Between Two Sisters (contemporary western romance novella) (10 page)

They fell into a comfortable routine together over the next few weeks. They spent both weekend nights together,
either going into town for their entertainment, or sometimes just hanging out at Billy’s. Cass would also join him for dinner two or three other nights a week. She tossed out hints about sleeping together, but didn’t take it personally when Billy gently deflected them. He cursed his night with Melanie once again; he suspected his guilt over it was holding him back from sleeping with Cass. He had already made a grievous mistake with one sister, and he didn’t want to repeat it with the other.

He ran into Melanie occasionally, usually when he was working with Marty. She was polite but distant, and his heart hurt over losing her not only as a lover, but as a friend. It felt like they were strangers to each other now, and Billy hadn’t adjusted to that fact yet. He recognized it was probably for the best, but that didn’t stop the pang of
regret deep inside that renewed every time he had a brief interaction with her.

When the time arrived for Cass to go out of town to participate in her friend’
s wedding, Billy was sorry to see her go. It would be a quiet week for him without her around. She was swiftly becoming a big part of his life. As he drove her to the airport a few hours away and kissed her goodbye, he felt as if he were letting a little piece of himself go.

“Hurry back,” he breathed in her ear as he held her close.

“You bet I will.” Affection shone in her eyes as she untangled from his embrace and hurried off to join her girlfriends who were already making their way through the security check point. Billy watched her until she disappeared out of sight once she passed through security.

On the long ride home, he made a decision. Cass would be back next Saturday, and he would make that night one she would never forget. They had waited long enough to give themselves to each other, and it was high time they rectified that. He was amazed
that they had held out this long. He didn’t know what he was waiting for anymore. His very brief fling with Melanie was clearly over, and Cass was the one for him. He shocked himself by wondering, just for one quick second, how long he should wait to propose to her. He had never considered marrying anyone other than Melanie. The thought of being in love with anyone besides her was new and unsettling to him.

Thoughts of marriage weren’t the only thing to surprise him that day. As he arrived back as his cabin around dusk, he realized with a start that Melanie was sitting on his front steps, waiting for him. He tried to maintain a neutral expression as he climbed out of his truck and headed for the steps
where she sat. As much as he loved Melanie, he wasn’t happy to see her. He wanted no part of a fling with her again. She had chosen Marty, and that was that. If she wanted to change her mind, it was too late. Cass was his girl now.

“Melanie?” He stood in front of her, with his arms folded defensively across his chest. Just seeing her on his doorstep made him incredibly tense. He had no intentions of inviting her in. It wasn’t his style to be rude, but if they stayed outside, they could be sure nothing would happen between them.

“Billy.” She raised her eyes to meet his and even in the rapidly diminishing light he could tell she had been crying.

“Look, I don’t care if you and Marty broke up, I-”

“I’m late,” she said softly.

He grabbed the hand rail to steady himself as her words registered in his brain. “Didn’t we use a condom?” he asked quietly. He had been too drunk to even think of it when they made love, and he just assumed
she had provided one.

“Can we talk about this inside?” Billy nodded and held out a hand to help her to her feet. With trembling hands, he unloc
ked his door and held it open for Melanie, who walked in and sat on his bed. He followed her and sat at the table.

“So you’re late. Have you taken a pregnancy test yet?” Melanie nodded and pulled a zip-lock bag out of her purse. Billy didn’t need to see it for confirmation. He let out a slow, level breath. “Okay. So you’re pregnant, and it’s mine, or Marty’s.”

“It can’t be Marty’s baby.” She shook her head adamantly. “It’s yours, Billy.”

“How can you be so sure? I mean, even if you and Marty ha
ven’t had sex in a while, can’t the timing of this stuff be a bit unpredictable?” He was fighting to keep his cool about this. A baby with Melanie would spoil everything he had with Cass, but he stayed calm for Melanie’s sake.

“Marty and I don’t sleep together,” she confessed. Billy raised his eyebrows in surprise. “He’s divorced, and after that he decided he was saving himself for his next wife.”

“
Marty’s
a born-again virgin?” he snorted derisively.

“It’s not funny!”

“Sorry, you’re right; it’s not funny. But you two have seriously never…”

“Never. And that’s how I can be sure this baby is yours.”
Her green eyes met his, and he saw a hint of defiance there. She was silently challenging him to refute it.

“I believe you.” And he did. It was heartbreaking, really. Just a few months ago he would have given anything to have Melani
e carry his child, but now it was somber news, instead of joyous.

“So what do you want to do about it?” he asked her quietly. He had his own opinions on the matter, but he couldn’t tell her what to do with her own body.

“Well, I’m not having an abortion, if that’s what you’re hinting at!” she snapped, her eyes blazing. Billy tried to reassure her but she kept right on talking. “I’m going to have and raise this baby, by myself, if I have to. I’m sure my parents will help me out. No worries, Billy, we won’t be a burden to you and Cass!”

“Melanie, don’t be like that.”

“Like what? Don’t tell you that you’re off the hook? I know neither of us planned for this to happen, Billy. You’re the father, so you can just walk away if you want to. Not me, though. I won’t kill my unborn baby or give away my child, planned or not!”

He
rose from the table and sat next to her as she began to cry again. He rubbed her back gently in an attempt to soothe her. “No, we didn’t plan this, but it’s all right. We’ll figure it out.” He was petrified of becoming a father so soon, and even more terrified of losing Cass. But what options were there, really? If he was going to accidentally get a woman pregnant, at least it was Melanie. It was easier to do the right thing when he was already in love with the mother. But what about the other woman in his life?

His mind was racing, but he knew what he had to do. “Listen, it’s going to be okay.” He kissed her forehead and smoothed back her hair. “I can get my old job back, and if it’s been filled I’m sure they’ll find something else for me to do on their ranch. We can move there, and raise our child together, as a family.”

“You
want
this baby?” Melanie sniffled through her tears.

“I’m excited about it,” he told her gently. Excited was a bit of a stretch, but he wanted to calm her down. It couldn’t be good for her to be so distressed while she was pregnant.

“So you want to move, and live as a family?” Her eyes grew wide as she considered it.

“I want t
o marry you,” he told her confidently. He prayed she couldn’t see in his eyes the turmoil he felt. He had always dreamed of telling her that, but now that he could, he didn’t want to. It was for all the wrong reasons and he knew it. But he still had hope that it could work for them. They could be good together, wrong reasons or not. And soon they’d have a child together.

“
What about Cass?” Melanie asked cautiously.

He knew it was important to choose his words carefully. “I’
ll handle her, don’t worry about it. She’s a terrific girl, but our family is more important to me than Cass.” He could barely spit the words out, and it suddenly dawned on him that he
was
in love with Cass. The thought of leaving her was almost unbearable, but he had his child to think about now, and Cass wouldn’t want to be with him once she knew he had gotten her sister pregnant. “What about Marty? Does he know?”

She shook her head. “No, I just found out this morning. I wanted to talk to you first. I’ll have to break up with him soon.”

Billy sighed, and a tense quiet filled the cabin. “Look,” he began finally, “let’s not jump the gun here. I’ll make some phone calls this week to see what kind of work I can arrange elsewhere. Marty is my boss; I don’t want this to come out quite yet. Give me a few weeks to make the arrangements, then I’ll give your father my notice, and we’ll tell Marty, and Cass. Does that sound about right to you?”

She nodd
ed through her tears and managed a small smile for him. “Okay. We don’t have a lot of time before I start to show, probably only a few months, but I agree we shouldn’t tell everyone until we know we’re set to move.”

“You really want to move?” he asked her gently. It made the most sense to him, but this had been her home for her whole life. It wouldn’t be easy for her to leave, but he didn’t see how they could stay, with Cass and Marty around. They would be a constant stress, reminders of the upheaval this unexpected baby had caused. It wouldn’t be fair to any of them.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” She burst out laughing at her own indecision and wiped her tears away with the back of her wrist. “I mean, I hadn’t thought about it, really. But you’re right; I don’t see how we could stay, with Marty and Cass here. It would be unbearably uncomfortable for everyone. I don’t want to do that to them- or us.”

“Okay. I’ll see what I can set up this week.” He decided it was time to turn the mood around. “You’re just full of surprises lately, aren’t you?” he teased her gently.

“
You’re
surprised? I thought I just had a touch of a stomach bug this past week, until I realized my period was overdue. Imagine
my
surprise when I peed on that stick!” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “So we’re really going to do this, huh?”

“I’ve loved you as long as I can remember,” Billy explained, “and that’s
my
baby in there, too.” Satisfied with his answer, she closed her eyes and leaned closer into him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her like that. There was nothing sexual about their embrace; it was just two old friends preparing to embark on the greatest adventure of their lives- parenthood.

“Marty will be back soon,” Melanie explained when she finally pulled away from him and prepared to leave.

“Hang on a minute.” Billy grabbed a piece of paper and wrote his cell phone number on it for her. “If you need anything, anything at all, you call me, okay?” She accepted the paper and nodded gratefully.

“I’m going to call my d
octor tomorrow, and make my first appointment. I’m guessing I have a lot to learn about this whole pregnancy thing.”

“You and me both.”

“So that’s the plan, huh? Leave the ranch, get married, and raise our child together?”

Billy leaned one arm against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment before answering her. “If you were any other woman, I’d say no. But you’re not, and the answer is yes.”

“Do you forgive me?” she whispered. Billy thought he could drown in her huge emerald eyes.

“Forgive you for what?”

“That night. If I hadn’t drunk so much at the cookout, I never would have come over here like that! And then I stayed with Marty, but now this is where we find ourselves.”

“If I hadn’t
drunk so much, I never would have let you,” he countered. “I know you were scared. You and I haven’t seen each other in years, and Marty’s what you know. It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is taking care of this baby we’ve got on the way.” He tried to remain cheerful and supportive for her sake, but he was secretly anxious for her to leave. This news was a lot to digest, and he needed some time to himself. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep up his calm façade for her. The shock of the news of her pregnancy was beginning to wear off a bit, and panic was threatening to follow it.

“You’re a good man, Billy,” she told him before she kissed his lips softly and left.

Her words echoed in his brain as he watched her out the window until she was far down the dirt road. He certainly didn’t feel like a good man, at the moment.

-10-

With great regret, Billy recalled dumping the last of the remaining whiskey down the drain the morning after that fateful night. It was just as well; it was Jack Daniels that got him into this mess, but it wouldn’t get him out of it.

He grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sank to the floor as he cracked it open. He sat
like that, with his back against the cupboards as he sipped his beer, for a long time. He felt numb to the core. The thought of losing Cass was unbearable, but he couldn’t turn his back on Melanie. Besides, wasn’t she the one he had wanted for so long?

He was going to be a father. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine coming home at the end of a long day to Melanie, and their little boy or girl. It was a scene he had imagined eagerly many times over the years, but now it felt like a prison. His own stupidity infuriated him.
Safe sex was something he always took very seriously, but between the whiskey and his excitement over Melanie, precaution had been the last thing on his mind that night. And now he had to pay for his mistake.