brides for brothers 04 - cowboy surrender Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover Page

  Dear Reader

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  Copyright

  Dear Reader,

  Jake Randall stopped at nothing to get little brothers Chad, Pete and Brett married off and populating the Randall ranch with herds of little ones. Well, the tables get turned in this one, the last of my 4 BRIDES FOR 4 BROTHERS miniseries.

  I love big families who care about each other, and I love cowboys. Out there on their Wyoming ranch, the Randall brothers fill both bills. As oldest brother and keeper of the family, Jake felt responsible for the fact that none of his brothers had married, so he set out to play Cupid for them. Like most big brothers, he thought he knew best. And like most younger brothers, Chad, Pete and Brett didn’t cooperate. I hope their stories made you laugh out loud and made you want to join the Randalls in their pursuit of love.

  I’m sorry to have to leave the ranch and say goodbye to the Randall brothers. They’ve been great company to me. I hope you’ve enjoyed their stories as much as I have.

  Best wishes,

  Cowboy Surrender

  Judy

  Christenberry

  To Barbara Hunt, who, like Jake, feels responsible for

  the rest of us. No one could ask for a better sister.

  Prologue

  “You need to sell your cows and replace them with ostriches.”

  Jake Randall’s head jerked up, and he stared at the woman sitting to his left at the kitchen table. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Ostriches are the latest thing. I’m sure you would do well with them. And you should paint your barns red. That’s the color people expect to see.”

  Even as he spoke to his guest, Jake turned to glare at his sister-in-law Janie, seated halfway down the table. “I didn’t realize you were an authority on ranching, Miss Quentin.”

  “Just a case of using common sense. I think the ranch would be more attractive if your employees wore uniforms, too. Maybe black pants and turquoise shirts.”

  Jake swallowed carefully before saying, “Thank you for the suggestion. Are you going to be in Wyoming long?” He hoped not.

  Janie spoke before her friend could answer. “Allison is thinking of settling here.”

  “Oh, really,” Jake sent a silent prayer upward that she chose another part of the vast state of Wyoming, far away from the Randall spread he and his brothers owned.

  “It all depends,” Allison Quentin murmured, suddenly batting her eyes at Jake. “I’m in Wyoming to find a husband. I’ve heard women are scarce out here.”

  Not that scarce.

  “MR. RANDALL, I’m so glad you could join Megan and me for lunch,” the blonde gushed, patting his arm with a soft hand capped with bright red talons that any self-respecting wolf would’ve been proud of.

  “My pleasure, Miss Baker,” he said politely, but he shot a look of frustration at Megan. His sister-in-law had asked him to accompany her shopping for a present for her husband, his brother Chad. She had neglected to mention a previous lunch engagement until a couple of minutes ago.

  The blonde’s statuesque figure was encased in a tight black dress, cut low to expose her charms. When she leaned toward him to talk, Jake had a fascinating picture in his mind of her popping out of the dress like a hot dog bursting from its skin when it was cooked.

  “I’m thrilled to meet a real live cowboy,” Mindy Baker cooed. Her hand traveled up and down his sleeve, as if seeking entrance to what lay below the fabric.

  “You’ve never met Chad, Megan’s husband?”

  She giggled, her bosom shaking like gelatin. “Well, of course I have, silly, but he’s married.”

  “Cowboys can’t be married?”

  “Of course they can, but I’m not interested in married cowboys.” She batted her fake eyelashes at him.

  Uh-oh. Not again!

  JAKE LOOKED FORWARD to dinner with his family. His three brothers and their wives were pleasant company, and his new twin nephews were special delights.

  Yeah, life was good.

  He swung into the kitchen, a smile on his face, only to find his favorite room in the house empty, the table not set for dinner. What the hell…?

  “Jake?” Red called, following him into the room. “We’re eating in the dining room tonight.”

  A sense of foreboding filling him, Jake asked, “Why?”

  The cowboy-turned-housekeeper walked directly to the oven, not even glancing at Jake. “We have company tonight, a friend of Anna’s.”

  “An unmarried friend of Anna’s?” Jake asked carefully.

  “How would I know?” Red answered, again not meeting his gaze. “Come on, everyone else is ready to eat.”

  Jake followed Red into the formal dining room, but he would’ve preferred retreating to his bedroom. He was beginning to feel hunted.

  Anna, his newest sister-in-law, a petite, red-headed whirlwind, met him at the door. “Jake, I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve invited one of my nursing professors from Casper to stay a few days with us. She’s never been on a ranch before.”

  “It’s your home, Anna. Of course you can invite your friends to stay.”

  “Janice, let me introduce you to Jake, Brett’s brother. Jake, this is Janice Kobell.”

  “How do you do, Miss Kobell. It is ‘Miss,’ isn’t it?” he asked a trifle grimly.

  “Yes, it is, though, of course, I’m always hoping to find that special man. I can’t tell you how frustrating and difficult it is to find any kind of man in the city. They’re all so wimpy. That’s why I decided to accept Anna’s invitation. She assured me the Randall men would never be considered wimpy. And she was so right. You are a wonderful specimen, Jake. I can’t wait to observe you in…action.”

  Her eyelashes blinked so furiously, Jake wondered if she had something in her eye.

  “You’re welcome to watch all of us work,” he said, taking a step back.

  Janice stepped closer to him, her nostrils flaring, as she reached out to stroke his chest. “Oh, Jake, I’m not talking about work.”

  Jake lost his appetite.

  Chapter One

  “Crazy women!” Jake Randall muttered as he charged into the barn.

  There was a sharp wind blowing outside, foretelling the cold winter that would soon follow. But it was only October and Jake, a veteran of thirty-four previous Wyoming winters, hadn’t been chased inside by the weather. No, his problem was women.

  “Something wrong?” a cool feminine voice asked.

  Jake spun around in surprise. He had supposed he was alone. Instead, he found himself facing B. J. Anderson, the local veterinarian who lived on his and his brothers’ ranch.

  “I didn’t know you were here,” he said abruptly, and stuck his hands deep in his back jean pockets.

  B.J. rolled her eyes and turned her back on him, continuing her examination of the mare in the stall with her.

  Jake studied her. She’d been around since the first of the year, arriving, with her young son and aunt, almost simultaneously with the influx of women to the Randall family.

  Women he’d wan
ted for his brothers.

  Women he now wanted to strangle.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t love his new sisters-in-law—or the changes they’d brought to the Randall ranch. And he adored his twin nephews, born in July. But he needed some relief from their female scheming.

  “B.J.”

  She’d finished her examination of the mare and was packing up her kit. “Mmm-hmm?”

  She didn’t sound interested in a conversation—or anything else—with him, he thought in irritation. Not that he could blame her. She was a damn good vet, in spite of being female. He’d doubted her abilities at first, but now he backed her one hundred percent…as a vet.

  It was as a woman that he had problems with her. Something he hadn’t exactly kept to himself.

  She came out of the stall, her long legs encased in slim-fitting jeans. She was a tall woman, strong, lithe, but no one ever mistook her for a man. In fact, Jake was amazed, now that he thought about it, that she hadn’t married since her arrival.

  There was a shortage of women in Wyoming. Even ugly ones were snatched up. Not that anyone would ever call B. J. Anderson ugly. Not with her beautiful body and long dark hair, usually braided, her smooth, creamy complexion that urged a man to touch it, her—

  “Did you want something, Jake, or were you just passing the time?” she finally asked, interrupting his thoughts.

  He turned away from her, hoping to clear his mind of the strange thoughts suddenly running rampant. “I’ve got a problem.”

  “Only one? Then you’re ahead of the rest of us.” She started walking past him.

  Desperate for someone to talk to, he reached out and caught her arm—and then dropped it. The awareness that filled him the minute he touched her was part of the problem he had with B. J. Anderson.

  “Can you spare me a minute?” he asked.

  She shrugged her shoulders and sat down on the bench that ran along the back wall of the barn.

  Jake considered sitting beside her, then thought better of it. He paced across the aisle between the stalls several times.

  “Jake, are you going to talk, or parade back and forth?”

  “You’re friends with the girls.”

  His abrupt statement didn’t seem to faze B.J.

  “Girls?”

  “Janie, Megan and Anna.”

  “Your sisters-in-law? Yes, I think I can safely say they’re my friends.”

  “So what are they up to?” He watched her, anxious to see if she would cover up what he suspected was going on.

  Her eyebrows rose, but she didn’t look away. The smooth perfection of her face was enhanced by the hazel eyes that dominated it. “About what?”

  “Me.”

  Her gaze traveled slowly up and then down him, taking in every detail before returning to his face. “I haven’t a clue as to what you’re talking about.” She leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest, and extended her boots, crossed at the ankles. The picture of ease.

  He raised his hands to his hips and scowled at her. Any other woman would be running for cover about now. B.J. stared at him, not moving.

  “Don’t you?”

  “No, I don’t, and I don’t have time for twenty questions.” She stood and picked up her bag.

  “It’s Friday night. What’s so important that you can’t take a few minutes to chat?”

  Her mouth hung open, showing her surprise, which pleased him for some odd reason.

  “To chat?” she repeated, an underlying current of humor in her words.

  “Yeah, to chat.”

  “Jake, I’ve been living a few yards from you for about nine months now. You have never ‘chatted’ once in all that time. You have spoken to me only when necessary, and even then you never smiled.

  “Chatting involves smiling, friendliness, common interests—”

  “We have common interests,” he inserted sharply, glaring at her.

  “Oh, yes, you own animals, and I work on them. You want to discuss the latest breeding information?”

  “No! I want to discuss what my new family members are up to.” He paced back and forth again before facing B.J. “Maybe I haven’t been as friendly in the past as I should’ve been, but—”

  She turned away from him and sat down again. “What do you want to know?”

  He frowned at her, surprised by her behavior. In the past, in spite of his attitude, she’d always been unfailingly polite. “Do you really need to go?”

  “No.”

  This time he joined her on the bench. “I think the girls are up to something.”

  She rolled those hazel eyes and leaned her head against the wall. “Like what? Are they teaching Red some new recipes? Putting flowers in your room, lace ruffles on your bed? What, Jake?”

  “So you really don’t know?”

  “Jake Randall,” she said, sitting up and blowing out a deep breath, “I have had a hell of a day. I will answer your questions if I can, but I won’t play games. Get to the point.”

  “I think they’re matchmaking.”

  He sat tensely in the silence that surrounded them, waiting for her response.

  A low chuckle, throaty and sexy, drew his gaze to her face.

  “How appropriate.” With a smile on her lips, she stood and started out of the barn.

  “Wait! B.J., is that what they’re doing?” He wanted confirmation. He hated to accuse them if he was imagining things.

  She turned around, one eyebrow slipping up.

  He acknowledged again that she was one beautiful woman. Sexy as all get-out in jeans, a flannel shirt and denim jacket. Menswear that he’d like to peel off her, layer by layer, until she was all woman.

  “How would I know, Jake?” Her smile widened. “But if they are…how appropriate,” she repeated. Then she headed toward the barn door.

  “What do you mean by that?” he asked as he got up to follow her.

  “Don’t act the innocent. Everyone in the county would know what I meant. You were the matchmaker for all three of your brothers’ marriages. Why not turn the tables on you?”

  “That’s not true.” Before she could object—and he could tell she was going to—he added, “Besides, it was for their own good. They’re all happy now, aren’t they?”

  Surprising him, she leaned forward and patted his cheek. “And now it’s your turn. You can be happy, too.” Then she turned her back on him again.

  He circled her and stood in front of the door. “Look, B.J., I’m not asking you to stop them. I’ll deal with the problem. I just want to be sure that is the problem. I don’t want to upset everyone for no reason.”

  Sighing, she leaned against the wall. “But how would I know, Jake? I haven’t talked to any of them for several days.”

  “I think they started their—their plan a week ago when that airhead from Kansas City visited Janie. The one who wanted me to sell the cows and buy ostriches.”

  Laughter trembled on B.J.’s lips, and Jake’s mouth went dry. For someone who didn’t mix a lot with the opposite sex, she had very kissable lips, soft, full, generous.

  “Did you agree? Are you trying to tell me I’m out of a job unless I bone up on ostrich anatomy?”

  “Don’t be silly,” he growled.

  “Well, it’s the only thing that makes sense. Why would someone touting ostriches make you think Janie was matchmaking?”

  “Because the woman then announced that she’d come to Wyoming to find a husband,” he explained, a triumphant look on his face.

  “Probably just a coincidence.”

  “Then Megan took me to lunch after drafting me to help her pick out a saddle for Chad. And we were joined by a Marilyn Monroe wannabe, falling out of her dress. She informed me she was looking for unmarried cowboys.”

  B.J. frowned slightly, then shrugged her shoulders.

  “Still think I’m imagining things? Tonight I come down for supper only to discover Anna has invited a friend, a single friend, to visit for a few days. She’s looking
for a man, preferably someone not too wimpy.”

  “And you think you’re the only nonwimpy man around?” Her eyebrows arched again, and Jake blinked. He wished she wouldn’t do that. It made him want to trace their path with kisses.

  He shook his head. “No. But I think I’m the only unmarried nonwimpy man in my own house.”

  “There’s Red,” she offered, her smile widening.

  “Not unless Miss Janice Kobell wants to go one-on-one with Mildred.”

  He’d shocked her. Jake realized B.J. had no idea what was going on under her very nose. Well, maybe not her nose because her aunt Mildred and Red were together at his house, not hers.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Sorry, B.J. I didn’t realize that information would come as a surprise.”

  “What information?”

  “That Red and Mildred…hell, they’re hot for each other.”

  Her cheeks flooded with color, drawing Jake’s gaze. “Don’t be ridiculous! Mildred has no interest in—She’s never indicated—She’s never married!”

  “So her life is over? Or do you not think Red is good enough for her?” He was growing irritated by her attitude.

  “That’s not—Mildred can—I think you’re making this story up.”

  “Ask Mildred. She may even deny it, but she’ll blush from here to high heaven if she does.”

  B.J. walked away from the door, a frown on her face, pacing back and forth as he had earlier.

  “You’re serious about this?”

  “Yeah.”

  She paced some more, giving him ample opportunity to admire her body. Something he didn’t need.

  “Could we get back to my problem?” he asked abruptly, determined to end their conversation before he got as hot and bothered as Red.

  She spun around and stared at him. “What problem?”

  “The matchmaking thing, damn it. Have the girls said anything to you?”

  “No. I told you I haven’t talked to them in several days.”

  He sighed. “And I told you they must’ve been planning this scheme for several weeks. Have they said anything to you about finding me a wife?”