The Durango Affair - Brenda Jackson [63]
Savannah smiled, thinking the very same thing. She glanced around the room again and it was Tara Westmoreland, who was married to Durango’s cousin Thorn, who came up and said, “It seems that Durango called a meeting with the menfolk.”
“Oh,” Savannah said, wondering the reason why.
Upon seeing her concern, Tara said, “I’m sure whatever they need to talk about won’t take long. In the meantime, has anyone ever told you how I met Thorn?”
Savannah smiled. “No, but after meeting him I’m sure it was very interesting.”
“Yes, it was. Come on, let me, you and Dana grab the others and go into the kitchen for a talk. If the guys can have a little chat time then so can we.”
After gathering Delaney, Shelly, Madison, Jessica, Casey and Jayla up in their wake, the Westmoreland women headed for the kitchen. The married women would tell Savannah how they met their husbands and fell in love.
“Okay, I can see all of you have questions, so what is it you want to know?” Durango asked the men who had cornered him and demanded this meeting.
It was Stone who spoke up. “I know it’s really none of our business, Durango, but we know you. What’s the real reason you got married?”
Durango shook his head. He’d known his marriage would be hard for a lot of his family to believe, so he decided to be up-front with them, since he suspected a few had their suspicions anyway.
“Savannah is pregnant. However,” he went on to say before unnecessary conversation could get started, “although her pregnancy might have been the reason we married initially, it’s not now.”
Spencer Westmoreland raised a dark eyebrow. “It’s not?”
“No. I’m in love with her. She’s in love with me. We’re having a baby in September and we’re happy.”
The men in the room stared at him. A few, those who knew how easy it was to fall in love if the right woman came alone, accepted his words. But Durango saw a few skeptical gazes.
“And you want us to believe that just like that, a die-hard bachelor can fall in love?” Quade Westmoreland asked.
“It can happen,” Durango said, smiling.
“I agree,” added the man who’d once been such a confirmed bachelor that the women had pegged him the Perfect Storm. Storm Westmoreland met the gazes of his brothers and cousins and one lone brother-in-law, Sheikh Jamal Yasir. “All of you know my history and yet Jayla was able to capture my heart,” he reminded them.
Thorn Westmoreland chuckled. “And all of you know what Tara did to me.”
The men in the room doubted they would ever forget. Tara had been Thorn’s challenge and had lived up to the task.
“And you’re really happy about being married, Durango? No regrets?” Reggie Westmoreland asked, needing to be certain.
Durango met all the men’s gazes. “Yes and there aren’t any regrets. You’ve all seen Savannah. What man wouldn’t be happy married to her? But her beauty isn’t just on the outside. It’s on the inside, as well. I need her in my life and she has single-handedly opened my heart to love.”
All the men in the room finally believed him. As miraculous as it seemed, Durango Westmoreland had fallen in love. Unfortunately that didn’t bode well for the remaining single Westmorelands, who didn’t have falling in love on their agendas. The thought of doing so was as foreign to them as a six-legged bear.
“Congratulations and welcome to wedded bliss,” Chase Westmoreland said, clapping Durango on the back.
“Thanks, Chase.”
Other congratulations followed. It was Ian who had a serious question to ask. “What about us? The ones who have no desire to follow down that path?”
Durango grinned at his brother and said, “I hate to tell you this, but I doubt any man is safe. I’m going to tell it to you like someone older and wiser told it to me. No matter how much your heart is made of stone, it can turn to putty in the right woman’s hands.”
Jared Westmoreland grinned and raised his wineglass up in the air and said, “With that said, gentlemen, I rest my case.”
Dare Westmoreland, who had been quiet all this time, smiled and said after glancing around