Texas Tough (The Tylers of Texas 2)

The beat of silence around the table was shattered by a whoop from Erin. “Awesome! I’m getting a little cousin!”

Blushing, Natalie ducked her head. She wasn’t a shy woman, but Sky, who knew her well through her work, sensed that she might’ve liked to keep the news private a little longer.

“Can you tell us when?” Tori asked.

“The best guess is late February or early March,” Natalie said. “We’ll have a lot of decisions to make before then.”

“Well it’s never too soon to celebrate good news.” Will’s mouth smiled, but his eyes showed concern. Natalie had worked for years to build her veterinary practice in town and would fight to keep it. But Beau was needed on the Rimrock 24–7 for responsibilities that didn’t run on the clock. A baby in the picture would only deepen his need to be in two places at once.

Sky hadn’t been privy to the problems that ended Will and Tori’s marriage, but it made sense that Tori’s law career had been a factor in the breakup. Was Will worried that his brother’s marriage might suffer the same fate? Or was he even more fearful that Beau might choose Natalie and their child over his duty to the ranch?

Years ago Will had faced a similar choice. Now, when he looked at Tori and Erin across the table, did the ranch boss regret the price he’d paid?

After dinner, before Bernice could rise from her chair, Tori stood and began gathering the plates. “You’ve done enough, making this wonderful meal,” she told the older woman. “Go put your feet up and rest. The girls and I can take care of the dishes.”

Taking their cue, Natalie and Erin pitched in, running the leftovers into the kitchen, covering them, and putting them in the fridge. Too tired to protest, Bernice thanked them and retreated to the peace of her tidy apartment off the kitchen. Will, Beau, and Jasper wandered into the den to watch a rodeo on TV. Sky had already gone back to work.

Once the table was cleared and the food put away, Erin excused herself. Natalie scraped the dishes while Tori arranged them in the dishwasher and pondered the right thing to say.

The news about the baby had come as a happy surprise. But as close as she was to both Beau and Natalie, she couldn’t help feeling hurt that they hadn’t told her first. It wasn’t personal, Tori knew. But since their engagement, Natalie and Beau had been so wrapped up in each other that she often felt like an outsider.

Now she and Natalie were alone in the kitchen. With a baby on the way, Tori knew her friend was going to need her.

“Congratulations.” She took the last glass from Natalie’s hand. “I’m thrilled about your good news.”

“I’m thrilled, too.” Natalie sank onto a wooden stool. “But I didn’t know Beau was going to share it with the family so soon. I was floored when he made that announcement.”

“You know Beau. When he’s excited about something, he can’t wait to tell the world.” Tori paused to put the glass in the dishwasher. “Is everything all right, Natalie?”

“With the baby? Yes, the doctor says so far everything’s perfect. Funny, with Slade I never could get pregnant. I’d assumed the problem was mine. That’s why Beau and I weren’t more careful.” Natalie gave a little laugh. “Surprise!”

“You sound like you’re still in shock.”

“I guess I am.” Natalie swept her dark curls back from her face. “I always wanted a big family. It’s just the timing—so unexpected and so many things to be decided. We don’t even know where we’re going to live.”

“Relax. You’ve got plenty of time to work things out.” Tori started the dishwasher and took a seat at the kitchen table. She’d wanted a big family, too. But in the years after Erin’s birth, things with Will had become impossible.

“I was away at school for most of the years you were married,” Natalie said. “You and Will lived in this house the whole time, didn’t you?”

“Yes. We lived here—with Bull. It was a mistake.” Reaching across the table, Tori laid a hand on her friend’s arm. “One word of advice. Whatever you do, if you want a life with Beau, don’t let him move you into this house.”

Natalie’s chocolate eyes widened. “Not that it would be my first choice, but why are you telling me this? There’s plenty of room here, and if Bull was the problem, he’s gone now. He can’t cause any more trouble.”

Tori shook her head. “That’s where you’re wrong. Bull Tyler is still running this ranch—or might as well be. If you move into this house, he’ll take over Beau’s life—and yours.”

“I think I understand.” Natalie glanced down at the Texas-sized diamond Beau had placed on her finger. “What if you and Will had moved into a place of your own? Do you think it would have made a difference?”

“Maybe,” Tori said. “I wanted him to move out—begged him to. But Will wouldn’t do it. His father needed him, the ranch needed him, and that was that.”

After Natalie had gone upstairs to rest, Tori finished straightening the kitchen and walked back to the den to say her goodbyes. From the hallway she could hear the sounds of the rodeo on TV and the whoops and cheers of the watchers. Erin’s voice blended with the men’s deeper tones. Her daughter fit right in here—as Tori never had.

The sectional sofa, with its back toward the door, faced the big-screen TV. Standing in the doorway, Tori could see Erin’s dark blond head resting against Will’s arm as they relaxed on the couch. Will was a devoted father, just as he’d been a dutiful son. But he was stamped in Bull Tyler’s mold, raised with the ethic that men were here for the land and the livestock and women were here for their men and their babies. Anything else was unnatural and not to be tolerated.

Had she done the right thing, warning Natalie about the pitfalls of marrying a Tyler? Beau was nothing like his iron-willed father, but he had his own brand of stubbornness. Pushed too hard, Beau had left home and stayed away for more than a decade.

So far, Beau and Will seemed to be getting along. But how would Will take to sharing his brother’s time with a wife and child—especially under the same roof? And how would Beau t

ake to Will’s playing the patriarch and lording it over his family?