The Cowboy's Temptation Page 0,59

loved the feeling of riding with Jake. He took command of the horse with the reigns in one hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist, ensuring that she would stay on the large animal.

Jake guided the stallion to a quiet area surrounded by trees, complete with a babbling brook and large rocks to sit down on.

He dismounted, then turned to lift her off the horse, letting her slide down his body as he kissed her soundly.

After a few moments, he stopped and held her at arms length, taking a deep breath. “We are going to talk,” he said and took a step back. But he grabbed her hand and guided her over to one of the large rocks. He lifted her up and put her gently on the top of the rock so she was looking down at him slightly.

He looked at her, then gritted his teeth as he searched for the right words. “Elissa, I want….” He paced back and forth several times. Elissa waited patiently for him to continue, her hands folded on her lap, her expression attentive.

He started again, looking at the almost cloudless sky. “What I mean is that…” he looked around and ran his hands through his hair, slapping his hat against his thigh. “Elissa… I know this is…” he looked up at her and she smiled.

“What are you trying to say?” she asked, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

He looked at her for a long moment, his eyes showing his frustration. Finally, he put his hands on his hips and took several steps towards her. “What I want to know is, could you ever learn to like living out here? Is there anything in New York holding you there besides your job? If that’s the case, I can give you all the money you’d want to invest. I can keep you challenged enough right here, that is if you think you could be happy. I know some people like the hustle and bustle of city life, but…” he hesitated, “Dammit, well, you seem to be happy here too.”

He stopped, his back facing her as he searched for the right words to convince her to stay here. He sighed heavily. “What I mean is…Elissa….Hell, I love you. You love me. I know you do. So just say you’ll marry me and we can get on with this,” he said, his frustration finally taking over.

Elissa laughed at his proposal but the happiness was welling up inside her, threatening to overwhelm her with its intensity. “Okay,” she said and laughed at his stricken expression.

The frustration left his face and it took on a shocked expression. “Okay?” he asked cautiously.

“Yes, okay,” she repeated, laughing at his face.

Jake just stared at her for a long moment. “You’ll marry me?” he asked, his face lighting up with a wide smile.

Elissa laughed again. “Yes. With stipulations,” she said.

The grin disappeared with her words. Jake shook his head. “No, it has to be unconditional,” he said and walked away from her.

She ignored his comment and explained. “First of all, you have to tell me you love me again. Then you have to promise to give me a house full of kids as soon as possible,” she said, gasping with delight when he rushed over and pulled her off the rock and into his arms. When he’d finished kissing her, she continued, “And I want you to tell me what your favorite meal is so I can prepare it once in a while. I’ve been trying to guess for the longest time and I obviously haven’t hit upon it yet.”

“Darlin’, if you keep cooking like you do, I’m going to become so fat I won’t be able to sit on old Charlie over there,” he said, indicating the black horse a moment before he bent his head to kiss her again.

Eleven months later Elissa was propped up on the sofa, a pile of pillows behind her back and her wedding album on her swollen stomach. She laughed silently as she looked at the pictures of Jake in his tuxedo, dancing with her full wedding dress under a white tent that had been set up in the backyard. They’d been married a month after he’d proposed to her and one month later, she’d gotten pregnant. She lifted a hand to soothe the contraction that moved across her stomach and glanced at her watch. time to call Jake and tell him to get the three of them to the hospital. anticipation of their forthcoming baby. She knew it would be difficult for Jake. She wondered if they should just drive to the hospital. It would probably be safer. It was almost

She smiled in

She was being silly, she knew. Jake was nervous, but he wouldn’t let that override his ability to get them to the hospital safely. But there was also the issue of parking the chopper. She decided that it would be best if they drove so she pulled herself off the couch and picked up the keys to the SUV on the way out the door to get her husband.

It had been an incredible eleven months, she thought. It was filled with laughter and more love than she’d ever thought was possible.

Elissa glanced up at the gorgeous spring afternoon as another contraction tore across her stomach. Five minutes apart, she noted. Time to get moving.

She waddled out to the barn where Jake was overseeing the cattle in the yard. As soon as he saw her, he jumped down from the back of the truck and walked over to her quickly, a big grin on her face. “How are you doing?” he asked, putting one hand to her stomach tenderly. Elissa wanted to pull his hand away since another contraction was taking over. Jake’s hands were too sensitive and she didn’t need to tell him anything. He could feel it and his eyes snapped down to hers. “Elissa?” he growled. She smiled brightly up to him and nodded her head.

With a yell, he was racing across the yard to the house, intending to get the keys to the helicopter. Elissa had to call him twice before he heard her and she held up the keys in her right hand.

Jake then raced back to her, kissed her soundly and tried to lift her into his arms. With a groan, he hefted his pregnant wife into the truck he’d just left. “Good grief, woman!” he sighed as he placed her gently on the seat. “You’re going to break my back if this baby doesn’t come soon,” he joked.

Elissa just laughed and punched him in the stomach. “Get moving, cowboy,” she said. She couldn’t say anything else as another contraction started. “We have a long drive to the hospital and I need a pain killer soon.”

Jake didn’t waste anymore time. He stopped only long enough to toss her suitcase into the back of the truck, then they were off.

They made it to the hospital less than an hour later and Jake was by her side during the whole labor and delivery. He kept knocking the monitor off her stomach that was supposed to gauge the contractions. But it didn’t matter to Elissa. His hand was more sensitive and he helped her through the contractions better than any machine could ever do. Elissa couldn’t have asked for a stronger and more sensitive man throughout the whole delivery.

Unfortunately, as soon as the doctor offered the scissors to him so he could cut the umbilical cord, Jake fainted onto the floor.