LITMIR.BIZ

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      But she wouldn’t be alone. She had Grandma and Layne and the Garlands, and the rest of her friends. They were all she needed. All her babies needed, too.

      “He’ll figure it out,” she said again. “Or maybe someone at the Hitching Post already told him my due date.”

      “Is that so bad?” Layne asked quietly. “You’re going to tell him, anyway, aren’t you?”

      “No, I’m not.” A flash of anger left her breathless. But it was fury at her own actions that caused tears to rise beneath her hurt. What a fool she had been to fall for Tyler’s dark good looks, his great pickup lines and his pretense of genuine interest. Well, he had truly been interested in something, anyhow. In getting her into bed. And she had made it all too easy for him. She tightened her fingers around the mug. “He slept with me—once—and never looked back. Why would I chase after him to tell him the news?”

      “Because he’s the father.”

      “No, he’s not.”

      Layne’s eyes opened so wide, Shay couldn’t help but laugh. Then, sobering, she slumped against the couch cushion. “Of course he’s the father. I don’t...”

      I don’t sleep around. But she had. One single time.

      She glanced across the living room to where Layne’s little girl lay sleeping in her playpen. Layne’s new husband had left a few minutes ago, taking their son into the kids’ room to read him a story.

      “Don’t worry,” Layne said, “they’ll be good for an hour or more.”

      Shay nodded. Still, she lowered her voice, as much out of reluctance to confess the truth as from the worry she would be overheard. “I only meant that Tyler wouldn’t be a real father. How could he be? And why would I want him to be, when he didn’t care enough about me to come back again, or even to call or send me a text?”

      “You don’t know what happened after he left.”

      “I don’t want to know,” she said flatly. “I don’t want to know anything more than I do already—that he was so hot and such a sweet-talker. And I was such easy pickings.”

      “Don’t say that.”

      “Why not? You know it. I know it. And worst of all, he knows it, too.”

      “I know you, Shay. You wouldn’t have slept with him if you didn’t care about him.”

      “I can’t believe this.” She stared down at her tea. “At the wedding, the two of us just clicked.”

      “I know you did.”

      As the groom’s sister, Layne had attended the wedding last summer, too. At the reception, she had witnessed Shay’s first meeting with Tyler. So had almost everyone else in Cowboy Creek. “The day after the wedding,” Shay said slowly, “he came to the Big Dipper with Jane and Pete and the kids. He came back every day. He borrowed a truck from Jed.”

      She had already told Layne all that, but not the rest. “The night before he planned to leave, he showed up again. It was so beautiful out, and after I closed up the shop we went for a walk. We wound up at my house and...and Grandma was out at her bridge club. And I guess you can figure out the rest.” She blinked. “I didn’t plan it.”

      “But you wanted it to happen,” Layne said softly.

      Shay nodded.

      “Because you cared. And because you thought he cared about you.”

      “Yes.” She shrugged. “What difference does it make what I thought? Obviously, I was wrong.” At least, on one of those counts. “And how can I ever face him again?”

      “He’s not just passing through?”

      She shook her head. “Oh, I’m sure he’ll be leaving soon enough. But...”

      “But he came to see Cole,” Layne guessed. “And Cole’s gone to Denver to check out that new stallion for Jed.”

      “Right. Tyler’s staying until he gets back. And I’ve got to go to work at the Hitching Post again. We’ve got the wedding tomorrow night.” She winced, filled with guilt about the way she had sent along an apology with Paz earlier, and then escaped from the hotel.

      Still, she couldn’t regret leaving. The Hitching Post was not the place for a reunion with Tyler. She’d needed to get away. Needed to get some space while she figured out how to do what she knew she had to do. Tell him the truth about her pregnancy.

      She had to tell him about the children she would soon be having. Not one child. Not two. But three small, unexpected babies, already growing and thriving inside her. Already very much loved.

      Not his babies.

      Hers.

      “How did you get away from the hotel today without having to talk to Tyler?” Layne asked.

      Shay explained about the missed phone call, which she had noticed on her cell phone at the best possible time. “Grandma just wanted to remind me not to hurry home, since she had plans to be out for supper at SugarPie’s.” The sandwich shop in town was one of Mo’s favorite hangouts, and Sugar Conway, the owner, was one of her best friends. “It gave me a reason to leave the banquet room. Once I was away from everyone,” she confessed, “I used the call as an excuse to run. Which is going to make going back tomorrow even more awkward.”

      “Couldn’t you just call in sick?” Layne asked.

      She almost choked on a laugh. “I wish. But I can’t let Jed and everyone else down. Besides, I need the money. Neither of my part-time jobs comes with insurance.”

      “I thought you told me you had money from your parents.”

      “I do. From their life insurance policies. So at least I won’t have to worry about the hospital bills.”

      She didn’t want to think about those policies and what they represented—the mom and dad she had lost years ago. Money couldn’t take their place in her life. But in reality, she had lost them both long before the accident that had taken them away. Her dad had chased the rodeo and her mom had chased her dad, and as a result, she had never really had them in her life to begin with. All the more reason for staying away from Tyler.

      How could she have let herself...

      How could she have slept with a rodeo cowboy?

      “Grandma practically raised me,” she said in a low voice. “I know how much she loves me, and I know she’ll help me out. But I’m trying to save up as much as I can for everything else the babies will need. I have to report to the Hitching Post tomorrow.”

      She looked at Layne. “But I’m just dreading having to walk back into that hotel and see Tyler again. Or having to face any of the Garlands. Everyone else in Cowboy Creek must know the situation, too. What did I think?” she added, rolling her eyes. “That I could hide my head in the sand like an ostrich, and they wouldn’t figure out the timing as soon as they saw my stomach getting bigger?”

      Layne smothered a laugh. “Sorry. That’s some visual. But if hiding the truth was your goal, I’m afraid you can forget it. Take it from a mom twice over. Nobody around here messes up the math on a pregnancy.” Sobering, she added, “I know you don’t want to tell Tyler the news, Shay. But you should think about it. Before someone else does.”

      “People ought to respect my right to privacy,” she snapped.

      “In this town? No. Someone, sometime, is bound to tell him—out of the goodness of their heart, though. You know that.”

      “Oh, I do know. They’ll have the best of motives, thinking they’re making things easier and doing me a favor.”

      “Exactly. The longer you wait, the more you run that risk. And worse, the more gossip and speculation will fly.”

      “I know that,

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