“We’re talking about this,” Gordon interrupted, tapping the desk to retrieve the older man’s attention. “Mr. Blackwell, I’m not sure you remember me. I’m Gordon Silverman. I grew up just down the street. I act as Brendan’s attorney now. You may not be aware, but your son’s interest in your land isn’t about expanding this ranch as much as it’s about profiting from the ranch in ways I don’t think you’d approve. Brendan was concerned about what your son might do if he inherited the land, and it turns out, his fears were valid. I know that family is important to you, but in this case, if you pass your land down to your son, you’ll be destroying the ranch that you worked so hard to build.”
“Now see here,” Dennis interjected, sweat forming on his brow.
“I hired an investigator to look through Dennis’s financials,” Gordon went on, ignoring the son. “I assure you that everything we’ve done is perfectly legal. All the paperwork we’ve turned up has been made public, but it’s been buried under different corporate names.” Gordon was all business as he slid several pieces of paper across the desk. “I’ve ordered them and highlighted the trail from Dennis Blackwell to a small LLC by the name of Argo.”
Dennis was turning purple. He grabbed for the papers, but his father, even in his sickness, was quicker. After a few quiet minutes of reading, he nodded stiffly. “Fine. What does all of this have to do with my ranch?”
“Nothing,” Dennis said quickly. He was starting to sweat now.
“This is the paperwork that Argo LLC has filed with the county. They’re preliminary plans to turn the ranch into a resort in three years,” Gordon said quietly.
“Father, really.” Dennis forced a laugh. “It’s just one idea. Nothing is set in stone yet.”
“Is this true?” Harry demanded. “I’m not even in my grave yet, and you’re already planning on turning our ranch into some ridiculous theme park?”
“It’s not ridiculous,” Dennis snapped. The pretense was up. “We own this county, and all you can do is play with your stupid horses. We have a chance to put Springs County on the map. To build on it so that it can join the rest of the twenty-first century. And of course I was moving quickly. You were going to sell to Brendan. Sell! I am your son!”
“In blood but not in spirit,” Harry said in a hard voice. “You have no idea what the Blackwell name means. I didn’t raise you to be soft, but I didn’t want this. I wanted callouses on your hands boy, not on your heart. You’ve disappointed me.” I held my breath as Harry looked at his son, disappointment written on his features. “I’m signing the paperwork to start the sale to Brendan. Dennis, you’ll still get your monetary inheritance, but the land will never be yours.”
No amount of violence would have been worth missing the moment when I got to see Dennis Blackwell lose. All of his threats had been for nothing.
I’d won.
His eyes practically bulged out of his head, and he snarled empty threats before walking out and slamming the door shut. Harry put a hand over his heart and closed his eyes. Uncomfortable, I tried to give the old man a few minutes to adjust to his new reality.
“I’m sorry that you had to see that,” he said finally. A gentleman to the very end.
“It’s not your fault,” I said softly. “You and I have been neighbors for a long time. I’ve respected you and what you’ve done with your ranch. If I thought even for a moment that Dennis was capable of walking in your shoes, I would have left well-enough alone.” I thought of my father. “I know what it’s like to be disappointed by family.”
Harry must have read my thoughts. “Jackson and I were friends of sorts. Oh, we had our fair share of bad blood, but when it came down to it, we both wanted the same things. Family and a home that we could be proud of. He may never have told you this, but he was proud of you, Brendan. Proud of you and your sister.”
“He never mentioned it,” I said stiffly.
“I have a feeling that he just didn’t know how.” Opening a drawer, he pulled out a sheet of paper. “I had this drawn up with our lawyers last week. It’s a letter of intent to sell. We still have some negotiating to do, but this will get things started. If anything happens to me before it’s all over, my lawyer has instructions on how to proceed.”
The victory that I was so proud of a minute ago was bittersweet now. Harry looked like a broken man as he signed it. I knew just how I would have felt if I were selling my land.
“I want you to add a clause to your contract,” I said as I picked up the pen to sign it. “The Blackwell name will always be welcome here. Should any of Dennis’s children want to work on the land of their grandfather, they’ll be given a chance to buy back the land.”
“A man who respects family.” Harry gave me a weak smile. “You’ve learned a good deal in these past couple of months. I assume that you have that pretty little wife to thank for that.”
Maybe I did. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I had hope to pass down the Ward name and what it would mean to me.
“I suppose you’re going to go home and celebrate. As you should. Joseph will see you out. I’m sure that I’ll see you again before the week is out.”
As we shook hands, I felt my spirits dip just a little. I did want to celebrate with Jillian, but I couldn’t share my success with her just yet. Even though she said that she wasn’t going anywhere, I could still see the hesitation in her eyes. The fear.
If I told her now, she might bolt. I needed to give her just a little more time to adjust to the thought of being my wife on a more permanent basis. Once I knew that I had her, then I could tell her the good news.
***
I worked later than I expected to make up for the time that I’d spent at Blackwell’s and then the private celebrating that Gordon and I did. My rumbling stomach informed me that I had missed dinner, and the house was quiet when I entered. Kim was finally going to bed at a decent hour. I’d hoped to have a talk with her tonight, but it looked like it would have to wait until tomorrow.
The beautiful clear night sparkled with the brilliant half-moon and the dense dusting of stars. Inspired, I grabbed a few things from the kitchen and went in search of Jillian.
She was still fully dressed from the day but sprawled out asleep on the bed. I’d been keeping her up most nights and wanted to let her sleep, but she stirred as I quietly started to change my clothes.
“What time is it?” she mumbled as she sat up and yawned. Her long hair fell in waves over her shoulders. It pleased me to no end to see that she’d stopped putting it up so much.
“Almost nine. Go back to sleep.”
“Nine? You’re just getting in?” she frowned. “Is something wrong with one of the horses?”
It pleased me even more that she cared. “The horses are fine. I just needed to catch up on work, and time got away from me. That’s all.”
“Have you had dinner yet? I haven’t eaten. I was trying to wait for you.”
“You were?” Smiling, I leaned over and kissed her. “In that case, I have a surprise for you.”
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity in the moonlight. “What’s that?”
Putting on a clean shirt, I grabbed her hand and led her from the room. The stairs creaked under our weight as we crept down them. For a moment, it felt like we were doing something wrong, when in reality, we were doing something very simple.
Innocent even.
I grabbed the tote bag from the kitchen and headed out. Jillian didn’t say a word until we were in the southern-most field. There, I laid out the blanket from the bag and beckoned her to sit with me.
“A picnic?” she asked with delight in her voice. “At nine o’clock at night?”
“Why not? You used to love the nighttime.”
“I did,” she admitted. “And then I got old and started having to get up at the crack of dawn.” Sitting down next to me, she glanced eagerly in the bag.
“Damn. I forgot the beer,” I sighed as I pulled out the food. “I can go back.”
&
nbsp; “No,” she said quickly. “Sometimes beer keeps me up. The water is fine. Look at this! Chicken salad sandwiches, potato chips, and carrots. Is that chocolate cake?”
“It is. Debra brought it over this morning.” I held up a carrot to her mouth and felt desire stir as she took a bite. “It’s not a candlelight steak dinner, but I thought you might like it.”
“It’s perfect,” she sighed as she leaned against me. “It really is beautiful out here, Brendan. I have a hard time seeing how you left it all behind you. Especially now, knowing how much you love it.”
“I was young and rebellious. My independence meant more to me than the land did. My father and I used to fight bitterly, but now I can kind of see where he came from. This ranch is a part of me, and I didn’t respect that. Still, if he had even bent just a fraction for me, I probably would have stayed. But then I would have never met you.” I kissed the top of her head as I broke off half a sandwich and handed it to her.
“We had many good times, didn’t we?” she said with a smile. “Followed by a lot of pain. Did you ever think that it wasn’t worth it? That maybe we were better off never meeting each other?”
“Not a chance,” I said instantly. “Did you?”
“I thought it in anger.” Her admission was quiet. “But I never meant it. Not really. You were my family.”
There was a sigh in her voice. It was an opening. A chance for us to talk about what we’d lost, but I was too afraid to take it. It was better to just look ahead. “You’re here now.”
“Only because you blackmailed me.” Taking a bite of her sandwich, she resettled so that she was lying down with her head in my lap. Around us, the night creatures danced and sang. The howl of the coyote could be heard in the distance, and it was joined by the tree frogs and the crickets. It was loud and yet peaceful.
“You’re a stubborn woman. I had to pull out all the stops to get you here,” I teased her. “You know, when I found out that we were still married, I was relieved.”
“Relieved?”
“I saw you everywhere I went. Thought of you with everything I did. Heard your voice every time I went to sleep at night. You haunted me, Jillian. When I realized that it wasn’t over, I thought maybe I could finally get some closure. Chase your ghost away for good.”
She frowned. “You did the opposite of that.”
“I did. I took one look at you and realized that I didn’t want to chase you away. I wanted to hold you again. Taste you. Love you.”
Sighing, she gave me a dreamy smile. “That’s so sweet. I actually thought that I was hallucinating when I saw you. I thought maybe the pressure of school had finally gotten to me, and I was losing my mind.”
“You are a horrible woman,” I growled playfully. “I’m trying to share a moment with you.”
“I was just being honest.” She popped a chip in my mouth and leaned up to kiss me. “Open and honest communication. That’s what our marriage counselor would advise.”
“I’ll show you what a marriage counselor would advise,” I grunted as I hauled her off my lap and settled between her legs.
“Brendan,” she laughed. “You’re not serious?”
“Nobody can see us,” I assured her. “And I have half a mind to bless every inch of this land with your body.”
She protested half-heartedly until my mouth was on her, and then she grew more and more demanding until we were both straining for a sweet release.
Tomorrow. I’d let her catch up on her sleep tomorrow.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jillian
“It’s absolutely disgusting how happy you look,” Debra said with a frown as I walked into the stables. I’d just finished helping Kim with her work so she could squeeze in a little training time with Starlight, and I wanted to check in on Silva.
“Kim said I was doing pretty well for a city girl,” I said as I pulled out some carrots. By now, Silva trusted me and didn’t even hesitate to take the snacks that I offered and then nose around my pockets for more. He was even more comfortable with Ben and Brendan and some of the other male ranch hands. The vet said he was almost at his normal weight, and soon, he could run around with the big boys.
“That’s not why you’re glowing, and we both know it,” she said with a sigh. “I’m jealous.”
“Really?” Cocking my head, I studied her. She looked like a frustrated woman. “Things not going well with you and Ben?”
“They’re great until he walks me to the front door. Then it’s a kiss that’s full of promise and a whisper that he’ll see me in the morning. I swear, I couldn’t get him into my bedroom if I gave him a strip show and promised him a million dollars.”
“Have you tried talking to him about it?”
“Only about a dozen times. He just says something about respect and wanting me to be sure. I’m not some sixteen-year-old girl. If I say I’m ready, he should trust that I’m ready! He seems to think that he knows what I want better than me.” Muttering something under her breath, she hauled the saddle into the storage closet and slammed it shut.
“You might be ready, but maybe he’s not,” I said tentatively. “He’s been hesitating every step of the way, and to someone like Ben, sex might not be casual.”
“But we’re not in a casual relationship!”
“You guys have only been going out for a couple of weeks,” I pointed out. “Although it seems like that time might not matter since you two have known each other for so long, it’s really not that long in the scheme of things. If he wants to take it slow and woo you, I suggest that you let him. It might be worth it in the end.”
I winked to prove my point, and the woman bit her lower lip. I’d learned enough about Debra to know that she wasn’t shy about going after what she wanted, and men responded to that. She probably had no idea what to do with a guy who wanted to take it slow.
In a way, I admired her. There was a time when I’d possessed that kind of confidence. Now I wasn’t even sure I could bring up a future with Brendan, even though he’d made it clear that he wanted one.
How was I going to make it work? A career in the city. A home in the country. It sounded ideal until I realized how many hours it would take me to travel every day. By the time I got home, all I’d have time to do was sleep.
After emptying out all my pockets for Silva, I walked over to give Debra a hand with the rest of the gear. The door to the second storage closet in the back of the stable always swelled after a rain and tended to stick.
As soon as I got near her, a small breeze blew by us, and I got a nose-full of her perfume. It was a scent that I was familiar with, but for some reason, today, it turned my stomach. Holding my breath, I grabbed the post next to me and moaned as I waited for it to pass.
“Jillian? Are you okay?” Debra hurried to my side, and the aroma only got stronger. Unable to help myself, I hurried to the exit and made it just in time to empty the contents of my stomach outside. I’d missed lunch, so all that came up was the water that I’d been chugging.
“Whoa. Easy,” Debra crooned as she stroked my hair. It was the same voice that she used to tame a horse, and I didn’t know whether to be amused or annoyed.
“I swear I’m catching some kind of bug,” I grumbled as I finally straightened. “I’ve been feeling weird all week.” Make that two weeks.
“Maybe all that sex is finally catching up to you,” Debra teased. “But seriously, if you think you’re coming down with something, you should spend a few days inside. Brendan won’t be happy if you get everyone sick.”
Maybe all that sex is finally catching up to you.
My heart skipped a beat, and my vision blurred. How could I have been so stupid? I’d been on the pill and never thought a thing about it, but I’d been on the pill when I was married too.
Slowly, I thought back. I’d had my period last month, right?
“I have to go.” Debra gave me a strange look, but I offered no explanation as I hurried back to the house. Taking the stairs two
at a time, I burst into the bathroom and reached for my pills.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I’d had a period two weeks ago. Sort of. Actually, it had been nearly nonexistent in comparison to my normal flow, but I’d written it off as the stress of everything going on around me. Between the stress and irritation of being here, I hadn’t even thought twice about it.
Gripping the edge of the counter, I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes. There was no need to panic until I’d taken a test, but in my gut, I already knew. The dizzy spells. The nausea. It was exactly like the last time.
I’d need a ride into town to get a pregnancy test. Kim and Debra would have both done it for me, but after the mistakes that I’d made with Brendan, I couldn’t just shut him out again.
I’d tell him. Open and honest. He’d support me and everything would be fine.
My stomach turned again, and I lifted the toilet seat and leaned over, but nothing came up. As I dry heaved, tears pricked my eyes and bile rose in my throat.
I couldn’t lose this baby. If I told Brendan and lost the baby, we’d relive the whole nightmare over again. If I didn’t tell Brendan and lost the baby, then at least I’d be the only one miserable.
“No,” I whispered to myself. I wasn’t going to do this alone.
Straightening, I rinsed my mouth out and splashed some cool water on my face. Part of me was terrified of his reaction, although, deep down, I had a feeling that he would be happy. This was what he wanted. A second chance for us to be a family.
Was I ready for that? We’d skipped over so many steps.
Still feeling a little ill, I took a quick shower to help me cool down and changed. It left me feeling marginally better. By now, I could hear voices and footsteps in the house. The day’s work was over.
I took a quick peek in the house office, but no one was there. Figuring that Brendan was finishing up with the day’s paperwork, I started back across the ranch for the stable office. His familiar voice was loud and clear, and he wasn’t alone. Ben must have still been in there with him.
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