Книга - Having His Baby

Having His Baby
BEVERLY BARTON


JAKE BISHOP WAS A DADDY The thought shook the hard-hearted cowboy down to his boots. But once he took his tiny daughter in his strong arms, he knew he would to anything for her… .AND THAT MEANT MARRIAGEBut blue-blooded beauty Donna Fields had some crazy notion that a rough-edged rancer wasn't the kind of daddy a little girl needed. Well, he'd show the stubborn new mom just what kind of man she needed - one slow kiss at a time. And soon he'd be sharing his ranch with the two sweet little ladies who'd captured his soul… .There's nothing like a secret baby to bring a brooding bachelor home again! 3 BABIES FOR 3 BROTHERS







“Go Away!” Donna Cried. “I Don’t Need You, And I Don’t Want You. And Neither Does Louisa.” (#ue12698c5-f00f-5139-8c7c-f2ca1d68f940)Letter to Reader (#u5702c4f6-1ebd-5012-b151-906b89edf7ff)Title Page (#ud191e95d-da2d-5dc6-97ff-5a81e4185a82)BEVERLY BARTON (#u22655cb6-c98f-5593-b9bc-502bbd7fedcc)Dedication (#ub422887f-ae3e-526e-9a2b-1fbabdae9267)Prologue (#uc154c12c-d8f0-5665-9db0-86bc0968d3b0)Chapter One (#u7f265b98-6282-5826-a4fd-194009685c68)Chapter Two (#u7f55d024-6a8f-54f5-8ed2-a6e58e9c64e6)Chapter Three (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)


“Go Away!” Donna Cried. “I Don’t Need You, And I Don’t Want You. And Neither Does Louisa.”

Heat rose up Jake’s neck. “Dammit, woman! Did you ever stop to think that I might want to play a part in my daughter’s life?”

Jake cupped the back of his daughter’s tiny head. “You’re dead wrong if you think she doesn’t need me or want me.” Trembling inside, as if his body had been hit by an earthquake, Jake lifted the whimpering baby up against his chest, patted her back and said, “It’s all right, sugar baby. Daddy’s got you now.”

Donna looked up at the big man cradling Louisa against his chest, and for just a moment she couldn’t breathe. The sight of father and child overwhelmed her senses. There was something essentially right about the two of them together. Strength protecting helplessness.

A powerful man guarding what was his....


Dear Reader,

This May we invite you to delve into six delicious new titles from Silhouette Desire’

We begin with the brand-new title you’ve been eagerly awaiting from the incomparable Ann Major. Love Me True, our May MAN OF THE MONTH, is a riveting reunion romance offering the high drama and glamour that are Ann’s hallmarks.

The enjoyment continues in FORTUNE’S CHILDREN: THE BRIDES with The Groom’s Revenge by Susan Crosby. A young working woman is swept off her feet by a wealthy CEO who’s married her with more than love on his mind—he wants revenge on the father who never claimed her, Stuart Fortune. A “must read” for all you fans of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca!

Barbara McMahon’s moving story The Cowboy and the Virgin portrays the awakening—both sensual and emotional—of an innocent young woman who falls for a ranching Romeo. But can she turn the tables and corral him? Beverly Barton’s emotional miniseries 3 BABIES FOR 3 BROTHERS concludes with Having His Baby. Experience the birth of a father as well as a child when a rugged rancher is transformed by the discovery of his secret baby—and the influence of her pretty mom. Then, in her exotic SONS OF THE DESERT title, The Solitary Sheikh, Alexandra Sellers depicts a hard-hearted sheikh who finds happiness with his daughters’ aristocratic tutor. And The Billionaire’s Secret Baby by Carol Devine is a compelling marriage-of-convenience story

Now more than ever, Silhouette Desire offers you the most passionate, powerful and provocative of sensual romances. Make yourself merry this May with all six Desire novels—and buy another set for your mom or a close friend for Mother’s Day!

Enjoy

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U S., 3010 Walden Ave, P.O Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3


Having His Baby

Beverly Barton






www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


BEVERLY BARTON

has been in love with romance since her grandfather gave her an illustrated copy of Beauty and the Beast. An avid reader since childhood, she began writing at the age of nine and wrote short stories, poetry, plays and novels through high school and college. After marriage to her own “hero” and the births of her daughter and son, she chose to be a full-time homemaker, a.k.a. wife, mother, friend and volunteer.

When she returned to writing, she joined Romance Writers of America and helped found the Heart of Dixie chapter in Alabama. Since the release of her first Silhouette book in 1990, she has won the GRW Maggie Award and the National Readers’ Choice Award and has been a RITA Award finalist. Beverly considers writing romance books a real labor of love. Her stories come straight from the heart, and she hopes that all the strong and varied emotions she invests in her books will be felt by everyone who reads them.


With love and gratitude to my husband, Billy, whose strength, kindness and understanding sustained me during some personally stressful months for our family, while I was writing this book.


Prologue

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into coming here.” Donna Fields hissed the words under her breath as she glared at her friend, whose attention was focused on a group of rowdy cowboys at a nearby table.

“Admit the truth,” Joanie Richardson said, her gaze riveted to one big, blond stud in particular. “You wanted to check this place out as much as I did. You’ve got to be tired of that lonely, boring existence you lead. I know I’m tired of being a Goody Two-shoes. Heck, gal, our vacation is almost over and I haven’t had any fun yet. Let’s live a little. Take a walk on the wild side, for a change.”

Donna fumed as she glanced around the smoky interior of the Blue Bonnet Grill—a name highly inappropriate for the seedy establishment. Good sense had warned her not to give in to Joanie’s fervent suggestion about spending their last night in New Mexico out on the town. For starters, there wasn’t much of a town here in Plain City. In truth, it wasn’t as large as their hometown of Marshallton, Tennessee.

“My life is neither lonely nor boring.” Donna gasped when she noticed a couple in the far corner, their bodies pressed intimately together as the man devoured the woman’s mouth. A warning shudder rippled over Donna’s nerves. “Let’s get out of this place. I feel uncomfortable in here.”

Joanie glanced away from the blond roughneck, who was smiling at her, and followed Donna’s line of vision to the couple in the dark corner. “Would you look at those two I can’t even remember what it feels like to be that passionate with a man.”

“People shouldn’t make public spectacles of themselves It’s disgusting!”

“You’re just jealous.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Those two are so caught up in the moment that everyone and everything has ceased to exist except the two of them.” Joanie sighed dramatically. “I’d like some handsome guy to back me into a dark corner and—”

“Howdy, ma’am. My name’s Big John.” The blond giant stood beside their table, a wide smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. “Would you and your friend like to join me and a buddy of mine?”

“Yes, we’d love to,” Joanie said.

“No!” Donna jerked on Joanie’s arm. Leaning over, she whispered, “Have you lost your mind?”

“I’m just waiting around with some guys from the ranch until my buddy shows up He should be here any minute We could order us a round of beers and some big ole steaks and have us a really good time.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Joanie scooted back her chair and stood. She laced her arm through the cowboy’s. “I’m ready for a good time.”

“What about you, ma’am? My friend’s an all right guy. I think you’d like him.” Big John bestowed his devastating smile on Donna as he surveyed her from head to toe. “I know J.B. sure would like you. You’re a bit classier than his usual type, but you’ve got the kind of looks that would interest him.” Big John’s gaze lingered on Donna’s breasts.

Donna crossed her arms over her chest. The man’s blatant perusal of her size 36-D chest bothered her greatly. Men could be such pigs. The only thing most of them had on their minds was sex.

Joanie mouthed the word please as she stared straight at Donna. “My girlfriend is a little shy You can tell she’s not the barroom type.” Joanie repeated her silent plea to Donna, then turned her attention to Big John. “We’re schoolteachers—actually we teach at a junior college in western Tennessee and we’ve been out here in New Mexico on an archaeological tour. Tonight’s our last night.”

“Then we should show you girls a good time before you leave.”

When Donna just sat there, unmoving and silent, Joanie sighed in disgust, then cuddled up to Big John’s side. “You and I can dance while we wait for your friend.” She glanced at Donna. “Why don’t you think things over while Big John and I are dancing? Please, honey, let’s stay and have a good time. Do it for me.”

Donna wanted to strangle Joanie. The two of them were more friendly acquaintances than true friends. They had met two years ago when Joanie was hired as a physical education instructor at the college where Donna was a history teacher. She liked Joanie, but she had very little in common with the woman, a twenty-eight-year-old recent divorcee. On the archaeology tour, they had been roommates and teammates. Joanie was good-natured and easy to be around—most of the time.

When Joanie had suggested having a little fun tonight, Donna had felt she couldn’t refuse one simple request, even though she herself wasn’t the type who was always looking for a good time. But the minute they entered the Blue Bonnet Grill, Donna had known she should have stayed at the inn.

The music was loud country hits blaring from an old jukebox. Smoke from countless cigarettes and cigars soiled the air a hazy gray. Men and women—mostly cowboys and barflies—shared beers, laughter, dances and kisses in dark corners. This was the last place on earth Donna Fields wanted to be. If her family could see her right now, they’d be appalled. She was, after all, a lady. Born and bred a blue-blooded, genuine Southern belle.

She glanced at the couple groping each other in the corner and felt a flush of heat rise up her neck and into her face. She wasn’t by nature, a. voyeur, so why couldn’t she stop watching the man and woman? While she was in the middle of giving herself a good talking to, the man wrapped his arm around the woman’s shoulders, led her across the smoke-filled room and out the front door, which was only a few feet from the table where Donna sat. An uncontrollable shiver rippled along her nerve endings. Instinctively, she knew the man and woman were headed for a motel room somewhere nearby. A tingling ache radiated up from the feminine core of her body at the thought of what the twosome would soon be doing.

Get your mind out of the gutter! she chastised herself. Then the more benevolent side of her personality pointed out that it was only natural for a healthy woman in her prime to think about sex, especially when she hadn’t had any in five years. It wasn’t that there hadn’t been opportunities. She had dated several nice men who were eager to have an affair with her. But for her, sex meant a commitment. And commitment meant love. And love meant taking a chance on being hurt again. After she’d lost Edward, she swore she’d never love anyone again. Losing her husband had devastated her. She couldn’t bear the thought of going through that kind of agony again.

Donna’s misty-eyed gaze traveled around the room and rested on Joanie and Big John, whose bodies were welded together as they slow-danced to an old Hank Williams’s tune.

Well, from the looks of that, she knew she’d be walking back to the Yellow Door Bed and Breakfast Inn by herself tonight. Joanie was definitely in heat. Tonight would be Big John’s lucky night.

The outer door swung open and a gush of hot summertime air hit Donna full-force. She glanced up as several customers called out a greeting to the new arrival. Even the bartender threw up a hand, smiled and hollered a welcoming hello.

“Hey there, J.B.,” the bartender said. “It’s been mighty quiet around here without you.”

Mighty quiet around here? Was the man kidding? If this place got any livelier, someone would have to call the police.

Suddenly Donna noticed the large, muscular man who had entered. The one called J.B. Big John’s friend. This was the guy who was supposed to be her date for tonight? Not on your life. She had to get out of here—now!

Where Big John resembled a well-worn teddy bear and possessed a devastatingly sweet smile, J.B. resembled a black panther, his grin anything but sweet. There was an aura of danger around J.B. This man was no ordinary cowboy.

Big John stopped dancing long enough to wave at J.B. and call out to him from the small dance floor in front of the jukebox. “Hey there, man. About time you got here. Your girl’s sitting right there at the table by the door. Buy her a beer, will you? Her name’s—” He looked at Joanie.

“Her name’s Donna,” Joanie yelled. “Whatever you do, J.B., don’t let her run out on you. She’s a woman who needs to have a good time.”

Donna wished the earth would open up and swallow her. Better yet, she wished the earth would open up and swallow everyone in the Blue Bonnet Grill, except her. She turned her back, hoping J.B. would take the hint and leave her alone.

The scrape of a chair being pulled out warned her that the rugged cowboy hadn’t taken the hint. Maybe if she ignored him, he’d go away.

“Donna?” His voice had a hard, gravelly tone. Sandpaper rough. Baritone deep.

She nodded, then turned slowly and faced the most alarmingly attractive man she’d ever seen in her life J.B. was a hunk. Pure and simple. But she was sure nothing about this man was either pure or simple.

He shoved the tan Stetson back on his head and a few strands of coal black hair fell down across his forehead. He stared at her with eyes so dark they appeared to be as black as his hair, but were actually a rich soil brown. His face, though handsome, was lean and hard. Not a pretty boy. And his dark, heavy beard stubble made him look as if he had a perpetual five o’clock shadow.

J.B. narrowed his gaze, focusing on her face, then he looked straight into her eyes.

Donna shivered involuntarily. The sexiest man alive was looking at her as if she were an item on the menu he was seriously considering ordering.

“Look, J.B., this date wasn’t my idea,” Donna told him. “My friend Joanie and your friend Big John—”

“What are you doing in a place like this, sugar? You’re about as out of place here as I would be at the opera.”

“I—I came with Joanie. This is our last night in New Mexico and she wanted to soak up some of the local nightlife.” Donna folded her trembling hands together and held them in her lap.

J.B. glanced over at the dance floor. “Where are y’all from—you and Joanie?”

He smiled at her then, a smile she was sure had lured many a woman to her ruin. A man like that probably had never heard the word no from a woman’s lips.

“Tennessee,” she said.

“Really. I used to live in Tennessee.”

She didn’t believe him, of course. If she’d said Alabama or Texas or Virginia, he’d have told her he used to live there. “Is that so?”

“Yep. Years ago.” J.B. let his gaze travel leisurely from her face to her neck and then let it rest on her large breasts that even the loose-fitting purple blouse couldn’t disguise. “How about a dance?”

“No, thanks.”

“I promise I don’t bite.”

She glared at him suspiciously. He burst into laughter, then slapped the top of the table with his big hand. Donna jumped from the unexpected action. Their gazes met and held for an infinite moment. Her breath caught in her throat.

“What’s the matter, J.B.?” a young cowpoke sitting at the next table called to him. “Don’t tell me you’ve finally met a gal you can’t sweet talk into the sack.”

All the men at the young man’s table exchanged a few crude comments, then laughed heartily. J.B. scowled at the baby-faced cowpoke.

“Maybe you’re not her type.” The man rose from his chair and walked over to Donna’s side. “Is that it, honey bunch? You like your men younger and sweeter than ole’ J.B.? If that’s the case, then I’m your man.”

“Leave the lady alone, Woody,” J.B. warned.

“I ain’t going nowhere until the lady tells me to.” Woody leaned over, right in Donna’s face, and placed a sweaty hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t you join me and my friends? J.B.’s got enough women already. He don’t need one more.”

“Please.” Donna wanted to scream and run away. She’d never been so embarrassed in her life.

“Honey bunch, I’d be more than glad to please you,” Woody said.

Donna looked to Jake for help, her eyes pleading with him. “Please, go away and leave me alone. I—I’m J.B.’s date.”

The moment she spoke the words, she wished them back. Why on earth had she committed herself to J.B.? She could have gotten herself out of this awkward situation some other way.

“You heard the lady,” J.B. said. “She’s mine.”

Woody hesitated for a moment, but when J.B. stood, his big body towering over the smaller man, Woody grinned and stepped away from Donna. “Sure thing. I know better than to try to take something you done put your brand on.”

Woody disappeared. The only thing Donna saw was J.B.’s long, lean legs, his broad shoulders and his smoldering dark eyes devouring her. He held out his hand.

“Let’s dance,” he said.

Reacting purely on feminine instinct, Donna rose, put her hand in his and allowed him to lead her over to the dance floor. The moment he took her into his arms, she knew she was lost. Lost to the most overwhelming sexual attraction she had ever felt in her life. Lost to the seductive look in J.B.’s eyes, the alluring heat of his hard body and the her own long-suppressed desire.

How was it possible that she could want a man she’d met only a few minutes ago? The thought was insane. She was insane! But crazy or not, she wanted J.B. Wanted him in a way she’d never wanted another man. It was as if some wanton woman had taken possession of her body.

He pulled her closer as they began to sway to the music’s beat. His hold was undemanding and yet undeniably possessive. She didn’t resist when he cupped her hip in one hand and slipped the fingers of his other hand around her neck.

“Lady, you’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” He mouthed the low, breathy words against her ear.

She knew she was attractive, but she’d never thought of herself as sexy. Feminine, yes. Sexy, no. Big breasts alone didn’t make a woman sexy, especially if she avoided displaying that particular asset to full advantage. She was a lady, and ladies weren’t supposed to be sexy. Most of the men she’d dated since Edward’s death had considered her an ice queen. A few had even told her she was frigid.

“J.B., I—I don’t... I’ve never.. ”

He lowered his head. She saw his mouth coming toward hers and knew what he was going to do. She could have stopped him. But she didn’t.

He kissed her. Hard and hot and hungry. Skyrockets exploded inside her. Everything female about her reacted to all that was so very male about him.

This couldn’t be happening. Not to her. Not to Donna Deirdre Fields. She’d never been publicly affectionate with a man. She had always considered public displays of emotion quite vulgar. But here she was, kissing a stranger, in a seedy bar, in a one-horse town, in the wilds of New Mexico. And she was enjoying it. No. More than enjoying. She was loving it.

He ended the kiss abruptly. She gazed up at him, knowing full well he could see the desire in her eyes. “We’d better stop, unless we want to put on a real show for the folks.”

She nodded, then when he urged her head down onto his chest, she complied and cuddled against him. While their intimately entwined bodies moved slowly in a sensual dance, Donna listened to the thundering beat of J.B.’s heart.

One song ended and another began. Time stood still. She wasn’t sure how long they danced. Had no idea what time it was. Didn’t even know exactly when Joanie and Big John had left the dance floor, ordered steaks and eaten dinner. Everything and everyone outside the realm of J.B.’s embrace disappeared.

“I want you, sugar,” he whispered. “I want you bad.”

“I know.” She felt his large, pulsating sex against her body as they danced.

“I’m staying in town for the weekend.” He pressed his shaft against her mound. “I’ve got a room over at the Crescent Motel. Stay with me tonight.”

“I—” It had been on the tip of her tongue to say no. To tell him that she wasn’t the kind of woman who would spend a night at a motel with a man she barely knew. “It would be just for the night. After that, we’ll never see each other again. Do you understand?”

“Just sex, sugar, that’s all I want. Isn’t that all you want?” He caressed her buttock, then cupped it.

Moisture flooded her body in preparation. She’d never ached so badly to have a man inside her. This hunger was unlike anything she’d ever known. “Yes, sex is all I want.”

“Then let’s go.” He stopped, grabbed her hand and led her off the dance floor. “We need to tell your friend you’re leaving with me.”

They paused momentarily at Joanie and Big John’s table. The couple glanced up and smiled.

“We’re heading out,” J.B. said.

“Joanie, I, er, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Joanie’s big blue eyes rounded into surprised saucers. “Oh! Uh... Yeah. Sure.” Joanie smiled. “Have a good time.”

In that one split second, Donna almost backed out. Almost. She knew what she was doing was crazy. The craziest thing she’d ever done in her life. But something inside her urged her on, encouraging her to sample forbidden fruit. To take a wild ride on an untamed stallion.


One

The baby in her arms whimpered. Donna lifted Susan and Hank’s son to her shoulder and crooned comforting, nonsensical words into the infant’s ear. Sighing, she stretched her back, which ached unbearably. A symptom of late pregnancy and the fact that she had been on her feet too long today. But this was such a special event. A wedding. Susan Williams, one of her best friends, had married the man of her dreams, the only man she’d ever truly loved. The father of her child. Donna sighed as she watched the happy couple cut their wedding cake.

Just as Susan pushed a piece of cake into Hank Bishop’s mouth, his sister Tallie cried out from the hallway, then burst into laughter.

“My God, Jake! I can’t believe it’s really you! After all these years you’ve come home,” Tallie said. “You’re too late for the wedding, but the reception just started.”

“You don’t mean our big brother actually came home for your wedding,” Caleb Bishop said. “Will wonders never cease. He didn’t bother making the trip for Tallie’s wedding or for mine.”

“Well, this does make the day perfect, doesn’t it?” Susan said. “All three Bishop brothers together for the first time in...how long?”

“Nearly eighteen years,” Hank said, slipping his arm around Susan’s waist as he led her over to meet the new arrival.

Donna Fields froze to the spot as she watched the Bishop family greet the tardy guest. They had called him Jake and had welcomed him as their long lost brother. But that couldn’t be, Donna thought. It just wasn’t possible!

Suddenly she felt light-headed. The room spun around and around. She couldn’t faint. Not now. Not while she was holding little Lowell Bishop.

Donna called out to Danny Bishop, Caleb’s twelve-year-old son. “Danny, will you take Lowell for a few minutes? I need to check on something in the kitchen.”

“Sure thing, Miss Donna.” The tall, lanky boy reached out and accepted the tiny bundle.

“Just take him over to your aunt Tallie if he puts up a fuss.”

“Will do,” Danny said.

Donna wanted to run. As fast and as far as her shaky legs would carry her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t maneuver very fast in her present condition. She was as big as a barrel. Dr. Farr had told her that if she hadn’t gone into labor by tomorrow, he intended to induce labor. She’d be so glad to get the birth over with and hold her precious little daughter in her arms.

Donna eased past several people gathered at the back of the dining room, smiling and nodding as she made her way toward the kitchen. She swung open the door, then closed it behind her and took a deep, calming breath. She had to get out of this house—away from the eldest Bishop brother! Dear God in heaven, why had he shown up today? Hank and Caleb’s mysterious big brother had stayed away for more than seventeen years. No one thought he’d attend the wedding. But here he was—big as life and twice as dangerous.

Donna’s heart raced so hard and fast that the drumming roared in her ears. Of all the men on earth, why him? Maybe she’d been hallucinating. Maybe she had imagined that Jake Bishop looked like J.B. After all, for the past nine months, ever since she’d said goodbye to J.B. at the airport, she had been unable to erase his memory from her mind. And when she had discovered that, despite the precautions they’d taken, she was pregnant with his child, the big, sexy cowboy had been on her mind constantly.

Take another look at Jake Bishop and make sure he really is your J.B. from the Blue Bonnet Grill. She eased the kitchen door ajar slightly and peered through the crack. The large, broad-shouldered man had his back to her. She quickly scanned his body from the top of his silky black hair to the heels of his snakeskin boots. He was the same height and size as J.B. Had the same coal black hair. The same dark complexion.

His deep, hearty laughter rumbled loudly. Donna’s heart caught in her throat. Oh, God, she knew the sound of that laughter. The big man turned just enough to give her a glimpse of his face. The bottom dropped out of her stomach. This was no hallucination. No wild imaginings. Jake Bishop and J.B.—her weekend cowboy, the father of her child—were one and the same.

She couldn’t let him see her. She had to leave before the two of them came face-to-face. But her purse and car keys were upstairs on Susan’s bed. How could she slip upstairs without being seen? The house was filled with wedding guests. She’d just have to chance it. There was no other way. Besides, maybe, if she kept her head down and her face diverted, J.B. wouldn’t recognize her. After all, the last time he’d seen her, she’d been thirty-five pounds lighter and actually had a waistline.

Another of those annoying back pains hit her the moment she walked through the kitchen door. She stopped abruptly, waiting for the pain to subside: As the last ripples of discomfort eased away, Donna took a deep breath, glanced quickly in J.B.’s direction, then jerked her head downward when she realized he was looking directly at her. As she made her way around the room, doing her best to avoid being noticed, a strange sensation came over her.

“Oh, God, no!” she pleaded under her breath just as her body betrayed her. Her water broke, sending what felt like a tidal wave down her legs and onto the floor. She stood there helpless and mortified.

“Oh, hell’s toenails,” Tallie shouted “Donna’s water just broke. Call Dr. Farr.”

Within seconds, Tallie Bishop Rand, Susan Bishop and Sheila Bishop hovered around Donna. She prayed that their bodies protected her from J.B.’s curious stare. But within seconds, she realized that her prayer hadn’t been answered.

“Donna?” J.B.’s voice boomed like thunder. “Donna, is that you?”

Jake moved across the room with deadly force, his eyes narrowed, his jaw tight. He parted the trio of Bishop ladies surrounding Donna and took a good look at the woman who stared back at him with amber cat eyes. It was her! His Donna from the Blue Bonnet Grill. The woman who had come to pieces in his arms time and again during that long weekend nine months ago. Nine months! He stared into Donna’s pale face, then his gaze traveled downward to her large, protruding belly. She was pregnant. Very pregnant.

“What’s the matter with you, Jake?” His sister Tallie tried to shove him out of the way. “Donna’s water just broke. We need to get her to the hospital.”

Jake didn’t budge. “You’re pregnant,” he said to Donna.

She didn’t speak, only nodded agreement.

“Nine months’ pregnant?” he asked, though the answer was more than obvious.

She nodded again.

“Will you get out of the way,” Tallie scolded. “This has nothing to do with you. Just let us handle things.”

“It’s mine,” Jake said, his deep, quiet voice silencing the chatter around the room.

Donna cringed as another pain sliced through her back. She gulped in air, then looked Jake square in the eye. “Yes” seemed to be the only word she could manage.

“What?” Tallie stared back and forth from her eldest brother to her pregnant friend.

Jake shoved the women aside and lifted Donna, whose damp dress clung to the backs of her legs. She slipped her arm around his neck and laid her weary head on his shoulder.

“I took a cab from the airport,” Jake said. “Somebody else will have to drive us to the hospital.” He carried Donna through the midst of curious onlookers, straight to the front door and out onto the porch.

His brothers and their wives followed, whispering among themselves as they tried to make sense of what was happening.

“We can take my minivan,” Susan said, turning to her husband. “Get the keys and bring Lowell with you. He’ll be hungry soon.”

When Hank returned to the house to retrieve the keys and his infant son, Caleb laid his hand on Jake’s shoulder, halting Jake’s progress toward the driveway.

“Mind telling us just what’s going on here?” Caleb asked. “We’re all a bit confused.”

Jake paused, turned his dark gaze on his youngest brother and grunted. “You think you’re confused! How the hell do you think I feel, showing up for Hank’s wedding and running into a woman I spent a—”

Donna cried out in pain. “Please, hurry up and get me to the hospital. I’m sure I’m in labor and this baby isn’t going to wait around while we discuss who’s confused and why.”

Caleb’s wife Sheila slid open the minivan door. Jake stepped up inside the vehicle and settled Donna on his lap. She squirmed against him in an effort to remove herself from his arms. He tightened his hold on her just enough to restrict her movements.

Lowering his head so that his words were a whispered question in her ear, he said, “How about explaining a few things to me?”

“What’s there to explain?” Tilting her chin defiantly, she glared at him as she shrugged her shoulders.

Jake stared meaningfully down at her stomach. “That baby’s definitely mine, right?”

She tried again to wiggle free of his hold, but to no avail. “The baby is mine!” she told him. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. I had no idea you were Jake Bishop. If I’d known, I never would have—” She lowered her voice. “You do realize, of course, that your showing up here like this has complicated my life. I told people that I had married and gotten a quick divorce and the father of my child was out of my life.”

“Why didn’t you get in touch with me to let me know I was going to be a father?”

“How was I suppose to do that? I didn’t even know your last name.”

“You could have—”

“Excuse us,” Caleb said as he helped Sheila and Susan, who was carrying little Lowell, up into the van. “We’re ready to go now.”

Tallie raced toward the van with her husband Peyton at her side just as Hank opened the driver’s door. She stuck her head inside, peered into the back and said, “Peyt and I will follow y’all to the hospital. And before Donna has her baby, this family expects a full explanation from you.” She pointed her finger directly into Jake’s face.

Donna groaned as another pain hit her. This had to be some horrible nightmare, she thought. It wasn’t possible that she was on the verge of giving birth to Jake Bishop’s baby. The child she had carried for nine months was hers and hers alone. Not once had she ever considered the possibility that her child’s father would show up unexpectedly in her life. And it certainly hadn’t crossed her mind that the man she’d spent the weekend with in New Mexico was the brother and brother-in-law of her three closest friends.

She had heard them mention Jake Bishop, the eldest of the Bishop clan, the brother who had left town nearly eighteen years ago and hadn’t been heard from until about six years ago In all that time, nothing had lured him home. Not his grandfather’s death, not his other siblings’ marriages, not even Caleb’s nearly fatal accident. So, why now, after all this time, had he decided to show up for Hank and Susan’s wedding?

Donna felt decidedly uncomfortable cradled in Jake’s lap, but he’d made it abundantly clear that he wasn’t letting go of her. She stole a glance at his face, hoping to gage his mood. But that stony, expressionless face gave away nothing.

“J.B.—ah, I mean Jake—” She cleared her throat. “—Why did you come back to Crooked Oak?”

“Yeah, why did you come back?” Caleb asked as he turned halfway around in the front seat.

“I came back for Hank’s wedding,” Jake said.

“Why for Hank’s and not for mine or Tallie’s?” Caleb draped his arm across the seat as he focused his gaze on his eldest brother.

“Well, to be honest, I was planning on coming back to Tennessee anyway,” Jake admitted. “You see, I’ve made an offer for Old Man Henry’s quarter horse ranch and if the deal goes through, then I’m moving home to stay.”

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Hank slammed his hand down on the steering wheel. “Looks like, one by one, all three Bishop brothers have come home to roost.”

Donna moaned. Oh, great! Jake Bishop was moving back to Tennessee. He’d be around all the time. She didn’t think she could bear having him in the same state, let alone the same county. What if he wanted to play a role in little Louisa Christine’s life? She barely knew him but somehow she was sure this cowboy wasn’t suitable father material.

You should have thought of that before you slept with him, an inner voice chastised her.

“So, while we’re on our way to the hospital, how about one of you explaining the situation to us,” Sheila said. “It’s obvious that you two know each other and that...well, are we wrong to assume that Jake is the father of your baby?”

“I thought you told us you didn’t know the guy you spent the weekend with,” Susan said as she rocked a restless little Lowell in her arms.

“I didn’t know him!” Donna said. “All I knew was that his friends called him J.B. I had no idea he was Jake Bishop.”

Caleb chuckled, then rubbed his chin in mock seriousness. “Let me get this straight. Donna and Jake met...somewhere...nine months ago, got married, got divorced and never knew who the other one was? Sorry, folks, but that doesn’t make any sense.”

“We didn’t get married.” Donna looked pleadingly at Jake.

“Oh, so you just had sex and then went your separate ways and Donna made up the story about a marriage and a divorce,” Hank said.

“He wasn’t suppose to show up in my life,” Donna explained. “Not ever. J.B. was just a weekend fling. I had no idea I’d accidently get pregnant.”

“So you did use condoms?” Caleb barely suppressed a grin as he looked his eldest brother square in the eye.

“This conversation is getting entirely too personal,” Donna told them, then cried out when, another labor pain struck.

“How far is the damn hospital?” Jake ran a comforting hand over Donna’s stomach.

“We’ll be there any minute,” Hank said.

Donna clutched Jake’s strong hand and held on to it tightly as the pain worsened and then subsided. Her cry transformed into a whimper and then a sigh of relief.

“Is it bad, sugar?” Jake asked, sincere concern evident in his dark eyes as he stared at her face.

“You have no idea.” For a split second Donna was glad her baby’s father was with her, holding her, comforting her, trying his best to reassure her. But the moment ended quickly and reality set in. She didn’t know this man—Jake Bishop—and had no idea what his presence in her life would mean to her and her child.

“We’re here,” Hank said as he pulled the van up in front of the emergency room entrance.

Caleb jumped out, opened the back door and moved out of the way as Jake emerged with Donna in his arms. Jake stormed into the ER, past the protesting receptionist and straight toward the nearest person in a nurse’s attire.

“She’s in labor and we need help immediately,” Jake said.

“Sir, if your wife is in labor, you need to take her to the admission’s office,” the nurse explained. “After she’s admitted, they’ll take her up to her suite and her doctor will see her.”

“I’ll take her wherever she needs to go right now,” Jake said, his deep voice a vicious growl. “Somebody can fill out the papers later!”

The ER nurse backed away from Jake, and Donna covered her mouth to suppress a giggle. The poor woman’s face had gone deathly white and her brown eyes bulged.

Tallie, Peyton and Sheila flew into the ER behind Jake and Donna. Tallie grabbed Jake’s arm and the nurse gasped as if she thought the big cowboy might strike the woman who had dared touch him.

“What’s going on?” Tallie asked.

“Hank brought us to the wrong entrance,” Sheila explained. “We need to go around to Admitting and fill out the paperwork so they can admit Donna.”

The nurse sighed heavily, then smiled weakly at Sheila. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell this, er, gentleman. But he doesn’t seem to want to cooperate.”

“Cooperate be damned!” Jake roared the exclamation. “Donna’s in labor!”

Cringing, the nurse backed farther away from Jake. Tallie shook her finger in her brother’s face. “You’re scaring the daylights out of—” Tallie examined the nurse’s name badge “—Ms. Rivers. There are rules and regulations that she must—”

Donna moaned loudly as yet another pain ripped through her. Jake’s mouth tightened, his jaw clenched. His dark gaze zipped around the room in a search mode. He spotted someone he assumed was a doctor.

“Hey, Doc! I’ve got a woman in labor here—” he hoisted Donna a few inches higher to dramatize the situation “—and we need some help for her now, not later.”

“Dr. Keifer, I tried to explain to this man—” Nurse Rivers said.

“First-time father?” the slender, bespectacled, young doctor asked as he approached Jake.

“Yes,” three feminine voices replied—Sheila, Tallie and Donna.

Dr. Keifer grinned. Jake grunted. The doctor placed his hand on Jake’s shoulder.

“I’m Stan Keifer, Mr...?”

“Bishop. Jake Bishop.”

“Mr. Bishop, we’re going to get a wheelchair for Mrs. Bishop—” The doctor motioned to the stunned nurse, who nodded and raced off to follow his instructions. “—And they’ll take her on up to her suite while you go around to Admitting and fill out the paperwork.”

“I’ll have to fill out the paperwork,” Donna said. “The insurance is in my name and—”

“Just give your husband your insurance card—” Dr. Keifer said.

“He’s not my husband!” Donna turned to Jake, glaring at him. “You can put me down now! I’m perfectly capable of handling this myself.”

Jake eased her onto her feet, but kept one arm around her.

The nurse returned with a wheelchair. Donna pulled away from Jake and sat immediately. “Let’s go to admissions and get this show on the road.”

Jake stood in the doorway, big, brooding and mouth agape.

Tallie grabbed the wheelchair handlebars and looked over her shoulder at her brother. “Let’s go get Donna admitted before she has this baby in the hallway.”

Jake felt like a fool. He was in unknown waters here, sailing an uncharted course. All he wanted was help for Donna—for the woman who was about to give birth to his child. The very thought of fatherhood overwhelmed him. The last thing on earth he had expected when he showed up for Hank’s wedding was to find his weekend lover on the verge of childbirth.

Tallie tapped her foot. “Well? Are you coming with us or not?”

Without saying a word, Jake fell into line beside Peyton and Sheila and followed his sister as she wheeled Donna down the hall.

Fifteen minutes later the Bishop clan took up residence in Donna’s suite in the hospital’s separate maternity division. Jake stood in the corner, silent and sullen, refusing to answer any questions from his two younger brothers—and grateful that Tallie was too absorbed in Donna to harass him. Nobody could harass and needle better than his little sister. She’d been a hellcat even as a child. Maturity had mellowed her only slightly.

He watched with curiosity and concern as the nurses followed what was obviously standard procedure as they prepared Donna for childbirth. Before the family had been allowed into the suite, Donna had changed into a blue-and-white-striped cotton gown. She was now hooked up to a bag containing some kind of intravenous fluids—and to an electronic fetal monitor. That’s what the nurse had called it when he’d asked.

“Dr. Farr!” Donna held out her hand toward the middle-aged man who entered the room.

The doctor took Donna’s hand, patted it in a reassuring manner and smiled broadly. “Looks like we won’t have to induce labor, after all. I’m glad this young lady decided to make her entrance into the world before she grows any larger. We wouldn’t want you delivering an eleven pound baby, would we?”

“Eleven pounds?” Susan asked.

“When they’re full-term, Bishop babies tend to be large,” Sheila said. “Danny weighed almost ten pounds.” She patted her belly. “Lord only knows how big this one will be.”

“Yes, mine came in at over nine pounds,” Tallie said, then glanced accusingly at Jake. “Since this little girl’s daddy is six-three and a pretty big guy, she’ll be lucky to weigh less than ten pounds.”

While Jake’s mind whirled with the news that his child would be a girl, the nurse shooed him and the Bishop clan out of the room while Dr. Farr examined Donna.

He’d never thought much about fatherhood, had never actually considered having children. But the few times the notion had crossed his mind, he’d imagined his child being a boy. After all, boys ran in the Bishop family. Caleb had a son. Tallie had two boys. Now Hank had a son.

Even though Jake had a difficult time picturing himself as a father, he supposed he’d figured that helping raise a little boy was something he could handle. But a little girl? God help him, a little girl was a different matter altogether. A baby girl would need gentleness and tenderness, probably more than a boy. And any daughter of Donna’s would be a little lady. Jake would be the first to admit that he didn’t know a damn thing about ladies, little or otherwise.

Dr. Farr stepped out into the hallway and glanced at the seven adults waiting there. “Donna’s labor is progressing quickly. I don’t think we’ll have a very long wait. Sheila, since you’re Donna’s coach, you should go on in and be with her now.”

Sheila glanced over at Jake, who stared back at her in bewilderment. “I think the baby’s father should be with her for the delivery.”

“The baby’s father?” Dr. Farr questioned. “I didn’t realize that Donna had any contact with the father.”

“She does now,” Tallie said. “The father is here—” she pointed to her eldest brother “—and he’s the type who ikes to take charge of situations.”

“I’m Dr. Farr, Mr...?”

“Jake Bishop.”

“Hank and Caleb’s brother?” the doctor asked.

“That’s right.”

“And you’re the father of Donna’s baby?”

“Looks that way.”

“Do you want to be with Donna during the remainder )f her labor and the delivery of your child?”

Did he? Could he? “Yeah, I want to be with her,” he answered finally. No woman should go through childbirth without the baby’s father, Jake thought. And no kid should grow up without a dad, the way he and his brothers and Tallie had.

Jake followed Dr. Farr back into Donna’s room. The atendants turned and stared at him.

“This is Jake Bishop.” The doctor introduced him.

‘He’s the baby’s father.”

All the women smiled warmly and moved aside to allow him space next to the bed.

“What are you doing here?” Donna glared at him. “Where’s Sheila?”

“Everybody thought I should be present for our daughter’s birth,” Jake replied.

“She’s my daughter!”

“She’s our daughter, sugar.” Jake took Donna’s hand in his and lifted it to his lips.

She narrowed her eyes and glowered at him. “You didn’ t even know she existed until a few hours ago! You have no right to make claims on my baby. You weren’t supposed to be a part of her life. You’re totally unsuitable to be Louisa Christine’s father.”

Jake kissed Donna’s hand, then sat in a chair one of the attendants scooted over to him. “Louisa Christine sure i a mouthful for a little baby. Maybe we should call he Christy or Lou.”

Donna jerked her hand away. “We will do no such thing I’m naming her in honor of my grandmothers and I’m go ing to call her Louisa!”

“Sure thing. You call her whatever you want to cal her.”

“Don’t you patronize me, J.B.! Dammit, I mean Jake.’

“I don’t mind you calling me J.B.”

“That’s not your name, is it? If you’d told me you were Jake Bishop the night we met, I wouldn’t be in this situation now.”

Jake leaned over, lifted his hand to Donna’s face and caressed her moist cheek. “Are you sure about that, sugar As I recall, nothing short of an act of God would have prevented what happened between us.”

“Why you...you...you...” Donna spluttered furiously.

“Calm down,” Jake said. “What will these fine folk here think if we keep fussing with each other?”

Donna glanced around the room at the attendants, who tried to pretend they weren’t listening to every word of the not-so-private conversation. “Right this minute, I don’t give a damn what anyone thinks.”

Dr. Farr motioned to Jake. “Are you ready to be a father, Mr. Bishop?”

Was he ready to be a father? Hell, no! He’d been a renegade and a black sheep all his life. A hell-raiser, who had avoided responsibility and commitment for as long as he could remember. The last thing on earth he was ready for was fatherhood.

But prepared for the awesome task or not, he was about to have fatherhood thrust upon him. Without prior warning. With no preparation.

Jake stood, leaned over and kissed Donna’s forehead. “I’m here for the duration, whether you want me or not.”

Donna grabbed Jake’s hand. He grasped tightly. They gazed into each other’s eyes for a brief moment.

“I want you here,” Donna admitted, doing a sudden about-face in attitude. “Don’t leave me, Jake.”


Two

Following the last of Dr. Farr’s instructions, Jake cut the umbilical cord. His heartbeat thundered in his ears as an exhilaration he’d never known rushed through his body.

“How about a good look at your daughter, Donna?” Dr. Farr indicated for the nurse to lay the newborn on Donna’s abdomen. “She seems to be perfect in every way.”

Jake stepped back, took a deep breath and gazed at the woman who had just given birth to his child. Despite the time in labor and with her makeup melted away, Donna was still beautiful. So beautiful that at that precise moment the sight of her and his infant daughter hit him like a sledgehammer to the gut.

Tears trickled down Donna’s cheeks as she smiled. “Oh, my, isn’t she beautiful?”

“Looks just like her daddy,” one of the attendants said. “All that black hair and those big brown eyes. It’s unusual for a baby to be born with such dark eyes.”

A lump formed in Jake’s throat and his heart skipped a beat. That tiny, wet, pink bundle that the nurse lifted from Donna’s belly and held up for his inspection did look like him. This little girl was a Bishop, through and through.

The nurse cleaned Louisa Christine and dried her off, rubbing her briskly, then weighed and measured her. “Nine pounds, five ounces! And twenty-one inches long. She’s a big girl.”

The nurse quickly wrapped the baby in a warm, pink blanket and placed a cotton cap on her head. Jake watched in amazement as his daughter opened her little mouth and let out a piercing wail.

“Nothing wrong with her lungs, huh, Doc?” Jake said.

Dr. Farr nodded. The attendants laughed softly. Donna turned her head so that she could see her child while the doctor finished his work. Then she gazed up at Jake. “Will you go out and tell everyone that I’m all right and that Louisa is just perfect?”

“Sure thing.”

“Will you come back after you’ve told them?”

Jake paused, walked over to the bed and wiped several damp strands of cinnamon hair from Donna’s forehead. “I’m not going to leave you, sugar. I’ll be around for as long as you need me.”

Her smile was faint and the look in her eyes questioned his sincerity. He supposed she had no reason to trust him. After all, they barely knew each other. He was scarcely more than a stranger to the mother of his child.

“I’ll let the folks know that there’s a gorgeous new addition to the Bishop family.” Jake headed for the door, stopped abruptly after he opened it, and glanced back over his shoulder. “I think maybe we should get married.”

Before Donna had a chance to reply, he walked into the hall and closed the door behind him. Within seconds the Bishop clan surrounded him, bombarding him with questions.

Warding them off with hand motions, Jake laughed. “Hey, cool it, y’all. Mother and daughter are fine. Donna came through like a trooper. And our daughter is one hundred percent Bishop. She weighs nine pounds and five ounces and she’s twenty-one inches long. And she’s got a mouth as loud as her aunt Tallie’s.”

Tallie punched his shoulder. “Smart aleck,” she teased.

“When can we see them?” Sheila asked.

“As soon as they get through in there with Donna, I guess,” Jake replied.

“Then you’ve got time to do some explaining,” Tallie said. “Just how is it that our friend Donna wound up pregnant with your baby and nobody knew you were the father?”

Hank and Caleb laughed. Their wives gave them warning glances, which sobered them immediately.

Peyton Rand put his arm around his wife’s shoulder and said, “Tallie, honey, I think it’s fairly obvious that nine months ago Jake and Donna were together. And if I understand correctly what Susan has told us, Donna and Jake didn’t bother to exchange last names or past histories at the time.”

“Is that right?” Tallie tapped her foot on the shiny, wood-look tile floor.

“Yep,” Jake said sheepishly. “Donna and I spent one weekend together and parted company. We didn’t plan on ever seeing each other again. Believe me, I was startled when I saw her at Hank’s wedding reception and shocked when I noticed she was very pregnant.”

“Well, what do you plan to do about this situation?” Tallie crossed her arms over her ample chest and continued tapping her foot.

“What do you think I should do, little sister?”

“I think you should ask Donna to marry you—today!” Tallie pointed her finger up at Jake’s face. “You may have been an irresponsible renegade all your life, but you’re thirty-six years old. It’s high time you settled down. You’re a father now and that means you’ll have to—”

“Let him have a breather,” Caleb said. “Something tells me that Jake is going to do the right thing on his own, without your preaching him a sermon.”

“Jake shouldn’t marry Donna in order to do the right thing,” Sheila said. “Marriage is about love and wanting to share the rest of your life with someone.”

“We have to think of little Louisa Christine,” Susan said. “The baby is the most important person in all this.”

While his family made their feelings known—in no uncertain terms—Jake felt the heavy weight of reality fall on his shoulders. He had fathered a child. Nothing could change that fact. Just a few yards away, inside the Magnolia Suite, was a baby girl he had helped create one hot summer night in New Mexico. And there was a lady, whose reputation, when the whole truth came out, would, no doubt, be ruined in Marshall County.

The trouble was, he didn’t know a damn thing about Donna. Hell, he still didn’t know her last name. But if she was friends with his sister and sisters-in-law, then that meant she was probably a fine woman. His instincts told him that she was a thoroughbred, a true lady, which meant she probably wouldn’t be interested in hitching up with a beat-up, uneducated cowboy whose greatest ambition in life was to own a quarter horse ranch.

But Tallie was right. He was thirty-six. He’d been an irresponsible drifter and hell-raiser most of his life. Maybe it was past time he settled down. Wasn’t that one of the reasons he’d come home to Tennessee, why he’d made Old Man Henry an offer on his ranch? He was tired of roaming Tired of not having a home of his own Tired of bein alone.

Dr. Farr emerged from Donna’s suite. “Y’all can go i and see the new mother and baby now.” He placed hi hand on Jake’s shoulder. “I’m glad you were here fc Donna during the delivery.”

The Bishop clan descended upon Donna en masse, Hank Caleb and Peyton standing back and observing as Susar Sheila and Tallie circled the bed. Jake stood in the door way, a hard ball of uncertainty lying heavily in the pit o his stomach.

Tallie eased over beside her newborn niece. “Oh, she i a beauty. Look at that mane of black hair and those bi brown eyes. She’s the spitting image of Jake!”

A numbing sensation spread quickly through Jake’ body. He wanted to turn around and walk away, but hi legs wouldn’t cooperate. You’re not ready for this! an inne voice warned. What kind of father would you be? You don know the first thing about babies, especially baby girls. D that little girl and her mother a favor and get out of thei lives.

“Have you held her yet, Jake?” Tallie asked as she lifted the infant in her arms. “Come here and take your daughter.”

Jake hesitated momentarily. All eyes were on him. H forced himself to move, to cross the room and accept th bundle that his sister offered him. His hands trembled. Hi arms stiffened. The tiny newborn felt weightless. What th hell was he doing? His gut tightened painfully.

Holding the infant as if she were made of glass, Jake gazed down at his daughter. His daughter! She wriggled He tensed, then quickly offered her to Tallie.

“Here, do something with her before I drop her.”

Tallie laughed, took the child from him and carried her over so that her other two aunts could coo over her adoringly. Jake watched while the women made a fuss over Louisa. Louisa Christine. He still thought the name was too much for a baby. He liked the idea of calling her Christy, but figured Donna wouldn’t approve.

What difference does it make anyway? That inner voice asked. You probably won’t be a major part of her life. Unless you marry Donna.

He glanced over at the bed just in time to see Donna take the baby in her arms. The picture was perfect. Madonna and child. Mother and daughter.

“You’ve got yourself a peach of a mother, kiddo,” Jake said to himself. “A beautiful, classy lady. But I’m afraid your old man isn’t much of a prize.”

Susan lowered her infant son close to the newborn. “Lowell, I’d like to introduce you to your cousin, Louisa. You two are going to be really good friends.”

“I think we should all leave and let the mama and papa have some time alone,” Hank suggested. “We can come back tomorrow for another visit.”

“I’ll be going home tomorrow afternoon,” Donna said.

“Dr. Farr told me that there’s no reason to keep me and Louisa more than twenty-four hours. That’s pretty much hospital procedure these days.”

“We’ll come over to your house tomorrow night,” Sheila said. “I’ll bring supper and Susan and I can help you adjust to being home.”

“Thanks. I’d appreciate that.” Donna caressed little Louisa’s rosy cheek. “I’ve hired a nanny, but she won’t start work until next week.”

Had he heard her correctly? Jake wondered. A nanny? If Donna could afford a nanny, that had to mean she had a job and money of her own. She wouldn’t need him to hell support their child.

But fathers are needed for more than financial support he reminded himself. A kid needs a father around all the time, even a little girl.

Jake waited until his family had left before he approached Donna’s bed. She seemed totally absorbed in her inspection of their child. He cleared his throat. She ignored him. He cleared his throat again—louder. She glanced up a frown marring her pleasant features.

“I think maybe we should talk, don’t you?” he said.

“What’s there to talk about?”

“About you and me and—” he nodded toward the infan “—our child.”

“She’s my child, Jake. I’ve never thought of her any other way. I don’t expect you to take any responsibility for her, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Heat rose up Jake’s neck and spread across his face Donna’s comment pushed all the wrong buttons, bringing his temper to the boiling point.

“Dammit, woman! Did you ever stop to think I migh want to take responsibility? That I might want to play a part in my daughter’s life?”

That’s what she’d been afraid of—that Jake Bishop might want to be a real father to her baby girl. Donna didn’ want this big, roughneck cowboy to be a part of Louisa’s life in any way. After their weekend in Plain City, she’d thought she would never see him again. Having a brie affair with the man was one thing, but having him become a permanent part of her life was another thing altogether!

“Yes, I did consider the possibility that you might wan to be a part of Louisa’s life, but I dismissed the notion,’ Donna said. ”After all, you’re hardly the type of mar who’d want to be tied down to a woman and child. And there is the fact that you and I hardly know each other.”

“We spent two days and two nights together!” Jake’s voice bellowed.

Louisa stirred in her mother’s arms, then she whimpered. “Hush! You’re scaring her.” Donna glared menacingly at him. “During that two days and two nights, we didn’t have one meaningful conversation.”

“Sugar, you weren’t any more interested in conversation than I was. I gave you what you wanted. I gave it to you over and over again ”

Donna’s amber eyes flashed golden fire. Her cheeks flared crimson. “You egotistical, macho jerk!”

Jake moved closer to her bedside, leaned over so that their faces were at the same level and smiled wickedly at her. “We should get married as soon as possible.”

“What!” Donna screamed the word.

Louisa whimpered, then cried. Donna cuddled the child close to her bosom and crooned comforting nonsensical words to her She glared at Jake.

“Go away! I don’t need you and I don’t want you. And neither does Louisa.”

Jake cupped the back of his daughter’s tiny head. It filled his huge palm. “Do you think it’s that easy to get rid of me? I’m not going anywhere until we set up some ground rules concerning my daughter. And you’re dead wrong if you think she doesn’t need me or want me ” He took the infant away from Donna and up into his arms. Trembling inside as if his body had been hit by an earthquake, Jake lifted the whimpering baby up against his chest, patted her back and said, “It’s all right, Sugar Baby. Daddy’s got you now.”

Donna looked up at the big man cradling Louisa against his chest and, for just a moment, couldn’t breathe. The sight of father and child overwhelmed her senses. There was something so essentially right about the two of them together. Strength protecting helplessness. A powerful man guarding what was his.

The awareness of Jake as her child’s father surprised Donna. She had tried not to think about J.B. during the months she was carrying Louisa, though memories of that weekend had often invaded her thoughts. And in the hours since she’d learned her weekend lover was actually Jake Bishop, she had refused to acknowledge the possibility that he would play a significant part in her daughter’s life.

But here he was now, as big, powerful and rugged as he’d been the first night he’d held her in his arms at the Blue Bonnet Grill—the night she’d lost her mind and succumbed to purely physical pleasure. She’d fought the memory of this man for nine months, but he had wreaked havoc on her subconscious. How many nights had she awakened, hot and aroused, after dreaming about him? Even now, only hours after giving birth, she couldn’t deny the strong attraction she felt for Jake. And the sight of his gentle hold on her baby did crazy things to her heart.

“Jake, I think we should talk—really talk—about our situation.” Donna motioned for him to come to her.

Carrying Louisa in his arms, he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, then turned their daughter so that she rested between them.

“I don’t especially care for the name Louisa Christine,” Jake said. “But as long as her last name is Bishop, I won’t object.”

Donna clenched her teeth to keep from making a stinging reply. Just what was wrong with her grandmothers’s names? “You want your name on her birth certificate?”

“Damn right I do! She’s a Bishop and I want her name to be Bishop on her birth certificate.”

“All right,” Donna agreed, rationalizing to herself that if she gave in to him on this matter, he might be more reasonable when it came to other things—things about which she wasn’t willing to compromise.

“I’m going to stay the night with y’all tonight.” Jake gazed down adoringly at Louisa. “I’ll run over to Hank’s in the morning to shower and shave and then I’ll come back and take you and my sweet sugar baby home.”

“That won’t be necessary—” When she noticed the fury in Jake’s dark eyes, she decided it was best to change tactics. “All right, you can stay the night and then take us home tomorrow afternoon. But when your family leaves, after supper, I expect you to leave, too.”

“I’m going to be working for Old Man Henry out at his ranch for the next few months,” Jake told her. “Once we get married, I can drive out there everyday, but when he sells the place to me, I’ll want us to move out there and live on the ranch.”

Live on a ranch? Around smelly horses? With a man she barely knew? She didn’t think so.

“About our getting married—” she began.

“I’ll give you some time to get used to the idea. I know you’ll need to recuperate from giving birth and all, so let’s set a date for six weeks from now.” The corners of Jake’s mouth curved into a devilish smile. “We wouldn’t want to waste our wedding night.”

Donna’s cheeks flushed. Dammit, she was too old to be blushing, but the thought of a wedding night with Jake was almost more than she could bear. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t forget what it had been like to be his lover for sixty of the most passionate, hedonistic and wildest hours of her life. She didn’t know much about Jake Bishop, but she knew he was, without a doubt, an incredible lover.

“I’ll agree to think about your marriage proposal over the next six weeks, but I’m afraid it’s out of the question for you to live with Louisa and me.”

Holding the back of her head securely, Jake lifted the baby up toward her mother. “Did you hear what Mommy said? She doesn’t want me to live with y’all. What do you say to that, Sugar Baby?”

As if on cue, Louisa began to whimper. Jake grinned.

“Give her to me,” Donna told him. “And wipe that silly grin off your face. The whimper wasn’t a statement of her feelings toward your not living with us. She probably needs to be nursed.”

“Nursed?”

“Yes, nursed. I’m breast-feeding Louisa.”

Jake felt as if he’d been poleaxed between the eyes. The thought of his child at Donna’s breast created an array of emotions inside him. Surprise. Tenderness. Arousal. Curiosity.

He handed the baby over to her mother. “Here you go, Sugar Baby. Mama’s serving dinner.”

Donna groaned. What a typically crude male thing to say! Mama’s serving dinner, indeed! “Please stop calling Louisa ‘Sugar Baby.’ Nicknames often stick. She’d be terribly embarrassed if children at school called her such a silly, juvenile name.”

“I don’t care for the name Louisa and you’ve already vetoed Lou and Christy.” Jake rose from the side of the bed. “She’s my sweet sugar baby and that’s what I’m going to call her:”

Donna huffed. “Oh, all right. But for now, just go away.” She shooed him with one hand. “Go eat dinner or buy some cigars or something.”

“You’re right. I should buy some cigars before Hank and Caleb come back to the hospital.” Jake headed toward the door, paused, turned and grinned at Donna. “Maybe I’ll buy the pink bubble gum kind, since the Bishop brothers don’t smoke.”

Donna breathed a sigh of relief when Jake finally left her room. Whenever she was around him, she felt as if she were caught in the swirl of a cyclone that swept her far from the safety of home. There was something about him—something primeval—that overwhelmed her whenever they were together.

She couldn’t let him take charge of her life, push her into a marriage she didn’t want and destroy the life she had planned for herself and Louisa. Once she’d settled in at home and had gained back her strength, she would confront Jake and explain to him how disastrous it would be for them to marry. There was no way on earth a marriage between them could work. From what she knew of Hank and Caleb Bishop’s big brother, she realized that he wasn’t the type of man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, nor was he the kind of father Louisa would need. Better no father than a wild hellion womanizer, who’d never be able to settle down and be a faithful husband and devoted parent.

Jake pulled out his credit card, handed it to the salesclerk at the florist shop in the Marshallton Mall and waited for her to ring up his order. He knew that if he were going to persuade Donna to marry him, he’d have to woo her first. He hadn’t ever really thought about marriage. Not seriously. He’d figured that he was meant to die an old bachelor. But having a child changed all that. His own father had been a worthless burn and his grandfather had been a stern, cold care-giver. He wanted better for his daughter. Sugar Baby deserved a devoted, full-time father. A man who’d be around when she needed him. And the only way he could give his baby girl what she needed most from him was by marrying her mother.

He didn’t kid himself about the chances for a happy marriage. Donna wasn’t in love with him and he wasn’t in love with her. But the sex they’d shared had been damn good, some of the best he’d ever had. And marriages had succeeded on far less. He was past the age to expect both passion and love in a relationship. He’d be more than happy to settle for passion—and possession of his child and the woman who’d given birth to her.

“We’ll deliver those to your wife’s suite this evening, Mr. Bishop,” the blond salesclerk said. “She’s going to love two dozen pink roses.”

“I hope she does.”

“She will.” The young woman smiled flirtatiously at Jake. “Congratulations on becoming a father. I take it, from your ordering pink roses, that it was a girl.”

Jake grinned broadly. “Yep. Nine pounds, five ounces. And she looks just like me.”

“Lucky little girl. She must be beautiful.”

“Ah, shucks, ma’am, you’ll make me blush,” Jake said. “By the way, do you happen to know where the nearest toy store is?”

“Toyland is on the second level here at the mall. Just take the escalator and it’s the third store on the outside right.”

“Thanks.” Jake signed the sales slip, pocketed his credit card and tipped his Stetson to the smiling clerk.

Within half an hour, Jake had chosen the items he wanted, paid for them and headed back to the hospital. When he arrived outside Donna’s suite, a giant pink teddy bear under one arm and two big baby dolls under the other, he met his brothers.

“Well, well, what have we here?” Caleb asked. “Looks like the proud new papa has been on a shopping spree.”

“Where’s your women folk?” Jake asked. “And Tallie and Peyt?”

“Peyton had an emergency at the capitol, so he had to rush back to Nashville,” Hank said. “Tallie went with him. She said to tell you and Donna that she’d be back for the - christening or the wedding, whichever comes first.”

“Sheila and Susan are in there with Donna,” Caleb said. “They’re admiring the roses you sent. I think they’re trying to persuade the mother of your child that you aren’t such a bad guy.”





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