Page 52 of Saved By the Mountain Man

“I told you, it’s not that simple,” I said through gritted teeth. “There are things you don’t understand.”

“Then make me understand!” she yelled, her eyes blazing. “Stop hiding behind your past and tell me the truth.”

“Damn it, Rae, what’s going on? Where is this coming from? I don’t understand what’s happening.”

“I just want to know where I stand with you,” she said hotly. “I just want to know the truth.”

“The truth hurts.”

“It always fucking does.”

I shook my head. “It’s too dangerous, Rae. The less you know, the better.”

That wasn’t entirely true. In fact… at this point it was just a lie. Vito wasn’t going to come after her just because she knew what I’d done. Vito didn’t give a shit about me anymore. I was sure he thought I was dead, and he’d carried on with his life.

Rae laughed sarcastically, shaking her head. “Dangerous? More dangerous than running for my life? More dangerous than being pregnant?”

She snapped her mouth shut and stared at me, and I froze.

The words hung in the air between us, heavy and electric. I stared at her, my mind reeling as I tried to make sense of what she’d said.

“Pregnant?” I repeated, my voice barely a whisper.

She turned her head away and crossed an arm over her stomach, rubbing her other arm.

The room seemed to spin around me. Pregnant. I hadn’t even considered the possibility.

“That’s not possible,” I said.

“Do you know how babies are made, Tanner?” Rae shot back.

“Of course I know,” I cried out. “But we were careful! I’m always so fucking careful with everything I do—”

“Except that one time.”

Fuck.

I shook my head, trying to put all the pieces together, trying to figure out how it was possible that my life got more complicated, more difficult, than easier. Was I never going to catch a break?

“How… how long have you known?”

“I just found out.”

I narrowed my eyes. “How?”

“Do you think I puke out my guts for fun?”

“That doesn’t mean you’re pregnant.”

“Just trust me,” Rae said.

I barked a laugh. “Trustyou?”

She stared at me. “What’sthatsupposed to mean?”

“You’ve been hiding shit from me since the day you got here, and you want to jump down my throat aboutmysecrets? It goes both ways, Princess. You don’t get to hold it over my head when you’re not open with me either, so cut the bullshit.”

Rae shook her head. “You don’t have to believe me if that’s what you want. I’m leaving.”

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