brides for brothers 02 - cowboy daddy (6 page)

One of the cowboys called from across the arena. “Pete? Telephone.”

Jake had had phones put in all the barns several years ago. It saved them a lot of steps. Pete figured one of the rodeos he’d been in contact with had a question about the animals he was going to supply.

“Hello?”

“Pete, it’s Hank. I figured you might like to know that Lavinia sent Janie into town to do some grocery shopping. If she won’t talk to you on the phone, she can’t refuse to speak to you over broccoli.”

“Okay, I’ll track her down there. Thanks, Hank.” Whether it was in produce or dairy, she’d talk to him, all right.

J
ANIE NAVIGATED
the streets of Rawhide with reluctance. She hadn’t wanted to come to town so soon after the flowers and candy. But her mother needed some things right away. Besides, the weatherman said another snowstorm was moving in. It didn’t pay to be short of supplies during the winter.

At least it was the middle of the day, when most people would be at work. She pulled into the almostempty parking lot at the only grocery store in town.

Inside the store, she unbuttoned her coat, the sudden blast of heat thawing her out quickly.

“Hi, Janie,” one of the checkers, Elizabeth Munger, called. Janie had gone to school with her, too. “Buddy said you’ve been getting some special deliveries.”

Janie smiled and waved but kept on going. She hoped if she ignored those gifts, everyone would forget about them sooner. Pulling her mother’s list out of her coat pocket, she began pushing the grocery cart up one aisle and down another, piling supplies in her cart.

“Hi, Janie. Figured you or your mother would be here,” an older woman said. She was the wife of the rancher on the other side, opposite the Randalls.

“Hi, Mrs. Fisher. Stocking up?”

“You bet. When one of those storms hit, you know the menfolks will tend to the cows first and the roads last. Don’t want to be caught short of the necessities…like chocolates.” A big grin accompanied her teasing.

Janie smiled back, but she started pushing her cart again.

“Well, if that ain’t a coincidence,” Mrs. Fisher exclaimed, drawing Janie’s attention. The woman was staring over Janie’s shoulder, and she couldn’t resist turning around.

“Hi, Janie, Mrs. Fisher,” Pete said. “I just came into town to pick up a few things for Red.”

“Really?” Mrs. Fisher said, her eyebrows soaring. “I thought Red always did his shopping on Mondays.”

“He forgot some things.”

Janie decided escape was the best plan while Pete was still talking to Mrs. Fisher. She resumed pushing her cart only to have one of Pete’s big hands grab hold of the push bar.

“See you around, Mrs. Fisher,” he said with a nod before turning to Janie.

“Turn loose of my cart,” she whispered. To her surprise, he did as she asked, but he strolled along beside her.

“Why won’t you talk to me, Janie?” he asked.

“We have nothing to talk about.”

“You haven’t thanked me for the candy and flowers.”

“Oh, yes. How could I forget? Half the town has reminded me. Do you think they will have forgotten by the time I’m in maternity clothes?”

“Why the hell do I care? Do you still think I don’t want to be known as the baby’s father?”

“Shh!” It felt as if everyone in the store was following their progress, staring at them.

“Janie, what can I do to convince you—?”

“Hi, Janie.”

They both whirled around. Janie recognized her second suitor’s voice with a sinking heart.

“Hi, Bryan.” She paused, sent an apologetic look to Pete and added, “Thanks for the candy and flowers.”

Bryan beamed, and she could feel Pete tense beside her.

“I wanted you to remember what I said.”

“I wouldn’t forget. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish shopping before the snowstorm arrives.”

“Is it going to snow again? What’s on the ground hasn’t melted yet.”

Pete snorted. “Well, it is Wyoming. If you don’t like snow, come back in late spring.”

Again Janie moved her cart, stopped and reached around Pete to pick up a large jar of peanut butter, her father’s favorite late-night snack.

“Here, I’ll get it for you,” Bryan hurriedly said, and almost bumped heads with her to pick up her choice.

She drew back with a smothered sigh. “Thanks, Bryan, but really, I can manage.”

“I like doing things for you,” he assured her, an eager grin on his face.

Pete, beside her, scowled at the man before asking Janie, “What’s next on your list?”

“Mother wants some cans of baked beans,” Janie finally said. She sent him a look that said
Please back off.
But she knew he wouldn’t. Not with Bryan hovering at her side.

For the next few minutes, they toured the grocery store, each man dashing from one side to the other to gather the groceries on Lavinia’s list. All over the store, the other customers watched, gathering in twos and threes and whispering, big grins on their faces.

Janie felt as though she were leading the Fourth of July Parade. Only it was winter, they were in a grocery store, and there were only three of them. And she wished she wasn’t one of the three.

Finally she reached the checkout stand. “Really, it was nice of you to help, but that’s all my shopping.”

“How about a cup of coffee?” Bryan asked.

“Sorry, the storm, you know.”

“I’ll follow you home to be sure you make it all right,” Pete offered, but the caring that remark might have evoked was erased by the one-upmanship glare he sent Bryan’s way.

“I could follow her home.”

“No, Bryan, but thanks for the offer. You might have trouble getting back,” Janie hastily said. The thought of Bryan having to stay at her house during a snowstorm was more than she could take.

During their discussion, Elizabeth, her old highschool friend, had been checking her out, ringing up each item and then staring at the three of them. Janie thought it must be the slowest checkout in history. The package boy, bagging the groceries, had to wait on the checker several times.

When Elizabeth pushed the empty cart past her toward the package boy, both men jumped into action, each grabbing a bag of groceries and stowing it in the cart. When the seven sacks were in place, Pete won the tussle over the cart.

Bryan immediately took advantage by taking Janie’s arm. “I’ll help you to your truck.”

She couldn’t meet Pete’s hostile gaze. They both knew she didn’t need any help getting to her truck. But she acquiesced to Bryan’s offer, allowing him to draw her hand through his arm.

When they reached the truck, she pulled away from Bryan, who’d been filling her ears with compliments, to open the back of the vehicle.

Pete immediately began putting the paper bags in the truck, and Bryan joined in. As if they were in a race, they each grabbed a sack and then immediately wheeled around to grab the next. When there was only one sack left, she should’ve known what would happen next.

“I’ll get it,” Pete announced as he reached for the last sack.

“No, I’ll get it!” Bryan said, trying to reach over Pete’s strong arms. He managed to grasp a corner of the bag and pulled it in his direction. Pete, of course, had no intention of surrendering his hold. The rip of the paper announced the latest disaster.

Suddenly, canned goods were rolling across the parking lot. Potatoes landed with a plop in the unmelted mounds of snow surrounding the truck. The lettuce rolled over several times before coming to rest against the muddy tire of another vehicle.

She heard the laughter of those watching from the grocery store and covered her eyes. With both men apologizing, she picked up her groceries with a sigh. They weren’t a parade. They were a freak show.

The package boy came out to help them retrieve the groceries, along with several other people in the parking lot. Mortified, Janie took their offerings with thanks and shoved them into the truck.

“Do you want me to go back in and get some more lettuce and potatoes? These got kind of dirty,” Pete said.

“No, they’ll wash. Just put them in the truck. They’ll be fine.” Anything to get out of there.

“I’m sorry,” Bryan said again.

“It was an accident. And I appreciate your help.” She paused and then shot a look at Pete, glowering beside her. “And yours, too, Pete.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Pete muttered, surveying their audience, still in place. “We made a spectacle of ourselves.”

“Yeah, we were more exciting than the coming storm,” she teased, breaking into a grin. It wasn’t often she saw Pete Randall feeling sheepish. It was almost worth the embarrassment.

When he caught her smile, he returned it, and her spirits brightened. The man could bring sunshine to the gloomiest day ever. At least, he could for her.

“Come on. You’d better be on your way. I’ll be right behind you.”

She nodded and turned to tell Bryan goodbye.

“When will I see you?”

“I don’t know. I’ll—I’ll call you in a few days.”

Pete stiffened beside her, losing his endearing grin.

Bryan leaned toward her as if he would kiss her goodbye, but Janie ducked away. When they’d dated, she’d allowed him to kiss her good-night, but nothing more. And she had to admit that she hadn’t particularly liked his kisses. She’d told herself to give their relationship time, but she had felt more than a hint of relief when the baby gave her a reason to stop seeing Bryan.

Now she had to tell him that.

But not today. She’d been through enough today. And she couldn’t tell him the truth in front of Pete and all the other citizens of Rawhide who’d been drawn to the little trio’s shopping trip.

All the way home, the sight of Pete in her rearview mirror was both a comfort and an ache. He’d always looked out for her, even when they’d been lovers. She corrected herself. Especially when they’d been lovers. He hadn’t let anyone know about them because he was protecting her reputation, he’d said.

Well, everyone knew about them now. The candy, the flowers, the grocery shopping. She chuckled. From this distance, the grocery shopping was hysterical. But if the two men ever approached her again at the same time, she was going to run.

Reaching the turnoff to her house, she waved her hand in the back window to say thank you to Pete and braked for the turn. After she straightened out on the driveway, she checked her mirror, expecting to see Pete sail past her toward the Randall ranch.

Instead, he turned in after her.

Now what was he up to? Why was he following her?

She nibbled on her bottom lip, anxiety rising. In the grocery store, he couldn’t bring up anything personal with everyone around. But here, at her house, she knew he could get her alone.

With a sigh, she parked the truck. By the time she got to the back of the vehicle to open it, Pete was beside her.

“What are you doing here? Don’t you need to get home before the storm?”

“The radio said it might hold off for a day or two,” he said, and reached past her for a grocery sack.

“I can carry the groceries in, Pete,” she protested.

“I don’t think pregnant ladies are supposed to carry anything heavy.”

She heaved a big sigh. “I’m not an invalid.”

As she reached for a grocery sack herself, Pete ordered, “Leave it, Janie, and go inside.”

“Pete Randall, stop ordering me around!”

“Janie Dawson, use your head. There’s no point in taking risks. And if you’re good, I’ll take the blame for the spilled groceries.”

She stared at him, her mouth dropping open. Then she sputtered, “You’ll take the blame? Like it’s not really your fault?”

“That’s right.” He swooped down and kissed her before reaching for a second sack. “I figure it’s your fault for flirting with that greenhorn. But I’ll forgive you,” he said magnanimously, a twinkle in his eye. “Now get inside.”

Chapter Five

Pete figured he had a big advantage over Bryan Manning. Lavinia liked him. He hoped to parlay that liking into an invitation to dine with the Dawsons.

“Howdy, Lavinia,” he greeted her with a smile when he entered the kitchen with the first bags of groceries. Janie was standing beside the door, her arms crossed and her foot tapping.

“Well, hi Pete. What are you doing here?”

“Helping Janie with the groceries. I was worried about her lifting anything heavy.”

Lavinia looked first at her daughter and then back to Pete. “That’s real thoughtful of you, Pete. But why does Janie look so irritated?”

Pete cleared his throat. “Well, it could have something to do with one of the grocery sacks splitting. I think she’s worried about the lettuce.”

“I don’t think so,” Janie retorted, one eyebrow raised. At her mother’s questioning look, she continued, “You should have seen the two of them, Mom.”

“Two? I only see one.” Lavinia pretended to peer around Pete for another person.

“Bryan showed up at the grocery store, too. And they created a spectacle.”

Lavinia looked at Pete. “Should I hope the grocery store was empty?”

”’Fraid not, Lavinia. But I tried to be discreet.”

“You wouldn’t know the meaning of the word if it slapped you in the face,” returned Janie, but Pete was relieved to see a twinkle in her eye.

“I bet you never finished your shopping that fast.” His broad grin won an answering smile.

“No, I suppose not. I was so embarrassed I would’ve run up and down the aisles if I could have.”

“What did those two do?” Lavinia asked.

“They turned my shopping into a competition, dashing around, each one trying to fill the cart before the other one could. They almost turned old Mrs. Capelli upside down with their mad rush.”

“That’s not true,” Pete protested. “We only turned her around a time or two. And I helped her find the canned tuna.” His righteous tone brought a laugh from Lavinia.

“A true act of charity, Pete. Are you going to bring in the rest of the groceries before they freeze, by the way?”

“Yes, ma’am!” he said, snapping a salute and sailing out the door. At least he’d mentioned the torn sack without Lavinia being irritated. When he returned two minutes later, with two more bags, Lavinia was leaning against the sink, laughing.