Page 11 of Stalked at Rescue Ridge

What had she expected? For him to pull her into his arms and welcome the news?

Kade had been clear about never wanting a wife or children, especially children. He’d brought the point home so clearly that she’d been shocked into silence after missing her period and realizing the reason.

She hadn’t just dropped the fatherhood news on him like a truck falling out of the sky; she’d busted his trust in the man who’d been his best friend. It had been Zeke’s idea not to tell Kade about the baby. Zeke had proposed to her, but she hadn’t accepted. Why would she? He had argued that the baby needed two parents and that having a father around would be best. Zeke had always wanted a family. Even through all the barrage of hormones and mixed emotions, she’d wanted to tell Kade about the baby.

Why had she listened to Zeke?

Because you were scared out of your mind.True. Bree had been freaked out and agreed to a pretend relationship with Zeke to protect the baby, and Kade. At least, that was the lie she’d told herself when, in reality, she was hurt.

After a couple of months, reality had dawned. She’d lied to Kade. Not outright. She’d done it in the worst way. She’d hidden behind Zeke. She’d allowed him to pretend the two of them were a couple. She’d granted permission to lie to Kade about Zeke becoming a father. She still wondered why Zeke had jumped at the chance and offered himself up so readily. Was it because Zeke and Kade had grown up together and been best friends? He’d told her that this was his chance to repay Kade for all the times he’d saved Zeke’s skin on a mission and going way back to when they’d been kids. It was Zeke’s turn to step up and return the favors. It was twisted logic to commit to raising someone else’s child now that she was thinking more clearly. A human was a lifetime commitment. There was no return policy when times got tough, and they would. No one got out of childhood or teenage years without a few battle scars. Zeke’s heart had been in the right place, and she’d convinced herself that hers had been, too. They’d both been protecting Kade and the baby.

Those words had sounded awful and deceitful once she’d come to terms with the pregnancy. There’d been no way she would marry Zeke and commit him to a lifetime with her and her child.

Bree had never been one to take the easy way out, which was the reason she sat in Beaumont Sturgess’s office right now. Was she betraying Zeke by being here? Because, for the first time since the pregnancy news, she felt like a thousand-ton weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Grief over Zeke would take months, maybe years, to process. She would never get over losing her best friend. Her relief had nothing to do with him and everything to do with finally doing the right thing by all parties involved. Looking back, it had been selfish to agree to the lie, to allow Zeke to step in for his buddy and shortchange himself in the process. And what if she’d gone ahead with the marriage proposal as he’d pressured her to do?

If he’d lived, she would have been denying him the one thing he’d deserved most…someone to spend his life with who was in love with him.

Bree would always see Zeke as a best friend, a confidant, and the person who’d been there for her during her most confusing times. His plan might have been misdirected, but it had come from a place of caring. She wouldn’t fault him for stepping in to help, offering himself up in the process.

Waiting for Kade to return was the second hardest thing she might ever do when all her survival instincts urged her to run, to get as far away as possible.

Instead, she planted her backside in the chair, lifted her chin, and readied herself for whatever came next.

A few minutes ticked by that felt like hours before Kade’s broad frame darkened the doorway again. He stepped inside and took an empty seat, one removed from her. Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his thighs and clasped his hands together.

“We need to talk,” he said.

Bree had a whole lot to say but clamped her lips shut and nodded.Hear him out.

“I thinkwe both know that I’m not father material,” Kade said. Bree loved Zeke. They’d planned to get married. Had his buddy known about the paternity before he’d proposed? Before he’d died? Had he cared? Bree must have hit a low point when she’d found out Kade was the father and not the man she’d been crazy about. “And I’m moving to Alaska in a matter of weeks. But I fully intend to take financial responsibility for the child.”

Bree crossed her arms over her chest, resting them on the bump that was about the size of a basketball. From the corner of his eye, he couldn’t stop checking it. Had it moved?

“You need a minute to process this news,” Bree said. Her breathing said she was working hard to remain calm. “Since you’ll be around for a few weeks, why don’t you take whatever time you need and then get back to me.”

“I have one question,” he said, not ready to let her out of the room.

“Okay,” she said.

“Why am I hearing this news now?”

“What? Are you suggesting that I did any of this on purpose?” Bree asked. “Like, I got myself pregnant and then deceived you after you made it clear to me that you wanted nothing to do with kids or having a family, ever.”

Kade pushed off the chair and stood up. He raked his fingers through his hair. Words clotted inside his throat. None would surface.

“Fine,” Bree said. “Don’t answer. I need to go anyway.”

With that, she stood up with a wince, put her hand out to stop him from coming to her aid, and then waddled out of the office.

Shit.

Following Bree when she needed space would be a mistake. He’d made a fool of himself once by texting her more times than he cared to count, asking what he’d done to get the sudden cold shoulder after the time they’d shared. He’d convinced himself they’d started something special between them while she hadn’t been able to wait for him to ship off before she’d moved on to the person she’d really loved, Zeke.

Chloe stuck her head inside the office, interrupting his heavy thoughts. “Want to come back to the trailer with me? I need to get back to Grayson.”

“Yes.”

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