“I can’t speak for them, but my best guess is that they’re going to be fine with not pressing charges. It’s not in their nature to be vindictive. Plus, anyone who knows Midnight knows that that’s a horse who knows his own mind. I feel that way. I know Beau does, too.”
“I hope you’re right,” she said when she parked in front of their office. Now that things were getting better between her and Austin, she sure didn’t want anything to disrupt the fragile bond.
“You’re going home now, right?” Duke asked when they got out of the cruiser.
“I’m going. I’ll be back over here early, though.”
“Great. I’ll meet you here.”
“Hold on. You’re not on the schedule tomorrow. Why don’t you let me call you if I need another set of hands?”
“Sure?”
“Positive.”
Then, grabbing her purse, she took the short walk back to her Victorian, knowing as she walked that there was a definite spring in her step.
Because boy, howdy, they’d found that horse!
Chapter Twenty-Four
The knocking on her door the next morning at 8:00 a.m. matched the pounding in her head. She’d woken up to the worst case of nausea in the world.
Third time that week.
Her cheeks still damp from the warm washcloth she’d just run over her face, she opened the door to the tantalizing sight of Austin holding two steaming cups of coffee.
Unfortunately, the coffee smelled anything but tantalizing. “Ugh!” she gasped, making an abrupt U-turn as she practically sprinted back to the bathroom.
To her mortification, Austin was on her heels. “Dinah? What’s wrong? You sick?”
“Just a minute,” she mumbled before heaving into the toilet once again. Thank goodness she’d closed the bathroom door.
But he opened it up and walked right in. “Dinah, honey?”
“I’m okay. Maybe.” She sat on the white tile and blew her nose. And…wished he would leave and forget all about the sight of her vomiting.
But instead of being grossed out, he sat next to her on the tile floor. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. I’m just really queasy all of a sudden.” Daring to take a peek at him, she glanced his way. The concern in his eyes made her own eyes water.
What the heck? What in the world was going on with her?
Against her will, she started tearing up. Covering her face with her hands, she mumbled, “I’m really sorry you had to see me this way. Why don’t you go on and I’ll give you a call later?” Like in a couple of years when she wasn’t so embarrassed!
He didn’t budge. “Maybe it’s the flu. Are you achy?”
She thought about it. “No.”
He reached out and planted a palm on her forehead. Just as if she was one of his nieces. “Hmm. I don’t think you have a fever.”
“I know I don’t.”
“Maybe it’s food related. Did you eat something bad last night?”
“I didn’t eat at all,” she said with a slight whine in her voice. Hating that whine, hating her tears, she sat up straighter and tried to get her act together. “I just woke up this morning feeling pukey,” she said while swiping at her cheeks. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“It might be something.”
“Doubt it. I mean, if I’m not sick, what could it be?”
His eyes widened. “You could be pregnant.”
“I couldn’t be.” But now that she thought about it…the idea took hold and wrapped itself around her head. Gaping at him, she stared. Then when her tears started flowing again, she leaned back with her head against the tile wall.
He turned so he faced her. “Dinah, there’s nothing wrong with you, is there? I mean, you can get pregnant. Right?”
“I guess I could.”
“Is this the only time you’ve gotten sick in the morning?”
“No…” With a gulp, she added, “It’s happened a couple of times lately.”
“So you could have morning sickness.”
He sounded so matter-of-fact. So pleased. As if he was a detective who had solved a difficult case.
It was a little discomfiting.
What she ached to do was give him what for. To remind him that she was a grown woman. And a sheriff.
She didn’t lose control. Except with Austin.
She didn’t do things on the spur of the moment. Except with Austin.
And most of all…she wasn’t the type to not learn from her mistakes. She’d already had a pregnancy scare once. When she was little more than a child. Seventeen!
No way was she going to go through that again. And especially not with Austin Wright.
Slowly, he got to his feet, then bent down and held out a hand to her. “Let’s get you off the floor, sugar.”
Sugar? “Austin, I feel better now. I think I’ll take a shower.”
“All right,” he said agreeably. “But first, will you do something for me?”
“What?”
“Go back to bed.”
With effort, she kept her expression neutral. “I’m not sick, Austin. And I’m not going to go sit in bed. I’ve got things to do.”
“I know.”
“Good. Because I’ve got about a thousand pounds of paperwork—”
He spoke right over her, as if his was the only voice of reason in the room. “If you don’t want to lie down, how about you go sit on the couch instead? It won’t take me but a few minutes until I get back.”
Get back? “Where are you going?”
“To the pharmacy, of course.”
This time she gave in to temptation and rolled her eyes. “I am not sick, Austin.”
“I’m getting a pregnancy test, Dinah,” he said over his shoulder. “Now, try to relax. Put your feet up.”
She was still attempting to process his words as he walked out her door and got ready to embarrass her in front of the whole town of Roundup. No doubt, his pregnancy testing would be remarked upon.
As would his truck outside her front door.
Next thing she knew, she’d be getting phone calls from concerned townspeople about her “condition.”
All of that made perfect sense.
What didn’t was why she settled on the cushions, leaned her head back against the armrest, closed her eyes and waited for him to return.
* * *
AUSTIN TIPPED HIS WHITE FELT Stetson at Ms. Perry, sitting next to the register near the RiteWay’s entrance. “Ma’am.”
“Hello, Austin. What brings you in today?”
“Just needed a few things. I won’t be but a minute,” he added as he pretended to be cool as a cucumber while walking down the feminine-protection aisle.
Immediately he was assaulted by pink-and-white plastic packaging. But surely this was where those little kits were?
He stood in the middle of the aisle and stared as all the boxes appeared to blend together.
Ms. Perry seemed to be keeping a careful eye on him. “Austin, you need something special over there?”
“No, ma’am.” He stepped toward the left. Near the condoms. Okay. Surely he was headed in the right direction? Then, like a floodlight had focused on his face, he found what he was looking for.
On impulse, he grabbed three kits. Just in case the first two didn’t read right.
There was no way in hell he wanted to walk down that aisle again anytime soon.
He’d just
turned on his heel and had started the long walk of shame toward Ms. Perry when the store’s door opened and Colt Hart rolled in. The moment Colt caught sight of him, his easy smile widened.
“Hey, Austin,” he said.
“Hey. Colt.” Why was his face flushing?
“Ace, Gracie and I got Midnight back to the ranch this morning, no problem.”
“That’s good. Real good. How’s he doing?”
Colt grinned. “He’s just as cocky as ever. He sauntered out of that horse trailer and into his corral like he owned the place and was finally returning home.”
In spite of the trio of pink boxes in his hands, Austin grinned. “That’s great. Really great. I’ll, uh, see you later.”
“Sure.” Colt’s gaze drifted to his hands, noticed what Austin was holding and froze. “So. Where are you off to now?”
“Work,” he lied. Austin directed an even stare Colt’s way. Practically daring the guy to question him.
Colt raised his brows and for a moment looked as if he was going to say something stupid. Then he got smart and simply nodded. “Oh. Sure.”
“See you later.”
“Hey…Austin?”
“Yeah?”
Colt stepped close enough so his voice wouldn’t carry to even Ms. Perry’s eagle ears. “Just in case there isn’t a big demand for pregnancy tests among your customers…if you knocked up my sister, you’d best be prepared to answer to the lot of us.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
Of course, what Colt didn’t realize was that Austin didn’t need any threats or warnings. He cared about Dinah, and he was willing to do whatever it took to make her happy.
Because then he would be happy, too.
But there was no way he was going to start opening his heart to Dinah’s brother. “Like I said…see you later.” Then he stepped up to Ms. Perry, plopped his purchases on the counter and practically dared her to comment on them.
After a momentary pause, Ms. Perry scanned all three boxes and placed them neatly in a white paper sack. “Eighteen dollars, Austin.”
“Here’s a twenty.”
“That’ll do.” The moment she gave him his change, Austin hightailed it out of there.
Dinah was asleep on the couch when he returned. Once again he enjoyed the sense that she only let her guard down with him.
He stood over her for a moment, liking how sweet she looked. Dressed in leggings and an oversize flannel shirt, the collar and cuffs frayed from frequent washings, Austin figured she could easily have been mistaken for one of the high school girls she’d been talking to recently. With her eyes closed and her hair far curlier than she usually allowed it to be, Dinah seemed smaller. Far more fragile.
Funny how he’d become accustomed to her alert, perceptive gaze settling on him.
As if she’d suddenly felt his presence, those hazel eyes opened. “You’re back,” she said around a sleepy yawn.
“I just got back.” He held up the paper bag. “And I’ve got us a pregnancy test.”
Still looking groggy, she sat up, took the bag from him, then peeked inside. “Austin, there are three tests in here.”
“Never hurts to be sure, Dinah.”
She pulled out one of the boxes. “I guess it doesn’t, even though it says here that each test is ninety-nine-percent accurate.”
“Mistakes happen.”
“I suppose they do,” she said softly.
“Let’s go do this.” He led the way to the bathroom. The moment she walked in, he started opening one of the boxes.
She snatched it right back. “Hold up, cowboy. We are definitely not taking this little test together. I’ll be peeing on this stick in privacy.”
He supposed she had a point. “Fine, but come right out. We’ll do the waiting together.”
Her expression looked pensive as she nodded. Then closed the door firmly on him.
Not wanting to wait on the other side of the door—that was creepy—Austin crossed the small space to the kitchenette. Standing among the polished white cabinets and counters, eyeing the dish towels with pink flowers printed on the edges, he realized he didn’t mind being in the middle of all this femininity at all.
If they had a baby girl, being around all kinds of things that were pink and pretty could be his future. Funny, he kept expecting to feel the hard knot of panic in his insides. But all he felt was anticipation.
Which of course made him realize that Dinah expecting his baby wouldn’t signal the end of the road for him. Instead, it felt as if her pregnancy would give him a whole new fresh start. No longer would he feel as if his future was covered with roadblocks because of who he was or what he’d done.
A child of his own meant a whole wealth of opportunities were in his future. Love and tears and laughter. Happiness.
But would Dinah even feel the same way? She might sleep with him, but that was a long way from wanting to carry his baby…and wanting him in her life. And what about her feelings? He knew she was important to him. He cared about Dinah, and he wanted her to be in his life whether or not she carried his baby.
But Dinah had never hinted that she felt that way about him. Now plagued by doubts, he felt green to the gills as the bathroom door opened.
She was holding the plastic stick as if it was about to explode in her hands.
He pointed to the counter. “Set it down, honey. We’ll wait together.”
Without a bit of argument, she did as he asked before moving to his side. “What are we going to do if I am pregnant?”
Every week in church, he’d prayed for strength. Prayed to be a better person. Prayed to be the man that he’d used to dream about becoming.
Now here he was being given the opportunity to be that man and so much more. If he didn’t mess it up. “Well, I know what I’d like to do,” he said.
“What’s that?”
Dinah looked so worried. And so wary of that stick, he couldn’t help but reach for her and pull her close. In one smooth move, he turned them both so their backs were facing the counter.
“Austin? What do you want to do?”
He swallowed hard. “How long does the box say we wait?”
“Three minutes.”
“Okay.” Looking into her eyes, seeing the doubt there, mixed with hope, he knew it was time to be completely honest. “Dinah, what I would like to do is marry you.”
A whole wealth of emotions crossed her face. “If I’m pregnant.”
He knew he wasn’t going to get away without saying everything that was in his heart. He prayed that the road ahead of them really was filled with light and open doors. “I want to marry you no matter what, Dinah.”
“Austin?”
“See, it’s like this, D. I love you.”
Her lips parted, whether because she was so overcome by emotion or shock, he didn’t know.
“Dinah, if you’re not carrying my baby, we can wait until you’re comfortable with the idea. That is, if you one day want to marry me, too.”
She opened her mouth, then shut it again just as quickly. As if she was worried about saying the right thing.
“Dinah, just say it,” he urged. “There’s nothing you could say that is going to frighten me off.”
“Austin, did you just ask me to marry you? Did you just propose?”
Okay, maybe she could say something that would still surprise the heck out of him! “I did.” He rubbed his neck. “I’ll be honest, I always
kind of thought I’d have a ring first and be down on one knee. But I’m asking.”
She paled. “I think I need a Snickers bar. You didn’t happen to pick up any of those, did you?”
There again was that vulnerability that drew him to her like a bee to honey. “I’m sorry, I didn’t. But if I would’ve known you wanted one, I would have bought you a slew of them.” And, he mentally added, some decent food.
“Three pregnancy tests…a slew of Snickers bars.” Her lips curved. “You don’t do anything halfway, do you?”
“Never have.”
And that was the truth, wasn’t it? Never had he only messed up a little. He’d messed up so many things with his drinking. And his efforts to guard his heart had almost messed up his relationship with Cheyenne and her girls.
And with Dinah.
After they’d stood in silence for thirty seconds, old doubts surfaced again.
Had he made her uncomfortable? Had he inadvertently messed everything up, all over again? Worried, he cast an anxious glance her way. “Dinah? You think we can turn around now and look at that little stick?” He was about to go crazy from not knowing.
She bit her lip. “I’m not sure if I’m ready. Everything you said was so wonderful. What if I’m not?”
Not giving either of them another two seconds to think, he reached for her chin, turned her to face him and kissed her breathless. In his arms, Dinah didn’t even hesitate. She melded her body to his, curving her arms around his neck. Feeling so sweet. So perfect.
When he lifted his head to draw a breath, she tried to argue. So he did the only thing he could. He kissed her again. And yet again, she followed his lead.
He couldn’t resist the pull of satisfaction he felt. Dinah Hart didn’t bend her will to anyone—except him, it seemed. Just like he wanted to bend for her. Gently rubbing his thumb along the fine lines of her cheekbones, he gazed into her lovely hazel eyes. “Better?”
“Um…no.”
“No?”
Austin: Second Chance Cowboy Page 19