Oh, I already loved her. She was kind and caring, which reminded me of my own mom.
Tristan strode into the room, hat and boots on, face stern. “All right, I’m ready.”
He opened the front door for me and waited until I left the house before following behind me.
“What the fuck, Hazel?” he said as soon as the door shut. The anger and accusation in his question hurt.
“What are you yelling at me for?”
“I’m not yelling. I’m just…” He motioned to my belly. “You’re pregnant.”
“I am.”
“How did that happen?”
“Well, we had sex. Your sperm made friends with my egg and…”
“I understand the biology of it. But…we used a condom every time.” He practically whispered the last part.
“Condoms fail.”
“Not for me, they don’t.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, spare me. I’m a nurse. Believe me, I know it happens. And you and I just happened to be in the lucky two percent.”
His face went pale. The abject terror in his eyes made my stomach churn. I’d prepared for rejection, knew it would be highly likely, but seeing it before it happened was even worse.
“Look, don’t worry. I came here to tell you, and I’ve done that. I’m fine raising this baby on my own. I just…didn’t want you to go without knowing. You can be involved or not. We’ll be fine either way.” I reached into my bag and pulled out the manila envelope I’d brought if this was the way things went down.
“What is that?” He assessed me with wary eyes.
“I had my lawyer draw up papers in case you wanted to relinquish your parental rights.”
“Excuse me one goddamned minute?” The shock in his question made my heart lurch. “You want me to give up the right to my kid?”
“What?” Sandra’s surprise from where she’d come up behind Tristan nearly broke my heart. “That…that’s your baby, Tristan?”
“Shit,” he muttered.
I locked eyes with him for an instant before he turned around and faced his mother.
“Mama, I can explain.”
She cocked a brow. “Explain what? That you got this girl pregnant and didn’t want to tell me?”
His mouth fell open. I could see his mind working as he searched for something to say.
“Mrs. Ryker, I promise he wasn’t keeping this from you. He didn’t know.”
“Oh, no, you call me Mama from here on out.” She rushed up to me and pulled me in a tight hug. “You’re having my first grandbaby.”
I glanced at Tristan as she crushed me to her, and all he had to offer was an apologetic shrug.
“Okay, Mama, let her go. We’ve got a lot to talk about.” Tristan took my hand and the connection of our bodies, even that slight bit of contact, sent a thrill skittering across my spine.
“You’ll come for supper tomorrow, Hazel. Bring your sister too.” Mama wasn’t asking. She demanded exactly what she wanted. All I could do was nod.
“Mama, I really need to have a conversation with Hazel.” Tristan didn’t release my hand, but his jaw was tense as he waited for her response.
“All right. I’ll see you tomorrow, Hazel?”
Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “Of course.” She left, and I turned my focus to Tristan. “I’m sorry, I purposely didn’t say anything until we were out of earshot.”
“Why?”
“Because I guess I didn’t want you to feel forced into anything.”
“Well, if you think I’m not going to be a father to my kid, you’re dead wrong. So you can go ahead and burn those fuckin’ papers right now.”
“How are we going to make this work? I live six hours away.”
He shrugged. “You could marry me.”
It was the most ridiculous thing he could’ve said. “Excuse me?”
“I want to do the right thing. If you want to, we could get married. You could move here. I’ll support my family.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t realize you were a misogynist.”
“What? I’m not.”
“You expect me to just drop everything because I got knocked up? Marry a man I’ve spent all of twelve hours with so you can do the right thing?”
“I don’t see what’s wrong with me wanting to take care of you.”
“Exactly.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets and grunted in displeasure. “Women are so frustrating.”
“The same could be said for men.” This had been a mistake. I should have just called or sent an email. Hell, I could have looked him up on social media. Not shown up to stay for a week.
Turning away from him, I strode to the car where Erin was waiting. “Where are you goin’?” he called after me.
“To move some cows.”
I yanked open the door and got into the car. As soon as Erin looked at me, I shook my head. “Just drive.”
She backed away from the house, and I watched Tristan jog around the side of the main lodge until he was out of sight.
“So, he’s a douchebag then?” Erin asked.
“He wants me to marry him.”
She laughed so hard I worried she was going to drive off the road. “Oh, he’s a sweet summer child.”
“I don’t know, Erin. I think this is a bad idea. Maybe we should find somewhere else to stay? Or we can just go home.”
Taking the long road toward the private cabin we’d booked, she nodded. “I can’t spend another six hours in the car today, but if you want, we can leave in the morning, okay?”
After a few deep, calming breaths, I shook my head. “No. You need this for your channel too. It’s not just about me and the baby.”
Worrying her lower lip between her teeth, she sighed. “It would be really great to get their permission to film some stuff for an episode.”
I could make this work. For her. She was on the edge of really breaking out as an influencer. I couldn’t take that from her because the man who’d impregnated me wasn’t…what? Who I’d thought he was? Who I’d fantasized about? I didn’t know the answer. Tristan and I didn’t know each other at all. I don’t know what I’d hoped to achieve here today. I’d told myself it was a means to an end. A way for me and this baby to move on with a clean slate. Instead, Tristan wanted to be there for us. Hell, he wanted to marry me.
“At least we won’t be without eye candy.” Erin whistled low as Tristan and another man rode up on horseback just before the bend in the road.
The cows stood exactly where they’d been when we attempted to get to our cabin earlier. Big and slow with large gentle eyes, they lumbered along while the two cowboys rode up to them.
Tristan brought his horse around and came toward where we waited. I rolled down my window as the man approached, a frown on his face. “You two wait until they start movin’, then as soon as there’s room I’ll lead you up to the cabin.”
I nodded and tried not to make eye contact with the handsome cowboy. “Are they going to be a regular problem?”
He chuckled. “Cows do what they do, darlin’. You have an issue, call down to the lodge, and me and Buck’ll come rescue you again.”