Lone Stallion's Lady (14 page)

Oh, God, quit this fantasizing right now! This isn’t a scene from
Little House on the Prairie,
for pity’s sake!

Her throat closed for a second and she felt the sting
of hot tears on the backs of her eyelids. From happiness? Or sorrow that the perfect little family she had envisioned for her child didn’t exist? “Get over it,” she growled, turning from the window. What she should do is call a local clinic, have another test done to verify, and tell Trent the truth. He had the right to know.

“Don’t be a coward,” she told herself, not even wanting to guess what Trent’s reaction would be. Maybe he’d played this scenario half a dozen times with other women. She didn’t think he had any children already as she’d delved pretty deeply into his past, known of half a dozen relationships he’d been involved in, but never thought he’d gone so far as to father a child.

Until now. With you.

Setting her brush on the bureau, she decided it would be best to hold her tongue. At least until she’d visited a doctor.

Tap, tap, tap.

Gina nearly jumped out of her skin. Trent! “Just a minute.” She threw the contents of the pregnancy kit into a paper bag and stuffed it into the tiny trash basket in her room. She’d get rid of it later in town, so no one found it and asked embarrassing questions.

Oh, get over it, Gina, you’re not fifteen, for crying out loud. No one should be going through your garbage, and even if they did, what you do is your business. Yours!

And Trent’s!

Well, fine, that much is true, but this hide-and-seek, guilt-riddled routine is beneath you. Way beneath you!

She threw open the door and found herself staring straight into Blake Remmington’s blue eyes. Relief flooded through her. Dressed in a casual sweater and slacks, he said, “Thought you might want an escort down to breakfast.”

“Thoughtful of you,” she said, surprised and warmed at his concern. “But you didn’t have to. I could’ve found my way downstairs.”

“I know. But I needed the company.”

“In this houseful of half brothers?” she teased.

“Precisely my point.”

Already the sound of rattling pans echoed through the corridors.

“Damn, I told Suzanne I’d help her this morning.” She’d completely forgotten. From the minute she’d bought the pregnancy test, her mind had been wandering.

“Tomorrow’s another day,” he said without the hint of a smile.

“I could do the dishes or take care of lunch,” she said as she walked out of her room.

“How long are you staying on?”

“Good question. I don’t really know because I don’t feel like I’ve really finished my job here, at least not until I find out if that seventh son really does exist.”

“Still not sure?”

“Nope,” she admitted with a sigh. “But I’d better figure it out soon and wrap it up. My brother is probably buried to his eyeballs in paperwork.”
Jack, oh, God, what was she going to tell Jack?
Not that it was any of
his business. As they reached the top of the stairs the scents of sizzling sausage and hot coffee rose to greet them. Gina’s stomach quivered a bit and she mentally kicked herself. Just because she knew she was pregnant didn’t mean that she had to buy into the morning sickness routine.

As they started down the stairs together, Blake spoke. “Besides, I thought you might want to talk about Trent.”

“Why would I want to do that?” she asked as she glanced up at him.

He didn’t bother to crack a smile. His jaw was as hard as granite, but he grabbed her hand. “That’s what I was hoping you’d tell me.”

It didn’t take a brain surgeon to realize that he knew the truth. She’d bet her grandmother’s diamond ring that Blake suspected she was pregnant. “I think maybe I’d better talk to Trent first,” she said as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

“About what?” Trent’s voice boomed from behind her.

Gina’s heart nosedived as Trent stepped out of the living room, with Cade behind him. She didn’t know how much of the conversation Trent had heard.

“What was it you wanted to talk to me about?” he said as Blake let go of her hand. Trent’s gaze flicked to the movement; he hadn’t missed it.

“I think I’ll let you work this one out alone.” Blake sent a silent message to Cade, who quickly picked up on it.

“Me, too.” Cade nodded toward Blake. “Let me buy you a cup of coffee.” They peeled off, heading in the di
rection of the kitchen where the sound of laughter floated down the hallways of the old house.

“Okay,” Trent said, grabbing her elbow and tugging her into the living room where they were alone. “So, shoot, Gina.” He folded his arms over his chest, blue eyes narrowed on her and a lock of dark hair fell over one eyebrow. Every muscle in his body was tense, his neck and shoulders stiff. “What is it you want to say to me?”

In for a penny, in for a pound. She swallowed hard, then forced her eyes to meet his. “I just found out this morning.”

“What?”

Taking in a slow breath and silently praying for strength, she said, “The truth is that I’m pregnant, Trent. You’re going to be a father.”

“Y
ou’re pregnant,” Trent repeated, stunned.

Gina nodded and felt a deep sadness that he didn’t wrap his arms around her, twirl her around and whoop. Clearing her throat, she watched the play of emotions on his face. “I just found out. I was suspicious, of course, but I finally did the test this morning and I thought I’d call a local clinic and double check.”

“That…that would be a good idea,” he said stiffly, and all at once Gina felt this gap between them, as if they were standing on separate sides of an unbridgeable abyss instead of on the faded rug in the living room of the Kincaid ranch.

“I thought you should know.” Oh, God, why was this so difficult?

“After you told Blake.” His lips compressed.

“Of course not. Blake just happened to see the pregnancy test in my sack from the pharmacy yesterday when I ran into you and several items dropped out. At least, that’s how I think he knew—either that or he’s psychic. Anyway, he put two and two together.”

Trent didn’t comment, just looked hard at her, as if searching for a lie somewhere in her story.

“Look, Trent, don’t worry, when I get back to California, I’ll—”

“Do what?” he said, and anger turned his face a nasty shade of red. His eyes glittered harshly. “You’re going to have this baby, damn it.”

“You bet I am,” she flung back at him and stepped closer, bridging that gap between them. “I was saying that this is a big shock for me, too, and I’m not sure exactly how I’ll handle it, but I’m going home, work until delivery, have the baby and eventually find a bigger apartment so I can raise my child.”

“Our child.”

“Yes.”

“You’re not going back to L.A.”

“What?” She nearly laughed. “That’s where I live, Trent.”

“And what do you think you’ll do there? Be a single mother?”

“I will be a single mother.” Was the man dense?

Determination set his jaw. Blue eyes held hers and wouldn’t let go. “If you’re really pregnant—”

“I am. There’s not much question about it,” she said angrily.

“Well, you have been known to lie on more than one occasion. Especially to me.”

“This is different.”

“I’ll say.” Fury etched the edges of his mouth. “You should have told me earlier.”

“I wasn’t certain.” She glared up at him. “I wasn’t going to tell you and then have it turn out to be a false alarm.” She threw one arm up in the air. “I don’t know what you want me to do. I’d say I was sorry, but I’m not!”

“Good.” He shoved stiff fingers through his hair. “We’ll get married,” he said out loud, as if she had no say in the matter whatsoever. “And…and you’ll stay here.”

“What?”

“You won’t be going back to L.A.”

“Are you out of your mind? Of course I’m going back to Los Angeles. In case you’ve forgotten, that’s where I live!”

“Now wait a minute—”

“No, you wait a minute. Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean you can bully me or boss me around.” Anger spiked her words but deep inside she was hurt.

What did you expect?
her mind taunted.
That he would be thrilled? That he would spin you off your feet, buy you dozens upon dozens of roses, get down on bended knee? Foolish, foolish woman.

“I assume the baby’s mine.”

His words stung. Like salt poured into the open
wound of her heart. “Of course it’s yours!” Oh, Lord, this wasn’t going well, not well at all.

“Then it’s pretty cut-and-dried, isn’t it? We’ll get married and the baby will have a name.”

“Oh, no, what are you saying?” she whispered, shocked. What kind of marriage proposal was that?

“Admit it, Gina, this is what you’ve been angling for. I thought you were going to shake me down when I first met you and you lied about who you were, as if you didn’t know me, then hopped in the sack with me and—”

She slapped him. Hard. “Don’t you ever insinuate anything so vile again! Yes, it’s true this baby was an accident, unplanned, but certainly not unwanted. I would think that considering your own personal situation, you might have a little more empathy.” Tears burned the backs of her eyes, hot, bitter tears but not of shame. Oh, no, just demoralizing disappointment. “I—I didn’t mean to hit you. I mean…I did, but I’m sorry.” She lifted a hand, then let it fall. “I just hoped you’d understand.”

His teeth ground together and a red welt appeared on his cheek. “That’s the reason we’re getting married.”

“No way, Trent,” she said, shaking her head. “I hate to sound cliché, but right now, I wouldn’t marry you if you were the—”

“Last man on earth?” he said with a snort.

“The universe…and that includes the black holes, okay?”

“No, it’s not okay. None of this is ‘okay.’” He
walked to the window, stared outside and his rigid shoulders slumped. “So just deep-six the theatrics, Gina, or Celia, or whoever the hell you really are. We have a problem and—”

“Correction.” Striding up to him, she poked a finger hard against his chest and swallowed against the tears of frustration lodging in her throat. A breeze slipped through the window, toying with Trent’s hair, caressing her hot cheeks. “We have a baby,” she said, her voice lower than normal. “It’s not a problem. At least, it’s not for me.”

“The solution is to get married.”

“Are you out of your mind? Have you heard a word of our conversation?” It was her turn to be flabbergasted. She held both of her hands near her head, palms out, as if surrendering. But she wasn’t. “I think we should both slow down a minute here, okay? Marriage? You’re talking
marriage?
Oh, come on. We don’t even know each other well enough…we can’t get married, I mean…think about it, Trent, you live in Texas and I’m in L.A. I have a job—no, make that a career to consider.”

He winced when she mentioned her work. “I’ll take care of you.”

“You’ll ‘take care of me’? Oh, God, don’t even suggest anything so remotely archaic, okay?” Her head was spinning, her pride wounded to the core, her pain deep-seated. She placed a hand over her abdomen, as if she were protecting her child because Trent’s reaction was all wrong. All wrong. “I’m not some frail little
insecure woman, you know, no hothouse flower who can’t stand on her own two feet, a woman who doesn’t feel complete without a man. No way. I’m not going to marry someone out of some sense of duty.” Her temper inched skyward. She longed to hear him tell her he loved her, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, that together the three of them would become a close-knit family, the kind neither she nor Trent had ever experienced. But this, this pathetic reasoning, wasn’t even a proposal.

Worse, he thought she’d tried to shake him down, to blackmail him into this. What a joke, a horrible, horrible joke.

“The baby needs two parents.” He was adamant when he turned his eyes back to look at her, some of his anger appeared to be replaced with concern.

“Two parents who love him and each other,” she agreed, glaring at him, her heart aching as she bared her soul. “Two people who want him.” Again she pressed on her stomach. “Not a couple of people who throw in together because the innocent child just happens to be coming along. No way.”

“Listen to me, Gina. This is my child, too.” He grabbed her then, his steely fingers wrapping around her arm. Beneath the anger in his eyes she saw deeper emotions and a pain she didn’t begin to understand. “Like it or not, I have a say in it.” Grooves deepened at the edges of his mouth and his eyebrows slammed together. “So what’re you holding out for? Money? Is that it?”

She gasped. “Is that what you think?” Disappointment burrowed deep in her soul, gnawed at her heart.

“As I said, I felt this was some kind of shakedown from the beginning.”

She nearly slapped him again. Instead she yanked her arm away and felt the weight of disappointment heavy on her shoulders. “With you it’s always about money, isn’t it?” she whispered sadly, then steeled herself, straightening her spine and tossing her hair from her eyes. “Well, it isn’t for me. Believe it or not, it never has been. If I’d been interested in ‘shaking you down,’ I would have found a better way to do it, believe me. Now, listen, I’ve said all I have to say. I’ve got a job to do here and I intend to do it, after which I’m going back to California.”

“Just like that?”

“You bet. And as for you, don’t you have some oil wells that need drilling somewhere? You know, like Texas or Wyoming, or the Yukon? I hear they’re finding gushers in Siberia. Maybe you should go and check it out.” With that, she turned on a heel and stalked down the hall, anger radiating from her in furious, hot waves.

How could he be so callous? And how could she care for a man who thought she was capable of such dirty, underhanded, vile— “Stop it,” she ordered herself. There was no reason to dwell on any of his motivations. Maybe he was just in shock. But it didn’t matter.

She could take care of herself. And a baby.

In fact, she’d make a helluva mother and probably a
halfway decent dad. At that thought her heart twisted, but she told herself that her once-idyllic Norman Rockwell envisionment of her life and marriage would have to be adjusted.

She was going to become a mother.

Rubbing his stinging cheek, Trent watched her march off in a tornado of self-righteous ire. His thoughts were going in a thousand directions all at once. A baby? What would he do with a baby? What would he do without one? The kid wasn’t even here yet and he felt this swelling sense of propriety and something else, way beyond pride, a newfound fear for the unborn child. Now, Trent was vulnerable.

And he’d made a mess of things with Gina, but she’d blindsided him. He walked out of the living room and upstairs, then paused at the doorway to her bedroom. He looked inside to the mussed bed where she’d slept. The scent of her perfume still hung in the air. Was it his imagination or did that one room seem to have more sunshine than any other part of the house? Why did her off-key singing amuse rather than irritate him? What was it about her that made her sexy without a drop of makeup or a comb through her hair?

Hell, he had it bad. Blake, damn him, was right. Trent couldn’t get Gina out of his mind. He walked to his room and picked up his wallet and keys. Stuffing them into his pocket, he started down the stairs.

How could he possibly be a father? What did he
know about parenting? Larry Kincaid, his biological sire, had been worse than a cad, a man he’d never known, a gambler, cheat, womanizer who had kids and never bothered to even meet them. No, Trent thought angrily, he wouldn’t make the same mistakes—be as distant and uncaring as that bastard had been. Nor would he be a dishrag the likes of Harold Remmington. That guy…well, he’d been little better than Larry.

But Garrett… Trent imagined the older man had been a helluva dad even though his own son, Larry, had ended up a mess. Trent didn’t have a clue as to how Garrett’s daughter, Alice, had turned out. No matter, it wasn’t because Garrett hadn’t been in there pitching, doing the best he could, spending his life trying to be the best damned father in the world.

Trent knew it instinctively.

On the landing, he paused as the reality of the situation hit him with the force of a fist to his chest. Gina was pregnant. With his kid. His throat tightened. Memories of another time and place washed over him in painful ripples as he thought about Beverly, haughty and beautiful, telling him he was going to be a father. For such a short time he’d been buoyed with new, exciting feelings of paternity. Elated, he’d imagined his son’s or daughter’s birth, toddling years and elementary school highs and lows, but his bubble had been burst, pricked by the evil, lying tongue of a woman he’d never loved.

But this time was different.

He’d make sure of it.

Trent took one step toward the kitchen, then stopped himself. It wasn’t just because of the baby that he was feeling this way, he realized. It was because of Gina. Like it or not, he was falling in love with her and he had been since the first time he’d laid eyes on her nearly two months earlier.

He’d just been kidding himself.

The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a butter knife, Garrett thought as he finished his stack of waffles and carried his plate to the sink. He, Gina, and Larry’s sons had crowded around the kitchen table and discussed the operations of the ranch. Garrett had explained that each of the heirs would own a portion of the spread, but some might want to be silent partners. Others would want to be a part of the day-to-day operations.

Cade had assured Garrett that he would stay on, and Mitch had agreed to work on the spread, as well. Brandon hadn’t committed as yet, nor had Adam, who seemed edgy and anxious to leave. Probably had some unsuspecting corporation to gut, Garrett thought unkindly. Adam was the one who could really use this place to get in touch with his heart, but then, it was Adam’s decision.

Garrett handed his empty plate to Suzanne, who was loading the dishwasher, then refilled his coffee cup. He took a sip and walked back to the table where his grandsons were beginning to disperse. Blake had been quieter than usual, as if something was bothering him, yet he’d decided to stay on at the ranch, at least for a while.

Trent had been downright silent for most of the meal. If he’d decided how involved he wanted to be here in Whitehorn, he was keeping it to himself. He’d been more intense than usual, brooding in a dark way. He’d cast a few looks in Gina’s direction and she’d met his gaze coldly.

Lover’s spat, Garrett guessed.

Gina, usually fresh-faced and smiling, hadn’t been herself these past few days. This morning was the worst. She’d barely eaten, jumped up and offered to help Suzanne with the dishes, and generally been preoccupied for the past hour.

Probably because of Trent.

The unspoken words hanging between those two had been as cold as the Ice Age.

Garrett had hoped that whatever was between them would have eased off a mite, but it seemed as if just the opposite were true. If anything, they were more bristly with each other than ever.

Something was going on.

And he was damned sure he wouldn’t like it. He finished his coffee and set his cup in the sink. Cade and Mitch followed suit; they were two who weren’t interested in sitting around the table. Adam had agreed to look over the property, but Garrett was afraid Larry’s firstborn was only going to eye it to see how much it was worth.