against his lips. “Don’t spoil this by talking about money. I don’t want anything but you. When are you going to understand?”

  He frowned. “I’m trying.”

  She smoothed her hand across his brow. “Just be there when I need you. That’s all I want.”

  His brow wrinkled even more. “Do you need me, angel? A week ago you told me you’ve been trying your damnedest not to.”

  Claire’s blue eyes dropped, then lifted with resolution. “I know, but I’ve found that trying and succeeding are two entirely different things.”

  Relief washed over him like a cleansing tide. Though Claire didn’t say the words, admitting she needed him was as good as an avowal of love. He lowered his head for a kiss, but she stopped him with a finger across his lips.

  “Knowing my yen for independence, maybe I’d better amend what I want, just in case.”

  He nodded.

  “I want you to be there when I need you, and to stand back when I don’t. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, I can,” he swore softly. “I will.”

  Then he sealed his vow with a kiss.

  “I absolutely forbid it.”

  Her mouth open, Claire stared at the implacable face of her husband who blocked the door to Scarlet’s stall. “Excuse me? You forbid me to go for a ride with my nephews?”

  “That’s correct.”

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was this the same husband who promised her independence just yesterday? “Are you out of your mind? I’ll ride whenever I want to.”

  “I told Ray to close the barn doors. You won’t be able to get out.”

  Still unable to comprehend what was going on, she leaned against the moist warmth of the mare. “What are you doing?”

  He stood with his boots planted in the dirt, his arms crossed over his chest. “You know what happened to J.J. the other day.”

  She threw a hand in the air. “The chances of that happening again are one in a bizillion.”

  “Not this time of year. It’s been warm today, perfect for snakes to be out sunning themselves but not warm enough for them to move quickly. Ride up on one, and it won’t have time to move away. It’ll rear up and scare your horse. We can’t take the chance of you falling. Not in your condition.”

  “So that’s what this is about. Now that I’m pregnant, you think you can wrap me up like a butterfly in a cocoon for the next nine months. Well, I’ve got news for you, buster, I’m not going to let you. I—”

  JJ. appeared just behind Jake, his eyes wide. Matt joined him a second later.

  After another glare at her husband, Claire smiled at her nephews. “Are your horses saddled?”

  The boys nodded as Jake turned to them. “Aunt Claire can’t take you.”

  “Oh, yes I can.”

  “Is she sick?” Matt asked.

  “Not exactly,” Jake explained. “She’s expecting a baby, and can’t do everything she normally can for a while.”

  “The heck I can’t.”

  The males ignored her. Her nephews stared as if she were an exotic animal in a cage at a zoo.

  “Like Mama?” JJ. asked.

  Jake nodded. “Exactly.”

  The boys nodded as if they understood perfectly.

  “I’ll go with you boys in just a few minutes,” Jake told them. “Go on outside and help Ray for a minute, please.”

  “Wait just a dern minute,” Claire exclaimed. “I’ll be the one taking you two no matter what Uncle Jake says.”

  J.J. shook his head. “No, Aunt Claire. You can’t ride until you have your baby. We don’t have any cousins, and we want some. Don’t we Matt?”

  After Matt nodded, J.J. grabbed the sleeve of his brother’s jacket and hauled him away.

  Claire glowered at her husband. “You’re teaching those boys to be every bit as pigheaded as you are. Pregnant women are not helpless.”

  Jake stepped into the stall and grabbed her shoulders. “I didn’t say you were helpless, angel. I just don’t want anything happening to you.”

  “You mean the baby.” But her retort didn’t have much strength. At close range, she could see fear in his eyes.

  He hauled her against him. “You or the baby. Hank told me your mother lost two babies between him and Travis, both from riding accidents. It took her a year to recover after the last one.”

  “But—”

  “No buts this time. You’re not going to ride until after you have this baby, and that’s final.”

  Claire jerked out of his arms, making the mare shy to the side of the stall. “All right, Jake,” she spat. “You want me to love you, but you certainly don’t make it easy.”

  “Claire...” He grabbed for her, but she ducked under his arm and stormed out of the barn.

  The boys whooped when they saw her, then ran back in.

  “Traitors!” she called after them. “You’ve known me all your lives.”

  Cowboys in the making, that’s what they were. Trained by the best—her brother. On that thought, she made a beeline directly for the corral, where Travis and Hank were working with the horses Travis would use in the National Finals Rodeo.

  Luckily for her mood, Hank sat on the fence, his back to her. Slapping a hand on each of the Ws on the back pockets of his jeans, she shoved.

  “Whooaa!” Hank’s arms flailed as he tipped over, his hat flying off, but to her utter disgust, he landed on his feet. He spun to glare at her. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “You sorry excuse for a skunk! You told Jake not to let me ride, didn’t you?”

  “Of course not.” He picked up his hat and dusted it off. “I just told him what happened to Momma.”

  “Same thing.”

  “You want to lose your baby?”

  “Of course not, but I’m a good rider and I—”

  “So was Momma,” he pointed out. “But accidents happen, and you never know when. You don’t even ride regularly anymore.”

  Since she couldn’t refute that, she crossed her arms over her chest. “So I can’t ride for nine whole months?”

  He placed his hat back on his head. “Alex doesn’t.”

  “Because you won’t let her.”

  “She does it because I ask her not to, and because she wants to take care of the life she’s got inside her.”

  Claire lifted her chin. She hated admitting when h
er brother was right. “I care about my baby.”

  Hank’s face softened. “I know you do. Sometimes things just have to be pointed out to you with a little more force than is necessary with most people.”

  She took a step forward and wrapped her fingers over a plank of the fence. Maybe if she knew what made Hank tick, she’d be able to figure out her husband. “Why are you so protective of everyone, Hank? Especially Alex. She can’t breathe without you telling her how much air to take in.”

  Hank’s gaze shifted to the other side of the corral where Travis exercised a gelding. “Alex is the sun in my life. If something happened to her, life as I know it would cease to exist.”

  Claire had never heard her brother talk like a poet. “Why, Hank, that’s beautiful.”

  “The kids are important to me, too. And you and Travis. I’d do anything to keep you all safe. Anything.” His blue eyes locked back into hers. “Even if it means doing something you don’t like.”

  “So you do it out of love,” she murmured.

  He smiled wryly. “No other reason is worth the grief you give me over it.”

  “Are you sure it’s not some perverted need for power? That’s what I always thought.”

  “I know.”

  She searched his face. “Well, I’m sorry, Hank. I can’t thank you for smothering me, but I’m glad you love me.”

  Hank patted her hands through the fence. “Cut Jake some slack, Claire. He seems to love you as much as I love Alex. You’re carrying his baby. He’s got a right to protect it, and you.”

  “What’s wrong?” Travis asked as he pulled his horse up beside Hank.

  “Nothing,” Claire murmured.

  She turned in time to see Jake lead a roan gelding out of the barn. J.J. and Matt were right behind with their horses.

  Love was Hank’s excuse. What was Jake’s?

  As she watched her husband help Matt onto his horse, she suddenly knew exactly what she wanted from her marriage. She wanted to be as necessary to Jake as Alex was to Hank. She wanted him to need her like all living things need the sun.

  Claire frowned. That didn’t sound very independent. In fact, it sounded downright dependent.

  But what did it matter? She wasn’t likely to get her wish. Jake didn’t need anything or anyone. He had so much money, he could buy whatever he wanted—except love. Love was the one thing money couldn’t buy...and it was the one thing she could give him.

  With a blinding flash of insight, Claire knew she loved Jake. Despite her determination not to, despite his pigheaded, arrogant nature, she was in love with her husband.

  It explained a lot—like why she needed him to need her. But knowing what her uncharacteristic yearning meant didn’t mean she liked it.

  After Jake mounted, his eyes found hers across the gravel road separating the barn from the corral. After staring for a long minute, he guided his horse over, leaned down and kissed her. Then he rode away, his nephews in tow.

  She loved him.

  If Hank was right and Jake loved her, too, loving him was a good thing.

  If Hank was wrong, Jake would swallow her whole. Claire Eden would never be heard from again.

  “You feeling okay?” Jake asked. He reached across the Jeep and took Claire’s hand.

  She pulled her eyes away from the Rocky Mountains that stretched along the western horizon as they headed back to Denver. They’d dropped the Edens off at the Greeley airport with promises of a Wyoming Christmas at the Garden. They were also planning to spend a few days with them in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks, when Travis competed in the National Finals Rodeo. Travis had pulled out that morning, headed to Twin Falls, Idaho, to pick up his team roping partner, then to Las Vegas.

  “I’m fine,” she replied. “Why?”

  “You’re awfully quiet.”

  She rubbed her hand across his. “Just thinking.”

  “About what?”

  “About how nice it is not having kids arguing in the back seat.”

  He squeezed her hand, then took his away to downshift as he passed a slow truck. “Better get used to it. We’ll soon have our own.”

  Claire twisted in the seat so she could look at him more comfortably. His smile was a more interesting view, anyway—though there’d been times during the past two days when she’d told him to put a sock in it. “Except for this one, we’ve never discussed how many kids we want. Have you thought about it?”

  He glanced at her, then back to the road. “Will you be able to have more?”

  “I think so. Dr. Freeman said getting pregnant pretty much makes the endometriosis go away. I should be able to have as many as we want.”

  “How many do you want?” he asked.

  She lifted a hand, palm-up. “I don’t know. Until I found out I had to have a baby, having kids was too far into the future for me to worry about.”

  After a moment of silence, Jake said, “If we can, I think we should have more than one. I was an only child, and it was damn lonely.”

  Remembering what the foreman had said about Jake’s childhood, Claire knew exactly how lonely he’d been. Was that why he’d been so protective she sometimes wanted to scream? She hadn’t considered his smothering attentions in that light. Maybe now that he had a family—which included all the Edens—he didn’t want to lose it. It wasn’t love, but at least it was something she could understand.

  Her heart softening for the lonely little boy inside the man, she leaned across the bucket seats and slid her arm along his shoulders, to remind him he wasn’t alone anymore. “All right, we’ll have at least two, then go from there. How far apart?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. Is it better for them to be close in age? Would it be easier on you to space them out?”

  “I don’t know.” Then she chuckled. “Sure is a lot about being parents we don’t know, isn’t there?”

  He grinned. “I guess we’ll learn as we go along.” .

  “I know I don’t want my children spaced as far apart as me. Hank and Travis are. Hank’s fourteen years older than me. He was more like a father than a brother. And though Travis is only four years older, that’s still too much.”

  Jake nodded thoughtfully. “I think Hank and Alex’s kids are spaced about right. They’re close enough to play together, but not too close.”

  “Yes, Alex got her way on that issue.”

  “According to Hank, Alex gets her way on most things.”

  Claire paused to consider that. “Now I think about it, you’re right. I guess my big brother isn’t the tyrant I thought he was all these years.”

  Jake sent her a wry glance. “Even though he’s a cowboy?”

  “Yes, even though he’s a cowboy.” Claire gave her husband a playful slap on the back of his head, then ruined the effect by running her fingers up through his hair. She loved the way the spikes tickled her palm. “But I’m beginning to think cowboys aren’t so bad. Especially one certain one.”

  His smile was pure male. “Unbuckle yourself, woman, and slide over here.”

  “And leave the protection of my seat belt? I’m shocked you would even suggest such a thing, Lord Protector. Besides, you’re the designated driver. Can’t have you drunk with lust.” She laid a hand on her stomach. “We’ve got a little one to think about now.”

  He glowered at her. “I can see Baby Anderson is going to put a serious crimp in my style.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Somehow I doubt it.”

  He pulled her hand from around his neck, laced their fingers, then held it on his thigh. “Not tonight, at least. We’ve only got about eight more months to be alone. I intend to make the most of them.”

  A shiver played along her spine. “Is that a promise or a threat?”

  He grinned. “Both.”

  Chapter Eleven

  When Claire woke at dawn the next morning, her first thought was that she wasn’t startled anymore at waking up in Jake’s penthouse. Her second was that her stomach was trying to crawl up her throat. S
he barely made it to the bathroom in time.

  A moment later a strong hand grabbed her shoulders. “What is it?” Jake asked. “Morning sickness?”

  “Well since it’s morning and I’m sick, I guess so,” she snapped, not feeling especially charitable toward him as she hung over the toilet.

  Jake didn’t reply, just held her until she finally sat back. He straightened, ran a washcloth under cold water, then folded it and pressed it to her forehead.

  “This is all your fault, you know,” she said weakly, though she had to admit the cool, wet cloth he held against her skin felt good.

  “I know,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

  She expected him to point out that she wanted a baby, too. That he patiently took her abuse didn’t help her pique at all. “This isn’t going to be any fun if you’re not going to fight back.”

  He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m not going to argue with you. Your being pregnant is my fault. I don’t want you to suffer having my baby.”

  “Our baby.”

  “Our baby,” he corrected. “If I could, I’d be sick for you.”

  “That’s easy to say when you can’t, isn’t it?” she complained. “I bet all men say that.”

  He smiled ruefully. “You’re feeling better, I see. Can I get you anything to help settle your stomach?”

  Claire sighed and leaned back against the wall. “Alex said crackers should help.”

  He stood immediately. “I’ll see what we’ve got”

  “Saltines,” she told him. “Nothing else.”

  He nodded. “If we don’t have any, I’ll run out and get some.”

  “Yeah, right. At six in the morning? You probably don’t even know where a grocery store is, much less one that’s op—” Her argument scattered when he bent and picked her up. “I can stand by myself, you know.”

  “You weren’t making any effort to,” he pointed out.

  She sniffed. “I was gathering my strength.”

  He placed her on, the edge of the bed. “Well, gather it here. As a matter of fact, why don’t you stay home today? You could—”

  “Oh, no.” She stood abruptly, then had to put a hand on his chest to steady herself against the dizziness. When she recovered, she frowned up at him. “You’re not going to treat me like an invalid just because I’m pregnant. How would that look to my employees? I’ll be fine as soon as I have a few crackers.”