Dakota Sunrise

by Leah Brooke

  “Hmm.” Running a hand down her back, he bent to touch his lips to her forehead. “Why don’t you let us worry about Jimmy?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Carson stood in the doorway, watching Deanna and Casey sleep in the bed that Mary used when the weather got bad and she spent the night.

  He’d stood there for several minutes, slightly unnerved at his relief and contentment of having both of them safe and secure under his and Sam’s roof.

  It hadn’t occurred to him just how full the house would feel with them in it.

  It wasn’t that they took up a lot of room but instead had filled an emptiness he hadn’t realized was there.

  With a sigh, he let his gaze move over the interior of the room again with the aid of the small-night light they’d brought with them, his gaze pausing on the baseball bat Deanna had propped against the night stand next to her.

  He knew it would take time for her to feel safe again, something that only trusting Sam and him—and time—would accomplish.

  Closing the door behind him, Carson made his way back down the hall to the front of the house, sipping his beer and pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace in the large family room.

  He’d turned the lights off after Deanna took Casey to bed, the darkness broken only by the dying fire and bright outdoor lights streaming through the front window, the semi-darkness suiting his mood.

  He wanted Deanna and Casey in his life.

  He wanted the family that, until meeting them, had been a nondescript vision for the future.

  Now, it had been brought into sharp focus, and he craved it with a hunger that left him unsettled.

  He looked up as Sam came into the room. “I just checked on them.”

  Dropping into one of the chairs in front of the fire, Sam inclined his head. “Yeah. I did, too. The bed for Casey is supposed to be delivered in the morning. Hopefully having her own room will make her feel more at home here.”

  Carson smiled. “It sounds like you and I are on the same page with that. I have no intention of letting them go back to Don’s house again.”

  Sam’s lips twitched. “On that we agree.” With a sigh, he sat forward, bracing his forearms on his thighs as he stared into the dying embers. “Never in my life has a condom broken on me.” Shaking his head, he smiled faintly. “I probably would have been in a panic if it had. Hell, I’m glad that it broke with Deanna.”

  Sitting back, he glanced at Carson before staring into the fire again. “For the first time in my life, I honestly hope I made the woman I made love to pregnant.”

  Carson sipped his beer and resumed his pacing, unable to get the image of Deanna, caught in the throes of passion, from his mind. “I’m jealous, and it’s not something I’m comfortable with. I’d rather not know whose baby she carries.”

  Sam looked up and smiled. “We don’t even know if she’s pregnant, Carson. Besides, neither one of us is Casey’s biological father, and both of us want to be her daddy.”

  Feeling slightly better, Carson dropped to the sofa. “True. Still, I’d rather we didn’t know which one of us was the father of any babies she carries.”

  “Understood.” Sam sat back, sipping his own beer. “She needs to feel safe and secure—not only physically but emotionally. She doesn’t need to be in the middle of two jealous men fighting over her like two dogs with a bone.”

  Carson stopped pacing and dropped onto the sofa again. “Of course not. I have no intention of fighting around her.” Smiling, he sat back and finished off his beer. “Wonder if she was thinking that she might be pregnant. She kept looking at you all through dinner. Practically ignored me.”

  Sam turned to him and blinked. “Ignored you? Hell, she was sneaking glances at you all night.”

  “I don’t think so. She was too busy watching you. She kept looking up at you through those thick lashes and blushing every time.”

  Sam smiled. “I noticed that, but I also noticed that she kept looking at you and blushed every time you licked your lips. She also watched you cautiously, as if wondering if you were mad at her.”

  Surprised at that, Carson frowned. “Mad at her? Why the hell would I be mad at her?”

  “Because I might have made her pregnant.”

  Carson smiled at that. “That’ll be remedied soon enough.”

  He jumped to his feet again when the phone rang, cursing under his breath as he reached for it. “Wells.”

  “Carson, it’s Len.”

  Not liking the anger in Len’s tone, Carson turned as Sam got to his feet. “Len. It’s kind of late. Something wrong?” He put the phone on speaker.

  “Jimmy’s on the loose, and it sounds like he’s on the way.”

  Carson relaxed slightly, looking at Sam. “We already expected that.”

  Sam frowned. “She’s got full custody of Casey, so there’s nothing he can do. They’re both out of his reach.”

  “And that’s only made him worse.” Len blew out a breath. “Jimmy called a friend for a ride. Hit him over the head and stole his car.”

  Sam cursed and set his beer bottle on the mantel. “Jesus.”

  “That’s not the worst of it. He stopped at a liquor store in St. Louis, Missouri, and pretended he had a gun. Robbed the place. Took the clerk’s gun from him and shot him. Grabbed several bottles of whiskey, the money, and took off. Cops were looking for him and found the car about seven tonight.”

  Carson stiffened more with every word. “They get him?”

  “No. He stole a motorcycle.”

  “Fuck. How’s the clerk?” Carson glanced down the hallway to make sure Deanna and Casey’s door remained closed.

  “Not good. In surgery. Don’t know if he’ll make it or not.” Len sighed, the creak of leather telling Carson that the attorney sat back in his chair. “From what I’m hearing, it sounds like he went nuts. There’s no way he’s going to let Deanna and Casey go.”

  Sam cursed, keeping his voice low. “He sounds like the type that won’t give up, but he’s not going to get close enough to hurt her again.”

  Carson tightened his grip on the phone. “I’m very much looking forward to getting my hands on this son of a bitch. We’ll send a couple of men out in the morning to hang around your office.”

  “No thanks.” Len chuckled humorlessly. “The police already have a man watching my office, and I gave Gale a vacation until Jimmy’s caught.”

  Sam’s features hardened even more. “We’re sending two more men anyway.”

  Carson glanced down the hallway again, relieved that Deanna and Casey were safely under their roof. “Everyone here is carrying a sidearm. Thanks for the update. Be careful and keep us posted.”

  “I will. Do you have enough people watching Don’s house? I worry about Deanna and Casey being over there alone.”

  Although appreciating Len’s concern, Carson couldn’t help but stiffen with possessiveness toward her and at what he considered criticism from the attorney. “She’s not alone. She and Casey are staying here.”

  Len chuckled. “Hmm. You’re even more defensive than before. Must be love.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Following the sound of her daughter’s chatter, Deanna made her way down the hallway toward the kitchen, pausing at the doorway and smiling at the scene playing out in front of her.

  Carson sat across from Casey, sipping coffee and watching her daughter scoop a spoonful of scrambled eggs. “You have to finish your eggs first.”

  His gaze held Deanna’s, the heat in it undeniable. “There’s your mommy now.”

  Casey turned in her seat, spilling her spoonful of scrambled eggs. “Mommy! Mommy! It snowed a bunch! We’re gonna make a snowman!”

  “Are you?” Deanna smiled and went to pour herself a cup of coffee, looking out the window as she took her first sip.

  Turning, she smiled at Carson. “It’s still snowing! My God! It must have snowed two feet already.”

  Carson held out a hand, silently urging her to come to
him. “Twenty-seven inches as of six this morning. We’re expecting another foot or so before it ends tonight.”

  Deanna paused to kiss Casey’s hair before taking Carson’s hand and allowing him to pull her onto his lap. “Good Lord! Casey’s going to get lost in it.”

  Chuckling, Carson bent to kiss her. “I won’t lose her.”

  Wrapping an arm around her, Carson reached for his own cup. “I have no intention of losing either one of you.”

  Casey swallowed most of the next spoonful of egg. “Sam went to get my sprise.”

  “Surprise, sweetie.” Turning, Deanna eyed Carson. “What surprise?”

  Tightening the hand on her waist, Carson shook his head and set his empty cup aside. “Not telling. We were waiting for you to get up before going out. I didn’t want a repeat of what happened last time.”

  He nuzzled the sensitive place below her ear, sending a shiver of delight through her. “I want you. Tonight, you’re mine.”

  “Is that a fact?”

  “Yep.”

  “I finished!” Casey slid from her chair. “I wanna go outside and pay in the snow.”

  Chuckling, Carson closed his hands on her waist and rose, helping her to her feet. “I’m going to take her out for a little while. Sam should be back in an hour or so.”

  “Where’d he go?”

  He turned her in his arms, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, once again nuzzling the spot on her neck that drove her wild. “We ordered new furniture. The new bedroom suite for the three of us has been back-ordered, but the one for Casey was supposed to be delivered today, but they don’t want to deliver it in a snowstorm.”

  Deanna stiffened. “So he went to get it?”

  “He did. She’ll have her own room, and you’ll have yours. For now.”

  Understanding, she smiled. “So I can have visitors after she goes to bed?”

  Carson smiled, a slow smile filled with erotic intent. “Absolutely. I plan to be your first overnight guest.”

  Casey ran back into the room with her boots on the wrong feet and her coat still unzipped. “Hurry up!”

  Carson chuckled and lifted Casey onto the chair. “Okay, Lil’ bit, but we have a few things to fix first.”

  * * * *

  After making the beds and getting dressed, Deanna stood at the window and sipped coffee, watching Carson and Casey play in the snow.

  They looked so natural together.

  She couldn’t remember Casey ever being so comfortable with a man before, and it was clear that her daughter basked in Sam’s and Carson’s attention.

  If only Sam or Carson could have been Casey’s father instead of Jimmy, things might have been much different.

  Remembering Sam’s words, Deanna pressed a hand to her abdomen, wondering what would happen if Sam had already made her pregnant.

  She could easily imagine that it would hurt Carson and could possibly cause a rift between her and Carson that would be difficult to live with and would create a tension that would change everything.

  It would also damage the relationship between Sam and Carson, which could also affect the ranch.

  It would change everything and ruin any chance they would have at happiness.

  She didn’t know how long she stood there before the sound of a snowplow caught her attention.

  She looked up just as it came into view, smiling when she saw that it led the way for Sam, who followed behind in his truck, a huge tarp covering the contents of the truck bed.

  After hurriedly pulling on her own boots and coat, Deanna rushed outside and to Casey, worried that her daughter would rush toward the moving vehicles. “Stay here, sweetie.”

  She automatically waved at the snowplow driver as she had several times, but for the first time, found herself close enough to recognize him. “Abe!”

  He grinned and waved again, giving her the thumbs-up sign he’d given her hundreds of times in the past whenever she’d watch him train horses.

  She could remember hot, sunny days standing outside the fence, holding her breath as she watched him try to control a horse who didn’t want to be controlled.

  Each time he’d been thrown, he’d given her a thumbs-up sign to let her know that he was okay.

  After his accident, he’d worked tirelessly to be able to walk again, each physical therapy session that her uncle had arranged torture for Abe—but he’d prevailed.

  She knew that the cold weather made walking difficult for him and that her uncle had kept his lifelong friend on the payroll, giving Abe a purpose and not allowing him to give up.

  Carson’s hand touched her back. “You and Casey need to get inside while we carry in the furniture. I don’t want either one of you getting hurt.”

  * * * *

  Carson stood in the doorway, watching Deanna tuck Casey in for the night in her new bed. “Are you sure we picked out the right sheets?”

  The sheets were pink, Casey’s favorite color, and had various princesses on them—and Casey appeared to be able to identify each and every one of them.

  Deanna smiled, her eyes shimmering with tears. “They’re perfect. Everything’s perfect.” She ran her hand over the large canopy. “It’s a bed for a little princess. Thank you.”

  She turned on the night-light and monitor they’d ordered so that she would be able to hear Casey from another room and bent to kiss Casey goodnight.

  Appearing even tinier in her bed and adorable in her pink pajamas, Casey sat up. “Mommy, I wanna talk to Sam and Carson.”

  Deanna blinked. “Of course, honey. What would you like to talk to them about?”

  Shaking her head, Casey stuck out her bottom lip. “No. You go away.”

  Carson frowned and shared a look with Sam, wondering what Casey was up to.

  Seeing the hurt in Deanna’s eyes, Carson smiled at her. “It’s okay. Go take your bath and relax.”

  When Deanna nodded and gave him a fake smile before leaving the room, Carson felt like a heel but also found himself curious about Casey’s need to speak to them alone.

  Only when Deanna left the room and closed the door behind her did Carson realize that the monitor was still on.

  Not knowing what Casey might say, he considered turning it off, but Casey began to speak.

  “Am I gonna yiv here now?”

  Carson moved to sit on one side of the bed facing her while Sam lowered himself to the other. “Would you like to live here?”

  Lowering her gaze, she played with a button on her doll’s dress. “Is my daddy gonna come yiv here?”

  Sam ran the back of his finger over her arm. “No. He’s not.”

  Casey seemed to consider that. “I don’t yike my daddy. He’s mean. He makes Mommy cry. He hurts Mommy.”

  Carson’s stomach knotted. “He can’t hurt her any more. You don’t have to worry about him. You’re safe here. Remember?”

  Nodding, Casey glanced at each of them through her lashes before lowering her gaze again. “Am I gonna get a new daddy?”

  Carson glanced at Sam, weighing his words carefully. “Would you like to have a new daddy?”

  Casey shrugged, not looking at either one of them. “Would one of you be my new daddy?”

  Carson glanced at Sam and swallowed the lump in his throat. “Would you like that?”

  Casey nodded and continued to play with her doll.

  Sam leaned forward, lifting Casey’s chin. “How would you like it if both of us are your daddies?”

  Casey’s eyes went wide. “I can have two daddies?”

  Sam smiled. “That’s up to you and your mommy. Go to sleep now, and we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

  After tucking her in again, Carson straightened and reached for the light switch.

  “Mean daddies don’t kiss yittle girls goodnight.”

  Carson found he had to swallow another lump in his throat. “No?”

  Sam braced his hands on the bed and leaned over her. “So I guess good daddies give goodnight kisses?”r />
  Casey nodded. “And they yet yittle girls have cookies whenever they want them.”

  Chuckling, Sam bent down to kiss her cheek. “Good daddies are also smart enough to know when they’re being conned.”

  Carson bent to kiss her other cheek, adjusting her covers when she lay back again. “Little girls are supposed to listen to their daddies and do what they tell them. You’d better think about that before deciding if you want us to be your daddies.”

  “If I’m bad, are you gonna spank me?”

  Sam’s lips twitched. “No, but we might take away cookies.”

  * * * *

  Carson found Deanna in the bathtub with the monitor sitting on the counter. “I’m sorry. We’re sorry.”

  She’d left the door open, obviously expecting them to come see her after their conversation with Casey.

  Sam knelt next to the tub and reached for the washcloth. “Speak for yourself. What the hell were we supposed to say? I’m sure as hell not going to let her think we don’t want to be her daddies.”

  He slid his hand beneath the surface of the water to flatten it on her abdomen. “And the daddies of anyone else who comes along.”

  Deanna sighed and leaned back, closing her eyes. “If I’m pregnant, it’ll ruin everything.”

  “Oh?” Carson lowered himself to the edge of the tub. “Why is that?”

  Deanna opened her eyes again, meeting his gaze. “Because it would cause a rift between you and me. Between you and Sam.”

  Carson smiled. “I have to admit I’m a little jealous, but that doesn’t mean I won’t consider any child you bear as mine.”

  Sam folded a towel and propped her injured wrist on it. “Casey isn’t ours, but we both want to be her father. Besides, Carson has black hair and dark eyes. My eyes are green, and my hair’s lighter. Chances are we’re gonna know who’s the father of our children.”

  “And that won’t bother you?”

  Remembering the kick to the gut he’d felt when Casey asked if they were going to be her daddies, Carson smiled. “No. It won’t bother us. We’ve got several more empty rooms to fill.”