by Vivian Arend
Simon waved her off, and she stepped into the kitchen to find some privacy.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Don’t you ‘Hi Dad’ me, little girl.”
Shoot. Katy’s tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. Did he already know? “What?” she asked cautiously.
“You trying to pull a fast one on your old man, or what?”
Her amusement came out a little shaky. “Me pull something on you? You’ve mistaken me for one of the boys.”
Keith Thompson barked out a laugh before getting to his point. “Hey, don’t bother bringing anything for dinner tonight. It’s all covered.”
“Really?”
“Gage is back in town.”
Yes, he was, but that didn’t answer her question. “And this means dinner is set because…?”
“He called me.”
Oh. Shit. “Really.”
“You thought you could keep that a secret, didn’t you? Nope—he called to say hello, and let me know he plans on being around more often. Good man, that one. Turned out well.”
She wondered if her dad would change his opinion and whip out the clamps and tire irons once he heard the rest of the supposed story. “Dinner…?” she hinted.
“Right. He’s bringing Chinese food. Him and Clay. Don’t be late, or I won’t be able to hold back the ravaging hordes otherwise known as your brothers.”
Maybe full stomachs would make the news easier to hear. “I’ll be there.”
Well. That was going to add some excitement to the evening. Gage wanted to be there when she announced her pregnancy? She wasn’t sure what she thought about that yet.
But first to deal with the issue of Simon.
Katy pushed through the door to the living room to find her self-declared boyfriend was no longer on the couch. She peeked around more thoroughly to discover his boots were gone, along with the coat he’d hung by the door. “Simon?”
She stepped up to the front window just in time to see his truck vanish down the driveway.
What the heck was that about?
Katy wavered between dismay and happiness that he was gone. She still hadn’t told him about the baby, which only dragged things out even more. Postponing the madness wasn’t the way to go.
That’s when she noticed the papers she’d piled neatly on the coffee table were now scattered over the surface. The ones she’d printed out regarding what to expect during pregnancy, and her calculations on when the baby might arrive based on possible conception dates.
There were a lot of question marks on the pages, but Simon’s name was clear enough.
Well, there was a part of her answer. He’d seen the information, put two and two together, and his first response was to run for the hills? Better to know now than later.
She leaned on the wall and practiced breathing out her frustration in time with the slow, steady scrapes of the shovel outside her door. Whoever had been clearing her driveway had switched to the front path and stairs, and the even rasps were strangely calming.
Eventually the noises stopped, and the doorbell rang. Katy expected to see one of her brothers, although they usually stormed in, no matter how often she asked them to knock. Instead it was Gage who leaned on the shovel he’d just finished using on the front stairs. Somehow he still managed to look all dangerous and sexy even considering the pink plastic handle.
He grinned. “Morning.”
Katy glanced past him at the walkways. “Morning. You’ve been busy.”
“No use in letting it pile up.” He cleared his throat. “Can I come in?”
She opened the door and let him pass. “I hear you’re joining us for dinner tonight.”
He paused in the middle of unzipping his coat, guilty expression on full. “I was going to tell you that.”
Katy fluttered her lashes at him in an exaggerated manner. “You fail at understanding the gossip chain. Dad must have called me within ten minutes of your offer.”
He waited until he was facing her square on. “You’re going to tell them tonight, aren’t you?”
All her amusement slipped away. “Yes, and it would have been tough enough without having you there.”
He shook his head. “It would be tougher to tell them without me. I’m involved, Katy, one hundred percent. You don’t have to do this alone. None of it.”
His words made something inside her gut ache, in a good way this time. “My dad was right—you’re a good man, Gage Jenick. A good man with a death wish, but still.”
He’d toed off his boots and followed her into the living area. “It’s not going to be easy, but I don’t think the guys will outright kill me. Put me in traction, maybe.”
They settled across from each other, his gaze staying firmly on her face. Katy ignored him best she could as she gathered the papers strewn on the table.
The silence stretched on for far too long.
“So…” Gage broke off then cleared his throat. “I hate that there’s this wall between us. I’m not going to walk on eggshells anymore, so if I step over a line, tell me to go to hell, okay? We can stop this stupid awkwardness and be honest with each other.”
“Fine by me.” Katy leaned back and waited for whatever bomb he wanted to drop this time.
“What did Simon say?” Gage blurted out.
“Ha, is this why you gave me the honesty spiel? You spotted him leaving.” Katy loosened her fingers from where she’d unintentionally clutched her thighs. “I think he’s a little surprised and needs time to mull it over.”
Gage glowered. “You’re not sure?”
She pulled a face. “He kind of left as soon as he found out.”
That made Gage pause, and he shifted positions uncomfortably. “Okay, moving forward then. While I hate the idea of involving him at all, what are your plans for the future?”
“In terms of…?” Katy wasn’t sure what he was asking. “I’m keeping the baby, if that’s what you mean.”
He shook his head. “I meant in terms of Simon and me. I told you where I stand. I want to be there for you. If the baby is ours then it’s far simpler than if Simon is the dad.”
Katy sighed. “Simon doesn’t seem very interested in being a dad, but I suppose I need to give him time. Not everyone is rah-rah, baby, baby! instantly.” Not even her, although she’d already come to love the kid in a surprisingly short amount of time.
“I looked online. There are tests we can do to find out which of us is the father.” Gage’s eyes were like magnets, trapping her under his gaze.
Of all the conversations she never expected to have. “I checked as well, but that’s another issue I’m flipping back and forth on like a flag in a high wind.”
“It would answer the question once and for all,” Gage offered.
“It would, and with everything else I have no memory of, or control over, a solid answer would be nice…” A shudder shook her. “And then I start thinking about all the testing I went through after the accident, and I’m just so damn tired of being a pin cushion. One minute the peace of mind from knowing is worth it, the next even the small risk involved for the kid is too much to chance—”
Across from her, Gage leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. “You don’t have to rush. You don’t have to decide now, but—God, I can’t believe I’m saying this—I’d prefer you to wait.”
“Really?”
He sighed, long and hard, before nodding. “Katy, I’ve said it before that I’m ninety-nine percent sure this baby is ours. Waiting for confirmation will suck, but why do anything even remotely dangerous when waiting a little longer will answer the question safely? There’s a test where Simon and I each provide a cell sample, and they’ll see who matches with the kid after it’s born.”
“If we do that, nothing will be settled for sure until June,” she warned.
“I can live with that.”
Katy leaned back, examining her gut response to the idea now that there’d been another opinion voiced. Under the circumstances, it was
her decision alone, but knowing that Gage wasn’t pushing for an immediate answer made her butterflies of indecision settle. “Then we’ll wait.”
He didn’t leap up and cheer or anything, but she could tell he was pleased. Having made a solid decision regarding the testing gave her a strange kind of peace.
She’d still have months of uncertainty, but it felt like the right thing to do. And with the way Simon had taken off like a shot, there might be a chance he wasn’t going to be around at all.
“And until then…?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Until then life goes on as usual. I try to get over this stupid amnesia as it relates to numbers so I can go back to working at the garage. I take it you’ll be starting up at the shop?”
Gage frowned. “I meant what about us?”
Oh boy.
“I…” He wanted honesty. Katy lifted her eyes to meet his square on. “I like you, Gage. Part of me really hopes what you’re saying is true because I’ve wanted to get involved with you for a long time. Of course, that means if we did fool around and I’ve forgotten, I’m doubly pissed off, because I’d been waiting forever, and it’s just wrong to have lost those memories.”
His smile had widened, the sexy one that melted her butter faster than it should. “Trust me, I can hardly wait to make some new ones.”
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. She held up a hand as if to ward him off. “But we can’t. Not yet.”
Confusion crowded his expression. “If you want to be with me, and I want to be with you, then why aren’t we getting together, Katy? Why aren’t we facing the future, and your pregnancy, as partners the way we should?”
A wave of sadness and frustration rolled over her leaving her exhausted. “What if Simon is the dad?”
Gage all but growled. “First, I’m damn positive he’s not, but more importantly, you don’t want to be with him. You don’t have to be with him just because he said you’d made up.”
“And you said we fooled around, but I. Don’t. Remember.” Katy’s voice rose higher as she spoke. She shot to her feet, her hands wrapped around a throw pillow that had been passed down from her Gramma, its fine decorative needlework spelling out Bless This House. She squeezed the fabric as she paced the room. “Give me a break. I admitted that I’ve always liked you, Gage, but as far as I know we’ve never even kissed. How on earth can I simply go ‘hey, okay’ and dive headfirst into a long-term relationship with you? None of it makes sense, and not being sure is frustrating me more and more.”
Anger boiled over, and she whipped the pillow from her hands. It spun across the room, narrowly missing a table lamp. Katy pressed her fists against her temples as she fought to settle down.
Stupid hormones. Or maybe the “new Katy” had triggered her over-the-top response. The one with far too much vinegar in her blood.
Gage hadn’t taken his gaze off her. Probably worried she’d flipped out, and might turn on him next, and do crazy things. She dragged a hand over the short mess of hair that had regrown and let out a frustrated grumble.
Gage was on his feet in an instant, gently rubbing her upper arms as he made soothing noises. He pulled her against his chest, and it wasn’t sexual, just comfort and understanding.
Katy twisted her face to the side, slipped her arms around him and accepted his hug. Let the warmth of the embrace twine around them. Let the smooth repetitive touch of his hands down her back relax away the tension. She stood there in his arms for a good five minutes before all the frustration and fire had eased off enough that she could finally take a deep breath.
Gage squeezed her a little tighter. “I’m here for you. Like this, if nothing more. My commitment has no agendas, no deadlines. Just one moment after another until we make it through.”
Under her cheek his heart pumped out a smooth, even tempo, and Katy clung tight. To the firm support of his body and gentle touch of his hands. While she’d wanted him for a long time in some half-dreamed-of sexual-fantasy world, right now things were still so unsettled. Visions of Simon walking away, and the unknown reactions of her family during the evening ahead loomed over her…
It was nice to have one solid place to stand. One solid individual she could lean against who helped stop the spinning, even for a moment.
She stepped away from him reluctantly. As nice as it was to have his support, she wanted one thing clear. “Dinner.”
“You have any requests other than your usual pineapple chicken balls?”
It should have been a good sign that her stomach didn’t do a roller-coaster trip at the suggestion of greasy food. “Other than that. Promise me you’ll let me tell them myself.”
He scowled.
Oh, hell no. This was not up for debate. “I will tell them that you’ve been nothing but supportive. Just let me do it my way, okay, Gage? They’re my family.”
Disagreement hovered—she saw it in his eyes.
Such expressive eyes he had. She’d never noticed quite as much before as in the past couple days. Everything he felt was right there. No secrets for Gage. His emotions were worn on his sleeve.
But he finally nodded. Gathered his coat and headed out the door, and this time as she watched yet another truck depart down the snowy drive, it was with a faint sense of hope.
Chapter Eight
Gage wondered what his chances were of making it through the evening without at least a black eye.
There were seven of them gathered tonight. Katy and himself. Mr. Thompson. The four boys started with Clay and rolled on down through Mitch, Len and Troy. Six years separated oldest from youngest, and all of them except Katy were over six feet.
They worked together. Played together, and basically tormented the hell out of each other like any true family. And they protected their own with a vengeance.
His getting Katy pregnant was not going to go over well.
Len nabbed a third helping from one of the takeout containers scattered over the table. “Even after I checked it thoroughly, Tanya Lynn insisted there was something ‘funny’ with her engine. I think it was a ploy to get Troy to take her for a test drive.”
“Did you take her for a test drive?” Clay taunted his youngest brother. “I thought you’d done that a few times last month already.”
“Fuck off.” Troy didn’t even blink. “You don’t seem to mind dealing with the repeat business of checking Carrie Taylor’s nearly brand-new Yukon.”
“She rides it hard,” Clay offered as an excuse.
“That’s what I hear.”
Gage laughed along with the rest of them. “You seeing Carrie Taylor, Clay? That’s new since I’ve been gone.”
Clay shrugged. “She’s alright.”
Troy directed a smirk at Mitch, obviously hoping to get attention off himself and onto someone else in the room. “Saw you got pulled over by Anna Coleman. Trying to set a new record for speeding tickets?”
Mitch leaned back, no denial on his face. “Not my fault she likes her men fast.”
Mr. Thompson cut in. “Enough about your love lives. Lord, I’d swear you were all a bunch of old women the way you go on at times. Gage, I want to know what you’ve got planned for the next while now that you got the travel bug out of your system. You sticking around Rocky more permanently, or did you like it up north?”
Beside him Katy wiggled. She’d been awfully quiet for most of the meal. Partly because it was impossible to get a word in edgewise. Mostly, though, he suspected she was nervous about sharing her news.
He understood the sensation. There was a huge knot in his belly. “Definitely sticking around Rocky. I made nice coin during my stint, but the oil fields are no place to work full time.”
The older man nodded. “You going to keep on at the shop with us then?”
“Yes, sir. No use in taking business from you—there’s not enough work for two shops.”
Talk turned to more business items for a bit. Familiar and easy, and Gage’s mind drifted.
The massive round table they were ga
thered around had been one of the first places in Rocky Mountain House Gage had truly felt welcome. His foster parents had meant well, and they’d been the best of the lot he’d ever had, but a caring couple in their late sixties couldn’t fill the holes in a fifteen-year-old’s heart. Couldn’t give the acceptance and real family feeling he’d gotten when Clay had brought him home to the Thompson dinner table.
Back then Meg Thompson had still been alive. She’d taken one look at Gage before hugging him tight then shoving fresh baking and an enormous list of chores on him and Clay.
The inclusion on the work list had meant more than the food and hugs. Belonging included sweat equity—Gage had known that instinctively.
He’d sat down at that first dinner with the four Thompson boys and ten-year-old Katy, and he’d felt at home for the first time since his own mother had been violently stolen from his life.
Beside him Katy had a definite case of ants in the pants, fidgeting like crazy until he wondered that none of the guys were noticing her strange behaviour. Gage laid a hand on her thigh out of sight of the others. Casual-like. Just a light pressure to let her know he was there for her.
Her entire body tightened, and she darted a glance around the table to see if anyone was watching.
Everyone else was far too interested in their conversation and their plates to spot anything. He leaned over slightly to whisper by her ear. “You know they love you to pieces. It’s going to be just fine, Katybug.”
His use of her nickname made her lips twitch. But even more importantly, to his delight she snuck her hand over his, linking their fingers together and squeezing tightly in response.
The sudden silence alerted him. All attention had turned their direction. Food and drink forgotten as five sets of dark eyes bore into him and Katy.
“You two got something on your mind over there?” Clay’s question buzzed angrily in Gage’s ears.
It was rather amazing how much disapproval could be put into such simple words.
Katy took a deep breath, but before she could speak Gage decided what the hell. He’d sooner be skinned for the whole disaster, no matter what she’d said before.
