Shelter Mountain (Virgin River #2)(42)

Jack had talked to Mel briefly, before she went home for the night. “We have a situation, and I think you know all about it.”

“I can’t talk about it, darling,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

“I just want to help,” he said.

“I know, Jack. I still can’t talk about a patient.”

“Can’t you give me any advice?” he asked.

She leaned toward him, kissed him and said, “You don’t need any advice. You’ll know exactly what to do.” She looked down at his swollen hand, up at his black eye. “You’re a mess. Try not to get into a fight tonight.” She smiled her sweetest smile. “Follow your instincts with Rick. It’s not as though you haven’t been there yourself.”

There was that, he thought. He was certain their baby had been conceived the first time they’d been together. The only time he’d had unprotected sex in more years than he could remember.

It was about eight-thirty and he was close to giving up. Preacher had bathed Christopher and put him in the bed beside his mother and was back downstairs, pouring a short whiskey with Jack, when Rick came in. He was tall, already six feet. Hard work around the bar had honed his arms and shoulders, made him strong. He was seventeen now, and this was his last year of high school. With his high cheekbones, square jaw and thick, expressive brows, he was a handsome youth. But as he walked into the bar, head down and hands in his jacket pockets, he seemed to have new lines on his face. He might have aged about ten years in the past few hours.

The bar was empty but for Jack and Preacher, so Rick jumped up on a bar stool and faced them. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at the two men who, if they hadn’t just about raised him since he was thirteen, sure had mentored him. “So, by now you’ve figured most of this out. Right?”

“Liz seems to be pregnant,” Jack said.

“Yeah. That little slip last spring—it hit solid ground. The baby is due in February, as near as she can figure out. As near as Mel can figure out. She’s very pregnant.”

“Jesus, Rick,” Preacher said, almost weak. “Aw, man…”

Rick shook his head. “Well, it’s mine. I did it.”

“It wasn’t just you, buddy,” Preacher said, remembering too well the little sexpot act Liz was putting on back then.

“She’s carrying the baby,” Rick said. “The least I can do is take the blame. Besides, she didn’t hold me down.” He took a breath. “Guys. I’m sorry. I let you down. I f**ked up. Big.”

Jack felt a proud smile threaten his lips. Any other seventeen-year-old boy would be on his way out of town, but not Rick. He was stepping up the best he could, like a man. Accountable. Facing Jack and Preacher had to be as hard for him as facing this disaster. “You manage to work anything out?”

“No, not really. You can’t really do too much the second you find out. You know? But I told her I’m in this with her. And I want her to not be afraid anymore. Then I told Connie that I’ll pay for everything, no matter what I have to do.”

“How’d Connie and Ron hold up?” Preacher asked him.

“Oh, I think they pretty much want to kill me right now,” Rick said. “I did an awful lot of groveling. Apologizing. Begging. Promising to work till I drop dead seemed to ease the pain a little bit.”

“You probably won’t have to do that,” Jack said. “We can always help you with extra hours. School’s important, Rick. No matter what else comes.”

“Thanks. The most important thing right now is that she not be scared. She’s so frickin’ scared, it kills me. I not only knocked her up, I terrified the shit outta her! Holy Jesus! Aw, guys. I know you expected better out of me than this.”

“Rick, you didn’t let anyone down,” Jack said. “Shit happens. You handled yourself real well. Better than most guys in your position would.”

“You see how scared she was? You know why? She told me everything was okay because I kept asking and asking, like that was all I cared about. And the second she let me off the hook, I dumped her!” He scrubbed a hand along the back of his sweaty neck. “I knew I screwed that up, I just didn’t know how bad. I thought I was keeping us out of trouble—instead I was keeping her from telling me sooner. If I’d known sooner, maybe we could’ve done something about—that baby,” he said softly, almost reverently. “That baby’s moving inside her. I felt it move. Holy God.”

Jack felt something in his chest stir. He was over forty and more than ready for a family, true, but he could relate to Rick’s shock and awe just the same.

As for Preacher, no one in the world knew how much he’d give for a mess like this one. Not even Jack.

“She’s just a kid,” Rick said. “I don’t know how I’m going to make this up to her.”

“For starters, you’re in this with her,” Preacher said. “You treat her good, sweet as you can, with respect. You treat her like the mother of your baby, no matter what’s coming for that baby.”

“Yeah,” Rick said. “She asked me if I loved her,” he said uncomfortably.

Silence hung in the air for a second. Then Jack got down a third glass and tipped the whiskey bottle over it, a short shot. He pushed it toward Rick. He probably needed it right about now.