Page 64 of Mister Cowboy
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After January had fallen asleep, Brecken tossed and turned as sleep evaded him. He’d told a woman that he loved her for the first time. She hadn’t said it back, but he’d barely given her a chance. Whether she knew it or not, she was in love with him too. He knew it as matter of fact as he knew his own feelings. Pushing back the covers, he stood and walked from her bed to the dresser where his phone laid.
Powering the screen on, he winced as messages flashed across the display. Ten texts from Nadia.
They escalated from the first text earlier that afternoon, which asked him to call her and said they needed to talk, to the last text, which was sent an hour ago. That one was in all caps and demanded that he call her or she would track him down and interrupt whatever it was he was doing.
Stepping into the bathroom and closing the door, he dialed her number and clenched his teeth in annoyance.
“Finally, what the fuck, Brecken? I’ve been trying to reach you all day.”
“Whatever it is it can wait until Monday morning.”
“No, it can’t.”
“Look, Nadia. I’m sorry if I led you on or if I wasn’t clear on our situation, but I’m dating January now and I’m happy. I’d hoped we could continue our business relationship, but if you can’t handle that, then I’m afraid I’m going to have to replace you.”
Nadia’s shrill laughter made him pull the phone away from his ear. “I’m not going anywhere, and as far as your frumpy girlfriend goes, you might as well breakup with her because I doubt she’s going to stick around once she finds out.”
“Finds out what? What are you talking about?”
“Congratulations, Brecken. You’re going to be a father.”
At first, the words replayed in his head like a fuzzy dream that he couldn’t quite capture and remember, but as they came into focus, he stumbled back and the air left his lungs in a rush. Images of Nadia naked in his bed cycled like a loop, each one making him more nauseous.
“I’m pregnant,” Nadia stated flatly when he hadn’t responded.
“That isn’t possible,” he whispered.
He could hear her speaking but couldn’t make out the words, so he cut her off. “I can’t talk now. We can discuss this first thing Monday morning.”
“But—” she started to object.
“Gotta go, Nadia.”
He ended the call and squeezed the phone, wishing the damn thing would bust into a million pieces. Not even consciously aware that he’d moved from the bathroom back to the bedroom, he slid in next to January and pulled her into him.
No. This was not happening. He’d been careful every single time. Nadia’s laughter filled his head, and he closed his eyes tightly and breathed in January. Felt her soft body mold to his. There had to be some kind of mistake. He’d take care of it first thing in the morning. Without a chance in hell of sleep, he settled in and said a silent prayer for the first time in maybe forever, begging for this whole thing to be nothing but a nightmare when the sun rose over the horizon.
When the first morning light hit and he pressed a kiss to January’s temple before beginning to ease out of bed, he was still firmly inside the terror. She stirred but kept her eyes closed. “It’s early, come back to bed,” she said, her voice rough with sleep.
“Something has come up, and I need to go into the office. Go back to sleep and I’ll call ya later.”
She mumbled a response, and he took only a moment to study her, memorizing every detail of her like this—peaceful and happy.
36
Brecken
The clickof her high heels across the marble entry caused Brecken to grind his teeth. She walked into the office with a smile and sat in the leather chair, crossing one leg over the other.
“Where’s the test?”
“The test?” Her eyes widened. “Eww. I threw it away.”
“It? You only took one?”
Christ, how did I let this happen?
