by Em Petrova
Her hands trembled as she cleaned up and righted her clothing. A lump sat in her throat, and for a minute she wondered if she’d be sick again.
Pregnant the first time they’d slept together. The chances were phenomenal, especially with two forms of birth control in place. Rory was right—this baby wanted to be created.
And her and West’s child would be beautiful. She had to tell him.
Chapter Ten
Sweat zigzagged from under West’s hat and trickled down his face. He shoved the cow again to get her moving. This time, she took a few steps forward and halted.
“Stubborn ass,” he bit off.
A snort from beside him brought his head around. Lane shot him a crooked grin. “You shouldn’t talk about yourself like that. Mom taught us that if we couldn’t say anything nice we—”
“Shouldn’t say anything at all,” West finished. Putting his back into it, he nudged the cow. “Funny, Lane.”
“About as funny as you and I both being promised a spinoff series, isn’t it?”
Panting, West fell back, the cattle forgotten. His gaze locked with his brother’s. “I wondered about that. They told you the same? Promised you huge money?”
“Yup. Guess we’ve both been played.”
“I bet they told Wynonna the same thing. We’re all naïve bumpkins.”
“Don’t let Wyn hear you say that. You remember what happened when the girls at school called her a hick.”
“Yeah, she calls herself a rustic princess. Country people are different than city folk, and it’s fine by me. Help me get this cow movin’, would ya?” West smacked it in the ass, but it stood there rooted to the earth.
All the frustrations in his life had come crashing down on him. He slammed his shoulder into the animal’s flank. Again he threw himself at it, and it only gave a low meehhh.
“Dammit!” West stood back, panting and wishing he had a hot cattle brand at the ready.
Lane walked to the animal’s head and held out a hand. On his palm was a bit of apple. Usually only horses fell for that trick, but this time it worked. The cow moved forward toward the pen where the vet could look at it when he showed up.
West gave a shake of his head. “You’ve got the magic touch today, Lane.”
“Nah. Just the right treat. What’s up with you, anyway?”
“Whattaya mean?” West hurried to close the pen now that the cow was inside.
“You’re edgier than normal. Something in the tabloids today?”
He snorted. “Dunno and don’t care.”
“More from your lawyer about Wallace?”
“Nope.”
“So it must be Malou.”
West ground his teeth together. When he didn’t respond, Lane shot him a long look.
“She dump you?”
Irritation rolled over him. Suddenly he felt as though he’d leaped into a pond then rolled in hay. His skin itched through several layers straight to his bones.
“No, she didn’t dump me.” He tried to take a deep breath, but his lungs were too constricted.
“So what’s up?”
“She won’t talk to me,” he burst out.
“Avoiding you.”
“Yes, goddammit. It’s been two weeks. We were good then we suddenly aren’t. I don’t know what I did.”
“That’s often the case with you, isn’t it?” Lane had the cow leaning in for more treats. He produced another apple slice from his pocket.
“I don’t want to discuss my past. I’ve been trying like hell to keep things with Malou clean. No camera crews and no tabloids.”
“Maybe it’s that last piece on you and Sampson’s ex.”
He shook his head. “No, we discussed that. It happened months ago, before I met Malou. She was okay with it.”
“What else could it be?” Lane asked.
“That’s the thing—I have no idea. And she only gives me short replies when I text. If I call, she doesn’t answer.”
“Is it possible she’s just busy? There’s a lot of people needing doctoring in the city.”
“Not all day and all night too. She’s putting me off, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Drive over there.”
He growled. “Got too much work here. Buck’s a slave driver. He gave me a list of a dozen things this morning.”
“Yeah, he’s been a tyrant the past few months. Tell you what—you take care of the vet visit and then give me your list.”
West met his brother’s stare. “What?”
“You heard me. Tell me what else Daddy Buck needs and I’ll take care of it so you can straighten things out with Malou.”
Affection ran through West. He didn’t know if he wanted to hug his brother or cuff him. In the old days, they’d show their companionship by wrestling in the mud and coming in to be told off by their momma for getting so dirty. But now that they did their own laundry, it seemed more of a pain in the ass.
He extended his hand. Lane’s gloved palm smacked his and they shared a bro handshake. “Thanks, Lane. I owe ya one.”
“I’ll be collecting soon.”
“How ‘bout I give up the spinoff show to you?”
Lane laughed. “You never wanted it anyway—I know you. That’s why you should know I don’t want it either. I’m ready for these contracts to expire so I can get back to livin’.”
“You feel as tied up as I do?”
“Hell yes. I don’t even want to think about dating until the cameras are off me.”
“That’s what I thought too, and then Malou came into my life.”
“Won’t happen for me. I’m steering clear of the ladies. Now tell me what’s on that list and get to the city to talk to your girl.”
West happily handed over the responsibilities to his brother. After dealing with the vet’s visit and taking instructions about giving the cow double wormer, he started across the field, his phone already in hand.
Malou smiled up at him, a candid shot he’d gotten of her while she’d been on the ranch. Right before she’d been sick and rushed off. He’d puzzled over the moments again and again and couldn’t figure out what the hell he’d done to send her packing.
He pressed the button to call her. She picked up on the third ring, and relief showered him like an ice bath. For a second, he couldn’t speak.
“Hey, L’il Bit.”
“West…”
“I’m getting in my truck right now and I’ll be there in a while. Meet me at your place.”
“I… I can’t do that. But I’ll come to you.” Her voice sounded strange, as if she was a little breathless. He hoped it was with happiness that she’d see him soon.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind driving.”
“I’m sure.”
“All right. I’ll see you soon then.”
After he hung up, he stared at her picture for a heart-throbbing moment. Was this it? Was she coming to dump him in person?
She didn’t know what she was up against. He was as stubborn as a bull when he wanted something. And he wanted Malou.
* * * * *
As soon as Malou opened her truck door, West was there, tugging her into his arms. She barely sucked in a nose full of his scent before she felt the emotions rise inside. Tears stung her eyes, and she swallowed hard.
She’d spent many days thinking of how to break the news to him. That she was pregnant and having his baby. She was about to find out if the West she knew was different from the playboy in the media. If he’d stick by her and be a father to his child or run for the hills.
Or disappear to Cabo again.
She was going to send him into a tailspin.
He cradled her head to his chest, his nose buried in her hair. Was it her or was he shaking? Her heart did a double roll. Slowly, she pulled back enough to meet his stare.
“It’s good to see you,” she whispered, her voice hoarser than she’d like.
Hope flared in his eyes. “Is it?”
“Yes. West…” S
he took his hands and gazed up at him. “We need to talk. Is there someplace where we can be alone?”
Cameras circled the truck, though none were filming, on his orders, she knew. He’d done well by her, keeping the rumors away. But this news, when it hit, couldn’t be hidden.
“Yes. Come with me.”
He threaded their fingers together and led her across the yard. They passed the barn and the shed with the farm equipment. To her surprise, a bench had been set up back here. Overlooking the land, unbroken by the eye. In the distance a windmill whirled, and the Calhouns’ cattle dotted the range.
A perfect place to tell him what was in her heart.
He gestured to the bench and she sank to the wooden boards. He sat beside her, so close they were touching. But he didn’t move to put his arm around her. His muscles were tense.
“Why haven’t you been answering my calls and texts?” he asked.
When her gaze raked over his handsome face shielded by his cowboy hat, a pang hit her. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry. I just needed time to think.”
“Okay,” he said slowly.
She opened her mouth. The words she’d rehearsed time and again fled from her memory. But it didn’t matter, because shouts sounded from the house.
“West! Get to the house now!”
He jumped up. “Mom. Dammit. She wouldn’t sound that way if it wasn’t urgent.”
“Go. Hurry.” Malou envisioned injuries—cuts, kicks from bulls that rattled men’s brains.
She rushed forward, and he followed. They ran around the shed and barn and hit the yard in time to see a man in uniform standing there. Another trooper walked forward too. Mrs. Calhoun wrung her hands.
“West Calhoun.” It wasn’t a question of his identity—they knew him. Everybody did.
“What the hell’s this? Is it about Wallace?”
“You’re under the arrest for destruction of property and bodily harm.”
West reeled. Malou gasped, her hand fluttering over her lips and the other low, over her belly. Protecting the child they shared.
“Whose property and whose body?” His changed from shock to fury. “Jack Himes.”
“So you do know him. You have the right to remain silent.”
“That asshole had a woman tied up beating her, and you’re arresting me?”
“Whatever trouble Mr. Himes has with the law isn’t your concern. You have the right to an attorney.”
“Like hell. That asshole hounded our sister to star in a porn video and then harassed her when she said no, and you’re arresting me?”
Malou’s mind swirled. She couldn’t grasp what was being said—and had no idea what to do now.
West glanced at her, and did a double-take. His stare locked on her hand, riding low over her womb. Understanding hit his eyes. “You’re…”
She backed up a step. Did she want to have a baby with a man who was getting arrested left and right? What kind of life would that be for their child?
Mrs. Calhoun rushed across the yard and pulled Malou into her side. Her arm was stronger than it looked, but Malou didn’t have any intention of breaking away. She needed the support to remain standing.
“You’re pregnant, aren’t you? It’s why you’ve been throwing up. Fuck, I’m so dumb for not seeing before now.”
“West.” What was there to say?
“Dammit, let me go!” He shook off the cops, but they whipped his arms behind his back and cuffed him. “I need to talk to her. Malou! I want this. I want this baby. It’s the only thing I do want! Not the spinoff show or any of those women. And I sure as hell don’t want to be involved in this mess with the law!” He struggled, but the police propelled him into the back of the car.
“I protect my own!” he continued to yell. “My momma, my sister, sisters-in-law and all their kids. You and this baby. Malou!”
The door slammed, and Malou’s dam of tears broke. She leaned heavily on West’s mother and let the sobs come.
Wynonna came running out just as the cops drove off with West. She spun in the yard, taking in the scene. “What’s happening?” she cried.
“West’s been arrested for assaulting Jack,” their mother said.
Wynonna paled. Her freckles stood out sharply on the heart shape of her face. “What?” Her hot whisper reached Malou clear across the yard, the tones reverberating in her mind and heart.
“Get her inside. She needs to sit down.” Mrs. Calhoun tried to move Malou, but she braced herself.
“Wait.” She pulled the envelope from her pocket and tore it open. When she drew out the slip of paper, the world seemed to spin.
With a cry, she held up the paper for Wynonna and West’s mother to see.
He was going to have a little girl.
Chapter Eleven
“West, what the fuck?” Wynonna stood at the entrance of the police station. Having bailed him out for the second fucking time.
Seeing the tirade about to burst out, he held up a hand to silence her. He walked straight to her truck and got behind the wheel. She gave him a dirty look but didn’t press him to let her drive. She got into the passenger’s seat and he started the truck. The anger roiling inside him knew no bounds.
“Jack?” He sounded as if he hadn’t drunk anything but whiskey in twenty-four hours.
“In jail. Bail’s set too high and he can’t get out.”
“Good. He’s safe from me then. Because I want to do some serious bodily harm.”
“Lane told me what happened.” Wynonna’s eyes filled with tears and she leaned across the console to throw her arms around West. He hugged her awkwardly.
“Thank you for what you did, West.”
“No need to thank me,” he said gruffly. “We were all there.”
“But you were the one caught on film roughing him up.”
He shot her a look. “If I’d known there was a third camera, the man wouldn’t have gotten off so lucky.”
She rested a hand on his arm.
“Have you seen Malou?”
She nodded. He tried to read her expression but gave up.
“Spit it out.”
“You’re having a girl.”
He rocked in his seat as if he’d slammed into a concrete wall at eighty miles per hour. His heart gave a heave. Tears blurred his vision.
“She hates me, I’m assuming.”
“That’s between you and Malou. She hasn’t confided in me. She’s a very private person. I’m surprised she let me and Mom in after your arrest.”
“Tell me what happened.”
Wynonna squeezed his arm. “We took her inside and she told us about the baby.”
“Fuck. I don’t even know about the baby.”
“Men are stupid about things, so that doesn’t surprise me.”
He leveled a look at her.
“Seems this wasn’t planned.”
“Hell no. We used protection all but once, but she’s on the pill.”
“Seems you knocked her up the first time you slept together.”
He gaped at her and nearly veered off the road. He righted the truck before he took out a bank of mailboxes. All he needed was to be charged with reckless driving and destruction of property.
“How the hell could that happen?”
Wynonna pushed out a sigh. “When a man and woman love each other very much…”
“Wyn.” His warning tone made her giggle.
She threw up her hands. “How would I know? Shit happens. Now, what you’re going to do about it is what makes a man a man.”
He threw her an acid look. “Are you saying I won’t see this through? I won’t do right by Malou and my d-daughter?” The word made his heart constrict and explode simultaneously. God, he needed to hold Malou right now. Stroke her hair and kiss her lips and tell her they’d do this together.
If she’d take him back.
So many counts against him. What she must think of him…
“West, nobody knows you better than yo
ur family. You’re not a man who walks away from responsibility. But how do you feel about having a baby?”
“I feel like I just ran off a cliff.”
“Oh.”
He caught her gaze. “And started to fly. Wyn, where is she? Tell me how to reach out to Malou.”
“She’s at the ranch.”
Shock tore through him.
“Mom bullied her into staying, and she’s been pampering her with home cooking. And Kashley and Ridge too.”
“Shit. Do they know?”
“Kashley’s fawning over Malou the most.”
His throat closed. “Ridge picked a winner with that woman.”
“He did. She’s very selfless, despite her own troubles. It hasn’t been that long since they’ve started trying for a baby, though. It will all work out.”
Wynonna’s words bounced off him, his mind on other things.
She put something into his hand, and he started. He took his eyes off the road long enough to glance at the paper.
Girl.
For a long minute, he battled the urge to break down. “Does Malou want to see me?”
“Would she have stayed at the ranch if she doesn’t?”
Reaching across the console, he squeezed her leg. “You’re a good egg, Wynonna. But you’ve got horrible fucking taste in men.”
She scrunched her nose. “Don’t I know it? I’m finished with men for a while. Besides, I need to keep my nose clean if I want this spinoff show.” She sucked in a gasp at her blurted comment.
West couldn’t stop the chuckle that bubbled out. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
* * * * *
Kashley stuck her head into the kitchen where Malou was grinding lavender for use in one of her calming oils in her new pregnancy line. Malou looked up with a smile, but her happiness vanished as she saw Kashley’s face.
“West’s coming up the drive.”
“Oh.” Her voice sounded off even to her ears. Quivering and harsh all at once. She set aside her mortar and pestle, the lavender doing nothing to calm her at the moment. Problem was, she didn’t think there was a fragrance on earth that could.
Her hands shook, and she wiped them on her loose pants. The clammy feeling spread all over her body, and she dragged in a deep breath.
It was time to decide her fate. She was having this baby with or without West Calhoun. But he was prone to getting himself in bad scrapes and worse press. He had a sex tape out that would likely circulate for years after the Calhouns went out of fashion. Their child could look the tape up on the Internet and know what her father had done.
