“It’s about time you got here.”
Jared’s head jerked around and he frowned. His brother Durango, the man who thought all women were made for his pleasure unless they had another man’s stamp on them, was talking to Jared, but looking at Dana.
“Durango,” Jared acknowledged when his brother came to join them.
Durango nodded but his gaze went straight back to Dana. “And who is this beautiful creature?” he asked smoothly, as a smile touched both corners of his mouth.
“This is Jared’s girl. And she’s off-limits to you, so behave,” Sarah Westmoreland spoke up.
Jared’s girl. Jared rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the heat already.
“Are you sure that you don’t want any more birthday cake, Dana?”
Dana smiled at Sarah. “Thanks for asking but I don’t think I can eat a single thing more. All the food was wonderful, Mrs. Westmoreland.”
Dana was completely overwhelmed when Jared had escorted her into the living room and introduced her to his family. The house had been decorated with birthday streamers and balloons from corner to corner. It didn’t take long to see that the Westmorelands weren’t just a clan but a whole whopping village. The love and warmth between them was easy to see and feel.
There were Jared’s male cousins, Dare, Thorn, Stone, Chase, Storm, Clint and Cole. They all favored each other and it was easy to tell they were kin. There were few women in the Westmoreland family: Jared’s cousin Delaney who was married to a Middle East sheikh, a tall, dark, handsome man; his cousin Casey who lived in Texas and was sister to Clint and Cole, as well as Shelly, Tara, Madison and Jayla, the wives of Dare, Thorn, Stone and Storm. She also met Jared’s uncle Corey and his wife, Abby.
She had never seen so many relatives gathered in one place before, and for a moment a part of her had felt a tinge of jealousy that some people had such a huge family while others had none. But that bout of jealousy soon dissolved when she saw just how friendly and down-to-earth everyone was. At first they had been curious because Jared had never brought a woman to any family function before, but eventually they began to treat her like one of the family, without hesitation, but with a few questions that she felt she effectively answered to satisfy their curiosity. When Jared’s brother Quade arrived, all of the attention had momentarily shifted off her, but now it was back on her again.
Jayla was pregnant with twins and the women invited Dana to join them on a shopping trip they had planned for next weekend to help select items for the babies’ nursery. Since Dana knew Jared intended for this to be the last time she socialized with his family, she declined, coming up with an excuse about all the errands she had to do Saturday morning, but had thanked them for the invitation.
She glanced over to where Jared stood talking to his brothers and cousins and her heart thumped an unsteady beat just watching him. As if he felt her looking at him, he cocked his head in her direction and their gazes connected. Goose bumps skittered along her arms and she expelled a long, silent breath before breaking eye contact with him.
Needing to distract herself, she glanced out of the window. Jared’s parents’ home sat on three acres of land and the huge, two-story, Southern style structure was simply stunning. A huge window provided a view of a lake. It was late afternoon and getting dark, which was a stark indication that Easter was almost over.
“I need to talk to you privately for a moment,” Jared whispered softly in her ear.
She sucked in a sharp breath. She hadn’t heard him approach and the warmth of his breath touched her neck and the faint spicy aroma of his aftershave made her skin tingle.
She wondered what he had to talk to her about and knew his family wondered, as well, when he took her hand and guided her into the kitchen, closing the door behind them.
He leaned against the kitchen counter and for a moment they stared at each other, not saying anything. Then he cleared his throat. “I should have given you this earlier at your apartment when I picked you up but I forgot.” Jared knew he could have waited until he returned her home, but for some reason he wanted to get her alone, even if only for a few minutes. “Luther Cord sent a special delivery to me on Friday with instructions that I give you this. After arriving in California he evidently had a change of heart and decided he wanted you to keep it.”
Dana raised a curious brow as she watched Jared reach into his pocket to pull out a small white box. She immediately knew what it was. “My engagement ring?” she asked startled.
Jared saw the surprised, but pleased look on her face and couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, it’s for you,” he said handing the small box to her.
“I knew it! I just knew she was the one!”
Jared jerked his head around when his mother burst through the kitchen door. Her face was all aglow.
“I happened to be passing by the door and heard the words engagement ring. Oh, Jared, you have made me so proud and happy,” his mother exclaimed between bouts of laughter and tears of joy. She then hugged Dana. “Welcome to the family.”
Jared’s head began spinning when it became crystal clear what his mother had assumed. He was just about to open his mouth to set her straight when the kitchen door flew open again and his entire family poured in.
“What’s going on?” Jared’s father asked when he saw his wife in tears.
Again Jared opened his mouth to speak but his mother’s voice drowned out any words he was about to say. “Jared and Dana. They just got engaged! He gave her a ring! Oh, I am so happy. I can’t believe that one of my sons is finally settling down and getting married.”
Jared and Dana suddenly became swamped with words of congratulation and well wishing. He glanced over at Dana and saw she was as shocked with the way things were escalating as he was. He reached over and gently squeezed her hand, hoping that he was assuring her that he would straighten things out. He knew that he should do so now but couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen his mother this happy.
Sarah Westmoreland began crying again. “You have really made me happy today, Jared. Who would have thought that of all my sons you would have a change of heart about marriage? But I could feel the love flowing between the two of you when I opened the door and saw you standing there together.”
Dana glanced over at Jared. She read the message in his eyes that clearly said: Trust me, I’ll get us out of this mess, but for now, please let my mother have her moment of happiness. She gave him a silent nod to let him know she understood what he was asking. She inhaled deeply. Of all the misunderstandings she’d heard of, this one was definitely a doozy.
“Dana and I are leaving,” Jared said, taking Dana’s hand and leading her out of the kitchen.
“But—but we haven’t celebrated your good news,” his mother called out when he headed for the door.
He turned to look at his relatives, wanting to tell them that they wouldn’t be celebrating it, either. They had followed the couple to the door and were crowded around them. He frowned at the “glad it’s you and not me” look on the faces of the other single Westmoreland men. “I’ll see everyone tomorrow,” he told his family.
Then without saying another word and holding Dana’s hand firmly in his, he walked out of his parents’ house, closing the door behind him.
“I’m sorry about what happened back there,” Jared said. Talk about the wrong information getting blown out of proportion. “I just couldn’t tell my mother the truth. She was so happy.”
Dana nodded. “I understand.”
Jared lifted his head and gazed over at Dana, met her gaze and something about the way she was looking back at him told him that she really did understand. “Thank you.”
She smiled. “You don’t have to thank me. This was a special day for your family. I saw how happy your mother was when she’d thought we’d gotten engaged.”
Jared nodded, grateful for her understanding. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow and straighten things out,” he said quietly.
“All right.”
Satisfied, Jared put his car in gear and backed out of his parents’ driveway. At the first traffic light they came to, he glanced over and noticed the engagement ring was on Dana’s finger. He frowned, remembering his mother’s insistence that she put it on. For some reason he didn’t like seeing her wearing Luther Cord’s ring. “Now that you have the ring back what are you going to do with it?” he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.
Dana glanced over at him before looking down at the ring. “What I had planned to do all along. Hock it and use the money to pay off the remaining wedding expenses. I’m surprised Luther returned it to me.”
Jared wasn’t surprised. During the last conversation he’d had with Cord, he had suggested that he do the decent thing and relieve some of the financial burden breaking the engagement had placed on Dana. He had strongly recommended that although he wasn’t legally obligated to do so, he should consider letting her keep the ring. Evidently the man had taken his advice.
When the traffic light changed, Jared glanced over at Dana. Her eyes were closed and her head was back against the headrest. He couldn’t stop the smile that touched his lips. No doubt this had been a tiring day for her. He was used to his huge family, but a stranger might be overwhelmed.