Texas-Sized Trouble

Auteur

Barb Han

Lezers

17,5K

Hoofdstukken

Auteur

Barb Han

Lezers

17,5K

Hoofdstukken

Harlequin🏙️ Contemporary

Chapter One

There was a chill in the air, the promise of a cold front moving in on the last day of winter. Texas weather in early March was unpredictable. Ryder O’Brien walked toward his pickup and saw Faith McCabe leaning against his ride. He didn’t do regret. So why, all of a sudden, was he filled with it as he walked toward her? Those long legs tucked into tan fringed ankle boots. Her white off-the-shoulder dress contrasted against the long chestnut waves cascading over her shoulders, and ended slightly above midthigh. He didn’t want to notice those details about her. Ending their affair and walking away from her hadn’t exactly been a choice. She’d burned him. Thinking about how easy it had been for her to break off their relationship made him frown and stirred residual anger.

“What are you doing here?” he ground out.

“I came to see you,” she said, folding her arms like when she was secretly insecure but needed to cover.

“We have nothing to talk about.” He clenched his teeth. He could acknowledge to himself that his words were angry. It had been only a few months since their affair ended. His feelings were still raw. She looked good, though, and that frustrated the hell out of him.

“I do,” she hedged, flashing her eyes at him.

“What’s wrong? None of your other boyfriends around?” Ryder stopped. There was no need to get close enough to see the gold flecks in her honey browns. “You’re wasting your time.”

“I need a favor.” Her right shoulder dipped, another move that gave away her true insecurity at being there. She might be trying to stand tall and come off as confident, but Ryder could still read her despite the show she was putting on.

“Then you’re wasting my time,” he said. The last thing he needed was to trust that she was different from her family. He’d taken that bait once and been burned. “Let me save us both the energy. The answer is no.”

Her cool facade broke. “Please, I’m desp—”

“It’s a little late to play the innocent ‘help me’ card, don’t you think?” he shot back, anger replacing any trace of regret. He looked her up and down, not holding back the annoyance in his glare. “You broke off our...whatever we were doing...with a Post-it note. Who even uses those anymore?”

Yeah, he was letting his anger get the best of him. He couldn’t help it. His pride had taken a huge hit. When it came to Faith and the way she’d left things, he couldn’t keep cool.

“I’m sorry about the method, but I only said what we both knew. Anything more than good sex between us would be asking too much,” she said, and he knew she believed that. To say their families had deep-seated bad blood running between them was a lot like saying werewolves turned at a full moon.

“Whatever,” he said as dismissively as he could, given the fact that his pulse pounded and his body seemed keenly aware of hers. Another detail he didn’t want to overthink.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important, Ryder.” The sound of his name on her tongue made him feel things he didn’t want to. But then everything about Faith stirred up unwanted emotions inside him. She might’ve been right about them not having a future, but they would never know now, not after the way she’d handled things. He could admit to being curious about what she thought he could help her with, though. Hold on. That was exactly the thinking that had gotten him in trouble in the first place.

Faith McCabe had always been off-limits to Ryder, and that was most likely the reason he couldn’t resist sneaking around to spend time with her a few months ago and not because of a real connection. He’d always been a renegade at heart, always bucking the system and insisting on handling his life his own way. But when his and Faith’s relationship had started getting serious and, in his view, interesting, she’d retreated and refused to see or speak to him again. He chalked his current feelings of betrayal up to a bruised ego.

When he’d stepped into the parking lot of the Dusty Trail Bar and Grill and saw her standing there, it was more than muscle memory that had him on edge. Faith still looked good, too good. Her skin was glowing and her hair shone under the lamplight. He couldn’t help but go to that place in his head—the one where she lay in his arms until morning after a long night of making love. And that was about as productive as washing down a jalapeño with gasoline.

“What is it? You miss me?” he asked, trying to goad her into the fight they should’ve had months ago. Not being able to say his piece was probably the reason he’d held on to the hurt this long.

The pinched look she shot him next said she didn’t appreciate the sarcasm.

Her gaze shifted until she was studying the toe of her boot a little too intently. Even now, he couldn’t deny a draw toward Faith, or a need to protect her. But then instincts were as hardwired as attraction.

“I have a half brother who’s gone missing,” she started without looking up, a sign that her confidence had waned.

“And you’re telling me this because?” Ryder asked, not giving an inch, maintaining the intensity of his glare. This was news to him, although with a father like Hollister McCabe anything was possible. The man and Ryder’s father couldn’t have been more opposite, and that was part of the reason they’d clashed when his father was alive. Ryder suppressed a sarcastic laugh. Clashed put their conflict lightly. When McCabe had tried to strong-arm Ryder’s father for a piece of the family land years ago, they’d almost gone toe-to-toe and had been bitter enemies ever since.

“He’s in danger, Ryder. I know he is. He lives two towns over with a mother who hustles drinks at a dive bar and leaves him alone days on end to fend for himself.” She started to walk toward Ryder and then stopped, glancing up pensively.

He didn’t need her moving any closer. Not with the way his pulse pounded already, reminding him of the strength of the attraction he’d once held. So much had changed in the past couple of months, including him. The sobering reality that came with learning his parents had been murdered had made Ryder a different man. After hearing the news, he’d taken leave from the successful transportation company he’d started and returned home to Bluff, Texas. Running tourists back and forth from the airport to various ski resorts in the Denver area was a big change from his life in Texas, and he was ready to take his rightful place alongside his brothers running the family cattle ranch and rifleman’s club, nicknamed the Cattlemen Crime Club. The best perk of running his company had been that he’d spent many days pushing his own limits on the mountain. Coming home had been the right thing to do but didn’t offer the adrenaline rushes he craved. Dating Faith on the side had most likely been an attempt to reclaim some of his renegade ways and blow off steam, he tried to convince himself again. The thought of real feelings developing between an O’Brien and a McCabe had the word avalanche written all over it. That’s exactly what it would be—out of control and devastating to everything it touched.

Hence, the thrill, a little voice in his head reminded.

“Sounds like a bad situation all around,” he said, not wanting to let anything she had to say twist his emotions. Faith had a way of getting under his skin, and he had no intention of giving her permission to use him again. “Call child welfare and report her.”

“They’ll just take him away, throw him in the system, and I’ll lose track of him. At least now I can watch over him.” She took a tentative step forward and then rubbed her arms like she was trying to stave off the chill. She needed a coat, but it wasn’t Ryder’s place to tell her.

“Whoa. Not so fast.” He held up his hands to stop her from coming any closer in case she decided to play on his weakness for her again. It wouldn’t work. Burn him once, shame on her. Burn him twice, and he deserved everything he got. Ryder knew better than to touch a hot stove twice, and he’d been taught both sayings as a kid. He’d be damned if she threw flames his way a second time. “Tell me why this concerns me, Faith.”

“It doesn’t. Not directly.” She straightened her back and folded her arms across her chest. “He’s a good kid, well, teenager, and he doesn’t deserve the life he was given.”

“Why come to me? Why not ask Trouble for help?” It was a low blow bringing up one of her exes, and Ryder felt the same sensation as a physical punch at thinking about her together with Trouble. Again, Ryder reminded himself that Faith couldn’t be trusted. She’d proved that to him and everyone else in town when she’d shown up with Timmy “Trouble” Hague a week after cutting ties with Ryder and claiming the two were in a relationship. There was nothing worse to Ryder than having his nose rubbed in a breakup. She didn’t stop with Trouble. She’d dated several others like him within a monthlong span. She hadn’t needed to convince Ryder to walk away by parading a new man in front of him every week. The Post-it had done the trick.

“Hear me out, please,” she pleaded, and he was having a difficult time ignoring the fact that her teeth were chattering. He didn’t want to care.

“Step aside. I have plans tonight,” Ryder said, unmoved. Or, at least that was the vibe he was trying to give off. Internally, he was at war. Those residual feelings had a stronghold and he couldn’t afford to let them dig their heels in further, because they were tempting him to give in and agree to help her. He tried to convince himself that being a Texan would make him hardwired to help any woman in trouble and that the pull had nothing to do with the fact that it was Faith.

“Can we go somewhere we can talk?” she asked, her gaze darting around. Was she afraid to be seen with him?

Seriously? After running around with Trouble?

“Like your bedroom?” Ryder scoffed. “Sorry, sweet cheeks. That ship has sailed.”

Her hurt look made him almost wish he hadn’t said that. As far as he was concerned, she didn’t have the right to look pained. It wasn’t her heart that had been stomped all over.

Even so, guilt nipped at him for the low blow, and he half expected her to give up and walk away. He was making sticking around as hard on her as he could without being a complete jerk.

She didn’t budge. She just stood there shivering.

“Spit it out. What do you want from me?” he demanded, not wanting to drag this conversation out more than necessary. He was tired and this was taking a toll. He had plans with a soft pillow. It was late, and work on the ranch started at 5:00 a.m. sharp.

“I need your help finding Nicholas.” Her eyes pleaded.

“You need a coat,” Ryder said.

“What?” She seemed surprised.

“You look cold.” Ryder motioned toward her arms.

“Mine’s in the car,” she said. “And I’ll get it as soon as you agree to help.”

“Can’t you microchip kids these days? Or, better yet, why not just call him and wait for him to get back to you like a normal person?” He put his hand up between them. “Oh, wait, I forgot. You’re not a normal person. I should’ve known a McCabe wouldn’t have time for common sense or following the rules.”

Faith sucked in a burst of air. That comment scored a direct hit. Ryder should feel a sense of satisfaction. He didn’t.

“He’s somewhere hurt or he’s been taken and I’m worried,” she said, recovering. Her gaze locked onto his.

“Take out an ad or check his social media pages. Kids love to broadcast their locations for the world to see.” Besides, Ryder had other, more pressing things to focus on, like bringing justice to the person who’d murdered his parents.

“He’s not that kind of kid and I already checked—” her tone rose in panic before she seemed able to recover and reel it in “—or I wouldn’t be here.” She had that no-other-choice quality to her tone. Again, Ryder had to ask himself why she thought it was a good idea to come to him. He didn’t figure she’d give an honest response. So, she was genuinely concerned about her half brother. Good for her. Maybe it proved she had half a heart in that chest of hers after all. That was about as far as Ryder was willing to go.

“I’m sorry about your family being messed up, but being in the perfect one isn’t as easy as it looks. Everyone’s got problems,” Ryder snapped, needing to keep emotional distance between them. In truth, he loved his brothers. They were a close-knit bunch and about as perfect as a genuine family could be. Sure, they had issues from time to time, but they always managed to work out their differences. He and his twin brother, Joshua, were especially close. “And I’m done here.”

“I have to find him and I’m not giving up. It will put me in danger if I go alone but I don’t have a choice, Ryder. I have to do it,” she said, standing her ground yet again. The sound of his name rolling off her tongue had always stirred his chest in a way he couldn’t afford to allow. This time was no different. All his warning bells sounded.

“Sounds like you’re making a big mistake.” He shrugged. “Free country.”

“Do you really hate me that much?” she asked, and the desperation in her tone struck a chord. “You’d allow an innocent kid to be hurt just to prove a point?”

Now it was his turn to take in a sharp breath.

“No. But I can’t help you, either.” Maybe he could take a second to talk her out of being stupid. “If you’re really worried about this kid, call Tommy. The sheriff would be better at tracking down a missing teenager than me. Besides, you know the reality as much as I do. The kid’s most likely having fun with his friends. He’ll check in once he sobers up in a couple of days.”

“Tommy is friends with your family, not mine. He won’t help a McCabe and you know it,” she said defensively.

The chilly air goose-bumped her arms and Ryder had to stop himself from offering his jacket. Chivalry was ingrained in him, and he had to fight against his own cowboy code so that she wouldn’t think she was getting to him. Give her an inch and she’d stomp on him again with those fringed boots.

“Even so, he’s the law and he’ll help you,” Ryder said. “He took an oath, and he takes it seriously.”

“Braxton is a few counties over and out of his jurisdiction. That’s where Nicholas lives,” she said.

“Tommy can make a few calls, do a little digging. If it makes you feel better, I’ll ask him myself.” Ryder had no clue why he’d just volunteered himself like that. He’d have time to curse himself later. The sheriff in Braxton wasn’t exactly known for being cooperative.

An anguished sound tore from her throat. “That’s not good enough, and Tommy doesn’t care about Nicholas. I need answers now and I’m afraid something very bad has happened to him. I can’t afford to lose any more time, and someone follows me when I check on him.”

Didn’t that get all of Ryder’s neck hairs to stand on end?

“What makes you think so?” he asked.

“I drove to Nicholas’s house to check on him when he stopped responding to my texts three days ago and an SUV followed me to the county line.”

“Could’ve been random,” he said.

“I’ve been out there every night, and last night the SUV tapped my bumper,” she said, rubbing her arms as if the memory gave her chills instead of the cold night air.

Ryder didn’t like that. He’d take a minute to consider her position. He could concede that she’d had a point a few seconds ago. Tommy wasn’t likely to go above and beyond the call of duty for a McCabe. He’d arrested her brothers, who were immediately bailed out by the family lawyer too many times to have sympathy for any of them, even Faith.

Her concern for her half brother seemed genuine. Ryder could tell based on the desperation in her honey browns. If the situation were reversed and one of his brothers had gone missing, he’d do whatever it took to find him. All five of his siblings were grown now, and good men, but they’d gotten themselves into a few tricky situations as teenagers. Ryder could buy the idea that a good kid could get into trouble. He had a harder time swallowing the idea that a McCabe offspring could be anything but trouble. Bad was in their blood. He’d believed Faith to be different from her family, and look how that had worked out for him.

“How do you know he’s missing exactly?” he asked.

“We talk every day without fail. I was supposed to help him with geometry homework and he stood me up. He’s never done that. Ever.” Her wide eyes conveyed panic and worry. When he examined her features, he saw how tired and worried she looked.

“Have you spoken to his mother?” The teenager could have gotten himself in over his head or involved in drugs. Even so, none of this concerned Ryder, and Faith hadn’t given him one solid reason he should get involved. With her family’s money, she could hire an investigator.

“We’re not exactly on good terms and I have nothing to say to the woman,” Faith said, and her left shoulder shot up. He’d seen that move before. She was being indignant.

From his viewpoint, a quick phone call could most likely clear this whole thing up. If Faith was too stubborn to make that call she didn’t need to be reaching out to him to do her dirty work.

“Then I can’t help you. That was my only card. I’m folding. If you really believe he’s missing, then you should talk to someone in law enforcement. His mother might’ve reported his disappearance already.” He threw his hands up in surrender. As it was, he was having a difficult time keeping a wall between them and maintaining his neutral position. A woman in trouble wasn’t something he could normally turn his back on. He blamed his Texas upbringing and the fact that he’d had amazing parents.

“I’ll sweeten the pot,” she said quickly.

“You don’t have anything I want,” Ryder said, pushing thoughts of how soft her skin had been when he ran his finger along the curves of her stomach out of his mind. Or how much the sound of her laughter had temporarily suspended the pain of losing his parents.

“You want to know the real reason I walked away from you, Ryder O’Brien?” Now she was the one who was angry. He could see the fire in her eyes. Good. She’d get mad, spit out a few hostile words meant to offend him and then leave.

Problem solved.

“It doesn’t matter.” But his wounded pride said something else entirely—he wanted to know.

“You sure about that?” she asked in her one-last-chance tone.

“Have never been more certain of anything in my life.” If she wanted his help, making him angry was the wrong way to go about it. He didn’t like the idea of her putting herself in danger if that was the case, and he’d tried reasoning with her by telling her to bring in the law. If she didn’t have enough sense to stay out of harm’s way there wasn’t much he could do about it. “Why ask me to help in the first place? You had to know that I would refuse. You’re not exactly high on my list of people I want to see again.”

“You won’t turn me down. I know you and there’s something I’ve been keeping from you...” She paused long enough to put her hands on her belly. “Anything happens to me and your child goes with me. You’re going to be a father, Ryder. And that’s why I left you. If anyone found out this was your child, then my life, heck, your life, would be over.”

“Good one, Faith.” She wasn’t afraid to pull out all the stops on...

Hold on a damn minute. The look on her face slapped him with a new reality. Was she serious?

“That’s right, Ryder. I’m carrying your child.” Her lip quivered even though her words rolled off her tongue steady as steel.

She wasn’t lying?

He stood there for a long moment and stared at her, daring her to break the glaring contest and tell him she was joking. There was no way...

Was there?

A memory came back to him in a rush. He remembered one time when they’d been so lost and so into each other during their lovemaking neither had noticed that the condom he wore broke.

Okay, so it was possible. But that didn’t mean...

Ryder took a step toward Faith to really look into her eyes.

“You’re pregnant?” he asked, knowing full well that he’d be able to tell if she faltered. She’d never been able to look him in the eyes and flat-out lie. Or at least that’s what he’d believed. How much did he get to know the real her in the few months they’d spent time together? She’d already shocked him once by walking out. And now she’d thrown him the last news he’d expected to hear from her.

“Yes,” she said plain as day.

“And the child is mine?”

“Yes,” she said with that same certainty.

She wasn’t lying.

“If that’s true—and I need a little time to come to terms with that fact—why are you telling me now?” he asked, trying to absorb that news. He couldn’t begin to process the idea of becoming a father, and he wasn’t immediately sure how he felt about it. All he knew was that his life was about to change forever. He’d seen firsthand the effects of the baby boom on the ranch with a few of his brothers.

“Like I said, I need your help and I’ll do whatever it takes to get it,” she said, her gaze a study in determination.

“Including lie about me fathering your child?” He’d thrown that question out to see if he could knock her off balance.

She stood her ground. “We both know I’m not.”

“Then I expect you to take care of yourself. Running straight into a fire doesn’t exactly fit that bill,” he said, and he meant every word. Until they sorted this mess out and knew for sure that she was, in fact, pregnant and he was the father of her child, he expected her to treat herself like a princess.

A thought struck. Was there any chance she could be so desperate for help that she’d bluff to get him to agree to help her?

Ryder studied her expression. If she was lying, she was a pro. Then again, he hadn’t seen their breakup coming, either. He’d need time to digest the possibility of being a father, especially considering all that he’d been through in the past few months. He forced his thoughts away from the fact that she’d been his sole comfort during the most difficult time of his life and their relationship had been about more than just the sex. It was saying a lot that they could be so into each other that a condom had broken and neither one realized until it was too late. Sex with Faith had been right up there with the best of his life. If he was being honest, it topped the list. Not something he cared to admit right now or dwell on too much. Even though the sex was great, there’d been so much more. He wasn’t normally one for a lot of words but holding her in their afterglow and doing just that—talking—had been even better than the sex. And that was saying a helluva lot.

“You know this qualifies as blackmail,” he said, his brain refusing to fully comprehend the news. He’d want a DNA test to be sure. And if the results proved his paternity, then he’d do what a man should—take care of his own.

“Does that mean you’ll help me?”

* * *

“GET IN. YOU’RE DAMN right we need to talk. Not here where everyone can see us,” Ryder said, opening the passenger door of his pickup and then walking around to the driver’s side without waiting for her to climb inside.

Faith almost backed out after seeing the hurt in his eyes after dropping the pregnancy bomb. She thought better of it. Yes, he was angry at her, but she’d realized that it was the only way to secure his help, and he was the only person she could trust right now.

All plans to find the perfect time to tell him about the pregnancy and have a civil conversation had flown out the window with her desperation. What she’d said was true, though. Her life would be over if her father found out she was carrying an O’Brien child.

“Don’t take me home or into town,” Faith said as she positioned herself in the seat of his dual-cab pickup and then buckled in. She hadn’t expected to play the pregnancy card with Ryder, but she was frantic. His shocked reaction braided her stomach lining.

Seeing him again had hurt like hell and she was still trying to regain her balance. He looked even better than she remembered with those sharp jet-black eyes and dark hair. He was six feet three inches of masculine muscle. And even angry, he was gorgeous. Walking away from him after finding out she was pregnant had nearly killed her, but she’d been his temporary shelter in a storm—a storm that was about to become a hurricane. Once the storm blew over and he regained his bearings he would’ve realized the same thing she had—a McCabe and an O’Brien didn’t stand a chance.

“What? Afraid to be seen with me?” he bit out. His voice poured over her, netting a physical reaction she couldn’t afford.

“Of course not.” She did her best to shake off his bitter tone. It was a temporary reaction to having his world rocked. He needed a minute to cool off so he could start thinking rationally again. It was a good sign that he wanted to talk. Deep down, he was a good man.

Besides, Faith could relate to the emotions that had to be zipping through him right now. The pregnancy wasn’t supposed to happen. The decisions she’d made after weren’t supposed to be part of her plans. And all that was predicated on the fact that she wasn’t supposed to fall for an O’Brien, let alone the renegade twin brother. And that was probably it. Her attraction was so strong because he was exciting and a breath of fresh air. Ryder had always been so alive, when she’d felt restricted for so many years living under her parents’ roof with three older brothers watching her every move. The family’s double standard that the boys could run buck wild and she had to practically be a nun had been suffocating.

Ryder represented danger and excitement, and her foolish heart had fallen hard for him when she’d seen him wandering around the lake, looking lost after news of his parents had made headlines. Everything about the O’Briens was news. Murder had been beyond scandal.

The next few months of their relationship had been insane and incredible. Secret rendezvous at his fishing cabin. Both of them escaping reality and getting lost in each other. Talking for hours into the night. She’d almost forgotten that he was an O’Brien and she was a McCabe until she’d overheard him on his cell phone with his brother, cursing her father, questioning whether he’d had anything to do with his parents’ murders.

She could understand his distrust of her father. The man was a shrewd businessman and even she could admit that he pushed the legal boundaries beyond their limits. Worse to her, the man was a philanderer, and she’d watched her mother fade over the years as she accepted his behavior even though he could be quite charming when he wanted to be. But murder?

Her father might have loose morals and no conscience when it came to business, but he wasn’t capable of killing anyone.

And then another blow had come when Ryder’s brother asked where Ryder was and what he was doing all those times he’d been with her. He’d responded that he hadn’t been doing anything special. He’d just been getting away for fresh air and spending time alone to sort out his thoughts.

Reality had been a hard slap. Spending time with her hadn’t been as special to him as it had been to her. They’d been sneaking around like teenagers and she started to wonder if the reason was because he’d been embarrassed to be seen with her. He would always be an O’Brien and she would always be a McCabe. And he, like everyone in Bluff, would always see her in a different light because of it.

When she’d learned that she was pregnant, she panicked. A real life with Ryder was out of the question. Dating Trouble and the others had been her way of throwing everyone off the trail, including Ryder. He wouldn’t want a McCabe baby any more than her parents would ever accept an O’Brien. It would be bad enough in her parents’ eyes that she was pregnant without being married, but having an O’Brien in the family would be all-out war. Not only would her parents make her life miserable but they’d make her unborn child miserable, too.

And that wasn’t even the worst of it. She feared that Ryder—who was just spending time with her, not getting serious—would want to man up and do the right thing by his child. His Texas upbringing would influence him, and he’d probably propose marriage. If hormones got the best of her—and they had made her crazy so far—she might actually accept. And then what?

Would they stay together for the sake of the child eighteen unhappy years until said kid went off to college and the two of them could finally separate? That’s exactly what her parents had done. Her own mother had been forced to come back and had never been the same. Faith’s father didn’t curb his appetite for chasing pretty much anything in a skirt. Faith had known since she was old enough to figure out what was happening. And her mother was broken. Still broken. She seemed different lately. Worse, if that was even possible.

Faith’s siblings seemed blind to it all. And they were another reason a relationship between her and Ryder could never work...if her father didn’t kill him, her brothers would. The O’Briens and McCabes were worse than oil and water. They were gasoline and forest fire.

Even so, maybe it was good that her secret was out. Working side by side, she could convince Ryder the best course of action would be to keep the secret. Surely he would come to the same conclusion she had. Besides, she had a plan.

Break the news and each guy she’d gone out with would distance himself from any suspicion of being the father of her child. And then she could tell her parents that she wanted to bring up her baby alone. She didn’t really care who the father was, even though her heart screamed at her that she did. Her father wouldn’t interfere with her plans to leave town. Heck, he’d tell her to get out after embarrassing him. And then she and her baby could live in peace. That was the only real chance her child had of growing up normal.

Righteous or not, telling Ryder complicated her plans. Had she really believed that she could’ve left town without telling him about the baby? She’d initially feared that he’d put two and two together when news of her pregnancy broke. And that’s exactly the reason she’d handled their breakup the way she had. The O’Briens were proud, honest men. And her actions had been the only way to ensure Ryder wouldn’t do anything stupid, like propose marriage for the baby’s sake and ruin both their lives. A fist tightened in her stomach. Breathe.

She’d take things one step at a time. For now, she’d secure Ryder’s help. Finding Nicholas had to be her top priority even if it meant turning her life upside down.

“Getting out anytime soon or do you plan to sit in here all night?” Ryder asked, and he sounded concerned.

Faith hadn’t realized the pickup had stopped.

“Yeah, sure.” She blinked at him.

He sat there, staring at her, making everything harder than she expected. In her heart of hearts she’d known that she couldn’t keep the pregnancy secret from him forever. Her obstetrician had said she could expect to start showing soon. This being the first pregnancy had bought her some extra time and she could easily cover what was going on so far.

Time was supposed to bring wisdom as to how she should handle sharing the news. It hadn’t. She hadn’t breathed a word to anyone. And keeping a secret like this had been more than difficult. It felt good to finally tell someone about the baby, but she needed to stay on track. None of her problems seemed as important or immediate as finding Nicholas.

The sky was pitch-black as she climbed out of the truck. The chilly air nipped at her through her dress. She wished she’d worn a coat as she shivered. Normally, the hot hormones had her wishing she could pack herself in ice. Not today.

A blanket of clouds covered the stars. It was too dark outside to see where he’d taken her, and she’d been in a daze for the ride over, not paying attention. As she gained her footing in the gravel it hit her. Ryder had taken her to the fishing cabin.

A wall of memories crashed around her. This was the place they’d met countless times, made love more than she cared to remember...and she’d lost her heart.

Doubts crept in as to whether or not she was doing the right thing being with Ryder at all with every step toward the cabin. He had the power to crush her with a few words.

“Maybe we should go somewhere else to talk.” Panic squeezed her chest as she approached the basic log cabin. A reasonable voice overrode her emotions. Ryder was the only one she could tell about Nicholas and the only one who understood how much was at stake as she made the decision to locate him.

“No one will find us here. Isn’t that what you want?” His deep voice, warm and soothing, was like pouring whiskey over crackling ice.

“Yes,” she conceded, very aware of the masculine presence behind her, guiding her with his hand on the small of her back.