Grant

  “They checked me over really well,” Christina said. “Dr. Sue is here, so she did it herself. She said I was way stressed, and they need to watch me tonight, but the baby is okay. But with the ceiling falling on me, surviving a hair-raising ride through one of the worst storms in years … I need to take it easy. But I’m all right. I’m pretty tough.”

  “I told you I’d get you here safe.” Grant let out his breath. “I was so damn scared, Christina.”

  “Yeah?” Christina’s smile shook. “Well, I was flipping terrified.” She lifted her hand, palm out, to him. “Let me see it.”

  “See what?”

  “The ring, sweet-ass. I want us engaged before I walk out of here.”

  Grant’s grin came from a place of warmth. He lifted his wet denim jacket, removed a small box from the pocket, and opened it.

  On a fold of tissue paper lay a simple and beautiful ring. A gold band held a round diamond flanked on four sides by diamond chips. The ring shone softly, burnished by time.

  Grant drew the chair next to the high bed. He settled one knee on the chair seat and took the ring from the box.

  “Christina Farrell,” he said. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  Christina’s brown eyes shone with tears. “Are you sure you’re sure? What about …” She touched her abdomen. “What if the baby isn’t yours? Will you really want marriage to me then?”

  Grant closed his strong hand over Christina’s. “What I want is you. I know the kid might be Ray’s. I know if it is, it probably means I can’t have kids at all. But we can adopt kids, have as big a family as we want. Hell, Carter’s adopted, and he turned out all right. And if this baby is Ray’s, the poor kid’s gonna be stuck with two dads.”

  Christina burst out laughing, even while tears trickle down her face. “I was thinking the same things. I love you Grant Campbell. I will marry you. I will, I will, I will, I will.”

  Her smile took Grant’s breath away. A wave of happiness broke over him, a sense that everything was in its right place in the world. Didn’t matter what they had to face, they’d face it together.

  Grant took Christina’s warm left hand in his and slid the ring onto her third finger. The ring fit like it was made for her.

  He leaned down and kissed his Christina. The sweetest kiss, the one Grant had been waiting for all his life.

  “What the hell?”

  Grant came up swiftly at the sound of Ray Malory’s voice. Ray stood in the doorway, the nurse who’d brought Grant in trying to keep him out.

  “Ray,” Christina said in surprise. Then she made a reassuring motion to the nurse. “It’s all right. He’s just worried about me.”

  The nurse frowned. “Maybe, but your doctor said you needed rest, and too many visitors will over-stress you.” She gave Ray a severe look. “Talk quick. Then you need to go.”

  “They said at the diner you were hurt,” Ray said to Christina after the nurse had left them. “And that Grant had driven you out of there like the devil running out of hell. I was afraid … afraid …”

  “The baby’s fine,” Christina said, giving him a smile. “Just fine. Grant got me here quick enough, through a wild hailstorm.”

  Ray glared at Grant as though he wanted to throw him to the floor. Grant made himself not respond. Ray must have been just as scared as he’d been for Christina and the baby. At this point, Ray had as much to lose as Grant.

  Ray’s hair and shirt was all wet—he’d come through the storm too. For Christina.

  “It’s probably a good thing you’re here,” Christina said, her voice losing its energy. “Dr. Sue said she got the test results back late this afternoon. She was going to call me in the morning, but she said she’d give them to me tonight if we wanted to know now.”

  Grant’s tension ramped back up. To know. Tonight.

  Now that it came down to it, Grant didn’t want the truth. He wasn’t sure he could handle it.

  Maybe it was a family trait, not being able to make kids. Adam—before Bailey—and Tyler had never been able to keep it in their pants, and they didn’t have a string of women holding up babies whenever they walked by. The only one of them who had a kid was Carter, and he wasn’t a Campbell by blood.

  No, Grant needed to know this. To take it in the gut. The knowledge would change Grant’s life, but he needed to face it.

  He saw that Ray was going through the same dilemma. Ray’s face was drawn and pasty, as though he suffered from a three-day hangover.

  “Yeah,” Ray said. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Grant nodded tightly.

  Christina rang for the nurse and asked her if Dr. Sue would come down. The nurse looked alarmed at first, but Christina told her that Dr. Sue was waiting for her call.

  If Grant had thought the two hours waiting to see if Christina was okay had been the longest of his life, the twenty minutes waiting for Dr. Sue competed for the title.

  Ray paced, arms folded. Grant stayed by Christina’s side, holding her hand until she kissed his closed fist and told him he was making her fingers stiff.

  Dr. Sue came in, saw both men, and said, “Ah.”

  “Just tell us,” Ray growled. “We’re going crazy.”

  “Well, I don’t know myself,” Dr. Sue said. She handed Christina the envelope she carried. “It’s Christina’s business. She sees it first.”

  A swallow moved down Christina’s throat as she reached a shaking hand for the envelope. She settled it on the blankets, fighting with the pulse monitor on her finger before she tore the seal with her thumb and pulled out a sheaf of papers.

  Christina read the first page, flipped to the second, and frowned.

  “Well?” Grant realized he’d stopped breathing. “What the hell does it say?”

  “It says …” Christina cleared her throat. “Subject one—Grant—cannot be ruled out as the biological father.”

  Grant blinked, turning the weird sentence around in his head. “What the hell does that mean?”

  Ray glared at him. “It means you’re the father, dumb-ass.”

  “Yes,” Dr. Sue said briskly. “That’s exactly what it means.”

  Grant remained in place for a few seconds as his brain caught up and the revelation seeped through his body.

  He let out a whoop that drowned out the next clap of thunder.

  “Whoo-hoo! I’m having a baby! I’m going to be a dad!” Grant left the floor, punching the air with both fists. “I’m a dad!”

  Christina was laughing and crying, wiping her eyes with the envelope. Dr. Sue watched them all, quiet with experience, a smile on her face.

  Ray didn’t say a word. He’d turned his back, arms jammed across his chest. Grant looked over Christina’s shoulder at the other paper lying on her lap. Subject Two—Ray—ruled out as the biological father.

  No doubt about it.

  “Ray,” Grant said.

  Ray lifted his head and turned around. His eyes were wet. “Congratulations, Grant. Christina. This was for the best, I guess. You two need to be together. Now you can be—totally.”

  “Ray, I’m sorry,” Christina said softly. “I’m sorry I put you through this.”

  Ray shook his head. He didn’t look at either of them, but moisture glittered on his lashes. “I’d have wanted to know. I’ll see you.”

  Without waiting for argument or good-byes, Ray swung around and left the room.

  Dr. Sue put her hands into the pockets of her white coat. “That’s that, then. Congratulations, you two.” She glanced at the ring sparkling on Christina’s finger. “Double congrats. When’s the wedding?”

  Grant and Christina both started to talk, then Christina laughed. Grant answered. “As soon as humanly possible. All right, Christina?”

  “Fine by me,” Christina said. She lay back, looking suddenly exhausted. “But I get a pretty dress. And a church. Oh, man, Bailey’s going to kill me when I tell her she only has a few weeks to plan the wedding.”

  Dr. Sue
gestured with her hands in her pockets, the coat opening and closing. “Sounds like you have it covered. Now, I’ll let you kiss her good-night, Grant, and you can sleep here at the clinic if you want, but she has to rest.”

  “You got it, Doc.”

  Grant didn’t wait until Dr. Sue left to begin the kissing. He needed Christina’s kisses right now.

  Christina laughed as he leaned over her, and Grant tasted the laughter in his mouth.

  Christina was his. He had a family. Grant placed his hand over Christina’s abdomen. She slid her hand on top of his, her touch light but strong.

  Her kisses were the same. She was fragile, his Christina, but she’d make it. She’d already proved she could put up with Grant and all his shit through good times and bad.

  Grant deepened the kiss, Christina’s hand coming up to cup his neck.

  There would be all good times from now on. Sexy times, fun times, happy times—and full of love.

  Because now they were three.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Three weeks later

  … Three weeks of planning, whirlwind preparation, doctor’s appointments, and crazy days.

  Bailey, Christina and their mother, who was thrilled to be marrying off another daughter so soon, worked long hours to make this wedding as elegant as Bailey’s had been in a fraction of the time.

  Again the reception would be at Circle C Ranch, and Grace volunteered to cook most of the food. She loved her new job as chef for the ranch and partial nanny to Faith.

  Mrs. Ward offered to send out a host of pies for the occasion full of late spring goodness—strawberry, rhubarb, early summer berries.

  Her restaurant had been closed of course, because of all the damage, but thankfully, no one had been hurt. Mrs. Ward had insurance on the place, but the collapse broke her heart. Christina thought Karen might step in and try to buy the place again, but she did not.

  Instead, Carter visited Mrs. Ward and told her that AGCT Enterprises would invest in helping her get back on her feet. That’s what the new company did—invested in Riverbend and kept its heritage alive. Grant and Adam were the founders of the organization, Carter kept the books, Tyler was PR, and Karen was on the board to look around for things to invest in.

  Karen was becoming very fond of Riverbend, and was even looking for a place to live. She’d be adopting a central Texas accent before long, Christina thought, and pretend she’d lived there all her life.

  Ray Malory dealt with the discovery that he was not the father of Christina’s child by leaving town, with the excuse that there were more rodeos out there, more prizes to be won. It was his job.

  Christina felt bad for everything she’d put him through, though Kyle told her she shouldn’t.

  “He’s a big boy,” Kyle said to Christina one night at the bar. “He’s disappointed, and I can’t blame him, but he’ll be all right. Trust me. He’s drowning his sorrows in the sweeties who are all over him at the rodeos. Give him time.”

  “I shouldn’t have gone out with him at all,” Christina said. She’d started as manager, finding she liked making all the decisions for the place. She’d been taking a break with a glass of apple juice when Kyle had come to say hello. “I should have known I’d never get over Grant.”

  “Well, Ray knew that—we all did—but he went out with you anyway. It’s not entirely your fault, Christina.” Kyle put a kind hand on her shoulder. “Plus, he could have used a condom.”

  Christina had laughed and kissed Kyle on the cheek.

  She’d always feel remorse that her old friend Ray had gotten hurt in her mess with Grant, but Christina allowed herself to enter the euphoria that had come into her life. She was marrying the hottest cowboy in Texas, the one she loved to pieces, and they were having a baby together.

  On a fine Saturday in the first part of June, Christina met Grant at the church in Riverbend. She wore a lacy white dress that floated around her, Bailey as her matron of honor in soft blue, Faith in a matching blue dress as a flower girl.

  Grant and his brothers were in tuxes again, with cowboy boots. This time Grant waited at the altar, Adam beside him, Grant’s blue eyes warming when he saw Christina walking sedately up the aisle on her father’s arm.

  Christina paused on the way to press a kiss to Sam Farrell’s lined face, then continued until she was handed to Grant.

  It was a beautiful Texas Hill Country day. Warm but not too hot, white clouds floating across the sunny sky. Grant and Christina held each other’s hands and looked straight into each other’s eyes when they said I do.

  Christina wore no veil, only a sprig of flowers in her hair, so all Grant had to do was tilt her face to his and kiss her.

  And kiss her. Grant’s mouth opened hers, his hands pressing her into him. Christina tasted his joy, felt his strength as he bent over her, cradling her in warmth that wouldn’t stop.

  Neither did the kiss. Tyler whooped, then every cowboy in the place followed suit.

  When Grant finally released Christina and stood her upright, she was out of breath. Grant raised his fist to his brothers and friends in victory, and Christina gave them a thumb’s up.

  Walking back down the aisle with him, arm in arm, was minus the pain it had been at Bailey’s wedding. A lot had happened since then that had lifted Christina up, shaken her, and set her back down again.

  She clung to Grant’s strong arm as he nearly ran with her to the end of the aisle. Grant looked down at her, sending Christina his hot, wicked smile.

  She’d found her happily ever after.

  ***

  The reception was the wildest party Riverbend had known in a while. Grant made sure of it.

  He even made sure Kyle and Ray were there—no hard feelings. Ray hadn’t brought a date, but the look of raw pain Grant had seen in him at the hospital had eased. Now he looked more at peace, ready to move on.

  Kyle, on the other hand, had been pissed off at Grant all spring, ever since Grace had announced she was working at the Circle C.

  “You think you’re funny, don’t you?” Kyle asked as he stood with Grant at the edge of the dance floor. “Getting Grace a job working for your ranch?”

  “She loves it,” Grant said. “She’s settling in real nice.”

  “I know she loves it,” Kyle growled. “I haven’t seen her so happy in a long time.”

  “Then, you’re welcome.”

  Kyle scowled at him. “You know damn well why I don’t want her at your house.”

  “Because of Carter,” Grant said. “I figured out pretty quick that’s why you tried to fix me up with her. But there’s nothing wrong with Carter, my friend. He’s smart, generous, and trustworthy as hell. My mom saw all that in him when he was a kid, and made sure it was able to come out. Plus, he’s proved he makes a great dad.”

  “I know.” Kyle looked embarrassed. “It’s just … his past might come back to bite him, and I wouldn’t want my sister caught in it. Let me put it another way—if Christina had started going out with Carter, what would you have done?”

  “Killed him,” Grant said, his cheerfulness returning. He snagged a beer from a passing tray. “Give him a break, Kyle. Carter’s a good guy. He can take care of his past. Besides, Faith loves Grace. Let’s not mess with that.”

  Kyle let out a breath. “Right. I’ll try.”

  “Carter can barely say two words to her.” Grant gestured with the bottle to Carter, who was standing by himself. Carter’s gaze was on Grace in her light summer dress as she talked animatedly with Bailey, Christina, and Lucy.

  “I see that,” Kyle said, sounding more hopeful. “Maybe it will come to nothing.”

  “Or maybe they’ll find out they were meant for each other. Like me and Christina.”

  Kyle unbent enough to laugh. “Shit, if we have to go through watching another relationship like yours and Christina’s, I think we’ll all move away.”

  “Screw you,” Grant said good-naturedly. “Excuse me, I need to go put my arms around my wife.” br />
  “Yeah.” Kyle tipped his beer in a toast. “Already tied to the apron strings.”

  “What a great idea.” Grant’s imagination went to a sinful place. “I’ll ask Christina if she has an apron …”

  “Just go away.”

  Grant clicked his beer against Kyle’s and strolled off on light feet.

  The girls were having a feminine conversation involving much laughter, sly glances at the Campbell men, and apparently an argument with Bailey.

  “Yes, you should,” Christina was saying. “I’ll drag you up there, Bailey. I’m your big sister—you have to do what I tell you.”

  “Since when?” Bailey asked in mock indignation. “It’s your day Christina. I’ll have mine later.”

  “Bull,” Christina said. “We’re telling everyone.”

  “Telling everyone what?” Grant asked, sliding his arm around Christina.

  The four women burst into giggles, Bailey red-faced. Christina rose on tiptoe and whispered into Grant’s ear.

  Christina’s warm breath tickling inside him went straight to Grant’s cock, but he made himself pay attention to her words. When she finished, Grant raised his head.

  “Really?” he said to Bailey. He grabbed her hand. “Forget hiding your light under a bushel—come on.”

  “Grant—”

  Bailey broke off as Christina took her other hand. “Adam!” Grant called to Adam, who was in a knot with Tyler and Ross. “Get over here. We have an announcement to make.”

  Adam, mystified, came to them quickly, rescuing Bailey from Grant. Grant waved the musicians to a halt and took the microphone.

  “Hey, ya’ll,” he said.

  Everyone turned around. The whole town was there, including Karen, who’d brought another cowboy with her. He was about five years younger than her, and very fit. The woman was shameless.

  There was applause, raised glasses, and expectant looks.

  Grant said, “I want to thank y’all for coming out and saying hey to me and Christina, now that we finally got our butts up the aisle.”

  Laughter, cheers, whoops. “About time!” Tyler yelled.

  “Now, my brother Adam, because he always has to upstage me, has an announcement to make.”