Pregnant with the Rancher's Baby: Reclaimed by the Rancher

“I’ve got Christmas,” T.J. said, adding his money to the pool.

“I’ll take Valentine’s Day,” Lane spoke up, putting his hundred with the rest.

Ryder pulled his wallet from the hip pocket of his jeans, then looked him up and down before he slapped Nate on the shoulder. “I’m betting they’ll be married by Thanksgiving.”

Nate shook his head as he listened to his brothers bet on when he and Jessie took a trip down the aisle. It had always been this way with the brothers. From the time they were all placed into the care of their foster father, Hank Calvert on the Last Chance Ranch, the six of them had a betting pool going on just about everything. Of course back then they had all been dirt poor and had nothing better to do than speculate on the next time it rained or which one of them would be the first to win a buckle at one of the junior rodeos they all competed in.

Now that they were all self-made millionaires, instead of betting fifty cents or a dollar, the stakes were a lot higher. These days it was nothing for them to bet a hundred dollars or more on who would be the next one to tie the knot or add to the family with the birth of a baby. But up until yesterday, he hadn’t even considered the possibility that he would be the next one they speculated on or that they would all be right in doing so.

Every time one of them mentioned him getting hitched he felt a twitch at the corner of his left eye. He still couldn’t believe that he was finally willing to take the plunge and get married. It scared the living hell out of him that he might let Jessie and their baby down. But he had a responsibility to both of them and he was going to do everything in his power to live up to what a good husband and father should be.

Focusing on the pile of money on the bar to keep himself from dwelling on all of the what-ifs, Nate shook his head. “While you all waste your time and money, I’m going to ask Jessie to dance.” The kids had abandoned her in favor of playing with a cardboard box someone had left over by the refreshment table, and he decided now might be a good time to find out when she wanted to tell his family about the baby.

He threw his empty beer bottle in the recycling bin at the end of the bar and walked away. He was in enough trouble with her. He didn’t want to add more by telling the guys about her pregnancy before she was ready. And if he stuck around much longer, there was a real possibility of him accidently tipping them off that something was up. If that happened, they would needle him until hell froze over trying to get him to tell them what was going on.

Hiding things from the people who knew you best wasn’t all that easy. That was the only downside he could see about being so close and knowing each other so well. But he wouldn’t have it any other way. He knew he could count on his brothers being there for him no matter what, just as he would be there for them.

“Are you having a good time, darlin’?” he asked, walking up to where Jessie still sat on the bale of straw.

With her attention on the kids, she smiled. “I’m having a wonderful time. But I’m apparently not nearly as interesting as a cardboard box.”

Nate took her hands in his to pull her to her feet. “Just wait until you see the kids at Christmas. They get all kinds of excited and can’t wait for us to remove the toys from the boxes. Then they toss the toy aside and sit down to play with the box.”

Her light laughter made his insides vibrate with a tension he knew all too well. He wanted her. Hell, even during the times when he’d broken things off with her and gone his own way, he’d still wanted her. Maybe that was the reason he hadn’t been able to stay away from her. He had a feeling the reasons went much deeper, but he wasn’t going to think about that now. He wanted to hold her in his arms without having her remind him that she wasn’t there to rekindle their romance.

“Would you like to dance, darlin’?” She loved kicking up her heels on the dance floor and he wanted her to enjoy herself. If she had a good time, it might remind her of what they had shared in the past.

“I think I would, sheriff,” she said, referring to the tin badge he had pinned to his shirt.

He nodded to the frontman in the band he’d hired and, right on cue, they ended the song they had been playing and immediately launched into a popular slow country song. When the group had first arrived, he’d told the man the title of the song he wanted them to play and to be watching for his signal. It was the song he and Jessie had danced to the first time he’d taken her out for a night on the town.

“You had that planned,” she accused.