First Comes Baby...: The Loner's Guarded Heart (30 page)
Her head shot up at that. ‘Nonsense.’
‘This will make sure it doesn’t,’ Frank rushed in with a warning glare at Marty.
She bit her lip. He might have a point. They weren’t proposing to knock down Geraldine’s Gardens and build a high-rise in its place. They were talking about a very exclusive, understated resort. Very swish, with the house and grounds of Geraldine’s Gardens incorporated into the overall design. They’d shown her the projected plans. She couldn’t deny the tastefulness of the enterprise. But...
‘It’ll be good for you, it’ll be good for the community and it’ll be good for us.’
‘Good for you how?’
‘For a start, we’ll have peace of mind knowing you’re taken care of. You deserve that after the way you looked after Dad.’
Frank’s words hit the sore, needy part of her heart right at its very centre.
Marty patted her hand. ‘You’re our little sister. We want to see you settled.’
She gulped. She just needed to sign the contract and then... ‘What was the moving van about?’
‘The buyer wants to start work immediately. We wanted to clear the way for things to move as quickly as they could once you got back and signed the contract.’ Marty spread out his hands. He still clutched the contract in one of them. ‘We didn’t think you’d have any objections. We’re just looking out for you, Jose.’
The only person in the world to call her Jose had been her father. She leapt up and thrust Marty’s pen at him. ‘Mrs Pengilly is due for her medication.’
And she fled. She leaned against the wall outside the door of the room, fingers steepled over her nose as she drew in several breaths. All she had to do was sign then she, Marty and Frank would all be one big, happy family.
Somehow the picture didn’t quite fit.
When had they arranged all this? Before her holiday?
For the hundredth time that day she wished Kent were here. Not for any other reason than to rest her eyes on him, to breathe in his wood-smoke scent.
Mrs Pengilly’s medication. She roused herself, pasted on a bright smile and breezed into the family room to find Mrs Pengilly’s chair empty. The doorbell rang.
‘Hope you don’t mind,’ Mrs Pengilly called out when Josie appeared at the end of the hallway, ‘but I called for reinforcements.’
Mrs Pengilly opened the door and Josie’s jaw dropped as she watched a substantial cross-section of the townsfolk of Buchanan’s Point file past her and into the formal lounge. She followed in their wake, dazed.
‘What the...? This is a private matter,’ Marty shouted. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’
Jacob sent Josie an encouraging smile. ‘We just want to make sure Josie has all the facts she needs to make an informed decision, that’s all.’
‘And it is our town,’ Mr Piper called from the back of the group. ‘Josie’s decision will affect all of us.’
‘Josie!’ Marty hollered. ‘You have to get rid—’
‘They’re my friends, Marty. I want them here.’ She didn’t wait for a reply but turned to the assembled crowd. ‘Are you all aware of the proposal?’
Jacob nodded. ‘Yes.’
It didn’t surprise her. Someone’s cousin’s uncle would be on a board somewhere. ‘It’s not a high-rise,’ she said anyway, just so they knew, ‘but a very tasteful and exclusive resort.’
Jacob kind of shrugged. He didn’t look very comfortable thrust into the role of town spokesperson. ‘Town opinion is split. That’s not the point.’
‘Ooh, you should hear Josie’s idea for a b & b,’ Mrs Pengilly gushed. ‘It’s fabulous.’
‘B & b?’ Frank rounded on her.
‘It was just an idea and—’
‘We’re getting off the track,’ Jacob inserted quickly. ‘What you decide to do with Geraldine’s Gardens is up to you, Josie. It belongs to you. What we want is for you to know all the facts.’
That was the second time he’d said that. ‘What facts?’
‘That Marty’s firm is guaranteed this buyer’s business if the deal goes through. And Frank’s firm will get the building contract.’
‘That’s not a secret.’ Frank rounded on them. ‘We were just telling Josie about all the advantages if the project goes ahead.’
Ha! She should’ve known. But she couldn’t help wondering if Frank had meant to be as honest with her as he now claimed.
Marty swung to her. ‘It guarantees Frank and I make partnerships with our firms.’
Weariness descended over her. For some reason she had never been able to fathom, Marty and Frank had always felt they’d lost out to her financially. They’d both worked hard to achieve partnerships. She couldn’t deny that. Did she really have the heart to stand in their way now? If she signed the contract, would they finally feel she’d squared things up?
‘Josie?’ Jacob prompted.
‘I...’ She didn’t know what to say.
‘What do you want?’ he persisted.
She didn’t get a chance to answer. At that moment an excited dog burst through the door and knocked her off her feet.
‘Molly!’ She hugged the squirming bundle of fur. She glanced up and her weariness fled. ‘Kent!’
‘Sorry, she got away from me.’ He stopped dead when he saw the crowd assembled in the room. Clancy and Liz peeped around from behind Kent’s back and waved to her. Josie hugged Molly and grinned like an idiot.
‘Who the hell is this?’ Marty shouted in sudden frustration and Josie came back to herself, even though she couldn’t seem to quite catch her breath.
She jumped up. ‘Everyone, these are my friends from Martin’s Gully. Kent, Clancy and Liz. Umm,’ she waved her arm at the assembled crowd, ‘this is everyone.’
Her mind whirled. Murmurs of greeting sounded around her, but she couldn’t make sense of anything. One thing suddenly became crystal-clear. ‘Marty and Frank,’ she turned to her brothers, ‘I can’t make a decision on this tonight.’
Her brothers’ jaws dropped. Marty’s face went so red she swore he’d burst a blood vessel. ‘This is all because I wouldn’t come and pick you up from that God-forsaken place, isn’t it?’ he yelled. ‘It’s some kind of payback.’
She didn’t know how many volts of electricity it took to snap someone to full attention, but his words ensured he had hers.
Completely.
Her voice, though, was surprisingly calm. ‘You knew it was a God-forsaken place?’
‘Of course I knew,’ he spat. ‘What do you think I am? Stupid?’
No, but she was. Anger hit her then in thick red waves. Not only had they set all this up so that she was out of the way while they tried to seal their deal, but in their measly selfishness they hadn’t even been able to provide her with a decent holiday.
‘So you played me for a sucker?’ Neither brother said anything. ‘And you prettied it all up by feigning concern for me?’
Marty stared at the floor, Frank at the ceiling.
‘Oh, and I fell for it, hook, line and sinker, didn’t I? What an idiot you must think I am.’
She waited for them to protest, to tell her they really had appreciated the way she’d taken care of their father, that they really did love her.
Nothing.
‘Out.’ She picked up the contract and slapped it to Marty’s chest. ‘You too,’ she shouted at Frank. ‘Take your contracts and your measly, selfish minds and get out. I don’t want to see either of you again.’
Marty blanched. ‘You can’t mean that.’
‘But you’re our sister,’ Frank started, visibly shaken.
Marty took a step towards her, but to Josie’s astonishment Molly bustled up between them, hackles raised. Then she drew back her lips to display every single one of her teeth as she growled. Josie pointed to the door. ‘Go.’
* * *
Kent stared at Josie and couldn’t remember being prouder of anyone than he was of her at that moment. He wanted to grab her up in his arms and swing her around. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to drag her off to the bedroom and—
He wanted to stay!
The realisation slugged him straight in the gut. But it didn’t knock him off his feet. Instead it surged through him and lent him a strange kind of strength. He wanted to stay and it had nothing to do with Molly, or Clancy and Liz, or sticking up for Josie against her brothers.
It had everything to do with him...and her. It was why he’d come, even if he had tried to hide behind all those other reasons.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and studied her as surreptitiously as was possible with a roomful of people studying him too. The sandalwood highlights of her hair gleamed beneath the overhead lights. Her lips, lush and inviting, hinted at exotic delights. Her eyes still blazed from her sudden flash of temper. He’d never seen anything more desirable in his life.
But what if she didn’t want him here? His hands curled into fists. What if she didn’t want him?
Then he’d become the kind of man she bloody well did want, that was what.
* * *
Josie shook herself, tried to unscramble her mind. She turned to Kent, Clancy and Liz. ‘What are you all doing here?’ She couldn’t believe how good it was to see them.
She tried not to feast her eyes too obviously on Kent. Liz and Clancy both burst forward to hug her. She hugged them back. Kent stayed where he was—hands in pockets, glaring moodily at the floor—and her heart burned.
‘We were worried what those no-good brothers of yours were up to, lass.’
Liz’s eyes twinkled. ‘But it appears you didn’t need the cavalry after all.’
‘No.’ Josie gave a shaky laugh. Her audacity in telling her brothers exactly what she thought and sticking up for herself still shocked her. She glanced at Kent. Had he come riding to her rescue too?
He shuffled his feet, rolled his shoulders. ‘Since you left, Molly has refused to eat. She’s going to have to live with you.’
Her jaw dropped.
He scowled. ‘She misses you.’
She hauled it back up. What wouldn’t she give to hear him say those self-same words to her?
‘We all miss you,’ Liz said. ‘And I was thinking, if you start up this b & b of yours you’re going to need a hand. Since Ted died I’ve been looking for a change, and I’m a very good cook, you know.’
Clancy shuffled in closer. ‘And I know I’m getting on in years, but I’m still handy in the garden.’
Liz folded her arms. ‘You’ll need a cook.’
Clancy set his jaw. ‘You’ll need a gardener.’
A huge lump blocked her throat. She glanced at Kent. He stared at Liz and Clancy as if they’d just lost their minds.
His scowl redirected itself to her. ‘And you’ll need a husband!’
His words knocked the lump clean out of her throat. All conversation in the room stopped.
‘What?’ She gaped at him.
His scowl deepened as he glanced around the now silent room, at all the avid, curious faces. He rolled his shoulders again. ‘Need probably isn’t the right word,’ he muttered. ‘You don’t need a husband. You probably don’t need anyone, but I...’
He glanced around the room again and bit back an oath. Grabbing her hand, he dragged her out of the room, out of the front door and around the side of the house. Then he let her go and continued to glare at her.
Josie shook her head. She couldn’t have heard him right. He couldn’t have said husband. It wasn’t possible.
‘Doctor,’ she babbled. ‘I need a doctor.’
‘OK, I’ll be that too.’
She wanted to throw herself into his arms. So she massaged her temples instead. ‘Did you say I needed a husband?’
‘Yes.’
‘Is this all about me needing someone to look after me and stuff?’
‘I took back the word need.’
Another surge of temper and hope shot through her. ‘Did you have someone particular in mind?’ She wanted to scratch his eyes out. She—
Then he did something she could never have imagined—he dropped to his knees, wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her stomach with a groan. ‘I love you, Josie. Me and Molly, we don’t function without you.’ His arms tightened. ‘I miss your laugh. I miss your smell. I miss you.’
He lifted his head and stared deep into her eyes. ‘I didn’t see at first that there’s more strength in your way. There’s more strength in a community, in helping people, in building bridges. I want to build that community with you.’
She brushed the hair off his forehead in wonder, traced the strong planes of his face with her fingertips. This wonderful man loved her? Her vision blurred. ‘You love me? Really?’
Everything inside her sang at his nod. ‘And you can’t function without me?’
He shook his head. ‘No.’
Ooh, she knew how that felt. ‘I’ll let you in on a little secret: I can’t function without you either.’
Kent surged to his feet with a whoop and swung her around. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed for the sheer joy of it. When he set her back on her feet she reached up and touched his face. ‘I love you, Kent Black. I can’t imagine anything more perfect than being your wife.’
He dropped a kiss to the corner of her mouth. ‘Say that again.’
Heat started to pump through her. She wanted to melt into him and forget the rest of the world. ‘I, umm...’
Her breath caught as he trailed a path of kisses down her throat. He lazily trailed the kisses back up again to nuzzle her ear. ‘You taste divine, Josie Peterson.’
If he didn’t kiss her properly soon she’d die.
She drew back to catch her breath. ‘I love you.’ He’d doubted it. She could see it in his face. ‘I love you,’ she repeated. She’d never tire of saying it.
His hands came up to cradle her face. ‘I thought I’d destroyed any chance I had with you. I thought I’d chased you so far away that... And by the time I realised I loved you so much I couldn’t live without you I—’
She reached up and pressed her fingers against his lips, stemming the flood of words, needing to drive the demons from his eyes. ‘I love you, Kent. Forever.’
‘Forever.’ He breathed the word against her fingers.
She nodded then removed her hand and as his lips descended she lifted hers and met him in a kiss that sealed their promise.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from
Little Cowgirl on His Doorstep
by Donna Alward
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