Lucy smirked back at her. “He’s not going to get bored, and I think you know that. That’s why you’ve always worked so hard to try to keep up apart.”
“He doesn’t love you. You’re just a temporary diversion. He’ll eventually go looking for someone else.”
“You’re wrong. He does love me. He loves me very much. Just as much as I do him.”
“No, you’re wrong,” she screeched. “How could he possibly love you? I mean, look at you.”
Lucy raised an eyebrow, giving the other woman a look of concern. “He was right. You’re jealous.”
“Of you,” Brandy snarled. “Not a chance.”
“Yes, you are,” Lucy gave her a sad smile. “And I feel sorry for you.”
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter,” she snarled. “He’ll eventually get bored, and he’ll go looking for someone else. And when he does, I’ll be there, waiting.”
“You’re wrong, Brandy. But only time will prove that. Good day,” she said before finally turning to walk away. She just missed the look of sheer pain on the other woman’s face as she struggled to hold the tears back.
*******
Lucy walked in the front door and hollered for Tyler. “Can you help me get the groceries from the car, please?”
“Of course, Sweetheart. But first,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a big kiss. “I missed you.”
“Tyler, I was gone less than an hour,” she grinned.
“And I started missing you the second you walked out the door.” Not being able to help himself, he leaned over and kissed her again. “I love you more than I’ll ever be able to truly express with words.”
“I love you, too,” she said, holding him as tight as she could.
“Mom stopped by and picked up Montana for the day,” he told her, finally letting her go to head for the front door. “She said she’ll bring her back in time for dinner.”
Lucy laughed. “She’s said that before.”
“She will this time,” Tyler grinned. “Your mom called, and asked if she could take her after church tomorrow. I already warned Mom, if she doesn’t bring her home, I’m coming to get her. We need time with her, too.”
Lucy laughed and turned toward the hallway. “I’ll help you put up the groceries after I get done in the bathroom.”
“Okay,” he said, heading outside to the car.
She turned down the hall, pulling an oblong box out of her purse, before dropping the purse on the hallway table, and heading to the bathroom. There was something she wanted to do while he was busy. She wanted the result from the test, before he knew what was going on. She didn’t want him getting excited if the test turned out negative.
Less than five minutes later, she came out of the bathroom, a huge smile on her face. When she walked into the kitchen, Tyler was already putting the groceries away.
“Well, that’s a big smile, Beautiful,” Tyler grinned. “What’s going on?”
“I have something for you.”
“You have something for me?” he laughed. “Baby, you have everything I’m ever going to want.”
“That’s not what I meant, Tyler,” she chuckled handing him what she held in her hand.
He gave the test a quizzical look. “What’s this?”
“What does it look like?”
He looked closer, a huge smile slowly spreading across his face. “You’re pregnant?”
“Yes,” she confirmed, her smile growing as big as his.
He immediately dropped to his knees, wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his cheek against her stomach. “Hey, Little One, it’s your daddy talking. And maybe I seem crazy for doing this, but I’m going to talk to you, anyway. I love you. Just like I love your big sister, Montana. I loved your mother so much already, I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but I love her even more now, for giving me you.” He kissed Lucy’s top over her belly button, before finally rising back to his feet.
“I knew you’d be happy, I just didn’t realize how happy,” she grinned.
“Do you think I’m crazy?”
“No, I think you’re wonderful,” she hugged him tight. “And you’re a wonderful father.”
“I may be wonderful,” he grinned, “but you’re absolutely amazing.”
“As long as you think so, I’m happy.”
“I have a confession to make,” he grimaced.
“Really? What’s that?” she asked, not sounding too concerned.
“You know how I told you, Mr. Henry said I needed to be married, just in case Montana’s mother said she wanted her back?” he asked, turning red.
“Yeah,” she laughed, knowing what he was going to say.
“He just asked if I was married, and said it would make things easier if I were,” he gulped. “I just used it as a way to get you to marry me. I would have told you how I truly felt when I asked you to marry me, but you pretty much said you wouldn’t believe me.”
“I know, Tyler,” she grinned, hugging him close. “Once I realized how much you truly loved me, I reasoned it out on my own.”
“So, you’re not mad?” he asked with a big, cheesy grin.
“No,” she shook her head. “I’m actually grateful you took matters into your own hands the way you did. If you hadn’t, we still might not be together.”
“I think my mother was cooking up a plan to get us together. If we hadn’t have married when we did, we probably would have found ourselves the center of some crazy scheme.”
“It doesn’t matter how it happened, just as long as we’re together now,” she smiled up at him. “I love you, and there is no place I would rather be, than in your arms.”
“That’s more than good enough for me,” he said, holding her close.
After a few seconds, he let go of her, going back to putting the rest of the groceries away. She grabbed the milk off the table and started helping him. “I ran into Brandy at the store.”
“Oh, did she say something to you?” he asked out of concern.
“Of course. When has she ever missed a chance to try and make me feel bad about myself?”
“Did she upset you?”
“Not really,” she shrugged. “I just realized you were right.”
“Right about what?” he asked, going back to what he had been doing.
“She’s jealous.”
“Yeah, she is.”
“I think she’s jealous I have you.”
“No, that’s not it,” he shook his head. “She’s not in love with me, no matter how often she implies to the contrary.”
“That’s not exactly what I meant.”
“Okay?”
“She’s jealous of my life with you. She wants a life of her own, with someone else.”
“Oh,” he mumbled, giving her a questioning look. “Kenny?”
“Maybe. Who knows.”
Epilogue – Saturday, August 24
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the happy couple,” Brandy sneered from behind Tyler and Lucy, who had been deep in conversation while they were shopping for their Saturday night supper. “Oh, and you have the littlest Wentworth with you as well.”
Lucy turned to look at her, Montana laid against her shoulder. “Hello, Brandy. How are you tonight?”
“Oh, please, don’t pretend to be nice to me. I know you hate me.”
Lucy gave her a sad smile. “I don’t hate you. I honestly just feel sorry for you. You’re obviously a very unhappy person.”
“Don’t waste your pity on me,” the other woman snarled back. “I am not unhappy.”
When she took a menacing step forward, Tyler stepped between them. “Cool it, Brandy. Do not upset my wife.”
“Do not upset your wife?” she snapped. “What, are you afraid she’s going to break?”
“No, but she’s pregnant, and I don’t want her upset.”
“She’s pregnant?” Brandy growled, gesturing in Lucy’s direction, in frustration. “Why do you get everything? You get the ma
n, the baby, and now you’re pregnant.”
Tyler frowned, contemplating the woman’s words. “Why do you feel so bitter?”
“I’m not bitter.”
“Your tone says otherwise.”
“Yeah, I think he’s right, Brandy. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she blurted, before promptly bursting into tears.
“Tyler, I think we need to go sit down and talk. How about we all go to the deli and get something to drink. Maybe get a fry to split,” she added, turning to Brandy.
Brandy managed to nod her head, tears still streaming down her face. She started walking down the aisle, headed in the direction Lucy had indicated.
When the group reached the deli area, Brandy plopped down at the first table she reached, like she couldn’t go another step. “Why do you even seem to care? It’s not like I was ever really your friend. All I ever tried to do, was keep you two apart.”
“You’re right, and it really, probably makes no sense, but I do care,” Lucy said, sitting down across from her. “Besides, do to everything Tyler and I went through to get here, I think we both appreciate each other that much more.”
“Yeah, I guess,” she shrugged. “But I still, really don’t understand.”
“I still really do think you’re unhappy. I just want to help.”
Brandy shook her head. “I don’t think you can. I don’t think anyone can.”
“Lucy, I’m going to go get us some drinks, and those fries you mentioned,” Tyler said, sounding a little uncomfortable. He ran off toward the register without waiting for an answer. He was hoping Lucy would have this conversation over with pretty quickly. He was never one to want to delve too deeply into other’s emotions. He especially didn’t want to delve into Brandy Drake’s. He may be willing to forgive and forget, but he didn’t want to get close to her.
Lucy waited till Tyler was out of ear shot to ask, “Why do you feel like no one can help?”
Brandy shook her head at first like she wouldn’t answer, but after a while, she swallowed and bit the bullet. “Because, I still love him. I never stopped,” she whimpered.
“Tyler?” Lucy asked, sounding almost outraged.
“No,” she shook her head vigorously.
Lucy nodded, the light finally dawning. “Kenny Long. Jessie’s older brother.”
“Yes,” she cried and dropped her head on her arms laying on the table. “Who else could I be talking about?”
“Have you even tried to talk to him since he left?”
“No, what’s the use? He broke up with me because I wouldn’t gain weight. It’s not like he’d be willing to come back,” she mumbled into her arm.
“He left you because you wouldn’t gain weight?”
“Yes.” She sat back up to look at Lucy. “He was always telling me I was too skinny,” she grumbled, before dropping her head back down.
Lucy shook her head, furrowing her brow. “Why do I feel like there is more to this? Kenny wouldn’t have left you over something so shallow.”
She lifted her head with a sniff and wiped her eyes with her fingers. “He said I needed to eat more and gain weight. He was worried I was going to kill myself, if I didn’t stop starving myself.”
Tyler, who had gone unnoticed up until now, arrived back at the table and sat a milk shake down in front of her. “He’s right, and you need to start with this.”
“What is this?” she asked, taking the cup.
“A chocolate milk shake,” he answered, sitting one down in front of Lucy as well, before taking his own seat to drink his own vanilla shake. He sat the tray with the fries down in the middle of their table before continuing. “Lucy’s been craving them. I was hoping you would like one, as well. Most women love chocolate.”
“Chocolate’s great,” she said with a small smile. “Thank you, Tyler. I’ve never actually drank a milk shake before.”
Tyler looked at her like she had just grown another head. “How is that even possible? That’s like not knowing what baseball or football is in America. It’s un-American.”
“My mother wouldn’t let me have one, ever,” Brandy sighed, as she took another drink of the chocolaty goodness. “This is really good. I think this may be the best thing I have ever tasted.”
“Please, don’t get upset,” Lucy said. “But I thought he left because you cheated on him. That’s what the whole town thinks. You were caught with Lance MacGregor the same day he left.”
“No, I never cheated on him,” she shook her head vigorously. “There’s no way I would have ever cheated on him. My cheating on Kenny would be like one of you cheating on the other one.” She paused for a few seconds to eat a fry and take a drink of her milk shake. “I know what the town thinks, but Kenny had already broken up with me. I went to Lance for comfort, and not that kind.”
“Are you saying you didn’t sleep with Lance?” Tyler asked.
She shook her head, cramming fries in her mouth. “I’ve never been with anyone like that, but Kenny. Not to mention, Lance and I really are just friends. We’ve known each other since we were in diapers. Kenny knew that.”
“I guess this explains all the broken engagements,” Tyler said, raising his eyebrows.
“I tried to move on, I really did,” she sighed. “I just can’t.”
“Then why don’t you gain the weight? Eat better? Take care of your health?” Tyler asked with concern. “That’s all he wanted, is for you to take better care of yourself.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“It’s seems simple to me,” Lucy added.
“My mother’s all the time telling me I’m fat now. I can’t imagine what she’d say if I actually gained a pound,” she said, cramming more fries in her mouth. “Honestly, I just don’t know if I care what she says anymore.”
“Oh, my. No wonder you seem so miserable,” Lucy breathed, grabbing the other woman’s hand that was laying on the table with her free one. “I can’t imagine how I’d feel if my mother was all the time telling me I was fat.”
“You are not fat,” Tyler huffed, looking down at his wife.
“Yes, I know how you feel on the matter,” Lucy smirked. “But this isn’t about me. This is about Brandy.”
“Well, she isn’t fat, either,” he frowned. “She could use at least fifteen or twenty pounds. Ten would be a good start.”
“I can’t gain weight. My mother would lose her mind.”
“You’re going to have to stop worrying about what your mother thinks. This is about more than your relationship with Kenny. You have to consider your health, as well.”
“When she found out that Kenny had broken up with me, she told me it was probably because I was too fat,” Brandy frowned. “When I told her the real reason, she slapped me and told me not to lie to justify eating a bunch of cookies and ice cream.”
“Oh, Brandy, I’m so sorry,” Lucy said, patting her on the hand.
“That’s really what has always been behind how I treated you, and my trying to keep you two apart,” she said, her face flushing with the guilt. “I guess I felt like if you two never got together, I didn’t have to admit to myself that my mother was wrong. I could go on believing that being this thin was attractive. I don’t even see myself as attractive, but I think you’re gorgeous.”
“Like I said, gain ten or twenty pounds,” Tyler grunted.
“Yeah, and go after your man. After something his sister said a while back, I’m pretty sure he’s just as miserable as you,” Lucy added.
Brandy gave her a sad smile. “I don’t even know what state he’s in, much less what city.”
“I can help with that,” Tyler grinned.
“He’ll probably kill you.”
“If it works out, he’ll forgive me.”
Keep reading for a preview of the first book in the Historical Sapphire Springs series. Thank You! Happy!
Excerpt from His Unexpected Bride:
Chapter 1
Tuesday, March 16, 1875
Tobias Townsend walked in through the backdoor of the two-story ranch house he occupied with his six brothers. Him being the oldest, he was more, or less the head of the household. The seven of them had inherited their father’s ranch after a freak carriage accident had claimed the lives of both their father and baby sister Jolie, short of Jolene. She was barely three at the time. Their mother had died from childbirth when Jolie was born. Her whole name was Sarah Jolene, after their mother.
His parents had bought the land the ranch now sit on for little to nothing when his parents decided to move out west back in eighteen forty-seven. They had made it no farther than Missouri when their mother went into labor with him, and their father decided they had gone far enough. They were now hundreds of miles away from the painful memories and the homes they had grown up in, in Maine. At the time, his mother was barely seventeen, and his father only twenty-one.
They would have never been able to make the trip, much less purchase the land, if not for the inheritance his father had received after his own parent’s death. Tobias’s grandparents had all been stricken ill with fever, along with his mother’s younger brother and sister, and passed away just weeks from each other. Thankfully his mother’s older brother had already been married, and lived two states over and, had been untouched by the fever. Abraham Townsend, their father, had been an only child after his younger brother had died only days after his birth.
Tobias remembered his father saying once, he believed, he and his mother had probably escaped just in time. He certainly believed, if they had stayed in Maine, they would have eventually died of the fever, as well. Instead, they had headed west, away from the pain and illness, and settled in what was now known as Sapphire Springs, Missouri. His father had been one of the four who had named the small town.
At the time, when his father had bought the nearly seven-hundred-acre ranch from the government, there wasn’t but three other homes in the area, and they had to travel several miles to the nearest general store. His father, Abraham, along with William Harris, Joshua Miller and George Carter, was one of the original founders of the small town named for the incredibly clear, cold river that lay just to the east of where the Townsend ranch now sit.
The Rodeo Star's Return (Sapphire Springs Book 1) Page 16