The Boy Next Door (76 page)

“Hey, c’mon, it’s okay.  We can figure it out, okay?  I’m not gonna just disappear.”

“You did for a while.”

“Yeah, but in my defense, I didn’t know.”

She nodded, the tiny tears slipped over her cheeks.

“So you…you want the baby?”

“Yeah.  I mean, I think so.  I don’t know.  See, I don’t have any family other than my doofus brother.  Our parents died a few years ago, and I’ve been raising him.  But it would just feel weird to not keep family.”

Greyson rested his forehead on her knee.  “I don’t have family either.  I mean, not really.  My mom disappeared years ago and my father died a few years back.  I have some extended family types, but I don’t have anything to do with them.”

Char laid her hand on his muscular back and rested her forehead against the back of his head.

“Wanna stay here tonight?” he offered hopefully.

“Yes please,” she whispered.

She fell asleep still clothed and wrapped in his arms.  Greyson lay in the dark room and stared at the cracked and dirty ceiling.

What the fuck
, he thought. 
What am I going to do?  There’s no way she knows who I am really.  If she did, I would have heard about this through some tabloid magazine or her lawyer.  But I have to tell her.  I can’t let her find out somewhere else; then the lawyers will really get involved.  I guess...  I have space enough.  Maybe they can have the pool house.  No the guest house would be better.  It’s bigger and has at least two bedrooms.  And a kitchen.

As he drifted off to sleep, one more thought tickled his overtaxed mind.

I can’t turn away family either.

The next morning, Char was still there when he woke up so he roused her gently.

“Í have something I need to show you,” he whispered softly.

She nodded sleepily, and he was sorely tempted to crawl back in bed next to her.  He took a deep breath before firing up the Charger and heading towards the estate.  He pulled into a drive through window and bought them breakfast sandwiches and coffee. 

“I’m a man ruled by two organs,” he smiled ruefully.

When Char laughed, it was surprisingly light and genuine.

“Like any other man I’ve ever met.”

As he wove through the city streets, Greyson could tell she was taking it all in.  They passed through the older houses, the ones that probably still had the original orange shag carpet and avocado green refrigerator; past the middle class neighborhoods with their cookie cutter houses and yards; and through the upper class areas with the pools and wrought iron fences.

He finally pulled up to his own estate and Char was gaping at the expanse of the property.

“Where are we?”

Even as the gate slid open for him, Greyson put the Charger in park and turned to face her.

“I have to admit something.”

“What?  You’re a gardener here or something?  Like manual labor?”

He shook his head.  “Not really.  I own this.  This is my home.”

Her pretty little mouth fell open, and she stared back and forth between his face and the entrance to the estate.  Greyson was very good at reading people, and he read perfectly clearly, that she was in genuine shock.

“And I want you all to come live here, at least until the baby’s born, you and your brother.  My guest house is pretty nice and should be plenty of room.  Look, I travel a lot and business has been pretty crazy lately, but I want you all to live here.”

Char continued to stare at him.

“See, I don’t…  I can’t turn away family either.  And no matter where this ends up, we’re family now.”

She let out a little gasp that sounded more like a whimper.

“What?  What is it?”

“My brother’s going to flip his lid,” she breathed.

Greyson laughed.  “I gotta be there for that.  He’s a little high-strung anyway!”

She chuckled.  “That he is.  But really.  Are you sure?  I mean, this is insane.  I just wanted to tell you about the baby, that’s all.  I-I-I didn’t know about any of this.”

“I’ve been around long enough to know the difference,” he smiled.  “So what do you say?”

She lightly rested one hand on his thigh and smiled up at his chiseled jawline and concerned eyes.

“Let’s make a family.”

THE END

Ordered by a Cowboy Billionaire

Chapter one

I sit here on the train and I feel like my life is not my own. I have on a black dress, as I feel that I’m mourning the loss of one life in place of another. I grieve for the woman that I was supposed to be and I know that that woman has now been buried six feet under for all eternity.

I want to scream, but I have no idea who will listen or even give a damn about my feelings. My father certainly didn’t care. I had gotten myself in this, because I felt like I had an obligation to my family. I was an only child and my mother had died at childbirth, leaving my father to raise me on his own.

I’m not saying that he wasn’t a good provider, but he was a bit domineering and he expected me to take the place of the woman in the household. I didn’t know any better and I cooked and I cleaned and made sure that his house was made up properly for guests and anybody else that was going to come calling. I knew my place, but I felt that there was room for me to escape after I reached a certain age. I just turned eighteen and I was contemplating taking my show on the road. I wanted nothing more to do with my father, but then he came to me with this ill-advised plan that made me almost sick to my stomach.

I remembered the day that he approached me, coming into the kitchen and sitting down at the table with an angst expression on his face. “Nicole, I’m afraid that I have some distressing news. Our crops have been dying as a result of this heat wave. We don’t have enough money to keep a roof over our head and food in our bellies. I want you to know that I’ve been over this from every angle and I’ve come to a painful conclusion.”

I sat down with him, holding his hand and making him give me eye contact. “Whatever it is, Father, we can deal with it together, as a family. We’ve always been able to get through anything and this is not going to be any different than that.” I could see that he was struggling with something and the very fact that he had come in here to sit down with me had told me just how serious this was.

“You don’t understand, Nicole. We need an immediate influx of cash, or we’re going to lose everything. I might be able to hold them off at the bank for a few months, but we’re still not going to be able to come up with near enough to keep the family homestead. I know that this is not going to sit well with you, but I’m afraid that we have no choice. I’ve been in contact with a young man named Evan and he has expressed interest in a mail order bride. I’ve been talking to him on and off with correspondence and I have pretended to be you.”

I was aghast, looking at him shocked and wondering if slapping my father was in good taste. “You should have talked to me about this, before you went ahead and did it, Father. I don’t know what you want me to say. This is an invasion of my privacy and makes me feel like you’re treating me like common cattle. I would hope that after everything that I’ve done for this family that you would treat me with a little bit more respect than that.” I was hoping that my pleas would make him back down, but his stubbornness was quite evident by the way that he was crossing his arms in defiance.

“You don’t understand. I’m not giving you a choice. He’s going to be expecting you. I have all the letters that he wrote you and I hope that will make you see reason. As your father, I do what’s best for the family and this will make it possible for us to stand on our own feet again. Your sacrifice will not be in vain and I’m sure that you can leave him at any time. Nothing is cut in stone but you’re just going to have to meet him and see if sparks fly. I’ve already arranged for the stagecoach to take you to the train station. You are to leave tomorrow morning. I’m sorry that it comes as sudden, but I really didn’t want to give you the chance to convince me otherwise.”

I learned a long time ago that my father was pigheaded, but I had also learned that crocodile tears and getting on his nerves was a good way to make him change his mind.

“You purposely waited until this time to tell me because you didn’t want me to have the opportunity to wear you down. I’ll take a look at the letters, but I make no promises.” I grabbed the letters from his hand, most likely leaving him with a paper cut, but it was not anything that he didn’t deserve. “I’ll make my decision in the morning.”

I stomped off, leaving him to fend for himself for supper. It was already on the stove, but he could barely boil water. I went upstairs, knowing that I was going to have to do his bidding, but feeling slightly empowered by at least standing up for myself.

I read the letters and I was mildly amused by this man Evan’s need for affection. Evan promised me the world on a silver platter and despite my misgivings I began to think that it might not be such a bad way to escape the never-ending hell that I was already in. I had been thinking about leaving, but I had very little money and most likely would have to rely on the kindness of strangers and possibly the church. The one thing that I had was my faith and the cross around my neck was a constant reminder that God was always standing with me.

“Nicole, I’ve been writing you for some time and I feel that I’ve come to know you. I do hope that our meeting goes well and I’m really looking forward to seeing if we are compatible. For everything that I’ve read from you, I have to say that I’ve been pleasantly surprised. You sound like a very hard worker and you know the value of a dollar. That’s not something that everybody can say and I would never take that for granted. You know that I have more than enough money to care for you and any children that come into our lives. I am what most people call a land baron and I do my best to be fair, but I am also ruthless in the right light. I very much look forward to seeing your smiling face.”

There was no way to send my likeness and we were just going to have to go on the hope that we would like what we saw. I condemned my father to stay in the house and I pretended to be upset, when I couldn’t be further from it. I scowled and I slammed the door a little harder than necessary to get my point across. The two bags that I carried was everything that I had in my closet and even a couple of gold coins that I had absconded with from my father’s collection. He didn’t know that I knew he had them and that he would never give them up to anyone. It was even possible that he would never find out that I had taken a couple of them.

“I hope that you can forgive me, Nicole. It was never my intention to make you do something like this, but we’ve come to the end of our rope.” From the letters that I had read, he had also arranged for a sizable payment in return for my favor. It was wired to my father and I really did feel like he was taking advantage of the situation. “There’s no reason to be this angry. Believe me, I don’t want to lose you, but this is beyond our control.”

The only reason why he didn’t want to lose me was because he couldn’t take care of himself. His clothes, his food and even the land that he owned were being taken care of by me. He was lazy and I had to contend with the fact that he would not lift a finger. He told me that it was because of an injury, but I had yet to see any indication of such.

I stood at the doorway, glaring in his direction and then turning with a smile on my face that would light up like the sun in the noonday sky. I wanted to tell him that I was looking forward to never seeing him ever again, but I didn’t think that it was right to rub it in.

As I got on the stagecoach, I was taken to the nearby train station and I waited for the number nine engine to roll in. I barely made conversation with anyone. I wanted to be alone with my own thoughts, curling my blonde hair with my finger, as a sign of nervousness. I had ringlets that went down over my shoulders and the dress that I wore was a testament to the way that I was feeling, or at least the way that I wanted my father to think that I was feeling. I was going to change before I got to my final destination, as I really didn’t want him to think that I was upset by this current state of affairs.

Chapter two

I heard the train whistle and it made me cringe, but also gave me a sense of excitement for the future. Evan sounded like a good man and he had a kind of money that he could afford to keep me in luxuries for the rest of my life. I wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted in return, except for companionship and possible family. I’m sure that he could have gotten that from anyone, so why did he have to go this way to find what he wanted? Maybe he was worried that people would not take him seriously and they would only be after his money. I could understand something like that.

I got up, picked up my two bags and got down onto the platform with the sticky heat now making my clothes snug to my frame. The black dress had now been replaced by a blue one that I had sewn with my own two hands. We couldn’t afford much, but whatever hand me downs I could find that the church was willing to give, I made them fit my considerable body. I was not big, but I did think that I could lose a few pounds. I liked that I could push my weight around and that I had this motherly quality that made most people think that I had already been blessed with children.

“Do I dream that you might be Nicole Fallon?”

I turn to see this man with a black cowboy hat, vest to match and a bolo tie that really did look like he didn’t have a female around to hold his hand. “This vision of loveliness can’t be the one and only Nicole Fallon. Is this a mirage, or are you truly the one that is going to make my life complete?”

He was handsome with a slight scruff and a pair of green eyes that almost felt like they could see right through me. His jeans were dirty, as if he had just come from cattle rustling.

“I take it that you’re Evan Johnson. It’s nice to finally meet you. Your letters don’t really do you justice. You make me think that there are some good ones left out there. I was taught that anyone that was worth their salt was already married or involved. Why is it that a considerable man like yourself is alone?” I don’t think that there was any reason to beat around the bush and the fact that he was alone was a little bit of a warning sign.

“I’m really not much for socializing and the idea of going to a bar and drinking is not something that I would like to do. I find talking to women a little unnerving and I never know if they’re going to slap me across the face. I don’t like rejection and this way I get what I want without having to worry about any of the ugliness. I don’t know if you understand what I’m trying to say, but I took from your letters that you were worldly and you knew how life worked.” Being the gentleman, he picked up my bags and carried them like they weighed nothing.

“I can appreciate your need for discretion, Evan. I understand that this is not exactly what most people do. This mail order bride situation is a bit more than most people can accept and I want you to know that I do not feel any ill will towards you for going this direction. You obviously have your reasons and we did make an agreement. I would like to go over some of the parameters and find out what exactly you are truly looking for.”

I saw him stop a few feet away from a black stallion. Its eyes narrowed in on me and I could feel that Evan was worried about something that was hanging in the air.

“I just want somebody to spend my life with. It gets lonely out on the ranch and I only come into town for provisions. My animals are nice, but it’s not even near the feeling of a body close to me. I’m not suggesting that we have anything sexual, but if things progress to that point, then the more the better. I’m going to go out on a limb and tell you that I find you attractive. Your smile makes me feel unworthy of being anywhere near you. You obviously have a high opinion of yourself and I could tell that you’re most likely self-sufficient. The fact that you would even contemplate something like this must mean that you are doing it for your own reasons. I’m not going to pry, but if you need to get it off your chest, then I am more than happy to listen.”

He was being gallant, but I could still sense an underlying reason for him getting involved with somebody like me. He was obviously a church loving man and I could tell from the cross around his neck that we had that in common. “I think everybody wants somebody in their life. Being lonely is not something that we strive for. We think in our youth that it’s going to be easy, but sometimes it’s easier for some than others.”

He lifted me onto the horse with ease and he climbed up behind me with his arms wrapped around to the reins. He was a man that I wanted to get to know better.

He slapped the horse and it began to trot through town with people staring at us with condemnation. He had obviously slipped to some of his friends that he was doing this and it had gotten back to the rest of the locals. Their eyes were judging me seven ways from Sunday and instead of shying away, I stared back with daggers to make sure that they knew that I wasn’t going anywhere.

The dust settled behind us and we were soon moving away from town and away from those that didn’t know a good thing when they saw it. “I do apologize for that, Nicole. Sometimes I let my mouth run wild. I thought that I could trust a couple of my friends with my secret and it became painfully clear that they couldn’t keep their mouths shut to save their life. Believe me, they got a good working over. If you haven’t noticed, my knuckles are a little bruised and bloody from showing them how I felt.” I could see the makings of a black eye. He was going to need a piece of raw meat to bring down the swelling. I only knew this because my father was a loud-mouthed drunk.

“I’m glad that you were protecting my honor, but there wasn’t any reason. We hadn’t even met yet. But, I do commend you on acting like a man. I’m not usually one to condone violence, but in this respect, I will make an exception.”