by Erica Penrod
Cowboy Reality Romance: Jaxon
Erica Penrod
Contents
Free Book from Gelato Publishing
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Also by Erica Penrod
About the Author
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Copyright © 2017 by Erica Penrod
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Chapter 1
Janie Davis touched her stomach and felt the little life flutter for the first time. Excited to share the news with Jaxon, she picked up the phone, but before the call went through, she hung up. Some habits were hard to break, and when they involved a handsome cowboy who doubled as a world champion saddle bronc rider and reality television star, it was almost impossible. Janie bit her lip and exhaled, reminding herself that she was no longer Jaxon’s wife, and it was time to start acting that way. Even though she’d loved him for years, and it was like learning to live again, she had to do it. Since the night of her fifteenth birthday, when Jaxon had kissed her next to the barn and captured her heart for a lifetime, she was his. But their story was like a Taylor Swift love song—young love and a bad ending.
Their lyrics began when Janie was a child, and her family moved to the middle of nowhere in Southern Utah. The first verse started out with a lonely girl in a new town. One afternoon with Brynna Davis, Jaxon’s younger sister, was enough to mend Janie’s eight-year-old heart quicker than a broken fence line. The distance between their ranch houses was just as long as it took to finish off a cherry Popsicle.
She had devoured countless bags of frozen treats as she’d skipped down the dirt road, hopped the ditch, and swung open the rusty gate to her best friend’s house. Brynna was just as feisty as the crimson curls catapulting from her head like daredevils into a flame, and Janie was her safety net.
The day she met ten-year-old Jaxon, he called her “Bozo.” The nickname was aptly earned, considering she pedaled up on a yellow bike with a bright red ring around her mouth.
“You two should join the circus: you’ve got the face, and Brynna’s got the hair.”
“Shut up!” Brynna hollered.
Janie scrunched up her nose and stuck out her tongue as they peeled out of the gravel driveway as fast as eight-year-old girls could go. But she looked back and couldn’t help but think she liked the freckles on his nose and the way he smiled like his lip was caught on a fishhook that was reeled into a lopsided grin.
Even now, as she stood in front of the full-length mirror and measured her baby bump, she could still see that little redneck tease in her mind. Would the baby have Jaxon’s freckles or maybe her olive complexion and dark hair? It didn’t matter who the baby looked like, because it was Jaxon’s baby, and in a way, he would always be in her life—just not in the manner she’d imagined.
Unbuttoning her jeans, she let out a breath. Maybe it was time to face the maternity section after all, even though her pregnancy went unnoticed half the time. Brynna rolled her eyes whenever she saw Janie, complaining about her round belly and how she looked like she had swallowed a volley ball. It was a bittersweet situation, expecting the same month as her best friend, but Brynna had Layne … and Janie was alone.
“Are you okay in there?” Quade’s deep voice asked from the other room.
So maybe she wasn’t alone. There was an attractive man waiting for her in the other room, but his athletic physique and dreamy eyes didn’t matter to Janie. Quade Hall was the older brother she never had, and she couldn’t imagine it any other way.
Pulling her shirt down, she stretched the fabric to cover the fact that she would be walking around with her pants undone. Gus, her Australian shepherd, gazed up at her. She raised a finger to her mouth, swearing him to secrecy. He cocked his head and barked.
“That’s not how you keep a secret,” she said, opening the bedroom door. Quade knew about the baby, but if he discovered her altered wardrobe, she’d be the punch line of his jokes for weeks.
Quade sat on the couch with a bowl of popcorn on his lap. He tossed a couple of kernels into the air and attempted to catch them with his mouth open like a large-mouth bass. One landed on the carpet, which Gus promptly cleaned up, while the other hit the target.
“Now I know why your basketball career ended after high school,” Janie teased, taking the seat beside him. She couldn’t believe Quade’s goofball personality thrived in his GQ body and head full of dark hair that always looked mussed in a perfect sort of way. Not to mention his gorgeous hazel eyes beneath dark-rimmed glasses that made women drool as if he were Clark Kent by day and Superman by night.
“Just need to warm up,” he said, and flung popcorn above his head, catching it with ease. “Told you,” he said, with a cocky smile between bites. “Did you move the furniture again?”
“Of course.” She glanced around the room with its farmhouse-style vibe. Open shelving with chunky architectural brackets rested on one wall and held pictures, books, and other odds and ends. Another wall was decorated in gallery style with a large metal D, antique keys she’d collected, and a hodgepodge of barn wood frames with black-and-white photographs. Of course, one day she hoped to make it an open floor plan, but as it was, the kitchen and dining area were closed off from the living room by a wall. “It’s been over a month. Change is good for everyone.” Janie gave him a smirk and laid her head on his shoulder. “What are we watching?”
“Well, last time it was a chick flick, which I’ve vowed to never watch again with a pregnant woman, so now it’s my turn, and it will be my turn for the duration of the pregnancy.”
“That’s fine. I cried for two hours, and that was after the movie ended.” She shifted to get comfortable. “Besides, I’ve got enough real-life drama to deal with.”
Quade leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “I know … and you’re going to be all right.”
Janie tucked her bangs behind her ear. “You keep saying that … and maybe one day I’ll believe you.”
“I’ve known you since we were kids, and if there was one word to describe you, it’s OCD.” He bent over and shifted the candle on the coffee table to the left.
She glared at him. “That’s not one word.” She pushed the candle back to the center of the table and looked around at the neatly placed pillows in different patterns and textures of white on the adjacent love seat.
He laughed. “I mean resilient. That’s the word.”
“That’s because I’ve had to be.” She glanced at the picture of her deceased parents sitting on the end table made from reclaimed wood. “I know that’s what Mom and Dad would’ve expected from me.”
“They’d be proud of you,” Quade said.
“Divorced and pregnant; every parent’s dream,” she scoffed.
Quade turned and lifted
her chin and looked into her eyes. “We both know the divorce wasn’t your fault.”
“Divorce takes two—”
“Not in this case.” Quade kissed her forehead and pulled her close. “You know I love Jaxon too, but that doesn’t excuse his behavior or the fact that I’m sitting here and he’s in … wherever he is.”
Janie bit her lip, holding in her emotions.
“He’s an idiot for not treating you better. And I get to say that because he’s one of my best friends.”
Janie shook her head and wiped a tear trespassing down her cheek. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Quade grinned. “I don’t know either; I’m kind of awesome.” He leaned back, wrapped his arm around her, picked up the remote, and turned on Netflix. “How about some binge-watching … maybe season two of Longmire?”
“Sounds good to me, but I’m on season three.”
“You watched it without me?” He lifted his arm from around her and folded both arms across his chest. Her head fell against the back of the couch. “I thought we were friends.”
“I am, but Netflix is the only thing I have to watch now, since I know I won’t have to see anything about Jaxon’s reality show there.”
“Still not a good excuse to watch our show without me,” he said.
Janie pulled out the big guns. “How about a bowl of ice cream to go with the popcorn?”
Quade’s stern face softened into a wide smile. “Okay, I forgive you.”
* * *
Janie told Quade to drive carefully before shutting the door and locking the deadbolt behind him. She leaned against the wooden frame and touched her tummy. Part of her wanted to tell Quade about feeling the baby move, but something stopped her … or rather, someone. It didn’t feel right to tell anyone but Jaxon, and she didn’t want to feel that way. He was gone, and she needed to share the news with someone. Janie took the phone from her pocket but decided against calling Brynna when she saw the time. She turned back to the door and double-checked the deadbolt. She hated being alone, even if the biggest threat was a cattle stampede, and she had Gus. Leaning over, she scratched the top of his head.
“Ready for bed?” she asked, with a yawn. “Because I am.”
She straightened the throw pillows on the sofa and placed the remote in a decorative box on the table. Gus beat her to the bedroom and hopped onto the paisley-covered comforter. Once Jaxon had moved out, it was only natural for Gus to migrate from the foot of the bed to the empty space beside her.
Janie lived in her parents’ home. The cozy house with two bedrooms and one bath was where she felt her family’s love. Memories warmed her on those days when her feet felt frozen and she struggled to put one foot in front of the other. If she stayed busy, she managed to keep from thinking about Jaxon. On quiet days, Brynna or Quade usually kept her from calling Jaxon to find out if her heart could be broken one more time.
Changing into a nightgown, she placed her clothes in the hamper and climbed under the covers. The outdated gown, with its worn silk and frayed edges, belonged to her mother. Janie loved the feel of it against her skin, but most of all, it felt wonderful to her protruding belly. Each day, she could feel her circumference expanding; it exhilarated her, and, at the same time, kept her awake at night.
She turned the reading lamp on and reached for a book on her nightstand. Her phone vibrated, so she reached over the Kindle and stretched for it. Her glass of water wobbled as her hand clumsily bumped it. Janie was starting to believe all the old wives’ tales about pregnancy; she felt awkward and forgetful. Her fuse felt shorter, and more than once she wanted to give an unwanted buzz cut to a client at the salon where she worked. She waited for the Grand Canyon souvenir cup to stop rocking before she grabbed her phone and looked at the screen flashing a text from Brynna.
“Prepare yourself … my nitwit brother is in the tabloids again. Don’t turn on the television … and I mean it!”
Shaking her head, she responded. “Thanks for the warning …, and I cancelled my DirecTV subscription last week.”
She silently counted to ten before looking at the screen—an unknown number. It was her ritual to push the ignore button, remember all the reasons her marriage hadn’t survived her husband’s celebrity status, and wait for the voice mail to appear. Seconds later, the icon materialized, and she swiped the screen to hear the message.
“Hello, Mrs. Davis? This is Robert Jones from TV Times magazine. I’m calling regarding the recent photos of your husband—I mean ex-husband and his director, Miley Rhodes. Do you have any comments? We believe you deserve to share your side of the story and would appreciate the opportunity to tell it for you. Please give me a call at—”
Janie hung up and slammed her phone onto the table. When would this ever end? Naïvely, she thought getting a divorce would eliminate the press from her life, but no matter how many times she changed her number, someone always managed to find it.
It vibrated again, and she saw Brynna’s reply, “Don’t answer your phone or surf the internet … and I mean that too; with love of course.”
“Thanks for thinking of me.” she answered.
For a moment, she thought about giving in to temptation—just one peek, but she didn’t need to see Jaxon with another woman. Last time she’d given in to that particular temptation, a week passed before she could close her eyes without seeing the photo of her husband partying with models and television groupies. Jaxon swore up and down he’d never had a physical relationship with any of them, but there was more to being a faithful husband than sleeping around—like being home once in a while, for starters. She couldn’t think about that tonight. Her body didn’t need the added stress. She wanted to give her child every advantage she could, and right now that meant taking care of herself. It wasn’t about her anymore; it was about the baby, which by some miracle the press hadn’t discovered yet.
Needing to concentrate on something else and not romantic fiction, she pulled open the nightstand drawer and took out a book on what to expect now that she was expecting. Her mother wasn’t here to give her advice or answer questions about never-ending heartburn, and Brynna was a rookie as well.
She looked up the section on the seventeenth week and studied the illustration of the fetus. It was a miracle to know she was growing a tiny human. Janie placed a hand on her stomach and talked to her unborn child. “Hey, little guy … or girl. How’s my baby doing? It feels like you’re growing right on schedule. Nothing fits anymore. Your momma can’t wait to meet you—of course, stay put until you’re cooked. I love you so much.” She stopped short of expressing her love for Jaxon to her child. It was time to put him out of her head for good. It was safer that way, for her and the baby.
Ten minutes later, her eyelids heavy, she closed the book. She placed it in the drawer and turned off the lamp. Jamie pulled the comforter over her chin because her body craved sleep, but her mind was just winding up, thinking about tomorrow. Saturday was a busy day in the salon because many of her weekly wash-and-set ladies came in to look pretty for the next day at Sunday services. She had a few new clients as well. Janie was grateful to have the work and glad her pregnancy hadn’t interfered too much … well, not as long as she kept a pack of soda crackers at her station for those awkward moments when her stomach felt like it was about to erupt right in the middle of applying color.
On those few occasions when she had to excuse herself, her clients understood, even when it wasn’t the morning sickness that left her lightheaded. That was one perk of working in a small town like Toquerville; most people were sympathetic to her situation. Everyone knew about her and Jaxon. He was considered one of their kin, since it took a whole village to raise him.
Jaxon hadn’t had a momma around, and his dad was busy trying to keep the ranch from going under. The day Jaxon made it to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, people talked about it for weeks. When the reality show came, he was Toquerville’s hero who saved his family ranch. But the price he paid w
as steep, breaking the heart of their beloved Janie and destroying his marriage. Jaxon’s neighbors would always love their hometown celebrity, but many wanted to give him a swift kick in the pants and told Janie so almost daily. As far as they were concerned, Jaxon wouldn’t be wearing that world champion buckle if it weren’t for Janie’s support.
Maybe the only way to leave Jaxon behind would be to leave this little dot on the map. But it was her home, and Brynna and Quade were her family. She wanted her child to have cousins, to grow up chasing dreams in an alfalfa field, just like she did. It never occurred to her that she might meet someone else someday. It wasn’t possible for her mind or heart to ever conceive such a notion. When she had vowed to love Jaxon Davis for the rest of her life, she meant it. At the time, she didn’t know how lonely it would be.
Seriously, why can’t I stop thinking about him for one minute? He didn’t stay awake at night pining for her. That she knew for sure. His previous actions confirmed he never lacked for company. He was awake, but wondering about what he was doing and who he was with made her heart pound like it wanted to burst out of her chest. She sat up and flipped on the light. Maybe she should look at those pictures of her ex-husband as a reminder about why she was alone and pregnant.
Her fingers trembled as she picked up the phone. There was no unseeing this. Touching the internet symbol, she waited, and then Gus growled.
Someone knocked on the door.
Alarmed, Janie looked at the clock: 11:30 p.m. Goose bumps rippled up her skin, and despite the extra package she was carrying, her stomach felt hollow. The knocking came again, but louder this time. Gus began to bark. Janie’s body trembled as the memory of a different night years ago fogged her mind … when someone got her out of bed at this hour—the town sheriff, Jed Day, letting her know her parents wouldn’t be coming home that night, or ever.
Gus ran to the door. Janie picked up the baseball bat next to her nightstand. Anyone who saw her play sports in high school knew this was a ridiculous choice of protection, but it made her feel better. Walking slowly, she approached her snarling guard dog, and then reached out and pat his head.