The Lionhearted Cowboy Returns (14 page)

He went to get a bottle of water and noticed Trevor’s journal on the counter. He picked it up and carried it back to the table. “Hey, friend, I’m in trouble now.” He closed his eyes momentarily, not knowing if he wanted to read more, and knowing he’d let his friend down, too. He needed some kind of closeness to the man who’d shared his childhood and loved the same woman. He opened the book to where he’d left off the other day.

It was dated a week before Trevor’s death.

Jeff felt tears on his cheeks and he wiped them away as he turned the page.

T
HE
next day was like any other day, Lacey told herself. The kids had gone back to school that morning. Thank goodness, because they had too many questions about Jeff. Questions she couldn’t answer.

Once they’d boarded the bus, she headed to the barn and to her job training Fancy. Something inside her made her hope that Jeff would come by. But why would he? Not after what had been said last night. All she could see was the pain etched on his face when he’d learned about the baby.

Was it possible to move on? To continue working together?

At lunch time, Lacey went to the house but wasn’t hungry and ended up sitting on the porch, drinking iced tea. She closed her eyes, thinking back to only a year ago.

Trevor would have been with her. No, he hadn’t had much time for her, not the last few years, anyway. It was clear that the ranch problems had taken a toll. Maybe if he had shared those troubles with her they would have been closer. Trevor had called it “protecting her.” And he’d protected her far too often. It had
left them nearly bankrupt and caused problems in their marriage.

How could she think that she could work with Jeff? It was even crazier to think she could start a relationship with him without the past intruding on them. Maybe she shouldn’t have told him about the baby. But it had finally needed to come out.

That news had hurt him. She didn’t need to relive the pain again, either. She had no choice but to move on without Jeff. Not that she’d ever had him, then or now.

She started to go inside when she spotted a truck coming down the road. Her breath caught as she recognized the dusty vehicle. Jeff’s truck. It came to a stop next to the corral, and he climbed out.

She stood, her heart pounding against her ribs as he walked to the porch, but didn’t come up the steps. “Hello, Lace.”

She had to swallow before speaking. “Jeff. I didn’t expect you today.”

“For the moment we still have a partnership. There are some matters that need to be cleared up.”

“I don’t think we have anything else to say.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Lace.” He came up the stairs as he pulled a manila envelope from his back pocket. “Here’s the deed to the cabin property.”

She backed away. “No, I can’t take it, Jeff. I don’t have the money to pay you back.”

His gaze softened. “You still think that I bought the property for an investment? No. I bought it to help you and the kids, but yeah, to help myself, too. Truth is, I needed a purpose to get up out of bed, to want to work again. Buying your horses that day got me thinking
about a future. So you see, Lacey, I needed you as much as you needed me.” He paused, watching her. “It was always my intention to include you in all decisions. I never purposely tried to leave you out.”

She swallowed hard, ashamed of her reaction to Jay’s offer. “I know. I was surprised and angry.”

He nodded. “But the important thing is I want you to know that I would never have left town if I’d known you were pregnant. I would have done anything for my child.”

Lacey fought her emotions. “It’s strange to talk about the baby after all this time. Afterwards, I just buried the memories and tried to move on and build a life with Trevor.”

She looked at Jeff, seeing he was struggling with his emotions, too.

“Oh, God, Lace, I’m so sorry.” When he reached for her, she went willingly into his tight embrace. After all these years they had the right to share their pain. “I’d give anything to have been here for you.”

She let the tears fall. “I wish you had been here, too. So badly.”

He drew back and looked at her. There were tears in his eyes. “How far along were you?”

“Eleven weeks. The doctor said it happens sometimes. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”

Her gaze met his, seeing his doubt. “We can’t blame ourselves, Jeff.”

“I need to know one thing… Did you want my baby?”

She nodded. “Yes, Jeff, I wanted our child.” She glanced away. “I wanted a part of you.”

He lowered his forehead to hers. “Oh, Lace, I want
that, too. I dreamt about it for years, but you were Trevor’s wife.”

“I’m not his wife any longer,” she surprised herself by saying. “No more guilt about the past.”

Jeff finally smiled. “You have no idea.” He drew her back into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers in a searing kiss. She melted against him, reliving every dream she’d ever had about this man.

He broke off the kiss. “As much as I want to continue kissing you, and more, I need you to come with me first.”

He tugged on her arm and she resisted. “I can’t, the kids are due home from school.”

He smiled. “I think there might be a Randell around to help with that.” He pulled out his cell and punched in a number. “Nothing is going to stop us this time.”

After getting Hank to come by to take care of the kids, Jeff drove Lacey to the cabin. It seemed like everything began there, and it was time to put it to rest before they started their beginning.

He leaned down and kissed her quickly, then got out and hurried around to her side to help her out of the truck.

“Come on, I want to show you something.” They continued to walk past the cabin about a hundred yards. The late summer breeze was tolerable and there were mature oaks around the building site that promised shade from the heat.

He stopped on the edge of the ridge and looked out at the pasture. There were survey stakes in the ground to mark off the large house he’d planned to build here.

His pulse sped up seeing Lacey standing beside him
with the sun highlighting her hair. She was dressed in those slim-fitting jeans that made her legs look a mile long. She had her hands on her hips as if she were ready to take on the world. He loved all that attitude.

He was suddenly anxious, hoping she’d go for the idea. “I confess I kept this from you, but I wanted it to be a surprise.”

She looked at him. “What is all this?”

“I want to build a home here.” He paused and drew air in. He could smell her and he took a step back, trying to keep his head. He nearly stumbled. She reached for him and her touch was searing.

“So you’re going to stay?”

He nodded. “I want to make a life here, Lace. It’s something I’ve dreamed about for a long time. If I’d been honest with you that day in the cabin all those years ago, maybe you would have married
me.
” He gripped her hand. “It nearly killed me to leave, but I thought you loved Trevor, otherwise you couldn’t have pried me away.”

Lacey’s green eyes stared back at him. “I know that now.”

He forced a smile. “We can’t go back, Lace, and question the decisions we made in the past. I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“I know.”

“I also want you to know I’ve always loved you, Lace. I’ve never stopped, and never will. I’m not talking about friendship. It’s not enough after kissing you, making love to you,” he breathed. “So, I’m asking you to give this gimpy ex-soldier another chance.”

Her gaze searched his face as he tried to control his excitement. “Hey, I happen to love this gimpy ex-solder!”

He grinned. “You don’t know how happy that makes me, because I happen to love this talented horse trainer. Her beauty, her kindness and how she fills out a pair of jeans.” He kissed her again and again, feeling his body stirring. With a groan, he tore his mouth away and rested his head against her forehead. “I love you, Lace.”

Tears rushed from her eyes. “Oh, Jeff, I love you, too.”

He shivered at the words he’d always longed to hear. “The important thing is we found each other. And I’m not planning on losing you again.”

“I don’t want to forget the past, either.”

“Of course not,” he said. “There are too many good parts, and we can’t forget Trevor. We both loved him.” Jeff thought back to the journal. He hadn’t wanted to bring it up today, but like everything else from now on he would share it with Lacey as soon as he could. This moment was theirs. Alone.

He reached for her hands, because he had to touch her. “Today is our beginning, Lace. I want it to be our start together. That’s why I want this house for us, and the kids, too.” He stopped and drew a calming breath, trying to find just the right words. “Funny, I’ve thought about this moment so many times…”

Lacey squeezed his hands. “Just say what’s in your heart, Jeff. That’s all I need to hear.”

He nodded. “I need to do this right.” He slowly got down on one knee. “You’ve always had my heart, Lacey Guthrie. I want to build a life together with Colin and Emily, and maybe another child, too. Will you marry me?”

A tear ran down her cheek. “Oh, yes, Jeff. Yes! I’ll marry you.” She pulled him up and went into his arms
as his mouth took hers in a hungry kiss that only made him want her more.

Finally it was Lacey who broke off the kiss. “Oh, Colin and Emily.”

“Granddad Hank can handle them, and we’ll tell them later.” He knew he already had a couple of allies. He started to tug her toward the cabin. “Right now, I want their mother to myself for a little while.” He stopped and looked at her. “I know it will never replace the child we lost, but I want another baby with you.”

She smiled and touched his face. “Oh, Jeff, I want to have your baby,” she said softly. “You’d be a great dad, and you’ve already won Colin and Emily over.”

He paused and his throat worked hard. She trusted him enough to share her kids with him. “You’re sure the kids will be okay with us getting married?”

With a nod, she moved closer and kissed him sweetly. “And so is their mother.”

Her trust meant everything to him. He pulled her to his side. “I still have Brandon’s key to the cabin in Mustang Valley. I’ll call Hank and see if he can play granddad until bedtime.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Lacey agreed. “But I think we should be home in time to tuck them in to bed. And after that, their mother’s going to need your full attention.”

“I like the way you think.” They walked toward his truck. “Wait until later. I’ve got some more surprises for you.”

Jeff glanced back at the cabin, knowing that he and Lacey had a lot more to talk about, to forgive, to share and to plan, but tonight it was for just them.

And all the good memories they were going to make. They were going to get their chance at a future. Together.

N
EARLY
a year later, Jeff looked up at the completed two-story, stone and cedar structure. Large oak trees framed the new Gentry home, and the rolling hillside made a perfect backdrop to complete the picture.

His heart swelled with love and pride, remembering the day six months ago when he’d married Lacey. They’d waited until after the one-year anniversary of Trevor’s death before they became a true family.

He still had trouble believing he’d won Lacey’s heart. Not too long ago he’d been a lonely soldier who couldn’t fit in. Now he was a husband and father to a couple of great kids, living in a new house, getting a new beginning.

They’d only moved into the house two months ago, and were barely unpacked. But they were home. It was the Gentry home.

Will Jensen worked full-time now and lived in the apartment over the barn. Jay was renting the main house. He’d wanted to be closer to his herd.

Lacey went along with it, knowing the Guthrie house belonged to Colin and Emily, as did the ranch. All Jeff and Lacey owned was the section of land around the
cabin. It was enough to eventually build a covered arena and barn closer to the house. That was further in the future.

Right now they were comfortable having Will help with the training. And they’d already welcomed the newest addition to the family, a colt from Bonnie and Ace, named Trevor’s Pride. They wanted the kids to know their father lived on through the horses he loved.

Jeff thought of his friend a lot. He’d always miss him, but every day he got to see Colin looking so much like his father. Jeff would do everything to keep that memory alive.

He’d also shared Trevor’s journal with Lacey. They’d laughed and cried together, cherishing their happy childhood, the years of friendship that they’d never forget.

Jeff found he loved working with horses, too. Maybe because he had the best partner—not only in the business but in life. He smiled. Yeah, he was one lucky guy.

“Hey, soldier, you looking for someone?”

He turned to see his wife coming toward him. She looked beautiful first thing in the morning, her sunny blond hair pulled away from her pretty face, those green eyes that smoldered when he loved her. He drew a breath as his gaze moved on to the worn jeans and fitted shirt. She was a pure Texas country girl. And she was his.

“I think I found her,” he said and greeted her with a kiss that lingered awhile.

Lacey had never been so happy and she couldn’t wait to share the reason with Jeff. “I like that greeting.”

“There’s always more where that came from,” he assured her. “You heading over to the barn?”

“No, Will can handle things for a few hours.”

Today wasn’t about breeding or training. She had other plans for her husband. “You and I are going to play hooky. The kids have a half day of school, so later we’re going to meet Brandon and Nora and their brood at Mustang Valley.”

He pulled her close. “So that gives us a few hours to kill.” He raised an eyebrow. “Got any ideas?”

She laughed, trying to hide her nervousness. “First I’d like to talk to you.” She took his hand and together they walked to the creek that ran behind their house, but she went nearer to the cabin. This had been where they’d fallen in love.

He sobered and waited for her to speak. With a shaky hand, she reached into her back pocket and pulled out the pregnancy test stick. “It’s positive.”

He looked down at it with a shocked expression.

She smiled, knowing they’d been planning a baby since they’d moved into the house. They just didn’t expect it would happen so soon. “I’m pregnant.”

“A baby? We’re having a baby?”

She nodded. “I believe it happened the first night in our new bedroom, on that wonderful new mattress. Or maybe it was the next morning in our new double shower, or—”

Jeff finally came out of his shock and kissed his wife. When he tore his mouth away, he was breathless. “I love you, Lace.” He closed his eyes, thanking God for this blessing. “I’m going to take care of you this time. Nothing’s going to happen.”

She touched his jaw. “I know you will, Jeff. And I’m going to be careful, too. I’m done riding for now.”

“And you’re not lifting anything heavy.” He grasped her hands. “I wish I could help you more.”

She smiled. “Okay, when the time comes, I’ll let you handle the labor.”

“I would if I could.”

“Right, Mr. Tough Guy. You’d crumble in minutes.”

“I probably would, but I’m going to be there with you, every moment.” He broke out into a big grin. “Damn. We’re going to have a baby.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her again and again.

“So you starting something, cowboy?” she asked. “Just remember we only have a few hours before the kids get home.” She grinned. “So you’d better take me back to the house and see if we can be creative in another room.”

“Sounds like a great way to celebrate.”

Jeff glanced one last time at the cabin. It was time to move on. He turned back to his wife and together they walked toward their future. Being away had only made him appreciate everything he had, especially now, having his family around him. He was a Randell, after all. This was where he belonged, with the woman he’d always love.

He was home. For good.