Page 29 of Sheriff's City Girl

“Now you might get to have one anyway,” Lily said, her eyes meeting mine. “And I know Mason is an amazing father to Jess, even if he works all the time. He’s a good person.”

“Except when it comes to women that aren’t related to him,” I snorted, letting the frustration out. “He just wanted to satisfy his dick, Lily. That’s all this was about. I’ve fallen into that kind of shit more times than I want to admit.”

“Okay, but…” Lily’s voice trailed off. “Sometimes the guy was head over heels for you, and you didn’t return the sentiment. You’re a heartbreaker, Emma. It’s okay to embrace that. You’re a boss bitch, not some pathetic woman that gets used by men.”

I stopped, nearly laughing at the attempt at a pep talk. “That might be true in some cases, but not this one. I was willing to just jump right off with Mason—well, sort of, anyway. My curiosity outweighed everything in the moment.”

“And now you get to rock him with the news of a baby,” Lily’s words came out uneven as she picked up the pregnancy test, her eyes like saucers. “Because that’s definitely pregnant.”

I grabbed the test from her hand, my jaw dropping as I stared at two very bold lines. “Maybe this test is old.”

“I bought it last month when I was two days late. I started my period before I ever made it home… So it’s definitely not old.”

My heart pounded so hard it rattled my brain. “Oh my god…” I couldn’t decide how I felt in the moment, a strange excitement mixing with anxiety. If I had just magically become pregnant, I would’ve been ecstatic…

But after what happened with Mason tonight…

Shit.

“He doesn’t want a relationship, why would he want a kid?” I choked out, finally getting the courage to meet Lily’s gaze.

“That’s not really an option… It takes two to tango.”

I pursed my lips, setting down the test on the counter. “Maybe I should just not tell him right now.”

“Maybe that is a terrible idea.”

“But what if he changes his mind? What if the baby makes him suddenly want to be in a relationship with me?”

Lily’s brows furrowed. “Would that be such a bad thing? Didn’t you just say that you were willing to consider something with him?”

“Well, yeah… But I don’t want some guy to be with me solely because I’m having their child. I’ve seen how those kinds of relationships work out—and it’s not a good thing. I refuse to trap some guy with a pregnancy.”

“But you wouldn’t be trapping him. He could easily just say that he wants to co-parent.”

“I have a feeling that Mason is traditional…” My voice trailed off as my mind started to picture the four of us as a family. What would Jess think about it? My stomach knotted up. “Maybe I should just move back to Austin.”

“What?!” Lily startled backward. “No! Don’t leave. Everything is going so well here. I don’t want to see you go—and what about your café?”

“I could just let Sarah run it, and I could go back to Austin, maybe try to open up a second one.” My head was buzzing with some kind of answer that didn’t end with having to face Mason.

“And so what? You’re going to try and manage two places while being pregnant and then having a baby? It took everything you had to just get one up and going. I think you should really consider just… taking a few deep breaths. We can figure this out. You don’t have to rush off to tell him. I didn’t tell Drew until I was in the second trimester and knew for sure it was a viable pregnancy.”

“That gives me, what? A month?”

“A lot can happen in a month…” Lily said, giving me a sympathetic smile. “I don’t think you should just throw in the towel. I haven’t seen Mason with anyone in years—like I’ve told you over and over. I think that maybe you should still see where things go with him. For all you know, he’s just scared. I know his ex-wife broke his heart.”

I forced myself to take a deep breath, desperate to calm the anxiety that was threatening to morph into a full-blown panic attack. “Okay, maybe I’m not being rational… It’s just… I could get really hurt.”

“I never said that you should chase him,” my best friend clarified, folding her arms across her chest. “All I’m saying is that maybe you shouldn’t move towns overnight. We’ll keep this between the two of us for now. We don’t want the news hitting town. Eventually though,” she paused, letting out a sigh. “It will be impossible to hide, but hopefully by then, you’ll have things figured out with Mason.”

My heart skipped a beat as I revisited that hypothetical scenario. “I barely even know the guy.”

“And he barely knows you, too. But I do know Mason, as does Drew. He’s not a bad guy. He just… has some issues.”

Obviously.

Chapter Thirteen

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