brides for brothers 02 - cowboy daddy (2 page)

“Yeah.” Pete pulled out a chair at the long breakfast table.

“You okay?” Red asked as he reached the table, two mugs of steaming coffee in his hands. He set one in front of Pete and then pulled out the chair across from him.

“I don’t know.” Pete studied the dark liquid and then looked at Red. “Janie’s pregnant.”

Red’s eyes widened, but he said nothing.

“I don’t understand women at the best of times, Red, but pregnant women don’t make any sense.”

“Don’t look at me for advice, boy. I’ve chased a few pregnant cows in my time, and there’s not an ornerier animal alive. But pregnant women? I’m just as lost as you.”

The two men sat in silence before Red ventured another question. “Is the baby yours?”

“Of course it is! We’d been—We started going out a few months ago.”

“No offense meant, Pete.” Red sipped his coffee before grinning. “Jake’s gonna be ridin’ high. Ever since he matched up Chad and Megan, he’s been thinkin’ how he’ll find wives for you and Brett, too. Now the only bachelor will be Brett.”

Pete drew a painful breath. “She says she won’t marry me.”

The older man stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. “What? That’s crazy. If you don’t marry her, her dad’ll be over here with a shotgun!”

“I know.”

“Is she gonna marry that greenhorn?” Red suddenly asked, sitting up straight in his chair.

Pete froze. He hadn’t had time to think about why Janie had turned him down. At least not in terms of another man. After Janie had sent him away three weeks ago, she’d been seen around town with a man who had recently moved to Wyoming from Chicago. He shook his head. “She can’t!”

“Well, sonny, I reckon she can. There’s no law against it.”

“Damn it! Some greenhorn isn’t gonna raise my boy! I won’t put up with that!” Pete leapt to his feet and began pacing the large kitchen. “That’s just not gonna happen!”

“Don’t rant and rave at me, boy. I’m not the one cramping your style,” Red protested, scarcely moving.

“Who’s cramping Pete’s style?” Jake asked from the doorway as he shed his winter coat and Stetson.

Brett, the third of the Randall brothers, was right behind Jake. Before either Red or Pete could answer Jake’s question, Brett asked, “Where’s Janie?”

Pete felt an almost-unheard-of urge to lie to his brother, but Brett was the one who had brought word to the barn that Janie was here to see him. He wouldn’t believe she’d been abducted by space aliens. “Janie’s gone.”

“What’d she want?”

Glaring at Brett, Pete mumbled, “Nothing.”

“You gotta tell ’em sometime,” Red said.

“Tell us what?” Jake asked, taking a step toward Pete.

Pete hated to face Jake. He recognized the concern in his big brother’s face, heard the worry in his voice. Jake took his role as oldest brother and head of the family very seriously.

And he really wanted another generation of Randalls to carry on the tradition of the ranch.

“Janie—Janie wanted to talk to me,” Pete began, trying to figure out how to explain his situation.

“No kidding, Sherlock,” Brett drawled as he poured coffee for himself and Jake, who’d already taken a seat at the table.

Pete shot him another glare before returning to the table and sitting down. “Janie’s pregnant.”

A quick look at his brothers’ faces made him think he should’ve broken the news to them more slowly. He cleared his throat to try again.

Jake beat him to the punch. Leaping to his feet, he grabbed Pete’s hand. “Congratulations, Pete! That’s great! Janie’s a terrific girl. We’ve started building on the next generation. I didn’t expect it to happen this fast. I mean, Chad and Megan just got married. The most I’d hoped for was a baby by this time next year. But already pregnant! When are you going to have the wedding? It should be soon so people won’t talk too much.”

By this time, Jake had abandoned Pete’s hand and was pacing the kitchen, excitedly making plans.

“Jake,” Pete said.

“We can have the wedding here. Though I guess Hank and Lavinia might want it at their house. We’ll need to call Chad and Megan so they can get back here in time. What about—?”

“Jake!” Pete roared.

“What?” Jake returned with a frown.

“She refused to marry me.”

While Jake stared at Pete, shock all over his face, Brett asked, “Is it your baby?”

“Of course it’s my baby!”

“Well, it could be that greenhorn’s, you know. They’ve been going out.”

“For just three weeks! She’s seven or eight weeks along.” Actually he was pretty sure of the exact night when she’d gotten pregnant. They’d had words, and the making-up had been passionate.

Jake slowly returned to his chair. “Then why won’t she marry you?”

“She—she tricked me.”

“Tricked you? You mean by getting pregnant?” Jake demanded.

“No! She didn’t do that on purpose. And we used protection every time,” Pete hastily added. Jake had made sure all his brothers understood their responsibilities. “She asked me to marry her before she told me she was pregnant. You know I don’t—didn’t—intend to marry. And—and I said no.”

“So tell her you changed your mind,” Jake said, impatience in his voice.

“I did. But she wouldn’t listen.”

“Man, old Hank is gonna be on your back tighter than a tick on a hound dog,” Brett said.

“Yeah,” Pete agreed. “But unless he can handle his stubborn daughter better than me, I don’t know what we’ll do about it.”

“M
OM, WE NEED TO TALK
,” Janie said as she entered the kitchen. She dreaded the conversation she had to have with her mother, but she needed to get it over with. Her stomach wasn’t too happy right now, and tension only seemed to make it worse.

“Sure, hon. We can talk while I mix this cake. Betty Kelsey broke her hip, and I thought I’d take a few things over for their dinner.”

“I’m sorry to hear about Betty.” She’d tried to sound sincere even though it was hard to think about anyone else’s woes right now when hers seemed so large. And the smell of that perfectly innocent cake batter was making her nauseous.

Lavinia frowned. “Is something wrong?”

Janie used the same smile she’d practiced on Pete. “I guess you could say that.”

Lavinia abandoned her baking and sat down at the table beside her daughter. Covering Janie’s hand with hers, she was the epitome of a concerned mother. Janie knew she was lucky to have her parents. Which made the disappointment she was going to bring them even more difficult.

“There’s no easy way to tell you, Mom, except to say I’m sorry.”

“Janie, what is it?” Suddenly Lavinia crossed her arms over her chest and grinned. “Did you gain a few pounds and that expensive suit you bought last week won’t fit?”

“Not yet. But I probably will soon,” she offered, a small laugh accompanying her words.

“Then what is it?”

“I’m pregnant.”

Lavinia’s hand tightened momentarily on Janie’s before she put it in her lap to clasp her hands tightly together. “I—I see. May I ask who’s the father?”

“Of course you can, Mom. It’s Pete.”

Relief filled Lavinia’s face. “Oh. That’s all right, then. Pete will do the right thing.”

Janie heaved a big sigh. “Yes, he will, Mom, but I won’t.”

“What do you mean? Lavinia Jane Dawson, surely you’re not thinking of an abortion?”

“No! I intend to have my baby. But I’m not going to marry Pete.” She looked away from her mother’s inquiring stare.

“I don’t understand.”

“I love Pete, Mom, but he doesn’t love me. He offered to marry me when he found out I was pregnant. But five minutes earlier, he refused to marry me. I won’t trap him into marriage just because—because I’m carrying his child.”

Her hand rested on her stomach. Somehow the words hadn’t seemed true until this moment. She was carrying Pete’s child. Forever she would have a part of him in her life. She faced her mother with another smile, this one warm and real. “I don’t know what you and Daddy want. I mean, I don’t want to embarrass you. If you want me to go away, I will.”

“You’ll do no such thing, Janie,” Lavinia assured her, reaching over to enclose her daughter in a hug. “You’re our daughter and you’ll have your baby here. If you choose to be an unwed mother, you’ll need our help.”

“I can manage, Mom. I’ll move to Casper and get a job. People will talk if I don’t marry.” Janie didn’t want to be selfish, taking her comfort while causing her parents pain.

“Absolutely not! I’m not having my grandbaby born in Casper! Raised as a city kid? Why, she’d probably grow up and join a gang!”

“Mother! In Casper?” Janie couldn’t help laughing, though her eyes were clouded with tears.

“You just never know. No, we’ll keep the Dawsons here on the ranch, all of us, where we belong.”

“Mom, you’re so wonderful. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Now, are you going to tell anyone who the father is? Or did you want to keep it secret?”

“I guess that’s up to Pete. Dr. Jacoby asked me if I knew the father but—”

“He did what? Did he think you’d sleep with someone you didn’t know? Of all the nerve! Wait until I get my hands on him.”

“Mom,” Janie said, touching her mother’s arm, “you’ll have to expect that kind of reaction. Are you sure you don’t think it would be best if I went away?”

Lavinia settled back down in her chair. “No, you won’t go away, and I don’t want to hear another word. And I’ll try to restrain myself, but I can’t believe Fred Jacoby would—”

“Mom, it’s okay. Anyway, I told him I knew who the father was but I’d rather not say.”

“And did you and Pete discuss—I mean, what did he say?”

“He said he’d marry me.” Janie closed her eyes, fighting the pain of turning him down.

“And you said no?”

She nodded.

“Did you discuss—?”

“Nothing. I—I had to leave. I didn’t want him to feel sorry for me.”

The two women sat in silence until the roar of a truck approaching the house roused them.

“Daddy! That’s him, isn’t it?” Janie asked. “What are we going to tell him?”

“Well, we’ll have to tell him the truth sometime, sweetheart. You know he loves you.”

“Yes, I know, but I don’t think he’ll take it too well. Could we wait just a little while? It won’t matter. I’m sure Pete won’t tell anyone for a while, if ever.” She couldn’t bear the thought of facing her father with her news.

“Okay, we’ll wait…until an opportune moment arrives, when your father’s calm.”

Janie almost laughed. With that criterion, she’d have to keep her news from her father a very long time. She only hoped he had a calm moment before she started showing. Otherwise, the roof would come off the house.

The back door swung open, and Hank Dawson strode into the kitchen. In spite of her distress, Janie smiled at the energy that filled the room when he entered. Her mother was the center of the tornado, calm, cool, serene. Her father was the tornado, blustery, quick, powerful.

“Hello there, ladies!” he boomed as he walked to the wall phone. Without any other words, he dialed, then waited impatiently. Abruptly he hung up the phone.

“Damn, line’s busy. Well, I’ll be back in half an hour, Lavinia, and I’ll be plenty hungry.” He patted Janie’s shoulder and dropped a kiss on Lavinia’s lips before starting for the door.

“Where are you going?” Lavinia asked.

“To the Randalls’. I’ve got to talk to Pete. Some of his herd has escaped.”

Before Janie could voice a protest at his destination, he was out the door, already getting into his pickup truck.

“I hope you’re right about Pete keeping quiet, Janie. I sure would hate for your father to find out about the baby from Pete.”

“You and me both,” Janie agreed, rolling her eyes. The explosion such an event would occasion might make the citizens of Wyoming think they were experiencing their first major earthquake.

Chapter Two

The three Randall brothers and Red were still sitting around the kitchen table, trying to sort out the situation, when they heard a truck coming down the long driveway.

“Who could that be?” Brett asked, and stood to walk to the kitchen window. “Damn! It’s Hank. Janie must’ve already told him!”

Everyone stood, though none of them seemed to know what to do.

Jake placed his hand on Pete’s arm. “You’d better stay here. I’ll go talk to Hank.”

“Nope. It’s my problem. I’ll deal with it, Jake.” He wasn’t looking forward to this conversation, but Pete wasn’t about to hide behind his brother’s coattails. Besides, he’d offered to do the right thing. It was Janie who’d refused.

Pete strode to the door, reaching for his coat hanging beside it, but Hank opened the back door before he could intercept him.

“Howdy, boys. I woulda called, but your line was busy. Just wanted to warn you.”

“Look, Hank, the others don’t have anything to do with this.”

“I know that, Pete, but—”

“Why don’t we go outside and talk?” Pete suggested, desperate to avoid having an audience, even if it was his brothers and Red.

“Outside in the cold? You must have feathers for a brain, son. It’s twenty degrees out there. What we have to talk about isn’t
that
world bending.”

Pete stared at him. The man didn’t think his daughter getting pregnant was important? “Hank, I promise I didn’t intend for this to happen.”

“’Course you didn’t. Accidents do happen,” he assured him with a grin. “I know you’ll take care of it.”

“Well, I tried.”

“Oh, so you already knew about the problem?”

“Yeah. But just today.”

“Then everything’s settled. And I won’t protest if one or two of my little ones look a lot like a Randall brand.”

Pete couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “That’s it?” he asked.

“Well, if the little mama gets ornery, I may send her over to you to take care of until after she delivers. How about that?”

“Hank, didn’t she tell you? I’m willing to marry her,” Pete said in a strangled voice.

Hank’s genial smile disappeared, and his brows lowered. “What are you talking about?” he demanded.

“Janie. What were you talking about?”

“Janie? Why were we talking about Janie? I was talking about your bulls getting into my herd and—” Hank’s eyes widened, and his face turned a mottled red. “You got Janie pregnant?” he roared, and started toward Pete.