Changing Lanes (Bounty County Series Book 2)

by Maren Lee

  “Oh my god. That reminds me. I completely forgot to tell you with all my drama and all your hotness,” Lane smiled and paused, looking like she had a secret she could not wait to tell him. You’re not falling in love with this woman, Jake. You’ve already fallen. Head over boots. You’re done.

  Lane lowered her voice, conspiratorially, “Chloe’s pregnant.”

  Jake’s eyes widened in surprise. “No shit, huh? Oh my God, I bet Justin is on top of the world right now.” He was so happy for his best friend. And a little jealous, if he was being honest with himself. Huh. That’s an unexpected feeling.

  “Today was the first day Chloe told anyone. She said they’re really excited about it. But pregnancy sure does not sound fun. She said she’s just barely stopped puking. She’s tired all the time, hungry all the time, and horny all the time.”

  “Sounds like you.” Jake laughed.

  Lane lightly slapped his forearm that was wrapped around her. “It does not! What's that supposed to mean anyway?”

  “Nothing, I swear! It’s just that you were puking earlier today, you fall asleep in front of your computer, you eat all of my pizza, and, not complaining about this, but you’re pretty horny, babe. Don’t take offense to that. I was just being funny.”

  “Not funny.” Lane crossed her arms.

  “Hey, baby. I'm sorry. I was just goofing with you. You're the sexiest woman I've ever seen in my life. I'll gladly feed you, fuck you, and snuggle you any damn time you want.” Jake gave her a squeeze.

  “You better. Now go get me some popcorn, I’m hungry again!” Lane demanded and then laughed.

  As Jake began sliding out from under her to make her popcorn wish come true, he asked, “Not to be weird, Lane, but uh, when does shark week start?”

  “Shark Week? I think it's some time in July. Although sometimes I feel like there is more than one Shark Week. Doesn’t it feel like they’re always having Shark Week?” Lane was serious.

  Jake laughed hard enough it shook his entire body. “No, not Discovery Shark Week, honey. Yours. When do you start your period? Just want to adapt my menu to make sure your needs are met.”

  When Lane caught the joke, she laughed and snorted. God, she’s an adorable geek. “Sorry. Shark Week is a new one for me. Funny. I think it should start...” She reached to the coffee table to get her phone. Lane scrolled backwards in the calendar. “Hmmm. I don't know. I haven't marked my cycle in my phone since September, so...” she continued to count on her fingers. “I don’t know. Like day before yesterday I think?” She set her phone down and went back to watching the game.

  “Lane. You didn't mark anything for October. Did you get your period then?”

  What the hell, Jake?

  “God, Jake. Enough with the personal hygiene questions. I don't remember. I think so. I was really busy so I just didn’t write it down. I'm sure I'm fine. Even on birth control I'm not super regular.” There’s no way you’re pregnant. She reached for her glass of wine and brought it to her lips. Jake grabbed it from her and set it back down on the table.

  “Hey, Red. I'm no doctor, but everything you described about Chloe really does fit you to a T. Joking or not, maybe just take a test to be sure? I know my sister Dani does that.”

  Jake has a sister? We need to have some more getting-to-know-each-other discussions.

  “Jake, you're being paranoid. And I'm not going to the market to get pregnancy tests. This whole town will talk. If it doesn’t start by next week, I’ll drive to Billings.”

  “No. We’re finding out tonight. I’ll go to the store. Scoot off me.” Jake stood after she slid off of his lap. He grabbed his truck keys off the kitchen counter and then walked back by and kissed Lane on the head as he headed toward the door. “Drink a bunch of water. Not that wine. I'll be right back.”

  Shit. Lane was sure she was fine. This was silly. Right?

  ➰

  Lane peed on five of the six pregnancy tests Jake had gotten her. She put them on the bathroom counter and left them to process. No sense waiting around for nothing. She went back to the living room, grabbed her wine and sat on the couch. Jake was pacing in the kitchen and headed toward her.

  “So you're not pregnant?”

  Lane took a huge gulp of her wine before she responded, “They're processing.”

  “Why are you drinking wine if you don't know yet?” He looked irritated with her choice.

  “Because you're over reacting.” She took the last two swallows of her glass and stood, “Shall we go see and put an end to this nonsense?” Lane was terrified it wasn’t nonsense, but she didn’t want to show her hand.

  “After you.” Jake motioned for her to lead the way.

  Lane walked into the bathroom and over to the counter. Confusion crossed her face. Jake looked over her shoulder to see for himself. His eyes went huge.

  “They must be false positives. Like too many hormones in my body or something.” Lane shook her head with disbelief. “They’re broken. They must be broken,” she whispered.

  Jake grabbed the box and started reading, “Says here there's no such thing as a false positive, only false negatives.”

  Lane looked over all five of the processed tests again. “No, Jake. You have to be reading it wrong. I’m on birth control.”

  “Babe, I'm not trying to say you're wrong, but, you're wrong. Birth control isn’t 100% effective. You're pregnant.” He spun her around and picked her up, peppering her cheeks and lips with kisses.

  “Jake. Stop. This isn't real. I can't be…” Lane started to cry, tears streaking down her cheeks. This was not in Lane’s plan. She was not supposed to escape Chicago for less stress only to be caught in the middle of the most stressful situation possible in Bumfuck, Montana!

  “Hey, baby, it's going to be okay. I'll take care of you.” He kissed her forehead softly before slowly lowering her to the ground.

  “It's not that. I'm just not...I’m not ready for this, Jake. I DON’T EVEN KNOW YOU! You have a sister? Who are you? Where are you from? What the fuck? I’m on birth control,” she managed to get out. Lane began sobbing.

  Jake grabbed her hand and led her out of the bathroom and to the bed. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap, facing him.

  “Lane, listen, I know we've only been together for a little while, but whatever happens we’ll be okay. I have two sisters. I’m from Idaho. And I'm all in with you babe, no matter what. Even if...never mind...” Jake took a deep breath, let it out, then kissed her head.

  “Even if what, Jake?” Lane asked, still shaking. Tears continued to drip at a pace Lane was not familiar with.

  “Even if...the baby...isn't mine.” Jake looked her in the eyes searching for an answer to the question that he hadn't asked directly.

  “What? No. Jake, if I am pregnant -- which I cannot possibly be -- the baby is yours. No doubt. I've got it noted when I started last in my calendar and you are the only person I've been with since that date. I promise. I hadn’t seen Connor for about two weeks before the wedding. This had to have happened our first night together.”

  The thought of her with Connor made him cringe, but that news was welcomed. Jake visibly exhaled. “Okay, Lane. That's good. I mean either way we would have made it work, but I'm really happy it's mine - I mean - I’m really happy it’s ours.” He grinned from ear to ear.

  Lane was surprised at his reaction.

  “Oh my God, oh my God, this is crazy. This isn’t real.”

  “It’s real baby. Five tests wouldn’t lie.” Jake was smiling so big she feared if she stepped any closer to him, she would trip and fall straight into his dimple. Never to return. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  “What the fuck are we going to do? Jake, why are you fucking so happy right now? We hate each other!” She squinted at him through her tears in disbelief.

  “Holy shit, babe. Once again: I do not hate you. I am seriously fuckin’ into you, Lane. And I can’t say I’m upset to learn I’m linked forever to a smart, feisty, sweet, hot-as-fuck succ
essful woman who knows just what I need and gives me exactly that. I feel like I just won the lottery. I want you by my side and in my bed, Red. This is fuckin’ exciting!” he exclaimed. Jake kept talking, a mile a minute. Oh my god. “I’m thinking about how soon we can get you to the doc. We gotta tell our families. We’ll go to my parents’ place in Idaho for Thanksgiving. It's all just so exciting, babe. Never thought this would be my life. I was worried I was getting too old for it to ever happen to me. But it’s happening. So, yeah. I’m really fucking happy right now.” He kissed her on the cheek.

  Too fast. Too fast. No. No no no.

  “Thanksgiving? Telling families? No. Jake. I can’t meet your family. I can’t--” Lane felt her chest getting tight. You don’t even have a family, Lane. Breathing was becoming more difficult and her stomach was in knots. She slipped off Jake's lap and stood to try and get control of herself. She was starting a full on panic attack. It was puke time again. Fuck.

  Just as she was getting ready to make a run for it to the bathroom, Jake reached out and pulled her back toward him. He maneuvered her body quickly and laid her across his lap. He flipped up the bottom of her robe, and pulled her underwear halfway down her thighs. What in the actual the fuck?

  Smack.

  He spanked her ass. Lane’s immediate response was to buck off of him, but as she pushed up he spanked her again.

  “Lane. Breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth.”

  She did as he said. In and out. One breath after the other. He grabbed a handful of her ass and squeezed hard and then spanked her three more times before she calmed completely. It was impressive how his control pushed her limits and made her anxiety cease to exist. She was able to breathe again. Holy shit.

  Jake softly rubbed her backside while she calmed down. After several minutes, he lifted her to her feet and then pulled her back to sit on his lap, her back to his front. “Red, there's no more running. We’re gonna take this one step at a time. Together.”

  Somehow Jake had gotten Lane’s breathing under control, made her feel better, and made her want to follow all of his instructions. What is happening to me? Lane nodded. “Okay.” She couldn't argue with his logic. It was too late to run anyway and Jake seemed to have the sexual elixir she needed to keep her from losing control. He just made her feel good. And that feeling somehow seemed to drown out the sheer terror she felt at the thought of having a baby.

  “Next week, we’ll get you a doctor’s appointment. Then we can figure out what to do next.” He laid back on the bed and pulled her with him. Lane let out a shaky breath.

  “Fuck this is scary. But that sounds like the only kind of plan we can make at this point.” Thankfully, her breathing was now fully under control. But who had control of it? You know who has control, Lane. And it’s not you.

  Jake brushed a hair out of Lane’s face and behind her ear and then wiped the remaining tears from her face. “My baby mama.” Lane’s eyes softened. Her accompanying smile looked defeated. “You're so beautiful, Lane. Let me have those pretty lips.”

  Lane leaned toward him. You always do what he says. Jake promptly kissed her. Yeah, there’s a reason I always do what he says. The kiss was filled with something more this time. Permanence.

  Lane let her mouth melt into his. She felt the heat of his body press against her as the warmth of their lips and tongues combined. Jake held her tightly. He made love to her. Slowly. Deeply. Sweetly. He was still in complete control, but he did it while worshiping her body and burrowing inside of her soul. She’d never felt more connected to another human. Fuck, what is happening here?

  She was more curious at this feeling than she was frightened. The fear of the unknown didn't overwhelm her like it always had before. Jake was changing everything about her and for the first time in her life that didn't scare her.

  Chapter 11

  The week was going by quickly despite the fact that Lane couldn’t get a doctor’s appointment until Thursday. The waiting was killing Jake, but it was already Wednesday night. Tomorrow they would know for sure if she was knocked up. Jake was ecstatic, but felt the need to play it cool in front of Lane.

  He needed a distraction from everything and he hadn’t seen his buddies outside of work for a while, so he decided it was the perfect opportunity to schedule a poker night. Lane seemed relieved that he’d be out of her hair for a few hours. He may have been slightly overbearing and perhaps a little overprotective since they learned the news, but Jake didn’t think he was doing anything wrong. Lane would just have to get used to it.

  They’d played two rounds of poker already. Wesson won the first round, Justin the second. Smitty and Rook were always the first out. It was always easy money from those two. Jake suggested a timeout from the third round so they could go pick up some pizzas before they drank themselves stupid and started betting on random bullshit like who could fit the most saltine crackers in their mouth at once, or who has the best aim on the dart board after spinning in circles 20 times. Yeah, Jake had been there before. None of this ever went well and he was too damn old for the hangover that was sure to follow one of those nights.

  Jake grabbed his keys, “Hey, Hunt! Ride with me, bro?”

  Justin looked up at him from the poker table and shrugged, “Sure.”

  If there was going to be an opportunity to talk to Justin about Lane and the city bullshit, now was going to be it. They loaded into his truck and headed for Gino’s. In a town as small as Imminence there weren't any chain restaurants to choose from, so if they wanted pizza, Gino’s was it. Good thing it was the best pizza this side of the Mississippi.

  Justin wasn’t being his normal outspoken self tonight, so Jake figured he’d break the silence, “What's going on with you, Hunt? Everything alright?”

  “Yeah, things are fine. What’s new with you, Jake?” Justin snapped.

  “Woah, woah, woah? What’s with the hostility?” Jake was surprised at his best friend’s tone.

  “Hmmm, I dunno. Maybe the fact that you don’t talk to me about anything anymore? I have to find out from my wife that you and Lane Bennett are in a serious, exclusive relationship?” Sarcasm was dripping from his tone.

  Shit. Jake didn’t see that coming, “I’m not-, it was just-, fuck. I’m sorry man. I've been so goddamn busy lately. I would have told you if we’d been scheduled on the same shift. These day shifts are killing me. But that’s no excuse. I should’ve called you.” He didn’t have a good excuse. So for the first time ever, Jake chose not to fight with Justin. He could have easily thrown the threesome in his face and bitched Justin out for letting Chloe tell Lane all about it. But he didn’t. How grown up of you. Jake’s inner self patted him on the back.

  Justin looked shocked, “Thank you…?” Jake could tell he'd caught him off guard with his apology and calm demeanor. “Look, at first when I heard I was really pissed. But Chloe talked to me and calmed me down. She said Lane was really happy and I needed to support you. I should have called you, too.”

  “It’s all good. We’re both happy. That’s all that matters.” Jake dodged a bullet with the best-friend-ass-chewing. It made him feel kinda bad about how big of a dick he was to Justin when he and Chloe first got together. Chloe had been kidnapped by a crazy-as-fuck stalker. In the middle of the whole thing, Jake had made some...uncouth...comments about Chloe and Justin went off the rails. As a result, Jake knocked the fucker out cold and they lost valuable time looking for her. Jake was grateful they had been able to find her and Justin had pulled the trigger when he did. Chloe was alive. And now his best friend was married with a baby on the way.

  “I love you, bro’,” Jake said melodramatically and reached over and man-patted him on the shoulder.

  “Yeah, yeah. Me too. Enough with the feelings. I’ve had plenty of that shit over the last few months.” Justin rolled down his window and spit, “There, feeling more masculine now.”

  Jake laughed. “Lane told me about Chloe. Congrats, man. Super fuckin’ stoked for you.”<
br />
  A sheepish grin crossed Justin’s face, “Thanks, man. I should have called you too. We find out in a few weeks if it’s a boy or girl. It better be a boy.”

  Jake shook his head, “You’ll be just as happy with a girl, you fuckin’ softie.”

  “I know that dummy, I’m just saying. If it’s a boy, then I only have to worry about one idiot teenager. If it’s a girl, I have to worry about every fucking idiot in this town.”

  Fuck. Jake didn’t even think about that. If he had a little girl, he’d have to worry about assholes like himself messing with his baby girl for the rest of his life. Sonofabitch. Jake figured right then and there that there was only one option: he was going to have to beat the shit out of karma.

  “Is Chloe feeling all right? Everything is healthy with the baby?” Jake glanced at him then back to the road.