The Birthday Fantasy (8 page)

“
Ah.” He moved his hands from around her and began to unbutton the shirt. “Get used to it because, Jamie Raines, I am so in love with you.” He kissed her and wanted her all over again, forgetting all about the hunger for food. “I think the water is good,” he said in a deep whisper as he slid the shirt off her shoulders. “Let’s try it out.”

“I
thought we were going riding horses up the mountain today?” She kissed his neck.

He picked her up and brought her legs around his waist. She moaned as his cock touched her. He climbed into the tub with Jamie straddl
ing him. As he thrust into her, he said near her ear, “Wouldn’t you rather ride a cowboy.”

“Oh, yeah.”

The last night at the resort, Tate and Jamie went to dinner. Jamie wore the royal blue gown, knowing how much he’d liked it in the store. He asked to be seated in one of the private tables in the back. Candlelight glittered on the silver and crystal, and fresh flowers gave a sweet fragrance to the air.

After their meals were served,
Jamie lifted her wine glass to take a sip. She hadn’t ever been so happy and it was all because of the man sitting across from her. “So, what exactly was my birthday gift?”

Tate stopped chewing
and looked at her.

She’d bet the ranch he hadn’t expected to be asked that?

She smiled and set her glass on the table. “What exactly was my gift? Was it the clothes, the trip itself, or was it you?”

Grinning, Tate took a sip of his wine and
wiped his mouth on the cloth napkin. He reached into a pocket of his jacket and pulled something out.

He looked at the object with eyes glowing in the candlelight, then
met Jamie’s gaze as he turned the object toward her. “Actually, I hoped to give you this.”

She gasped when h
e opened the jewelry box to reveal a beautiful antique diamond ring.

“I know I asked you the other night, but I... Well, want to make sure. You weren’t thinking clearly then.”

“I told you later that you were stuck with me.”

“I know.” He stood and came around the table. As he knelt next to her on one knee, he took her left hand, which she was surprised to notice trembled. “But let’s make this official.” He slid the ring on her bare finger. “I know it’s not as fancy or as flashy as the ring Jefferson gave you...”

She touched his face with her right hand and shook her head. “I have something more precious--your love and that’s just fine with me. The ring is lovely and my answer is still the same. Yes, Tate Dawson, I will marry you.”

He leaned in and kissed her. “I love you. Don’t you ever doubt it.”

She wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so sorry I never tried to fix things between us.”

“I’m not sure I would’ve let you.” He glanced away and his voice rumbled deep as he spoke. “I was convinced I was wrong for you, until you were ready to make the biggest mistake of your life. Then I realized what I was willing to give up.”

She kissed him again, then loosened her hold on him. Soft music drifted around them as a quartet played an old waltz. “C’mon, let’s go dance. It’s not roundup kind of music, but I think I recognize the tune.”

On the dance floor, only two other couples swayed to the music. Tate took her into his arms and swung her into step with the sweet strains of the violin and guitar.

She put her hand on his shoulder and the diamond reflected the dim light. “Where did you get the ring? It’s so unique.”

He tightened his hold on her. “It was my grandmother’s. She gave it to me before she passed the year my mom hightailed it to parts unknown. She and my grandfather had been married for nearly forty years before he died. I think she wanted to show me love can last, if it’s meant to.”

“I know ours will last.”

He laughed. “How can you be so sure? We’re both as stubborn as the day is long.”

She playfully glared at him and thought of her mother’s ghost. “Because I think you and I were meant to be together.” With a smile, she pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Let’s go back to the house.”

“Whatever the princess wants.”

She took his hand. “Careful, I might remind you said that.”

He wrapped his arm around her waist. “Hell, I know you will.”

****

Jamie read the report and looked at father. “You hired a PI to check into Robbie?”

“Damn right.” Hank leaned back in his cowhide chair behind the big oak desk. “I knew that peacock was up to no good.

Glancing at Tate, she passed the paper to him.
She couldn’t believe she’d been so gullible to fall for his lies. No wonder he didn’t want her anywhere near Vegas. They’d returned about two hours ago. She and her father had a talk, and he assured her he was going to beat the cancer. His doctor was one of the best oncologists in the state of Texas and believed they found the cancer early enough to treat it.

Tate tossed the report on the desk. “So, Jefferson is in Vegas closing a deal for a country club and golf course to be built on Raines Land.”

“He only wanted me for the ranch.” The truth of that statement still hurt, even if she wasn’t going to marry the bastard.

“And you
r money,” her father added.

She stood and the photo sitting on her dad’s desk caught her attention. In the picture, her mother held her as a baby.
“I’ll always be looking out of for you,”
echoed in her mind and she smiled. Had her mother sent her Tate to help her through her teenage years long ago? Did she send him to be her best friend, when she didn’t have very many friends? She’d never know, but she was thankful her parents were looking out for her.

Smiling, she rounded the desk and hugged her father. “Thank you, Daddy.”

He kissed her cheek and squeezed her in a bear hug. “For what?”

She glanced at Tate and her heart swelled with l
ove. “For the best birthday fantasy ever.”

Two Months Later

Jamie stared in the tall mirror at herself in the white gown she’d bought at the resort. It fit perfectly. Something she’d been a little concerned about. She placed her hands over her lower belly and smiled as she thought of her secret.

Tate would be ecstatic when she finally told him about the baby. And so would her father. He was beating the cancer and his doctor was optimistic, though Daddy still had a long way to go to be cured. She went with him for his treatments and held his hand through the sickness the chemotherapy caused. She hated it, but she was glad he allowed her to be with him.

She glanced at the photo of her mother sitting on the dresser. Sadness swamped her as she picked up the gilded frame. “Wish you could be here, Momma.”

“I am.”

Jamie turned around and gasped at the shimmery ghost of her mother.

Momma smiled. “I told you I’m always with you. You are such a beautiful bride. Juliet did well with suggesting the gown to you.”

Jamie hugged the frame to her chest, afraid her connection to the ghost would be severed if she let it go. “Momma, did you send Tate to me?”

Her mother laughed. “You asked me that the last time.”

“Yes, and you never answered.”

“You are your father’s daughter.” She sat on the edge of Jamie’s bed without making an impressionq on the soft mattress. “Yes, I sent him to you--and to your father. I knew he’d be perfect for the ranch and for you. I was right.”

“I’m pregnant.”

Momma’s smile glowed. “I know.”

A sudden thought popped into her mind. “Did you... Did you have anything to do with it?”

More tinkling laugher. “No. That was nature.”

Jamie frowned. She’d been shocked when she discovered she was pregnant because she’d been on the pill since she and Tate had been together the first time years ago.

As if her mother knew what she was thinking, she said, “You missed a few days worth of the pills.”

With a laugh, Jamie shook her head. “I guess you’re right. Tate hadn’t packed them.”

Her mother floated toward her and brushed her fingers over Jamie’s cheek. The touch was soft and cool. “You will have a gift for Tate.”

“I know. Our baby is due in the same month as his birthday.”

With a gentle kiss on Jamie’s forehead, Momma began to fade away.

“I love you, Momma.” Jamie stared at the spot where her mother’s ghost had been as a few tears slid down her cheek.

A knock on the door startled her. “Jamie, we’re all set.”

Wiping away the tears, she picked up her bouquet of bluebells and white roses. “I’m coming, Daddy.” She opened the door to her father standing in a Texas tuxedo of dark blue
jeans and white western shirt. He smiled broadly and took her hand as she said, “Let’s go. I can’t wait to get my life started.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Other Works:

Heartstrings

He’s determined to set things right, no matter the cost.

The last person Abby Crawford wants to face down is country music superstar Seth Kendall. Last time she did, she flat-out lied so he’d go to Nashville without her. She’s never understood why their mutual best friend proposed, but she went with it so her baby wouldn’t be fatherless. Now she’s a divorced mother of a teenager, and secretly Seth’s biggest fan.

Seth is home in McAllister, Texas for his father’s funeral…and a chance to meet the daughter he’s never known. He’s willing to face the music of his own making and admit he’s known about his little girl all along. For fifteen years he’s kept his distance because Abby told him to follow his dreams without her, insisting she didn’t love him. But now he won’t leave until he knows his daughter and she knows him, even if it means facing the woman who broke his heart for good.

Confessing she’s lied about her daughter’s paternity all these years won’t be easy for Abby, especially with her ex blackmailing her to keep the secret. And Seth doesn’t know the hardest truth of all: Every love song he plays on his guitar still plucks her heartstrings.

CONTENT WARNING: Spicy sex.

Excerpt:

Seth leaned in. His lips were close enough to kiss, and his scent of sandalwood and something exotic enveloped her, taking her back to that night on the beach. His eyes flashed with the dangerous fire of his temper. It was similar to the flame of the passion she’d once seen in the green depths. Abby didn’t expect or want the heat curling in her belly, and shivered with a sudden and fierce desire.

“I’m her father, Abigail. I wanted to be her father after she was born. It was you and Mike who insisted I had no business messing things up.”

“I never said any such thing. You never tried. You just left.”

He pounded a fist on the counter top so hard she jumped. “Yes, I left! I wasn’t welcome at home. Dad ran me off with a shotgun. Mike wouldn’t even let me see my daughter. He made it quite clear you and he were happily married, and I had no place in your life. I was under contract to be in Nashville to start recording my first album.”

What did he mean, Mike wouldn’t let him see Emily?

Before she had a chance to voice her question, his eyes darkened as the pupils dilated, obscuring the stormy green. “But I’m no longer nineteen and scared shitless. I could make things very rough for you and this fantasy you’ve got working.”

A cold lump quickly replaced the tangle of heat in her belly. “What-what do you mean?”

He backed off and tapped the countertop. “I’m talking a custody battle. I could have a judge order a paternity test. I think we both know the media hoopla the results would cause.”

Her heart slammed into her chest wall. “You wouldn’t do that.”

“Try me. Now that I’ve met Emily, I want to get to know her.” He walked over to look out the kitchen window. The hard line of his jaw melted, and he swallowed so hard his throat moved up and down. “I was a fool when I let Mike talk me out of being in her life after she was born.”

“What do you mean?”

He glanced at her. “Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

The strings of guitar music provided a soft counterpoint to the hard tension in the kitchen. Emily was outside on the patio playing around with her guitar, waiting for them to finish with the dishes she and Seth had insisted on doing.

“All I want is to have some time with my daughter. That’s all I’m asking for.” When he looked over his shoulder at her, sadness replaced the anger in his eyes. “I’ll keep your little secret. I’ll just be her favorite singer. The family friend who made it big in Nashville. I don’t want to hurt her. As much as it galls the hell out of me, I see what Mike means to her.”

He moved toward her and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Besides, I don’t want to hurt Carolann or Frank any more than you do.” He glanced outside again, his voice husky as he spoke. “But I’ll sue you if I have to.”