12 Borrowing Trouble

by Becky McGraw

  One thing was for sure, with Dylan, her sex life would never be boring again. That man took creative to a whole different universe than she’d ever known before. One she definitely didn’t mind exploring with him. But that is what got her in the fix she was in right now. Pregnant. Some of his plans would probably have to wait a while.

  She put the boxes and jar back in the bigger box and replaced the lid. Tucking it under her arm she headed to the house to stash it in her room, and brush her teeth, before going to the barn to find him. She knew that’s where he would be, teaching another set of city slickers to ride bulls. For now anyway.

  Zane was splitting his time between helping Dylan with the bull riding adventure and helping Sheedy teach roping, and bronc riding. According to Dylan, the man was a master with a rope. As competitive as the two men were, if her husband-to-be said that, Zane must be a magician at it.

  She found Dylan at the controls of the mechanical bull, shouting corrections and instructions to a tall lanky man in a lime green polo shirt who was hanging onto the mechanical bull with both hands as he was spun in circles. The bull suddenly stopped, and the man slid off. Dylan frowned at him, and Carrie thought he looked cute, but the man obviously thought otherwise. He turned toward Dylan and put his hands on his waist. “You did that on purpose!”

  “Of course I did. I’m the one controlling the damned bull,” Dylan said with a short laugh.

  Carrie rested her chin on her forearms on the top rail to wait for Dylan to finish. He hadn’t even noticed her yet, he was too focused on the man he was arguing with. Dylan rocked back on his heels and shoved his hands in his pockets.

  Carrie knew that was never a good sign. She put her foot on the bottom rung, intending to go inside the ring and distract Dylan, before he came to blows with the man, but a sharp jolt of electricity zapped her right between the legs, and she froze. It continued to pulse and she gritted her teeth. Finally, her chin dropped as she fought the orgasm trying to claim her body right in front of the four men standing beside her, waiting for their turn to ride.

  As expected, the vibrations stopped just short of getting her there. Carrie raised her head to melt Dylan with her eyes. He was grinning from ear to ear, and one hand was still in his pocket. He lifted a brow, as if daring her to try to scale the fence again. To interfere.

  Instead of punching the man, who was still standing there berating him, Dylan slapped him on the back and turned to him with a smile. “You’re probably right. I was a little rough with you. Tomorrow you can work with Zane, because…” He grinned at the man, then pointed at her. “I’ll be on my honeymoon with that beautiful little lady over there.”

  Yes he would. If he survived today, and tomorrow morning, they would definitely be on their honeymoon, and more than deserved the vacation. They had some mountains to climb before then though. “Dylan, can you take a break? I need to talk to you,” she said hoarsely, because her inner muscles were still flexing, screaming for the orgasm he obviously wasn’t going to let her have.

  “Sure, baby. Let me get Zane to finish up,” he said with a wide smile. He looked so damned happy he was about to burst wide open with it, as he hopped the fence and went into the barn. Carrie hoped he looked the same in a few minutes when she dropped the bombshell she needed to drop on him. But she was scared she was dreaming there. Dylan loved her kids, was great with them, but they had never talked about having one of their own.

  The talking was coming after the fact.

  She jumped when he walked up beside her and put his hand on her back. She turned and he pulled her hips against his, and growled, before he bent to kiss her silly. He pulled back to smile down at her, “What’s up, buttercup?” he asked with a light-hearted laugh.

  She looked around at the six sets of eyes paying rapt attention to them. She put her hand on his chest, and met his eyes. “Um, let’s go somewhere private.”

  His smile faded. “Sounds serious. We don’t need that today, sweet cheeks. It’s our wedding day. Whatever you have can wait until we’re on our way to Austin.”

  Her fear inched a notch or two when his jaw tightened, as he hooked his arm through hers to lead her toward the pavilion. He turned left and took her to the tree swing instead of going under the canopy, then quickly sat and pulled her onto his lap. “Is everything okay with the kids?” he asked anxiously, before she could say a word.

  “They’re with Joel at Terri’s house getting ready. They’re fine. Excited.”

  He huffed out a breath, then asked, “Then the question is why aren’t you excited? He hesitated a moment, then swallowed hard. “Did you change your mind?”

  The dread in his voice made her heart squeeze. She put her hand on his cheek. “No, baby, I have not changed my mind.”

  A short-lived tremor moved through him, and his face relaxed. “Then what’s wrong?”

  “I’m pregnant, Dylan. That second time…” she said, dragging her eyes down to his throat so she didn’t have to see his reaction.

  He tipped her chin with his finger. “I hope he has your sweet soul,” he said, and the sincerity behind his words melted her insides. His mouth lowered toward hers and he kissed her deeply, sweetly. Carrie whimpered and fought the tears that shot to her eyes. She was not going to cry on her wedding day. She buried her face in his neck and hugged him, until he laughed and pushed her back. “That actually explains a few things I’ve been worried about…”

  “What?”

  “Why you’ve been crying so much, and throwing up. I thought you were having second thoughts about marrying me, and it’s been driving me crazy,” he said and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Thank God, it’s not that.”

  “I’m not changing my mind. I love you so much it hurts,” she said and waited until the wobble in her voice stopped. “More than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life.”

  “Kiss me, Carrie,” he said nipping her lower lip. “A real kiss,” he whispered as he kissed the corner of her mouth. Carrie turned her head and shoved her hand in his hair. His hat fell over the back of the swing, and she kissed him for all she was worth.

  Someone cleared their throat, and they jumped apart. Terri stood there shaking her head. “You two need to save that for the honeymoon. Sadie is pissed, so if you want your hair done, Missy, you better get your butt to the salon.”

  “Oh, crap,” Carrie said and shot to her feet.

  Dylan stood lazily, and pulled her to him for a quick kiss. “Keep those lips warm, and I’ll see you later, baby,” he said, as he shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked off whistling.

  Carrie grunted and her knees almost buckled when a slow rhythmic pulsation started in her panties. “Bad ass, bad boy,” she grumbled under her breath, tightening her fists and gritting her teeth until he was out of distance and the vibrations stopped. She heard him chuckle, then he waved at her over his shoulder.

  “Yes he is,” Terri agreed, sticking her tongue in her cheek. “And I need a pair of those panties.” Carrie’s blood shot to her face, as Terri turned and sashayed off toward the house.

  How the hell did she know? Carrie wondered as she walk ran across the yard toward the salon. Oh, God—did everyone know? Were they loud? Carrie couldn’t hear them. Her face got hotter, and she walked faster. She couldn’t ask Terri, but she was going to ask Dylan. If they were loud, if people knew, she wasn’t about to wear them again.

  Had he told?

  No, she trusted Dylan. He wouldn’t have done that. Wouldn’t have done it even back when he threatened to do it. That was part of the game, it upped the excitement. But she was going to find out how Terri knew. It was just embarrassing.

  She stopped in her tracks when it hit her. Not vibrations, but the fact that Terri must’ve overheard them in the kitchen that day. Relief washed through her that she didn’t have to give up the panties, and that made her laugh. She threw her head back and laughed again, as she walked toward the salon.

  At a quarter to five, Dylan made a final pass with the shining cloth
over his boots, then checked his tie in the mirror. The damned thing felt like it was choking him. The last time he’d worn a tie had been to his mother’s funeral. He wouldn’t be wearing one now, but Carrie had asked him to. For her. He would do anything for her. Even hang himself with the damned thing, if she asked him to. He loved the woman that much. She was as much a part of him as the rodeo had been. She made him a better man.

  He only hoped to be half the man, half the husband she deserved.

  Dylan knew himself, he would step off the track sometimes and piss her off. But he would never do anything to hurt her or those kids intentionally, and he would kick anyone’s ass who did. Even that judge tomorrow. He thought about not going to the hearing for that reason, but Carrie needed him there. He would just ask for divine intervention if things didn’t go Chris’s way. They had to go his way. Trace Rooks was working with Susan Whitmore to decipher that diary Sean Collins left behind, and Chris had agreed to testify against the drug dealers and school kids involved. As it turned out he didn’t know much, but what he knew he was telling. He’d already been to a meeting with Susan, and with the prosecutor.

  Both were going to testify on his behalf tomorrow. Trace was going to do that too.

  Ronnie Rooks said the odds were good he would be given probation. Maybe community service and restitution. But Carrie was damned worried he would be taken away from her. If it came down to that, Dylan already told her if it took him working day and night to pay for a good attorney for the appeal process, that is what he would do.

  That kid did not deserve to be given time. He was doing the right thing, so he should be rewarded for that. Dylan sighed, and got his nervousness under control. He was only nervous that Carrie would change her mind before they said their vows. He definitely didn’t deserve her. But somehow he’d been blessed yet again. He was a lucky man.

  Slapping his black dress hat on his head, he tilted it down over his eyes and headed toward the pavilion. He was not going to be late for this. The ceremony would start precisely at five o’clock, according to said bride, so he hustled out the door. He couldn’t wait for the preacher from the Sugar Bush Church to give him permission to kiss his bride.

  That would mean she was his. Forever.

  Dylan could swear his feet weren’t touching the ground as he started down the white runner between the two sections of chairs set up for the wedding. His cheeks hurt his grin was so wide as he stopped to shake hands with some of the men he knew on the way up to the gazebo. Carrie’s mom and dad, who he met last night, were sitting in the front row near the aisle. He stopped and her dad got up to shake his hand, then pulled him into a hug.

  “I’m going to tell you like I told Sean before you, take care of my baby girl,” he growled into Dylan’s ear. “Or you’ll answer to me and my shotgun.”

  “Yes, sir.” Dylan stepped away after he received a final, hard pat on his shoulder.

  He started to take his place at the gazebo with the preacher, but his eyes tracked to the men sitting beside the Brands, and his heart stopped. The three men were familiar, but strangers too. One of them looked just like the man he saw in the mirror a few minutes ago when he checked his tie. Dylan’s throat closed up, making it impossible for him to speak, but Dev did the speaking for him.

  Devin was just as choked up though, when he stuck out his hand to him, and said, “It’s good to see you brother.” Dylan’s knees gave out, but Devin caught him up in a hug and held him up. It was a good thing he did too, because what self-respecting cowboy blubbered like an idiot into another man’s shoulder? Dylan couldn’t help it, he had no control over the emotional shitstorm raging inside of him.

  His other two younger brothers, Cade and Keegan, formed a huddle with them, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the bunch. Music started from the speakers hidden in the shrubs on either side of the gazebo. Dylan pulled back, but he wasn’t done yet it seemed. When he saw beautiful, golden-haired little Izzy give him a finger wave and wide smile at the end of the aisle, he lost it again. Holding up his hand, Dylan turned away and started walking.

  The music stopped, he heard hushed whispers from the crowd behind him, but he kept walking until he got to the swing. He sat down, laid his head back and started rocking. He had to get himself under control, before he could speak, much less think enough to repeat vows. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that the three brothers he hadn’t seen for almost twenty years were sitting in the front row at his wedding. That they were even in the same state as him was amazing. After the funeral, he’d been given very little information from the social worker who put him into foster care. All she told him was his twin had been shipped off to Alabama, Cade had gone somewhere up north, Wyoming maybe, and Keegan had been sent to Georgia.

  Dylan never thought he would see them again. Ever. Figured they would be adopted out and not even have the same last name anymore. He tried to find them once, but Thomas is such a common last name that was like finding a needle in a haystack. Well evidently someone had blown that haystack to hell, because they were here. Emotion built in his chest, and he felt like his heart might crack a rib. They were here.

  “Please tell me you haven’t changed your mind,” Carrie said in a raw whisper. “I knew you might, but I hoped…” her lower lip trembled, and she sucked in a shuddering breath.

  Dylan’s eyes swung up to hers, and she looked like an angel standing there in her white dress. Her shiny brunette hair was slicked back, and the sun shining on top made it look like she was wearing a halo. “Was it you then?” he asked, his voice ravaged by emotion.

  She nodded, and more pressure built in his chest. This woman was his angel, his heart. He couldn’t find the words to tell her thank you for what she’d done.

  Her face fell, and she turned away.

  Dylan growled as he shot forward to hook his arms around her waist. He dragged her back into his lap. “You will never, never know what you’ve done for me,” he said and his own lips trembled. His nostrils flared, and he sucked in a sharp breath. “Carrie, I will never be able to thank you enough. Today is the happiest day of my life, baby. I thank God every minute of every day that I met you. I was miserable until you shook up my life. So to answer your question, hell no I haven’t changed my mind. I just needed a minute to get myself together.”

  She sighed then put her arm around his neck, and kissed him tenderly. “I’m glad my daddy didn’t have to break out his shotgun. He went back to the car to get it,” she said with a laugh. “I’m glad you liked your wedding present.”

  “I fucking loved it,” he said, standing with her in his arms. “I love you,” he added dropping a kiss on her hair. “Now, let’s go get married, so we can get to the partying then the honeymooning.”

  She slapped her pink rose bouquet against his shoulder. “Put me down before you hurt your shoulder again!”

  “I’m never putting you down again. I will carry your beautiful ass with me for the rest of my life. You are never getting rid of this cowboy, sweet cheeks.”

  ***

  Carrie was nervous when Dylan held the door open for her to go before him into the courtroom. Her knees were knocking she was so nervous. They were all packed for their honeymoon in Austin, but the jury was still out as to whether they would go.

  At the reception last night, his brothers offered to go to Sugar Bush to stay at the ranch, until Carrie and Dylan returned. That took a little weight off of her shoulders. Until then, she didn’t know who would feed Yogi, and cut the hay that was already planted. When Carrie and Dylan came back from their honeymoon, the brothers would get reacquainted then, and possibly talk about them moving to the ranch to help Dylan run it.

  From what Dave told her, the brothers were as much tumbleweeds as Dylan had been all his life. They had never put down roots anywhere. She thought it was a crying shame that four good men like them had such a rough life, because their mother had been so selfish. Maybe they could all help each other heal if they moved to Sugar Bush. Carrie
really hoped so. For Dylan.

  Everything depended on the man in the black robes who would be sitting behind the bench at the end of this aisle today. That man, the hanging judge as per Ronnie Rooks, would be God today. He would solely decide if her son was going to juvenile jail until he was twenty-one. Twenty-one. Eight years.

  Carrie’s throat closed off and she turned around. Dylan was right behind her, and she let out the breath she was holding into his shirt front. He held her to him, and kissed her hair. She felt a little better, but not much. It felt almost like she was on trial today. Her mothering skills were in question, which obviously she’d failed at, or they wouldn’t be here.

  His voice in her ear calmed her. “Breathe, baby. It will be okay. Whatever happens, Chris will be okay. We’ll fight for him.”

  She nodded then turned to walk to the seat behind the defendant’s table. That’s where Chris would be sitting with Ronnie. But Ronnie wasn’t even in the room. None of the witnesses were either. She had come out into the hall and whispered to one of them and they all left and took Chris with them. She wasn’t invited to come.

  Carrie figured they were having a meeting to prepare for the hearing, and knew she was such an emotional wreck she would just delay things. She felt sick at her stomach again, but wasn’t giving into it, because she needed to sit here. Be here when Chris came into the courtroom.

  Her knees started shaking again once she sat down, and Dylan sat beside her and put his hand on her knee. The other went behind her back to rub it. Soothe her. Her new husband was her rock right now. If she’d have done this alone, come here alone, she would be a bawling basket case out in the hall. The judge would probably have thrown her out.

  “Breathe…” he whispered near her ear, and Carrie leaned against him.

  It was so quiet in the empty courtroom, Carrie could hear the hum of the air conditioner. So quiet she could almost hear her own heart beating. Heard Dylan’s soft breathing in the chair beside her. That’s why her whole body jerked when loud laughter came from behind the dark wood door beside the bench. Raised voices followed, and it sounded like everyone in the room was trying to get control of whatever conversation was going on in there, before everything went quiet again. “What do you think is going on in there, a party?” Carrie asked.