Page 27 of A Baby for the Texas Cowboy
And fear for his unborn child.
She didn’t want the baby, and she didn’t want him.
Where exactly did that leave any of them?
He didn’t trust himself to speak to her. For the first time in his life, he opened his truck door but didn’t help her inside the cab. He drove her to the winery, both windows down because he didn’t think he could breathe with all the tension clawing through him.
The air was warm and fragrant with the miles and miles of nature surrounding them.
He dropped her off at the winery. Catalina and the crew were already coming out to greet her, so he drove off with just a slight tip of his hat that caused Catalina’s eyes to goggle. Tinsley didn’t notice as she strode away from his truck, her legs long, her back straight and her face averted from the man who’d ruined her life.
So now what?
He’d texted a couple of hands to help him load and unload. Instead he got his oldest brother, Axel.
He’d always wished that Axel had talked more when he’d been growing up. He’d admired his big brother so much. He’d pretty much taught him everything he knew, but Anders felt like his brother was mostly a mystery. That worked in his favor today because Anders wasn’t in the mood for small talk or eviscerating himself with explanations. They loaded the furniture in his truck and the small trailer Axel had hitched to his truck.
“The bedding and dishes and kitchen crap are in boxes on shelves, or do you think she’ll want to buy her own?” Axel asked.
Definitely, she wouldn’t want him picking out anything for her. But it wasn’t in his nature to be petty.
“We can start her off with the basics,” he said flatly starting back into the barn. “She has a lot to do, and August and Catalina are hoping to open the tasting room next weekend.”
He wouldn’t be here for the opening.
He’d be finishing the last leg of the tour before the finals in Vegas.
Where would they even be then?
Talking? Hating each other? What if she wanted to give the baby up for adoption? His soul shriveled.
“Get those two boxes there.” Axel was right behind him, reaching for the biggest box that he hadn’t even made the attempt to lift because he’d been caught in the nightmare scenario his brain had kicked out. “I’ll get this and the other, and that should get her through a few weeks at least. We can order basics for groceries to be delivered.”
He closed his eyes. They stung like he had dust in them.
“Keep moving, Anders. It’s easier.”
He knew. Of course Axel knew his little brother had fucked up and was not dealing. Axel had always been there for him, for August. When he’d only been a young teen himself, Axel had taken over for their mother and father after their brother Aurik had died.
Anders straightened and grabbed the two boxes, mentally kicking himself. He didn’t have time for angsty self-recrimination or pity. They finished loading. He slammed the tailgate of his truck hard enough to rock it and then went back to the barn to take a last look.
His eyes lingered on the handmade oak crib. She hadn’t picked that to load in the truck. His daddy had made the crib. Axel, August, Aurik, and then he had all slept in it.
“She doesn’t want the baby,” he said when he heard Axel re-enter the barn and stand next to him.
“Needs time to adjust to the idea, I expect.”
“What if she doesn’t?” He looked at Axel and anguish squeezed his heart.
“Then you deal with it then.”
It was so Axel. Simple. True. Saying everything while seeming to say nothing.
“She got family to help her?”
Guilt washed through him. He’d almost Googled her once but then thought that was stalkerish, that she’d tell him what she wanted him to know.
“I asked August if he knew.” Anders searched Axel’s body language for signs of judgment. “He said she hadn’t listed next of kin on her employment application, but that’s all he said.”
