A Weaver Baby Page 10

  “Well, the offer is open if you change your mind.” She bussed J.D.’s cheek. “Of course you’d have to be careful that Daniel doesn’t try sticking a power tool in your hand.”

  Even J.D. managed to join in the laughter at that, but she quickly skipped down the steps out to her truck, only pausing to look back when her mother called her name. “Yes?”

  “If you want me to go with you to your doctor’s appointment next week, let me know.” Her mother’s expression was serene.

  But J.D. knew with a sinking feeling that Maggie, like Angeline, had come to her own conclusions all too accurately. “Sure.” She sketched a wave, and practically dived into her pickup and shoved the key into the ignition with a shaking hand.

  Jake had barely climbed in beside her before she pulled away from the house, her tires slipping a little as she wheeled a sharp turn to head out to the highway.

  “In a hurry?”

  “Just to check on Latitude.”

  “What’s the doctor appointment about?”

  Her fingers flexed around the steering wheel. She was glad for the dark that was barely alleviated by the greenish glow from the dashboard lights. “That’s kind of personal, don’t you think?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “It’s just a checkup.” That was true, too. But also a whopper considering what it didn’t say.

  The appointment was with her obstetrician.

  Before he could ask anything else that would have her mountain of omissions growing even more, she asked him to run down everything that had been done to and for Latitude since his surgery.

  Fortunately, that discussion easily consumed the duration of the trip back to her place.

  True to his word, Jake stuck to J.D. while she checked on the horse, even going so far as to help round up the others that were out in the field, bringing them in for the night. But at last, when everyone was watered and bedded, and Latitude was contentedly munching on fresh hay, Jake unhitched the horse trailer and drove away in his fancy truck.

  Exhausted on every level, J.D. went inside. She forced down a glass of milk, decided that tidying up the kitchen could wait another day, and dragged herself up to her bedroom. She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

  Unfortunately, she woke a few hours later in a sweat from an impossibly vivid dream featuring none other than Jake.

  Not even in dreams could she escape him.

  Going back to sleep proved impossible and she turned on the light and climbed out of bed. Her reflection in the mirror above the dresser looked back at her and she turned sideways, pulling the oversized T-shirt that she used in place of pajamas tight against her abdomen.

  She was nearly sixteen weeks along now. Even when she wasn’t swallowed in her enveloping winter sweaters, the small bulge of Jake’s baby was barely evident.

  She covered the bump with her palms.

  Maybe she was wrong not to tell Jake. Maybe he would feel the joy that she felt.

  The green eyes that stared back at her from the mirror were full of doubt and she turned away from her reflection. She pulled on boots and a coat and traipsed to the barn.

  All the horses—including Latitude—were quiet. She went into the tack room and pulled down the saddle soap and set to work cleaning tack. Not exciting, but necessary. And it passed the hours until dawn when hunger had her heading back to the house.

  The sight of the dark-haired man sitting at her kitchen table was completely unexpected. She nearly jumped out of her skin, at first thinking that Jake had presumptuously entered her house.

  But she quickly realized that the man wasn’t Jake at all. “Ryan,” she gasped. “What on earth are you doing here?”

  He lifted the mug sitting in front of him. “Drinking coffee. Here.” Without rising, he shoved the other chair out with his boot. “You’re not looking real steady on your feet.”

  “I can’t imagine why,” she returned, but slid into the chair. Since she’d started taking in horses, he’d come by occasionally. He’d hauled hay for her and fixed a few things, and then he’d disappear again, just as unexpectedly. This, though, was a first. “Are you all right?”

  “Heard your old boss was in town.” He peered at her over the edge of the mug. “Are you all right?”

  “Peachy keen,” she assured blithely. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “That would explain the coat and boots but no pants.” His lips twisted a little. “You tell him about that baby you’re having?”

  She wasn’t going to be sidetracked so easily, and particularly not into confirming whether or not Jake was the mystery father of her baby. No matter what Jake said, she figured it wouldn’t be long before he chafed at the quiet life in Weaver and headed back to Georgia. “What’s going on with you? You don’t show up at the Sunday dinners. You’re not working that anyone can tell. Everyone is concerned.”

  He sipped the hot brew. Slowly set the mug on the table again. “They don’t need to be.”

  She leaned across the table, closing her hand over his arm. “Ryan, you’ve gotta admit this is a little strange, even for you. You’re staying at the Sleep Tite Inn.” The same motel that Jake had chosen. “You could have gotten coffee at Ruby’s if that’s all you wanted. It’s practically next door.”

  “I want a job.”

  “Where?” Realization dawned when he cocked an eyebrow. “You mean…here?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I can’t afford to pay you.” He had to be aware of that. Everyone in the family knew she was getting by, but not by much.

  “I’m not looking for pay.”

  She fell back, utterly surprised. “Then what are you looking for?”

  “Anything to keep my hands busy enough to keep my brain shut off.” His voice was flat.

  She studied him for a moment. He could have gone to either Matthew or Jefferson for work. They both were generally always in need of good hands. He also could have done construction for her father’s company, or hit their other uncle, Tristan, up for a job doing just about anything at his video gaming company, Cee-Vid. And any one of those options would have come with a paycheck.

  “The barn needs painting. I was going to wait until spring, but if you’re really just looking for something to fill your time—”

  “I am. Do you have the supplies?”

  “Yes. Everything’s stacked up in the garage.”

  “I’ll start today.” He pushed away from the table and grabbed up a battered coat. “You ought to lock your doors.” He headed through the mudroom.

  Still bemused, it was a moment before J.D. scrambled after him, darting down the steps. “Ryan—”

  Whatever she thought she was going to say jammed in her throat, though, at the sight of Jake’s pickup truck rolling to a stop next to where they’d left his horse trailer the day before.

  Even Ryan stopped for a moment, looking surprised. But after that brief hesitation, he kept walking toward the detached garage between the house and the barn.

  She saw the brief nod the two men exchanged, and when Jake headed her direction, she jolted into action, hurrying back into the house.

  He followed all too quickly and seemed to share the same lack of need to announce himself that her cousin had. She hadn’t even had time to drag on pants from the pile of laundry sitting on the washing machine.

  “Good morning,” she greeted as if she weren’t half-naked beneath her coat, and feeling undone just from the sight of him. He always looked good, but in well-worn jeans and what appeared to be a brand new shearling coat, he was mouthwatering. “There’s coffee if you’re interested. Mugs are in the cupboard above the coffee maker.” She brushed past him, intending to head upstairs.

  But Jake closed his hand around her arm, stopping her. “Did he spend the night here?”

  For a moment, she missed connecting the dots. Then realization set in. “Ryan?”

  “Whatever the hell his name is.”

  She carefully twisted her arm out of his grip. “If he did, it’s
no concern of yours.” She went to move around him again, but Jake sidestepped until his broad shoulders were filling the doorway blocking off her escape.

  “Did he?” His voice was low and dangerous and she was appalled at the distinctly excited flutter she felt inside.

  She lifted her chin. And even knowing that she shouldn’t take such delight in turning her words back on him, she did. “Are you jealous, Jake?”

  His expression looked tight. Annoyed. “Yes.” She didn’t even have time to draw breath before his head swooped and his mouth burned over hers.

  She froze, but the heat of his kiss thawed her far too rapidly and even knowing how foolish it was, her arms slid up his mile-wide shoulders, tangling behind his neck.

  She tasted the low sound that growled through his throat, and his arms swept around her, dragging her up tight against him. Delving beneath her coat, his hands found her hips, pressing them hard against him and she could have drowned in the desire that rushed through her, flooding away all the good reasons why they shouldn’t be doing this. In that moment, all she wanted was for him to keep touching her; to fill her; complete her.

  His hand closed over her breast, thumb unerringly finding the excruciatingly sensitive nipple through the nightshirt and prodding it into an even tighter frenzy. Her head fell back. She hauled in a breath over his name and gasped outright when he lifted her off her feet and set her on the kitchen table, settling between her bare thighs.

  “You remember that night, don’t you.” His voice was a low rasp as his hands slid beneath her rear. “Just as much as I do.”

  “Every night.” The admission was faint. The desire inside her coiled tighter. “Jake—please…”

  His mouth covered hers, his tongue doing insane things to her senses. And when his hand slid between them, cupping her, she nearly arched right off the table.

  He gently caught her earlobe between his teeth. His hand burned through her panties, stampeding her relentlessly toward the precipice and she shot off it blindly, exploding in midair.

  His breath caressed her ear as she cried out, shuddering wildly. “Does he know you come so easily for another man like this?”

  The words sank in.

  She jerked, shoving him back with all the humiliated strength she could muster. But he was already straightening anyway. “I’m sure he couldn’t care less.” Her legs were shaking as she rolled off the table, and her voice was faint, but she couldn’t help it. “That was my cousin. Ryan.”

  He didn’t look mollified. “How close a cousin?”

  She felt nearly crippled with desire but her knees managed to regain some stuffing. “Might as well be a brother. Now are you going to get out of my way, or not?”

  He didn’t move a muscle. “I don’t like seeing you with another man.”

  “I don’t like knowing I’m a poor substitute for your ex-wife, either, but there it is.” Mortified by her unruly tongue and blaming it on her completely scattered faculties, she raced upstairs and slammed her bedroom door shut. She still felt shaken, but was half-afraid he might try to follow her.

  She tore off the nightshirt and her panties and yanked on jeans and a loose shirt followed by the boots. In the bathroom, she scrubbed her face as if she could wash away the knowledge of what had just occurred, then grabbed her coat again and made herself go back downstairs.

  The kitchen was empty.

  It was only a temporary relief, though, as she heard his voice coming from the living room. She realized he was talking on his cell phone and grabbing the reprieve with both hands, she quickly went outside.

  The morning air slapped icily against her cheeks as she jogged across the frozen ground to the barn. But if she were afraid that Jake would be hard on her heels, she was wrong. As she slid open the barn door more fully, she snuck a look back at the house.

  She could see him through the mudroom windows, standing there watching. He still had his cell phone at his ear.

  She wasn’t certain whether to be disappointed or relieved and was more than a little afraid that disappointment had a decisive edge.

  Mostly, though, she just felt confused. And the best answer to that had always been her horses, so she ducked into the refuge of the barn.

  She checked Latitude first, finding him looking bright eyed and eager for more attention. She felt him over, checking for any signs of fever or swelling and was relieved to find none, particularly after the long trip he’d endured the day before. She gave him fresh water and hay, and moved on to Ziggy and the other horses, turning them out to the fenced land behind the barn where they could freely graze on the sparse grass poking through the snow.

  The wind yanked at her braid as she unloaded hay in the feeder, and broke up the ice in the water trough before hauling out buckets of hot water to add on top. The steam from the water lasted only a few minutes as it mixed with the colder water, and she peered up at the lightening sky. It would be a gray, cloudy day by the looks of it and she wouldn’t be surprised if it snowed soon.

  Leaving the horses in the pasture, she went back into the barn.

  Jake was there.

  Ignoring him as well as the heat that jolted readily through her, she gathered up the wheelbarrow and tools to muck out the stalls and set to work on the last one in the row. She was fortunate that she could have performed the chore blindfolded and asleep, because it was painfully distracting knowing that he might as well have made love to her on her kitchen table.

  “You’re not a substitute for my ex-wife,” he finally said, when she’d finished with the first stall and moved on to the next. “When I’m with you, especially when I’m with you, Tiff is the last one I’m thinking about.”

  She didn’t believe him, but she wasn’t going to enter into that argument. Hadn’t she already embarrassed herself enough?

  “You don’t have anything to say about that?”

  “I’ve already said more than I should have.” Done far more than she should have. She dumped a shovelful of manure into the wheelbarrow she’d pulled close to the stall gate and twisted back around into the stall, switching to the pitchfork to even out the straw bedding.

  “You don’t believe me.”

  She straightened, propping her hands on top of the handle. “No.” So much for good intentions. Her fingers were sweating around the wooden handle. “I was there when your aunt told you about your ex-wife’s accident. I saw your face! You’ve never been serious about another woman since she left Forrest’s Crossing. Everyone in the stables says you’re still in love with her, despite what happened between you.”

  “So that makes it fact?” He looked incredulous. “I don’t know what you saw in my face, honey, but I can promise you it wasn’t love. That ended pretty damn quick when I caught her in our bed with my best friend. And they weren’t exactly looking for me between the sheets. She was screwing Adam when she was married to me.” His teeth bared a little. “Why on God’s green earth do you think I would want her after that?”

  Hearing the rumors about his wife’s infidelity was one thing. Hearing the flat statements from Jake’s own lips was another.

  “I’m sorry,” she said huskily. “It must have been terrible for you. What…what she did.”

  “Yeah, well, save yourself the hankie.”

  “Are you saying you didn’t care?” Her legs felt shaky all over again. “Why did you marry her if not for love?”

  “She was pregnant.”

  She leaned harder on the pitchfork. “I…see.”

  His lips twisted. “She lost the baby after the ‘I do’s.’ If there ever was a baby. The boys didn’t come along until a few years later. Skipping her birth control wasn’t something she saw fit to share with me.”

  “You, uh, you didn’t want children?”

  “I didn’t exactly have a choice, did I?” His voice was flat. “They’d barely started kindergarten before she decided there was more to life than pretending to be my loving wife, even if it did come with the financial perks that she did
love.”

  Her throat felt so tight, it ached. “I’m sorry, Jake.”

  “You weren’t the one lying to my face.”

  He turned his head at the sound of Ryan entering the barn, laden with an extension ladder and painting equipment, so he missed the guilt that J.D. feared would be written on her face.

  She hastily turned around to finish cleaning out the stall, not even capable of managing the briefest of introductions between the two. Not that it seemed to matter as she heard the two of them tersely exchange names.

  “It looks like it’s gonna snow,” Ryan said to J.D. “I’ll see if I can get the old paint scraped off first and start painting when it clears up a little.”

  “Fine.” She didn’t look at either of them as she moved the wheelbarrow again. “There’s no hurry.” She’d been going to wait until spring, after all.

  “That thing’s a little heavy for her, don’t you think?” Ryan’s pointed voice was directed at Jake.

  She shot her cousin a glare across the barn where he was arranging his tools, but he seemed to delight in remaining oblivious to her annoyance. “I’m managing just fine,” she said to the both of them when it looked like Jake was actually going to try to take the wheelbarrow from her, even though she felt quite certain that he’d never personally wheeled horse manure anywhere. “But thanks for the offer, Ryan,” she added just as pointedly. If he were truly worried about her, he would have taken the load himself.

  She almost thought she caught a whisper of a grin on his face as he busied himself with his painting equipment, but she couldn’t be certain. And she was much more concerned with Jake than she was with her cousin, anyway.

  More specifically, with the fact that she was no better than Jake’s ex-wife when it came to anything.

  Chapter Ten

  “He’s still there, then?”

  J.D. held the phone to her ear as she peered out the kitchen window toward the barn. “Yes, he’s still here.” The he in question was, of course, Jake. And despite J.D.’s belief that he would lose interest in keeping such close tabs on Latitude, after a week, she was beginning to wonder. “Every morning he shows up right after dawn. The man’s like glue!”