The Bull Rider's Twins (13 page)

“With two little babies on the way he doesn't want to marry you?” Mavis asked, proud mother coming to the fore. “Fiona, I don't think your nephew is being honorable.”

Fiona puffed up like a small bird. “If there's one thing Judah is, it's honorable, Mavis Cameron Night.” She leaned toward Darla. “It sounds like shock to me, Darla. We have no family ghosts, not really, not of the variety that would harm anyone, anyway.”

Everyone stared at Fiona. Darla said, “I'm not afraid of ghosts. He is.”

“Silliest thing I ever heard,” Nadine said. “Ghosts at a wedding, indeed. Fiona, you tell Judah to buck up.”

Darla's heart hung heavy in her chest. After all of Judah's romancing her through her own case of cold feet, she had never expected to hear him say that the wedding was off.

He felt that she was safer without him.

It broke her heart.

Fiona looked uncomfortable. “I think there's been a miscommunication.”

Darla shook her head. “After the surgery, he distinctly said, ‘I can't marry you, Darla—'”

“Pain pills,” Nadine sniffed. “Sounds like they fed him a handful, and I wouldn't listen to a word he said, Darla. You were a nurse. You know how drugs can make people time travel right out of their normal dispositions. I've never seen a man crazier for a woman than Judah is for you.”

“He said it's not safe,” Darla said, not drawing any comfort from their words. “He said that in order to keep me safe, he has to keep away from me.”

“I don't understand,” Fiona said, blinking. “It's like he got shot with the opposite of Cupid's arrow.”

“Yeah, it was called Bode's bullet,” Mavis said.

“Oh, dear,” Fiona said. “Darla, I'm so very sorry. Surely this will all pass after my renegade nephew gets out of the hospital. He was never very good with injuries, you know that. Look at the last one he had. He thought he had a concussion when he didn't. I'm not saying Judah's a wienie, but he's not a patient patient, and—”

“It's all right,” Darla said, even though it wasn't. Her heart was shattered.

“Well, it just shows you should have married Dr. Tunstall,” Mavis said hotly. “Dr. Tunstall wouldn't have put you through all this nonsense. He's a steady man with a good income, and no one would shoot at
him.
”

Fiona stiffened. “That's my nephew you're calling unsteady, Mavis.”

“That same nephew who can't be bothered to read a big-ass label that says Party Condoms on the side,” Mavis returned, her cheeks pink.

“Prank Condoms,” Darla said. “And it was just as much my fault as is. I seduced him.”

The women went quiet, staring at her.

“I did,” Darla said. “I've been wanting to for years, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I'd seduce him tonight if he didn't have an injury. But it really doesn't matter. Judah has vowed to stay five miles away from me until all the ghosts in your family have been laid to rest. That's what he said, and I could tell he meant every word.”

“What are these ghosts, Fiona?” Corinne asked. “I don't remember anything phantasmagoric hanging about your place.”

Fiona cleared her throat. “I think Judah means the whole Bode problem.”

Darla shook her head. “He muttered something about aunts who keep secrets.”

“Well,” Fiona said uncomfortably, at her friends' curious perusal. “Pain pills are powerful.”

Mavis gathered her teacup and purse. “You'd best talk to your nephew, Fiona. We have another suitor in the wings, and we're not going to wait around for Judah. To be frank, it sounds like the man got a case of winter-cold feet. Darla shouldn't be dumped and humiliated—”

“Mom,” Darla said, “I'm not humiliated.”

“You will be when your children are born and people wonder why you and Judah were getting married and then didn't.” Mavis glared at Fiona. “This is what happens when you meddle, Fiona. Clearly, you hurried a man along who wasn't ready to accept his responsibilities. Getting shot is no excuse. Darla's a nurse, for heaven's sake. If anybody could nurse a man back to health, it's her.”

“Oh, dear,” Nadine said. “We need more tea. And cup-cakes.”

“Ladies,” Corinne said, “I vote we adjourn our chat before fur really begins to fly, and words are spoken that can never be taken back.”

“Goodness,” Fiona said, “this is all a tempest in a teapot.”

“A cracked pot, if you ask me. Come on, Darla,” Mavis said, and swept from the store.

Darla blinked, then hugged Fiona goodbye. “It's not your fault,” she whispered. “I always knew he didn't really love me. Not the way I was in love with him.”

Darla followed her mother. “Mom, you shouldn't have said those things to poor Fiona. It's not her fault someone shot Judah.”

“She raised a back-sliding nephew,” Mavis said, “and it's high time she get her house in order over there.”

Darla sighed. There was a house that needed to be put in order, and it was her own. Her mother wouldn't want to hear that right now—she was too upset over everything that had happened, and Darla understood. Everyone was upset. People would be talking in Diablo for weeks.

But she didn't care. All Darla knew was that Judah had pursued her, finally convincing her that she was the only woman for him. Even if it had been all about the babies, he'd still pursued her.

Now she intended to pursue him. She owed it to her children, and to their father, to make certain that they all ended up as a happy family, no matter how many ghosts Judah thought he had to protect her from.

She was in love with him, and he was just going to have to deal with that.
And I've never been afraid of ghosts, or anything else that goes bump in the night. What I fear is losing the one man I know in my heart is a good man, the right man, the only man, for me.

The next evening Fiona walked into the bunkhouse and gave her four nephews, who were trying to resurrect their lagging game of Scrabble, a baleful stare. “Judge Julie's got herself quite the conundrum,” she said. “She's trying to get that longhorn you brought from El Paso untangled from the fence, and she's wearing a tight dress and fishnets. I guess that's what a beautiful judge wears under her black robes.” Fiona bleated a pitiful sigh—theatrical, to Judah's ears—and said, “I never knew why you boys had to have that longhorn, but if I was you, I'd go save it from the judge. Julie looks fit to slip it on the grill.”

Jonas, Rafe and Sam abandoned Judah on the double, as Judah was certain Fiona had hoped they would. She looked at her nephew. “Why aren't you at the main house?”

“I'm fine here,” Judah said.

“Usually when you boys have some kind of issue, you stay at the house.”

“I don't have an issue,” Judah said, not about to be lured by coddling.

She put her hands on her hips, staring at his arm, which he'd propped on a pillow. He preferred that to wearing the sling the doctor had given him. The sling made him feel like an invalid, and Judah wasn't giving in to any weaknesses when he most needed to be strong.

“You do have issues,” Fiona said. “What in the world did you mean by telling Darla about ghosts?”

Judah shook his head, in no mood to be questioned the day after his wedding had taken a sinister turn. He leveled a wary eye on his aunt. “You should know about ghosts, Aunt.”

“Well, I don't. I've never seen a ghost in my life,” she snapped, and he grunted at her truculent tone.

“I don't know what all you've been keeping to yourself, Aunt Fiona. All I know is that Darla might have taken a bullet that was meant for me. And until I've got everything figured out, I'm not putting her in harm's way.”

“The only harm that's going to come is when she decides not to wait for your silly butt.” His aunt glared at him. “You do not take a bullet and then use that as an excuse, a pitiful one, not to marry the best woman that's ever been placed in your path. Trust me, even a woman who owns a shop full of wedding regalia doesn't put on the old satin-and-lace lightly. You should rethink your situation when you're not chock-full of hallucinogens.”

“I haven't taken any pills,” Judah said. “I don't like pain pills. So don't worry.”

“You're not thinking straight, and I hate to see you make the mistake of a lifetime. You're going to look quite the ass when Darla marries Sidney.”

“She won't,” Judah said, though he didn't admit to a twinge of unease. But Darla's safety had to come first. “I'd almost rather she marry Sidney. Then I'd at least know she's safe.”

“What?” Fiona exclaimed. “Don't talk like a quitter! I can't stand quitters!” She sank into a chair across from him. “One thing I won't have people saying is that I raised a bunch of lily-livered, weak-kneed men.” She passed a hand over her brow, rearranging her hair a little, as if that would help reorganize her thoughts.

“There's been nothing but craziness around here for a
while. I'm sorry to say it, Aunt Fiona, but your plan has definitely not been conducive to communal calm.”

Tears jumped into her eyes, brightening them as she stared at him remorsefully. “I just want the best for you and your brothers.”

“I know you do,” Judah said softly, “but you don't give us all the facts. You wouldn't even have told us you and Burke were married except that we figured it out.”

“You boys were so young when your parents…well, you know.” Fiona sniffled into a tissue for a second, then stiffened. “Burke and I made the decision that we didn't want to confuse you. He always loved you boys, but he knew he couldn't take the place of your father, nor could I take the place of your mother. We felt it was best if we always were just aunt and bodyguard to you.”

“Bodyguard?” Judah frowned. “Burke isn't your bodyguard.”

“He was quite the fighter in his youth,” Fiona said. “A street fighter for the cause. Things changed for us when we came over here to take care of you boys. We had to make fast decisions. Maybe we didn't make them the best we could, but I stand by them.” She wiped at her eyes and put her tissue away. “I'm not going to say we didn't make mistakes. But there's a lot we didn't want to burden you children with.”

“We're not children anymore.”

“True,” Fiona conceded. “Which is why I don't want you babbling about ghosts. You just marry Darla and raise your babies, and that'll be more than your parents were able to do for you.” She sighed heavily. “People don't always get the chance to do what they really want to do.”

Judah felt as if a knife had been stabbed into his gut. Never had it occurred to him that his father had been unable to raise him and his brothers. It was almost like an unbroken chain of missed parenting, he realized. The shock of being shot at, and
being determined to keep his little family safe, had made him think that the best thing to do would be to let Darla have a life far away from Rancho Diablo and its spiraling misfortunes.

But should one bullet keep him and Darla apart?

He thought about the cave, and the secrets he knew were there, and the silver bar that had been in the kitchen, and the ancient Native American who visited their home every year. He thought about Sam coming after their parents were gone, as Jonas had pointed out years ago, and he wondered if it wasn't family ghosts he should fear, but far-reaching skeletons that had never rested comfortably. “I don't know,” he murmured. “This isn't the way I envisioned a marriage beginning.”

“That should be up to Darla, I would think. But you do what you think is best. Heaven only knows I'm all out of ideas.”

Fiona left the bunkhouse, hurt and unsure, and Judah felt bad for the words he'd spoken to her. But then he got thinking about Darla for the hundredth time that day, and wondered if all his brave words about breaking up with her to protect her were really based in the fact that he'd never known a father growing up—and maybe he didn't know what being a father actually meant.

N
OT THIRTY MINUTES LATER
, Judah's jaw dropped when Darla wafted into the bunkhouse, wearing a blue dress and looking like something out of his most fervent dreams.

“This is the simplest decision you've ever made,” Darla said. “Get up and get in my truck, Lazarus. Where's your overnight bag?”

“I'm not going anywhere,” he said, just to test her, and she looked at him with a patient, determined gaze.

“Yes, you are,” she said sweetly. “Because if you don't,
I'm staying here, and I'm pretty certain a lady isn't welcome among bachelor men in a bunkhouse.”

Darla would be. His brothers would welcome her with open arms. They liked Darla a lot, and they would feel that if she wanted to coop up here with the father of her children and the man she'd nearly married less than twenty-four hours ago, that was certainly her priority. Shoot, they'd probably roll out a red carpet and the family crystal.

But he could think of a bunch of places he'd rather Darla be than holed up with his brothers. As a crew, they were a fairly unimpressive group. They played Scrabble, and sometimes bridge. Some of them read books by foreign authors, and sometimes they watched movies in French, not to learn the language of love so much as enjoy it. They were basically nerds, and if there was one thing Judah didn't consider himself, it was a pencil-carrying nerd. “Where are we going, and for how long?” he asked, grumbling to show her he didn't appreciate being taken charge of, though secretly he thought it was sexy.

“Just get in my truck and you'll find out.”

He shoved himself off the sofa. “Did Fiona put you up to taking me off her hands? She's worried about me.”

“Everyone's worried about you because you've gone weird. But Fiona doesn't know I'm rescuing you from yourself.”

He blinked, hesitating as he tossed some random clothes into a duffel. “I don't need rescuing. I don't need nursing, either,” he said stubbornly.

“Good, because Jackie can't take care of you and three babies and her husband, and she's the only nurse in the family I know of who'd be willing to take care of you. Can you carry that duffel or should I?”

He glared. “Only one of my arms was shot, thanks.” Actually, he'd hang the bag around his neck like a Saint Bernard if
he'd been shot in both arms. A man could stand to look only so weak in front of his woman.

“Good. Then come on. There's no time to waste.”

“Why?” Judah strode after Darla, getting in front of her to open the driver's door for her. “What's the rush?”

“Would you believe me if I said I can't wait another minute to get my hands on you, Judah Callahan?”

He smirked. “Now that's more like it,” he said, and closed the door. Tossing his duffel into the truck bed, he hurried around to get in the truck. “What took you so long?”

“So long to what?” Darla backed down the drive, waving at Sam and Jonas as they loped back to the bunkhouse, looking a little worse for wear. “What have they been doing?”

“I think they rescued Judge Julie from our longhorn.” Judah squinted at his brothers, noting torn and dirty pants on both of them. “I'm kind of glad I didn't make that rescue. I wonder if they left Rafe for dead.”

Darla turned on the main road. “Why would they?”

“Depends on how dead he was, and if an angel was smiling on him.” Judah focused his attention on Darla, not worried about his harebrained brothers. “Anyway, what took you so long to realize you couldn't keep your hands off my rock-hard body? I should make you wait for playing hard to get.” He tweaked her hair. “It would serve you right.”

Darla laughed. “My, you talk big, cowboy.”

Judah leaned his head back and grinned, happy to let Darla drive him to her house. “But I can back up every word, sweetheart.”

“This may not be the kind of visit you think it's going to be. As you pointed out, I need protection, and so protection you're going to be,” Darla told him. Judah waved at Judge Julie as they went by, and at his brother Rafe, who was lying on the ground, probably looking up the judge's tight dress—if Judah knew his brother, and he was pretty sure he did—and
thought life was sweet when you had a hot blonde like Darla who was gaga for your lovemaking. Of course, if she wanted to pretend it wasn't all about the loving, and that she needed a bodyguard to keep her warm, he'd be her muscled protector—just for tonight. He'd rather keep an eye on her than listen to his brothers argue over words on the Scrabble board.

And he wouldn't be lying if he bragged that he could make love with one arm tied behind his back.

T
WO HOURS LATER
, Darla parked Judah in a room at the StarShine Hotel in Santa Fe. He'd protested, but he ceased his halfhearted carping when he saw that she'd reserved the honeymoon suite. She detected a fairly enthusiastic gleam in Judah's dark blue eyes, and a certain curiosity at what the little woman might be up to now.

The cowboy was in for a surprise.

“Why are we here?” he asked, in a tone that suggested he already knew, and Darla smiled at him blithely.

“It was the only room big enough for the both of us,” she told him, her voice ever so sweet.

He raised a brow. “I mean, why are we in Santa Fe?”

“Oh.” She waved a hand. “I knew you were worried about me being at Rancho Diablo in case someone tried to kill you, and I knew you'd be worried about being at my house in case someone tried to kill you, so I thought it'd be best to bring you someplace no one would be able to try to kill you. You know. In case someone tries to kill you.” She smiled at him. “And we never planned a honeymoon, so this seems as good a place as any. I always wanted to stay here,” she said, slipping off her shoes and coat. She noticed she had Judah's attention, so she pointed to the bed. “Why don't you make yourself comfortable while I take a bath? Be sure to prop that arm up.”

“You didn't bring your nurse's uniform by any chance, did
you?” he asked, his tone hopeful. Trust her guy to be the one with a nurse fantasy. Darla headed for the bathroom, planning to lock herself in and draw a nice, full tub.

“I'm sorry. I'm off duty. But you don't need anyone to take care of you,” she called. “You just relax and let me know if anyone comes to the door.”

“Are we expecting someone?” Judah asked.

“No. But just in case someone does come and tries to, you know, shoot you or something. I don't want to be in the tub when it happens.”

She thought she heard him mutter, and smiled to herself.

Thirty minutes later, when she came out of the bathroom, Judah was sound asleep, which had been her plan all along. She grabbed her robe and her things and slipped into the room across the hall, locking the door behind her.

J
UDAH AWAKENED
twelve hours later, if his watch was right. He thumped on it to make certain it was still working. Apparently it was, because it corresponded to the clock radio next to the bed, which Darla had tossed a towel over for reasons he couldn't decipher.

Had he made love to her? Was that why he'd slept so long? Nope, he hadn't had so much as a kiss or anything pleasant like that. He passed a hand over his stubble, testing his arm. It was sore as hell, but not so sore that he couldn't pleasure Darla to the depths of her being.

So what had gone wrong with his little lady's seduction?

He felt the bed beside him, patting around for a soft, round body. There was time enough before checkout to give Darla a rousing dose of what she'd clearly wanted last night. After all, he was a stud, not a dud.

There was no sexy, warm female next to him, and the bed felt suspiciously undisturbed on her side. He flipped on the
bedside lamp, realizing that not only had he not made love to Darla, she hadn't even slept in the room.