Lone Star Burn_Love On Tap
Page 13
Their child was very receptive to the loving affection, and offered several kicks, enough to make Mommy jump.
“Oh!” Jennie said, and put a hand to side of her belly.
“What’s wrong?” Alarm filled his voice.
“Give me your hand, quick.” Jennie placed the flat of his hand on her belly. “The baby is playing soccer.”
Those first precious kicks pierced his heart. “He’s for real, a beautiful miracle.” Grayson breathed in awe. He re-covered her stomach and smoothed her top. He slipped his arms around her. “Don’t say anything, because I need to kiss the mother of my child.”
The moment their mouths met, the time they’d spent apart disappeared. Together, they poured mutual longing and love into their kiss. If circumstances were different, they’d be tearing at each other’s clothes and be naked a heartbeat later.
“You have no idea how much I want to bury myself inside you,” he murmured, running a trail of kisses down her neck. “I’ve missed tasting your girls.” He cupped one and grinned. “They’re much fuller.”
“I’ve missed playing with your boys.” Jennie’s stomach wasn’t so big that she couldn’t feel his arousal. “How come you don’t hate me?”
“I was surprised, shaken, but hating you never entered my mind.”
“Who told you?” Jennie nestled against him, and exhaustion drew her head to the curve of his shoulder. She’d missed his physical support and strength. Their baby must have liked the snuggling, because it quieted down.
“Mathew called me yesterday and told me you got married and were getting a baby in October.”
“Married?” She didn’t have the energy to raise her head. “I never said that.”
“He said only a husband could give you a baby.”
When Jennie didn’t respond to his statement, he glanced down. Her eyes were closed and she’d fallen asleep on his shoulder. That said a lot about his approach to asking her to marry him. Trying not to dislodge her head, he put an arm in back of her knees and gently lifted her into his arms. The moment he laid her on the couch, she sighed in contentment. He went to move his arm from under her neck, but she sleepily murmured, “Please don’t leave me. I need you.”
He’d been separated from her for six months, and her plea gave him a cherished gift. “I’m here, baby.” He lifted her shoulders and raised her body slightly so he could sit at the end of the couch. Her head nestled in his groin, and she put a possessive arm around his thigh. He gritted his teeth when she buried her hand between legs in search of the boys. He rested his head back against the cushion and fell asleep, but not before he put a possessive hold on one of her lovely girls.
Two hours later, he woke up when Jennie lifted her head from his lap. “Good morning.”
“Sorry I felcl asleep. When I stop moving, the baby decides to move around, so I haven’t been sleeping too well. I’ve been told it will continue to get worse.”
“You won’t be going through it alone.” He brushed her hair off her face and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Before you fell asleep, I was going to ask you to marry me.” Grayson reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. “I didn’t know what you like, so my mother suggested a solitaire. If you don’t like it, I’ll get you something else.”
He got down on his knee and removed a three-carat solitaire diamond set in gold with a sure, steady hand. “Jennie, my life changed the moment you threw fruit at me and declared all men are assholes. I can’t imagine living my life without you. Please do me the honor of becoming my wife.”
Jennie was momentarily mesmerized by the explosion of rainbows in the magnificent ring. No, Grayson wasn’t one to shirk his responsibilities. She loved him with all her heart, but she’d never make him do something he professed he’d never do—get married.
Her heart was breaking, but she had to refuse him. “Thank you, but no.”
He sat down beside her and laced their fingers together. Having her say yes right off had been wishful thinking. “Why am I not surprised you said no? My profession of never wanting to get married has come back to bite me in the ass. Can’t a man change his mind?”
“Grayson, do you know how many times the ‘they got married because the woman was pregnant’ scenario has been written in romance books? Thousands and thousands.”
“So now you’re writing a romance book?” he teased.
“Don’t be ridiculous. What I’m trying to say is that this wasn’t supposed to happen. I only had two more months to go before I completed my changes. That’s why I didn’t worry about us using protection. It’s my fault, and I’d never expect you to change your life because of my mistake.”
“I don’t consider our child a mistake, but I’m one step ahead of you, Ms. Jennifer Reynolds.” He stood and pulled on her hand, urging her to stand up, too. “I’ve got something to show you.”
Chapter 13
When they walked outside the facility, Gray approached a cream-colored SUV she recognized as her brother’s. “How did you get Preston’s car?”
“We’ve become good friends since he was the one to uncover the theft of my sister’s trust fund. He picked me up at airport and I dropped him off at work.” Gray opened the passenger door for Jennie. “Cindi will bring him home.”
“Why do I get the feeling things have been going on behind my back?”
Gray purposely ignored her question.
They headed out of town and drove down the road that followed a tributary of the Youghiogheny River. Since moving here, Jennie hadn’t taken the time to explore the magnificent forest-studded countryside. She was too busy settling into her job and throwing up.
The road took them past several well-established homes that were set back from the road.
“Where are we going?” she asked, delighted that they drove over a covered bridge.
He was getting nervous, and prayed everything would go as planned. He’d pulled out every goddamn ace in the hole he had, and hopefully they would be enough to convince Jennie he wanted her for his wife. Grayson passed her a white handkerchief. “Cover your eyes.”
“Why?”
“Just humor me. We’re almost there.”
A few minutes later, Grayson turned down the driveway of a sprawling, newly built ranch-style home. He cut the engine and released their seatbelts. “Wait for me to help you out.”
“Just don’t let me walk into something.”
He kept an arm around her waist as they walked up a newly laid brick-lined path bordered by an abundance of blooming flowers.
“I can hear the water and smell honeysuckle. My favorite.”
“That’s because we just passed half a dozen young bushes. Now stand still and don’t move until I take your blindfold off.”
When the slight blurriness began to clear from her eyes, she was shocked to see a beautiful natural log home. The metal roof was a deep hunter green. Sitting on the open porch that ran the length of the house were two green rocking chairs that matched the color of the roof and trim.
“This is gorgeous. I’ve always wanted a house like this. Who lives here?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Grayson Wolff, as soon as you accept my proposal.”
Jennie cocked her head to the side. “Did you just make that up?”
“Nope.” So far, so good, he said to himself.
She smiled at him with watery eyes. “When did you do all this?”
“Six months ago.”
Gray took her arm and led her up the wide wooden steps to the rocking chairs. He sat down first and eased her onto his lap. His heart swelled with the realization he was holding Jennie and their child. Now it was confess-all time. Hopefully it wouldn’t send her running.
“I’ve been keeping secrets, too. Haven’t you ever wondered about the Roadhouse across from the Last Chance Motel on the outskirts of Laurel Heights?”
“I haven’t had a drink since I left your roadhouse six months ago. When I got home, I thought I had a stomach virus because I just couldn’t
shake the nausea. I told my sister-in-law, and she jokingly said I was probably pregnant. To my complete surprise, I was. Once I got over the shock and throwing up, I didn’t know what to do. I’d accepted the fact that I’d never have a child, and I knew you never wanted to get married. I decided to raise the baby as a single parent.”
“When Matt told me, it hurt that you’d kept the baby from me, but I’ll accept partial blame. Weren’t you going to tell me?”
“Yes, but I didn’t want you to think I was trapping you into marriage. So, in answer to your question, no, I never thought about the Roadhouse.”
“I visited the bar last December because it’s part of the Wolff chain of roadhouses. It’s currently closed for renovation and will be the newest in our line of microbreweries. It will be the only one with a unique name: Jennie’s Roadhouse.”
Jennie pushed herself off his lap and thrust her hands on her spreading hips. “Jennie’s Roadhouse! Wait a minute! You had plans to move to Laurel Heights even before you met me? You agreed to that stupid deal, knowing all along you would be coming here? For the past six months I agonized and worried about how I was going to tell you that I couldn’t move to Fort Mavis!”
Grayson stood up and faced his irate future wife. “You didn’t bother to tell me you were pregnant for six months! You know why I didn’t tell you? I wanted to see how much you really loved me, giving up a job you loved to make a family with Matt and me.”
“Of course I love you.” She burst into tears and tipped her head to rest it on his chest.
“Oh, Jennie girl, I love you, too,” he said, and banded his arms around her. “I’m sorry I kept all this from you, but we were both wrong, keeping secrets.”
“I know, and I’m sorry for not telling you about the baby.”
“Guess you need a little more proof.”
“There’s more?”
Grayson turned her in the direction of the front door but kept his hands on her shoulders. “Close your eyes until I tell you to open them.
“Open!”
She brushed the tears from her eyes and leaned back against Grayson. Hanging on the green-painted door was the old cowboy boot she’d hung on his front door in Texas, complete with ivy and artificial pink geraniums. Below was an engraved gold plate.
The Wolff Family
This home is filled with love
“You don’t play fair.” Jennie could barely get the words out, but her tears had no problem seeking freedom from the overflowing well in her eyes.
“Still not convinced?” He opened the door and they stepped into a huge, unfurnished living room with gleaming hardwood floors. The focal point to the room was the fireplace built from river stones, and a thick wood mantel. A row of French doors revealed a huge, grassy yard surrounded by a post-and-rail western-style fence. Beyond was the river.
“This is gorgeous.”
“It’s a lot bigger than the house in Texas, and has six bedrooms plus a home office. There will be plenty of room when your parents come to visit.”
“You spoke to my parents?”
“Since your mother and mine are great friends, I thought it appropriate to introduce myself as their future son-in-law. I also spoke to your father, and he’s given his approval.”
“I can’t believe you’ve done all this behind my back. I speak to my mother every day and she never said a word.”
“Come, there’s something I want you to see. Close your eyes?”
“Again?” she said with a small laugh. He’d more than convinced her of his sincerity in wanting to get married, but what was the harm in stringing him along a little more?
He stood beside her with his arm around her waist. This was his last ace in the hole. “Open.”
Jennie covered her mouth and her eyes widened in overwhelmed shock. Above the fireplace was an oil painting done by the same artist who’d created the matching wolf pictures. She’d painted the male and female on either side of their two cubs in front of the entrance to the den. Grayson had added a small silver plate to the bottom of the beautiful oak frame—The Wolff Family.
She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed in contentment. His arm automatically drew her closer. The house was free of furnishings, but it was already filled with an abundance of love. “When did you do all this?”
“The day after you left, I spoke to your brother and told him I planned to marry his sister. I asked if you’d ever mentioned the type of house you would like to live in, and he told me a log ranch. Preston put me in touch with a very good friend, Russell Long, who is an architect, and his father owns a large construction company. Your brother helped me find the property, and the mayor is also my lawyer, so she pushed the paperwork through. The house was completed three weeks ago.”
“And the painting?”
“I hung the picture on the wall opposite my desk and found myself staring at that magnificent gray wolf. From the way his mouth was open, I could almost hear him calling to his mate. Since the artist was local, I made an appointment to view some of her other paintings. It was then she told me about the sister picture that you purchased, the wolf’s mate and two cubs. I saw the matching picture in your office. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Jennie shrugged a shoulder. “I think it was a female thing, you know, a mother and her two children. Sometimes I felt her staring at me and I felt guilty. I think she was silently scolding me for not telling you about the baby.”
“The artist loved my idea of a third picture. Your sister-in-law suggested I hang it above the fireplace.”
Grayson turned her into his arms and exhaled slowly. “That was my last ace in the hole. Jennie, I don’t know how much more I can do to show how much I love you and want you for my wife.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her belly against him. “You can repeat the question you asked me earlier.”
“Will you marry me?”
“Yes! Absolutely, yes!”
“Finally!” Grayson lowered his head to kiss his future wife, but stopped when her fingers covered his mouth.
“I guess this would be a good time to tell you that in three months you’ll be the daddy of two male wolf cubs.”
Grayson Wolff howled in approval.
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