“Honey,” I say now that I’ve figured it out. Her eyes dart to mine. “I’m sorry to hear that you’re goin’ through this.” Her lips part as she sucks in a breath. “But it’s not my baby. I feel bad and all, but there’s no way it’s mine.”

“Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me?” Angie screams each word. “Not yours?” Her voice grows louder. “I haven’t had sex with anyone else! I’m nine weeks. Do the math, genius.”

I watch her foot tap as she waits.

“We used a condom.”

I can see the steam coming from her ears. “News flash! It didn’t work!”

“You’re absolutely positive?” I ask again. “I mean, it’s a hundred percent.”

“Yes, Wyatt. I’m one hundred percent pregnant.” She sighs and then adds, “With your baby,” as if to clarify one more time that I am, in fact, going to be a dad.

“Shit.”

It’s possible, and I doubt she’d come all the way down here to trick me into something. It’s not like she likes me very much or thinks I’m this great guy. If she’s nine weeks, that’s exactly when she was here last time. It’s also safe to assume that my soon to be sister-in-law knows, and she wouldn’t lie—not about this.

“That’s what I’m saying. So, yeah . . . we’re having a baby. You’re the father.” Her eyes pierce through me. “So, now what?”

“Okay.” I start to pace as my mind gets ahold of the idea that it’s definitely my kid. “You’re pregnant. Right? I mean, it’s not ideal, but it’s not the end of the world. We’ll be fine.”

“Fine? How the hell is this fine?” Angie’s eyes start to water. “None of this is fine, Wyatt.”

My need to fix this kicks in. I’m a man. A man who can fix things. So, that’s what I’ll do. “I’ll tell you how. You’ll move here. We’ll get married. I’ll put an addition on the cabin, and then we’ll get things settled. You can always work for my brother. Then, I’ll go back in as an owner so we can—”

“Whoa! Hold up there, buddy!” Angie yells. “Are you out of your mind? Married? Move here? No. No way!” She shakes her head and starts to gasp for air.

I rush over and grip her shoulders. “Easy. Breathe.” She takes a few deep breaths as I lead her to the steps. “Sit. You need to calm down.”

Angie looks at me, and I see it all. Her fears are clear in those deep blue eyes. I’m taken aback by the fact that I can’t stop thinking about how pretty she is. The first time I saw her, I wanted her. It was crazy, since I’ve always been attracted to brunettes with green eyes. It’s no wonder why. But Angie is something else.

Her attitude only makes her more irresistible. We had our one time, and then I knew I had to have her again. When she came back for Zach and Presley’s engagement a few months ago, she was more than willing for round two. The sex was explosive, but more than that . . . I was drawn to her like I haven’t been with anyone else.

She lit me up and then left me burning. No one can blame me there. She was right when she said I never called, but I haven’t heard from her either. I went out to handle the ranch, only to come back and find her gone. Presley told me she took an early flight home, and that was the end of our fling. When Zach let it slip that Angie was coming to town, I figured we needed to air some stuff out, so I showed up. I had no clue the girl was knocked up.

“I’m not marrying you.” Her defiance is cute.

“You’ll change your mind.”

“I’m not moving here either.” Angie crosses her arms.

The hell she’s not. “We’ll work that out.”

“I’m not kidding. I’m pregnant, but that doesn’t mean—”

“It means everything,” I say while grabbing her hand. “It means everything to me. I’m not going to be okay with you raisin’ our baby in Pennsylvania. And that means that everything is different.”

She sighs and pulls her hand back. “A minute ago you didn’t even think it was yours. Now suddenly you want to marry me?”

“I wasn’t tryin’ to hurt you, Angie. But you show up here after months without a word, sayin’ you’re pregnant. I’m not sure what you expect.”

She stands and releases a groan before looking back at me. “I expect nothing.”

“Well, now you can expect me to be a man and take care of my responsibilities, and that means we’ll get married, you’ll move, and I’ll take care of you.”

“You’re insane!” She grips the side of her head. “Maybe that’s how shit works in Bell Buckle, but not where I’m from. I’m not going to marry you just because I’m pregnant. We’re not sixteen and in high school. I don’t need someone to ‘take care of me’,” She does that in air quotes. “The last thing we should do is get married out of obligation. It’s not fair to either of us or our kid. I’ll be fine on my own.”

What the hell is wrong with women? Are they all this thick headed? Or maybe it’s just the females I’m around all the damn time. “Let’s get one thing straight.” I move around so we’re face to face. “You’re not alone. You’re not on your own. We,” I move my hand back and forth between us, “are having a baby. You and me. Not you on your own.”

“I appreciate that. I really do, but I don’t know much about you other than you’ve been in love with my best friend since you were a kid and that you’re really good in bed.”

I don’t miss the tinge of hurt in her eyes when she says the first part. She’s not wrong. “We’ve known each other for almost two years now. You know more than that about me.”

Crap. It really has been that long. We’ve spent that time bickering, annoying each other, or screwing.

“Right.”

“And you know a lot more than the bullshit you spewed.” I challenge her. “I spent a lot of my life in love with Presley, but I spent just as much time knowing she wasn’t mine to have. You know that I would do just about anything for anyone. You’ve seen the way I am with Cayden and Logan.”

“I know.” She finally turns her eyes to mine. “I know you’re a good guy, but I don’t really know you.”

“Just like I don’t really know much about you, other than you really like when I did that thing with my teeth—”

She slaps my arm with her free hand. “Shut your face.”

“I’m saying we both have a lot to learn about each other. But seein’ as we’re about to spend the rest of our lives raisin’ a kid. I think we should spend the time before that happens—together?” I ask it as a question, but the truth is that I’ll be around for this baby.

I’m not letting my child grow up without a daddy. I want to teach him how to hunt, farm, ride a horse, and a lot of manly things. If it’s a girl, she’ll be a princess, and I’ll make sure to teach her what evil little shits boys are. I deserve that chance. I won’t let her take our kid up north where I can’t be part of his or her life. It ain’t fair, and it ain’t happening . . . whether she wants it or not.