The Texan's Bride

Her pulse quickened at the sheer jealousy running through her. And then she laughed. What did she have to be jealous about? She and Cadde were married, yet they went their own ways. She certainly never asked him to be faithful to her. Dealing with her only parent’s death was hard enough without contending with a new husband.

Walking over to the window, she gazed outside in time to see Cadde’s truck drive away. Her father had once told her that if she wanted something to go after it no matter the consequences. She wanted Cadde Hardin and she went after him in the only way she knew. Time would tell if he would take the bait. Daddy was a gambler to his soul but she’d never thought of herself that way.

Until today.

Once you make a decision, stick to your guns, Jessie. His words came back to her. It wasn’t that simple, though. She was gambling with her heart—so dangerous. The consequence of getting hurt didn’t deter her and, like her father, she was willing to take the risk.

Her eyes went to the bars on the window. The prison especially built for her. She never had a normal childhood, a normal life, and that was her dream—to have a real family living without fear. She wanted to fill this big house with kids, laughter and love. And she wanted to do that with Cadde.

He’d called her an iceberg. Ouch. Well, she had to admit that in part it was true. She had thought her father would survive the surgery, but he hadn’t. In shock, she’d pushed everyone away, even her new husband.

She hated that Cadde had to be forced to marry her. She hated that he treated her like a piece of furniture. She hated that life had been so cruel.

After her grief had subsided somewhat she decided to try and make her marriage work. But first she had to get Cadde’s attention and doing that proved more difficult than she’d ever imagined. Therefore she aimed for his heart.

Now she waited.

CADDE SAT AT HIS DESK going over the document Jessie had drawn up. She was willing to give him control of Shilah for a baby. That should be easy—for any man. Why wasn’t it easy for him?

The door opened and his brothers burst in. They had extrasensory perception where he was concerned because they always seemed to know when he was in the building.

“Hey, any news?” Not being afraid of the devil, Kid dove right in.

“From the look on your face I’d say the talk with Jessie didn’t go well,” Chance said.

“Depends on how you label well.” His hand rested on the document. He was still wrestling with its content.

“What the hell does that mean?” Kid asked with his usual tact.

“Jessie didn’t want a divorce. You need to brush up on your women skills, Kid, because that was the last thing she wanted.”

“Damn.” Kid snapped his fingers. “I’m hardly ever wrong when it comes to the fairer sex.”

“I won’t take that to the bank.”

“What did Jessie want?” Chance asked in his calm way. Of the three brothers Chance was the youngest and the one with a heart of gold. The night their parents had died, Chance had been sleeping in the backseat of the car. He was the only one who’d survived the crash. To protect his brothers he’d kept a secret for over twenty years. Their parents screaming at each other had awakened him. Seemed the man they adored was leaving their mom for someone else.

Chance had struggled with his demons for a lot of years, only telling them recently the real story behind the accident. But then fate dealt him another severe blow. He fell in love with the daughter of the woman who had destroyed their family. Chance, with his heart of gold, had worked through all the pain. He and Shay were happy and they had a nine-year-old adopted daughter, Darcy, who was the light of Chance’s life. His brother had found true happiness, but Cadde had to wonder if that was in the cards for him.

“Cadde?” Chance prompted him and he realized his thoughts had drifted.

He cleared his throat. “Jessie wants a baby.”

“What!” echoed through the large office.

Kid frowned. “You mean those little creatures who crawl around and slobber all over themselves?”

“If Shay and I have a child you’re never holding it,” Chance told him.

“I didn’t ask to,” Kid fired back.

Cadde got up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over Houston. It was a magnificent view and he swore he could see Galveston in the distance. But it was only an illusion. He was having a hard time with fact and reality today.

His thoughts turned once again to his father. Cadde was in the oil business because of him. Chuck Hardin roughnecked his entire life, but he’d said his sons would do better. They’d get an education and work their way up the ladder into a position of power.

Cadde had worked toward that one goal and now it was within his grasp. Somehow, though, it was tainted by the betrayal of his father. The man who’d taught him about family values and honor was a phony. Cadde didn’t want any son or daughter of his to think that of him. He wanted to be in his child’s life one hundred percent of every day. And he didn’t want a baby conceived as part of a business deal.

Damn Jessie!

“Cadde,” Chance prompted again.

Cadde swung from the window and walked back to his desk. “Are you two through arguing?”

“Yeah,” Chance replied. “We decided Kid’s an ass and left it at that.”

“We did not!” Kid protested.

Cadde held up his hand. “Enough. I have some important things to discuss with you.” He glanced at the document. “The day that Jessie gives birth she’ll sign over a share of her stock to me…giving me control of Shilah.”

“Hot damn, now we’re talking.” Kid jumped to his feet in excitement and then stilled. “What’s wrong? I can see something is by the look on your face.”

Cadde remained silent, having a hard time explaining the situation to his brothers. But they had a stake in Shilah, as well.

Chance leaned forward. “What you’re saying is that you and Jessie haven’t had a real marriage and she wants to make it real in every way possible.”

“That’s about it,” Cadde had to admit.

“So what’s the problem?” Kid wanted to know. “You’ve worked your ass off for Roscoe for years and now it’s time for the big reward you’ve been waiting for. Jessie’s handing it to you on a platter. All you have to do is get her pregnant. Easy as pie.” Kid’s eyes narrowed on him. “You’re hesitating. Why?” Before he could form a reply Kid added, “You’re not impotent, are you?”

Chance slapped Kid’s shoulder. “Shut up, you idiot.”

“I’m not shutting up!” Kid yelled. “I have a stake in this business, and if you hit me one more time I’m gonna knock you on your ass.”

“Just try.” Chance faced him—two brothers, same height, same build, both angry and neither afraid to fight.

“Cut it out, dammit. I don’t need you two at each other’s throats.”

“Hell, Cadde, that’s what we do best—fight with one another.” Kid was back to his usual cheerful self. “Just tell us why you’re finding it hard to accept Jessie’s offer.”

“Because it’s a business deal. I never planned on my firstborn being part of a negotiated legal document.”

“So?” Kid pressed. “It gives you control of Shilah. That’s what you’ve wanted.”

Cadde eased into his leather chair. “I keep thinking about Dad.”

“Oh, God.” Kid closed his eyes. “Let’s not go down that road.”

“When we were boys,” Cadde went on, as if Kid hadn’t spoken, “he was a good father. I thought there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do. I hung on his every word, but in the end he tarnished all of those childhood memories with his betrayal. I don’t want a child of mine to have bad memories of me.”