Randall Pride. Judy Christenberry
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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 if Cleve visits the ranch, Elizabeth will see that he doesn’t fit in?”
“How could she help it? So, with you and Elizabeth coming home at the same time, we’re feeling real lucky.”
Toby offered up a smile, but it didn’t match his father’s grin. Real lucky. Oh, yeah. He didn’t think that was what he’d call it.
ELIZABETH had to be up early the next morning for class, so she said goodbye to Cleve on the back porch at night.
“I wish you’d go for a drive with me, Elizabeth. It’s not that late,” Cleve pleaded.
“I can’t, Cleve. I like to get to school early. Some of my babies are dropped off at seven-thirty because of the bus schedule. I don’t like to leave them unsupervised.”
“I don’t know why you took the job. You’ll just quit once we’re married. You won’t even finish the semester.”
Elizabeth frowned. “What are you saying? I have no intention of quitting just because we get married.”
“Of course you’ll quit. I’ll expect you to be my wife.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” This topic hadn’t come up in the two weeks they’d been engaged.
“You’ll keep house, do volunteer work, have intimate dinners, things to promote my career.” He smiled with satisfaction, obviously envisioning their future differently than her.
“Intimate dinners aren’t exactly in style in Rawhide,” she pointed out.
“Well, we won’t be in Rawhide all that long. You can practice for when we move to Denver.” Assuming she was in agreement, he put his arms around her and pulled her close.
Elizabeth shoved against his suit jacket. “Why would we move to Denver?”
“Because I don’t intend to stay in a small pond forever. I’m made for bigger and better things.” He leaned over to nuzzle her neck, and she jumped back, making it impossible to touch her.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded, irritation in his voice. “I’m waiting, just like you asked, but surely I can touch you.”
She couldn’t argue that. He’d wanted her to sleep with him after their third date. She’d refused. He said he’d be patient. But his patience disappeared. Then he’d asked her to marry him and assumed he’d pushed the Go button.
Their engagement had almost ended in half an hour. When he finally understood that she intended to marry as a virgin, he’d reluctantly accepted her decision. But he pushed the limits every time.
Elizabeth held herself stiffly. “Cleve, you’re making some assumptions that aren’t true. I don’t want to move to Denver. I want to stay here.”
“Don’t be silly, Elizabeth. I can’t live on what I’ll be making with this hick Bill Johnson.”
“You don’t like Bill?”
“Who cares if I like him? Don’t tell me he’s another Randall cousin. You’ve got enough of them already. And no more kissing the newest one.”
Elizabeth knew he was referring to the kisses she’d given Toby when she’d first seen him. She didn’t think that would happen again. Toby was too distant. Too—too changed. But she wasn’t ready to accept limitations on her behavior.
“Cleve, I think you’d better go. I’ve got some thinking to do.”
“Okay. I’m going back to Laramie early tomorrow morning, but I’ll call you.” He managed to snatch a brief kiss, seemingly unaware that he’d upset her.
When he’d left, Elizabeth remained on the porch, enjoying the privacy. What had she done? In Laramie, Cleve had seemed sophisticated, well-mannered. He was handsome, smart, active on campus. When he’d proposed, she’d explained that she intended to go back to her home to teach school. He’d agreed.
But apparently his agreement was only temporary. He’d already made plans