Coming Home to Texas

“Three days to plan a wedding!”

“You’ll have one day to decide, then we need to go to the county clerk’s office to apply for a license. I suggest you call your relatives, friends and business associates tomorrow and make travel arrangements for them. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Jodie looked completely stunned as she sat upright in the chair, framed by the window. In the dark glass, Travis saw a reflection of the room. He saw himself, looking stiff and determined. Well, fine. That was how he felt. His decision was firm—he wasn’t getting married again unless it was for keeps. Maybe he and Jodie didn’t have enough in common to build a marriage.

But maybe, just maybe, they did.

Dear Reader,

Ranger Springs, Texas, is the type of place that exists in stories I’ve heard from my wonderful native-Texan in-laws, Vaughn and Lillian Huffstutler, and in my imagination of what a small town should be. It’s the type of place where I’d love to live—if only they had a major mall, a large grocery store and a Starbucks! In that regard, I’m very similar to the heroine of Coming Home to Texas, Jodie Marsh. She’s a California “city girl” who marries Texas rancher Travis Whitaker. She must then adapt to his adopted hometown in the Texas Hill Country. I’m a Kentucky “city girl” who married my very own Texan thirty-three years ago.

Jodie and Travis Whitaker are modern characters in a traditional setting. She’s a plus-size model and he’s a famous architect. They are introduced by characters you might recognize from The Prince’s Cowboy Double and The Prince’s Texas Bride. Their attraction is immediate—with consequences that extend well beyond the nine months she anticipates.

I hope you enjoy this sixth book in my Ranger Springs series. Please write to me at P.O. Box 852125, Richardson, TX 75085 and include a SASE for reply, or e-mail me at victoriachancellor@msn.com.

Best wishes and happy reading,

Victoria Chancellor

Coming Home to Texas

Victoria Chancellor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To my lovely niece Laura Madrill, her wonderful husband, David, and their precious Garrett Adam. All the best forever.

Thanks to former model and supermother Cari Manderscheid for her expertise.

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

844—THE BACHELOR PROJECT

884—THE BEST BLIND DATE IN TEXAS

955—THE PRINCE’S COWBOY DOUBLE

959—THE PRINCE’S TEXAS BRIDE

992—THE C.E.O. & THE COOKIE QUEEN

Contents

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

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter One

Jodie Marsh gathered her courage along with her Kate Spade tote and umbrella, preparing to make a mad dash toward Travis Whitaker’s front porch. A mad dash toward her immediate future. With one last sigh, she pushed open the door to her rental car and swung her legs out. Her feet landed in a puddle and she watched as her Manolo Blahnik sandals disappeared in a small pool of muddy water. Great. Now she would squish when she confronted him.

Travis wasn’t expecting her and she doubted he’d even heard the car pull into the driveway over the persistent rain. His house looked spacious and new, although it also reminded her of the old rock homes and weathered-wood barns she’d seen dotting the countryside. She assumed he’d designed it since he was an architect.

Jodie stopped on the porch and folded her umbrella, shaking the water from it. Frowning, she wiggled her sandals, but they were still wet enough to make her feet feel slippery. And cold. She’d assumed Texas would be warmer and drier. Now she was mentally and physically uncomfortable. She took another deep breath and peered inside the house.

The windows were dark and looked rather intimidating beneath the leaden sky, but she wasn’t going to let rain or her imagination stop her from talking to the man with whom she’d spent one spectacular weekend almost five weeks ago. He’d been a blind date, but a fantastic one. They’d shared an immediate attraction—and much more—for two and a half days in Monte Carlo.

She’d hesitated long enough. After placing a hand on her stomach, she rang the doorbell. And waited.

And waited. Where was Travis? She’d called from the airport but had hung up as soon as he’d answered. Calling had been a mistake. She couldn’t talk to him on a crackling, staticky cell phone during a thunderstorm. What she had to say needed to be said in person, so she’d driven here as quickly as possible from the San Antonio airport.

“Where are you, Travis Whitaker?” she whispered as she pressed the doorbell again then added a few knocks in case the electricity was out. The lunch crowd at a quaint diner in downtown Ranger Springs had told her how to find the ranch, and she had to assume he hadn’t left in the past hour.

Just when she thought she might have to search elsewhere on the property for the elusive architect, the door flew open.

“Jodie?”

“Hello, Travis.” She stared at his disheveled, sun-streaked hair, frayed University of Texas sweatshirt and faded jeans. His beautiful feet were bare. He looked so much like he had just after they’d made wild, passionate love that her heart skipped a beat.

“What are you—Never mind, that was rude, and not what I meant. Please, come inside.”

She leaned her umbrella against the house, shook more water from her sandals and slid past him into the warmth of his home. Mmm. He even smelled the same, like clean, warm male and Mediterranean sunshine, despite the rainy, cool Texas day.

“Can I get you something? You look a little cold.”

She wasn’t about to tell him she was shaking more from nerves than the weather. Instead she shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“Come into the great room. I have a fire going.”

She followed him down the slate-tiled hallway, her wet sandals slapping against the floor, like a prisoner being led to the gallows. Not that they really used gallows anymore. Not that she’d done anything wrong, or wanted to feel like a criminal…or a victim.

Not that she was so nervous that she was babbling inside her head. With each step, an unaccustomed sense of panic increased until she couldn’t stand the tension a moment longer.

“Wait,” she said, grabbing his arm as they reached the doorway. “I have something to tell you and I need to do it now, before we get comfortable in front of the fire.” Before he made her feel welcome in his home.

“What’s wrong?” He looked so handsome, so concerned, as he reached out to steady her. His hands felt strong and comforting on her shoulders, as if he’d reached out to her many times before. As if they’d had more than a couple of fantastic days together.

She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck, to hold him tight and to whisper the truth. But she needed to see his face, not retreat to his warmth and strength, when she broke the news.

“Not quite wrong, but…” she began. “Well, I’m not sure how you’re going to react, so I need to just tell you this. Right now, right here.”

“What’s going on, Jodie?”

She took a deep breath, then the words rushed past her cold, trembling lips. “I’m pregnant. The baby is definitely yours. And we need to get married right away.”

He looked as stunned as she’d felt when the doctor had confirmed the pregnancy kit test result. America’s new “girl next door” was going to be an unwed mother unless she could get Travis Whitaker’s immediate cooperation.

“PREGNANT?” he repeated, dropping his hands from her shoulders and stepping back. His immediate joy that she’d arrived in Ranger Springs, coupled with surprise that she’d sought him out, came to an abrupt halt. He felt as if he’d been poleaxed. Him, a father?

But he shouldn’t be all that surprised. They’d used protection all but one time, when she’d surprised him in the shower. He hadn’t been prepared for her sexy smile, her slippery, soft skin and very talented use of a body puff. In so many ways Jodie was unlike any other woman he’d been involved with.

“Yes, pregnant,” she said. “I know I said we should be okay, that it was a safe time of the month, but apparently I was wrong.”

“I—I don’t know what to say.”

She narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her curvy hips. “You don’t have to say anything, but I’m hoping I can get your cooperation. Travis, this is important to me.”

“Having a baby is rather important to everyone involved, wouldn’t you say?” he asked with barely controlled sarcasm. What did she mean, it was important to her, when she’d just dropped a bombshell on him and added that they needed to get married right away?

“Look, I know you’re shocked and disappointed—”

“With all due respect,” he interrupted, running a hand through his shaggy hair, “I don’t think you know me well enough to decide what I’m feeling.”

She stepped back, turning a little pale beneath her golden, California-girl tan. “Okay, I understand your position. I’d just go away and leave you alone, but—”

“I didn’t ask you to leave.”

“You don’t seem especially glad to see me, either. Which I can understand, given what I just told you.”

“I was—am—glad to see you. But you did throw me for a loop. You certainly don’t mince words, do you?”

“Not on anything this important.”

He ran his hand through his hair again, wishing they could start over. “Look, let’s go sit down and talk like reasonable adults. The fire is warm and, quite frankly, you look as though you need to sit down.”

“Great. Just the look I was going for—helpless female.”

“Jodie, I don’t think anyone would call you helpless, or weak, or any other unflattering adjectives. But you are definitely female.”

When he’d first met Jodie, he’d been pleasantly surprised. His friends had mentioned she was a model who’d just finished a swimsuit photo shoot in Monaco. He’d been expecting a silicone-enhanced, tall, tanned, self-indulgent, waiflike creature. Not his usual type of petite, acquiescent woman, but heck, he was flexible. What red-blooded American male would turn down a date with a swimsuit model? Then he’d met her in a café in Monte Carlo and he’d immediately known he’d gotten her all wrong.

Jodie wasn’t just a swimsuit model. She was a famous model, a minor celebrity. And she wasn’t just a regular model. She was a plus-size model. Size fourteen to sixteen, she’d told him over a generous meal of pasta, salad and dessert. She had to eat heartily to maintain her size because she was so active, participating in a variety of sports.

Definitely not the usual dainty, blond and predictable type of woman he preferred to date. His friend Hank McCauley would also add “airhead” to the description, but Travis thought that was an exaggeration. So what if his girlfriends didn’t have strong career directions or advanced degrees? He liked women whose jobs didn’t interfere with his somewhat erratic work and vacation schedule. He wanted to be able to call someone at the spur of the moment and say, “Let’s go to Tahiti.”

“All right,” she sighed. “Let’s sit down and talk this through. Maybe I could use a cup of tea.”

“Coming right up. Make yourself comfortable in front of the fire,” he said, carefully taking her arm and steering her toward the center of the large house. “I’ll be right back.”

He gratefully retreated to the kitchen to prepare mugs of Earl Grey, placing them with honey, sugar and artificial sweetener on a tray. He wasn’t sure what pregnant women were supposed to drink. About all he knew about pregnancy was that it took nine months and sometimes involved unpleasant morning sickness.

Had Jodie been ill? Is that why she’d paled at his sarcastic comment? He was a heel for upsetting her, but dammit, he sure hadn’t been expecting an announcement that she was carrying his child.

He grabbed a couple of spoons and felt a sudden urge to hurry back into the den. One part of him dreaded the upcoming conversation, but another wanted to know every little detail. How she’d learned of the pregnancy. What she was feeling. What were her plans for the baby…and how did they include him?

Marriage? He definitely didn’t plan to get married again. Marriage involved messy emotions that led to botched expectations, then disappointments, and finally, crying and yelling. But still, she was pregnant…

“Here you go,” he said as cheerfully as possible, placing the tray on his large tufted ottoman. “I hope you like Earl Grey.”

“One of my favorites,” she said, pushing her shoulder-length blond hair behind her ear. His eyes settled on her neck and he remembered, with a flush of heat, how sensitive she was in that particular spot, just below her ear. He’d felt an enormous sense of possession when he’d kissed her there, hard, as he’d moved inside her.

Shaking away the memory, he straightened and tugged on the hem of his old U.T. sweatshirt. Jodie was sitting in one of the big carved wood and upholstered chairs near the fireplace. He took the other one, then grabbed a mug of tea, searching for a safe way to begin this conversation.

“So, have you been in California?”

“Mostly, although I spent some time in New York City. That’s one of the reasons I needed to see you right away. Something has developed in my career.”

“Something good?”

“Absolutely. I think I mentioned a possible cosmetics contract last month when we were…well, in Monte Carlo. As soon as I returned, I found out that they want me to become their new image. I signed the contract two weeks ago to become ‘the girl next door,’ as they call it.” Jodie looked away and laughed mirthlessly, a sad sound against the soft crackle of the fire. “Some girl next door. Unless, of course, your neighbor is pregnant and unwed.”

“If you’ve already signed the contract, surely they’ll work with you on the ad campaign. Maybe change the timing or just show you from the chest up.”

Jodie shook her head. “It’s not that simple. The contract has a morality clause. I can’t do or say anything that will negatively impact myself or the company while I’m representing them. Keep in mind that I’m supposed to be the girl next door, not the jet-setting California tramp.”

Ouch. Becoming an unwed mother would probably violate the contract, even with the relaxed morality of big cities as opposed to small towns. “I see your problem.”

“It’s rather obvious, isn’t it? Without your cooperation, I can have my baby or I can have my career.” She leaned forward, holding the mug like a talisman. “Well, I want both.”

Travis took a deep breath. “I’ve tried being married, Jodie. I didn’t like it.”

“Tough. Look, I’m not asking you for eternal love and commitment. I’m asking for your name for our baby, your cooperation in a marriage. A temporary marriage. Perhaps make some appearances with me. Act happy over the baby, that sort of thing. I promise I won’t bother you all that much. After all, I’ll be pretty busy with my endorsements, assignments and other activities.”

“Not to mention the baby.”

“Of course. I meant, before the baby is actually born. My agent is quietly working on a deal with a maternity clothing line.”

“Sounds like you have it all planned out. Hell, this could be a great break for you.” He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice, but knew he failed. So what? Although life had handed her a basket of lemons, it sounded to him as if Jodie was making lemonade with great gusto. Or maybe she’d been “expecting” these lemons all along. Was he just another part of her plan?

“Everything seems to be coming together for you nicely. All you need is a husband, now that you have the new contract and a baby on the way.”

“I didn’t plan to get pregnant! I knew nothing about this ‘girl next door’ campaign the company has planned.”

His suspicions must have shown on his face. Travis shrugged. “Still, you got pregnant, and now you’re here, demanding my cooperation because of all your contracts and endorsements.”

“Hoping for your cooperation,” she interrupted, “so I can save my career and support this baby.”

“Whatever. All I know is that you claim to be having my baby, but I haven’t had any say in your plans.”

“This baby is affecting my career, not yours.”

“Don’t be so sure about that.”

“What do you mean?”

He leaned forward, facing her over the edge of the ottoman. “I mean that I live in a small community with traditional values. I don’t want my friends and neighbors thinking I’m an irresponsible man or a dead-beat dad. I don’t want them assuming I have indiscriminate affairs.”

“Oh, so now I’m to blame. I’m indiscriminate?” Her voice rose with the color on her cheeks.

“It takes two to tango, Jodie, and I remember both of us being involved. Look, I’m not saying you planned to get pregnant by me, but since you did, you’ve gone ahead and made a lot of assumptions. A lot of plans. In all fairness, I should be a part of your decisions.”

“I’m not asking for much, Travis. I need your cooperation in going through the ceremony, making a few appearances, that sort of thing.”

“And I need to be involved. You’ve had several weeks to think this through. The least you can do is give me several days.”

“I’m running out of time!”

“And I’m not running to the altar again until I’m sure about who I’m marrying and why!”

JODIE FELL BACK AGAINST the bed and threw her arm over her eyes, certain she wouldn’t be able to sleep even though Travis had suggested she “rest up” before dinner. Just as he’d strongly suggested she would stay with him rather than find a hotel somewhere.

She wished she could make the past five weeks go away as easily as she could shut her eyes and block out the gray Texas day. Or change just that one moment when she’d decided to step into the shower with Travis. She hadn’t given a thought to protection and apparently neither had he. And now they were both paying the price.

No, she shouldn’t think that. The baby was completely innocent. And Jodie realized she was already starting to have feelings for the tiny life, even though it was bad timing for a pregnancy.

In all honesty, she didn’t wish she’d never met Travis. Or fallen into his bed so easily. Or anything about that weekend—but she did wish they had been more careful. A baby hadn’t been part of her plans for the near future, despite the fact that she was getting to the age where she had to start seriously considering having children…or not. No, this wasn’t great timing, but then, Travis certainly had good genes to give to a child. He was tall, fit, muscular and intelligent, never mind gorgeous, and had a terrific personality. Otherwise she wouldn’t have fallen for him so quickly and completely.

He’d been a great guy, a fantastic lover. She’d seriously regretting leaving him on Monday to return home. He’d seemed equally sad that they’d had to part so soon.

But did he call? She shook her head. Not once. Of course, she hadn’t called him, either, despite the fact he’d left her with a card. Just in case, he’d said. They’d both agreed they weren’t looking for a relationship, just a brief fling. They’d known their lives weren’t compatible. He was Texas; she was California. He was laid-back in his established profession; she was hard-charging about her rising career.

Apparently her egg and his sperm hadn’t realized how incompatible they were outside the bedroom. The little critters had teamed up at the first chance to make a baby.

Jodie let her hand drift to her stomach. Somewhere inside a tiny life nestled, completely unconcerned about the problems of the two irresponsible adults. She couldn’t let her baby down. She’d make a darn good single mother. Of course, she’d allow Travis to have visitation if he wanted to be part of the child’s life. She wasn’t unreasonable. On the other hand, she wouldn’t push for money or anything else.

Her mother had provided a good home for her. Jodie planned to do the same for her baby. Her father hadn’t wanted to be part of their family and they hadn’t needed him—financially, emotionally or in any other way. Jodie had always believed that independence was the key to happiness.

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts. It took a moment for her to remember where she was—Travis’s guest bedroom. Because, as he’d explained, Ranger Springs had only a two-room bed-and-breakfast, which was probably full for the weekend. She’d never been in a town without several hotels and motels—and had certainly never thought about staying in one for a couple of days while Travis digested the fact that he was going to be a father.

“Jodie?”

She swung her legs off the bed, feeling a little light-headed when she stood. She steadied herself with a hand on the nightstand just as the door swung open.

“What’s wrong?” Travis’s voice showed his genuine concern and, for a moment, she wanted to once again have him hold her. She heard him stride quickly across the room, but didn’t risk looking up. She didn’t want to make herself any more dizzy than she already felt.

“I got up too quickly. Nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure? Have you been to the doctor yet?”

“Yes and yes. I’m sure I just need to eat a bite.” She probably had been overdoing it a bit, flying from coast to coast, then stopping in Texas. Not to mention the stress of facing Travis and breaking the news so abruptly.

“Good, because I came to tell you that dinner’s ready. It’s not fancy, but maybe that’s best on your first day here. You can get some more rest after we eat.”

“I’m not that fragile, Travis,” she claimed, rising to her full five-foot-eleven height. Even then, she wasn’t eye level with him. She liked a big, tall man. She didn’t like to think she was superficial, but she didn’t date shorter, slightly built men because they made her look huge in comparison. With her height and generally “sturdy” and athletic build, she preferred a man she could look up to.

“Yes, but you are pregnant. And based on what you told me last month, I’m sure your schedule has been a little hectic lately. A few days in the Texas Hill Country is just what you need to relax.”

What she needed was a husband, but she didn’t say that out loud. She was certain Travis would come to the same conclusion…hopefully very soon.

“I am hungry, and I’m glad we’re not going out. I’ve eaten every meal in a restaurant with my agent, publicist or executives for potential endorsement deals for the past five days, and I could really use a night off.”

“Good. Well, I’ll leave you to freshen up. Come down to the kitchen whenever you’re ready.”

Jodie nodded, then added, “Thanks for understanding about my schedule, Travis, but just so you’re clear, I don’t have days to lie around the Hill Country. I have decisions to make.”

“You’ve already decided to have this baby, right?”

“Yes. That isn’t up for discussion.”

“Good, because I don’t want to argue about that.”

She nodded again. At least Travis wasn’t the type to suggest she make this “little problem” go away.

Within a few minutes she’d splashed water on her face, brushed her hair and dabbed on a little lip gloss. There was no reason to appear glamorous when she didn’t need to pose for the cameras. Besides, Travis had seen her many times over their one weekend together without makeup. Or without clothes, for that matter.