The Cowboy Earns a Bride (Cowboys of Chance Creek Book 8) Read online

  She wanted him to hold her baby. To love it.

  To love her.

  She wanted it so bad.

  Her thoughts broke off when she heard Luke’s steps on the stairs. She wasn’t usually in her room at this time. Usually she was almost ready to head to work, but this wasn’t a normal day. He hesitated outside her closed door. She heard a clink and a quiet thump, then he moved to his own room. His door shut with a click and a minute later his en suite shower started.

  As soon as the coast was clear, she opened her door and discovered a cut glass vase full of a dozen pink roses. Beside it sat a generous box of Ghirardelli chocolates and a small gift-wrapped box. She scooped the presents up, put the flowers on her dresser, sat back on her unmade bed and opened the box of chocolates. Biting into the rich, satisfying sweetness of a raspberry truffle, she heaved a sigh and unwrapped the box. The pretty bracelet that lay inside brought tears to her eyes.

  She brushed them away impatiently. Luke might think he wanted her to be his Valentine, but it could never be.

  She tried the bracelet on, considered it, and took it off again. If she wore it now, it would be too hard to part with when she left, and she knew she had to leave. She set the box on her dresser beside the roses. When Luke found out about her baby, he’d surely want it back.

  It was definitely time for her to move on. Tomorrow she’d deposit the check in the bank and start hunting for an apartment. The minute she found one she’d confess everything to Luke.

  Today she wouldn’t have time for any of that.

  Today she needed to concentrate on Fila. Her friend deserved her fairy tale wedding. Mia had no doubt Fila and Ned’s marriage would go the distance because they’d been through so much together already.

  As she finished her truffle and went to fetch her dress, Mia bit her lip. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, wasn’t that how the saying went?

  Her shoulders slumped. It didn’t get much more accurate than that.

  Luke hurried through his shower and dressed quickly. He needed to get back to his parents’ house to help set up for the wedding. At least the location was convenient—no rushing around town today. The tables, chairs, and extra place settings for the dinner would be delivered any moment.

  He banged his shin on his bedpost and cursed under his breath. He needed to pull himself together if he was going to be of any use to anyone—but he couldn’t help it. He was distracted.

  He still hadn’t seen Mia so far this morning, and he was starting to second-guess the gifts he’d bought her. Flowers, chocolates and jewelry weren’t very original, but he’d noticed that Mia loved flowers, and she always wore jewelry, and who didn’t like chocolate? Still, it bugged him that he didn’t know Mia better—well enough to know for sure what she’d like. Despite living with her for more than two months, he sometimes felt he hardly knew her at all. She had a way of shutting down conversations whenever he came close to teasing out what made her tick. He should have been put off. Instead, he was only attracted to her more.

  Mia Start was every man’s dream. There was something about her that caught the eye and wouldn’t let go, and it wasn’t just him—he’d seen everyone from teenage boys in the hardware store to men older than his father on the street follow Mia with their gaze. Every flip of her long, straight-as-nails, thick, dark ponytail drew men like flies. She was petite, but curvy, her breasts something to behold even under the old baseball T-shirt she wore when she cleaned house. Her hips widened out from her tiny waist and her ass filled a pair of jeans to perfection, begging to be touched. Her pouty red lips were made for kissing. Every time Mia was around, his body responded to her. Hell, most times she wasn’t around he had to force himself to stop thinking about her. When she’d agreed to move into his place in December, he thought he’d had it made.

  He’d thought wrong. One stupid comment from him early on had soured any chance he had to convince her to date him. It was one of those things you said when you weren’t thinking. Jake and Hannah had been feeling their way toward marriage at the time, trying to reconcile their different visions of life. When they slipped up and faced a possible pregnancy, it made things even more complicated, and when it turned out there was no baby, Luke had thought it might be a relief—one problem off their plates, so to speak.

  Which is why he’d said to his brother, “No baby, no problem, right?”

  The five little words made Mia visibly flinch, and she’d kept her distance ever since.

  Mia wanted kids. He was clear on that now. He was also clear she thought he didn’t. The truth was, he hadn’t much thought of it either way. He didn’t have anything against children. They just hadn’t been on his radar.

  Until now.

  On his brothers’ advice, he’d been trying to show Mia that he was indeed father material by paying attention to children when they were around. He made a point to compliment mothers on their babies. He even held them now and then, which led him to understand that kids might be nice.

  He just wanted to get married first. To Mia. Hell, he wanted a honeymoon and a year or two to themselves. He wanted to make love to her every which way from Sunday, as often as work and life let them do it. He wanted to know what made her tick.

  Then he’d be ready for kids.

  First he had to convince her to go on a date.

  He slapped cologne on his freshly shaven cheeks, pounded downstairs and found Mia ready to go. Her bridesmaid’s gown was hanging in a garment bag draped over the banister. She was perched on one foot, carefully tugging on a scarlet cowboy boot, her dark hair looped around huge curlers, her sexy body squeezed into a hip-hugging skirt, a spaghetti-strapped tank top and a fluffy cardigan. If he knew anything about her, she’d done her toenails this morning and was trying not to mar them in the process of getting her boots on. Later she’d get all dolled up. For now she was prepared to pitch in and help set up for the wedding.

  He stifled an urge to stride over and try to tempt her into letting him have his way with her right there.

  “You’d better hurry,” Mia said, straightening and turning around. The lift of her brows told him she’d seen his thoughts in his expression. He couldn’t keep a grin from spreading across his face. He didn’t mind if she knew what he wanted. Hell, he wanted her to know exactly what he wanted. He wanted her to want it, too.

  But as usual, she turned away without giving him any encouragement. Luke sighed inwardly and followed her out the door and into the frosty morning.

  By the time they arrived back at his parents’ place, several more vehicles were parked in the driveway.

  “Looks like everyone’s here from the Cruz ranch,” Luke said.

  “With all these helpers, it should be easy to get set up.” Mia climbed the stairs and went in the front door, Luke close behind her. They found a crowd in the entryway, including most of the inhabitants of the Cruz ranch. Jamie and Claire Lassiter were standing in the doorway between the front hall and the dining room, Claire’s rounded belly announcing she was well along in her pregnancy. Cab Johnson and Rose Bellingham were still shedding their coats. Ethan Cruz was just hanging his up in the capacious hall closet. His wife, Autumn—also pregnant and just days from giving birth—was nowhere to be seen, however.

  Apparently, Evan and Bella Mortimer had arrived just moments before Luke and Mia did, because they were struggling out of their winter gear just inside the doorway. Evan waved a manila envelope at Jake.

  “I’d have thought you were too busy for jokes,” he called out over the din.

  Jake looked confused. “What do you mean?”

  Evan tossed the envelope at him. “All those photographs and everything. How’d you get them?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Luke shrugged out of his own jacket, craning his neck to see what Jake was pulling out of the envelope. Some kind of paperwork and several photographs. Hannah looked over Jake’s shoulder. “Wow—look at that place. It’s a palace.”

&nbs
p; “Come on, Hannah,” Evan said. “You must have been in on it too. Jake couldn’t pull that off all by himself.”

  “What is it?” Luke asked, making his way over to his brother’s side. The photographs showed a beautiful mansion surrounded by green lawns that flowed down to a beach and the ocean. In the background he spotted a tennis court and possibly a putting green. He flipped the photo and read, “The Breakers, Carmel, California.”

  “Sweet pad. You thinking of buying it, Evan?”

  “Hell, no. I’ve already got property in California,” Evan said. “And Bella and I are settled here. This is Jake’s idea of a joke.”

  “What’s the punch line?” Luke turned to Jake.

  “I don’t know. It’s not my joke,” Jake said. “Sorry, man—you’ve got the wrong guy. Rob’s the joker in the family.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” Rob called from the dining room.

  Evan waved the idea off. “You said just yesterday you wanted to buy my house, Jake. Then today Bella spotted a guy drive up and drop this in our mailbox.”

  “What color was his truck?” Jake asked.

  “I couldn’t see. It was early—still pitch dark,” Bella admitted. “But he was tall. Lean. Your size.”

  Jake made a face. “It wasn’t me.”

  Luke took the paperwork from him. It was an offer to buy the Mortimers’ ranch—or to do a simple swap for the property in California pictured in the photographs. As you can see, the handwritten note read, the Breakers is worth far more than your property. Luke whistled. “Well, they’re right; that mansion must be worth ten times as much cash as your place. No offense.”

  “None taken,” Evan said, though he did sound offended. “But I think my property is pretty nice.”

  Evan was right, Luke thought. The Mortimers’ home was nothing to sneeze at. Designed and built for Carl Whitfield, a wealthy man who’d left Chance Creek after being jilted by his fiancée, it was the largest home in the district and beautifully appointed. The grounds were extensive—stretching back into the hills to the north. Only someone as wealthy as Evan Mortimer could have afforded to buy it, but it paled in comparison to the seaside estate shown in the photographs.

  “I’m serious. I didn’t drop that off in your mailbox,” Jake said.

  “Yeah, yeah, Matheson. I believe you.” Evan turned away.

  “Time to get to work,” Camila said, bustling in from the kitchen. “Men—set up the seats in the solarium. Women—follow me. We’ll work on the table settings.”

  Two hours later, the house was nearly ready. Ethan, Cab and Jake were busy repairing the bent metal support to one of the rental tables, so when Ethan’s phone warbled, he pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to Luke.

  “Ethan’s phone,” Luke said.

  “It’s Autumn,” the voice on the other end said. “I’m ready to be picked up.”

  “Hi, Autumn. It’s Luke. Someone will be right there.” He figured she must have stayed home to rest before the wedding. Nearly nine months pregnant, the last time Luke saw her he wasn’t sure how the woman kept her balance. Her belly was all out of proportion to her petite frame, and he figured she’d been smart to take it easy rather than try to help out with setting up.

  “Thanks.”

  She hung up and Luke handed Ethan back his phone. “I can get her. I’ll bring Mia along.”

  “You sure?” Ethan looked up from where he was unscrewing the support.

  “No problem.” It would give him a moment alone with Mia, something he was hard-pressed to get these days. A familiar frustration welled up within him. He knew nothing would come of it. No matter what he tried, Mia held back. How much longer could he wait for her to change her mind?

  He found Mia in the kitchen and explained the errand. “Want to come along?”

  “Sure.” She told the others where she was headed, and followed him to the front hall. Luke handed Mia her jacket and led the way back outside where they hurried to their cabin to pick up the truck. Soon they were driving down the dirt lane that led out to the country highway.

  “You feeling okay?” he asked. Mia’s silence unnerved him. She’d been on the quiet side for weeks, which wasn’t like her. Since he wasn’t a big talker himself, he depended on her to fill in the silences.

  “What? Oh! Yeah, I’m fine.” She perked up. “I got the gifts. Thank you so much. I nearly forgot with all the fuss about the wedding.”

  “Are you wearing the bracelet?”

  Guilt flashed across her face. “Not right now—I didn’t want to break it while we got ready for the wedding.”

  “Oh… right.” Didn’t she like it? Did she think it was cheap? He remembered the ribbing he’d taken at the breakfast table that morning. Maybe he hadn’t spent enough money. “I thought maybe tomorrow we could go out to dinner,” he hastened to say. “Somewhere special. We’ll celebrate Valentine’s a day late.”

  And maybe do more than eat. Finally.

  “Maybe,” Mia said absently. She was gripping the armrest tightly, and Luke slowed down a notch, wondering if his driving had scared her. He wasn’t going fast, though, and he knew this stretch of road like the back of his hand. She didn’t react at all to the reduction in speed. No, something else was bothering Mia. He wished he knew what.

  The Cruz ranch was just down the road from the Double-Bar-K, and the driveway was already coming up, so he couldn’t do what he wanted to do, which was to slam on the brakes, lean over and kiss Mia until she had no choice but to give him her full attention.

  Why had he been such a damned gentleman all this time? It hadn’t gotten him anywhere.

  The answer was simple. Because he had the feeling Mia needed him to be a gentleman.

  He just didn’t know why.

  Didn’t she understand that she could tell him anything? Didn’t she know she could depend on him to sort out any problem? He wanted to be her rock—her confidant. “What’s wrong?”

  That got her attention. She straightened and smiled, but her expression remained guarded. “Nothing.”

  “Something’s bothering you.” He pulled into the lane that led to the Cruz ranch and cursed the shortness of the drive between the properties. If he knew Mia, she’d use their arrival to cut this conversation short.

  Sure enough, she said, “We’ll talk about it after the wedding, okay?”

  Luke grunted. He could only hope they would.

  ‡

  Chapter Three

  Mia was surprised that Autumn didn’t meet them out on the small porch of the converted bunkhouse where she and Ethan made their home, even though it was February and a chilly day. She’d texted just minutes ago that they were on their way and Autumn was one of the most punctual people she knew. Maybe she’d forgotten some last minute detail.

  She opened her door and slid off the truck’s high seat, her boots landing in an inch of newly fallen snow. She wore thick tights underneath her mini, but the cold made her skip over the driveway and up the porch steps. She heard Luke’s door slam and his footsteps behind her. By the time she opened the door and stuck her head in, he had a hand at her waist to guide her inside.

  She would miss that when she moved out—his touch, his presence. She ached to show him what she really wanted him to do. Knowing she’d never get that chance made her ball her hands into fists within her pockets.

  “Autumn?” Mia called. The door led straight into a small, empty living room. “Autumn, are you ready?”

  She heard a noise and cocked her head.

  “Autumn?”

  “Mia?”

  At the strangled tone of her friend’s voice, Mia exchanged a quick, worried glance with Luke, kicked off her boots and dashed toward the rear of the house. She found Autumn in her bathroom, clutching the tile countertop for dear life, bent over in pain. Her hugely pregnant belly looked like it would overbalance her. Her loose, drawstring pants were soaked.

  Autumn was panting. “My water broke! And it hurts!” As Mia watched, Autumn gritted he
r teeth and swayed, her entire body bowing with the pain. Was that a contraction?

  Mia called over her shoulder, “Luke, call 911! Autumn’s giving birth! Autumn—we have to get you to the hospital. Come on, honey!”

  “I can’t!” Autumn’s wail ended on an inhuman note, and Mia realized this was more than a contraction. Autumn was bearing down.

  “No—wait! No, you can’t do that yet!” Mia had read enough about giving birth to know that wasn’t right. First the contractions were small and women walked around a lot, grimacing now and then. Then they got stronger and you took them to the hospital. Then—hours later, right?—they got really strong and the doctor—because there was always a doctor by then—told you when and how to push.

  You didn’t bend over your sink and bear down five minutes after your contractions began.

  Unless—

  “When did they start? When did your contractions start?”

  “I don’t know.” Autumn was panting again. “A couple of hours—aaaaah!” She ground down into another push.

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” Mia shrieked.

  “I thought they were Braxton Hicks,” Autumn said when she could breathe again. “The manuals all said I would have them for days, or weeks, or aaaaaannnnggh!”

  The noise she made became truly guttural, and Mia stared at her in horror as she realized what happened next was up to her. Either Autumn would have her baby standing up, fully clothed, or Mia was going to have to take charge.

  “Luke. LUKE!” Mia screamed.

  His footsteps pounded closer and he appeared in the doorway, phone still in his hand.

  “You have to carry Autumn to the bedroom. Right now. She’s having the baby.”

  “What? She can’t!”

  “She can and she’s going to. Shut up and carry her!”

  Luke dropped the phone, picked Autumn up as easily as if she was a sparrow and hauled her into the bedroom, depositing her on the queen-sized bed.

  “I need towels—lots of them. Boil some water.”

  “Why?”