Having His Baby

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“What do you think I should do, little sister?”

“I think you should ask Donna to marry you—today!” Tallie pointed her finger up at Jake’s face. “You may have been an irresponsible renegade all your life, but you’re thirty-six years old. It’s high time you settled down. You’re a father now and that means you’ll have to—”

“Let him have a breather,” Caleb said. “Something tells me that Jake is going to do the right thing on his own, without your preaching him a sermon.”

“Jake shouldn’t marry Donna in order to do the right thing,” Sheila said. “Marriage is about love and wanting to share the rest of your life with someone.”

“We have to think of little Louisa Christine,” Susan said. “The baby is the most important person in all this.”

While his family made their feelings known—in no uncertain terms—Jake felt the heavy weight of reality fall on his shoulders. He had fathered a child. Nothing could change that fact. Just a few yards away, inside the Magnolia Suite, was a baby girl he had helped create one hot summer night in New Mexico. And there was a lady, whose reputation, when the whole truth came out, would, no doubt, be ruined in Marshall County.

The trouble was, he didn’t know a damn thing about Donna. Hell, he still didn’t know her last name. But if she was friends with his sister and sisters-in-law, then that meant she was probably a fine woman. His instincts told him that she was a thoroughbred, a true lady, which meant she probably wouldn’t be interested in hitching up with a beat-up, uneducated cowboy whose greatest ambition in life was to own a quarter horse ranch.

But Tallie was right. He was thirty-six. He’d been an irresponsible drifter and hell-raiser most of his life. Maybe it was past time he settled down. Wasn’t that one of the reasons he’d come home to Tennessee, why he’d made Old Man Henry an offer on his ranch? He was tired of roaming Tired of not having a home of his own Tired of bein alone.

Dr. Farr emerged from Donna’s suite. “Y’all can go i and see the new mother and baby now.” He placed hi hand on Jake’s shoulder. “I’m glad you were here fc Donna during the delivery.”

The Bishop clan descended upon Donna en masse, Hank Caleb and Peyton standing back and observing as Susar Sheila and Tallie circled the bed. Jake stood in the door way, a hard ball of uncertainty lying heavily in the pit o his stomach.

Tallie eased over beside her newborn niece. “Oh, she i a beauty. Look at that mane of black hair and those bi brown eyes. She’s the spitting image of Jake!”

A numbing sensation spread quickly through Jake’ body. He wanted to turn around and walk away, but hi legs wouldn’t cooperate. You’re not ready for this! an inne voice warned. What kind of father would you be? You don know the first thing about babies, especially baby girls. D that little girl and her mother a favor and get out of thei lives.

“Have you held her yet, Jake?” Tallie asked as she lifted the infant in her arms. “Come here and take your daughter.”

Jake hesitated momentarily. All eyes were on him. H forced himself to move, to cross the room and accept th bundle that his sister offered him. His hands trembled. Hi arms stiffened. The tiny newborn felt weightless. What th hell was he doing? His gut tightened painfully.

Holding the infant as if she were made of glass, Jake gazed down at his daughter. His daughter! She wriggled He tensed, then quickly offered her to Tallie.

“Here, do something with her before I drop her.”

Tallie laughed, took the child from him and carried her over so that her other two aunts could coo over her adoringly. Jake watched while the women made a fuss over Louisa. Louisa Christine. He still thought the name was too much for a baby. He liked the idea of calling her Christy, but figured Donna wouldn’t approve.

What difference does it make anyway? That inner voice asked. You probably won’t be a major part of her life. Unless you marry Donna.

He glanced over at the bed just in time to see Donna take the baby in her arms. The picture was perfect. Madonna and child. Mother and daughter.

“You’ve got yourself a peach of a mother, kiddo,” Jake said to himself. “A beautiful, classy lady. But I’m afraid your old man isn’t much of a prize.”

Susan lowered her infant son close to the newborn. “Lowell, I’d like to introduce you to your cousin, Louisa. You two are going to be really good friends.”

“I think we should all leave and let the mama and papa have some time alone,” Hank suggested. “We can come back tomorrow for another visit.”

“I’ll be going home tomorrow afternoon,” Donna said.

“Dr. Farr told me that there’s no reason to keep me and Louisa more than twenty-four hours. That’s pretty much hospital procedure these days.”

“We’ll come over to your house tomorrow night,” Sheila said. “I’ll bring supper and Susan and I can help you adjust to being home.”

“Thanks. I’d appreciate that.” Donna caressed little Louisa’s rosy cheek. “I’ve hired a nanny, but she won’t start work until next week.”

Had he heard her correctly? Jake wondered. A nanny? If Donna could afford a nanny, that had to mean she had a job and money of her own. She wouldn’t need him to hell support their child.

But fathers are needed for more than financial support he reminded himself. A kid needs a father around all the time, even a little girl.

Jake waited until his family had left before he approached Donna’s bed. She seemed totally absorbed in her inspection of their child. He cleared his throat. She ignored him. He cleared his throat again—louder. She glanced up a frown marring her pleasant features.

“I think maybe we should talk, don’t you?” he said.

“What’s there to talk about?”

“About you and me and—” he nodded toward the infan “—our child.”

“She’s my child, Jake. I’ve never thought of her any other way. I don’t expect you to take any responsibility for her, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Heat rose up Jake’s neck and spread across his face Donna’s comment pushed all the wrong buttons, bringing his temper to the boiling point.

“Dammit, woman! Did you ever stop to think I migh want to take responsibility? That I might want to play a part in my daughter’s life?”

That’s what she’d been afraid of—that Jake Bishop might want to be a real father to her baby girl. Donna didn’ want this big, roughneck cowboy to be a part of Louisa’s life in any way. After their weekend in Plain City, she’d thought she would never see him again. Having a brie affair with the man was one thing, but having him become a permanent part of her life was another thing altogether!

“Yes, I did consider the possibility that you might wan to be a part of Louisa’s life, but I dismissed the notion,’ Donna said. ”After all, you’re hardly the type of mar who’d want to be tied down to a woman and child. And there is the fact that you and I hardly know each other.”

“We spent two days and two nights together!” Jake’s voice bellowed.

Louisa stirred in her mother’s arms, then she whimpered. “Hush! You’re scaring her.” Donna glared menacingly at him. “During that two days and two nights, we didn’t have one meaningful conversation.”

“Sugar, you weren’t any more interested in conversation than I was. I gave you what you wanted. I gave it to you over and over again ”

Donna’s amber eyes flashed golden fire. Her cheeks flared crimson. “You egotistical, macho jerk!”

Jake moved closer to her bedside, leaned over so that their faces were at the same level and smiled wickedly at her. “We should get married as soon as possible.”

“What!” Donna screamed the word.

Louisa whimpered, then cried. Donna cuddled the child close to her bosom and crooned comforting nonsensical words to her She glared at Jake.

“Go away! I don’t need you and I don’t want you. And neither does Louisa.”

Jake cupped the back of his daughter’s tiny head. It filled his huge palm. “Do you think it’s that easy to get rid of me? I’m not going anywhere until we set up some ground rules concerning my daughter. And you’re dead wrong if you think she doesn’t need me or want me ” He took the infant away from Donna and up into his arms. Trembling inside as if his body had been hit by an earthquake, Jake lifted the whimpering baby up against his chest, patted her back and said, “It’s all right, Sugar Baby. Daddy’s got you now.”

Donna looked up at the big man cradling Louisa against his chest and, for just a moment, couldn’t breathe. The sight of father and child overwhelmed her senses. There was something so essentially right about the two of them together. Strength protecting helplessness. A powerful man guarding what was his.

The awareness of Jake as her child’s father surprised Donna. She had tried not to think about J.B. during the months she was carrying Louisa, though memories of that weekend had often invaded her thoughts. And in the hours since she’d learned her weekend lover was actually Jake Bishop, she had refused to acknowledge the possibility that he would play a significant part in her daughter’s life.

But here he was now, as big, powerful and rugged as he’d been the first night he’d held her in his arms at the Blue Bonnet Grill—the night she’d lost her mind and succumbed to purely physical pleasure. She’d fought the memory of this man for nine months, but he had wreaked havoc on her subconscious. How many nights had she awakened, hot and aroused, after dreaming about him? Even now, only hours after giving birth, she couldn’t deny the strong attraction she felt for Jake. And the sight of his gentle hold on her baby did crazy things to her heart.

“Jake, I think we should talk—really talk—about our situation.” Donna motioned for him to come to her.

Carrying Louisa in his arms, he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, then turned their daughter so that she rested between them.

“I don’t especially care for the name Louisa Christine,” Jake said. “But as long as her last name is Bishop, I won’t object.”

Donna clenched her teeth to keep from making a stinging reply. Just what was wrong with her grandmothers’s names? “You want your name on her birth certificate?”

“Damn right I do! She’s a Bishop and I want her name to be Bishop on her birth certificate.”

“All right,” Donna agreed, rationalizing to herself that if she gave in to him on this matter, he might be more reasonable when it came to other things—things about which she wasn’t willing to compromise.

“I’m going to stay the night with y’all tonight.” Jake gazed down adoringly at Louisa. “I’ll run over to Hank’s in the morning to shower and shave and then I’ll come back and take you and my sweet sugar baby home.”

“That won’t be necessary—” When she noticed the fury in Jake’s dark eyes, she decided it was best to change tactics. “All right, you can stay the night and then take us home tomorrow afternoon. But when your family leaves, after supper, I expect you to leave, too.”

“I’m going to be working for Old Man Henry out at his ranch for the next few months,” Jake told her. “Once we get married, I can drive out there everyday, but when he sells the place to me, I’ll want us to move out there and live on the ranch.”

Live on a ranch? Around smelly horses? With a man she barely knew? She didn’t think so.

“About our getting married—” she began.

“I’ll give you some time to get used to the idea. I know you’ll need to recuperate from giving birth and all, so let’s set a date for six weeks from now.” The corners of Jake’s mouth curved into a devilish smile. “We wouldn’t want to waste our wedding night.”

Donna’s cheeks flushed. Dammit, she was too old to be blushing, but the thought of a wedding night with Jake was almost more than she could bear. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t forget what it had been like to be his lover for sixty of the most passionate, hedonistic and wildest hours of her life. She didn’t know much about Jake Bishop, but she knew he was, without a doubt, an incredible lover.

“I’ll agree to think about your marriage proposal over the next six weeks, but I’m afraid it’s out of the question for you to live with Louisa and me.”

Holding the back of her head securely, Jake lifted the baby up toward her mother. “Did you hear what Mommy said? She doesn’t want me to live with y’all. What do you say to that, Sugar Baby?”

As if on cue, Louisa began to whimper. Jake grinned.

“Give her to me,” Donna told him. “And wipe that silly grin off your face. The whimper wasn’t a statement of her feelings toward your not living with us. She probably needs to be nursed.”

“Nursed?”

“Yes, nursed. I’m breast-feeding Louisa.”

Jake felt as if he’d been poleaxed between the eyes. The thought of his child at Donna’s breast created an array of emotions inside him. Surprise. Tenderness. Arousal. Curiosity.

He handed the baby over to her mother. “Here you go, Sugar Baby. Mama’s serving dinner.”

Donna groaned. What a typically crude male thing to say! Mama’s serving dinner, indeed! “Please stop calling Louisa ‘Sugar Baby.’ Nicknames often stick. She’d be terribly embarrassed if children at school called her such a silly, juvenile name.”

“I don’t care for the name Louisa and you’ve already vetoed Lou and Christy.” Jake rose from the side of the bed. “She’s my sweet sugar baby and that’s what I’m going to call her:”

Donna huffed. “Oh, all right. But for now, just go away.” She shooed him with one hand. “Go eat dinner or buy some cigars or something.”

“You’re right. I should buy some cigars before Hank and Caleb come back to the hospital.” Jake headed toward the door, paused, turned and grinned at Donna. “Maybe I’ll buy the pink bubble gum kind, since the Bishop brothers don’t smoke.”

Donna breathed a sigh of relief when Jake finally left her room. Whenever she was around him, she felt as if she were caught in the swirl of a cyclone that swept her far from the safety of home. There was something about him—something primeval—that overwhelmed her whenever they were together.

She couldn’t let him take charge of her life, push her into a marriage she didn’t want and destroy the life she had planned for herself and Louisa. Once she’d settled in at home and had gained back her strength, she would confront Jake and explain to him how disastrous it would be for them to marry. There was no way on earth a marriage between them could work. From what she knew of Hank and Caleb Bishop’s big brother, she realized that he wasn’t the type of man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, nor was he the kind of father Louisa would need. Better no father than a wild hellion womanizer, who’d never be able to settle down and be a faithful husband and devoted parent.

Jake pulled out his credit card, handed it to the salesclerk at the florist shop in the Marshallton Mall and waited for her to ring up his order. He knew that if he were going to persuade Donna to marry him, he’d have to woo her first. He hadn’t ever really thought about marriage. Not seriously. He’d figured that he was meant to die an old bachelor. But having a child changed all that. His own father had been a worthless burn and his grandfather had been a stern, cold care-giver. He wanted better for his daughter. Sugar Baby deserved a devoted, full-time father. A man who’d be around when she needed him. And the only way he could give his baby girl what she needed most from him was by marrying her mother.

He didn’t kid himself about the chances for a happy marriage. Donna wasn’t in love with him and he wasn’t in love with her. But the sex they’d shared had been damn good, some of the best he’d ever had. And marriages had succeeded on far less. He was past the age to expect both passion and love in a relationship. He’d be more than happy to settle for passion—and possession of his child and the woman who’d given birth to her.

“We’ll deliver those to your wife’s suite this evening, Mr. Bishop,” the blond salesclerk said. “She’s going to love two dozen pink roses.”

“I hope she does.”

“She will.” The young woman smiled flirtatiously at Jake. “Congratulations on becoming a father. I take it, from your ordering pink roses, that it was a girl.”

Jake grinned broadly. “Yep. Nine pounds, five ounces. And she looks just like me.”

“Lucky little girl. She must be beautiful.”

“Ah, shucks, ma’am, you’ll make me blush,” Jake said. “By the way, do you happen to know where the nearest toy store is?”

“Toyland is on the second level here at the mall. Just take the escalator and it’s the third store on the outside right.”

“Thanks.” Jake signed the sales slip, pocketed his credit card and tipped his Stetson to the smiling clerk.

Within half an hour, Jake had chosen the items he wanted, paid for them and headed back to the hospital. When he arrived outside Donna’s suite, a giant pink teddy bear under one arm and two big baby dolls under the other, he met his brothers.

“Well, well, what have we here?” Caleb asked. “Looks like the proud new papa has been on a shopping spree.”

“Where’s your women folk?” Jake asked. “And Tallie and Peyt?”

“Peyton had an emergency at the capitol, so he had to rush back to Nashville,” Hank said. “Tallie went with him. She said to tell you and Donna that she’d be back for the - christening or the wedding, whichever comes first.”

“Sheila and Susan are in there with Donna,” Caleb said. “They’re admiring the roses you sent. I think they’re trying to persuade the mother of your child that you aren’t such a bad guy.”