Merry Cowboy Christmas (Lucky Penny Ranch #3)(62)

“What’s going on with you two?” Allie asked bluntly.

“We’re friends, I guess.” How could she answer that honestly when she wasn’t sure what they were or what she really wanted them to be? How would last night affect anything they might or might not have? She mentally calculated how many days until she’d know for sure if the night had produced a positive sign on a pregnancy test and came up with the lucky number seven.

In one week, just two days before the party, she would know because she’d never been a day late in her life. Regular as clockwork and hopefully this wasn’t ovulation time.

“He looks at you like you could be more than friends,” Allie said.

“That’s because there’s not an abundance of eligible women in Dry Creek. When we have the party, you can bet all the women will come out of the woodwork to get a chance at him and he’ll look at me a hell of a lot differently then.”

“Will that make you jealous?”

Fiona shook her head. “Hell no! We’d never—”

Lizzy cut her off. “Never say never. I said it and Allie said it and look what happened. Not that I’m complainin’ one bit. If you get tired of book work, come on home and we’ll let you play with the baby if you don’t want to cook with us.”

Ten minutes later, Fiona was alone with nothing but her scary thoughts and numbers on the computer that wouldn’t stop blurring when she looked at them.



The truck tires slid to one side of the slippery road before Jud got control of the steering wheel. The wipers worked as fast as they could, but the sleet and snow mixture fell faster than they could swipe the windshield clean. Stupid! Stupid! That’s what he was. He never had unprotected sex. It didn’t matter if she was on the pill or swore she’d had a hysterectomy; he took precautions of his own.

He slapped the steering wheel, went into another long, greasy slide, and grabbed the thing like a long-lost brother, straightening up in a few seconds. If only it were that easy to get control of his irresponsibility, the world would be right.

There wasn’t one single car or truck on Main Street. Of course not: All the smart people were home counting their condom supply. He circled around behind the convenience store. Katy’s red car was right next to the back door and the lights from the store cast a yellow glow out the window through the driving winter storm.

He slid in beside the car and ran from truck to the back room of the store. Without knocking, he rushed inside, stomped the white stuff from his boots onto the rug in front of the door, and looked around for Fiona. The desk chair was empty. The lights in the front of the store were turned off and her computer screen was dark.

“Fiona,” he called out, and heard the sound of her boots on the tile floor.

“I was making sure everything was locked up for the weekend,” she said. “What brings you to town? Does Dora June need something else? Good thing you got here when you did because I’m sure not coming back out in this miserable weather once I get home.” She paused. “About last night…”

“I’m so, so sorry. I always, always…” His chest tightened.

Fiona hiked a hip on the desk. “It’s not just your fault. I didn’t think of it, either.”

Those green eyes drew him to her. He should take her into his arms and assure her that if their unprotected sex had caused a problem he would share in the responsibility. But his feet were glued to the floor.

“You’ve got that deer-in-the-headlights look in your eyes.” She managed a weak smile.

She was right. He felt like a big buck whitetail deer standing in the middle of the road with a semi coming right at him. What in the hell had he been thinking? He hadn’t been! That was the whole problem. He wanted Fiona; she wanted him. They were consenting adults.

“I wouldn’t marry you, even if I was pregnant,” she said softly.

“Why?”

“Because of the way you look right now and because you are going to live in Dry Creek and I’m going to move away. Those are the facts that can’t be changed. Life is more than a brand of cereal. If it was meant that I’d be a single parent, then so be it. If not and according to the calendar, the time of ovulation should be over, then so be that, too. I’m learning to deal with the problems life throws at me, Jud.”

“Well, I want you to know that if a baby happens, you won’t have to deal with it alone. I would never…”

She smiled. “I know.”

“Are we good, then?” he asked.

“We’re good.” She nodded. “Front door is locked. Lights are out. Thermostat is adjusted. Book work is all caught up. Can we go home now?”

He nodded and held the door open for her.

She’d said the words, but he hadn’t felt them—not at all. Instead of instant relief, his heart was a stone in his chest. The wind blew freezing rain across his face with such force that he ducked his chin and jogged to his truck. He was inside with the wipers on and the truck engine running when he noticed that Fiona was frantically scraping at the layer of ice on her windshield.

Leaving his engine running, he grabbed his scraper and hurried over to help her. Some boyfriend he was, not even giving her a thought.

Wait, boyfriend?

Why not? asked a little voice in his head.

Because they were too different, wanted different things. Roots. Wings. Country living. Big city life. Oil did not mix with water.