9781631051289TemptedbytheCowboySullivan (17 page)

“I need to call Jacob. Can you drive me? I’m scared.”

“Nothing to be scared
about.
Those babies are well done already. Aren’t you like
thirty-eight weeks?”

“Yeah, but I thought pregnancy lasted forty weeks?”

“In the perfect world, hon
ey, but
with twins, it’s not unusual to have them early.” Peyton grabbed her tennis
shoes and slipped them on in a rush. Who cared if she was in her Hello Kitty
pajama bottoms, a T-shirt and shoes with no socks? Her friend needed her. “You
can call Jacob f
rom the car. Let’s go.”

She quickly ushered Paige and Mandy out to her car, got
them inside as Paige got on the phone with Jacob, and then went around to the
driver’s side. It was going to be a long night if Paige was in labor.

“Hi Honey. Yeah, it’s me. Li
sten,
Peyton is taking me to the hospital. I’ve been cramping all day. I know. It’s
okay. No, my water hasn’t broke. It’ll be okay, Jacob. I’m in good hands. Just
meet us at the hospital in the labor and delivery department. We’ll be there in
about forty-f
ive minutes depending on how fast Peyton
drives.” She glanced at Peyton as she nodded.
“Yeah, forty-five minutes.
Okay. I love you. See
you soon.”

Peyton took her hand and squeezed her fingers. “You’ll be
fine.”

“I know. I trust you.”

“Thanks. We’ll get
there in
plenty of time.”

Twenty minutes later, found them on the side of the road
changing a tire. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

“Is this going to take much longer, Peyton? I think it’s
definitely
labor
. My belly is cramping
now.”

“How far apart?”

“About five minut
es.”

“Shit. I’ll hurry.”

“I sure don’t want to have these babies in your car.”

“I don’t want you to either.”

Headlights blinded her for a moment as a truck pulled up
behind her car before it shut off. “Oh, thank you, Lord. I hope it’s someone
who can chang
e this damned tire faster or take Paige
onto the hospital before it’s too late.”

“Peyton?”

“Ah, fuck. It had to be Jason,” she mumbled under her
breath.

“Jacob has half the county searching for you guys. What’s
the problem?”

“I picked up a nail and got a f
lat.
I can’t get these damned lug nuts off. They are too tight.”

“Let me try.”

He crouched down beside her, bringing the scent of his
aftershave with him. That smell on him did wild things to her insides. She
inhaled, bringing the scent to her nose as she
closed
her eyes.

“Are you sniffing me?”

She caught herself leaning toward him with a jerk. “No.”

A half crooked smile creased his lips while he wrestled the
last of the lug nuts loose.
Damn the man.

“Grab the spare for me, would you, please? We’ll get
you ladies on the road here in a minute.”

Within minutes, he had the tire changed.

“Can you hurry please?” Paige groaned as another pain hit
her. “They are pretty close together.”

“We’ll be on our way in a second. Hang tight.” She glanced
at Jason as they
both stood and he put the tire back
in the trunk. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Get her to the hospital before she has
those babies in your car.”

“We aren’t far. Five minutes.”

“Hit the emergency room when you get there. Jacob has
everyone on high alert.”

“Will do.”
She saluted smartly
before she walked around to slide inside the car. Jacob stood by his truck as
she pulled away, watching him in the rearview mirror. She wondered if he’d
follow to the hospital since Jacob sent him out looking for them. Sure e
nough, he pulled out behind
them,
the lights of his
truck reflecting in her eyes as she glanced back, keeping him in sight.

Thirty minutes later, they pulled into the overhang of the
emergency room. Two nurses with a wheelchair rushed out and around to the
passenger side of the car as Peyton and Mandy got out.
“She’s having pains about three minutes apart.”

“We’ll take it from here.” As one nurse helped Paige out of
the car, water gushed down her legs. “It appears your water just broke. We are
taking you st
raight to the delivery room. We can
check you there.”

“But they were supposed to be
born
by
c-section
, not natural.”

“Honey, these babies decide when they’re coming and how
they’re coming, we don’t. You’ll do fine.”

“Where’s Jacob?”

“Right here, darlin’,”
Jacob
answered coming around the car. “What happened to you and Peyton? I thought I
would go crazy.”

“We got a flat. I couldn’t get the damned lug nuts off.”

“Jacob, I’m scared.”

“You’ll be fine, baby. Let’s get you inside. The doctor is
waiting.”

“Oh.” Sh
e held her stomach as she
doubled over in pain.

“Get her inside. I have a feeling baby number one will be
making his or her debut soon,” the nurse said, taking control of the situation
as they pushed her inside the double doors.

Peyton stood there, not sur
e what
to do next. Her friend was in good hands, she hoped, and the babies would be
born without any complications. She had to believe that.

“Pull your car around to the parking lot and park to the
side. You can meet her upstairs,” the second nurse said be
fore she went through the double doors behind Paige.

After a few seconds, Peyton got back in the car with Mandy
in the front passenger seat and moved her car to an empty spot. She debated for
a few moments when she saw one available next to Jason’s truck.
He wasn’t in it. Apparently, he’d already gone inside to
let Jacob know they’d arrived. Good. She really didn’t want to be near him
anymore than she had to. Not that she minded his physical nearness, but being
too close to him brought back the memories she
’d been
trying desperately to forget over the last two weeks. “Marry him. Is he crazy?”

“What’d you’d say? Marry who?”

“Jason.”

“What? He asked you to marry him?”

“Yeah, crazy, huh?”

“I would have said yes in a heartbeat.”

Peyton opened her door and
slammed
it shut behind her as Mandy got out on the other side. “Well, I didn’t. I told
him he was nuts and there would be no way I would marry him now or any time in
the near future. We fucked. It was good, but I’m not in love with him.”

“I think you prote
st too much
myself
. If you really thought
about it for more than a few minutes, you’d realize you are at least half in
love with the man already.”
Mandy
came around the front of the car.

“You’re as crazy as he is, Mandy.” Peyton headed for the
sliding door
to the hospital lobbying. Bah, in love
with Jason. No way. She wouldn’t give into that silly emotion especially with a
cowboy. Yeah, he was good in bed. They connected that way, but really what else
did they have in common? He came from a prominent, solid
large
family whereas she
came from a nonexistent one.

She had baggage, emotional scars she wasn’t sure she could
get past with another man. Fucking had been great between them, but she didn’t
do emotion very well with anyone. Not since Charles raked her
through the coals with breaking her down to a needy wreck.

“You need to move on, Peyton. Jason is a good guy.”

“Move on from what?”

“I know about Charles.”

“How?
I never told you.”

Mandy put an arm around Peyton’s shoulders even though she
tried to shake
her off. “Yes you did. One night, when
you were very drunk, you broke down and told me everything. He did a number on
you, I’ll give you that, but are you going to let him ruin you for any other
man?”

“Butt out.”

“I can’t. You are my friend. I see how mise
rable you are. You were happy when you were with Jason, you
aren’t now. You’ve been a bitch the last two weeks since you walked out on
him.”

“I can handle my relationship with Jason.”

“You don’t have a relationship, remember?”

“I don’t want one either.”

“Y
ou might lie to me. You might
lie to Jason, but don’t lie to yourself. You’re the only one who knows
everything about what is going on inside your brain and your heart. He’s good
for you. Admit it, even if it’s only to
yourself
.” Mandy kissed her on
the ch
eek before she walked inside the hospital,
leaving Peyton to ponder her words as she watched from outside.

Jason stood with his family in the waiting room. Every
Young was there except Joel, Mesa and Terri who probably stayed home with the
boys since they
wouldn’t be allowed in the hospital
anyway. It wasn’t a good idea to have kids around all those germs. They looked
happy awaiting the arrival of the newest additions to the family.

When Mandy walked in, Jason greeted her with a smile.
Jealousy zinged throu
gh Peyton. Was he flirting with
Mandy? Did Mandy flirt back? Was there something going on there between them?
Maybe he’d been fucking all of them simultaneously.
Her, Mandy, and Sheila.

“No, that’s nuts. I would have known.”

Would you?

Jason broke off fr
om the crowd
and came out the doors toward her. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“You okay?” he asked, shoving his hands in the front pocket
of his jeans.

“Yeah.”

“Why are you standing out here?

“Just
gettin
’ some air.”

“You can come in with the family, you know. You’re good
friends with Paige. No one will kick you out.”

“I didn’t think they would, but…”

“But what, Peyton?
Is it me?”

“Well, it’s kind of awkward, you know, since we were doing
the horizontal mambo.”

He smiled as he looked down at the toes of his boots.
“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She frowned.

“What’s the frown for?”

“Something Mandy told me before she went inside is bugging
me.”

“Something you want to talk about?”

“Not with you.”

“Is it about me?”

“Yeah.
She’s wrong, but you
know, it’s kind of stuck in my brain and I need to work it out.”

“I miss you, you know.”

“Please don’t.”

“Why? It’s the truth. I still think about your body pressed
up against mine, the warmth of your pussy around my cock when we were
making love.”

“Fucking, Jason.
We were fucking.”

“Whatever you want to call it to justify everything in your
mind, you go right ahead, darlin’, but to me, we were making love.”