The Rancher and His Unexpected Daughter (22 page)

“Then that would be a first,” he said dryly.

“Look, you don't want my help, it's no skin off my nose. You don't seem to be doing so great on your own, though.”

“Trust me,” he said. “I can handle this without any help from you.” He studied her curiously. “But can I assume from what you're saying that you would approve of your mother and me getting married?”

She looked reluctant to make that big an admission, but finally she shrugged. “I suppose it would be okay.”

He grinned. “Thanks for the endorsement.”

“Would it mean I could stop doing chores and get an allowance?”

“I doubt it.”

“Oh.” She regarded him intently. “But you would want me around, right?”

“You bet,” he said. “It's definitely a package deal. You comfortable with having me as a stepdaddy?”

To his astonishment, Jenny shifted and threw her arms around his neck. She didn't say a word, but the dampness of fresh tears on his neck told him all he needed to know. He had himself a daughter.

* * *

Janet was feeling besieged. Not by Harlan, bless his heart. To her surprise he was giving her all the space she'd claimed to crave. No, it was his family that wouldn't leave her in peace.

Every son, every daughter-in-law made some excuse or another to pay a call, to proclaim all of Harlan's virtues, to try to wheedle from her a reason for her reluctance to accept the proposal, which they had somehow discovered he'd made. She had the same answer for each of them: “Does your father know you're here?”

And when the reply was consistently no, she suggested that they talk with him if they had
questions about the relationship. “He knows why I won't marry him,” she repeated over and over.

Unfortunately, Jessie wasn't as easily dissuaded as the others. She popped in two weeks after that disgraceful scene Janet had caused by running out of the dining room at White Pines. The minute she'd walked through the door, she settled into a seat opposite Janet and showed no inclination at all to leave.

“I'm not going to talk about it,” Janet declared for what must have been the hundredth time, hoping just this once to stop any questions before they started.

Jessie nodded. “That's understandable,” she soothed.

It was, perhaps, the hundredth time Janet had heard that, too. Everyone who'd dropped by had said the same thing, then proceeded to butt in just the same.

“It's private,” Jessie added, indicating a deeper understanding than most.

“Exactly.”

“Harlan's probably done more than enough bullying himself without the rest of us getting in on the act.”

“Precisely,” Janet said.

To her relief, Jessie appeared willing to give up. She even stood, to indicate an imminent departure.

“Let's go to Dolan's and have a milk shake,” she suggested.

Janet blinked. “What?”

“A thick, chocolate milk shake,” Jessie added temptingly. “Come on. I never get anything like that at the ranch. Consuela's a great cook, but lately she's constantly worried about killing Luke with too much
fat. There hasn't been so much as a pint of ice cream in the house in months. I have to sneak over here to Los Piños to get a milk shake, if I want one.”

“And just this morning you decided you had a hankering for one and drove…what? Two hours? Three, just to get one?” Janet said skeptically, not believing for a minute that Jessie couldn't have whipped one up right in her own kitchen if she'd really wanted to.

“It's amazing the cravings that come on when a woman least expects them,” Jessie said. “Chocolate milk shakes…” Her expression turned innocent. “A man, same difference. Once the idea's planted in your head, you might as well give in to it.”

That sneaky little reference to men triggered all of Janet's alarm systems. “Are you suggesting that I should go ahead and marry Harlan, because he's like some sort of addiction I won't be able to break?”

Jessie regarded her with another innocent look. “I was talking about milk shakes. You're the one who brought up marriage.” She tilted her head inquiringly. “Has it been on your mind a lot lately?”

“If I didn't like you so much, I'd tell you to go fly a kite,” Janet muttered, but she stood. “As it is, though, now you've got me craving a milk shake, too. Let's go.”

They walked down the block to Dolan's Drugstore and headed for the counter. Melissa popped out of the store room. She'd worked there before her marriage to Cody and still filled in several days a week to keep from going stir-crazy on the ranch.

“Hey, you two, what brings you in in the middle of the morning?” Melissa asked. “Jessie, I didn't know you were coming to Los Piños today.”

Janet thought the greeting sounded suspiciously cheery, as if they'd plotted this little gathering. When Kelly strolled in not five minutes later, she knew it.

“Okay, what's going on?” she demanded.

“That's what we want to know,” Kelly said, propping her elbows on the counter and leaning forward intently. “Harlan's been grumbling like an old bear for the last week. Jordan, Cody and Luke are practically busting with curiosity, but he refuses to say a single word to any of them. Cody told Jordan you've been dropping Jenny off at the end of the lane again.”

“I had no idea everyone was so fascinated with my habits,” Janet said irritably.

As if she sensed that Janet was about ready to bolt, Jessie laid a soothing hand on top of hers. “Look, we all like you and we love Harlan. You seem to make him happy. He's crazy about Jenny. I doubt the two of you would have gone sneaking off and tearing down that lane in the middle of the night, if you weren't more than fond of him. So, what's the deal?”

“It's complicated,” Janet summarized.

“Nothing's too complicated it can't be worked out, if two people love each other,” Melissa declared, distributing milk shakes without even being asked. “I can vouch for that.”

“Me, too,” Jessie said.

“And me,” Kelly added. “We had three of the most reluctant bridegrooms in Texas and look at us now. We're all deliriously happy.”

“Well, most of the time,” Jessie amended. “After all, those Adams stubborn streaks didn't vanish overnight.”

Two “Amens” greeted the comment.

“Anyway,” Melissa said. “You clearly have Harlan in the palm of your hand, yet you're throwing away the chance to marry him. How come? Is Jessie wrong? Don't you care about him?”

“I love him,” Janet forced herself to admit to these three women who were clearly so concerned with their father-in-law's future that they'd ganged up on her. “That's why I can't marry him.”

“Huh?” Kelly said blankly. It was echoed by the others.

Janet pushed aside her practically untouched shake. “I can't explain. Not to you, anyway. I can't even make myself tell Harlan all of it.”

“Are you still married or something?” Melissa asked, eyes wide.

Janet grinned. “No, it's nothing like that.”

“Then you can work it out,” Jessie said confidently. “Just tell him what's on your mind. Harlan loves to fix things up for the people he cares about.”

Kelly nodded. “He doesn't lay on some heavy guilt trip like a lot of men would. He just takes care of things.”

Janet wondered if she could bring herself to tell Harlan that she had wanted the very land he was living on. If she did, would he ever believe that she was marrying him for any reason except to get her hands on that land? It didn't seem likely.

“At least think about it,” Jessie prodded. “You won't regret marrying Harlan.”

That had never been her fear, Janet thought. She was far more concerned that Harlan would regret marrying her.

* * *

That night, now fully aware that her every move was being scrutinized by fascinated relations, she drove all the way up the lane at White Pines to the house to pick up Jenny. She had almost managed to convince herself to lay all of her cards on the table and tell Harlan everything. She would test Jessie and Kelly's theory that Harlan would somehow make everything right and forgive her.

When she arrived, he was nowhere in sight. Maritza answered the doorbell.

“You are here for Jenny,
sí?
She will be back soon, I think.”

“Actually I'd like to speak with Mr. Adams if he's available,” she said.

“He's in his office. Come, I will show you.”

She led Janet down the hall and pointed to a heavily carved door. “In there. You would like me to tell him you are here?”

“No, I'll knock. Thanks, Maritza.”

She stood outside the door for several minutes summoning up her courage before finally rapping softly. “Harlan?”

“Janet, is that you? Come on in,” he called out so eagerly that she was immediately consumed by another bout of guilt.

He was on his feet and halfway across the room by the time she had the door open. His expression made
her heart skitter wildly. There was so much hope there. So much love.

“I wasn't expecting to see you today. You've been making yourself scarce.”

“I had some thinking to do.” She looked into eyes so blue they reminded her of the summer sky. “Thank you for letting me do it in peace.”

He looked as if he wanted to reach for her, but he shoved his hands into his pockets instead. “Reach any conclusions?”

“Just one, thanks to Jessie, Kelly and Melissa. I have to tell you the truth about something.”

His eyebrows rose. “Sounds serious.”

She nodded.

“Then come on over here and sit.” He gestured to a big leather chair in front of the fireplace, then settled into the one beside it.

Janet liked the arrangement. She didn't have to look directly into his eyes while she talked. She began slowly, telling him about the summer she had spent with Lone Wolf. Then she repeated all of the stories he had told her about their ancestors being forced out of Texas.

“I resolved then that I wanted to make it right. I came here wanting to get that land back. If I could have found a legal way to do it—which I couldn't, by the way—I would have taken White Pines from you,” she summarized.

There, it was all out in the open. She glanced over at him to gauge his reaction. To her astonishment, he smiled.

“I know,” he admitted without batting an eye. “I've known for some time now.”

“You've known,” she repeated blankly, then wondered why she was so surprised. Of course he would have put all the pieces together. He hadn't become a successful rancher without knowing how to read people. What she couldn't seem to absorb was the fact that he had taken the discovery so well. Where was the ranting and raving she'd anticipated with such dread?

“And you still wanted to marry me?” she asked, bemused.

“How could I blame you for thinking of Lone Wolf and wanting to make amends for what happened to his father?”

“Why didn't you say anything?”

He shrugged. “Because you needed to figure out you could trust me enough to tell me the truth.”

Tears stung her eyes. “Oh, Harlan.”

“Hey,” he protested, “don't start crying. I won't say I wasn't mad as a wet hen when I first figured out what was going on after Jenny spilled the beans about where Lone Wolf had once lived. Then I did a little research of my own. I discovered you had cause to come here and do what you were doing. I'm sorry you couldn't figure out a legal way to do it.”

“But you see, then, why we can't get married,” she said. “I just wanted you to know that it's not because I don't love you. It's because you'll never know for certain if it's you I want or White Pines.”

“Darlin', my ego's in no danger of being deflated by uncertainty,” he said, waving off that argument dismissively. “You'd never marry a man you didn't love. There's never been a doubt in my mind about that.”

She refused to accept that. It was too easy. She deserved his hatred or, at the very least, his disdain. Yet he was still claiming he wanted to marry her.

“I have to go,” she said, leaping to her feet and heading for the door.

He stepped in front of her. “Not without saying yes to my proposal. All our cards are on the table now. There's no reason to say no.”

“I can't,” she insisted, guilt and confusion tumbling through her. How could she say yes, when she didn't deserve the love of a man like Harlan?

“Mom!” Jenny wailed from the doorway.

Her gaze shot to her daughter. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to know you've flipped out completely. I can't believe you'd do something like this.” With that she whirled and ran from the room.

Janet stared after her in shock, then turned back to Harlan. “I have to go after her.”

He nodded. “Go. But this isn't over, Janet. Not by a long shot.”

Jenny refused to say a single word during the entire drive home. She huddled against the passenger door and stared out the window, her expression sullen. Janet felt as if they were right back where they'd been when they'd first arrived in Texas. All of the progress she and Jenny had made over recent weeks had disappeared in an instant back in Harlan's study.

When they got home, Jenny headed straight for her room.

“Jennifer, get back here.”

“I'm not in the mood to talk.”

“Then you'll listen,” she said. But once Jenny had reluctantly sprawled in a chair in the living room, she had no idea what to say. She wasn't even entirely sure why her daughter was so furious. She could hazard a guess, though.

“Look, I know you like to think of Mr. Adams as the enemy,” she began. “But he's not. And there's no need for you to concern yourself that I'll marry him, anyway, because I turned him down.”

Jenny shot her a look of disgust. “Jeez, Mom, don't you think I know that? I heard everything.”