Surrender: A Bitter Creek Novel

by Joan Johnston

  He’d kept his distance. So she’d kept hers.

  She had trouble getting the zipper up on her jeans these days, but she could wear an untucked shirt and hide her baby bump. She still had time to speak to Brian before her pregnancy could no longer be hidden. And the baby wasn’t going anywhere.

  Taylor woke up in her chair an hour after she’d sat down. She supposed her body had needed the sleep, but she was going to be late for Christmas dinner. She jumped up and hurried to her bedroom to dress. She had to choose wisely, because she didn’t want someone guessing she was pregnant. She wanted to make the announcement on her own terms.

  She arrived at Kingdom Come at a quarter after twelve, surprised that no one was sitting at the dining room table. She’d figured they’d be waiting impatiently for her. Where was everyone?

  “Hello? Anybody home?”

  She was expecting Leah to answer her, but a male voice—not her father’s or Matt’s—called back, “We’re in the great room.”

  Taylor hurried through the house to the great room, with its cathedral ceiling and spectacular view of the snowcapped Tetons, and stopped abruptly in the doorway. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” she muttered. The room was filled with an astounding number of people, both Grayhawks and Flynns.

  Matt stood at the window looking out, his six-year-old son, Nathan, in his arms, pointing at something outside. Matt’s daughter, Pippa, a blanket-wrapped baby in her arms, sat on the studded leather couch beside Devon Flynn. They’d eloped shortly after Brian and Taylor had been found alive. Pippa’s child wasn’t Devon’s, but he’d fallen in love with her, and she with him, and they seemed delighted to be the parents of a beautiful baby girl.

  A glowing Eve sat on the stone bench that ran along the front of the fireplace next to her husband, Connor Flynn. Connor’s two children by his late wife, four-year-old Brooke and two-year-old Sawyer, sat cross-legged on the brindle cowhide in front of the fireplace playing with Legos.

  They all seemed so happy. Taylor found herself fighting back envy. Somehow, two women in this family had made good marriages with Flynn men. Why couldn’t she?

  Because the Flynn man has to fall in love with you and ask you to marry him, that’s why. Maybe Brian just doesn’t love you enough. Maybe he never will.

  Taylor suddenly felt queasy. She swallowed back the bile in her throat. If she threw up, Leah would figure things out in a flash. Which meant she absolutely, positively could not vomit.

  She couldn’t believe King hadn’t objected to the presence of the two Flynn brothers since, in her lifetime, he’d never let a Flynn across the threshold. King sat glowering in “his” chair, an enormous studded leather monstrosity, holding court with a crystal glass in his hand that appeared to contain scotch.

  Her twin perched on the arm of King’s chair, holding a drink of her own.

  Leah was walking toward her, hands outstretched, a smile on her face. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She winked and said, “For a while there, I was afraid we’d be outnumbered at the dinner table by Flynns.”

  “How is King taking all this…family?” Taylor asked.

  “He’s fine.”

  “How is he fine? He hates Flynns.”

  “I gave him an ultimatum,” Leah said. “Behave himself—or else.”

  Taylor shuddered theatrically. “I’ve been the recipient of a few of those ultimatums. You’re definitely not to be trifled with when armed with an ‘or else.’ ”

  They both laughed. Taylor let Leah lead her into the great room.

  “You know everybody,” Leah said, and then announced, “Taylor’s here.”

  Taylor smiled and nodded to each family group in turn, pleasantly surprised by the cordial greetings she got from the two Flynn brothers. What else had she expected? Connor and Devon looked besotted with their respective spouses. Naturally, they’d been willing to grit their teeth and endure breaking bread in the home of their respective Grayhawk fathers-in-law—King and Matt—for the sake of the women they loved.

  What was more amazing to Taylor was the fact that King seemed equally sanguine. Taylor gave Leah the credit for that miracle. Taylor would have liked to be a fly on the wall when her sister had arranged this Christmas dinner and laid down the law with King.

  “Is anybody hungry?” Leah asked.

  Brooke jumped to her feet, threw an arm in the air and yelled, “I am!”

  Sawyer followed suit, jumping up and down as he shouted, “I am!”

  “Then let’s eat!” Leah said, looping her arm through Taylor’s and heading back down the hall toward the dining room, letting everyone follow at their leisure.

  “I wish you would’ve let me bring something,” Taylor said.

  “I had far too much fun planning a menu and decorating the table and cooking everything myself.” Leah met Taylor’s gaze and said, “The house has felt empty without you. How are you?”

  Nothing happened in Jackson that everyone didn’t know about. Leah had called when she heard Brian had moved out, but Taylor had explained, “He was only staying with me because it was too far to drive from the Lucky 7 for rehab. Once he was well, he left. There’s no more to the story than that.”

  Leah hadn’t been satisfied with that answer, but she hadn’t pushed for more, for which Taylor was grateful.

  Taylor had no experience with the family dinner that followed. Having kids at the table made for more confusion, but also a lot of laughter. The two brothers were able to speak to each other and their wives, even though King didn’t deign to join the conversation.

  Although her father presided at the head of the table, he didn’t say more than ten words at dinner. It was clear to Taylor that Leah had put a leash on his tongue, because every time King opened his mouth to speak, Leah’s chin lifted and her narrowed eyes turned in his direction.

  Taylor sat beside her twin. Their conversation at dinner had been surprisingly stilted. She reached for her twin’s hand under the table and asked, “Are you all right?”

  To her amazement, Vick pulled her hand free. Taylor stared at her with shocked eyes and whispered, “Vick? What’s wrong?”

  Her twin looked miserable. They’d spoken as recently as two days ago, when Vick was packing to return home for Christmas, and her twin had seemed excited to be coming. Something dreadful must have happened since then. Why hadn’t Vick called to share whatever calamity had occurred? Why was her sister being so reticent now?

  Why haven’t you told Vick you’re pregnant?

  Taylor was both stunned and shocked to realize that, sometime over the past year, the unbreakable bond that had held them together since birth had begun to unravel.

  We never keep secrets from each other. Or, at least, we never used to keep secrets.

  But she’d kept her pregnancy from Vick. And Vick was obviously keeping something—something terrible, she feared—from her.

  Taylor was confused. And angry. Most of all, she was hurt. Everything had been different between them since Vick got that place in Montana. Why had she done it? What the hell was so special about some cabin in the woods?

  It was only when Taylor got up to go to the bathroom before dessert that Vick said loud enough to stop all conversation at the table, “I’m glad to see you’re not cozying up to Brian Flynn anymore. I don’t think I could bear to have another Flynn at this table.”

  That was the last straw. Vick might not know about the pregnancy, but she knew Taylor loved Brian. How could she attack him at the dinner table in front of their father and his brothers?

  She took a deep breath and said, “That’s really a shame, because you’ve been sitting next to one the entire meal.”

  “What are you talking about?” Vick looked to her left, where Leah sat, and to her right, where Taylor stood. “What Flynn?”

  “The one I’m carrying in my bel
ly.”

  BRIAN HAD LEFT Tag’s home in the middle of the night and returned to the Lucky 7 with his tail between his legs, like the scared animal he was. Her accusations had hit far too close to home. Tag had made him take a hard look at his behavior, and he had to admit, she’d been right.

  He needed to find the courage to take that test. And he needed to live with the results, whatever they were.

  Brian had spent the past six weeks increasing his upper body strength to compensate for the weakness in his legs, and strengthening his left leg to compensate for the weakness in the right. He’d been eating a diet filled with protein and healthy carbohydrates and just the right amount of fat. He was as ready as he would ever be. He’d talked to the chief at the fire station and scheduled a Work Capacity Test for the first day the ground was dry after the New Year.

  He missed Tag.

  Night. Day. Every day. She was never out of his mind. He’d promised himself he would see her again—and thank her—as soon as he’d taken his test.

  Brian had finally begun to believe that what he’d thought was impossible, when he’d woken up in the hospital and seen his damaged leg, might be achieved. He’d set up a course in the barn for all the tests he had to pass, except climbing three flights of stairs. He had only two flights and ran up and down them twice. He’d conquered each challenge, one by one.

  It hadn’t been easy. He’d suffered cramps and pain in his injured leg. He’d had setbacks. He’d gotten discouraged. But he hadn’t let anything deter him. He’d remembered the look on Tag’s face the last time he’d seen her, gritted his teeth, and kept going.

  The question was whether he could accomplish everything he needed to do within the required five minutes.

  “Hey, Brian!” Aiden shouted up the stairs. “It’s Christmas for Christ’s sake. Give it a rest. Ten minutes till dinner is served.”

  Brian had set up free weights in his bedroom and worked with them every spare moment. He dropped the weights and headed to the shower. He was in and out in five minutes, and used the other five to dress in a starched, white oxford-cloth shirt, tooled leather belt, creased Levi’s, and his Sunday best ostrich cowboy boots.

  He took the stairs two at a time, stopping halfway down when he realized what he’d just done. A grin split his face. He’d trusted his leg not to buckle and hadn’t thought twice about it. He was ready for that test.

  He made it to the table as Aiden was setting a turkey in front of his father to be carved. He took his place and realized both Connor and Devon were missing.

  He looked at his watch. “It’s twelve o’clock. Where is everybody?”

  His father glared at him. “Where do you think?”

  Brian had assumed, with good reason, that his two younger brothers would show up with their wives and Connor’s kids. Christmas dinner, at precisely twelve o’clock, was a family tradition they’d observed all their lives. He turned to Aiden for an answer. “Well? Where are they?”

  “Connor and Devon are celebrating the season with the Grayhawks.”

  Brian’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding?”

  “Would I kid about a thing like that?” Aiden said. “They’ll all be here for supper tonight. By ‘all’ I mean Devon will be here with Pippa and Connor will be here with Eve and the kids.”

  Brian turned to his father. “You’re on board with this?”

  His father scowled. “I don’t have much choice, do I, if I want to see my sons and grandkids? Connor won’t bring my grandkids if his wife isn’t welcome, and Devon and Pippa won’t show up if Connor isn’t coming.”

  “Are we having leftovers tonight, or starting over with a brand-new turkey?” Brian asked.

  His father grimaced and then guffawed.

  Aiden turned to Brian and said, “I’m glad you’ve got your sense of humor back. My advice is eat all the turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing you want, because we’re having ham and sweet potatoes and green beans for supper.” He lifted an amused brow and explained. “They’re Brooke’s favorite.”

  I could have invited Tag, Brian thought. I still could.

  But what would she think, getting an invitation like that out of the blue? He hadn’t called her in six weeks. She’d want some sort of explanation for why he was calling now.

  I miss you. I love you. I need you.

  He wasn’t ready to say those things yet. He wanted to show her that he’d met the challenge she’d given him. He wanted to qualify as a firefighter first. And he wanted the chance to spend time with her before they had to face his father and brothers as a couple. Better to let well enough alone.

  Brian smiled at his father and said, “Are you going to carve that bird or sit there looking at it?”

  Angus carved the bird.

  Brian ate till he was as stuffed as the turkey and retired to the great room with Aiden to watch football. Angus disappeared into his office.

  “I’m proud of you,” Aiden said during a break in play.

  Brian groaned and rubbed his belly. “You should be. I think I ate half that bird.”

  “You know what I mean. I knew you had it in you to beat this thing. You couldn’t have become a smoke jumper if you were the kind of man who quit when the going got tough.”

  “I might have quit,” Brian admitted, “if Tag hadn’t given me a swift kick in the butt.”

  “After what I saw when we found you in the wilderness, I have a lot of respect for her. Sounds like you do, too, if you made all this effort to get her approval.”

  “Tag made me take a good look at myself and decide what I really wanted.”

  “And that’s being a firefighter?”

  Brian nodded. “And Tag. I want Tag.”

  “Six months ago I would have said marrying a Grayhawk woman was a long shot. I don’t know what to think anymore. I’d never have believed the old man would agree to have a couple of Grayhawks to the house for supper.”

  “Except, they’re not Grayhawks anymore, are they? They’re Flynn wives,” Brian said. “Speaking of which, is your wife coming to supper?”

  Aiden hissed in a breath. “Keep your voice down.”

  “There’s no one here but us. What’s happening between the two of you?”

  “Nothing. Which is the problem.”

  “She hasn’t forgiven you?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Do you think she will?”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “I’m really sorry, Aiden.”

  “It’s water under the bridge.”

  “Are you going to see her today?”

  Aiden shook his head. “Drop it, okay?”

  Brian held up both hands. “It’s dropped.”

  The football game wasn’t over yet, and supper was still a long way off, when Brian heard a commotion in the kitchen. “Who do you suppose that is?”

  “Hell if I know,” Aiden replied.

  A moment later, Connor and Devon entered the great room. Connor plopped onto the couch next to Brian. Devon settled himself on the floor next to Aiden’s chair with his legs sprawled in front of him.

  “Where are your wives?” Aiden asked.

  “Pippa’s upstairs in my old room taking a nap,” Devon replied.

  “Eve took the kids out to the barn to see that new batch of kittens,” Connor said.

  Brian hadn’t taken his eyes off the screen, since the Broncos were playing, and they were still undefeated. But he had the odd feeling that he was being watched. He glanced sideways and saw Connor looking at him with something like awe. He shifted his gaze to Devon and saw confusion and disbelief. He shot a look at Aiden, whose gaze was still focused on the game.

  He turned back to Devon and said, “Why are you staring at me like that?”

  When Brian confronted Devon, Aiden turned and looked at his two youngest
brothers with a question in his eyes.

  “You don’t know, do you?” Devon said.

  “I don’t think he does,” Connor said, never taking his eyes off Brian.

  “Know what?” Brian said. “Stop the bullshit, and tell me what’s going on.”

  Devon and Connor exchanged glances.

  “Do you know what this is all about?” Brian asked Aiden.

  “Beats me. What’s going on, guys? Spill.”

  “You want to tell him?” Devon asked.

  “Maybe you better do it,” Connor said.

  “Tell me what?” Brian snapped. “Out with it! Now!”

  “Taylor’s pregnant,” Devon blurted.

  Brian opened his mouth to say, “That’s impossible,” and closed it again. When had it happened? In the cave? Surely he would have noticed the signs when he’d been living with her, if it had happened that long ago. She would have—

  Brian thought back to the rounded belly that had been pressed against him the last night he’d spent with her.

  Had she been pregnant then? Had that extra curve in her belly been a baby growing inside her? Or had she gotten pregnant, God forbid, the night he’d walked out on her?

  He closed his eyes and groaned.

  It dawned on him that his brothers might be mistaken. His eyes snapped open, and he focused his gaze on Connor. “How do you know Tag’s pregnant?”

  “Hell, Brian. She announced it at Christmas dinner, in front of God and everybody.”

  “How did she seem when she said it?” Brian asked. “Was she mad? Or sad? Or glad?”

  “Hard to tell,” Connor admitted. “She was late getting there, and she didn’t say much during dinner. It happened when she was leaving. Her twin said something about being relieved that Taylor had broken up with you, because she couldn’t have stood having one more Flynn at the table—”

  “And Taylor said there’d been another Flynn at the table the whole time. The one in her belly,” Devon finished.