Reaching out, she touched his cheeks with her soft hand, then leaned forward and gave him a kiss so sweet it robbed him of breath. “You wouldn’t have gotten so worked up if you’d only let me explain. You really could use some work on your listening skills, Mr. Garnier.”
Two hours later, after making love to Heather again, Jake held her close as she slept and thought about his uncharacteristic emotions. Not quite two weeks ago, he’d been a carefree, commitment-shy bachelor with nothing more on his mind than paying a visit to his newly acquired horse farm, sticking around for the big race and then he was supposed to be back on the road to L.A. But all that had changed with the discovery that he’d not only found the one woman he’d regretted not staying in touch with but also that she’d had his baby.
Why did he all of a sudden want all of the things he’d spent most of his adult life trying to avoid?
Tightening his arms around her, he pulled her close and tried to relax. But as sleep began to overtake him, Jake couldn’t help but feel that he was walking a fine line. And once crossed there would be no going back.
“How’s my little angel?” Heather asked as she picked the baby up from the crib. “Did you have a good nap?”
Mandy’s happy grin as Heather changed her diaper revealed a small white place on her lower gum.
“Your tooth has broken through.” Kissing her daughter’s soft cheek, Heather picked her up from the changing table and walked out of her bedroom toward the stairs. “We’ll have to find your daddy and show him. He’s been worried about when it was finally going to stop bothering you.”
Shortly after awakening to find herself alone in Jake’s bed that morning, she’d gone in search of him and found that he had moved the crib into the room she’d been using. He’d explained that with his grandmother and her assistant staying in the newly decorated carriage house there would be plenty of rooms for everyone when they descended on them later in the day.
Hearing voices when she reached the bottom of the steps, she crossed the foyer and entering the den, found several people taking their turns hugging Jake. It appeared that his family had arrived.
“Heather, I’d like you to meet the clan,” Jake said when he noticed her standing just inside the door. Walking over he lifted Mandy onto his arm and put his other arm around her shoulders. “This is my daughter, Mandy, and her mother Heather.”
“Please let me hold her,” his sister, Arielle, said reaching for Mandy. Almost six months pregnant, she and her husband, Zach, had just learned they were expecting twin boys. “She’s absolutely adorable. And she looks just like you, Jake.”
As everyone greeted her and made a fuss over the baby, a bittersweet feeling filled her chest at the pride in Jake’s voice. She only wished he could love her half as much as he did their baby.
When he finished making the introductions, Heather couldn’t help but notice how much Jake and his half brothers were alike. All of them were quite tall, had the same athletic build and bore a strong facial resemblance. They even shared some of the same mannerisms. When his brother Hunter O’Banyon talked about the stress of being an air medevac pilot, he ran his hand over the back of his neck, which Jake had a habit of doing, too.
“Where’s your twin and his wife?” she asked, noticing their absence.
“Haley had a doctor’s appointment,” Jake answered. “Luke said they’d meet us at Churchill Downs before the race tomorrow.”
“Heather, I hear you’re the one in charge of the winning horse,” Nick Daniels said. “Jake told us you raised him from a colt.”
Smiling, she nodded at the rancher from Wyoming. “Actually, I was responsible for choosing his bloodlines as well as helping the mare foal when the vet couldn’t get here in time.”
“Hang on to her, Jake,” Nick advised. He put his arm around his pretty wife, Cheyenne. “Take it from me. You can’t go wrong with a woman who knows her horses.”
“I’ll remember that,” Jake said, smiling.
“Heather, do you have time to go shopping with us?” Caleb Walker’s wife, Alyssa, asked. “I’ve heard that it’s a tradition for all of the women to wear a hat to the race.”
“I got a new one a couple of days ago and I’d be more than happy to take all of you to the shop where I bought it,” Heather offered. “They have a great selection, in all colors and styles.”
Callie O’Banyon sighed. “A shopping trip without little ones in tow sounds like heaven.”
“By the way, where are your children?” Jake asked.
Caleb chuckled as he pointed to his brothers. “We all decided to leave them with the babysitters and enjoy spending a little alone time with our wives.”
“If everyone’s agreeable on the shopping, we could go right after I take a nap,” Arielle suggested, yawning. She handed Mandy to Alyssa, then with her husband’s help, rose to her feet. “Could you tell me where our room is, Jake?”
“I’ll be happy to show you where you’ll be staying,” Heather spoke up, earning a warm smile from Jake.
When they climbed the stairs and Heather showed the pretty young woman where she and her husband, Zach, would be sleeping during their stay at Hickory Hills, Arielle motioned for Heather to follow her into the room. “Are you up for some girl talk before I crash?”
Heather liked all of Jake’s brothers and sisters-in-law, but there was something about Arielle that told Heather if given the chance they would become very good friends. “Of course.”
Lowering herself to the side of the bed, Arielle smiled. “I just wanted you to know how thrilled I am that someone has finally tamed Jake. I couldn’t be happier for both of you.”
Heather frowned. “I think you must have gotten the wrong impression. Jake and I are just—”
“Don’t tell me you’re just friends,” Arielle interrupted. “I’ve seen the way my brother looks at you and there’s a lot more to the way he feels about you than friendship.”
Heather wasn’t quite sure what to say. She wasn’t going to lie to the woman. But she wasn’t certain there was anything more going on for Jake than a strong attraction and undeniable desire.
“It’s…complicated,” she finally said, settling on the truth. Whatever was going on between them was going to take some time to sort out. They still hadn’t discussed how they were going to handle raising Mandy together with so much distance between their residences. Jake had talked about going back to Los Angeles and leaving her and Mandy the run of the farm, but that didn’t mean the custody issue was settled. He could still come up with demands for equal time.