Quade's Babies - Brenda Jackson [19]
“That many multiple births in one family?” she said, amazed.
“Possibly more according to my father. He’s convinced a Westmoreland who appeared in the national newspaper earlier this year when his wife gave birth to quadruplets is related to us. Dad’s now into this genealogy thing, trying to find a connection.”
After a brief pause, he said, “Now to get back to your question, there are thirteen male Westmorelands from my generation and we’re all close. Very early, when we began sniffing after girls, our fathers instilled in us one rule that would always govern a Westmoreland. We were raised to take responsibility for our actions, no matter what they were.”
Cheyenne sighed deeply. “But that’s just it. I don’t need you taking responsibility.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
She could see he would be difficult. He reminded her of her male cousins who were also hell-bent on living by some code of honor, some invisible creed. At least Chance, Sebastian and Morgan were. Donovan, the youngest of her Steele male cousins—the only one not married—was still trying to find himself. At the moment, Donovan was happy to find himself right, smack in the middle of any woman’s bed. But still, she was fairly certain if he ever got caught by being careless, he would do the right thing by the woman regardless of whether he wanted to or not. Whether he loved the woman would not be a factor. In his eyes—the eyes of a Steele—a union would be a justified restitution for exhibiting a lack of judgment.
Evidently Quade and his other Westmoreland male kin had the same thought processes. Well, she didn’t need him or any man sacrificing themselves for her and her babies. Getting pregnant hadn’t been intentional on her part, just like she knew getting her pregnant hadn’t been his intention. It was an accident. It happened and she could live with it mainly because the results—Venus, Athena and Troy—had captured her heart the moment she had been told she was pregnant.
“Does that explain things to you, Cheyenne?”
Yes, it did, but she still was unsure how to deal with him. He was looking at her with dark, piercing eyes. He was waiting for a response.
She had a feeling that he was a man who did whatever he wanted to do, someone who was used to being in control. In the few relationships she had been involved in, she had tried avoiding men like him—men with the ability to overrule her heart, as well as her head. Keeping her senses intact wouldn’t be easy with him, but she was determined to do so.
“Yes,” she finally responded. “Although I think you’re getting a little carried away.”
He lifted a brow. “Carried away how?”
“While I can understand and appreciate you wanting to take responsibility for your part in my pregnancy, as well as acknowledging you fathered my babies, all I’m saying is that you don’t have to take it any further than that.”
Quade stared at her and a part of Cheyenne actually felt the heat of his gaze on certain parts of her. “That’s very generous of you,” he said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “But you have no idea just how far I plan to take things.”
No, she didn’t and that’s what bothered her the most. She knew she could not deny him the legal right he had to be a part of the triplets’ life. It would be a total waste of her time to try to fight him on the matter. She’d heard more than one account of where the courts sided with a father. But still, she would do anything and everything to make sure being a father wasn’t just a passing fancy for him, a novelty he was enjoying at the moment but one that would wear off later.
Deciding it was time for her to probe further, she said, “So tell me. How far do you plan to take things?”
“All the way to the altar.”
She blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me right, Cheyenne. And given the nature of our situation I recommend that we proceed immediately.”
Panic ripped through her. “And do what?” she all but stammered.
His response