A Baby by Christmas

He was well aware she was referring to the fact that he’d slept in his own bed last night and he avoided the question.

“Mmm, that smells good.”

Aunt Vin gave Wags a piece of bacon, then set a plate of eggs, bacon and homemade biscuits in front of Jake. “I knew this was going to happen. Any woman who isn’t interested enough to even come here and see the beautiful work you’ve done to this house is not good enough for you. I’m glad you’ve finally realized that. The only interest you had in her was making the bedsprings sag.”

Sex had been a big part of their relationship. Hell, it was the only relationship they had. They hadn’t built any type of foundation to sustain the news they’d received yesterday.

Ignoring her words, Jake bit into a biscuit. At Elise’s, they usually had muffins and fruit in the mornings, and now the big breakfast seemed too much.

“I’ve got bingo tonight, so you’ll have to fix your own supper. I’m not missing bingo.” She put the frying pan in the sink. “Some woman’s been calling. Did she get you?”

Jake put down his fork. “Yeah, I talked to her.”

“I just hope Mattie isn’t there tonight. She always manages to win. I believe she’s cheating and I wish I could catch her.”

Aunt Vin was on another channel as usual—at times it was hard to keep up with her.

“So what did the woman want?” she asked abruptly.

Jake wondered how much to tell her, but then made the decision. Aunt Vin was like a mother to him and he had to share this with someone. He told her about Ms. Woods and Ben. Aunt Vin just stared at him.

“A son? You could have a son?”

“Yes. I have to take a DNA test and then we’ll know.”

She clapped her hands. “Oh my, there hasn’t been a child in this house for years.” She looked down at Wags, who was begging for more bacon. “Isn’t that great, Wags?”

Wags growled.

“Aunt Vin, you’re not listening to me. I said might. I have to take a test, so don’t start planning anything.”

“Okay, okay, don’t get riled up,” she said, giving Wags another piece of bacon.

“I just want you to be aware of what’s going on.”

Aunt Vin smiled. “Oh, now I see. That’s why the fancy lady kicked you out. She’s not happy with this development.”

“Please don’t call her that,” Jake said, hating that Aunt Vin didn’t like Elise. But Elise hadn’t made any effort to get to know her, either. Still, Jake found himself defending his wife. “And no, she’s not happy. No woman would be.”

“Well, well, well,” Aunt Vin murmured, pouring him more coffee. “This should be interesting, but you can count on me. I raised you and I can raise another boy.”

Jake stood and hugged her. “I know, and thanks, but like I said, please don’t start making plans. We have to wait before we do anything. Now I have to find Mike and then go to the lab.”

“Will you be sleeping here tonight?”

He turned at the door. “I’m not sure.”

“You’ll be sleeping here,” she muttered under her breath as he walked out the door, Wags right behind him.

Wags missed him at nights, but there was no way he could take a dog to Elise’s. Elise didn’t even know he had a dog. So whenever he was at home Wags followed him everywhere he went.

JAKE TALKED TO HIS FOREMAN, Mike, to go over which cotton fields were scheduled to be harvested today. It was late September, one of the busiest times of the year, and he needed to be here, but he had no choice—he had to go. He had good people working for him so he left things in their capable hands.

The lab work was easy and simple, as Ms. Woods had said, a few minutes out of his day that could change the rest of his life. Driving home, he started toward Elise’s, then realized she’d already have left for the university. He should’ve called her this morning, but he wasn’t sure what to say. Maybe by tonight she would’ve cooled off and they could talk without tempers flaring.

When he got back to the farm, he picked up Wags and drove to the fields. Wags loved to ride in the truck with his head stuck out the window. The machines were already picking cotton, which would be stored in a module to be taken to the gin a little later. Right now the goal was to get the cotton out of the field. The corn had been harvested in July and so far he was having a good season. The weather was always a deciding factor in his business. It could make or break him.

His office was attached to a big barn that housed most of his farm equipment. After he checked with Mike and found they were on schedule, he headed there. Wags curled up at his feet as Jake tried to focus on paperwork that had piled up on his desk, but he couldn’t concentrate. He kept thinking about Elise. He wished he’d called her, then he’d know what kind of mood she was in and maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to get some work done.

At noon, his brother Beau stopped by. Beau was a lawyer, single with dark good looks that made him popular with women. They’d had very little contact when they were growing up. Beau was eight when Althea left and the battle lines had been drawn—Beau and their mother against Jake and their father. Joe McCain had refused to let Jake have anything to do with them and that was the way it stayed for years. When Jake was twenty-five, Joe passed away and Beau came to the funeral. He and Jake started talking, getting reacquainted. Since then, Beau had been on a crusade to bring Althea and Jake back together, but so far Jake had resisted all his efforts. He couldn’t forget the hurt she had caused him and his father.

“Hey, Jake,” Beau said, throwing himself down in a chair. “How’s business?”

Jake lifted an eyebrow. “Busy.”

“Yeah, I saw the machines in the field. Looks like you’re having a good year.”

“Yep, even the shortage of rain didn’t hurt. Irrigation took up the slack.”

Beau looked around the office. “It’s strange coming back here. I feel as if he’ll walk in at any minute and yell at me to do something. I was always frightened of him.”

“We have different memories of our father,” Jake replied with a somber face.

Beau eyed him speculatively. “Just like we have different memories of our mother.”

Jake leaned back in his chair. He didn’t want to discuss their parents; that was the past. He was more concerned with the present and Elise and the DNA test.

“What are you doing here, Beau?”

“Aunt Vin wanted some advice on her will. She’s leaving everything to you, which is no secret, but I think she just wanted to make sure I didn’t feel hurt. I told her that by the time she dies, she’ll have spent it all on bingo, anyway.”

“Yeah, it’s an obsession with her.” He glanced at Beau.

“Are you sure you’re okay with her decision? I tried talking to her, but—”

Beau held up a hand. “I’m fine with it, Jake. Besides, I’ve only gotten reacquainted with Aunt Vin in the past few years.”

Silence stretched for a moment, then Beau slipped in, “Aunt Vin said you slept here last night.”

Jake’s eyes caught Beau’s. “Don’t pry into matters that don’t concern you.”

“Ah.” Beau crossed his legs. “Something is wrong.”

It certainly was, Jake thought, but not in the way Beau meant. How much had Aunt Vin told him? Not much, Jake guessed; that was why Beau was fishing for information. Well, if the boy was his, it wouldn’t be a secret too long, but still, he wasn’t good at confiding and the last person he wanted to know was his mother. And he couldn’t trust Beau not to tell her.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Jake replied in a cool tone.

“Come on, Jake, I’m not stupid,” Beau kept on. “Something’s wrong or you wouldn’t be sleeping at the farm.”