Randall Pride. Judy Christenberry

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СКАЧАТЬ had followed him out of the living room. “Going to check on your horses?”

      Toby nodded. That was as good a reason as any he could come up with.

      When they reached the barn, Jake didn’t look at horseflesh. He turned toward Toby and asked the one question Toby didn’t want to answer. “Son, what’s wrong?”

      Chapter Two

      Before Toby could come up with an answer—an answer that wasn’t a downright lie, Jake asked another question.

      “Have you changed your mind?”

      “No, Dad. I’m happy about coming home.”

      “You won’t miss the excitement? I want you to know that if you do, we’ll understand.” Jake’s smile was a little wistful, but as always, he was standing back, letting Toby make his own decisions.

      Toby smiled. “I appreciate it, Dad, but the excitement of the rodeo pales next to being at home. I’m glad you and the uncles want me here.”

      “If it’s not that, then what’s bothering you?”

      Damn, Toby thought he’d distracted Jake. “I’m a little surprised by Elizabeth’s choice. But living in Laramie, I guess things are different.”

      “Not that much,” Jake said with a sigh. “But you can join the Cleve O’Banyon Hate Club here on the ranch.”

      Toby looked at Jake out of the corner of his eye. “Are you a member?”

      “Hell, yes. But the president is Chad.”

      Toby wasn’t surprised. Chad, as the youngest of the Randall brothers, had always seemed the most impatient. And Elizabeth was his favorite and only daughter.

      “Well, as long as she’s happy. I guess Cleve fits in well in Laramie.”

      Jake turned to stare at him. “But they’re not going to live in Laramie.”

      Toby felt a tremor run through him. “What? Where are they going to live?”

      “Here,” Jake said succinctly.

      “But—but what would they do here?” Toby asked, frantically hoping he’d misunderstood.

      “Elizabeth has already begun her job as kindergarten teacher in Rawhide. Classes started two weeks ago. I thought you knew.”

      Double damn! Toby had thought he’d have some distance from Elizabeth as soon as she married. “But what is Cleve going to do? Let her support him?”

      Jake sighed. “No. He’s an accountant. He’s going to join Bill Johnson’s accounting firm. It appears business is growing for Bill. He needs help.”

      Toby pictured Bill Johnson in his mind. His appearance was that of a “good old boy.” He wore jeans to work every day and had never had his hair styled in his life. But his mind was brilliant.

      “Has he met Cleve?” Toby asked Jake grinned. “I know what you’re thinking. They don’t match, do they? He met him this afternoon. I was dying to ask how it went at dinner, but your mama threatened me.”

      Toby snorted. His mother didn’t throw any fear into her husband. But Jake listened to her good sense. “Good thinking,” he agreed.

      But while he found the information amusing, it didn’t diminish his problem. Of course, they’d live in town and he probably wouldn’t see either of them much since he’d be on the ranch. His breath caught in his throat. “They’re not—not going to live out here, are they?”

      “Hell, no, boy. Prissy-pants wouldn’t think of it!” Jake replied, imitating the horror he thought Cleve would show.

      Toby laughed. “Where am I going to sleep?” he asked, abruptly changing the subject. He had a lot to think about.

      Jake pointed in the direction of a building they’d added a few years ago. They called it the Bachelor Pad since all the male cousins lived there.

      “We’ve got room for you in the main house, of course, now that the boys, all except Casey, are out there, but I figured you’d want to be a little independent.”

      Toby nodded. “Why isn’t Casey out there?”

      “Aw, you know Janie. She considers Casey to be her miracle baby. She’s not quite ready to turn him loose.”

      Pete and Janie had had the first of the babies, the twins, but she’d had a hard time. She’d hoped for a little girl the next time, but she never got pregnant. Then, when she’d given up on having another baby, she found herself pregnant just after the twins turned ten. Pete tried to save Casey from her coddling, but Janie was stubborn.

      “Hey, Pete might be able to move the boy out there if you’re going to live in the Pad. I’ll suggest it to him. He’s afraid the boy will be timid,” Jake added with a laugh. “I don’t really think he’s got anything to worry about. The twins give Casey a hard time for the same reason.”

      Toby grinned. Life was normal at the Randalls.

      “Wow,” Toby suddenly exclaimed. “That will leave you with no kids in the house. Won’t that seem strange?”

      “Yep. When I started the matchmaking, I never envisioned it would be so successful.” Toby and Jake shared a smile. Jake and his three brothers had lived for a number of years without any women. Jake had married Chloe, who divorced him and tried to take the ranch away from them. “Fear of Chloe” kept them from commitment until Jake realized they’d never have heirs to inherit the ranch unless something changed. So he hatched some matchmaking plots that really worked. “It seems sort of sad, though. I’ll miss having little ones underfoot. ’Course, Elizabeth will live with us until the wedding.”

      “Uh, have they set a date?”

      “Nope. I asked Chad about it and he said he wasn’t in any hurry. He’s hoping Elizabeth will come to her senses.”

      Toby frowned. “The moms aren’t doing any manipulating, are they?”

      Jake grinned again. “Naw. Not much.”

      “What do you mean not much?” Toby didn’t want Elizabeth to be unhappy, but she’d made her choice. If she was going to marry the guy, they might as well get it over with and marry…and move.

      “I guess you don’t remember when Brett got engaged, do you?”

      “To Anna?”

      “Nope. Anna was here to help Janie deliver the twins, but Brett was in Cheyenne. When he got home and met Anna, he was already engaged to a senator’s daughter. A real, uh…female Cleve.”

      “How awful. What did the moms do?”

      “Nothing evil. They invited his fiancée to come to the ranch for a visit. And then let nature take its course. Within a couple of days, Brett realized Anna was the lady for him, thank God.”

      “They think СКАЧАТЬ