Page 35 of My Cowboy Temptation

Well, Brody’s and mine, although I have yet to share this news with him or anyone. I still haven’t figured out when or how I’ll do it. But Everly’s call last night tells me that I’ll have to tell her that I’m back in town and soon, since I hate lying and pretending to be in London when I’m less than a thirty-minute drive away.

I pull my shirt up and look down at my growing belly. Soon I won’t be able to hide my growing waistline under baggy shirts and loose dresses and skirts. I’ll also need to have an answer for those who will wonder whose baby I’m carrying.

Fortunately, after being out of the country for three months, no one but me—okay, and my mom—knows that I haven’t dated anyone, or that when I wasn’t at the art studio, I was at home working on my own stuff. Which means people will naturally assume that I was knocked up by some sexy foreigner—not my dad’s best friend.

But it might be fun to say, if only to see their faces.

Sobering up, I recognize that although I might not be ready to share everything with everyone, I should at least start by sharing the fact I’m back in Montana with my dad and best friend before they find out from someone else.

If that news happens to get to Brody, so be it. But I’m not ready to see him. Not yet. Not until I know what I’ll tell him.

The last thing I want is for him to figure out that our brief interlude resulted in this pregnancy and him finally coming clean with my dad for the sake of doing the right thing. That’s not how I want him back in my life. If he didn’t love me enough to make the necessary declaration, I certainly don’t want it now.

The last thing I want is a baby to force his hand into doing anything.

The pressure on my bladder can no longer be ignored, and I head to the bathroom to pee—something I’ve been doing with increasing frequency. When I’m done, I toss off my clothes and pull on my new favorite outfit—an oversized tee and loose PJ bottoms that have a generous waistband. Returning to my painting, I set up my paints and brushes and turn to study the painting again.

I nod to myself. Definitely going to add the prairie stars.

* * *

My heart is racingin my chest as I drive my new—well, new to me—2012 Jeep Cherokee up the paved road toward the ranch nearly two weeks later.

I had every intention of getting here before today, and in fact, every day of the past two weeks, I woke up determined that today would be the day I would call and tell Everly and my dad that I was back in Montana and that I had a bit of news to share with them in person. But between getting out of bed and crawling back into bed every night, I always came up with a reason for holding off.

Which is why I just got in the Jeep and started driving today. No sense alerting everyone in case I turn around at the last minute. But this time, I couldn’t back out. Not when I’m reaching the sixteenth week of my pregnancy, and soon it will be impossible to hide that fact.

The longer I wait, it’s just going to be that much harder to explain why I waited.

I look around as I crawl along the paved road toward the ranch. Everything is more or less the same as when I last saw it, save for the fact we’re now in September, and there’s a bit more color on the trees and the brush along the mountainsides that in a week or two will be blazing bright with color.

I’m only halfway to the main house when I spot someone on horseback racing toward me on the road going at such a fast pace you’d think they were out-racing a fire. I hold my breath as the rider stops just in front of me, blocking my progress toward the house. I let out a breath a few seconds later when I can tell by the slope in the shoulder and the guy’s overall bearings in the saddle that this isn’t the cowboy I have reason to be afraid of seeing.

I roll my window down as the rider comes over, and I see now that it’s just Childs. “Where’s the fire?” I call out to him.

He peers down, taking another moment to recognize me. “Callie? What are you doing here?”

“Long story. Better question is why are you nearly running me off the road?”

“Sorry. We saw your arrival on the cameras, and since we didn’t recognize your vehicle and weren’t expecting company, we wanted to come out and make sure there wasn’t going to be any trouble.”

Trouble? “Since when does the ranch have cameras?” I ask, my mind whirling with possibilities, not sure I am going to like the answer.

“Best you ask your dad.”

I definitely will. “Thanks, Childs. See you around,” I say and continue down the road.

I park in front of the house and climb out, taking a second to glance down at my belly and assure myself it didn’t suddenly get bigger on the drive here and that the dress I chose still camouflages my bump. All good. As long as I don’t linger on the hugs, I should be fine.

I pause at the door. In the past I might have thrown the door open and raced in to surprise my dad and Everly with my presence. But since that morning I walked in on them getting overly intimate in the kitchen, I’ve learned that sometimes surprises aren’t what they’re cracked up to be. Instead, I knock and wait nervously.

“Coming,” someone calls out, and I recognize Rita’s voice as she reaches the door.

I’m already smiling by the time the door opens, and I savor the confusion, followed by shock and then sheer happiness as she recognizes me. She rushes forward and, just as I feared, pulls me into her arms for a long hug. I pull my belly back, sticking my butt out to prevent her from feeling my round belly. “What on earth are you doing here?”

“Guess I’m not cut out for London life after all.”

She grins. “Are you back in Montana for good?”

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