The front door opened. Ed paused on the threshold before spotting them. “Is this a private party or can anybody have a drink?”
“There’s nothing private on the Rancho Montoya,” Sam said. “That’s the first thing I learned. I learned it the hard way, too.”
“What exactly constitutes the hard way?” Ed asked.
“I went to make love to my wife in what I thought was a private location. Turns out, a lot of the vaqueros had to look the other way.”
Luke couldn’t stop laughing until he thought of the garden shed. “Damn, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“There’s been a time or two you all almost caught me and Tia,” Ed volunteered.
“No. No. No.” Luke held up his hand. That was an image he didn’t want in his head. “This is a conversation we don’t ever have.”
Ed laughed and picked up the decanter. “Tia’s not in her grave, you know. She’s a fine-looking woman with a youthful mind.”
Sam took the whiskey bottle away from Ed. “If you’re going to drink my whiskey, we don’t talk about that stuff.”
“Fair enough. While I go get a glass, why don’t you two change the subject?” The door opened and closed behind him.
Sam looked at Luke. “I’m never getting that image out of my head.”
“A scrub with lye soap might help.”
“Nothing will help.”
Ed came back, took one look at their expressions and shook his head. “Don’t be such wimps.” Holding out his glass for Sam to fill, he continued. “You’re going to be a father, Sam. Eventually your children will grow up and leave, but until then, are you not going to touch your wife?”
“Oh hell no.”
“Then don’t be a hypocrite.”
Damn. That reality hadn’t ever crossed Luke’s mind. Nor Sam’s from his expression. Luke shook his head. “Making love to your wife is going to get a lot more complicated, Sam.”
“I’ll manage.”
“That’s the spirit,” Ed said. “The one thing we men are good at is managing that sort of thing.”
He cut Luke a glance. “Though some of us need more practice.”
There was no doubt to what he was referring. His tryst with Josie had been found out. “Dammit. Does everybody know?”
“Well, some of us are guessing,” Ed said. “But from the way Josie came running in here, her hair in disarray, her dress all buttoned wrong, it can’t be too far off the mark.”
“For your information,” he informed them, “I was a goddamn gentleman.”
Ed shared a conspiratorial look with Sam. “In his way, I’m sure.”
“Uh-huh.” Sam didn’t bother to hide his grin. “By the way, Bella wants me to remind you that Josie is a guest in her home.”
Here they go. “You can tell Bella the reminder is unnecessary.”
“She disagrees.”
Maybe he’d put that whiskey down too soon. Bella was like a dog with a bone when she found something irritating.
“Then I’m grateful she’s bedridden and isn’t at liberty to follow me around expressing her disagreement at will.”
Sam chuckled. “That Bella is a damn good judge of character.”
“I don’t need a judge right now, thank you very much.”
“On that she agrees. What she says you need is to find your cojones.”
“I can back him on that,” Ed interjected.
“It’s Bella’s opinion that when it comes to romance, a man can’t let a woman lead.”
They were ganging up on him. Luke glared at Sam, who had the gall to look innocently concerned. “How much can she know about women if she says that? After all, she led you on a merry chase.”
“In some ways, yes, and others, no.”
“In which way was it no?”
“Bella is much younger than me. She was innocent, sheltered—”
“And hell on wheels,” Luke added.
“Yes, that, too. When it came to personal things between us, physical things, I was definitely in charge. But when it came to making me see that she was a woman who knew her own mind, she was in charge.”
“And there’s your problem,” Ed put in. “Josie doesn’t know her own mind. From what I heard from Jarl, her mother made life tough for her growing up. She either spent her time in church repenting for the fact that she was born a bastard—”
“That was her mother’s sin,” Luke countered.
“Or avoiding reminding the town she existed. It was a public shame to her mother to have a child out of wedlock. I don’t think she ever forgave Josie’s father for that humiliation.”
“So she took it out on Josie?”
Ed shrugged. “I don’t think she’s a bad person. According to Jarl, Josie’s family had some status in the community before her mother humiliated the family with her pregnancy. And she’s been trying to regain ground ever since.”
Which explained why Josie walked around looking like she wanted to apologize for her existence. “Damn.”
Sam shook his head. “How much shame can they foist on a child?”
Ed swatted a fly away from his face. “You’ve been back East, Sam. You know how it is. Rules laid upon rules laid upon rules, and everybody jockeying for position based on how well they follow them.”
He nodded. “I much prefer it out here.”
“Yes, well, we have our rules, too, but they’re more flexible.”
“And by the way, Luke, Bella says if you get Josie pregnant, she will waddle out of bed and hunt you down.” Sam paused for effect and then added, “She’s got a brand-new shotgun.”
Luke did not fear Bella, but his impulses when it came to Josie? Those could lead him right past his best intentions. He threw back his drink. He was beginning to understand how a good woman could change a man. “I’m only going to say this because I’m drunk and y’all are wasting a whole lot of effort beating a dead horse—”
“Fire away,” Ed interrupted.
“Josie wants a friend.”
Ed’s “Ouch” coincided with Sam’s “Nothing wrong with that. Bella is my best friend.”
Luke looked at Sam. “Her exact words were, ‘Why did it have to be a husband or lover? Why couldn’t it be friend?’”
Ed nodded. “That makes sense. I imagine to somebody who grew up the way Josie grew up, feeling isolated and unwanted without anybody having her back, friendship would be very important.”
Damn. The picture Ed painted was not the cheery happy childhood he wanted to imagine Josie’d had.
“Jarl told you this?”
“He spent time with Josie’s mother for a bit. He grew fond of her.”
“He couldn’t help her?”
“There was only so much he could do. You know those stuck-up bitches back East don’t even let their children play with bastards in case the taint is contagious.”
Luke hadn’t known. Unlike Caine and Sam, who went back East every couple years, he never did. He liked his wide-open sky and the freedom of adventure too much to leave them. Even for a short time.
“Society back there can be unbending,” Sam agreed. “To the point it’s possible Josie doesn’t know what love looks like.”
Luke sighed. “There is that.”
And where he was supposed to go with that was something he hadn’t figured out yet. Sam poured them all another round. Luke accepted it, but didn’t drink. His world was pleasantly fuzzy around the edges. For a moment, silence reigned. An owl hooted in the distance. A breeze ruffled the shrubs in front of the porch. As if reading his mind, Sam sighed.
“Bella loves it out here.”
Luke did not envy Sam in having to deal with Bella’s forced confinement. “What did the doctor say about her condition?”
Sam grunted. “That she’s pregnant.”
Luke snorted. “I was looking for a delicate way to ask how things are actually going.”
“Since when did you get delicate?”
“Since I got surrounded by women.”
<
br /> Sam forced a laugh. The harsh edge hurt Luke to hear. He’d never seen Sam like this. He usually charged toward problems. Leaped over barriers. It spoke to the severity of the issue that this one had him sweating.
“They’re worried they might come breech. There’s been some bleeding. And they’re big babies.”
“You’re a big man.” Luke wanted the words back as soon as he said them. This wasn’t anybody’s fault.
“Yeah.” Raking his hands though his hair, Sam confessed in a hoarse whisper, “I could lose her.”
“Damn, Sam.” Luke didn’t know what else to say. No wonder Sam had sent for Tia.
Ed slapped Sam’s knee. “You won’t. You’ve got Tia here. Add in the doctor and Bettina and that’s a whole lot of experience at one birth.”
“How can Tia help?” Luke asked.
Sam rubbed his jaw. “There’s an operation that can be done if things go bad. The doctor has never seen it done, but Tia has.”
“An operation?”
Sam didn’t mince words. “Apparently, they can cut the babies out of her.”
Luke’s stomach heaved. “Son of a bitch.”
“If it’s safer than giving birth, I’m going to demand he do it.”
Luke would, too. “Where is the doctor?”
Considering how meticulous Sam was when it came to Bella, Luke was surprised the man wasn’t parked and waiting in Bella’s room already.
With another rake of his hand through his hair, Sam sighed. “He’s on his way. I couldn’t spare the men to fetch him earlier. It would leave the ranch vulnerable, but as soon as Zach got back, I sent Guillermo out with a fresh guard.”
“And he’ll stay here?”
“You can bet your bottom dollar his ass isn’t leaving until Bella delivers. I’ve just got to get him here before she goes into labor.”
“Doesn’t she have a couple months?”
Ed sighed and topped off the glasses with the last of the whiskey. Luke’s too-full glass spilled over his hand. “Twins often come early.”
Sam nodded. “Tia says the twins are restless. Bella says they want to meet their father.”
Luke doubted Bella knew how much that prospect terrified his friend. He wasn’t sure Sam could go back to a life without Bella.
“Tell her to cross her legs and keep them put.”
“How many men did you send for the doctor?” Ed asked.
“Twenty good men.”
“How many do you still have here?”
“Thirty.”
“The last time I was here, you only had thirty total.”
Sam shrugged. “Civilization’s been pushing into the West, taking up the land. Indians and whites alike have been fighting over the scraps.”
“Has there been trouble?”
“One of the things I like about living out here is there’s always trouble. It keeps a man on his toes.” Sam finished off his whiskey in three quick swallows.
Luke took a more cautious sip of his.
Ed raised his glass at him. “You might want to ease up on that liquor, son.”
He cocked a brow at his friend. “It’s been a long time since anyone’s been able to tell me how much to drink.”
Ed shrugged. “I heard Josie wants to get out and take some pictures.”
“Josie can just cool her heels until I’m ready to take her.”
Ed looked at Sam. Sam looked at Ed. The hairs on the nape of his neck lifted. Reaching over, Sam relieved Luke of his glass. “Josie might cool her heels waiting for you, but Zach isn’t likely to abide it.”
“What in hell does Zach have to do with anything?”
“He volunteered to take her out at first light. He said something about watching the flowers greet the sun.”
“Josie offered to cook him breakfast in payment,” Ed added helpfully.
The depth of his anger caught Luke by surprise. “Fuck that.”
Sam smiled that taunting smile of his and took a sip of Luke’s whiskey. “I feel obliged to mention, I’m going to be damn annoyed if you try to kill my foreman because he wants to spark a pretty woman.”
Damn. Sam and Ed were enjoying this entirely too much. “Then prepare to be annoyed, because if he touches Josie, he’s dead.”
“Josie is a free woman,” Ed pointed out.
“Only in her mind.” Luke recognized the emotion churning in his gut. Jealousy. He was jealous.
“If you’re aiming to be her friend, it’s not your place to get in the way of her happiness,” Sam pointed out.
Luke yanked his Stetson down over his eyes, shielding his expression. “Then consider me a piss-poor friend.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
IF IT WEREN’T for the promise of seeing flowers open to the sun, Josie would not be up before the crack of dawn, frying eggs and bacon, baking home fries and flipping pancakes. She’d still be lying in bed justifiably moping over Luke’s rejection. The man had a horrible sense of timing. He had no business ravaging her senses to the point she’d begged—begged!—him to take her. The memory made her cringe. And then to reject her under the guise of looking out for her best interests… Who did he think he was? He wasn’t her father or her guardian. He was the man she’d chosen to liberate her. And he’d rejected her.
She’d cried last night, but this morning? Oh, this morning she was furious. The man had no right to manipulate her that way. She was a grown woman. She knew her own mind. She didn’t need some Western lothario playing with her emotions. She’d had enough of that her whole life.
Opening the oven, she checked the home fries. Moist heat redolent with the scent of onions and garlic heated her cheeks. She slammed the door closed. Straightening, she wiped her hands on her apron.
Truth be told, she couldn’t figure out Luke’s game. She’d seen men play the love ’em and leave ’em game before. Jason had played a rather chaste version of it, stretching it out over five years, but in her admittedly observational experience the leaving part usually happened after they obtained the loving. Not in the middle of it. Damn him. She wasn’t sure what made her madder—his rejecting her in general, or the fact that he’d left her dangling from that sensual precipice.
“The home fries have offended you this morning?” Zach asked from where he sat at the table, enjoying a cup of coffee. It really should be illegal for a man to look that rakishly handsome at this hour of the morning. It should be more illegal for her not to be affected by it.
Her mother was right. A woman could not control whom she lusted after. And Dane Savage was right. A woman had to choose her own destiny.
Picking up her own coffee from the wooden counter, she took a sip. It was lukewarm. “I’m afraid I’ve got the oven too hot. I almost burned them.”
“It will not be a problem. Burnt offerings from a woman as beautiful as yourself will still be a delectable treat.”
She blinked. “Oh dear heavens.” Setting her coffee down, she asked, “Do women really fall for that?”
He cocked an eyebrow at her, smiling around his cup, and suddenly the nice safe man seemed not so safe. Her stomach did a flip-flop.
His eyes narrowed. “Other women are not a concern.”
“Oh.” She put the last pancake on a plate and brought it over to the table. He stood. She’d never realized how tall he was. “Are you flirting with me?”
Standing, he held out her chair for her. “Apparently not successfully.”
Oh, he was being successful. She just didn’t know what to do with it. She caught his scent as he tucked the chair in. He smelled of clean soap and expensive tobacco. It was a pleasant aroma. “You took me by surprise.”
Zach reclaimed his seat. “I am thinking I should have used my other line.”
Curiosity demanded she ask “What was that?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “Your beauty will sweeten any meal until a man would only know the delectable taste of ambrosia.”
She choked on a bite of pancake.
Pushing her coffee cl
oser to her, he asked with a too-innocent expression, “No?”
She shook her head, and cleared her throat, laughter bubbling. “Definitely no.”
Replacing his napkin on his lap, he sighed. “Ah well, I will have to work on it.”
“Please don’t. At least, not on my account.”
The amusement disappeared from his expression as fast as it had appeared. “But I insist.”
“On what?”
“On seeing your smile. You have a beautiful smile.”
Feeling very daring, she placed her hand over his. His hand was warm under hers, but the tingles she felt with Luke? They were markedly absent. “Thank you for making me laugh this morning.”
All pretense left his expression. His gaze met hers—intense, focused, dangerous…a trickle of awareness slipped over her senses.
“It was my pleasure.”
She slowly pulled her hand back. He returned to his meal, and she to hers, though more slowly now, as her mind caught up with reality. She had another suitor.
*
AT FIVE THIRTY that morning, Luke opened the back door to the kitchen, his hangover dragging along his mood like a ball and chain. The scent of pancakes and bacon swirled out to smack him in the face. His stomach lurched as he stepped into the room. His temper growled louder than his headache at the scene before him. Sitting at the table was Zach, looking content as a cat curled up in front of fire. But he wasn’t sitting in front of a fire, he was sitting at the table, the expression on his darkly handsome face intense as he watched Josie bustling around the kitchen. That inner growl rose again. If Josie was going to cook breakfast for anyone, it should be him. Today, she was dressed in a dull gray suit dress with a light bustle and she looked as pretty as the morning with her fresh scrubbed face and wisps of hair escaping from her braid at the temples. The red hue accented the creaminess of her skin and highlighted the blue of her eyes.
As she turned to grab a towel, he gritted his teeth. He was going to have to reconsider his no-corset decree. Without the corset the camisole didn’t support her breasts as well. With every move, they swayed enticingly.
“Morning.”
Josie jumped and dropped the towel. “Good morning.”
“Morning, Luke,” Zach drawled as if he wasn’t sitting at the head of the table, coveting Luke’s woman.
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