LITMIR.BIZ

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intuitiveness.

      “Some women have a look about them when they’re pregnant and if ever a woman had that glow, you do,” Mattie revealed, shrugging. “And if that wasn’t enough, Zachary telling me that you got sick on the drive up here and your insistence that all you needed was something to eat was. I always had to keep something on my stomach when I was carrying both of my boys.” She smiled. “Now, get changed and come to the kitchen. I’ll make sure you get something to eat before you get sick again. Then I’m going home so that you and Zachary can talk things over in private.”

      When Mattie closed the door behind her, Arielle at last took off her soggy raincoat and sank down on the bed. There hadn’t been the slightest bit of condemnation in the older woman’s voice, but she had to have strong suspicions that Zach was the baby’s father. Why else would she leave them alone?

      As Arielle started taking off her damp clothes to put on the dry fleece, she sighed heavily. It appeared that the time had come to tell Zach about the baby and discuss how they would handle the issues of custody and visitation.

      She wasn’t looking forward to it, but it would almost be a relief to finally have her pregnancy out in the open. Other than her new sister-in-law, Haley, and her newfound grandmother, no one—not even her brothers, Jake and Luke—had a clue that she was going to have a baby.

      And although she loved her brothers with all of her heart, just the thought of telling them about her pregnancy made her want to take off for parts unknown. She was no longer the ten-year-old girl they’d raised after their mother’s death, but they still insisted on meddling in her life. Although she’d learned to stand up to them, if they knew, they would tell her what they thought was best for her and the baby. No doubt they’d even convince her to move closer to one of them.

      But thankfully they wouldn’t have the opportunity to once again play the overly protective older brothers. Now that she’d found Zach, she fully intended to handle things on her own terms. By the time she told Jake and Luke about her pregnancy, she and Zach would have hopefully made all of the important decisions.

      She finished pulling the thick, warm socks on her feet then stood to go into the kitchen. In theory, her plan sounded logical and should work out. But something told her that if telling Zach he was going to be a father went like the rest of her day, she’d better brace herself for life to become more complicated instead of simpler.

      When Zach walked into the kitchen, Arielle was already seated at the table with a plate in front of her piled high with mashed potatoes, vegetables and a country-fried steak smothered in milk gravy. “Shouldn’t you be eating something a little lighter than that?” He frowned when he watched her take a big bite of the steak. “Chicken soup would be a much better choice for someone with the flu.”

      He watched her close her eyes for a moment, obviously savoring the taste of the beef. For someone with an upset stomach, she certainly had a hearty enough appetite.

      “We’ll talk about the reason I got sick after we eat,” she replied, reaching for a slice of homemade bread. “But maybe now you’ll believe me when I say I don’t have the flu.”

      “Leave her be and have a seat, Zachary.” Mattie had always called him by his given name, and although he preferred the shortened version, he’d long ago stopped trying to get her to change. “That little gal is going to be just fine.”

      “If Arielle doesn’t have the flu, what’s wrong with her?” he demanded, getting the distinct impression that the two women knew something he didn’t.

      Ignoring his question, Mattie set a plate of food at his usual place at the big, round oak table. “I’m gonna cross the yard to my house before the ground gets so mushy I end up sinkin’ to my knees in mud. And if you need me for anything, it had better involve somebody bleedin’ or somethin’ bein’ on fire before you call me to come back over here.”

      “Is it still raining hard?” Arielle asked a moment before he watched a forkful of mashed potatoes disappear into her mouth.

      He couldn’t get over the change in her. The more she ate, the less sickly she appeared.

      “It’s supposed to keep rainin’ like this all weekend,” Mattie informed, nodding. “And if it does, y’all will be on your own tomorrow and Sunday because I’m too old to be gettin’ out in weather like this.”

      “Don’t worry about me,” Arielle responded, taking a big drink of milk. “I won’t be here. I’m going to have Zach take me back to the city after dinner. But it was very nice meeting you, Mattie.” When neither he nor Mattie commented, she frowned. “Is there something I should know?”

      “Do you want to tell her or should I?” Mattie offered, turning her full attention on him.

      “I will,” he conceded, seating himself at the table.

      When his gaze clashed with hers, he watched Arielle slowly put her fork on the edge of her plate, her expression guarded. “Tell me what?”

      “We probably won’t be going back to Dallas before the middle of next week at the earliest.”

      She didn’t look as if she believed him. “You’re joking, right?”

      “I’ll let you kids work this out,” Mattie remarked, quickly removing her jacket from a peg by the door. “I’m goin’ home before all hell breaks loose.”

      He heard the back door close as he and Arielle sat, staring at each other over the table. “When it rains like this, the Elm Fork of the Trinity River backs up into the tributaries and the creek between here and the main road floods out,” he described. “You were asleep when we drove over the bridge, but we barely made it across. By now I’m sure it and the road are under several feet of water.”

      “In other words, you’re telling me we’re trapped?” She made it sound more like an accusation than a question.

      “You could look at it as being on a minivacation,” he suggested, turning his attention to his own plate.

      “But I have things at school to take care of and an important appointment to keep.”

      He nodded. “I’ve got things I need to do, too. But that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t drive you back to Dallas until the water recedes.”

      Arielle’s ravenous appetite suddenly disappeared. “Isn’t there another road that’s not flooded?”

      “Not really.” He shifted in his seat. “The way the creek winds around, it makes this part of the ranch a peninsula. Then, when rains are heavy, like now, the dry wash cutting through the middle of the property floods and this section becomes an island.”

      “That’s kind of poor planning, don’t you think?” she asked, raising one perfectly shaped eyebrow.

      Laughing, he shrugged. “I suppose it seems that way now, but when my great-great-grandfather settled here over a hundred years ago, it wasn’t. Back then, a natural water source was essential to a ranch’s survival. Besides, we’re two miles from the creek and there’s a couple hundred acres between here and the dry wash. Not exactly a threat of being flooded out here on higher ground.”

      “But you knew this would happen and you still insisted on bringing me here?” If the heightened color on her face was any indication, Arielle was more than a little upset with him. “Why, Zach? Why did you do that when you knew full well how much I wanted to go home?”

      “You were ill and needed someone to watch over you,” he noted, stating what he saw to be obvious. “And since you don’t have family close by, I was the only available choice.”

      She shook her head. “You’re unbelievable. If I had been sick and did need someone to care for me, it would have made more sense to take me to my apartment. It was closer to the school and at least in the city, there are doctors and hospitals close by. And none of this was necessary because I’m not ill.”

      Truthfully, he wasn’t entirely

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