Montana cowboy bride, p.17
Montana Cowboy Bride, page 17
“Question. Were the two beds your idea?” she asked. “Or were the king beds all sold out?”
“My request,” he said, taking one of the cardboard boxes to the corner chair. “We both have the same thing. Scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, and toast. There should be a packet of plastic utensils and a ketchup inside the box, too.”
Briar didn’t care about eggs, the plastic utensils, or a packet of ketchup. She wanted to know why Jet had requested two beds but didn’t have the courage. Maybe he’d done it for her. Or maybe he’d done it for himself. Maybe she’d just drink her cocoa and focus on what she’d tell Cade. She’d have to call Cade today. And her father.
Briar let Jet eat, and after a little bit, opened her box and ate some of her eggs and a slice of toast, and then the hash browns which were normally not her favorite but tasted really good. “Have you had any more calls from Cade?” she asked, as she reached for a strip of bacon.
“No. But I sent him a text this morning, and said you were safe, we were together, and due to the storm, we probably wouldn’t be back today.”
“Did he answer?”
“No.”
“I don’t really want to talk to him,” she said. “He’s going to be upset.”
“At first, maybe. He’s just going to have to get used to things being different. For people like Cade and me, we’re people who like control, change takes time. But eventually he’ll be fine.” He looked at Briar. “Don’t let him intimidate you. He’s not mean. He’s just very protective. That’s not a bad thing.”
“My parents weren’t half as protective as Cade. They let me experiment and be who I wanted to be. I don’t think I appreciated it then, but I do now.” Briar studied her new husband, realizing it was the first time she’d seen him with scruff.
Every morning he’d always been shaven. When he came to dinner, he’d most likely shaved again. With his dark hair and blue eyes and a shadowed jaw he was very appealing—very, very—and it made her feel a little breathless and light-headed just being here, in the motel room, with him.
He’d almost finished everything in his breakfast box and the way he ate made her almost see who he’d been, when in the Navy, when a pilot, and an officer. “Knowing where you’ve been, and what you’ve done, what do you want to do … in the future? If you could do anything, what would it be?”
Jet closed the lid on the box and set it aside. “Probably what I’m doing now.”
“Being a cowboy?”
He laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest, vibrating through her. “I think of myself more as a rancher, but sure, cowboy works.”
“Do you want your own place, or do you want to be like Cade and manage someone else’s ranch?”
“Cade has it pretty sweet.”
“You heard it’s all going to be his one day?”
“Yes. Why? Does it bother you?”
“No. I’m glad for him. Miss Warner has been the one person consistently there for him since he was sixteen. They’re very close and let’s face it, she has no children, so she has to leave it to someone.”
“She does have cousins, or distant nieces and nephews, but I understand they didn’t care about her as much as they cared about the inheritance.”
Briar thought for a moment. “I don’t think Cade cares that much about inheriting. I think he cares about protecting what Miss Warner loves. Continuing her legacy.”
“Definitely. Cade isn’t materialistic. He’s a very hard worker, and a good boss. He’s fair—”
“Maybe to his employees.”
“I don’t think he means to be unfair to you, Briar. I think he’s trying to figure out the best way to be a big brother, especially to a firecracker like you.”
“Am I a firecracker?”
“You know you are.”
She grinned and set her half-eaten breakfast aside on the nightstand next to her half-drunk hot chocolate and drew the sheet and blanket up higher, covering her chest. “You have a really nice way of making my intense personality socially acceptable.”
He laughed and extended his legs, crossing one boot over the other. “You are socially acceptable.”
“Then why didn’t more people want to hire me?” she asked. “In high school, I found it hard to get jobs.”
“You needed the jobs?”
“I wanted money of my own. We weren’t poor, but we certainly were always careful, especially after Mom was gone. She had a good job and brought in more income than Dad. Without her, it was a struggle, and I did what I could. I cleaned houses, walked dogs, exercised horses. In high school, when I was able to drive, I got my first real job at the Java Café in Marietta, but then lost the job because my Goth persona scared the regulars.”
He snorted, trying to hold back laughter. “You went through a Goth phase?”
“Black hair, black eye shadow, black lips, black nails. Probably not the most appetizing face to see first thing in the morning when you’re ordering your muffin and coffee.”
“Why Goth?”
“I needed to show everyone I was different. I wasn’t boring like them.”
Jet shook his head. “Why do I feel like our little girl is going to be a handful?”
Briar held her breath, eyes stinging, emotion filling her. Our little girl. She blinked and smiled unsteadily. “Thank you,” she said huskily.
“For?”
She struggled to hold back the tears. “For being you.”
*
Jet cleared away their breakfast things, taking the garbage outside to the dumpster in the back. It meant walking through wet powdery snow, but his boots and jeans kept his feet dry, and the cold fresh air helped clear his head.
He’d offered to marry Briar for the reasons he told her—it was something he could do that would help her. It would mean she could keep her daughter. He would be able to provide for both of them and protect them, but he wasn’t selfless or altruistic. He’d also married her because she was beautiful and smart, as well as funny, complex, layered, interesting. She was the first woman he’d met who made him want to know more, and the more he learned, the more he liked her. Admired her. If he was going to marry, she would be the one. She should be the one. He didn’t know why and he couldn’t explain it, but he felt most like himself when with her. He felt like the man his mother had raised. He felt like the boy he’d once been, looking up at the stars with her as she showed him all the different constellations and the stories associated with them.
He’d inherited his ability to dream from her. He’d learned how to work hard from her. And even though he had spent years refusing to feel, he did have a heart, and he loved because of her. His mother had been a wonderful person. They hadn’t needed money. They had each other.
Her death had broken an important piece of him, and he hadn’t thought he’d ever recover, not emotionally, but somehow Briar had helped heal that piece, and he wasn’t sure if it was her fierceness or her irreverence or her struggle to do what was right, despite the pressure on her. But her struggle to be real, to be honest, to be true, to be herself resonated with him.
One day, he’d have to tell her that he hadn’t married her to be a good person. He hadn’t married her to be a hero. He’d married her because she somehow had rescued him. And he hadn’t even known he needed saving.
Back in the room, he discovered Briar had turned the TV on and was watching the news. He eased his wet boots off, placed them before the floor heater, and changed in the bathroom into sweatpants.
“You’re right,” she said to him as he opened the door and laid his wet jeans over the heat. “It’s going to snow for the next twenty-four hours.”
He drew back the covers of his bed and climbed in, propping himself up as Briar had done. “At least they have a restaurant here and the manager said they intend to keep it open. They have plenty of food, but they are down a cook and wait staff.”
They watched TV until noon when Briar began to seem restless, and Jet suggested they check out the restaurant and bar. They bundled up and walked the short distance to the restaurant, which anchored the motel complex.
It had started to snow again while they’d been inside, and despite the thick white flurries, a half-dozen people were in the restaurant, a few at the counter, others at tables. The menu was limited due to the staffing issues but there was homemade chicken soup and toasted turkey and swiss cheese sandwiches. They ate and Briar talked, making observations about their fellow diners. She was very imaginative and had stories for each of them. He listened, amused, content to just look at her and nod when necessary.
She was so pretty and expressive, too. He liked just watching her, listening to her, as her hands gestured as she talked, and her green eyes were bright with humor, her lovely lips curving with laughter. Now that she felt safe, she was opening up and revealing more of herself and she had a really good brain and a big personality and he hoped that her baby, their baby, would be like her. If only more people were like her.
Briar abruptly stopped talking and stared at the man who’d just entered the restaurant. Jet looked from Briar to the man, and he knew what she was thinking, but she was wrong. It wasn’t Garrett. It just looked like him.
She came to the same conclusion and looked at Jet, the laughter gone, lips compressed. “I thought…”
“I know,” Jet said. “There is a similairy.”
“How do you know?”
“I looked him up, studied him a bit, just in case.”
She arched an eyebrow, the teasing light returning to her eyes. “In case you wanted to spend more time in jail?”
He shook his head, but he couldn’t help smiling. She was sassy and bold and brave and exactly what he wanted. Exactly who he needed.
Jet hadn’t thought he’d ever marry and now that he had, he was glad. There would be issues and struggles but he wasn’t worried. There were things they needed to decide, but they had time. Some decisions couldn’t be made until after they returned to the Sundowner.
He wondered if Briar had thought about the future, and where they’d go, because they weren’t going to be able to stay on the ranch, he was fairly certain of that. If there was available housing that would be one thing, but the bunkhouse was for bachelors, Cade and MerriBee had the original homestead, and Miss Warner had the big house, which also accommodated Willis and Emma as they had their own apartment. Short of moving in with Miss Warner—which he didn’t consider an option—they’d have to find their own place elsewhere. That also meant he might need to find work elsewhere. Jet didn’t typically stay in one place long, so it wasn’t a problem for him, but he didn’t know about Briar.
After lunch they wandered to the bar, and seeing that no one was at the pool table, Briar challenged him to a game.
“You play?” he asked.
“Of course. All pastors’ daughters do.” Then she winked.
He shouldn’t have been surprised then that she was good. They spent an hour playing, game after game, and Briar won at least half of them. His new wife was a woman of hidden talents. He wondered what else she was good at. He looked forward to finding out.
Briar suddenly yawned and smiled sheepishly. “I’m still tired.”
“You only slept a couple hours.”
“It was more than that. It had to be at least four.”
“Not enough,” he said, retrieving their coats. “Let’s head back. I’d love a nap.”
But once back in their room, Jet was on his phone trying to get updates on the weather, especially north near the Sundowner.
Briar, back in her pajamas, tried to sleep but tossed restlessly. After twenty minutes she sat up. “I need to call them. I don’t think I should wait. I don’t want anyone to worry. I will feel better once I talk to Dad and break the news to Cade.” She shot Jet a troubled look. “I really hate disappointing people.”
“You’re an adult. You have your own life. They’ll both be fine.”
Briar hesitated. “What time do you think it is in Australia?”
“Morning. Probably early. Six, maybe seven.”
“He’d be awake,” she said. “Dad’s an early riser.” Then she drew a deep breath and called her dad’s number. Jet heard Patrick answer.
“Dad, it’s me,” Briar said, her voice unsteady. “How are you?”
Jet listened to Briar tell her dad nearly everything. That she was pregnant, and she’d just gotten married in Las Vegas to Jet Manning. She said she hadn’t known that Jet invited her dad, but she was glad he’d thought of that. She wished her father could have been there and that she loved him and when he was home she’d come see him.
She stopped talking then, and for a long minute she was silent, just listening to her father.
Jet couldn’t hear what Patrick was saying. Her eyes filled with tears, and she took a quick breath and then another.
Jet left his bed and went to sit beside her.
She glanced at him and struggled to smile. “Dad,” she said, still looking at Jet. “He wasn’t the one who got me pregnant, but he’s going to be the dad. She’s due—”
Her father said something, and Briar wiped away a tear.
“Yes, Dad. I’m having a little girl. She should be here around July second, and I know this is a lot to take in, but it’s going to be okay. We’re going to make this work. Please don’t worry.”
The call ended not long after and Briar inhaled and exhaled. “One down, one to go.”
“How did he react?” Jet asked.
“He was calm, as always.” Her voice dropped, deepening. “He said he was sorry I’d been dealing with this on my own, and that he’s looking forward to being a grandfather. He does love kids.”
“Do you feel better?”
She nodded. “Yes.” She sniffled. “Now it’s just Cade I have to tell. But I don’t think he’ll take it as well.”
Jet leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “It’s really none of his business, and if he gets in your face, I don’t have a problem telling him so.”
She put a hand to his chest and pushed him back and looked him in the eye. “Don’t get into it with Cade,” she pleaded, “not because of me. He could fire you—”
“He won’t.”
“He could.”
Jet shrugged. “Then we go somewhere else. I’m not worried. You’re my first priority, not him.”
She ducked her head. “I don’t think I should return with you to the Sundowner. I think it’s just going to make everything harder, mostly for you. Cade is not going to be happy. And I can’t see him letting me move into the bunkhouse with you.”
“No, he won’t,” Jet agreed. “But we also don’t have to have a permanent solution the moment we return. We can adjust and be flexible. Having a temporary plan isn’t the end of the world.”
“I stay up at the house, and you’re still down in the bunkhouse?”
“It would give us time to come up with a better plan.”
She bit into her lower lip, expression pensive. He knew this wasn’t a great plan, but it gave everyone at the Sundowner time to adjust.
“I don’t want to be alone,” she said. “I’m tired of doing this alone.”
“I’ll be there—”
“On the ranch, with Cade, or talking to Miss Warner about hay.”
Jet fought his smile, knowing Briar wouldn’t appreciate it, but she was funny, and even when she was being dramatic, she made him laugh. “You do know what temporary means?” he said, lifting a long silky strand of hair from her cheek, and smoothing it behind her ear.
“It’s just that I lived with this secret for so long. It’s worn me down. You make me feel strong.”
“Because you are strong.”
He reached for her hand, and brought it to his mouth, kissing the clenched fist. “Don’t stress. It’s not worth it. We’re in this together. You’re stuck with me now whether you like it or not.”
That made her smile and she looked into his eyes. “I have to know something.”
“Okay.”
“Why did you get separate beds?”
“Because I want you to feel comfortable—”
“I do.”
“We will have forever now. There’s no need for us to rush things.” He pried open her fist and kissed each fingertip before placing a kiss to the middle of her palm. “I’ve never been able to woo you properly. Now I can.”
She frowned. “You don’t have to woo me. You’ve won me. Surprise! I’m yours.”
He couldn’t ever remember smiling this much. “Do you want me to make love to you?”
“Yes.” And then she turned pink. “I mean, you kiss really well—like really, really well—and I just want everything else with you.”
“I don’t want to hurt you, or the baby.”
“You won’t.” Her frown was back. “At least, I don’t think you will. I haven’t investigated it that much. There’s been other things to worry about.”
“And there are still other things to worry about, which is why for now, sex and orgasms will have to wait—” He broke off when she blushed furiously again. “Does that embarrass you?”
“No.” She cleared her throat. “Yes. But it’s not just that. It’s, well, you’re kind of turning me on.”
Jet kissed her then, a deep hungry kiss that made him hard and ache. Her mouth was soft and hot and sweet. She felt like his, and he knew he’d do anything for her, that he’d die for her, that she was the reason he was still on earth.
For Briar and Briar’s little girl. Their little girl.
Reluctantly he ended the kiss. Her mouth looked swollen and lush. He wanted to taste that mouth again, but was afraid if he continued kissing her, he’d be touching her, and he had willpower but he was also a man.
“Call your brother,” he said hoarsely, leaving the side of her bed. “I’m going to go buy us some bottles of water. Text me when you’re done. I want to give you privacy and space.”
“Jet,” she said, voice quivering as he put his coat on.
He turned at the door to face her.
“I appreciate you giving me privacy now,” she said. “But I don’t want any more nights alone. My thoughts overwhelm me. I become afraid.” She swallowed and tried to smile but failed. “I just want everyone to know. I want to move past this part where it’s nerve wracking and scary. I need to feel safe.”
