by Ann Roth
Sly’s relieved exhale told her that he’d been wondering and maybe worrying. A hopeful sign that maybe he had some feelings for their baby.
“How’s the morning sickness?” he asked.
“The same. I’ve been eating crackers between meals, but Dr. Valentine suggested I also keep a supply by the bed to eat before I get up in the morning. I’ll try that tomorrow. She also said that by the second trimester of pregnancy, when I’m about four months along, the morning sickness should disappear. So in another five or six weeks, I’ll be fine.”
“That’s a long time to feel nauseated.”
A small price to pay for the gift of life inside her. “I’ll survive. By the way, the baby’s due date is January second next year.”
Sly’s reply was more a gruff sound than a word. Lana’s heart sank. He wasn’t on board about this baby after all. Not yet anyway.
She bit her lip. “I know you’re not pleased about this, Sly, but I’m thrilled. And I want to reassure you that I don’t expect anything from you. But if you want to be part of the baby’s life...” She let the words trail off.
“I’m not sure what I want yet, except that I’m not going to abandon my own kid.”
He sounded surly and overburdened. Lana closed her eyes against a wave of sadness. “Have you thought about how you want to be involved?”
“Like I said, I haven’t figured that out yet.”
“There’s no rush. The baby isn’t due for another seven and a half months, which gives you plenty of time to figure out what you want to do.”
“Those months will go by fast. We need to talk more about this, a lot more.”
Lana agreed. “Just tell me when and where.”
“It’s real busy around here right now, so it’ll be a while.”
“Got it.” In the meantime, she would continue to fix up the nursery, read the baby books and shop for baby supplies.
“Have you told anyone?” Sly asked.
“Just my best friend, Kate. You met her at the Bitter & Sweet. She was here when I took the pregnancy test. She promised not to say anything, and I’m positive I can trust her.”
“No one in your family knows?”
“Not yet,” Lana said. “I’m not ready. When the time comes, I’ll do it the same way I did with my decision to adopt. First I’ll tell my sister and her husband, and then my parents.”
She dreaded that, even more than when she’d explained her decision to adopt. “They’ll be surprised. Happy that I’m able to conceive when we all were convinced that I couldn’t. But they won’t be pleased about the way it happened—they’re kind of old-fashioned and think marriage should come before the baby.”
“So I should expect your dad to come after me with a shotgun?”
“They aren’t that bad. They just... It’s going to take a while for them to get used to the idea.”
“Tell me about it,” Sly muttered. “Do you think two people should get married before they have a baby?”
“In a perfect world, yes.”
“What about us?”
Lana wasn’t about to lie. “I’m not ready for marriage.”
Sly exhaled loudly, his relief clear. “Me, either. Wait till your folks find out I’m the baby’s father.”
“There’s that, too.” Imagining their reaction, Lana shuddered. A root canal would be more pleasant.
“Dani doesn’t know yet, either,” Sly said.
“I’m going with her and Kate to the mall in a week or so. Should I give her the news?”
“She mentioned your get-together. But no, I’ll tell her. For now, let’s keep it to ourselves.”
Keeping the news from Dani wouldn’t be easy, but if Sly wanted it that way... “Okay,” Lana said. “Let’s agree to keep this to ourselves for a few more weeks.”
“Works for me. Just give me a heads-up when you’re ready to spread the news around. I don’t want my sister finding out from someone else. What about Sophie? Have you talked to her?”
“Not yet. I guess I should call her tonight.”
“What are you going to say?”
Lana wasn’t sure. “I’ll come up with something. By the way, Sunday night I went to my parents’ for dinner, expecting to see just my sister and her family. But my mother invited someone else without warning me. Care to guess who came to dinner?”
“Just say it.”
“Your favorite person—Cousin Tim.”
Sly swore. “Must have been one hell of a rotten evening.”
Lana recalled her cousin’s negative attitude and the bad things he’d said about Sly. During dinner, she’d sat as far from him as possible and had attempted to ignore him. Still, she hadn’t been able to enjoy Connor or Emma, and Grandpa Jake’s ribs could have been dog meat for all she’d have noticed. “It wasn’t fun,” she said.
“I’ll bet he called me a bunch of names.”
“Among other things. He claims he didn’t poison your livestock, Sly.”
“Which is more than he ever told me.”
“That’s why I suggested he sit down with you and talk about it instead of running you off his land with his shotgun.”
“You said that to him?” Sly sounded incredulous.
She’d also wanted to bolt and run, but she wasn’t going to admit that. “Someone had to.”
“I’ll bet he loved that. Now you have a taste of what I’ve put up with all these months.”
“I wish you two would work it out,” Lana said.
“You sound just like Dani.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. When she finds out about the baby, do you think she’ll be happy?”
“Probably. We had dinner last night and she kept mentioning you. She believes we belong together.” Sly sounded as if he was rolling his eyes.
Lana wished that was true, but they wanted different things. “She mentioned you’d had dinner together when she called last night.”
“What else did she say?” Sly asked.
“Nothing much, except that you weren’t your usual self.”
“Yeah, well, I’m still in shock. It didn’t help that she kept nagging me about you.”
Despite Sly’s grudging words, Lana detected a teasing smile in his voice. “What did you tell her?” she asked.
“To butt out.”
Picturing that, she grinned. “Hey, are you interested in coming to my next doctor’s appointment?”
“Why would you need another appointment? Unless something’s wrong. You said everything was fine.”
For all his talk about not wanting a child, he sounded just like a worried father. Lana took heart from that. “As a pregnant woman, I’ll be seeing Dr. Valentine every month for a checkup,” she explained. “Then during the last month of pregnancy, I’ll go every week. That’s how she gauges how I’m doing, and how close to the due date I really am.”
“I didn’t know that,” Sly said. “I only know about pregnant cows.”
Lana laughed. A blink later, for the first time in what seemed forever, Sly actually chuckled.
“When is the next appointment?” he asked.
“A month from now, on a Tuesday. If you want to come, you’re welcome.”
“I’ll get back to you on that.”
Lana took heart from his words. At least he hadn’t said no.
Chapter Thirteen
As soon as Lana disconnected from Sly, she called Sophie.
The girl sounded surprised to hear from her. “I was just about to text you.”
“Let me guess—you’re going to cancel our get-together next Saturday.”
“Um...yeah,” Sophie admitted in a sheepish voice. “How did you know?”
“You’ve done it twice already, and I figured...” La
na wasn’t about to get into a blame game. “Why don’t you tell me what you were going to text.”
“Can I just send the text instead? It’s kind of hard to say.”
“Say it anyway.”
“Okay. I, um, sort of decided that the Andersons should adopt my baby.”
Lana had already guessed as much.
“It’s just, they’re a couple,” Sophie went on. “And as my social worker says it’s easier for a couple to raise a child than a single parent.”
“That’s true, but even without a partner, I believe in my heart and soul that I’ll be a terrific mother,” Lana said.
“You will. But I’ve been thinking about this a lot. My mom did okay with me, but I kinda missed not having a dad, you know?”
Lana couldn’t even imagine. “If I was in your shoes, I’m sure I would,” she admitted.
After losing his own father, Sly surely realized the same thing. Lana hoped he remembered that when he decided how he wanted to be involved in their son’s or daughter’s life. They didn’t have to live together or even have a romantic relationship—although she wanted that, if the lawsuit ever settled—in order to both participate in raising their child.
“Are you mad?” Sophie asked.
If not for her own pregnancy, Lana would have been crushed. “I think the Andersons are very lucky people to become the parents of your baby.”
“You do?”
“Absolutely.”
“I didn’t expect you to be okay about this. You’re really nice, Lana. I hope that someday you’ll get a baby.”
“Thanks. That means a lot.” Lana was dying to tell the girl that she was pregnant, but because of the agreement with Sly, she didn’t. “Take good care of yourself, Sophie. I wish you a very bright future.”
“You, too.”
* * *
AFTER A GRUELING day spent moving six hundred head of cattle to the pastures with the greenest grasses, Sly was beat. So was Bee.
“You worked hard today, girl,” he said as he brushed the horse down. Soothing work he enjoyed almost as much as Bee.
Slanting sunlight filtered through the barn windows, and the scents of leather, hay and animal filled the lofty space—some of Sly’s favorite smells.
“I’ll bet you’re glad today is Friday,” he added. “I sure am.”
The horse nickered and seemed to nod. When Sly finished brushing her, he led her to her stall. On the way, she butted his backside playfully.
“Want a treat, do you?” Chuckling, he dug a carrot from his shirt pocket and offered it to her.
Bee took it straight from his palm. They had an understanding of sorts. She let him ride her hard whenever the need arose, saddled up or bareback. In return, she asked only for food, exercise, a good brushing and a daily carrot or two.
Why couldn’t all women be as easy as Bee?
Sly snickered at that. Plenty of women were easy enough.
But not the one who mattered.
He hadn’t spoken to Lana in over a week, not since her doctor’s appointment. She was giving him the space he’d asked for, and he was grateful. At the same time, he felt like a jerk for keeping his distance.
It was his turn at bat. Trouble was, he still wasn’t sure whether to bunt or hit a home run.
He was latching Bee’s stall shut when Ollie entered the barn. Stetson in hand, he trudged toward Sly without his usual cocky swagger. He’d been unusually quiet all day.
Sly frowned. “It’s Friday afternoon and you’re free until Monday. I was sure that by now you’d be showered, changed and on your way to pick up your girlfriend.”
“We didn’t make any plans.”
“You sick?”
“Uh-uh.” Ollie shifted his weight. “I gotta talk to you.”
Curious as to what was eating the guy, Sly gestured him to a worn bench along the planking. Nearby, reins and bits and other horse tacking hung on hooks. “What’s on your mind?” he asked when they were both seated.
Ollie kicked the wall with the heels of his boots. “I got a problem.”
“Something you want extra time off for,” Sly asked. As busy as the ranch was just now, he wasn’t sure he could afford to give that to anyone.
“Not exactly.” Ollie pulled a toothpick from his shirt pocket and stuck it between his teeth. For some reason, the toothpick made him appear more like a boy trying to be a man than an actual man.
Tired, hungry and wanting a shower, Sly prodded him along. “Spit it out, Ollie.”
The kid tugged at the collar of his T-shirt, as if it was too tight. “Tiff—my girlfriend? Well, we just found out that she’s pregnant.”
He didn’t look at all happy about that. Sly understood just how he felt. “I take it this isn’t good news,” he said.
“It sucks. Tiff wants to keep the baby and raise it. I don’t.”
This sounded, oh, so familiar. Sly eyed him. “What are you going to do?”
“That’s what I’m here to talk to you about. I’m giving you my notice.”
“Hold on, there. You signed on through September,” Sly reminded him. He liked the kid and had been considering offering him a permanent job.
“I said I’d stay, but now I have to leave town.”
“What does Tiff think of that?”
“Haven’t told her.” Ollie tossed the toothpick into the nearby trash barrel.
“Let me get this straight. Your girlfriend is pregnant with your baby, and you’re going to walk out on her? I’m guessing without even a goodbye.”
“That’s the plan.” Ollie’s voice cracked.
“It’s a bad plan, one you need to rethink. Instead of running away, be a man and deal with the situation.”
Stern words, but Ollie needed to hear them. With a shock, Sly realized he was also talking to himself.
God knew he had his faults, but he’d always prided himself on taking responsibility for his actions. Lately, though, he’d done the opposite, just the way Seth used to.
Damn.
Sly was not his brother. He didn’t run away from trouble.
Or did he? Sure as hell, he’d been trying to run from the idea of being a father. The realization made him frown.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Ollie said. “I’m only twenty—way too young to start a family.”
“You should have thought about that when you and Tiff had unprotected sex.”
“You get how it is, man. There comes a point when you’re too far gone to keep your head on straight. Besides, she said it was her safe time.”
“I hear you,” Sly said. “No matter what a woman tells you, always use protection. I do.”
Except for that one night with Lana.
“Look, this is a busy season at the ranch,” he went on. “I need your help. Why don’t you stick around for another week and think it over?”
“But I ain’t ready to be a daddy.”
“You’re going to be one anyway.” He let that hang in the air a few moments. “At least talk to Tiff. You owe her that much. Maybe you two can work something out.”
“I guess I could do that,” Ollie said with a grudging shrug. “But I’m only sticking around for another week.” He left the barn.
Sly stayed. Too restless to sit, he paced around without really seeing the horse stalls or bales of hay stacked against the wall. It’d been almost a week since Lana had told him she was pregnant. Instead of thinking about her and the baby, he’d spent all of those days focused on himself and how he’d screwed up with Seth.
For years he’d assured himself that he would never saddle a kid with his poor example of a father. But life had turned on him, and Lana was pregnant with his baby and she was determined to raise it. Which made Sly no different from Ollie. Like the k
id, he needed to man up and face his responsibilities.
Looking at situation that way, Sly realized what he had to do. Right there in the barn, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called Lana.
The phone rang four times, then went to voice mail. He left a message. “The Memorial Day weekend is right around the corner. If you’re free a week from Saturday, I’d like to take you to dinner.” Knowing what’d she say to that he added, “This won’t be a date. We have to talk about our situation and we both need to eat. Why not over dinner? Call me back.”
Sly disconnected. Feeling lighter than he had in days, he whistled as he exited the barn.
* * *
DANI WANTED NEW shoes, and after a quick dinner the Friday of the Memorial Day weekend holiday, Lana and Kate headed to the mall to meet her. Thanks to the mall-wide sale, the parking lot was full.
“Don’t mention the pregnancy,” Lana warned Kate as she searched for a place to park.
Her friend gave her a puzzled look. “You’re keeping it a secret from Sly’s sister?”
“Sly wants to tell her himself, but he isn’t ready yet. I’m not ready to say anything to my family, either. We agreed to wait a while. Oh, and you also can’t mention the dinner tomorrow night.”
Kate made a face. “You’re not leaving much to talk about.”
“Sure I am. Guys you’re dating, guys she’s dating, shopping, food. What else is there?” Lana teased.
“That’ll work. What do you think Sly will say when you go out tomorrow night?”
“I have no idea, and it isn’t a date,” Lana reminded her.
For now it was enough that he wanted to get together and talk. At last she spied a parking space. “We’re meeting Dani at Altman’s,” she said as she maneuvered the car into the space.
Kate rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “I love that department store, and they have great shoes.”
Ten minutes later, the three of them entered the women’s shoe section. Dani went straight for the sandals.
“What do you think of these?” she asked, showing Lana and Kate a yellow strappy sandal with three-inch heels. “I have the cutest sundress to wear them with.”
Lana loved them. “They’re really sexy, but too high for me. If I tried to walk in those, I’d probably fall flat on my behind.”