by K. C. Crowne
“Ah. Say no more.” I wasn’t shy about those sorts of things, and it did explain why Skye was being so cagey. We went back outside, the day warm and mild, the sun nice and bright. Good day for some outside work. As we made our way to the car, Skye’s foot hit a crack in the sidewalk. She lunged forward, the bag flying out of her hands and landing on the sidewalk, the contents spilling out.
“Shit,” I said. “Lemme get that.”
“No!” She scrambled to her feet. “I can—”
But before she could finish the sentence, I was standing over top the bag. I looked down, expecting to see tampons or pads or whatever. What I did see was a hell of a shock.
Pregnancy tests.
“What…what the hell?”
“You weren’t supposed to see that.” She scrambled to pick them up and shove them back into her bag.
“Truck. Now.”
She flashed worried eyes at me before hurrying to the door and climbing in.
What. The. Hell. Pregnancy tests? My mind raced as I stepped around the truck and got in. The engine roared as I turned the key and we were off. Silence passed as I tried to figure out what the hell to say.
“Skye. Why on earth are you buyin’ pregnancy tests?” It was about the dumbest question I could’ve asked. But I wasn’t exactly in a clear-thinking mood.
“I…I’m probably worrying over nothin’.”
“Are you…late?”
“I don’t think so. But last night when we were all, you know, my breasts felt really tender.”
“In a good way?” I asked these questions as if I knew what it felt like to be pregnant when I really had zero clue. But I needed information.
“In a weird way. It’s never happened before, so I just wanted to make sure I got nothin’ to worry about.”
“But you haven’t had your period yet. That means you could be…”
She held up a hand, trying to calm me. “Let’s not jump to any conclusions.”
“Skye, you’ve been with two guys. Only two guys, right?”
She lifted an eyebrow, and I thought for a moment she might yell at me. It was a shitty question. “Yeah. You and Adam were the only ones in the last month. Hell, more than the last few months.”
“Okay. So that means if you are…then there’s no way to know for sure whose it is.”
She frowned and looked near tears as she nodded. “I know. But like I said, I’m sure it’s nothin’.”
“Could be more than nothin’. Could be a damn baby.”
“Listen, you don’t have to get mad,” she said hotly, glaring at me.
“Hell, I don’t know what the hell I’m feelin’. One second I’m sippin’ on some banana-strawberry bullshit and the next I’m wonderin’ if I’m gonna be a dad.”
“You’re probably not. It’s pro—”
“Probably nothin’, I know,” I interrupted. “But Skye, if you’re pregnant, that’s gonna be a mess of a situation.”
“I’m well aware, thank you.”
“And we’re gonna have to tell Adam about it.”
“Not if it’s nothing. We need to find out first.”
I stared at her, agreeing by nodding my head, which was spinning, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk. All I could think about was getting to the ranch and letting her take that damn test.
The rest of the ride passed in silence. She was telling me it was nothing, but deep in the pit of my stomach I was sure my world was about to be turned all kinds of upside down.
Adam
I wasn’t happy about working for Bryce, but damned if the barn didn’t look great. The boys and I had spent most of the day going over it, doing the finishing touches to get the job done. And though it was for a man I wasn’t too crazy about – to say the least – I always took pride in a job well done.
“What’re you thinkin’, boss?” Stafford, my foreman, stepped up to my side as I looked over the barn. “All set?”
“Don’t think there’s anything left to double-check.”
“Hell yeah!” he said, giving my back a slap. “Boys and I were talkin’ about goin’ to Raw Heart for a few drinks after. You comin’?”
Raw Heart. All that place made me think of was Skye, along with what we’d done that night. Still couldn’t believe we fucking did it again. But damned if I couldn’t stop thinking about how hot Skye looked with her lips wrapped around my dick. It’d been enough to make me want to duck out to the nearest bathroom and get myself off to the thought of it. Good thing I had enough self-control not to do it during a damn shift.
“Is that a yeah, boss?”
I’d zoned the fuck out. “Might stop by later. You boys gonna be there all night?”
“Of course we are,” he said with a guffaw. “Post-finish tradition, you know? Show up after the job’s done, close the fucker out.”
Getting plastered sounded nice, like it’d take the edge off all the tension I’d been feeling. But something told me I’d need to keep a clear head tonight. Wasn’t sure what it was.
“Alright. Maybe I’ll see y’all there.”
The crew packed up and headed out, and soon I was alone in front of the barn. Hadn’t seen anything since I’d been there for the day. And no sign of Bryce. I wondered if he was purposefully staying out of sight. I took a quick look through the barn, inside and out. Fine work – I had a hell of a crew, and they never failed to live up to my damn high standards.
Nothing else to do, so I glanced around and saw Gael on the way out. I tipped my hat to him before getting in my truck and leaving the Atwater ranch for what would hopefully be the last damn time.
Once I was back at my house, I tossed my hat onto the nearest chair and sat down to kick off my boots. But I barely had time to relax before I saw something strange, a car outside my place. And it wasn’t just any car – it was a cop car driving by at a slow-ass pace, like it was taking a look inside.
I sprang up off the couch and hurried to the window, ducking behind the curtain so the cops couldn’t see me. The car drove on by slowly, the faces of the two officers inside locked onto my house.
What the hell were they doing? What were they looking for? And there was no way they wouldn’t know I’d be able to see them driving by.
Were they…trying to intimidate me or some shit?
I hadn’t committed any crimes. Simply put, there was no reason for those cops to be outside my place unless the reason was a bad one. I watched as the car drove off, making a turn around the corner and disappearing out of sight. Relief hit me in a wave as soon as it was gone.
And the shit made me worry about Skye. Once the cop car was gone, I grabbed my phone, dialing her number as I paced around the living room. No answer. Travis was next. I rang him and he answered.
“Yo,” he said. “What’s up?”
He sounded distracted, no doubt about that. In the background, I could hear Skye. They were still together? Then again, they worked and lived on the same property – not like it was all that strange.
“Had some weird shit happen. Cop car drove by my place, all slow-like. Almost as if they wanted me to see them.”
“That’s…that’s wild, man.” If there was any doubt about him being distracted, that settled it.
“What’re you two talkin’ about?” Skye asked in the background.
“Trav,” I said. “What’re you two doin’? What’s goin’ on over there?”
There was a long pause. “Adam, I think you better get over here. Some shit went down and we need to talk about it. All three of us.”
“What kinda shit?”
Another pause. “I don’t…I don’t think it’s somethin’ we oughta talk about over the phone. Just get on over here as fast as you can. It’s important.”
“Hell, at least tell me if it’s bad news, Trav.”
“It’s not bad. But it’s…hell, just come over.”
I wasn’t going to get any more out of him over the phone. We said our goodbyes, and after grabbing my hat and keys, I was off. The
ride over was spent trying to figure out what had happened over the last hour. First the cops, and now something seriously weird happening with Skye and Travis.
I worried it was a threat. Maybe the cops had stopped by Rainbow Canyons. Maybe they’d been giving the Walkers the same treatment. No, that couldn’t be it. Travis would’ve said something when I’d mentioned them.
Then what the hell could it be?
It wasn’t a fun drive, but I soon reached the gates of the ranch. A buzz opened them for me, and not long after I was parked in front of Travis’s place. I knocked on the front door and Travis opened it.
“Hey. Come in.”
He was worried, and Skye, seated on the couch, gnawed on her lip, also looking nervous. I had no idea what they were going to tell me. But I said a silent prayer.
Skye
I wasn’t the type of girl to panic, but I was in a hell of a tizzy. I’d taken the pregnancy test, and though I only had to wait five minutes, it felt like five hours. My life was about to change forever. I didn’t know for sure that I was pregnant, but on some level, I knew.
No damn idea what I was going to do. And being a mom would be hard enough, to say nothing of, you know, the little fact that I didn’t even know for sure which of the two men standing out there was the father.
Calm your ass down. At least wait until the test is done before you start freaking out.
I was doing my best to chill myself out, but it wasn’t working. Not a few hours ago I’d been on the verge of getting thrown into jail by some possibly corrupt cops and I was fine. But seated on the couch, I felt on the verge of a damn breakdown.
And Adam didn’t even know about it.
“Alright,” he said as he stepped in through the front door. “What’s this news you can’t tell me about over the phone? You worried your line’s tapped or somethin’?”
“Not that,” Travis said, ignoring the little joke. “Sit on the couch – I’m gettin’ you a beer.”
“I don’t want no damn beer,” Adam said, looking between us. “I wanna know what’s going on!”
Travis had already left the room, returning with two beers. Two beers. Meaning, he didn’t think I should have one on account of the baby. Neither of us knew for sure, but we both seemed to feel it on a gut level. He handed one to Adam and opened his. Despite his protestations, Adam opened his as well and took a big ol’ swig.
Adam gestured toward me. “It’s Skye, somethin’ to do with her. Did someone threaten you? If they did, I swear to every damn thing holy I’ll break them in two.”
He was angry. Couldn’t blame him. And I also couldn’t help admiring his protective nature. It was no small consolation to know that whatever happened, with the baby or Bryce or anything else, I had two amazing men looking out for me. Almost too good to be true.
Travis glanced in my direction, as if saying without saying alright, now or never.
“It’s me,” I said. “I…now I don’t know for certain, but I think I might be…” My lips froze. I couldn’t say the word.
“What?” Adam asked, his brows furrowed. “You think you might be what?”
“Pregnant,” Travis announced quietly.
Adam sat as still as a statue, his eyes wide and brows arched. He stared at me. “You think you might be…pregnant? What? How?”
“Well,” Travis began with a small smile. “When and a man and a woman love each other very much…”
“Aw, shut your smart ass up,” Adam said, though he chuckled. “Now’s not the damn time to be cute.”
Travis’s joke stuck in my ears. He’d said the “L” word as a joke, but…what did I really feel for these guys? What we had was strange as hell, no doubt about it. But I had two men here, two men who I cared a hell of a lot about.
Was this normal? Feeling this way about one man so soon would be an odd thing on its own. But two men? I glanced back and forth between the two of them, trying to decide if one of them was more special to me than the other. But that wasn’t the case. I cared for Adam, and I cared for Travis. They were both special in their own ways – Travis was wild and passionate, Adam brooding and intense. And neither of them would stand by at the possibility of me being in danger.
How the hell could I pick? And as if the decision weren’t hard enough already, there was the chance I was pregnant. As Travis and Adam spoke, I thought about how motherhood had always been something I’d wanted. A baby of my own to love and care for. But I’d always imagined it would happen far off into the future, when my life was more stable than it was now. And with one special guy, not two.
“A damn baby,” Adam mused. “This is crazy.”
“No shit it is,” Travis agreed. “But no sense in worrying about it until after we get the results.”
The time was probably up, but Adam paced back and forth, running his hand through his thick hair as he shook his head. He was worried about something else. “What about the cops?”
“What about them?” Travis asked. “Don’t know what the hell’s goin’ on with them, but we know they ain’t exactly on our side with this thing.”
“Fuckin’ Bryce,” Adam seethed. “Fuckin’ prick.”
Part of me felt like I ought to join in the conversation, help the guys figure out some kind of plan to deal with the Bryce situation. But I was speechless. All I could think about was the test in the other room, how each second that passed brought me closer to knowing whether my life was about to change forever.
“How much time we got left for that thing?” Adam asked
I picked up my phone and looked at the timer.
“A little over a minute.”
“And those things are for sure?”
“Box said almost certain results,” I told. “But I’d still need to see a doctor to make certain.”
“This is crazy,” Adam said, throwing his hands up. “Crazy.”
I scowled at him. “Sorry if a baby’s not part of your plans, Adam.”
He stopped where he stood, realization on his face. At that moment, he seemed to understand what he was doing. Adam stepped over to the couch and sat down next to me, then took my hand.
“Listen,” he said, looking deeply into my eyes. “It ain’t like that. This is…somethin’ else. That’s for sure. But I ain’t mad. Whatever happens, I’m gonna be there for you all the way.”
His words helped, put my worried mind at ease somewhat. Travis stood at the other side of the room, watching the two of us. Seeing him, seeing Adam next to me…it brought back worries about how whatever happened, it was a threesome kind of arrangement. So fucking weird how this all started with me and a couple hot guys, tipsy after a night out, while I pulled them into some stupid fantasy of mine.
But the more time I spent with these two men, the more I knew that I wanted both of them. But were normal people built like that? I’d heard somewhere that jealously was a rough emotion, but it served a purpose. It meant you cared enough about someone to want them all to yourself, to take care of them.
Would it be possible for two men to put aside their jealousy and share the same woman?
The timer went off, the eyes of all three of us widening at that repeating chime. My hand shot out and I silenced the thing.
“Test’s done,” Travis intoned.
“Test’s done,” Adam repeated.
I slipped my hand out from under Adam’s and rose from the couch.
“Let me go see it,” Travis offered. “I’ll come back and let y’all know what it says.”
“No.” The word came out of my mouth like a reflex. “I’m gonna do it. You boys wait here.”
“You sure?”
“I mean, we’re all gonna know here in a minute anyway. And I wanna find out first.”
I rose from the couch, took a deep breath, and headed to the bathroom. My feet felt heavy, like I was walking toward my final fate or some such. In the bathroom, I stared at the test on the edge of the sink where I’d left it. I picked the thing up, my eyes closed.
&nb
sp; No big deal, I told myself as I stared at the ceiling, then closed my eyes again. Just gonna find out if you’re about to the mother to a baby whose daddy you aren’t sure of.
With one more deep breath, I opened my eyes.
I stared at the results of the test. My hand shook as I glanced at the folded up instructions to make sure I’d read them right. I tossed the instructions back onto the counter and wrapped my hands around the test.
Time to tell the guys. After splashing some cold water on my face, I started toward the living room. Adam and Travis rose simultaneously, expectant looks on their faces.
“Well?” Adam prompted. “What’s it say?”
“Positive or negative?” Travis asked.
I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. But they didn’t need words.
The answer was written all over my face.
Travis
She didn’t need to say a damn word. The look on her face said it all. But Adam was a touch more interested in words.
“Well?” he asked. “What’d it say?”
“I’m…”
“You know what it said, Adam. You know damn well what it said.”
“Let the woman speak for herself!” he shot back.
“Don’t you go yellin’ at me, dammit!”
I was being prideful and I knew it. Some serious shit was going down, and I was getting snappy at him for taking a tone with me like he was my kid.
My kid. I glanced at Skye, the pregnancy test in her hand. She didn’t need to say a single word. What she did need was some comfort. I hurried to her and put and arm around her. “Come on and sit down, Skye. Let’s talk about this.”
She nodded, and without a word fell onto the couch. I was trying to be calm and cool, and on the outside I was. It’s a skill I had, to have the appearance of keeping it together, even when I was shook up on the inside.
But I felt something strange inside, like a quiver. I glanced down to see that my legs were shaking, along with my hands. What the hell was wrong with me? Not wanting Skye or Adam to see me in that state, I sat down next to her. Without thinking, I put my hand on her leg.
