Barbara Daille - The Cowboy's Triple Surprise

“Tina had to go back to work in her office,” Paz said.

“And Shay left,” Jed put in, answering Tyler’s unspoken question.

“Left?” he asked, startled. Then he backpedaled, trying to downplay his interest. “I mean, I thought she was in charge of table decorations.”

“She is. But she got a call from her grandma and said she had to go home.”

Jed made the statement so calmly, Tyler couldn’t jump to the conclusion that anything was wrong. He also couldn’t keep from wondering whether Shay had wanted to avoid him. At that thought, the hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. She had no reason to stay away from him now. He’d assured her he wouldn’t bring up their past.

He thought back to Cole and Tina’s wedding and what had happened a couple of days after, and couldn’t help rechecking his math. But even if the dates tallied, that didn’t have to mean a thing. They’d seen each other less than a handful of times. They’d slept together once. What were the chances she’d gotten pregnant from what amounted to a one-night stand? A heck of a lot slimmer than her waist right now, that was sure.

He focused on his surroundings again and found Paz looking his way. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear he saw sympathy in her gaze.

“Shay told me to tell Jed she was sorry,” she explained. “Her grandmother is fine. I think it was Shay who wasn’t feeling well. Tina will call her in a little while to make sure she arrived home.”

“Good idea.” Jed nodded.

“If she felt that sick,” Tyler said, “you’d think she’d have called her husband to pick her up.”

“Doesn’t have a husband,” Jed returned.

“No novio—boyfriend—either,” Paz added.

Exactly the question Tyler’s mental mathematics had caused him to consider all afternoon. But asking Jed or Paz about Shay’s pregnancy would only bring more unwanted attention to his interest in a woman he should only barely know.

* * *

SHAY STRETCHED OUT on her friend’s couch, putting her tired feet up in hopes of easing the swelling. She pulled the afghan from the back of the couch and spread it over her, but even the weight of the knitted wool couldn’t banish the chill she felt.

Layne came from the apartment’s small kitchen carrying a tray with a couple of mugs and a plate of cookies. When she held out one of the steaming mugs, Shay took it gratefully.

Though she hadn’t eaten much of her lunch at the Hitching Post, she couldn’t even look at the cookies. When she got home, she would have to have something. Not now. The way her stomach felt at the moment, she almost didn’t want to risk a sip of tea, either. But she needed the warmth. Needed the mug to hold on to.

She sighed again and glanced at Layne, the only person who knew the truth about her pregnancy. “Tyler’s going to figure out the timing, if he hasn’t already. Even if he’s not the type to keep track of dates—” or to keep track of his conquests “—he’ll remember the month of the wedding. So many brides get married in June.”

As if to challenge that tradition, Layne and her ex-husband had remarried at the Hitching Post just this past weekend.

Shortly before that, Jed’s widowed granddaughter, Andi, had gotten married, too. Those newlyweds were still away on their honeymoon.

Like Tina, Shay had always dreamed of a June wedding and lots of children. Her dreams never included having those children first or raising a family on her own.

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.