Cowboys Never Get A Second Chance: A Johnson Brothers Novel (Chestnut Ranch Cowboy Billionaire Romance Book 3)

by Emmy Eugene

  Russ pressed his lips to her temple and said, “Hey, baby. How’s your day?”

  “Better now,” she said, smiling up at him.

  “I’d kiss you,” he whispered, his lips getting dangerously close to hers. “But Rex is already glaring my face off, and I’m starving.”

  She laughed along with Russ, and they joined the line for pulled pork. This party and time with Russ was exactly what she needed after a tumultuous week of doubt and worry. She knew as soon as Henry came back into the picture, her thoughts would scramble, and she concentrated extra-hard to be able to hold onto these specific memories.

  She enjoyed herself immensely during dinner. During game night. While Travis explained his plan to get Millie back. And when Russ took her hand and leaned down to say something to Seth, Janelle felt like she’d lost twenty years of her life as she snuck out the back door and into the chilly night.

  “Ah,” Russ sighed as the door closed behind them, sealing most of the noise in the house. Janelle admitted the quiet night sure was refreshing, and she drew in a long, deep breath of the winter air.

  “So, family party on Friday night,” she said. “Our Christmas celebration on Saturday.”

  “Right,” Russ said. “Six for dinner on Friday. At least that’s the plan right now. Travis will know more when he talks to her tomorrow.”

  “Do you think they’ll get back together?”

  “Yep.” Russ leaned against the railing on the deck. “You want to walk over to one of the bridges?” He took her hand again, and Janelle had a feeling she’d go wherever he wanted her to.

  “Sure.” They went down the steps to the lawn and crossed it, moving east toward Chestnut Ranch.

  “What do you want to do for our Christmas thing?” she asked. “Kelly and I can just make dinner or something.”

  “I have gifts for you all,” he said.

  Surprise moved through Janelle. “You do?”

  “Yep.”

  “When did you have time to shop this week?”

  “I may have made up a reason to leave the homestead once or twice,” he said. “My Momma has a way of treating us boys like we’re not quite grown yet.” He chuckled, and Janelle joined him.

  “Honey, that’s all Texan mothers.” She bumped him with her hip.

  “Are you gonna be like that?”

  “Probably,” she said.

  “You did get Kelly right in line before breakfast yesterday.” Russ glanced at her, but it was much too dark to read his expression before he looked away.

  Janelle’s stomach clenched. “Yes, well, sometimes I have to get really firm with her. She usually comes around for a while, and then she slips again.” Janelle sighed. “Kelly is going through a hard time right now.” Truth be told, Janelle was too. “Having her dad back is hard on her.”

  “And meeting me probably didn’t help.”

  “I don’t know,” Janelle said honestly. “She seemed happy to meet you, but then Henry came back…” She let the words hang there, because she didn’t know how to explain her own confusion. It was easy to pass it off as Kelly’s, but also a bit untruthful too.

  “She loves her dad.”

  “They both do.”

  “So, I just gotta ask. Do you see us…I mean…are you looking to get married again?”

  Janelle had once sworn never to walk down that particular aisle again. But she found herself saying, “Yes, Russ. I’m only forty-one. I don’t want to live alone forever.”

  “Technically, you’re not alone. You have the girls.”

  “And what happens in just eleven years when Kadence is eighteen? They’ll go off and live lives of their own, and I’ll be chained right back to that law office.”

  Russ’s hand squeezed hers, and that was enough of a comfort for her. It said that he was in this for the long-term, and that he’d been thinking about marrying her.

  “You don’t like the law office?” he asked, leading her down a gentle slope. A bridge sat ahead of them, and Janelle loved the beauty and majesty of this place.

  “I like the law office,” she said. “I like it a lot, but it has a way of consuming me.”

  “Oh, you just described the ranch.” Russ chuckled. He sighed as they reached the top of the curved bridge and stopped walking. “I love the ranch, but it’s the exact same thing.”

  “So we just have to make sure our jobs don’t become our lives.” She gazed up at him. “Easy enough, right?”

  He smiled and shook his head. “So easy.” He leaned down and touched his lips to hers, and Janelle hadn’t kissed him in far too long. She pulled in a breath as her pulse started to pound, and she ran her hands up his arms to his face.

  “My hat,” he said, breaking the kiss as he turned his head away from her. “Oh, there it goes.”

  “Did it fall into the river?”

  “Yep.” He chuckled. “It’s gone.”

  “Sorry,” she said, grinning as she tucked herself into his arms.

  “Oh, you’re worth it,” he said, lifting her chin to kiss her again. She loved the feel of his hands on her face, the strength in his stature as he kissed her, and kissed her, and kissed her.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Russ, baby, you’re throwin’ Daddy around up there.”

  Russ eased up on the accelerator at his momma’s words. He couldn’t help his excitement to get back to the ranch, where the family Christmas party was set to start very soon. He’d volunteered to drive to town and get his parents, as Travis had to go get Millie’s momma. Millie was already at the homestead—had been for hours—getting set up.

  “Sorry, Daddy,” he said, glancing over at his father, who did look a little tense. “You sure you two can go on your service mission? It’s a long flight.”

  “Yes,” his father said. “I’m starting some new physical therapy in January.”

  “Oh?” That was news to Russ, and he hadn’t heard it from anyone else either. “Well, that’s great.”

  “We still need to ask Rex or Griffin to drive you,” Momma said from the back seat. “Oh, I hope we have a lot of steak at this party.”

  Russ chuckled softly to himself. “Momma, it’s going to be an upscale party,” he said. “You’ve got to trust Millie.”

  “Trust her?” Momma scoffed. “I barely know her.”

  Russ looked in the rear-view mirror and met his momma’s eye. “Momma,” he said. “She’s a real nice woman, and Travis is in love with her. So be nice. Please.”

  “I’m always nice,” she said.

  “Yes, but in a Momma-kind of way.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that you’ll go around and examine every plate and fork. And she doesn’t need that.” He cocked his eyebrows at her. “You just go in, and you start gushing. You’re good at that.”

  “Am I?”

  “Sure,” Russ said, slowing as they approached another curve in the road. “You go, ‘oh, Millie, this is beautiful. Wow, look at that candle. Where did you get these dishes? They’re lovely.’”

  Momma laughed, and Russ did too. “I do not sound like that,” she said, patting her hair, which she’d just had set.

  “Mm hm,” Russ said, looking at his daddy. “She sounds like that, doesn’t she?”

  “A little,” Daddy said, and that got Russ to laugh even louder.

  “My voice isn’t that high-pitched,” Momma said.

  “All right, I may have gone a little high,” Russ drawled. “But that was the only difference.”

  “Mm hm,” Momma said. “And we finally get to meet your Janelle too.”

  His stomach twisted and turned. But he said, “That’s right, Momma. And please, I really need you on your best behavior. Both of you.” He shot his dad a look too. “No asking her about hunting or guns, Daddy. She’s a single mom.”

  “So that means she doesn’t hunt?” Daddy asked.

  “Yes,” Russ said immediately. “That’s what it means. She runs a law office.” He took a deep breat
h and braked to make the turn onto the lane that led to Chestnut Ranch. “And I really like her. Like, a whole lot. Please, Momma?”

  “Okay,” she said. “I already agreed to be nice.”

  “Like, normal-person-nice,” Russ said. “Right? Not Momma-nice.”

  “Yes,” she huffed. “Normal-person-nice.”

  Russ grinned and passed the Wright’s house as Seth and Jenna came out onto the front porch. Russ had driven fast, and he suspected they’d be the first back to the homestead. Sure enough, Travis’s truck wasn’t there, and neither was Rex’s or Griffin’s. He wasn’t sure which one of them would be driving tonight, but they hadn’t arrived yet.

  “All right,” he said, opening the garage and pulling inside. “Everyone’s on their best behavior starting…now.” He parked and went around to help Daddy. Momma could get out on her own, but she didn’t, and Russ helped her down next.

  They entered the house to the scent of steak, and Russ’s soul sang. His momma would be happy with that.

  “Oh, my,” Momma said, pausing in the doorway of the mudroom.

  “Go on, Momma,” Russ said. “We’re trying to get in too.” He nudged her gently out of the way, but one step into the kitchen and he knew why she’d stalled. The homestead had been transformed since he’d left forty-five minutes ago.

  The scent of pine needles mingled with the trays of food waiting on the counter. Millie had set the table with fine china, lit candles, and covered all the pillows in festive wrappings. The fireplace crackled, and it seemed like every detail was exactly right.

  “Millie, this place is magical,” Momma said, stepping over to Millie and hugging her. “I do like this new tradition.”

  Russ kept one eye and ear on Momma while he helped Daddy over to the couch. “Seth has the dogs, Daddy. They’ll be here soon.”

  His dad groaned as he sat on the couch, and Russ smiled at the garland on the mantel and turned back to tell Millie how amazing this was. No wonder Travis liked her. He thought of Janelle, and this was definitely the upscale party Millie had mentioned weeks ago.

  “We’re here,” Rex called as he and Griffin walked in the back door. A moment later, Seth and Jenna followed them, the dogs’ claws clicked on the tile floor as they came inside too.

  Winner barked, scampering around the homestead to sniff everyone already there, getting a good scrub from Millie as she laughed. Rex whistled and said, “Millie, this is amazing.”

  “It doesn’t even look like the same house,” Griffin said.

  “Hey,” Millie said, swatting his hand away from one of the trays of food on the counter.

  “Sorry.” He grinned at her. “But I’m starving.”

  “Travis isn’t even here,” Russ said. “So calm down.” The doorbell rang, and his heart gave one loud boom in his chest. Janelle. The girls. It was a lot to meet so many people at once, but he told himself that they’d met most of them already. Maybe not all at the same time, and never his parents, but Janelle was a champion.

  “That’ll be Isaac and Luisa,” Jenna said, moving toward the living room and the front door. Russ heard more than two voices in that direction, and he kept his eyes on the doorway, glad when Jenna returned with her brother and his girlfriend—and Janelle, Kelly, and Kadence too.

  Joy filled his whole soul, and he knew then that his Christmas crush had bloomed into a lot more than that. He was falling in love with this woman and her children, and he hoped he wouldn’t do anything to scare Janelle away again.

  “Hey, baby.” Russ gave her a quick kiss and bent down to give the girls each a hug. “Thanks so much for coming, guys. You wanna meet my momma?”

  “Sure,” Kadence said, but Kelly seemed a bit on the sullen side tonight. Russ had probably pulled her from something with her father, though Janelle hadn’t said anything. He hadn’t seen any of them since Sunday night, but he and Janelle had texted a lot more this week than they had last week. He liked it better, because he didn’t feel like Janelle was trying to hide from him. Run from him.

  She told him what she was feeling, and he’d been toying with the idea of suggesting that he go with her for Christmas Eve with her parents. But he didn’t want to bring it up. He wanted Janelle to take some of the steps to advance their relationship.

  “Who are we missing?” Momma asked, her spot at the kitchen counter unwavering. So she was going to be nice, but she was still in charge. Russ wished he’d given her that lecture on the way here, but he couldn’t rewind time now.

  “Travis,” Seth said.

  “I’ll call him,” Millie said. “He went to pick up my momma.” Before she could even dial the number, Travis came through the back door.

  “We’re here.” He escorted Millie’s mom, who Russ had met several times. Travis gave Seth a big hug, then Griffin and Momma. He held her for an extra moment as she said something to him, and then Russ gave Travis a hug.

  For some reason, he wanted to make sure Travis knew that this party was awesome, and that he approved. Travis needed that right now. Millie did too, and Russ made a mental note to thank her profusely and tell her how great of a job she’d done.

  Travis went to help Daddy over to the table, and Momma said, “Okay, everyone. Let’s do introductions, as there are some of us that might not know everyone.” She smiled at everyone as if she’d pulled together the amazing holiday décor and catered the food herself.

  Momma looked right at Janelle, and Russ tensed beside her. “You’re turn, baby,” he whispered.

  “My turn for what? Oh.” She looked at Momma, who was watching her expectantly. “I’m Janelle Stokes,” she said as the ranch hands came in the back door. At least they were semi-quiet about it, though cowboy boots did seem to echo on everything they touched. “And these are my daughters, Kelly and Kadence. We’re here with Russ.”

  Russ raised his hand as if anyone there didn’t know him. Millie went next, and everyone else was someone who’d been on the ranch for a while. He’d warned Janelle about the compliments they usually did, and she’d obviously prepared her girls, as they both had something to say.

  Rex tried to cover up his anxiety with snide comments until Momma put him in his place, and Griffin complained when Travis kissed Millie at the table. Russ thought they were cute, and he couldn’t help threading his fingers through Janelle’s as they finally got food.

  He wanted to tell her he loved her. He felt it so powerfully in that moment, but he couldn’t say it in front of so many witnesses. And the verbal beating he’d take from Rex…

  Russ tucked the words away for later, hoping he could tell Janelle tomorrow at their private Christmas celebration.

  “Russ,” Kadence said on his other side, and Russ swung his attention toward her.

  “What, baby?”

  “Can you help me with my meat?” She handed him her knife, and Russ got to work on cutting it. It felt like such a parental thing to do, and he was quite proud of himself as he completed the job.

  The following day, Russ made four trips up and down the steps to load all the Christmas presents into his truck. The majority of them were for the girls, and he only had a single, legal-sized envelope for Janelle.

  He almost turned around five times in the twenty minutes it took for him to drive into town and to Janelle’s house. The sun was going down, and her porch light kicked on as he pulled into the driveway.

  The front door burst open before he’d even put the truck in park, and both girls came running down the steps and then the sidewalk. He laughed as he got out of the truck and stepped to open the back door. “Help me with all of these, would you?”

  He snagged the envelope, as he wanted to give that to Janelle. He’d written her name on the outside of it, and he suddenly had more empathy for Travis as he’d tried to write the word “you” on a piece of paper for Millie. Russ had cowboy handwriting, which meant it wasn’t great. But the envelope wasn’t the gift, and he collected the stand mixer and hauled it inside.

  “Russ,” Janelle sa
id as the girls went to get another load of presents. “This is ridiculous.” She gazed at the gifts and back to him. “What—?”

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Janelle, there’s something I haven’t told you.”

  She folded her arms and leaned all of her weight on one foot. “Oh?”

  “Yeah.” He set the mixer down on the dining room table, where the girls had put the other gifts. “I have a lot of money.”

  “Obviously.”

  “No,” he said. “This is nothing.” He swallowed. “My mother was a cosmetics heiress.” Her eyebrows went up, but Russ had committed to telling the secret now. “And she cashed out a few months ago, and well, we all got billions.”

  “Billions.” Her face paled slightly, and her eyes searched his. She was a very good lawyer, and he figured she could spot a liar from a mile away. But he wasn’t lying. “So you’re a cowboy billionaire.”

  “That’s right,” he said, grinning. “So please don’t make a big deal about this.” He put the envelope on the table as the girls came back into the house.

  Janelle glanced at the envelope as more presents got piled on the table. “About what, exactly?”

  “Momma, look at all these presents!” Kadence spread her arms wide as if Janelle couldn’t see the presents. Russ watched only her.

  “Yeah, baby,” Janelle said, making her voice falsely bright. “I see ‘em.” She looked a Kadence and stroked her hand through her hair. She smiled at her youngest and then her oldest, and Russ took a look at Kelly.

  She looked excited too, and he thought he might have finally done something to win over the ten-year-old. But he didn’t want to buy her love. He knew that wouldn’t last—and that he’d never be the girl’s father.

  With each day that passed, Russ came to terms a bit more about that, and it hadn’t bothered him as much that week that Henry was picking the girls up from school and spending all afternoon and evening with them—and Janelle.

  He trusted Janelle. He knew she liked him.

  “Merry Christmas,” he finally said, and Janelle relaxed.