The Bull Rider's Twins

by Tina Leonard

  He tossed his hat into the chair. “Just one man chatting with another. Don’t get your panties in a twist over it, sugar.” Grinning, he pulled a beer from the six-pack his brothers had thoughtfully left in his room, satisfied that matters should be straight as an arrow between him and his buttercup.

  “I’m not going to marry you, Judah.” Darla’s chin rose, and her tiny nose nearly pointed at his chin. He so badly wanted to run his finger down her face and tell her everything was going to be just fine, if she’d only settle down and let him take care of her.

  “We’ll talk about it tomorrow after I ride. There’s a lot of things we’ll have to plan, like naming my sons. You’ll need to enroll in a prenatal yoga class, too. I hear it’s very beneficial for the mother and the babies.”

  Darla’s cheeks went pink. “I’m leaving now,” she told him, “and I am marrying Sidney. Quit trying to take over my life.”

  “Whew,” Judah said, pulling her close against his chest. “You’ll know when I’m trying to take over your life, babe. I’ll say, ‘Get in my bed,’ and you’ll go happily because you’ll know I’m going to make you feel like a princess.”

  Irate as Darla was, she leaned into him, and for a moment, completely relaxed.

  But she suddenly pulled herself away and marched to the door. “Not a chance, Judah. Goodbye.”

  THE NEXT DAY Darla carried the magic wedding dress to the back of the store where she couldn’t see it. Lately, it had begun to call to her with a siren song of such temptation that she could barely resist it.

  “Just try on the gown,” Jackie urged. But Darla didn’t want to fashion hopes and dreams through simple fabric.

  “I don’t need fairy tales and magic in my life. I’m making a solid, practical decision to marry a man who’s as even-keeled as I am. Judah is a winter wind blowing through a canyon. I could never rely on him.”

  “But he’s the father of your children,” Jackie said. “You don’t want to do something in the heat of passion, Darla.”

  “I already did that,” she replied, “which is why I’m choosing to be quite selective with my children’s futures now. Sidney will be a good father. He comes from a very small family, and has always wanted a large one. We’re good friends. I’ll be an organized, supportive doctor’s wife.” Darla stowed the magic wedding gown in the very back of the stock closet, behind back-stock dresses. It did lure her. Sometimes in the night, she could hear a faint rustle of musical chimes, like an antique jewelry box opening to play a lilting melody. The dress was beautiful.

  And she wanted it so badly. But she wouldn’t admit that to Jackie. Darla wanted to believe in romance and dreams and fairy tales, just like any other bride. Yet she couldn’t afford any mistakes. Her whole makeup was geared toward thoughtful, careful decision making. There really wasn’t any room for loving a bonehead like Judah.

  Unfortunately for her, that bonehead made her body shiver and ache every time she thought of him. It was like that wild winter wind blew over her skin, reminding her of how much she loved him.

  But that was the problem. She did love Judah—and she was just another responsibility for him, much like the ranch, and his family, and rodeo. Nothing special or different. Something he had to rule over, boss, command. Before their night together, he’d never spoken to her, nothing more than a passing hello and chitchat about the weather. And he hadn’t so much as sought her out at the store since that night, either.

  A woman knew when she was the object of a man’s passions, and she wasn’t that to Judah. He was too wild for her, too unsettled for a woman who liked calm rational choices in her life. Judah was her one moment of reckless abandon—and it didn’t take a psychic gift to know they were not meant to be.

  “Speaking of psychic,” Darla said, and Jackie glanced up.

  “Were we?” she asked.

  “No, but is Sabrina really going to work for Fiona?”

  “I think so. Why?”

  “Because I was thinking about asking her if she wanted to work in the shop while I’m out after the babies are born. You can’t do it all by yourself,” Darla said, staying in practical mode.

  “I’ll be fine,” Jackie assured her.

  “You have three little ones. We need backup.”

  The door swung open, sending the bells over the shop door tinkling. Judah strolled in, the man of her dreams obviously on a mission, judging by the hot gleam in his eyes. Darla’s heart jumped into overdrive.

  “We need to talk,” he stated, and Jackie said, “I’ll be heading out for a coffee break. Nice ride last night, Judah.”

  He tipped his hat to her, and when the door swung shut behind her, he put the closed sign in the window.

  “You can’t close my shop,” Darla said.

  “We have to talk.”

  “Not while I’m working.”

  “The brides of Diablo will just have to wait while you take a fruit and juice break.” He handed her a small bag. “Organic. Every bite.”

  She began to seethe. “I eat healthy, Judah. You don’t need to concern yourself with my diet.”

  He nodded. “A husband takes care of his wife.”

  “Not to point out the obvious—”

  He handed her a box. “Darla, you have to quit being so stubborn.”

  “What’s this?” She eyed the small dark box as if it were a bomb.

  “What a man gives a woman he wants to marry.” He grinned, clearly pleased with himself.

  She handed it back. “I’ll keep the organic breakfast. You can keep your Pandora’s box.”

  He put it on the counter. “If you don’t want me to romance you, I’ll stop.”

  “Thank you.” She folded her arms.

  He shrugged. “If that’s the way you want it.”

  She didn’t say anything to confirm his statement because it really wasn’t the way she wanted it. But under the circumstances, “no” was the only option. Judah was a conqueror. He wanted to bulldoze her ivory tower and take her prisoner—but letting him do so would be a mistake.

  “Why aren’t you at the rodeo?”

  “I can’t ride when I’m all torn up like this.”

  That stopped her. She checked his eyes for signs of amusement, found none. Surely he was jesting, though. Judah wasn’t a man whose emotions ruled his life. He was all action, sometimes even brave, fearless action. She again checked his expression for teasing, but he looked just as deadly serious as he had a moment ago. It was like gazing into the eyes of an Old West gunslinger in a classic movie: resolute, determined, honest.

  She caught her breath. “We don’t know each other at all.”

  He looked at her. “We know each other well enough to be parents.”

  “It’s not enough, Judah. Marriage between two people who don’t love each other is a mistake.”

  “So marrying Sidney would be just as big a mistake,” he pointed out.

  She took a step back. “I meant that marrying you when you never loved me would be a mistake. And you can’t say that you do, Judah.”

  He remained silent, and she felt he’d conceded her point.

  “If you’re worried about having access to the children, you’ll always have that.”

  “That can be taken care of legally,” Judah growled. “I don’t waste any energy worrying about that.”

  She blinked. “Legally?”

  “Sure.” He shrugged. “I could have Sam draw up custodial papers tonight if I was worried about you keeping me from my children. That’s the least of my concerns.”

  “It’s very nice to know that you’ve considered all your options, even as you bring me a token of your questionable affection.”

  His lips thinned. “That’s not what I meant.”

  She turned away. “It doesn’t matter, Judah. I don’t want to marry you.”

  “Guess I’ll have to take the good doc out and ask him what his secret is.”

  She whirled around to face him. “There isn’t a secret. We have a lot in common. I
like the security of knowing that I’m marrying someone a lot like me.”

  “Sounds boring.” Judah leaned against the counter, giving her a lazy smile. “You’re too sexy to be boring.”

  “Sexy?” She looked at him, startled.

  “I think so.” He shrugged. “Does Sidney?”

  “I don’t…I don’t know,” Darla said, confused. “I don’t believe so. I mean, why would he?”

  Judah grinned at her, and suddenly Darla felt like a mouse in the paws of a playful lion.

  “I don’t know why he wouldn’t,” Judah said. “Maybe you should ask ol’ Sid.” He pushed himself away from the counter, approaching her too quickly for her to step away, even if she’d wanted to, which she didn’t. Not really. She was kind of curious to see what new trick he had up his sleeve.

  And she wanted him to kiss her. Just once more, to see if it was as good as she remembered.

  He stopped in front of her, towering like a strong redwood tree. “I’m sure almost anyone would say that the good doctor is the better man. I know you’ll rest comfortably with your very prudent decision.”

  “Quit being a rat,” Darla snapped, and Judah kissed her—on the forehead.

  The jerk. She wanted his lips on hers, and she had a feeling he knew it.

  “I know when I’m beat.” Judah strode to the door, tipped his hat, then placed it over his heart. “Congratulations. And I’ll let ol’ Sidney know that I have stood aside, his bride having made her choice.”

  Darla stared as he flipped the closed sign to Open, and loped down the main street of Diablo. Judah Callahan was the most maddening man she’d ever met. Why she’d ever slept with him, she didn’t know.

  Passion. She’d wanted one night of passion, which she knew Judah would give her, before she did the practical thing and married Dr. Sidney Tunstall. She’d wanted a lusty bedding before her marriage of convenience shut her up in a gilded prison of diligent routine for the rest of her life.

  “I have no regrets,” she murmured, and then her gaze fell on the small jeweler’s box Judah had left on the wrap stand, next to the healthy snack he’d brought her.

  She glanced once at the door to make certain he wasn’t outside spying in on her, ready to tease her if she gave in to temptation. But Judah was long gone. There was a crowd on the sidewalk, so she knew that several women had run to chat with him, Judah being a female magnet like all the Callahan men.

  Darla’s hand rested on the jeweler’s box.

  Chapter Five

  It was one of those days, Judah thought, as he picked himself off the ground. Some days you were the hero, and some days you were the dust between the hero’s toes.

  Today he might have been the dust under a very ordinary man’s feet. Crazy Eight had thrown him within three seconds. It hadn’t even been a decent ride. Crazy Eight hadn’t been anything spectacular. But just as he’d left the chute, Judah had seen Sidney Tunstall out of the corner of his eye, and somehow his concentration had gone to hell.

  He’d gotten thrown so easily a child could have ridden better. Judah slowly wandered over to the rail, slapping his hat against his leg. And somehow, he didn’t seem to care. He wondered if Darla had opened the box with his offering in it. A man had to be prepared to fight like a soldier, and Dr. Tunstall was nice enough, but Judah understood women. And what he understood best about women was that a big sparkly diamond sometimes won the fair maiden.

  Dr. Tunstall hadn’t ponied up yet, so Judah had no compulsion about trying to get the jump on the competition. He’d called Harry Winston’s and given a description of exactly what he wanted, then flown to pick it up. And it was a sparkler, like a star plucked from the sky.

  No woman could resist it.

  “And you know,” he said to Sidney when the doc came over to check him out, “I went for the biggest star I could find.”

  Sidney looked at him. “How do you feel, Judah?”

  “Like a winner,” he said. “How do you feel, Doc?”

  Sidney grunted. “Let’s get you where I can take a look at you.” He slipped an arm under Judah’s, and helped him to a seat.

  Then he passed one finger in front of Judah’s face. “How many?”

  “How many what?” Judah asked.

  “Fingers?”

  Judah sighed. “I see five fingers, which are going to be a knuckle sandwich, Doc, if you don’t get your bony hand out of my face.”

  Sam came over to stare into his eyes. “Hey, bro. Hearing little birdies or anything? Faraway music? Fairy whisperings?”

  Judah drew in another deep breath. “I don’t have a concussion. I wasn’t paying attention and I got thrown. That’s all.”

  Rafe bent to stare into his face. “That was a doozy of a toss you took. Hit your head or anything?”

  It was impossible to convince anybody that his problem wasn’t in his head. His problem was in his heart. “If everyone will get out of here, I’m going to get ready for my next ride.”

  “Assuming I approve you to ride,” Sidney said, and Judah glared at him.

  “If you don’t pass me to ride, I’ll kick your ass.”

  Sidney nodded. “Unprovoked aggression. Loss of concentration. Could be a concussion.”

  Judah narrowed his eyes. “Don’t pull that doctor mumbo jumbo on me. If you keep me from riding, it’ll only be because you’re trying to keep me from winning. You don’t want me to win because you know ladies love cowboys who do. And I am in a serious position to be loved.”

  Dr. Tunstall shook his head. “I should let you ride. It would serve you right if I let you land on your already cracked head. Maybe it would knock some of the hot air out of you and serve to flatten that outsize ego of yours. But as it is,” Dr. Tunstall said, “you’re going to have to scratch.”

  “I will not scratch,” Judah declared, and Sidney said, “Then I’ll scratch you myself. Either way, your rodeoing is over for the next month.”

  “Month!” Judah hopped to his feet, heading after the departing doctor. “You can’t keep me out for a month. I need to ride to make up the points for the finals. You know that as well as anyone.”

  “I do.” Sidney glanced at him before he went back out to the arena to observe the next riders. “Go home and rest, Judah. Don’t do any handsprings or jump off any houses, and you should be fine in a few weeks.”

  “I don’t remember hitting my head,” Judah muttered, glaring after him. “He’s trying to keep me out of the rodeo.”

  “Well, that’s a shame,” Sam said. “Now you’ll just have too much time on your hands to hang around Diablo and convince Darla that you’d make a better husband than a cowboy.”

  Light dawned. “Yeah,” he said, “that’s what I’ll do. I’ll cede this hallowed ground and grab territory closer to where yonder princess lays her fair head.”

  “Oh, jeez,” Sam said. “Let’s get you to the E.R., bro. I think you’ve stripped a gear.”

  DARLA HAD BEGUN TO OPEN the box Judah left, but then, not wanting to know what she was passing up, she’d snapped it closed without getting past the first crack in the hinge.

  There was no point in torturing herself, since she wasn’t marrying him. Ever. He wasn’t above tempting her, but she would not succumb. Especially not since she had a wedding in a couple days.

  The very thought made her break out in nervous hiccups, something she hadn’t done in years. Jackie had gone home, the store was closed for the night and Darla was alone with her thoughts, and a hundred wedding gowns mocking her. She hiccupped twice in rapid succession. The magic wedding gown secreted in the storeroom called to her, dragging her thoughts to it. Temptation—wondering how she would look in the gown of her dreams—tugged at her.

  She hiccupped again, painfully and loudly, in the silent store.

  She had to know. It would wipe the last questions from her mind, and she could go on with her marriage to Sidney, knowing that a gown was just a gown, after all. It was the groom who made the day special for a bride, a man a wo
man knew she could trust to be at her side and…

  And what? Take care of her? She didn’t need that.

  But Sidney would expect to take care of her. Judah wouldn’t, she mused. He would expect to make love to her most days of the week, and be the guiding light in her life.

  Sidney would not expect such hero worship.

  Why she was even thinking about both men, comparing them, was a mystery. One of them was about to become her husband. The other wasn’t going to be anything more to her than he’d ever been, just a casual acquaintance—with whom she now shared future parenting.

  “Argh!” Darla hiccupped wildly. Dashing into the stockroom, she tore the magic wedding dress off its hangar and slipped it on, entranced by the luscious whisper it made sliding over her skin. The dress seemed to enfold her in its beauty, pouring dreams into her heart. The hiccups ceased; her nerves unfurled.

  Taking a deep breath, she stepped to the mirrors.

  The gown was simply stunning, glinting and sparkling with sequins and crystals, and a luminescence all its own emanating from the fabric. Darla’s breath caught as she looked at herself, turning slowly to see all views in the mirrors. It was everything Sabrina had claimed. The same spell that had captured Jackie was now shimmering around her, gentle motes of magic that made her feel like a real bride.

  Slowly, Darla gave in and opened the jeweler’s box, gasping at the lovely diamond ring. Never had she seen a ring so utterly perfect. Unable to resist, she slipped it on her finger. It fitted perfectly, as if made to order.

  Her gaze bounced to the mirrors and caught. She stared, astonished to see herself transformed into a fairy-tale bride.

  And behind her, smiling a sexy you’re-all-mine smile, was her handsome prince.

  DARLA WHIRLED AROUND. He wasn’t here. Her prince was a figment of her imagination—fantasy, wishful thinking, whatever. She hurried to take off the ring, shut it back in its box. She’d had no business trying it on.

  And then she felt it, like a butterfly wing brushing against her neck: his lips, pressing against her fevered skin. Darla glanced into the mirror with longing as she watched Judah’s ebony head dip to the cradle of her shoulder.