Twin Cowboys for Tamara (30 page)

“She has everything to do with it.”

“You said it yourself. You’re not your mother.”

“Right, I’m not.”

“So why would you want to set yourself up for failure and make a spectacle of yourself like this?”

“Are you saying Mom set herself up for failure by choosing to be with you?”

Dad released her hands and suddenly stood up. He limped over to the kitchen counter and slammed a fist down. “Why would you keep bringin’ Jasmine up and comparin’ her and me to you and Jess and Jax?”

“You started with the comparisons by saying that Noah and I reminded you of Mom and you. I didn’t.”

He turned to face her, pointing an accusing finger at her. “Don’t use my words against me, missy.”

“I’m only saying—”

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“Stop it, Tamara! You’re not a young’un anymore. And right now you’re acting more like your mother than you realize, trying to have your cake and eat it too. You have to make a choice and stop playing with those boys.”

“I’m not playing with anyone.” She didn’t know what she found more insulting—her dad comparing her to her mother or insinuating that she wasn’t serious about Jess and Jax. She didn’t really know
how
she felt about them, and her dad’s making her put a magnifying glass on the relationship had her questioning her morals, made her feel like a bad person.

“What do you call it?”

“I’m not calling it anything. I care about them, I enjoy being with them, and they enjoy being with me. Why can’t that be enough?”

“Don’t be coy. Are you even thinking ahead or about what you’re doin’ to those boys?”

“They’re not boys, and they’re not complaining.”

“Not now ’cause the sex his good, I’m betting. But that ain’t going to be enough if you really care about ‘em and they really care about you. What happens when you leave?”

She opened her mouth, floundering like a beached fish for a moment when her dad brought up the question that had been niggling at her for the past few weeks. She had to go home eventually, had a job, a
career
waiting for her.

“Don’t have an answer for that, huh, missy? I suggest you figure out what you want to do before you continue to string them boys along.”

“I’m not stringing anyone anywhere.” God, he made her sound like some dangerous older seductress only out for one thing. He made her sound like the cougar she acted.

Her dad raked a hand through his hair and sighed. “You need to grow up, Tamara. You need to—” He froze, body suddenly going ramrod straight before he toppled over face-first and began convulsing on the floor.

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221

Jess paused at the threshold of the waiting room, felt like this was the moment of truth. If he could get through the next few minutes without falling apart and admitting everything he knew about Bailey’s illness, then he could get through anything.

Jax didn’t seem to have any problems rushing across the room to take Tamara into his arms. He assured her that everything was going to be all right and that stress or some other non-life threatening malady had led to Bailey’s seizure.

He almost had Jess convinced, but then Jax had had a lot of experience charming women and telling them what they wanted to hear, telling tales to get his way. This situation was different though, and Jess didn’t know with whom to be more upset—Bailey for making them keep Tamara in the dark, or Jax for so easily accepting the situation.

Jess gritted his teeth and forced himself to cross the floor where he sat down on the other side of Tamara, settling his hands on her slim shoulders and gently massaging. She mumbled her appreciation against the front of Jax’s shirt before lifting her head to glance at Jess over her shoulder and give him a sad smile.

“You two are the sweetest.”

Jess bit his tongue before finally saying, “Not really.”

“We’re here for you, Tamara. Just remember that.” Jax squeezed and rubbed her arms. “And Bailey’s going to be just fine. He’s a tough old coot.”

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“Yeah,” Tamara murmured and wiped residual tears from her eyes. “I just can’t help thinking that it’s my fault. If I had just backed off and not given him such a hard time…”

Jess stared at his twin over Tamara’s shoulder, gritted his teeth and said nothing while Jax took her hand in both of his and pet and caressed it. The gaze he gave Jess plainly reminded him to
keep his
mouth shut about Bailey.

“Why would you think yourself at fault, sweetheart?” Jax asked.

“We really went at it. And I have to admit I acted kind of difficult, disagreeing with and questioning everything he said.”

“What did you two talk about anyway?” Jess asked, had a feeling he already knew before Tamara said, “You two.” She looked from him to Jax before averting her gaze.

Jess put his forefinger under her chin, urging her head up and forcing her to look at him. “What
exactly
did you and Bailey discuss?”

Tamara shrugged, looking for all the world like a little girl trying to hide a secret from her parents, looking vulnerable.

“Tam…?”

“Family stuff. I’m sure you can guess the specifics. He doesn’t approve of…us.”

“The three of us together?” Jess exchanged another look with his brother.

Tamara nodded. “One of you might be okay with him, though I’m sure he’d still take issue with the relationship. But, according to him, my wanting to be with both of you makes a mockery of us all.”

This was bad. Bailey could very well force her to choose between them when not even he or Jax had brought up that possibility.

Jess didn’t want to think of the possibility now, just like he didn’t want to face the day when Tamara would finally leave and go back to New York. He was in serious denial, and he knew it, but would an independent, strong woman like Tamara be influenced by what her father thought of her, let his opinions make decisions about her love Ebook piracy is stealing. It is a federal offense.

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life? She might if she wanted to get back in her father’s good graces, make him happy.

He had to face facts. She’d been here almost a month and no one had brought the issue of her leaving up, not him, not Jax and not Tamara. They all three just went about their business like nothing amiss had happened, dancing around the big elephant sitting in the middle of the living room.

Actually, a couple of elephants sat in the room, but only a few of them knew about the biggest one.

“How do you feel?” Jess rasped. “About the three of us?”

She shrugged again and Jess didn’t think it boded well for their future at all. His fingers itched to catch her around the shoulders and shake her, make her admit that she loved them and wanted to stay in Colorado to be with them. But how could he make demands when he and his brother hid such a big nasty secret from her, when he and his brother couldn’t bring themselves to say
I love you
to her?

“My dad accused me of playing with you two, insinuated that I’m not serious.”

“Are you playing with us?”

Jess heard his brother’s voice crack on the question that he wanted to know the answer to himself before Tamara said, “No more than you two are playing with me.”

“I can’t speak for Jax, but I’m not playing.”

“Neither am I,” Jax piped up.

“The question is what are you going to do about New York?” Jess asked.

“How can you ask me that right now?”

“How can I not?

Tamara slipped her hands from Jax’s grasp and extricated herself from the cage he and Jess represented surrounding her from front and back. She stood up and took a few steps away from them, looking from one to the other and back again. “This isn’t the time to discuss this.”

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“It’s as good a time as any, especially since we haven’t had any other opportunity to talk about what’s going on between all of us.”

Jax silently nodded his agreement.

“My father’s sick, and I don’t know how or why. I don’t have the energy or time to get into this with either of you right now.” Tamara planted her feet on the floor and her fists on her hips.

Jess could tell just from her adversarial, challenging posture that she meant her little speech to put a stop to his and Jax’s questions.

Jesus, she must be something else to see in action in the courtroom!

Jess braced himself for her further ire and stood to approach her just as Jeremiah came into the waiting room trailing the doctor who had been on duty when Bailey had been brought into the emergency room.

Jax stood and joined Jess and Tamara as they converged on the two new arrivals.

“How is he, doctor?” Tamara asked.

It didn’t escape Jess how the doctor looked to Jeremiah before answering, and he held his breath wondering if Bailey had come to his senses and decided to let his daughter know about his illness.

“He’s conscious and doing quite well. Actually he’s ready to go.”

“You’re releasing him?”

“Medically, there’s no reason to keep him.”

How could that be? Jess wondered and noticed how the doctor avoided saying anything specific about Bailey’s condition or why he’d had a seizure.

Tamara noticed it too and, evidently not willing to let things go, asked, “What’s wrong with him? What caused the seizure?”

Jess could imagine the territory tricky for the doctor what with doctor-patient confidentiality and all. Did that apply to lying to the patient’s family to keep his patient’s trust?

The doctor put a hand on Tamara’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go in and talk to him? He’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

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Jess held in a gasp of surprise as best he could and wondered if Bailey would let them all off the hook. A man could hope anyway.

Tamara opened her mouth to ask another question, but the doctor squeezed her arm and said, “Talk to him.”

She nodded, and they all watched as the doctor left.

“Well, I guess that’s that.” Tamara said and turned to him and Jax.

“Care to come in with me to see what’s up?”

“Sure,” Jax said without hesitation.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Jess murmured.

Tamara turned to Jeremiah who looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and Jess imagined it couldn’t have been easy to keep Bailey’s secret all this time.
He’d
held the burden for only a week himself and already buckled under the strain. Would things have been less stressful if Tamara wasn’t back at the ranch, in the flesh and they didn’t all have to look her in the face every day?

“You kids go in for a spell. I’m going to hold down the fort out here. I’ve had about all I can take of the ornery cuss for one night.”

Tamara chuckled and leaned in to kiss Jeremiah on the cheek.

“Thanks for being here.”

“Ah, don’t thank me. Where else would I be?”

She ensconced herself between Jess and Jax, hooking an arm in each of theirs and said. “Let’s go face the firing squad then.”

Jess thought a firing squad would be a thousand times more pleasant.

They walked down the hall to the treatment room where Bailey had originally been brought, and saw him sitting up in bed, pulling on his shirt—blood still on the collar from where he had hit his head on the floor—while he gave the nurse a hard time, as expected.

“I ain’t stayin’ another minute, missy, so you can get this bed ready for someone who needs it.”

Tamara crossed the room and stood at his side while Jess and Jax stood sentry on the threshold like good little lovers and co-conspirators.

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Jess saw her wince at the white gauze bandage on her father’s forehead and the burgeoning shiner under his right eye. “Shouldn’t you stay as a precaution? Just for one night?”

“You sound like that young’un doctor. And no, I shouldn’t. I’m fine and dandy. I had low blood sugar and a touch of dehydration is all. Doc gave me a few stitches and cleared me to go home. End of story.”

So that’s the story he’d decided to go with, hypoglycemia and dehydration? Pretty clear, Jess thought, but could see Tamara slipped on her lawyerly, interrogator’s cap.

“What caused the low blood sugar? Are you diabetic, Dad?”

“Yeah, that’s it. I just missed one too many meals is all, and my sugar dropped.”

Tamara eyed him suspiciously, and Jess wondered how much of Bailey’s story she bought, how much of it he had rehearsed in his head before they’d come to get him. He had to admit the man lied well. But then he’d had a lot of practice, at least as far as it involved his illness. Who knew when or if he and Jax would have found out about the cancer had Jax not stumbled on Bailey and their father in the hospital? They would probably be in the dark right now, just like Tamara.

Ignorance certainly was bliss, Jess decided.

He wondered if that’s what had actually happened when Bailey fell off of his horse. Had he had a dizzy spell or a seizure and not been thrown when the horse came across a snake? Jess had always been suspicious of the latter scenario, and as if reading his mind, Tamara folded her arms across her breasts and asked, “Is that how you broke your leg? Did you have a seizure and fall off your horse?”