The Chisholm Brothers:Friends, Lovers... Husbands?

by Janis Reams Hudson

  The roads were already mostly clear, but snow-packed and icy patches waited to send the careless off into the nearest ditch. A few miles out of town that was where she spotted her little red car—in the ditch. It was only identifiable because the sun had melted the snow enough that the red roof of the car was exposed.

  She hoped the car would be all right until it was towed to safety.

  Then she faced forward, and looked toward home. It was time to get back to reality.

  Chapter Ten

  The reality Blaire returned to was anything but pleasant.

  Everything was fine when Justin pulled up at her garage apartment and carried her things upstairs for her. He didn’t stay. She didn’t ask him to. Somehow on the way home the silence between them became less and less comfortable until the air in the cab felt thick with tension.

  Still, their parting was friendly enough. And she did remember to thank him for rescuing her from the ditch, and for taking care of her when she’d been sick that morning.

  “You don’t need to thank me,” he’d protested.

  “Maybe not, but I do anyway,” she told him. “Will you let me know how it goes when you tell your family about the baby?”

  “Sure.” He smiled and brushed a finger down her cheek. “But there’s not going to be a problem, as long as they know I’ve asked you to marry me,” he added.

  Blaire stared at him. “Is that why you’ve been asking? Because your family will expect it?”

  “If you think insulting me will get me to stop asking, you’re sadly mistaken.”

  “I wasn’t insulting you,” she protested. “I was seeking information.”

  “Your question was insulting. I’ve been asking you to marry me because I want to marry you. For me. For myself. And for the baby. The rest of my family has nothing to do with it, and no say in the matter.”

  “You’ll explain that to them, won’t you?”

  “Yes.” He gave her a sharp nod. “I will.”

  Okay, Blaire thought when he drove off a moment later. That could have gone better.

  Before she could stew about it or even cry, which was what she wanted most to do, she squared her shoulders and headed for her office in her parents’ house. Her mother’d had to handle the books— which, after all, had always been her job anyway until she broke her arm last summer—for several days in a row. She was probably ready to chew nails.

  Yet when Blaire entered the house she found her mother sitting on the couch in the living room, with her feet up, watching a soap opera.

  “You’re home,” she said, her face registering surprise when Blaire walked into the room.

  “I called and said I was on the way.”

  “I know, sweetie, I just didn’t expect you so soon. So, tell me.” Using the remote, she turned off the television and patted the spot beside her on the sofa. “How did it go?”

  Blaire shrugged and took the offered seat. “It went great, until the blizzard. I got to see Connie and Sherry, but Gayle wasn’t home. I know, I know.” She held up a hand to forestall anything her mother might say. “If I had called first I would have known that. But I had a good time visiting with Sherry and Connie, anyway.”

  Nancy Harding tsked and shook her head. “You never used to be so dense, dear. When I asked how it went, I meant with you and Justin.”

  Blaire narrowed her eyes. “Oh, yes, you’re the one who told him where I was and how to find me.”

  “And?” her mother asked expectantly.

  “And, what?” If her mother wanted information, Blaire was going to make her work for it.

  “You know ‘and what.’ What happened when he found you? Are you getting married?”

  “Mother, I’ve told you before, Justin and I are not getting married.”

  “But he asked you, didn’t he?”

  “He did. And yes, I said no.”

  “But, why?” Her mother looked truly baffled.

  Blaire, however, was the baffled one. “How can you ask that? I’ve told you and told you that I will never willingly put myself in a position to end up with a marriage like yours and Daddy’s. The two of you bicker and snipe at each other all the time. I don’t want to live that way.”

  Her mother popped up off the sofa as if on springs. “Now you listen here, young lady. I’m getting sick and tired of your constantly criticizing our marriage. It’s not your place to approve or disapprove how your father and I are with each other.”

  Blaire closed her eyes and turned her head away. “I know that. I’m sorry, Mama.” Taking in a deep breath, she faced her mother. “I know it’s not my place, and I don’t say these things to hurt you or make you angry. But I see how unhappy you both are so much of the time, and now you’re telling me I need to make the same bed for myself.”

  “Seems to me, missy, you already did make the same bed for yourself. Made it, spent some time rolling around in it, if your condition is anything to go by.”

  “Mama!”

  “Well? You feel so free to criticize me and my marriage, I’m just laying out the truth for you to see with your own eyes.”

  Blaire groaned and pushed herself up from the sofa. “This is getting us nowhere. I came over to check on the bookkeeping.”

  “Fortunately for you, but not your father, business has been slow because of the snow. The books are all up to date and ready for you to take over. And while I’m standing here glancing out the window,” she added with a frown, “where’s your car?”

  Oops. “Uh, well, it’s kinda…”

  “Oh, I know that look,” her mother said. “What have you done? Where is your car?”

  “All right. It’s in a ditch a few miles outside Stillwater.”

  “A ditch?” her mother shrieked. “How bad was it? Were you hurt? Are you all right? The baby?”

  “We’re fine.” It warmed Blaire’s heart that her mother seemed to care so much about the baby. “Both of us. I slid off the road in the blizzard and slid down an embankment into the ditch. It was no big deal, except I couldn’t get out. Justin helped me, and my car’s being towed to a body shop as soon as the tow truck can get it out.”

  Her mother pursed her lips and crossed her arms, a calculating look coming into her eyes. “You ran off the road during the blizzard.”

  “That’s right. What are you getting at?”

  “When did this happen?”

  “Yesterday morning, when the blizzard hit. Why are you looking at me that way?”

  “What way?”

  “Like you think I’m holding out on you or something.”

  “Aren’t you? Justin rescued you yesterday?”

  “That’s right.”

  “And where have you and he been since then?”

  Blaire rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “Oh, Mama, give it a rest. Just because we shared the last available motel room in Stillwater—because it was too dangerous to travel—doesn’t mean a thing.”

  “I’ll tell you what it means,” her mother said sharply. “If you’re not interested in marrying the man, you should at least stop sleeping with him. Otherwise, somebody—like maybe Justin himself—is going to get the idea that you think he’s good enough to sleep with but not good enough to marry.”

  “Mama! What a terrible thing to say.”

  “You mean that’s not the way it is?”

  “Of course not.”

  “If you say so,” her mother told her. “If you say so, sweetie. In which case, I’m afraid your father and I are going to have to insist that you and Justin get married.”

  Blaire blinked. “I beg your pardon.”

  “It’s the only right thing to do. For you and for the baby. You have to think about the baby, Blaire, and not just yourself, you know. It’s time to grow up and face the consequences of your actions.”

  Blaire swallowed against a knot of bitterness in her throat. “Is that what I’ve been to you? The consequences of your actions?”

  “Don’t sass me, young lady.”

&n
bsp; “You tell me to act like an adult, yet I’m supposed to be an obedient child and do as I’m told. You can’t have it both ways, Mama. If I’m an adult, and I assure you I am, then I make my own decisions.”

  Her mother’s face stiffened. “As long as you’re living under our roof—”

  “Now wait just a minute. You can’t pull out that old trick. First of all, I live over the garage, and the apartment is part of the pitifully low salary the store pays me since you broke your arm. I gave up my apartment, my job, my life, to come home and help you around the house and Daddy around the store. If I’m living under your roof, it’s because you’ve asked me to.”

  “That’s right. Throw my injury in my face.”

  “Mama,” Blaire wailed. It was going to be a long, long night.

  Justin didn’t have time to wonder how Blaire’s homecoming with her parents was going; he had his own family to deal with. He called a last-minute family meeting for supper that night. It was the only way to assure that Caleb and Melanie would come.

  A dinner invitation could be declined. Notice of a family meeting could not.

  “What’s this all about, Justin?” Caleb asked when he and his bride of fewer than three months arrived.

  Justin cut his gaze toward Sloan’s stepdaughters, Janie and Libby, then back to Caleb. “Can’t a guy want to see his brother—not to mention his newest sister-in-law—without everybody getting so suspicious?”

  Caleb caught on immediately to the fact that Justin didn’t want to talk about the purpose of the meeting in front of the two young girls.

  “So.” He punched Justin in the shoulder. “Trying to make time with my wife, huh?”

  “Hey,” Justin protested. “You think I’m stupid? I only do that when you’re not around, not when I’ve invited you to supper.”

  “Yeah.” Melanie rubbed her husband’s arm and smiled up at him. “He only tries to make time with me when you’re not around.”

  Caleb rolled his eyes and snorted. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.”

  Justin smirked. “I usually do.”

  After supper, while Pedro took care of some final chores out in the barn, Maria asked Janie and Libby to help her with baby Rosa. The request was a surefire guarantee that the two little girls would be busy for some time, since they both adored Rosa.

  The rest of the family gathered in the living room.

  “Now,” Rose said firmly. “Perhaps Justin will tell us what this is all about?”

  “Yes, Grandmother.” Justin shuffled his feet a time or two and stuck his hands into his back pockets while trying not to look anyone in the eye.

  “What have you done?” Sloan demanded.

  Justin frowned. “What?”

  “You’re acting guilty as hell about something,” Sloan said. “Come on, just tell us. It can’t be that bad.”

  “No,” Justin protested. “It’s not bad. At least, not as far as I’m concerned. To me it’s good news. Great news. The best—”

  “Then tell us what it is,” Caleb snapped.

  “Yes, Justin, please do.” Rose smiled quietly. “Some of us don’t have as much time left on this earth as others.”

  “Oh, very funny, Grandmother,” he said. “But I think you’ve got enough time left to be here when my son or daughter is born next September.”

  The silence that fell across the room was complete and thick.

  Finally Rose nodded slowly. “So this is what has been on your mind these past many weeks.”

  “Actually,” he admitted, “I’ve only known about it for a couple of weeks.”

  “And are you going to tell us who the mother of your child is?”

  “Blaire Harding.”

  Cherokee Rose Chisholm felt her heart swell. There was pride and love in her youngest grandson’s voice when he spoke the name of the woman who carried his child. No one could ask for more than that. Justin was a good boy, a good man, with a heart as big as the world.

  “I assume there’s a wedding in the planning?” she said.

  “Uh, well…”

  Sloan straightened away from the wall he’d been leaning against. A hard light came into his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re not going to marry her.”

  “It’s more like she won’t marry me,” Justin countered with no small amount of self-disgust. “But I’m working on her.”

  “You do that,” Sloan said. “Just see that you do that very thing.”

  “Now, Sloan.” His wife, Emily, patted his arm and gave Justin an encouraging smile. “You know Justin will do his best. Blaire will come around once she realizes what a terrific guy he is.”

  “Is that the problem?” Melanie doubled her fists and frowned. “She doesn’t think you’re terrific? Where is she. Give me five minutes alone with her—”

  “Pardon me,” Justin said to Caleb. Then he grabbed Melanie and planted a big, sloppy kiss right on her mouth, while she was still talking.

  Melanie sputtered into silence, albeit a short-lived one. “Well, hell. Isn’t that just like you? I’ve known you my entire life, and you wait until after I marry your brother before you kiss me. No wonder Blaire won’t marry you. You’re an idiot.”

  Feeling as if his wife had effectively put his little brother in his proper place, Caleb folded his arms across his chest and smiled.

  Justin raised his eyes to the ceiling as if seeking help. Then he shook his head. “Blaire has said that she doesn’t want to get married, but that she has no intention of keeping me out of the baby’s life. Before any of you say anything, yes, I plan to do my best to change her mind about marrying me. But that’s for the two of us to work out. I don’t want any of you putting any pressure on her about it, or bugging her about it, or anything else.”

  “Does she know you’re telling us?” Emily asked.

  Justin nodded. “She knows. Her parents know about it, and her cousins, but that’s about it, I think. I would just as soon we all leave the spreading of the news up to her.”

  It was quiet for another moment as everyone stared at Justin. Then Cherokee Rose Chisholm let out a war whoop that any old-time Cherokee would have been proud of.

  “Justin’s going to be a father! We’re having a baby!”

  The room erupted in cheers and laughter and congratulations.

  Later that night, lying in his lonely bed and wishing Blaire was there beside him, Justin called her number to tell her about his family’s reaction to their news. The phone rang several times. Just when he thought she wouldn’t answer, she did.

  “Did I wake you?” he asked.

  At the sound of his voice Blaire sniffed. “No. No, I’m awake.”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. “You sound funny.”

  She sniffed again. “Nothing’s wrong. I’ve just been crying, that’s all.”

  “Why?” he demanded. “What’s happened? What’s wrong? I can be there in twenty minutes.”

  “Only if you break every speed law in the county.” Her mood lightened considerably. “But thank you for the thought. Nothing’s wrong. It’s just a hormone thing.”

  “Nothing’s wrong?”

  “Nothing new, anyway. Nothing that made me start crying, except these crazy hormones.”

  “Damn, honey, does this happen often?”

  “Often enough,” she said, relieved to have this latest crying jag behind her. “Did you tell your family?”

  “I did. Tonight after supper. I called a family meeting, so Caleb and Mel were here for the news.”

  “Dare I ask?”

  “How they took it? Oh, you know, lots of cheering and patting me on the back and asking how you’re feeling and when the baby’s due.”

  “Oh.” Dammit, here came the tears again. There was nothing she could do to stop them. She hadn’t been prepared for such acceptance from Justin’s family.

  Of course, she thought, sniffing back her suddenly drying tears, their reaction had probably been for his benefit, because they loved him. How they would act towar
d her, particularly if Justin wasn’t around, might be an entirely different story.

  “That’s sweet,” she added. “I’m glad they took the news so well.”

  “Are you kidding? They’re ecstatic,” he said.

  Hesitantly, she asked, because she couldn’t help herself. “What did they say about us not getting married?”

  He was quiet for a moment, then said, “I won’t lie to you. They’re disappointed. But they promised not to interfere, or pressure you.”

  Well, she thought, that was something, at least. However, all she had to do was see one of his family and she would feel pressured. But there was nothing anyone could do about that.

  “Blaire?”

  “Oh, sorry. My mind wandered. I’m glad they’re taking all this so well.”

  “Of course they are. We’re talking about the next generation of Chisholms. A new cousin for Sloan’s girls.”

  “You mean his new stepdaughters?”

  “Step, according to Sloan, is only a word. He believes it’s what’s in the heart, not the DNA, that makes a family. Those are his girls, and there’s no two ways about it.”

  “Your brother,” Blaire said in awe, “is a very special man.”

  “He’s not as special as I am,” Justin claimed.

  She smiled. “If you say so.”

  “I do, and don’t you forget it. So, I’ll bet your folks were glad to see you.”

  Blaire groaned. “Come on, Chisholm, we were having a nice, pleasant conversation here. Don’t ruin it now.”

  “Trouble?”

  “Nothing new,” she said. “Just more of the same, and no, I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Are they after you to marry me?”

  “I said I don’t—”

  “Was that a yes, or a no?” he asked.