Home on the Ranch--The Cowboy's Dilemma

by Pamela Britton

  “I’m not getting rid of it, Mom. I’m having a baby. I thought you should know.”

  “Well, that’s unfortunate,” her mom said. “But you can still go after him for money and stuff.”

  Amy just shook her head. “I’ll keep you posted on a delivery date. Goodbye, Mom.”

  “Wait, don’t hang up.”

  Amy waited, her hand tightening even more. What new arrow would her mom sling her way?

  “Are you happy about this, Amy?”

  She relaxed. “Yes, Mom. I’m happy.”

  Scared to death. Freaking out inside. Wishing I had a mom who would hold my hand through the whole process. Who might even offer to move in with me to help out.

  But Amy knew that would never happen.

  “I’ll call you later.”

  “Okay, dear.” The volume went up in the background and Amy knew that was it. She’d broken the news. Message received by her mom. It was back to her regularly scheduled programing for Susan Jensen.

  Amy hung up, but not before letting out a curse and vowing once again to never, ever be like her mom. Never.

  * * *

  “I know I told Flynn I didn’t mind you throwing me a baby shower, but we really don’t need a planning party,” Amy told Charlotte three days later. “We can do everything via email. No need to meet face-to-face.”

  Her new friend just shook her head. Light from the kitchen window behind her lit up a face that seemed tinged with exasperation, not surprising since they’d been going back and forth on the baby shower issue for the better part of the last five minutes. And before that, she’d picked Charlotte’s brain about paternity suits. Not that she wanted Trent’s money, or even his help, but after her conversation with her mom she figured she better have some answers because she knew her mom would ask if she’d explored the issue. Charlotte had been a wealth of knowledge thanks to her job at Child Protective Services, but she’d insisted she act sooner rather than later where Trent was concerned. For some reason, Amy didn’t want to do that and she could tell she’d frustrated Charlotte with her reluctance. And now this. The baby shower.

  “Of course you can, Amy. You’ve done so much for me. This is my way of giving back. Mine and Jayden’s and Ava’s...all of ours. Well, except for Kait. She’s hard to pin down. But she promised she’ll come to the baby shower. This would just be dinner. A simple girls’ night get-together. Maverick’s going to take Olivia up to his dad’s house for dinner, so it’ll just be the four of us.” She nudged her forearm. “Come on. It’ll be fun. When was the last time you had a girls’ night?”

  Never. Not once.

  “It’s been a while.”

  “See?” She wiggled in her seat. “Please?”

  Amy didn’t know what to say. Charlotte had been so kind to her the last few times they’d met, always praising her ideas and telling her what a genius she was. It didn’t matter if Amy didn’t really believe it—there were wedding planners who were way more brilliant than she was—but it was kind of Charlotte. But this—offering to have a girls’ night while they discussed the baby shower Charlotte and Jayden and Ava insisted on throwing her? Well, this was just super nice.

  “But Jayden has so much to do. I know Flynn said she had people to handle it all, but they can’t do everything for her.”

  “No, they really can,” Charlotte said, eyes filling with amusement. “And you should see the house they bought right down the road. It’s ah-mazing. In fact, we’re thinking of holding the baby shower there. It’s about three times the size of this place.”

  Three times? She stared out toward the family room, where Olivia played with a toy stable and some horses. Her place would fit in Charlotte’s family room, she realized, not that she was complaining. She was just happy to have a roof over her head. Speaking of that...

  “Thank you for referring Rachelle to me,” she said, hoping to change the subject. “I can’t wait to get started on her wedding.”

  “Rachelle is a doll. I’ve been working with her for years. You’ll love her. And don’t change the subject. You’re coming over here next weekend to discuss your baby shower. It’s my turn to do for you what you’ve done for me.” She pointed the pen at her, the one she’d been using to jot down notes. “There. I’ve decided. You’re coming over for dinner next Friday.”

  Amy was out of arguments, but the whole time she talked to Charlotte about which vendors she recommended for her wedding, she kept wondering why it was so hard for her to accept charity. She supposed it had something to do with her upbringing and her mom always making a big deal out of spending money on her. It didn’t matter if it was tennis shoes or a new backpack, her mom always complained, and so she’d learned to do without. Look at her pregnancy, for example. She’d spoken to her mom once since that initial conversation, and not a single offer of help. Not that she wanted any, but wasn’t it a mom’s place to at least make an offer? Especially since her mom knew Trent was out of the picture? But whatever. It felt strange to have people want to help her, people who didn’t expect anything in return.

  So that next Friday she showed up, the sound of music penetrating the cool night air. Thanksgiving was right around the corner. They would blink and it would be Christmas, and after that, Charlotte’s wedding and after that...

  She rested a hand against her belly.

  You and me, kid.

  “Here she is,” Charlotte said the moment she swung open the door. “My lifesaver and the best wedding planner ever.”

  “No, I’m not,” Amy said, peeking around at the other two ladies sitting in the family room. Jayden came forward with what looked like a glass of champagne.

  “Sparkling apple juice,” she said, her pretty blue eyes alight with friendliness, black hair pulled back in a ponytail. “Although Ava said a new study suggests an occasional glass of wine won’t hurt baby, and she should know since she’s a doctor, but still. She said better safe than sorry.”

  “Well, I didn’t say it exactly like that,” said the one woman in the room Charlotte hadn’t met yet. “Hi. I’m Ava.”

  With her dark hair pulled back, she looked too young to be a doctor, Amy thought, but the smile she gave her was just as friendly as Jayden’s and Charlotte’s, and Amy admitted this wouldn’t be too bad. She didn’t have any real friends—she’d been too busy making something of her life—but she liked Charlotte and appreciated how she wanted to help.

  “So,” Ava said, “Flynn tells us you have nobody to throw you a baby shower.”

  “Well, I mean, I have a mom, but she lives in Florida.”

  And she really didn’t want to talk to her again. She just couldn’t drum up the energy to deal with the emotional fallout of her mom’s disappointment. Again. Call her weak, call her a chicken, but she just couldn’t do it.

  “So that’s why we want to have one for you,” said Jayden, and Amy wasn’t too proud to admit she hoped she looked as lovely as Jayden did when she was six months along. Actually, they were all gorgeous. Amy felt like the ugly duckling of the group.

  “We’re going to take care of everything,” added Ava with a wide smile.

  “It’ll be fun,” said Charlotte.

  Amy took a deep breath. “Okay.”

  They pulled out pads of paper and pencils and asked her a million questions. She didn’t know the sex of the baby. She didn’t care what kind of food they served. She needed pretty much everything. She had no clue whom to invite, although Charlotte suggested inviting a few of the brides she’d helped over the years. They discussed where to have it and Jayden suggested her place since Amy’s place was so small. Amy mentioned wanting to paint her place, anyway, and Jayden jumped on her words, saying they could all help when the time came. On and on it went and the women across from her were so kind and sweet that near the end of their questioning Amy had the weirdest sensation flow through her. It took her a moment to re
alize what it was. Gratitude. Joy. Humility. So many emotions she couldn’t just pinpoint one.

  When they were done, it was all she could do to softly say, “Thank you.”

  They all three nodded and smiled. Amy wondered if it were possible to adopt all of them. Half sister. Aunt. Cousin. She didn’t care.

  “But we’re not through,” Ava said. “Flynn said you’ve been working your tail off and so we thought we’d have a little fun tonight, too.”

  “I know how exhausting it is to be pregnant and work,” Jayden said, patting her belly.

  They all exchanged secret smiles and Amy wondered what they had up their sleeves. Whatever it was, they couldn’t wait to share the idea.

  “We’re having a pampering pregnant party,” Charlotte said. “Jayden spent a small fortune at the beauty store today. You wouldn’t believe everything she bought. And, frankly, it’s not just you pregnant ladies who need a little R & R.”

  Charlotte dashed off. She came back with a basket of goodies that had clearly been stashed away earlier. Masks. Scrubs. Even a cucumber or two.

  “You don’t have to do this for me,” Amy said.

  “Are you kidding?” Jayden said. “I’d be disappointed if we didn’t.”

  She’d never been invited to do something like this in her life. Never. She just didn’t make friends easily. Women her age seemed interested in different things than her, like men and parties and posting selfies. That had never been her. She preferred to throw her energy into the weddings she planned. Social life? Who needed one of those? That was why Trent had seemed too perfect. He’d been happy to let her do her thing while he went off and did his own thing.

  Like Tiffany.

  “Please stay,” Jayden added.

  The words were so heartfelt Amy found herself looking away. “Okay.” Because the truth was, she felt pretty dumpy and ugly these days. Maybe a little pampering would help her self-esteem.

  “Goody,” Jayden said.

  “Don’t feel bad,” Ava whispered. “I’ve never done anything like this, either.”

  Amy met her new friends’ gazes and smiled. Jayden, especially, seemed so poised and confident that it seemed hard to believe she didn’t have a weekly spa session. But she supposed things always looked different from the outside looking in.

  “I just wish my daughter was here,” Ava added. “She’d love this.”

  “You have a daughter?”

  “I do. And a baby boy. So between work and the kids, it’s been a long time since I’ve had girl time.”

  Ten minutes later they all had masks on their faces and were lounging in the family room, Amy doing her best to share a funny story about a zoologist she’d had as a bride and a monkey that’d run rampant through her wedding guests, although it had gotten harder and harder to talk thanks to a drying mask.

  “You mean the monkey stole the woman’s purse?” Ava asked.

  “It did. Just took off with it, although to be honest it was my bride’s fault. I warned her that the little wretch was not to be trusted. You should have seen what it tried to do to the wedding cake, but she insisted her coworker, as she called him, be included in her wedding. We had this whole zoo theme going on. Not terribly clever or original, but that was one of my first weddings to plan, and the bride insisted—”

  The door opened and they all three froze, and to her absolute and complete horror, Flynn walked in, took two steps, and stopped dead in his tracks.

  “I love the way you just walk in,” his sister, Jayden, chastised.

  “I’ve been knocking,” he said, “but you clearly couldn’t hear me over the sound of the music and your laughing.”

  Flynn is here.

  Her whole body just sort of went oomph, especially when his gaze met her own, although how he recognized her with all the goo she had on her face, she had no idea.

  “Oh, my goodness,” Charlotte said. “I forgot you were coming by tonight.” She slapped her forehead, then immediately realized she shouldn’t have, pulling her hand away and frowning at her palm. She had a bald spot where she’d inadvertently wiped away the green mask. “Let me go get those registration papers for you.”

  She shot up off the couch.

  “So, how are you, big brother?” Jayden said, standing up.

  “Oh, no.” He waved his hands. “Don’t you dare come near me.”

  “Why ever not?” Jayden asked in a Southern-belle voice, but she stopped. “You sure you don’t want to join us? We have extra masks in the basket.”

  Flynn tipped back his cowboy hat. “Uh, no thanks. I’m not into looking like a leprechaun.”

  His gaze met her own again and she felt compelled to say, “Hey, Flynn.”

  “Hey, Amy.”

  And then Charlotte came bursting back into the room. “I think this is it.” She handed Flynn a piece of paper. “I don’t pay attention to horse stuff, but the picture matches the horse he’s selling.”

  “These are them,” Flynn said. “Thanks.”

  “While you’re here,” Jayden said. “Amy was just saying she wanted to do some upgrades to her place. I mentioned having some leftover paint, and since I know you’re coming over later this week, maybe you can pick it up and drop it off for her?”

  “Oh, no. He doesn’t have to do that.” Amy’s whole body tensed at the thought of Flynn coming by. He’d been keeping his distance lately, sending her text messages, and she didn’t blame him; she really didn’t. She was so ashamed of her behavior. What kind of woman kissed a man when she was knocked up with another man’s baby? She’d turned into some kind of hormonal harlot.

  “Flynn doesn’t mind,” Jayden said. “Do you?”

  Flynn had been put on the spot, and he very clearly didn’t know what to say. Actually, Amy could tell he wanted to say no, but he didn’t.

  “I can do that,” he said.

  “Perfect,” Jayden said, and despite her brother’s protests, walked up to him and planted a kiss on his chin. “You’re just the man for the job.”

  “Great, now I have gunk on my face,” he said, pulling away.

  But he didn’t wiggle out of getting the paint. Instead he started backing out of the room. “Tell Maverick I’ll list Blondie for sale by tomorrow.” And with a wave of the paper in his hand, he turned.

  “He really doesn’t have to grab that paint for me,” Amy said.

  “Nonsense,” Jayden said. “He’s always running by the house. It’ll be easy.”

  “But I don’t even know if I’ll be allowed to paint.”

  “My dad won’t mind. I’ll see to that.” She smiled. “Now, let’s get this stuff off our faces, shall we, ladies? I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to crack like an egg.”

  They all stood up and Amy glanced outside right as Flynn hightailed it out the front door. She wondered if he could see her from the driveway, and if she was the reason he’d left so quickly.

  Chapter 13

  He sat in the driver’s seat for a moment to catch his breath.

  What the heck was it about her? Even with her face stained green he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. It made no sense.

  But as he backed out of his brother’s driveway, he kept waiting for her to reappear in the window, and when she didn’t, he pointed his tires down the road, gunning the engine to the point that he could hear rocks pinging off the undercarriage of his truck.

  “Stupid, dumb, ridiculous—”

  The list of words he called himself was long, but even as he drove up to his place—the old bunkhouse he used to share with his brothers—he knew he’d have to face facts. For whatever reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

  Later that week he headed over to her place with a load of paint cans in the back of his truck. His palms began to sweat as he got closer.

  Just get in and out, he told
himself. That was all there was to it.

  Another truck sat in her driveway, and as ridiculous as it seemed, his first instinct was to slam on the brakes and turn around. But the knee-jerk reaction made no sense. He had no idea if the truck belonged to a man or a woman.

  Except it looked like a man’s truck.

  The hunting stickers on the back window. The massive tires. The shiny rims. Man with a huge ego, one who wanted to make a statement with his vehicle. Look at me. Here I am. My truck is bigger than yours.

  He didn’t stop in her driveway—that would block whoever it was in—so he pulled past the entrance, parking on the road, and the moment he slipped out of the vehicle, he could hear it. Raised voices. Scratch that. One raised voice. A man’s.

  “You’ll have to prove it’s mine,” the man all but screamed. “Because I don’t believe for a minute you’re carrying my child.”

  “Trent,” he heard Amy say. “I have no reason to lie—”

  “We weren’t even having sex. I was seeing Tiffany and trying to break things off with you.”

  “We had sex. Do you remember that night you came home drunk and I had to put you to bed and you pulled me down.”

  “That wasn’t sex. That was just some groping and kissing.”

  “It was sex.”

  “Not that I remember.”

  “I’m not having this conversation with you, Trent. The baby is yours whether you believe me or not.”

  Flynn stood outside the house, trying to decide if he should stay or go. Probably go. But just as he was about to turn, the front door swung open and he came face-to-face with a dark-haired man with narrow shoulders and painted-on blue jeans.

  “Who’s this?”

  Amy appeared behind him, and there was no mistaking the surprise he spotted in her eyes, nor the instant flash of humiliation.

  “That’s Flynn Gillian, the landlord’s son.”

  “What’s he doing here?”

  “I’m dropping off paint.” Any thought of leaving fled the moment Flynn spotted the anguish in Amy’s eyes. “Amy wants to paint before the baby arrives.”