by Roni Adams
The laughter continued and Cord's neck turned crimson at the redhead's teasing. Tyler couldn't picture the vivacious and incredibly sexy Charli with his staid oldest brother, but he sure wished Cord would lighten up a bit and let her show him a little bit of fun. She'd always had a huge crush on Cord, and it would only take him giving in for half of a second for her to show him a good time.
"You know, next year at this time, things won't be so refined and quiet around this table as they are now,” Buck interjected. His large arm pulled his wife up against him and he kissed her head.
"That's right. Next year, we'll have a little one sitting in the family high chair.” Giddy, Flo stood up with the empty roll basket and headed towards the kitchen.
Tyler couldn't help but be moved by the sight of his brother and Sara. A sudden image of Beth swollen with his baby crept to mind, and he glanced over at her. Her eyes were full of longing as she watched her sister. Did she still want kids?
"I think that with all these adults, this is going to be one spoiled little guy.” Sara rubbed her stomach, not looking as if she minded at all.
"Nothing wrong with spoiling little ones,” Flo said as she walked back into the room. “I spoiled every one of you and look how good you turned out."
"She spoiled you all, and I had to take you out back and whip you into shape,” Sam muttered, grabbing the fresh basket of rolls before it went too far.
Everyone laughed amongst choruses of, “Yeah we were all so afraid of you."
The old man tried not to smile but Tyler saw the corners of his mouth tilt up.
Flo leaned over and kissed him. “You old softie. You were the worst of all of us, the way you fussed over these kids."
"It seems odd that the next generation is coming, doesn't it?” Susan commented.
Beth's heart squeezed at the talk of kids and the next generation. Only two years ago, if anyone had been asked, all bets were on her and Tyler to have the first baby. Not that she begrudged Sara and Buck; it was perfect that they got together and were having a family. Still, she'd always imagined she'd be at least married by now and talking about having a baby.
The phone rang and Beth jumped from the table to answer it, thankful for the distraction. “I bet that's Diane."
She didn't wait to hear the replies from her family as she walked quickly through to the great room and picked up the phone on the table. “Hello?” she answered, sinking into the soft leather couch.
"Merry Christmas!” her oldest sister's sang over the phone line.
"I knew it was you! How are you? How's Paris? When are you coming home?” Beth fired the questions at Diane.
"Paris is fine. I'm fine, and I've got some good news."
She waited for Diane to tell her she was coming home.
"I got married this morning!"
Beth's mouth fell open. Her brow furrowed and she wondered if she'd heard right. “What did you say? Married? To who? Not Henri?"
Diane laughed lightly. “Yes, silly, to Henri. Don't make it sound so bad. I know you guys don't know him, but you'll have to trust me on this. He's asked me before, but for some reason it just felt right this time. We ran off this morning and got married in a little ceremony in this tiny church outside Paris. I'll email some pictures to you."
Beth tried hard to find enthusiasm, but the fact of the matter was, no one liked or trusted this Henri LeBeau, including her. Flo called him a snake charmer, and Sam had even tougher names for the French man. She forced all that down and tried to sound cheerful. “Di, that's wonderful. The family will be, uh, so happy for you."
Diane laughed. “No, they won't, but they'll have to trust that I know what I'm doing. Henri and I have gotten very close since we've been here and he makes me happy."
It didn't pass her that her sister didn't mention love. Beth's heart ached wondering why on earth her beautiful sister would settle for someone like Henri. “Well, let me get someone else on the phone too. Hang on, do you want to talk to Susan first or Sara?"
"How's Sara feeling? Susan sent me pictures—I can't believe how big she is. Did you ever in your life imagine her pregnant? I always thought it would be you first."
"Yeah, I know, me too,” she muttered.
"How's that going? With Tyler home and all?"
"It's okay. We're coming to terms with it all,” she lied. “I-I'll get Susan."
Beth set the phone down and slowly walked back to the dining room. She hated to be the one to share the news and ruin everyone's dinner. “It's Di.” She couldn't look at Cord and instead turned directly to Susan. “Um, she and Henri got married this morning."
No one said a word except Cord. Beth winced as he cussed harsh and short and shoved back from the table.
She put her hand out to stop him. “She wants to talk to Susan."
He gave a crisp nod and kept on walking. “Yep, right after I'm done with her."
Sam stood. “Cord!"
The steaming cowboy ignored him, his strides long and purposeful as he left the dining room.
Beth turned to Flo. The older woman shook her head as if she didn't know what to say. She pleated the linen napkin in her hand as her brows furrowed in concern.
From the other room Cord's voice raised in anger, and then the doors to the den slammed shut.
"I better go in there,” the older woman declared.
"Leave him be.” Sam grabbed her hand as she stood up. “Won't do no good for you to get upset too."
"Sam's right, Flo. Besides, Cord isn't going to listen to you right now,” Susan agreed.
"What am I missing here?” Charli's confused expression went from one to the other around the table.
Beth slipped back into her chair. “Diane moved to Paris to help Henri LeBeau with a major interior design renovation about two years ago. Right after Sara's wedding actually."
"I knew that, but when did it turn into a love affair? I thought she had better taste than that."
Beth took a drink from her water glass, but the thought of eating anything else sickened her. Her mind whirled. Had LeBeau forced her somehow? “We think he's after her for her money. Cord's had him checked out. He turned up okay but we don't trust him. It's hard to explain."
"It's her life,” Charli defended. “Diane is an adult. Why is Cord in there tearing into her?"
"Same reason I'd be on you if you married someone like that,” Chase spoke up. “Cord's trying to protect not only her, but the family's assets."
"The guy's pure slime,” Teddy commented, the only one still digging into his dinner. “I've met him. I don't like him."
Sara shook her head. “I never thought she could be buffaloed. I thought she was smarter than that."
Teddy popped his head up. “Any woman can be charmed, if you do it right."
Susan instantly turned on him. “That's what you think. Don't judge all of us by the bimbos you date. Most of us have a brain and not just plastic Barbie doll boobs."
"All I'm saying is the guy is a salesman, and he's sold her a line of goods that she's buying. He's good at it, and maybe he's also good somewhere else. Before you know it, she's hooked and thinks she's in love,” Teddy rationalized.
"She never mentioned love.” Beth leaned back in her chair. “She said they were happy, she was happy, and even said he finally wore her down. But Di didn't use the word, love."
Susan turned to Buck. “Do you think Cord will go over there?"
Their brother-in-law shook his head. “Nope, he'll come back and say well, she's just screwed up her life. He'll bitch about it for a while, and then he'll let it go. Not much he can do—like Charli said, she's an adult, not a child."
In the distance they heard footsteps and the conversation stopped.
Cord strode back into the room. His hair was mussed as if he'd been raking his hands through it. His face was red and his eyes were cold. He didn't look at any of them. “Susan, your sister wants to talk to you."
Beth watched Susan scramble away as if she was a teenage
r again and Cord had told her to go to her room. Frankly, she was envious of her. She'd love to leave the table too.
Everyone stared at Cord who had resumed eating. Finally he lifted his head. “My first inclination was to go over there and haul her home, but, as she quite elegantly pointed out, this is her business. She's thirty and I have no control over her life."
Beth frowned. She'd love to have been a fly on the wall hearing that conversation. Diane could dish it out as well as Cord and, unlike the rest of them, she wasn't in the least bit intimidated by him.
"I'm going to talk to Jake. I need to make sure that jackass can't get his filthy hands on the majority of her money."
"You can't do anything can you? I mean, Jake told us all when Daddy died that once we reached twenty-five, our full inheritance was ours to do with what we wanted,” Beth questioned. Having just turned twenty-five, her bank account had grown considerably overnight.
"Yes, but there's a large chunk of it wrapped up in the business, and I'll be damned to hell before he'll get so much as a rock of this place. If she is stupid enough to blow most of her inheritance and her designer business on him, I can't do a damn thing about it. But I will never let him get even a tiny piece of this ranch,” Cord slammed his closed fist on the table and the glassware jumped.
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Chapter Ten
The barn was quiet. The moon overhead glowed high and full as Tyler made his way across the ranch yard. Everyone in the family had been asleep for hours; well, almost everyone. He knew one person who wouldn't be and he knew exactly where she'd be. He hoped.
Inside the darkened barn, the horses shifted in their stalls. A grey cat slept curled up in the straw; the old Tom didn't even lift his head as Tyler walked past. It only took him a few minutes to spot her sitting on the floor with her back resting against the stable walls.
For a second, he thought her asleep, but as he got closer, she turned her head.
"Hey,” he said softly and squatted down next to her.
"Hey."
"Hear anything yet?” He sat down fully, resting his back against the same wall. It was chilly out here. The storm the weatherman had been predicting hadn't come yet and he hoped it wouldn't. He needed the cold, but not the ice, for tomorrow.
"Nah.” She blushed and glanced behind her at the stalls. “I don't know why I still do this."
"It's tradition."
"I'm not six anymore."
"Me either.” For a long moment he held her gaze.
Beth chewed her bottom lip and her eyes filled with regret. “I wish I'd known about the accident. I spent so much time hating you for not coming home for Christmas."
He swallowed hard. “I should have handled that differently, but I didn't want to ruin everyone's holiday."
"It was ruined far more by thinking you didn't care."
Tyler longed to pull her into his arms, but with her tense body posture and arms wrapped around her drawn up knees, he didn't think she'd welcome the embrace. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and stared out ahead into the dark. “That's the problem, I didn't think. I guess I was pretty good at that last year."
Beth didn't reply. Tyler didn't know if that was good or bad.
She stretched out her legs and rested her hands on her thighs. “That's something about Diane,” she commented.
Tyler sighed and rested his head against the wall. “Yeah. I thought Cord was going to have a coronary."
"Did you think he overreacted a bit? What was with all that?"
"It's a control thing. She's way over there, and he can't have his finger on what's happening. Drives him crazy when he can't make sure everything is the way he wants it to be."
"That's one of the reasons you left, isn't it? Cord was controlling you ... I was controlling you."
He turned, and for the first time since he'd been home, he didn't see anger in her eyes. She seemed to understand at least a bit more about why he left like he did. Why he couldn't take it another day. Without stopping to wonder how she'd react, he slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. She went without hesitation, snuggling against his side. Her hand splayed on his heart and her head rested below his chin. Tyler sighed and closed his eyes. This was all he wanted for Christmas.
"I've grown up a lot. I wouldn't handle things the same way now. Running away wasn't the way to deal with things."
Beth nodded and raised her head from his chest. “Maybe, maybe not. I don't know that I would have listened. I was so consumed with finishing my degree and taking over the practice, I honestly don't know that I would have understood how serious you were."
Her breath smelled like peppermint, most likely from the candy cane she'd been crunching earlier. He lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers. She didn't pull away, and her moist lips welcomed his kiss. When he covered her mouth with his own, she slid her hand across his chest and moaned deep in her throat. He savored the taste of the Christmas candy on her tongue and enjoyed the softness of her breast pressing into his side. Sliding his hand down her back, he cupped her hip in his hand and pulled her closer. Her thigh slid between his, and her hand reached to touch his face. His heart raced and his jeans tightened as she stroked her hand along the line of his jaw.
Tyler broke the kiss and drew in deep harsh breaths of air. Beth blinked open her eyes to stare drowsily up. She turned her head and pressed her open mouth to his neck and kissed his skin. He closed his eyes as desire washed over him. When she climbed into his lap, he wrapped his arms around her as she straddled his thighs. Beth kissed his neck again and threaded her fingers into his hair. She had to know what she was doing to him; the evidence pressed into her soft rear end. But she didn't seem to mind. He slid his hand under the back of her sweater and caressed the soft smooth skin of her back. She wiggled in his lap and rubbed herself on his hardness.
"Beth,” he complained but without really wanting her to stop.
"Hmm,” she sighed and nuzzled his ear.
Under her sweater, he swept his hands up under her breasts and brushed his thumbs along her pebbled nipples.
Beth whimpered and sat up straighter in his lap, throwing her head back as he caressed her. When he rolled her nipples between his thumb and finger, she moaned. “That feels so good."
"You're killing me,” he whispered.
"When we were kids, and we'd come out here and wait to hear if the animals would talk, how did we pass the time?"
"I don't remember.” He lifted her sweater until he could see her small breasts. Then he pressed her forward and lifted her to his mouth, capturing one rosy peak between his lips.
Beth's breath grew harsh, and she arched into him. “Remember how much trouble we'd get in when our parents found us asleep in the stalls?"
Tyler lifted his head, letting one breast slip free from his mouth to turn his attention to the other. “I think we got ourselves in more trouble when Flo found us asleep together ten years later."
Berth laughed. “She chewed Sam out good for that. He's the one who told us the animals talk on Christmas Eve."
Tyler looked into her sparkling eyes. It was so good to see her happy; he wished the moment would never end. He swallowed hard, afraid to break the moment. “Yep, and then she explained about the birds and the bees. Although we'd figured that part out long before she sat us down."
He'd give anything to pull her down to the floor and make love to her, but if they made love again, it had to be because it was right and not just because it felt good. He lifted his head and regretfully set her sweater back in place. Ignoring her confused look, he pulled her back into his arms and settled her against his chest. “We have to be still and quiet, or they'll know were here."
Her heart hammered against his own, and her breath was unsteady. He closed his eyes and tried to forget how hard he was.
Minutes ticked by and he wondered if she'd gone to sleep. He rubbed her back safely on top of her sweater and let her rest.
&
nbsp; "Ty?"
"Hmm?"
She lifted her head. “Do you think I was a spoiled brat growing up?"
He frowned. “What are you talking about? Why do you say that?"
She climbed off his lap, stood up and walked away a few steps. “I was the youngest, and everyone always gave in to me. I'm thinking maybe you got sick of it always having to be my way."
"Who put that idea in your head?"
She shrugged. “It doesn't matter. I've thought back over things and wondered if maybe I was partially to blame for why you had to get out of here."
Tyler stood up and crossed the small aisle of the barn to where she leaned her back against the wall. “If I'd told you I was leaving, what would you have done?"
"I'd have gone with you."
"Exactly. And if I told you it was me or the practice, what would you have chosen?"
She looked up and his heart jerked at her hesitation.
"You,” she whispered.
He kissed her forehead in agreement. “And you would have given up everything you'd worked hard for, and the one thing you wanted more than anything in this world ... just for me."
She nodded. “Yes ... and I think I would have been really mad about it."
"Exactly. And well you should have been. No one should have to choose between what they love to do and who they love."
She turned her head away. “You did."
"Look how wrong I was."
"I wish I'd read the note. I wish—"
He cupped her cheek to halt that line of thinking. “You can't go back and change anything. I wish I'd made it home last Christmas—who knows what would have happened."
Beth shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. “Last Christmas Eve I was here, alone. I cried and cried thinking you didn't love me, that you didn't care enough to come home. I didn't know you were in a hospital fighting for your life."
"I could have had Charli call, but I didn't. I'm sorry about that now. It's just one more mistake I've made in a long list of things I can't undo."
Blue eyes opened and gazed sadly into his. “So, what now? What do we do now?"
Hell, he didn't have the answers. The only thing he could think to do was go to bed and figure it out after they'd made love. But even he was smart enough to know that wouldn't fix their problems for the long haul.