by Tina Leonard
“I like her,” Sidney said with a sudden flush of his angled cheekbones. “I like her little girls.”
“Those are Creed and Aberdeen’s little girls, too,” Judah said. “And Diane is… I don’t know about Diane. Why the hell are you asking me?”
Sidney shrugged. “I’d like to do this right.” He stood. “Anyway, sorry to take up your time. Good luck with the twins and—”
“Hang on a minute,” Judah said, motioning for him to sit back down. “Don’t go off all offended.”
“I’m not offended,” Sidney said. “You’re always a little rude, but I understand why.”
“I am not rude,” Judah stated. “I pride myself on being a gentle man.”
“Whatever,” Sidney said. “As long as Darla sees that side of you, I don’t care how you are.”
Judah took a long, hard look at his one-time rival. “Diane had a difficult road to hoe. If you ask her out, you take good care of her. Which I know you will,” he said generously. “You’re an okay guy, and I’d probably feel all right about you if you hadn’t tried to marry my girl.”
“Darla wasn’t your girl,” Sidney said, “and as I recall, at that time you had your head so far up your ass you couldn’t see daylight. Darla didn’t want to be unmarried and pregnant. This is a very small town, and everyone knows her and her mother, and that’s why she was willing to help me out. But it had nothing to do with love or sex or anything but a bargain between friends. You were not her friend, you were a butt-head, and she wasn’t going to sit around and wait for you.”
Judah listened to Sidney’s soliloquy, then shook his head. “I’ve been in love with that woman for years.”
Sidney’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you serious?”
Judah nodded. “Yep.”
“Does…Darla know this?”
“I don’t think so,” Judah said, trying to remember if he’d ever gotten around to telling her that she’d held his heart for so long he’d sometimes thought he might not ever get it back. “Things have been moving pretty fast.”
“Yeah, well.” Sidney walked to the door. “If I had a prescription to offer you, it would be to sit down and talk to your wife instead of hiding out over here. You don’t want to be in the bunkhouse, you want to be with Darla.”
Judah nodded. It was true, and the fact that he didn’t want to stomp Sidney’s head in for implying he wasn’t handling his love life very well was a great sign. “Hey, good luck with Diane.”
Sidney smiled. “Thanks.” He disappeared out the door.
Judah got to his feet, took a deep breath and turned off the lamps.
It was time to go home. It was past time for some honesty between him and the lovely Mrs. Judah Callahan.
If he could shoo all the well-meaning friends and family out of the henhouse.
Chapter Eighteen
When Judah entered the house, Darla was surrounded by about sixteen ladies giving her a baby shower. He walked in tall, dark and handsome—and Darla could tell at once that something was wrong with her man.
He looked darker than usual.
“Hi, Judah,” Darla said.
“Have some punch, Judah,” Fiona added, handing him a crystal cup filled with pink liquid.
“And a cucumber sandwich.” Mavis passed him a plate with tiny, triangle-shaped, crustless sandwiches. Judah looked perturbed, as if he didn’t know what to do with such insubstantial food.
“And a petit four,” Corinne Abernathy said. “The frosting is so sweet it’ll give you a cavity on contact. But it’s so good!” She put two on a tiny dish she stacked on the other plate he was holding.
Nadine Waters handed him a pink napkin. “We decided to decorate the nursery. Which meant a shopping spree! And of course, a small party.”
Darla smiled at Judah. He looked overwhelmed, ready to flee. And she didn’t want him to go anywhere. She wanted him to stay and relax for a change. He never relaxed around her; he never relaxed here. She was pretty certain he had complete fish-out-of-water syndrome in her house.
“Let me show you what the ladies did for our nursery, Judah.” She got up, and Judah practically dropped all his plates, plus the crystal cup, rushing to press her back down on the sofa.
“Don’t get up. You’re supposed to be resting,” he said. “In fact, I’m not sure all this excitement is good for you.”
“I’m fine,” Darla said with some exasperation. “I’m not made of china.”
“I can find the nursery myself,” he said, tipping his hat at the ladies as he escaped down the hall. He’d left his food untouched on the table, and Darla suspected he was happy to be away from all the females.
“Excuse me,” she said to her friends. “I have to go tend to my husband. I hate to cut this short—it’s been lovely—but I need to settle him down or he’ll never feel like this is home.”
Fiona grinned. “We completely understand. We’ll clean up in here, and you go calm a cowboy.”
“Thank you.” She looked around at her friends. “I can never thank you enough for everything you’ve done. And the nursery is a dream come true.”
Corinne touched her hand. “We’ll be quiet as mice, so don’t mind us at all.”
Darla went down the hall. Judah wasn’t in the nursery; the door hadn’t been opened. She found him in the guest room, sitting on the bed he’d commandeered for his own. “Hey, husband,” she said.
“Hi.” He glanced up morosely. “You should be resting. Not having company all the time.”
She sat down next to him. “Judah, I can take care of myself.”
“I’d like to take care of you.”
She gingerly put her face against his. “You need to work. The ladies are happy to keep me from losing my mind while my babies can’t be here.”
“I can be here.” Judah allowed her to stroke his cheek, then caught her fingertips and pressed them to his lips, kissing them. “I want to be here.”
“And I want your life to go on as it was, unchanged, until our daughters come home. I want you to stop worrying. There’s nothing you can do here, Judah. I’m learning about my body, and healing, and figuring out why some parts of me work differently than they used to. Some of it’s a little strange. I’m a bit embarrassed by it all.”
“Why?” He lay down, pulling her alongside him and cradling her head on his shoulder. “I want to get to know my wife.”
“All right. No more company. You can do everything for me from now on. You can help me pump breast milk—”
“You’re not scaring me.”
Darla smiled. “And you can watch me while I nap, which is a lot of excitement—”
“I can do that.”
“And you can help write our thank-you letters for all the wedding and baby shower gifts.”
He leaned down to kiss her. “We don’t have to go all crazy.”
Laughing, she pushed him away so she could recline on his shoulder again. “You don’t want to be stuck here all the time. You’d be bored out of your skull. You’re a man of action, not a couch cowboy.”
“True,” he said, “but if I can talk you into being naked, and just the two of us watching soaps together, I could learn to like being king of the couch.”
“Ugh.” She closed her eyes. “I’m not going to be the queen of the couch. I can’t wait to get back in my jeans so I can ride my horse.”
“Let’s move out to the ranch,” Judah said. “There’s a bunkhouse that we’re not using for anything right now. We could call it home. Then I wouldn’t be away from my job. You’d be there and I’d be there, and we’d have more room, and the babies would have all the family and friends around they could stand.”
“I thought the ranch might be sold.”
“Maybe,” Judah said, “but I’ve got faith in Sam. He’s got a lot of aces in his boot. But even if it was, we’d still be together.”
“Just homeless,” Darla said, loving the fact that she and Judah were lying together, dreaming about the future, comfortable w
ith one another. This was how she wanted it to be. She wanted them to slowly grow together and bond.
“Do you doubt me, wife?” Judah cuddled her, kissing her neck—but not touching her.
“I won’t break if you hold me, Judah.”
“You can’t lure me that easily. The doctor said rest, and rest you shall do.” He nipped her neck lightly, then moved back to her lips. “Quit avoiding the subject.”
Darla gave a small moan, wishing she were healed and that she could make love to her husband. “What subject was that?” she asked, distracted with lust from all Judah’s kisses. I could fly, he makes me feel so light, so gauzy.
So in love.
“Do you doubt my ability to provide for you?”
“No,” she said. “When were we talking about that? I never asked you to provide for me.”
He sighed. “Typical new-age female.”
She kissed his forehead, troubled but not sure why. “Typical old-fashioned male.”
“Darn right,” he said, and then Darla drifted off to sleep, vaguely aware that she’d missed something important, but not sure what.
WHEN DARLA AWAKENED, Judah had slipped away. The sun was shining brightly outside, and birds were singing, and—
“Heck,” she said, and hopped from the bed. She remembered what they’d been talking about. He wanted to move to the ranch. She’d been giddy with lust.
“Yes, Virginia, females lust. At least I do, for Judah,” she muttered, and jumped in the shower. She bathed carefully around the stitches, glad that Judah wouldn’t ever see her like this—she wasn’t about to let him—and then put on a comfy, oversize pair of shorts and a T-shirt that she would normally only wear for cleaning.
She went into the nursery, doubtful that Judah had even glanced in here to see the ladies’ handiwork. He wasn’t coping well with the fact that his daughters had come early. None of it was real yet—or he was scared. Men like Judah avoided what bothered them.
But it was a beautiful nursery now, all pink iced confections gracing smooth white furniture. She couldn’t wait to bring her daughters home. Their new room was like a music box, and—
Judah hadn’t looked at this room because it wasn’t real. In fact, this wasn’t his home. He wasn’t comfortable here, and he never would be.
She was going to have to fix the situation, if they were ever going to truly be two halves of a whole.
FIONA WRINKLED HER NOSE and hung up the phone. “Judah Callahan, what have you done to that wife of yours?”
He blinked, caught in the act of lifting a piece of pound cake from the covered glass pedestal as he headed out to the barn. “Let me think about it.” Squinting, he took a bite of fragrant cake, sighing with happiness. “Haven’t done anything to my wife. Doctor’s orders.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Fiona said. “Corinne just called and said Darla is listing her house with her.”
“Listing her house?”
“As in preparing to sell it.” His aunt put her hands on her hips. “When we left that house last night, you two were supposed to be cozy as bugs in a rug.”
“We were.” Judah raised his cake to her. “This is delicious.”
“Then why is she selling her house?”
“Beats me.” He shrugged. “I’ve never understood the mysteries of the female mind. And that includes yours, Aunt.” He kissed her cheek. “Though I do love you.”
She brushed him back. “If she moves farther away from me, I’ll be annoyed with you. You go over there right now and be a gentleman. Tell her you don’t want her to move.”
“I can’t,” Judah said. “She has a mind of her own.”
“Did you tell her you wanted her to move?” Fiona shot him a suspicious glance.
“Yes, but…” He stopped, put down the cake. “But she wouldn’t do that for me.” Would she? “I asked Darla to move to the ranch, and she’d said she didn’t want to in case we lost the place, and then I asked her if she doubted my ability to provide. And that was that,” he said. “Honest. Moving barely came up.”
Fiona glared. “You can’t guilt your wife into moving when she doesn’t even have her babies home from the hospital, Judah. She hasn’t recovered from giving birth!”
He felt like a heel. “I admit it probably wasn’t the right time to bring up the topic.”
“And now she’s listed her house.” Fiona shook her head. “You need to tell Darla that she doesn’t have to sell it.”
“Why?” Judah asked. “Isn’t it a good thing that she’s willing to make me happy?”
Fiona closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them again, she just shrugged. “Nephew, you’ll have to figure this one out on your own.”
Which didn’t sound good, if Fiona wasn’t in the mood to dish out wise counsel. It sounded as if she was adopting a new, mind-my-own-business strategy, and Judah knew that could only mean one thing.
He had stepped in it big time.
“Hey,” Jonas said as he walked by.
“Hey.” Judah fell in beside his brother. “If you might possibly be in the doghouse with your lady, but you’re not sure, and yet you don’t want to be in the doghouse if you’re not actually there—”
“Jeez,” Jonas said, “I haven’t had my coffee yet. Could you speak in some other format besides riddle?”
“I’m not sure if Darla is making a big decision because of me,” Judah said, following his brother into the barn. “I don’t want her doing something she’ll regret. So I’m wondering how to approach this. Is it a flowers situation? Or a turquoise bracelet situation?”
“Boy, you’re dumb,” Jonas said. “The fact that you’re even asking shows that you have no idea of the workings of the female mind. What did you do to Darla?”
“I didn’t do anything to her!” Judah was up-to-here with everyone assuming that he’d done something to his wife. “All I said was that we should move out to the ranch. Next thing I know, she’s put a call in to list her house. I hear all this from Fiona. Darla didn’t tell me.”
Jonas slumped on a hay bale. “The problem is that you’re slow.”
Judah hesitated. “Slow?”
“Slow to figure things out.” He waved a hand majestically. “Obviously Darla thinks you’re an ape and is moving as far away from you as possible.”
Judah’s heart nearly stopped. “I did not do anything to upset my wife!”
“Did you ask her?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“If you did, she’d probably tell you that she liked her little house, but since you used faulty condoms and got her pregnant, now she’s going to have to sell her house and live out of a cardboard box with you.”
“Cardboard box?” Judah blinked. “Rancho Diablo is no cardboard box.”
“Yeah, well, that’s if it doesn’t become Rancho Bode.” Jonas shrugged. “I guess she’s taking a leap of faith that you’ll provide.”
That’s what he’d asked her: if she doubted his ability to provide for her. Judah felt a little guilty about that.
“So, I’m guessing turquoise bracelet, huh?” Judah asked, and Jonas sighed.
“I’d go ahead and make it sapphires,” his brother said. “And make good friends with the jeweler. I have a feeling your marriage is going to require a frequent-shopper discount.”
Judah snorted. “Why am I asking you? You’ve never even had a girlfriend,” he said, and stomped off.
Jonas was wrong.
But just in case, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to make a quick stop on the way to Darla’s.
WHEN JUDAH GOT TO Darla’s house, the place was empty. No note, no nothing. A shiver ran across his scalp. He didn’t even have her cell phone number.
Jackie did. He could ask her, but then everyone would know that he and Darla hadn’t gotten to the point of even exchanging information, and he’d look pretty much a dope, which was how he felt at the moment.
He didn’t know if she was at the bridal shop or the hospital. “She’s not supp
osed to be out of the house,” he muttered. “Doctor’s orders.”
Fear jumped into him, and he hurried to his truck. What if she’d had a problem? What if something had gone wrong and he hadn’t been here to help her? After he’d sent her friends and family away, and made a big deal of how he could take care of her, he hadn’t even bothered to ask for her cell number.
He tore down the driveway and nearly collided with Jackie’s truck as she was pulling in. Darla was in the front seat. He was relieved, but still plenty unhappy.
He hopped out of the truck and strode to Darla’s window. “Where have you been?”
“What?” she said, while Jackie stared at him, almost gawking. “What do you mean, where have I been?”
Judah tried to cool his jets so his blood pressure wouldn’t pop out of his head like a fountain. “You scared me. I didn’t know where you were.”
Darla blinked big blue eyes at him. “I had my two-week doctor’s appointment, Judah. Goodness.”
“Oh.” Sheepishly, he stepped away from the window, and the mirth in Jackie’s eyes. “Sorry about that. Hi, Jackie. Thanks for driving Darla.”
“Hi, Judah,” Jackie said. “Mind moving your truck so I can get by?”
“I’m going.” Okay, he was going to be the laughingstock of the town. He’d just made a superior ass of himself. He backed up, parked, then followed the ladies to the house. They didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to him as they went inside. Darla slowly seated herself on the sofa, and Jackie got her a glass of ice water.
“I’m going now,” Jackie said to Judah. “Think you can handle it from here?”
“Yes,” he said, his tone gruff, his gaze drinking in his tired wife. “Thanks, Jackie.”
“No problem. She has another appointment in a couple of weeks, so put that on your calendar so you don’t give yourself a coronary.” His sister-in-law smiled at him and waved goodbye to Darla as she popped out the door.
“Sorry,” Judah said. “I’ve lost my mind.”
Darla sighed. “I didn’t think to tell you because it wasn’t important.”