Rodeo Daddy: Book 3 in the Stubborn Texas Siblings Trilogy (4 page)

Chapter 5

It was late that night and Dana had gone to bed, refusing to
talk to Jeff. He felt as if his whole world had been turned
upside down in the last twenty-four hours. The sudden
need to talk to his sister came on as strong as his need had
once been to get good at riding on bucking bulls. Telling
himself that come the next day, he would go see Laurie, he
settled his big body on the couch which was entirely too
short for him. He would much rather be back in the bed
with Dana, satisfying his hunger to hold her in his arms, but
she had made herself pretty clear earlier. She wasn’t at all
happy that he had firmly inserted himself in her life and
was refusing to go away. There wasn’t a chance in Hell that
she would let him anywhere near her bed any time soon.

It was going to take a lot of effort to get her there, but the
reward when he finally did would be well worth the cost.
He could almost feel the slide of her womanly curves
against his heated skin… her velvety soft heat surrounding
his hard length as he sunk into her, taking them both on an
exciting journey to sexual satisfaction. Yes… it would be a
sweet reward when he finally managed to get Dana back in
his arms where she belonged.

He trembled with longing as he finally faded off to sleep;
dreams of making love to Dana filling his head. There was
no way he was examining the way he felt about that woman
too closely. Right now, the only thing that mattered was his
daughter. Alexis needed him and he was determined to be
there for her in any way he could be. The fact that he still
desired her mother was beside the point.

It was late the following afternoon before Jeff left everyone
at Mandy’s house napping to go see his sister. He grabbed
Dana’s keys out of her purse so he could let himself back
into the house and drove like his ass was on fire all the way
to Laurie’s garage. If need be, he’d sit on the steps until she
talked to him. He knew that she was pregnant and due to
pop any day now, but if anyone would have some real input
on what he should do, without the bull shit he knew he’d
have to put up with from their brother, it would be his
sister.

She wasn’t at the garage when he got there an
d he sat down
on the steps with his head hung low in his hands, waiting
for her. He felt lost and afraid. It wasn’t a feeling he was
used to and he hated it. In that moment, he knew that one
way or another he had to find a way to make it go away. It
was worth the teasing his sister would give him when he
told her why he was there.

When they finally pulled in to the driveway, Laurie
lumbered out of the truck, resting her hand over her belly
and groaning at the heavy awkwardness of it as she made
her way over to where he sat. “Okay… what gives? Did
you try mounting one of your bulls and get bucked off or
gouged again? Did you make things worse for yourself
with your recovery?”
He looked up at her with a pained look that frightened her
and she sat down beside him on the steps as Travis parked
the truck. “Talk to me little brother… I’ve never seen you
like this.”

“I don’t know what to do, and I know if I go to Eric with
this, he’ll just jump down my throat and throw accusations
at me that won’t help. I’m stressed beyond all hope. I
messed up big time and now it’s come back to haunt me.”

“Okay,” she said, taking his hand in hers, thinking he
looked like death warmed over. “This sounds really
serious.”

“It is,” he admitted, his voice breaking. “You know about
my buckle bunnies… I know you do…”
“Yeah, what’s that got to do with anything?” she asked,
surprised that he would actually bring it up.

“I had one … I’m going to call her a regular. We were
together at every stop for a really long time. I started to
really look forward to seeing her. I think I came close to
being addicted… Then she was just gone and I was
miserable. For over two years now, I have felt as if my
heart had been ripped out of my chest and now she’s living
here in town taking care of her sister…”

“How is this a problem, Jeff?”

“There’s a child… a baby girl. I thought she was
Dana’s
sister’s kid… but she’s not. She’s mine… ours. I’m a dad,
Laurie… and I don’t know what to do about it.”
Travis was at their side now and he wrapped his arm
around Laurie and looked at Jeff. “Are you prepared to let
your child go?” he asked, searching the other man’s face
for some clue as to what advice he was looking for.

“No way. That’s one thing I can’t do, not when her mother
is such a mess,” Jeff answered hysterically.

“Well then the only thing for it is to give up your playboy
lifestyle, because with the way you’re living, you have no
leg to stand on where the child is concerned. Unless you
settle down with the mother and be a family, she can take
your daughter and leave and there would be nothing you
can do about it.”

Jeff gave Laurie a nasty
glare. “I didn’t come here to listen
to you complain or rub my mistakes in my face, sis. If that
was what I wanted, I would have gone to Eric about this.”

“She’s right you know,” Travis soothed quietly. A look of
horror passed over Laurie’s face and he wondered what
he’d said wrong. Then her legs began to shake and a puddle
formed at her feet. His eyes grew large and he got to his
feet.

“Was that your water?”

She nodded her head in confirmation and Travis swept her
up into his arms, carrying her to the truck. “You’re on your
own, Jeff. You’ll do the right thing, I’m sure.”

Jeff stood on shaking legs and watched them pull away. His
mind was torn. Part of him wanted to chase after them and
make sure that his sister was alright and the other wanted
nothing more than to go back to Dana and make things
right with her. Laurie had hit the nail on the head. The only
way he could insure his rights with Alexis was to make
sure Dana couldn’t take her and disappear when Mandy
lost her battle for her life… to win her over. He hated the
idea, but the alternative was unacceptable. He hadn’t even
spent any real time with his daughter and already he knew
he wouldn’t be able to bear losing her. The concept scared
him to death.

Making up his mind, he climbed back in his truck and
headed back to Dana’s house. His sister had her husband to
take care of her. Their brother would take care of anything
that Travis didn’t do. They could do without him… Dana
and Alexis couldn’t. They needed him and not that he’d
admit it to anyone out loud, but he needed them; in his own
way too.

The door was locked when he got there and Jeff pulled
Dana’s keys out of his pocket to let himself in the house.
When the door opened, Mandy looked up from the kitchen
table in surprise. “Jeff Schmidt? What are you doing here?
And how did you get in my house?”

He held the keys up in front of his face. “Dana’s key,” he
explained lamely. “When I left earlier, everyone was
sleeping, so I took her keys. So… where is my daughter?
Has Dana gotten her up yet?”

Mandy’s
eyes grew large in shock as his words sunk in.
Suddenly she remembered that first rodeo that she’d
dragged her sister to and how one minute Dana had been
complaining loudly about being dragged to the rodeo
against her will and the next she’d gone completely still
and silent. That had been the moment when Jeff had
walked out into the arena for the first time. Then right after
he had finished his ride, her sister had made her excuses
and ran off, claiming that she could find her own way
home.

She’d waited up
for Dana for hours that night. It had been
almost five the next morning before her sister had finally
came in that front door. She closed her eyes and counted
the number of months between that day and when Dana had
given birth to Alexis. It had driven her around the bend that
her sister still refused to talk about her daughter’s father…
to name him or to demand monetary assistance from the
deadbeat that had gotten her pregnant.

“Oh my God… it’s true,” she said, sounding flabbergasted.
“But how? … I mean… I
KNOW
how. I’m not stupid. I
know how babies are made. What I want to know is how
you managed it. Dana isn’t the sort of woman to give in to
a man who chases women of all shapes and sizes; sleeping
with so many he loses count after a while.”

“Ouch,” he mumbled under his breath.
“Don’t blame me… if the truth hurts, it’s your own fault.”

“You don’t pull any punches, do you?” Jeff asked sourly.
“I’m sorry you feel that way, but I’m here to do what’s
right. Alexis is my daughter. I didn’t know anything about
her, so you can’t blame me for not stepping up to the plate
before. The fact that I’m here now has to account for
something.”
“That depends,” Mandy said suspiciously.

“On?” he asked, leaning against the wall.

“What your intentions are towards my sister and
how long
you intend on sticking around,” she answered, leaning back
against the couch. Jeff opened his mouth to tell her it was
none of her business but at that moment Dana came down
the hall carrying Alexis in her arms. She stilled in the
doorway and stared at the cowboy standing there looking
better than any man had any right to appear.

His eyes went to Alexis and he swallowed hard as emotion
filled him. She had shyly tucked her face into Dana’s hair,
hiding from view and Jeff felt an overwhelming desire to
take her in his arms and cuddle her… to reassure her that he
wasn’t someone to be afraid of. Then he looked at the
beautiful woman holding his daughter and his libido kicked
into gear.

“Can we…?” he asked, his voice breaking before he
nodded towards the front door. He needed a moment or two
alone with Dana without her sister watching and listening
in on their every word.

Alexis started to squirm and Dana set her down on the
floor. The little girl toddled over towards Jeff and held her
tiny arms up in the air, asking to be picked up. He grinned
at her and swept her up against his chest, wrapping his arms
around her tiny body.

Dana felt like her jaw was going to hit the floor. Alexis did
not normally take to strangers. She was shy as an overall
general rule and went out of her way to cling to her
whenever she saw someone she didn’t know. When they’d
first arrived at Mandy’s house, Alexis had clung to Dana
like superglue every time her sister came anywhere near the
child. Her wanting to be put down just to go to someone
she’d never seen before in her life was not only shocking, it
was flat out unheard of.

Feeling confused, Dana followed Jeff out the front door,
closing it firmly behind herself so her sister couldn’t hear
whatever was about to be said. As it was, she knew she
would have no choice now but to explain Jeff’s presence…
Once Mandy found out that the bull riding champion was
Alexis’s father, Dana had no doubt that there would be a
rather loud argument that they would have to get through. It
wasn’t something she was looking forward to in the least,
but right at that moment, she had more than enough on her
plate as it was. Jeff was a wildcard and now that he knew
that he had a daughter, Dana didn’t know what to expect
from him.

He’d startled her the night before by insisting on sticking
around. She’d pictured the moment he found out about
Alexis at least a thousand times over the last couple of
years… Every time, she’d imagined him running away as
fast as he could … perhaps trying to throw money at her to
make himself feel better before disappearing, never to be
seen again. She honestly hadn’t seen his insistence on being
part of their daughter’s life coming.

Jeff sat down on the porch swing and held Alexis close to
his chest, enjoying the feel of her downy soft hair brushing
against his neck. He watched as Dana sat down beside him,
staring at their daughter in shock.

“What?” he asked, searching her eyes for some clue of
what had her so obviously baffled. “You thought I’d be
horrible to my own child?”

“No,” she answered in a shaky voice full of confusion.
“Just a little stunned. Alexis doesn’t normally want
anything to do with new people.”

“Perhaps she can sense that I’m not supposed to
BE
new
people,” he said bitterly. “Had you bothered to tell me
about her, I wouldn’t be a stranger to my own daughter,” he
said, rubbing his big hand over her back and holding the
back of her head as she snuggled into him as if she might
be about to fall asleep.

“Give me a break, Jeff,” Dana said, sighing heavily. “I
can’t even count how many times you made a point to tell
me that we weren’t supposed to get serious… or to remind
me that there were never going to be any strings to hold us
together. Between my feelings for you and the fact that I
found myself pregnant with your child, I knew I had to
make a clean break. Family life wasn’t what you wanted…
not with me or with any other woman. You like your
buckle bunny lovers too much… a new bed buddy at every
stop. I want better than that for my daughter. The rodeo is
your life, and I have come to grips with that. But don’t even
try making me feel guilty for protecting Alexis from having
a father who has a different woman on his arm every time
she sees him.”
Jeff groaned and wrapped the arm that wasn’t holding
Alexis up since she’d fallen asleep across the back of the
seat so that his fingertips brushed Dana’s shoulder blades.

“That’s not fair,” he said huskily. “For over a year, you
know damn good and well I wasn’t sleeping with anyone
but you. It would have kept going that way too, had you not
just up and disappeared on me. From the second I saw you
again, I’ve been trying like Hell to get you back in my bed
where you belong… So don’t you give me that crap about
my sleeping around. I was as loyal to you as a man can be
to a woman, Dana.”

“That may be true, but it was only because I made a point
to be at every stop. I made it easy for you… You didn’t
have to woo anyone to your bed, because I went willingly.
You also made a point to let me know on a regular basis
that what we had was nothing but sexual satisfaction. That
isn’t the lifestyle I wanted my daughter raised around. I had
to be able to respect myself in order to expect Alexis to
someday respect me.”