“Sure, why?” Then his friend caught a glimpse of what was happening over Wyatt’s shoulder. “You’re bringing the artillery?”
“Have to. I need all the help I can get.”
Johnny smiled. “When you say it’s serious, you mean it.”
* * *
Wyatt walked into the Applewood Bar and Grill, an iconic honky-tonk that rivaled the famous Gilley’s. The place was swarming with the cast and crew of Dylan McKay’s Western movie. Wyatt spotted a few people he’d worked with on the day he’d filled in for Johnny.
Country music blared, a classic Zane Williams hit about loves lost and found. Wyatt moved through clusters of people chatting, scanned over the bar area and peeked into a small stadium arena where wannabe cowboys pressed their luck on a mechanical bull. There was no sign of Brooke.
He turned around and collided smack into someone’s chest. The guy was built like granite and didn’t offer an apology for blocking his way. When his gaze drifted to the man’s face, he understood the reason. “McKay.”
“What are you doing here, Brandt?”
They were nose to nose. “I didn’t come for the food or the company. I’m looking for Brooke.”
Dylan’s chest puffed up with brotherly concern. “You weren’t invited.”
They could butt heads all day, but Wyatt was beyond that. If he had to make nice to Brooke’s brother, he’d swallow his pride. “I know. I apologize. But this is important. I’ve got to speak with Brooke. Is she here?”
Dylan looked him up and down, his expression grim. “You plan on hurting her?”
“God no. I’m here to...”
“What?”
“To make things right.”
“That means different things to different people,” McKay said, still eyeballing him.
“You have my word, I’m not going to hurt her. That’s all I can say for now.”
They stared at each other for beats of a minute and then Dylan nodded. “Okay. I dragged her here, but she wasn’t in the party mood. She’s in one of the private offices. Follow me.”
“No, it’s okay. Just point me in her direction. I’ll find her.”
Dylan moved through the crowd and down a hallway. Wyatt followed quietly behind. When Dylan stopped and gestured to a room with a paneled door at the far end of the hallway, Wyatt made a move to pass him. And Dylan got in Wyatt’s face again. “Remember what I said.”
He tipped his hat. “Got it.”
As soon as Dylan walked away, Wyatt whipped out his cell phone and called Johnny. Then he strode over to the door and knocked, his heart beating in his chest like crazy.
* * *
Brooke’s eyes were just closing when a knock on the door broke her peace. She jumped and the phone on her lap fell to the floor. So much for the novel she was reading. Another knock boomed and this time, Brooke shook out the cobwebs in her head. “Hang on a second,” she called.
Music filtered in, the lyrics muffled through the closed door, yet the sweet melody of the ballad came through softly. The din of conversation told her the party was in full swing. Too bad. She’d been ready to leave hours ago, which was weird, since parties were her business. Literally. Maybe Dylan and Emma had had enough country twang and porterhouse steaks for one night.
She rose and went to the door. “Ready to leave yet?” she asked just as she turned the knob and opened the door.
“Now that depends on you.”
Her breath whooshed out as she took in the length and breadth of the man she loved. “Wyatt, w-what are you doing here?”
“Funny, your brother asked me the same thing. I guess I’m crashing the party.”
She blinked. She couldn’t believe Wyatt was standing on the threshold, one hip braced against the doorjamb.
He took his Stetson off, held it to his chest in true cowboy form and gave her a killer smile. “May I come in?”
“Oh, uh...yes. I guess so.”
He walked in and turned to her, his smile wider and his face...well, how could a man get even more gorgeous in just a week’s time? She was filling up on the sight of him, allowing her heartsick soul to take him all in.
“You look beautiful, Brooke.”
“Thank you.”
“Why don’t we sit down?”
“Why?” She eyed him cautiously. Why was he here? Why were his sky blue eyes glowing like that? A girl could get her hopes up if she wasn’t too bright.
“Because I’ve got things to say to you. And you’re gonna listen. Now sit down.”
She frowned.
“Please.”
She sat on the cream sofa and he sat down next to her, as in, so close their thighs touched. She swallowed hard, planted her feet and waited.
Wyatt sighed as he set his hat on the sofa and then reached for her hand. It fit so nicely in his, and she trembled from his touch. “The truth is, when I married Madelyn, it was for life. I mean, I loved her so much, I could hardly breathe sometimes. She was everything to me. And we had this perfect little family. I was happier than I thought a man had a right to be. But you already know all that. What you don’t know is that when you came into my life, I thought it was a brief interlude. I was instantly attracted to you and fooled myself into believing that it was lust. A simple case of lack of sex and female contact.”
She gasped. “Are you insulting me, Wyatt?”
“Not at all, sweetheart. I’m trying to explain. And maybe I’m not doing the best job of it. You’ll have to forgive me for that. But the honest truth is, I wasn’t afraid to be myself around you, because I never thought I could have feelings for another woman. I never thought I would ever find love again. Certainly not so soon after Madelyn’s death. She’s been gone less than a year and my mind-set was that I’d be alone for a long, long time. Deeply caring for anyone before that time wasn’t an option. But then you became the twins’ nanny. Granted, it wasn’t real, but it was. Wasn’t it? I mean, you care for my kids, don’t you?”
“Now I’m the one not able to breathe, Wyatt. Yes, I love those kids. They’re amazing and sweet and...”
“They’ve been asking for Book.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “Really?”
He nodded.
“Are you trying to win me back as your nanny, Wyatt?”
“No. Don’t cry, sweetheart. I’m trying to tell you I love you. I mean it. I’ve fallen crazy in love with you. And it took you leaving and a phone call from my mother to make me realize it.”
Her heart bubbled up. “You love me?”
“I love you.”
She caught her next tear with her finger and wiped it away. “I love you, too.”
He squeezed her hand and then leaned in to give her the best kiss in the entire world. A sweet, simple brush of the lips that sewed her heart up good and tight.
“I want you to marry me, Brooke. I want you to come live with me at Blue Horizon. I want you to be my wife and help me raise my twins. But before you answer me, I want you know that my mother thinks you’re carrying a child. She may be all wrong but after hearing what she had to say, I realized that yes, I’d want a child I’d conceived with you, but I’d want you to marry me, regardless. I missed you so much, I could hardly stand it.”
He got down on one knee. “So I’m going to ask you again. Whether you are or aren’t carrying my child, will you marry me? Oh, and wait one darn second.”
He pulled out his cell phone and texted someone.
Really? In the middle of his proposal?
Johnny Wilde entered the room, holding two sleepy-eyed babies in his arms. He set them down and once they spotted her, they waddled right into her arms. “Book, Book.”
“Oh!” The babies were here! Her eyes watered again. She scooped them up and kissed each one on the cheek.
“I’ve missed you two.”
“Mission accomplished,” Johnny said, giving a salute and backing out of the room.
Brooke chuckled between her tears.
“They want you for their mommy, Brooke,” Wyatt said. “And I just plain want you.”
Brooke couldn’t believe her ears. She was hopelessly and fully in love with Wyatt Brandt. And yes, she’d have to make some changes in her life, give up her business or run it long distance, but right now, all that mattered, all she wanted, was Wyatt Brandt and his two adorable children.
“You can answer me anytime now,” Wyatt said, still on bended knee.
“Yes, I’ll marry you,” she said, snuggling the twins. “And yes, I’m carrying your child. I was going to tell you before I left Texas. I truly was. I just didn’t know how to tell you to your face. I was afraid you wouldn’t want me or the baby.”
“It’s okay, Brooke. I get it. I didn’t make things easy on you. I was stuck in my grief and almost lost you because of it.”
“I was wrong not to tell you sooner. I’m sorry, Wyatt. I just couldn’t find a way.”
“You would’ve told me, Brooke. I have faith in that. I only wish you would’ve trusted me more. But I get it. We were both raw and cautious from past hurts.”
He took her hand and kissed her fingertips. “You have to know, I’m glad about the baby. Our baby. It’ll be a fresh start for both of us.” Wyatt grinned wide, and Brooke’s fears were put to rest with that one gesture, that one affirmation of his true love for her.
“I’m so happy.”
“So am I.” Then he turned to the twins. “Did you hear that, kids? You’re going to have a brother or sister one day soon. There’s gonna be more little Brandts running around the house.”
“It’s going to be a madhouse,” Brooke said, grinning and picturing it in her mind.
“I can’t wait,” Wyatt said.
“Really?”
“Really. I’m good with all of it, sweetheart.”
Of course he was.
He wouldn’t be her miracle cowboy otherwise.
And Wyatt Brandt was that, and so very much more.
* * * * *
If you liked this tale of romance and family, pick up these other stories from USA TODAY bestselling author Charlene Sands
HER FORBIDDEN COWBOY
THE BILLIONAIRE’S DADDY TEST
ONE SECRET NIGHT, ONE SECRET BABY
REDEEMING THE CEO COWBOY
Available now from Harlequin Desire!
***
And don’t miss the next BILLIONAIRES AND BABIES story
REDEEMING THE BILLIONAIRE SEAL
by Golden Heart award winner Lauren Canan
Available June 2016!
***
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Keep reading for an excerpt from IN PURSUIT OF HIS WIFE by Kristi Gold.
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In Pursuit of His Wife
by Kristi Gold
One
Seated in a wicker glider on the mansion’s stately porch, Nasira Edwards admired the beauty of the Wild Aces, the ranch her brother, Rafiq, had bought his beloved bride-to-be, Violet. Nasira appreciated the way landscaped lawns gave way to green pastureland. She relished the warm May breeze, the climate so different from London this time of year. When she had originally traveled to Royal, Texas—home to the legendary Texas Cattleman’s Club—she had done so to prevent Rafe from exacting revenge on his friend, Mac, for a mistake she had made over a decade ago. She had come to clear the air, right past wrongs, and fortunately she had succeeded. Yet that had not been the only reason behind the journey. She yearned for the peace this place could provide, yet peace had not come. The lingering pain of loss was simply too overwhelming.
In response to the memories, she withdrew the bracelet from the pocket of her dress and studied the tiny silver rattle charm she had received upon confirming her pregnancy. A surprising gift from a husband who had not embraced fatherhood. Still, she had viewed the welcome gesture as a symbol of hope for a bright future, until the day all hope had been splintered like shards of fragile glass.
Her palm automatically came to rest on her abdomen, now as barren as her life had been for a while. The baby she had so desperately wanted, and tragically miscarried, had changed her completely. Odd how she could miss someone she had known for such a brief time. And strange how badly she missed Sebastian, though he had been emotionally absent for the past six months. She had had no choice but to continue to put physical distance between them in an effort to reassess their future.
When the door opened to her left, Nasira expected to find her brother, Rafiq, checking on her welfare. Instead, Rafe’s friend, Mac McCallum, stepped outside and gave her a pleasant smile. “Are you doing okay?”
She did not deserve his good humor or respect after what she had done to him in the distant past. “I’ve been enjoying the Texas sunset.”
“Looks to me like that old sun has been gone a while,” he said. “My sister sent me out here to tell you dinner will be ready in a few.”
Food held little appeal in recent days. “I appreciate Violet’s hospitality, but I am not very hungry.”
“Suit yourself, but if you keep going this way, you’ll be blown to New Mexico if the wind picks up steam.”
She smiled reluctantly and stood. “I suppose if that is a possibility, I should attempt to eat something. Are you staying for dinner?”
“Not tonight. I’m meeting up with Andrea.”
Nasira suspected Mac had feelings for his personal assistant that went beyond the boardroom, even if he could not admit it to himself, according to her future sister-in-law, Violet. “Is this business or pleasure?”
He frowned. “Business, of course.”
“It’s rather late in the day for that, is it not?”
“Unfortunately it comes with the territory of McCallum Enterprises.”
When the discussion lulled, Nasira saw her chance to verbally make amends for past mistakes. She studied the wooden planks beneath her feet for a moment before regarding him again. “I wanted to extend another a
pology for what I did to you all those years ago. The guilt has been unbearable.”
Mac lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Hey, you were young. We were both young. You were just trying to get out of an arranged marriage to a man twice your age.”
That ill-fated visit to the university to stay with her brother had set a horrible course that had led to Rafe’s need for revenge. “Yet I was wrong to use you to achieve that goal, especially when I climbed into your bed for the sole purpose of having my father discover us. And because our father blamed Rafe for not looking after me, that led to his determination to seek revenge on you. I shudder to think what might have happened had I not come here to intervene.”
“It all turned out okay,” Mac said. “He’s no longer trying to buy up the town to get back at me, he’s going to marry my sister, and we’re going to be one big happy family.”
Nasira was happy for them all, but still... “Even after Rafe’s torture and confinement for years due to my errors in judgment, he has forgiven me. I suppose I need to know if you will forgive me as well, though I would understand if you would not.”
“Consider it done, Nasira. That’s old water under the bridge now that Rafe knows I didn’t really sleep with you. And since he’s marrying my sister, I consider us all one big happy family.”
Relief washed over her, though she couldn’t claim to be happy over the state of her own marriage. “I so appreciate your understanding.”
“No problem. Mind if I ask you something?”
“Not at all.”
He raked a hand through his dark blond hair. “Don’t take this wrong, but I’m wondering what the hell your husband was thinking when he let you get away?”
The course of the conversation made her somewhat uncomfortable. “It is rather complicated. Sebastian is complicated. After ten years of marriage, at times I wonder if I know him at all.”
“One thing I do know. When a man doesn’t realize the value of his wife, that’s borrowing trouble. I just hope he comes around soon and realizes what he’d be giving up.”
If only she could believe Sebastian had the capacity to be transformed into someone who would fight for their relationship. “I truly appreciate your concern and understanding, Mac.”
Twins for the Texan Page 17