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

“I’m so excited for you,” Summer McClain added happily, shifting her daughter to her hip in order to reach out and hug Jessie.

“We’ve got another baby shower to plan,” Lane’s wife, Taylor, spoke up enthusiastically. “I’ve got some new appetizers in mind that will be perfect for the refreshments.” A personal chef, Taylor was always looking for reasons to try new recipes on the family.

“When is the baby due?” T.J.’s wife, Heather, asked.

“In late March or early April,” Jessie answered. Nate could tell by the tone in her voice she was relieved that no one had asked about a wedding.

“Do you know if you’re having a boy or a girl?” Mariah asked, giving Jaron a pointed look. Every time one of the sisters-in-law became pregnant, Mariah and Jaron argued about what gender they thought the baby would be. It appeared this time was going to be no different.

Jessie smiled as she shook her head. “I’m having an ultrasound in a couple of weeks to find out.”

“Congratulations,” Sam finally said, stepping forward to give Jessie a brotherly hug. He stared hard at Nate. “I think this calls for a beer, don’t you?”

“Great news,” Ryder said, wrapping Jessie in a bear hug. When he put his hand on Nate’s shoulder, Nate could tell by Ryder’s iron grip that he was about to be escorted to the bar for his brothers’ interrogation.

“Jessie, if you don’t mind, we’d like to take this bonehead back to the bar to toast your good news,” Lane explained, handing his baby son over to his wife, Taylor.

“I don’t mind,” she said, smiling. “It will give me a chance to ask your wives what I can expect with a newborn and what baby products they’ve found to be the most useful.”

As his brothers walked him back into the barn, Nate heard the excited voices of the women as they offered their suggestions on what they thought Jessie might need to get ready for the baby. He wasn’t the least bit surprised. Whether she realized it or not, she and the baby were already considered members of his family and everyone would do whatever they could to help her and make her feel welcome.

“Okay, what’s the story, bro?” Sam demanded when they reached the bar.

“And why didn’t we hear that the two of you are making plans to get hitched?” T.J. asked as he motioned for the bartender to get them all a bottle of beer.

“You all know about as much as I do,” Nate admitted as they walked over to a more private area away from a group of their friends. “Jessie showed up yesterday to tell me she’s about four and a half months pregnant, I’m the daddy and when I told her we’d get married as soon as possible, she flat-out refused.”

“You told her you’d marry her instead of asking her to be your wife?” Lane asked, his expression incredulous.

“Way to sweet-talk a woman, bro,” Jaron said, shaking his head. “Even I know better than to do that.”

“For a ladies’ man, you sure screwed that up,” Ryder stated disgustedly.

“And you tried to give me advice on how to talk to a woman when Heather and I first started seeing each other.” T.J. took a swig of beer from the bottle in his hand. “I’m glad I had the good sense not to listen to you.”

Sam folded his arms across his chest and glared at him. “How do you intend to straighten this out with her, Nate?”

“I’ve already come up with a plan,” he answered, watching the women and kids reenter the barn. They all looked as if they were having a lot better time than he was at the moment.

“You want to run this scheme of yours past us and get our input before you try to execute it?” Lane asked.

“Yeah, the way you messed up that proposal, it sounds to me like you need all the help you can get,” Jaron added.

As much as he had riding on the outcome, Nate figured he could use some advice from his brothers and especially from Lane. Having the opinion of a licensed psychologist definitely couldn’t hurt and might just give him the edge he needed to convince Jessie of his sincerity.

“I got her to agree to stay with me until after Thanksgiving so we can work out joint custody and how we’re going to raise the baby,” Nate answered. He stared across the dance floor at Jessie and the rest of the women. “And while I’m at it, I’m going to pull out all the stops and show her that I really do want to get married.”

“The way things have gone down with you two in the past, you’ve got your work cut out for you.” T.J. stated what Nate was certain all of his brothers were thinking.