The Baby and the Cowboy SEAL (Cowboy SEALs 2)

by Laura Marie Altom

  “Wiley James? Is that you?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Good to see you, Mrs. Shelton.” He extended his hand to Macy’s mother to shake. It didn’t escape him that her daughter refused to even look his way.

  Mrs. Shelton made a face. “Put your hand down and give me a proper hug.”

  He gave her a quick embrace.

  Henry squirmed to be next for Wiley’s attention.

  “Hey, buddy.” Wiley tweaked the infant’s sneaker-covered foot.

  Henry held out his arms as if he wanted Wiley to hold him.

  A bark erupted from Macy’s purse. Blinkie poked his head out of the top.

  “Hush,” she said to the dog.

  Wiley couldn’t help but crack a smile, but then he caught sight of Macy’s frown and sobered. How had their friendship gone so wrong, so fast? She hadn’t been serious about marrying, had she?

  “Macy,” her mom said, “I told you to park in the shade and leave that dog in the car.”

  “I couldn’t do that. He’s too tiny.”

  Her mother shook her head.

  “Mom, come on. I have to get Henry to the doctor in twenty minutes.”

  “What’s wrong with him?” Wiley asked, surprised by how much he genuinely cared.

  “Nothing.” The chill in Macy’s tone was enough to have him needing a jacket. “He needs his nine-month checkup.”

  “Good.” His shoulders sagged in relief. I’ve missed you, he wanted to say. I’d forgotten the way sunshine sparks off the blond in your hair. “I’m glad he’s okay.”

  “You look great.” Macy’s mother eyed him up and down. “Yes, sir, you’re a cool drink of water.”

  “Mom!” Macy gave her mom a swat.

  “What? He’s a fine-looking young man. I might be married, but I’m not dead.”

  Macy rolled her eyes, hoisting Henry higher on her hip. “We really need to go.”

  “All right. But let me grab my tableware.”

  “It was good seeing you, Mrs. Shelton.” Wiley gave her another hug.

  “Good seeing you, sweetie. In fact, how about if you stop by for the Fourth of July? Macy’s daddy is roasting a pig, so we’ll eat all afternoon, and then walk down to the high school for fireworks. Sound good?”

  “I appreciate the offer, but...”

  “Mom, I’m sure Wiley’s busy. Aren’t you?” The dirty look Macy shot told him he’d better turn down her mother’s offer, or else. But what if he wanted to spend another day with Macy and her son? Not mending fences or pulling weeds in their gardens, but getting to know each other all over again the way they should have from the start.

  “Aw, Wiley, please say you’ll come. Steve and I would love to have you.”

  Macy damn near set him on fire with the heat of her angry stare.

  “Thank you for the invitation,” he said, smiling in Macy’s direction. “I would be honored to come. Anything I need to bring?”

  “Just your handsome self.”

  * * *

  ONCE THE DOCTOR gave Henry a clean bill of health, Macy drove straight to Wiley’s, grumbling all the way.

  “He’s got some nerve,” she said to her son just past the abandoned schoolhouse. The sight reminded her of the sweet story about Wiley’s great-grandmother. Bet she wouldn’t have put up with his bad manners. Most men who had just turned down a marriage proposal wouldn’t have the gall to then practically invite themselves to a family picnic! And Wiley hated picnics!

  Henry ignored her to chew his plastic key chain.

  Blinkie had fallen asleep.

  “You two are zero help.”

  Twenty minutes later, she pulled into Wiley’s drive.

  He emerged from the barn with Pancake trailing after him. Four rambunctious puppies tumbled ahead.

  Macy’s fiery temper cooled—a little. But just because he had adorable dogs didn’t let him off her hook. The second she killed the engine, she hopped out of the truck.

  “There’s no way you’re coming to Mom’s party.”

  “Nice to see you, too.” He wielded that damned sexy grin like a weapon that cut right through her. Why did he have to choose now to be charming? And handsome! He wore his beaten straw cowboy hat disgustingly well, and his faded jeans hugged every inch of his perfect rear. His medicine had transformed him. Gone was the man she’d known who’d been downright hateful due to pain. He’d been replaced by this new and improved version she had no idea how to handle.

  “I mean it,” she said. “It’s going to be tough enough to sit through an endless day of family fun on my own. Doing it with you beside me would be impossible.”

  “Why?”

  “As if you don’t know?” A near hysterical laugh passed her lips as she took Henry and Blinkie from the truck.

  “You and I both know I’m no good for you.”

  “Then why come to a family party?”

  “Because I was invited?”

  Henry wriggled and held out his arms to the enemy.

  “Can I hold him?” Wiley asked.

  She should have refused, but that would only hurt her son who was clearly a traitor, so she passed Henry to Wiley.

  “Hey, buddy.” The cowboy tickled her son’s belly.

  Henry giggled.

  “How’d you get so much bigger in a week?”

  Blinkie barked at Wiley’s feet, demanding his share of attention.

  Macy picked up the dog. “Back to the topic at hand, what’s it going to take for you to skip the Fourth of July picnic?”

  “More than you’ve got to offer. I think it sounds fun.”

  “No, you don’t. You hate picnics.”

  “I might have changed my mind.”

  “You already went on one the day we checked fences, and you didn’t seem to have a whole lot of fun.”

  To Henry, Wiley said, “Do you hear how your mommy’s talking to me? Is she always this salty?”

  Her traitor son blew a raspberry and giggled.

  Blinkie wriggled in her arms as if he wanted in on the action. She put him down.

  “In fact,” she said, “seems to me, I tried making it more enjoyable, and you rejected my offer. I called you chicken, and even then you wouldn’t touch me. How do you think that made me feel? And then, once we got back to the house and we did pick up where we left off all those years ago, and it was every bit as amazing as I’d dreamed, you rejected me again.” Her voice cracked. “You destroyed me, Wiley—and not for the first or even second time, but for more times than I can even count. I’ve tried needling you and cajoling and begging you to want me, but I’ve had enough. I’m done trying—humiliating myself time and again—for what? A hazy teen fantasy of what might have been, but—”

  “Do you ever stop talking?” He swept his free hand under her hair, pulling her close for a kiss that moseyed through her like a warm-honey river. “When I ran into you at the drugstore today, I thought you were the last person I wanted to see. But then I caught a glint of sun in your hair and it terrified me for even a second to think Henry may have been sick, and all my reasons to steer clear of you took a backseat to my selfish reasons for wanting to be with you. You’re stubborn and bossy and sexy as hell. And Lord help me but there’s nothing I’d rather do than marry you—if you and this little guy will still have me?”

  Macy couldn’t speak past the knot in her throat, so she nodded, then kissed Wiley, hoping he didn’t care that her lips were flavored with tears.

  “Let’s elope,” he said. “Your dad already put it out there that he can’t stand me, so—”

  “It’s not that,” she assured. “He respects you a lot, but worries—” She laughed. “Who am I trying to fool? You’re right. Let’s elope. There’s a gorgeous lodge on Mount Karasic that does sunrise weddings. I
looked into it for my first. They arrange the licenses and everything. We can ask Wendy to take Henry, Doc Carthage to watch the animals, and make a minivacation out of it. When we get back, we’ll make our big announcement at the picnic. Dad will have to be happy for us, right?”

  “Not necessarily, but I’m game if you are.”

  He drew her into a hug. “This is going to be great, right?”

  If he had to question that fact, then should they be getting married? Alarm bells pealed in her mind, but Macy clung to him anyway, hoping she was just imagining the boozy smell on his breath.

  * * *

  THE NEXT MORNING, Wiley waited until he was sober enough to drive, then fed his animals and grabbed Blinkie from Macy’s. He needed to drive him into town for Doc Carthage to watch Blinkie while he and Macy were gone. Pancake and the cat, horse and goats would be happier at home, but this mutt was high-maintenance.

  In anticipation of the Fourth of July, Eagle Ridge’s roads had already swelled with tourist traffic. This time of year, the lake and national forest were a big draw for campers, and even though he’d never been a fan, he had to admit his hometown did a bang-up job of celebrating the holiday.

  Flags had been hung from every telephone pole, lamppost and porch pillar. Flowerboxes and gardens had been planted with geraniums, impatiens and lobelia. For anyone passing through, they must see Eagle Ridge as quintessential small-town America, but for him, driving past the liquor store, making plans to stop by after dropping off the dog, the place served as the keeper of his dirty secret.

  He shouldn’t mix booze with his meds. It was kind of a no-brainer, but what else could he do? To keep up normal appearances with Macy, he now took nearly double his prescribed dosage, yet at times that still wasn’t enough to mask the pain. Which begged the question, how was he planning on hiding all of this from his soon-to-be wife? Was it even fair of him to subject her to this big of a personal mess?

  Not really. He feared that when it came to his pain meds, he already had a problem, but then he selfishly wondered if hooking up with Macy might be the perfect option for recovery? He hadn’t realized how much he’d miss her or what a stabilizing influence she and Henry played in his life until having been forced to go cold turkey without her.

  For their new family, Wiley planned to gradually wean himself from the booze and meds. It wouldn’t be easy, but he’d do anything for Macy and Henry.

  If it hadn’t been for Macy convincing Wiley to try the painkillers, he would have never known just how effective they could be. It truly had been a miracle, and he’d been too stubborn to even try. He owed her for that.

  Enough to marry her? Do you even love her? Hell, for that matter, do you even know what real love is?

  His gut fisted. He might not love her, but he sure did like her kissing and cooking. Plus, Henry was a cutie. Lots of folks based marriages on less.

  In ten minutes, he’d left the worst of the traffic behind to pull his truck into Doc’s veterinary clinic.

  “As I live and breathe.” Mable, Doc’s longtime secretary and assistant, greeted Wiley at the door. The place smelled of antiseptic and fur. The dogs boarded in back provided constant barking background noise. “If it isn’t Wiley James all grown up and looking more attractive than the devil’s playground on a Saturday night.”

  “Thank you.” He removed his cowboy hat before kissing her cheek. Hard to believe she’d occasionally dated his grandfather. Time sure marched on. “You’re not looking too shabby yourself. I’m liking this blond hair.”

  “Oh, stop.” Her cheeks flushed with pleasure. “You’re as big a flirt as Buster—God bless his sweet soul.”

  After hearing about every dog, cat and sheep in the county, she pointed him to the large animal shed where Doc Carthage tended to a horse.

  “Never saw this coming,” Doc said when Wiley shook his hand and told him the news. “I’m not saying I don’t wholeheartedly approve—just that the engagement and wedding came on a bit sudden, don’t you think?”

  “I suppose...” Wiley rubbed between Blinkie’s ears to steady his shaky hands. “But Macy’s a good girl. It’s high time I make an honest woman of her before some other cowboy snatches her up.”

  Doc chuckled. “Guess that’s one way of putting it. Would I be right in assuming you asked her daddy’s permission?”

  “Why? She’s a grown woman, fully capable of making her own decisions.”

  “True.” Doc fastened the latch on the bay mare’s stall, then made a note in her chart before taking the dog from Wiley. “But her daddy may not see it in the same light. To keep the peace, you might think about pumping the brakes on this shindig. Just sayin’...”

  “With all due respect, once Steve Shelton recognizes I only have honorable intentions toward his daughter and grandson, I’ll bet he’ll come around.”

  Doc’s wary sigh signaled he wasn’t so sure.

  * * *

  “YOU DO KNOW this is crazy?” Wendy gave Henry a sugar cookie, then dragged Macy into her hectic shop’s backroom.

  “Getting married?” Macy set Henry’s diaper bag and suitcase filled with other baby essentials next to the playpen where Wendy had put him.

  He’d already found a stuffed owl to chew. The face he made when his tongue touched the fur was priceless. How could Macy leave him for two nights?

  “No, hon.” Wendy washed her hands at the island’s industrial sink. “I’m talking about your upcoming trip to Mars. Of course, I’m talking about your wedding. It’s nuts!”

  “You wouldn’t be saying that if you were about to marry the ultimate man of your dreams. How long have I crushed on the boy?”

  Wendy sighed. “That’s just it. Wiley’s hardly a boy, and a lot happened in the years he’s been gone—for both of you. Honestly, I think you’re still hurting from Rex, and out to prove any man would want you. And Wiley? Who knows what goes through that head?”

  “Knock it off. How can you be so down on Wiley when you barely even know him? I’m sorry if he was short with you, but that’s only because back then, he was in constant pain. Now that it’s under control, he’s charming. When you’re around him more, you’ll—”

  “That’s just it—I’d love to give him a second chance, but how can I when you two are slinking off to elope? Can you imagine how devastated your mom and dad will be?”

  “I think the more accurate description of their reaction will be relief. They’re probably still paying off my first wedding, and I feel terrible about that. But this time around, everything’s different. I’m not some moon-eyed girl in love with the idea of being a homemaker, wife and mom.”

  “Of course, you are—only this time, even worse! You’re not marrying Wiley, but his legend. You remember him from his glory days. Tight Wranglers and that cocky smile and his great-big bull-riding belt buckle that he won his sophomore year of high school. But now, he’s damaged goods, he—”

  “Don’t you dare poke fun at his disability.”

  “This isn’t about his leg, Macy, but what happened up here...” She tapped her temple. “The poor guy had to have been through hell. Are you sure he’s made peace with it? Lots of vets never do.”

  “Forget I asked you to watch Henry. He’ll be better off with me.” Macy turned to get him when Wendy pulled her back.

  “I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad. Forget I said anything. I’m worried about my friend. Rex put you through hell and the last thing I want is for you to go through something potentially worse.”

  “Worse than infidelity?” Macy laughed. “Not quite sure what that would be.”

  Wendy crushed her in a hug. “I pray you never find out, and that this marriage is everything you’ve ever hoped for.”

  Returning to the mountain, to Wiley, to begin the first chapter of her new life, Macy hoped for the same, but her churning stomach m
ade her fear her friend might be right.

  Did she need to step back and think about what she was doing for at least one hot minute? Or did she plunge headfirst into what could be her life’s greatest blessing?

  Sadly, by the time she knew the answers to those questions, it might already be too late to avoid emotional ruin.

  Chapter Thirteen

  That night, Wiley held Macy in his arms, and felt as if he might be sick. They danced beneath a starry sky, accompanied by a homegrown honky-tonk band playing on Big Sky Ranch’s patio stage. The setting returned him to his graduation party, to O’Mally’s, where they’d shared their first dance, but that’s where the similarities ended. Now, he was all grown up and didn’t have a clue how to be a good man—let alone, husband.

  He breathed Macy in—the strawberry scent of her hair and that special something his soul recognized as her. That afternoon, they’d gotten their marriage license and rings, and at dawn, before God, a preacher and a panoramic mountain view, they would become husband and wife.

  This wedding felt like a train wreck waiting to happen—and that wasn’t just his pills and a half-dozen secret shots of Jim Beam talking. Getting hitched would bring the two of them full circle. Growing up, she’d always been his shadow. They’d been each other’s first fishing buddies and swimming buddies and he’d be a liar if he didn’t admit to being damned curious to what all else they could be good at together in bed. But this union was about more than satisfying a curious itch. Her ex had already hurt her, and if he didn’t get his act together to stop taking the drugs, Wiley would only compound her heartache.

  The once honorable SEAL in him felt lousy about filling her with false hope for a marriage based on truth and love and a possibly bright shared future.

  “Isn’t this place amazing?” Her words tumbled in a warm puff against his neck. “We were lucky to get rooms on such short notice.” The pine log lodge had been built in 1911 for an East Coast shipping tycoon, high atop Mount Karasic. From this vantage, moonlight bathed virtually the entire Beartooth Range.

  “You did good,” he agreed.