she smiled. “I’m having a wonderful time. But I’m apparently not nearly as interesting as a cardboard box.”
Nate took her hands in his to pull her to her feet. “Just wait until you see the kids at Christmas. They get all kinds of excited and can’t wait for us to remove the toys from the boxes. Then they toss the toy aside and sit down to play with the box.”
Her light laughter made his insides vibrate with a tension he knew all too well. He wanted her. Hell, even during the times when he’d broken things off with her and gone his own way, he’d still wanted her. Maybe that was the reason he hadn’t been able to stay away from her. He had a feeling the reasons went much deeper, but he wasn’t going to think about that now. He wanted to hold her in his arms without having her remind him that she wasn’t there to rekindle their romance.
“Would you like to dance, darlin’?” She loved kicking up her heels on the dance floor and he wanted her to enjoy herself. If she had a good time, it might remind her of what they had shared in the past.
“I think I would, sheriff,” she said, referring to the tin badge he had pinned to his shirt.
He nodded to the frontman in the band he’d hired and, right on cue, they ended the song they had been playing and immediately launched into a popular slow country song. When the group had first arrived, he’d told the man the title of the song he wanted them to play and to be watching for his signal. It was the song he and Jessie had danced to the first time he’d taken her out for a night on the town.
“You had that planned,” she accused.
Grinning, he took her into his arms and swept her out onto the dance floor. “Yup.” He leaned close to whisper in her ear. “You didn’t tell me I wasn’t allowed to remind you of the first date we went on or how good we are together.” He wisely refrained from mentioning that was true for other things besides dancing.
He felt her tremble against him a moment before she put a little space between them. “Nate, the first thing we’re going to do after this party is to set down some ground rules. Otherwise, I’ll be going home tomorrow and I won’t be back.”
“Sure thing, darlin’,” he said agreeably as they swayed in time with the music.
She could lay down all the rules she wanted, but that little shiver was all the indication he needed to know that she wasn’t impervious to him. And he had every intention of reminding her of that fact every chance he got.
He waited until the song ended before he asked, “When do you want to make the announcement about the baby?”
She sighed. “I suppose now is as good of a time as any. But don’t you dare mislead your family into believing that we’re getting married because we’re not.”
“I give you my word,” he said, nodding. He wasn’t about to do anything that would send her running back to Waco before the end of the month they had agreed on. And that was exactly what would happen if he so much as hinted to his family that marriage was a possibility. Besides, he had until just after Thanksgiving to figure out how he was going to accomplish that goal. He was determined not to fail. He wanted her to agree to be his wife and for them to be married before the baby was born.
Putting his arm around her shoulders to guide her, they walked over to Bria and her sister, Mariah, chatting with some of their friends by the refreshment table. “Bria, could you get the family together and meet Jessie and I outside for a few minutes? We have something we’d like to tell everyone.”
“Of course, Nate.” Smiling, his sister-in-law turned to Mariah. “Go tell the men to meet us outside while I find Summer, Taylor and Heather.”
Within a few minutes Nate and Jessie stood just outside of the big barn doors, surrounded by his family. He knew his sisters-in-law would be excited by their news and would start making plans for baby showers and whatever else women did to welcome a new baby into the family. But his brothers were going to give him hell when they learned that marriage wasn’t a sure thing.
Their foster father had raised them with a clear sense of what was right and wrong. From the time they had been old enough to start dating, Hank Calvert had told them it was their responsibility to protect a woman. And in the case of an accidental pregnancy, a man had a moral obligation to do what was right and give the woman and child his name.
Nate knew that in this day and time, that way of thinking might be considered antiquated, but there was no man he respected more than his late foster father. Hank’s teachings had served him and his brothers well over the years and turned them from rebellious young hell-raisers into honest, upstanding adults. As far as he was concerned, that kind of guidance shouldn’t be ignored. Besides, the thought of having Jessie at his side every day and in his bed every night was a very appealing aspect of marriage, even if it did scare the hell out of him.
“So what’s up, bro?” Jaron asked with one of his rare smiles. The quiet, brooding one of his brothers, Jaron was the only one that Nate knew for certain hadn’t completely rid himself of the ghosts of his past. They all had had a few residual hang-ups from their lives before being sent to the Last Chance Ranch. But Jaron’s ran deeper than the rest of them.
“Yeah, spill the beans, hotshot,” T.J. chimed in.
Nate glanced at Jessie as he reached for her hand. “We just wanted to let you know that we’ll be adding another member to the family in a few months. We’re going to have a baby.”
There was a stunned silence that followed his announcement and one look at the expression on Sam’s face let Nate know his failure to mention a wedding had not gone unnoticed. With a slight shake of his head, he let his brothers know not to ask about it until later. He knew they would respect his wishes and remain silent—for now. But as soon as the opportunity presented itself, he was going to have some explaining to do.
“That’s wonderful,” Bria said, breaking the silence as she stepped forward to hug him and Jessie. God bless her, Bria could read a situation faster than anyone he knew and always seemed to know exactly what to say to ease the tension.
“I’m so excited for you,” Summer McClain added happily, shifting her daughter to her hip in order to reach out and hug Jessie.
“We’ve got another baby shower to plan,” Lane’s wife, Taylor, spoke up enthusiastically. “I’ve got some new appetizers in mind that will be perfect for the refreshments.” A personal chef, Taylor was always looking for reasons to try new recipes on the family.
“When is the baby due?” T.J.’s wife, Heather, asked.
“In late March or early April,” Jessie answered. Nate could tell by the tone in her voice she was relieved that no one had asked about a wedding.
“Do you know if you’re having a boy or a girl?” Mariah asked, giving Jaron a pointed look. Every time one of the sisters-in-law became pregnant, Mariah and Jaron argued about what gender they thought the baby would be. It appeared this time was going to be no different.
Jessie smiled as she shook her head. “I’m having an ultrasound in a couple of weeks to find out.”
“Congratulations,” Sam finally said, stepping forward to give Jessie a brotherly hug. He stared hard at Nate. “I think this calls for a beer, don’t you?”
“Great news,” Ryder said, wrapping Jessie in a bear hug. When he put his hand on Nate’s shoulder, Nate could tell by Ryder’s
