by Meg Maxwell
“But you’re doing fine.”
“He doesn’t see it that way. My father is very traditional and proper and cares very much what people think. A daughter having a baby out of wedlock is embarrassing to him.”
“I’m sorry there’s so much conflict between you,” Jake said and his green eyes were so full of compassion that she wanted to just throw herself into his arms and be held. For just a minute. “That must be rough.”
Emma was about to respond when she noticed Fern pouring her beer over Hank’s head. The folks around them were half laughing and half shocked. “Oh no! Hank must have come out with a real doozy.”
Jake looked over, cringing for his foreman, who was sopping wet and headed for the restroom. “Well, Hank’s in trouble, as usual, and Golden is still sitting on the sidelines, but Grizzle’s on the floor with Michelle—she’s the librarian in Blue Gulch.”
In her heels, Michelle was almost as tall as Grizzle. And he sure looked like he was having fun. He caught her eye and winked at her, and Emma laughed. It was so wonderful to have her mind taken off her father and the family farm. “Now, we just have to see how CJ is doing with Stella. I don’t see him anywhere, do you?” she said, looking around.
But suddenly, Emma froze, every muscle tensing.
“Emma? What’s wrong?” Jake asked.
“I see my father.” Please be a look-alike, she thought. But it wasn’t. “Oh my God, that’s my dad. He’s standing by the door, looking around. And he does not look like he’s here to dance.”
Because she was staring at him, Reginald Hurley looked over and their gazes locked. She saw him glaring at her shirt, disgust etching into his expression. He crossed the room toward her.
“Dad?” Emma said. “I’m surprised to see you here. You haven’t come to a Rancher Association dance in years.”
“I’m not here to dance, Emma,” Reginald snapped. “I made a decision today and wanted to talk to you immediately. I went to Hurley’s to find you and heard you work at a ranch now but a waitress said that everyone in town is probably at the dance. I thought, well of course Emma won’t be at the dance—she’s pregnant. So I went to the ranch and no one was there. And here you are, actually advertising that you’re pregnant out of wedlock. Thank God this isn’t Oak Creek.”
Emma was half angry, half shocked. “Dad. I’m a grown woman! And this is the twenty-first century!”
“There’s something called propriety no matter what year it is, Emma Leigh Hurley. I have two colleagues who are very interested in meeting you and taking on the baby as their own. I’ll send them out to the Full Circle tomorrow. I don’t know if you work Sundays, but I chose off times in the event you do. Expect one husband candidate at two and the other at three. Both are very good men, come from good families. You could have a June wedding. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Emma stared at her father, her mouth hanging open. He had to be kidding. She could see he wasn’t. Didn’t he hear how he sounded? How crazy? “Dad, you cannot be serious.”
Reginald Hurley stared back. “Oh, I’m as serious as a heart attack.”
Emma lifted her chin. “I will not interview husband-father candidates—particularly ones chosen for me. I’m perfectly capable of standing on my own two feet and raising my child.”
“The same old story, Emma,” Reginald said, his eyes cold. “If you do not choose a suitable man to marry, I’m selling the farm. Your mother would turn over in her grave at your situation and you know it.”
Emma froze, then panic overtook her. “You can’t sell the farm. Dad, you love that farm. I love that farm. It was in Mom’s family for generations.” And one day it’s going to be my baby’s.
“I can do whatever I want,” he said. “Isn’t that your motto? Doing whatever the hell you want? Emma, marriage is a partnership between two people who can give each other a good life. It’s not about making out at a rodeo because you think some cowboy is handsome. That’s how you ended up alone and pregnant. Marriage, especially with a baby on the way, is about making the right choice and setting up a good life. If you’re unwilling to do that, I see no reason to keep the farm in the family. Tradition means nothing to you.”
Jake took a step forward. “Mr. Hurley, with all due respect.” He extended his hand. “I’m Jake Morrow. I own the Full Circle, where Emma is now the cook and—”
“Look, Morrow, I drove out to your ranch just ten minutes ago. It’s a nice operation, granted. But Emma doesn’t belong there. I appreciate that you took her in and gave her a job. But enough is enough.” He turned to Emma. “Two o’clock and three o’clock for your interviews, Emma.”
With that he turned and walked out. Emma opened her mouth to call him back, to plead with him, but he pushed through the door.
And no one “took me in,” she wanted to yell from the rooftops. I got myself a job. I got myself a place to live. I’m taking care of myself and my own.
Emma dropped back down in the chair, trying to process everything that had just happened. Oh God. Her father’s words echoed in her head. “He’s going to sell my mother’s farm unless I marry one of his colleagues? This can’t be happening.”
“He’ll see reason, Emma,” Jake said. “He’s bluffing.”
“I don’t know. He’s very conservative and traditional. But I’m not marrying a man I don’t love. And I’m not planning on loving anyone, so there will be no marrying at all.”
Jake squeezed her hand. “He won’t make good on his threat. He can’t. Come on.”
“I have no doubt he will, actually,” Emma said. “To Reginald, he’s doing the right thing, what must be done.”
“Sending strangers for you to interview?” Jake asked, his expression incredulous. “Strangers who want to help raise your child? What?”
Emma’s legs suddenly felt like rubber. She was surprised she was already sitting down. Her shoulders slumped. “He’ll do just that. And if I don’t do as he says, he’ll sell my mother’s family home. That farm means the world to me.”
“I guess your dad knows your currency.” Jake shook his head. “What a mess.”
“What the hell am I going to do?” she asked.
Chapter Five
As Jake drove Emma home from the dance, he almost pulled over because a crazy thought flashed through his mind.
I’ll marry you so you can keep the farm. Given how Emma’s father had talked about the Full Circle Ranch, the man would probably think Jake fit under Suitable Husbands for My Daughter, even if he was a rancher and didn’t work in an office building.
But even though Jake might not be interested in marriage or love right now, marriage was forever to him. Love meant something. He couldn’t offer to marry Emma just to save her farm.
Besides, Emma had made it crystal clear she wasn’t interested in marrying anyone. She was determined to stand on her own two feet.
Of course, when she met one of the suits tomorrow night, it might be love at first sight and maybe she’d change her mind about love and marriage. Unlikely, but still. You never knew.
He scowled. He didn’t want that to happen, though. Yeah, he wanted Emma to be happy, and of course he wanted her to have love and happily-ever-after. Which meant he should support her meeting these two Suits tomorrow and encourage her to go with her feelings.
Emma wasn’t going to fall in love with one of the Suits. He had no doubt. But she might choose to marry one to save the farm.
Which brought him back to like hell.
Maybe when the Suits drove up he could tell them they had the wrong ranch. Or that Emma was experiencing terrible morning sickness and they’d have to come back...never.
Oh hell.
As Jake turned his SUV at the sign for the Full Circle, Emma finally spoke since leaving the dance. “Okay, I’ve formed a plan. I’ll just stall for time until
I can figure out how to make my father understand. Yes. That’s what I’ll do.”
Jake glanced at her. She looked equally weary and determined. “How will you stall? You have two candidates coming to the door tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’ll interview them to show my father I’m at least willing to see things his way and then report that neither was acceptable for this or that reason. He’ll have to come up with others. Between those times, I’ll talk to him, try to get him to see reason. He can’t sell the farm.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Jake said. He could just see her father scowl at the news that she found neither candidate acceptable and Reginald Hurley sending two more the next day. And the next day. And the next day.
The Full Circle was not going to be overrun by Suits trying to marry his Emma.
What? His Emma? Where the hell had that come from?
He was so discombobulated by the notion that he changed the subject. “The farm sure means a lot to you, huh.”
She nodded and then seemed lost in thought. “It’s where I grew up. It’s where I had all my firsts. And it’s where all my memories of my mother are.”
Memories, Jake thought, uneasiness hitting him in the stomach. “I can understand that.” His mother’s kind face and warm hazel eyes floated into his mind. Her big breakfasts on weekend mornings. Hugs and Band-Aids for bad bicycle wipeouts. Someone he could always talk to. A loving anchor. “Sometimes I wonder if it was wrong of me to ask CJ to leave Mill Valley—that’s where we lived before we moved here just a month ago. We lost our parents five years ago. CJ was only seventeen. All his memories are there.” He shook his head. “God, I was selfish. I wanted to move to Blue Gulch because my birth mother is here and I wanted to get to know her. I took CJ away from everything, all his memories.”
“But surely CJ wouldn’t have joined you here if he didn’t want to. He’s twenty-two. A grown man.”
“I know you’re right. And really, all that was left in Mill Valley was a bitter uncle who was constantly suing us over the right to the ranch. He and CJ once even got into a fistfight. The good memories got kind of trampled on until the place just became a hotbed of anger.”
“Sounds like a fresh start was the right thing, then,” Emma said.
“Except the fresh start involved my birth mother—and the idea that I have a biological twin brother out there somewhere.”
Emma gasped. “A twin brother.”
He told her about finding the paperwork and the notation and meeting Sarah Mack. He gave her the one-minute version of his life story, including the part about the almost fiancée ditching him when he’d initially dropped the idea of finding his birth mother.
“Ah, now a few things make sense that hadn’t before,” she said. “Wow. That is complicated. I guess we both have some big family issues pressing on us right now.”
“You do have a good plan, Emma,” he reminded her. “It’s solid. It might be just a stall tactic, but like you said, stalling is what you need in order to let your dad calm down some and see reason. Then you’ll be able to talk to him. Lay down your own plans.”
She bit her lip. “It’s my hope. But at the same time, I know my dad. He’s tough.”
He squeezed her hand, wishing he could do more for her. She had enough going on right now without this ultimatum thrown at her.
As the ranch house came into view, Jake’s head was about to explode. CJ. Emma and her husband candidates.
CJ and his twin.
He pulled up in the parking area and got out to open Emma’s door, but she’d hopped out already. As they were heading in, CJ’s little sports car came barreling down the drive.
His brother didn’t look happy as he got out and stomped toward the front door. He nodded at Jake and then turned to Emma. “Forget what I said about my knowing a thing about relationships. I don’t understand women at all. Obviously.” He scowled.
“What’s going on?” Jake asked.
The moonlight cast a glow over his brother’s handsome face, and Jake was struck by just how young he looked. Twenty-two was both old enough and very young at the same time.
“Stella showed up at the dance—of course when I was dancing with another woman. I’d waited a half hour for her before I asked anyone! So Stella sees me and I see her turn around to leave. So I run up to her and she says if I want to date her again it’s either exclusive or no deal. Can you believe that?”
“Well, yes, I can, CJ,” Jake said. “You’ve gone out with Stella how many times?”
CJ thought about that. “Eight or nine. Maybe ten.”
Jake smiled. “So you clearly have feelings for her.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to stop seeing other people,” CJ said.
“Are you seeing other women?” Emma asked.
“Well, no. But I like to reserve the right,” CJ said.
Emma nodded. “I see the issue here. But it means you can’t date Stella.”
CJ frowned. “Right, but that’s not fair. I’m not ready for a commitment.”
“I guess you’ll need to think about how much you really do like her,” Jake said. “If she’s worth giving up other women for.”
“She said she wasn’t even sure she could count on me even if I did commit,” CJ said. “Like anyone can count on anybody. Life is a damned crapshoot.”
Ah. Jake had a feeling that CJ’s issues with dating every woman in Texas and now not being able to commit to a woman he clearly cared a lot about had something to do with what was going on lately. Going on for the past five years, maybe. His brother had lost a lot—young. And for the past five years he’d felt threatened by Jake’s birth family, out there, this abstract but very real constant worry that he’d lose his older brother—the person who’d always been there for him.
“Stuff happens, yes,” Jake said. “But you can count on people. Having faith in the people around you—even strangers, sometimes—is everything.”
“Right. Emma had faith in Tex and look what—” CJ stopped, seeming to realize he should.
Emma’s face fell, and Jake stepped forward, ready to throttle his brother. But he knew CJ was coming from a place of hurt and insecurity.
“CJ, that was uncalled for,” Jake said.
Emma touched Jake on the arm and turned to CJ. “Sometimes the faith you need is in yourself, CJ.”
CJ scowled and opened the front door. “I have faith in myself. I know I can only count on myself.”
“And me,” Jake pointed out. “And the crew.”
CJ headed inside, Jake and Emma behind him. He walked to the stairs, then turned, his expression conflicted. “You’re a great older brother. And, hell yeah, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. But you’ve got your own thing going.”
“CJ, I—”
“It’s late,” CJ said. “I’m going to bed.”
With that, he stomped upstairs.
Jake closed the front door, letting out a breath. “Sometimes CJ can be his own worst enemy.”
“Can’t we all,” Emma said with a sigh. “Is ‘your own thing going’ your birth family?” Emma asked.
Jake nodded. “I know it troubles him. Five years ago he wasn’t ready for me to track down even my birth mother. And I think he’s made peace that I have. But the brother thing—that’s really affecting him. And CJ comes first to me.”
“But you really want to find your twin?”
He nodded and walked to the window, looking out at the inky sky. “It’s all I can think about sometimes. The curiosity burns me up.”
“I can understand that,” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
He turned suddenly and kissed her, both soft and hard at the same time, and she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck and drawing him even closer. He’d done it
without thinking. She felt so good in his arms, her lips so sweet.
“I can’t,” she said, pulling away. “I can’t. I don’t know—I’m...”
He leaned back against the window. “It’s okay, Emma. The moment got us. That’s all.”
But it was a moment he wished could have gone on for hours. Just the brush of her lips on his had set every nerve ending on fire. Everything in him responded to her so close against him. He’d thought he’d been in sweet torment while they’d been dancing a few times earlier tonight? Ha. Nothing compared to the feel of her pressed to him just now, her mouth on his, her soft, cool hands on his neck. Had he ever wanted a woman so bad?
“The moment. Yes. Well, I’d better head up. Thanks for saving me from the dances.”
He dragged his gaze off her. Be casual, man, he told himself. “Anytime.”
What troubled him, as he walked away, was that he meant it.
* * *
Emma was off Sundays and it was nice to sleep in a bit. When she came downstairs for breakfast at seven, she could see only Jake and Grizzle in the dining room, a platter of scrambled eggs and bacon and bagels on the table.
She was craving bacon like crazy.
She was craving Jake like crazy too. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was reading the local news on an iPad and sipping coffee, his dark green shirt making his eyes even greener. She couldn’t stop replaying the kiss.
Which wouldn’t happen again. Couldn’t happen again. Didn’t Emma know what happened when she gave in to her feelings? When she let go? She had a baby at stake. A baby who needed her mother’s head screwed on straight.