Tangled Up (Bachelors of Buttermilk Falls #2) (16 page)

She tried reaching for his hand, needing to reassure him how seriously sorry she was, but he pulled it away and raked it through his hair. “Abby, if my feelings then were even half as strong as the way I’ve felt these last two weeks, I was falling in love with you. You denied me that.”

She let out a breath at that revelation.
He was falling in love with her?
She should be ecstatic to hear it, but in this context, his words chipped at her heart. “I was falling in love with you, too. I didn’t know that at the time, but that’s exactly what was happening.” Her voice trembled. “It scared me.”

“That you were falling in love or that it was me?”

“Both, I guess.” She could feel her eyes welling up again. “You’re the bachelor of Buttermilk Falls. I didn’t think you’d be ready to settle down.”

“When did you do the spell?”

“Two weeks ago. I brought a cupcake to the tavern.”

“The chocolate one?”

She nodded. “Brandon, I didn’t—”

“You watched me eat it, knowing that it would completely erase my memory of us?”

“I know what I did was morally wrong and completely unforgivable, but I truly thought we both were better off at the time. I realized when I saw you kissing Rachel in the park that I’d made a colossal mistake.”

“Did you cause that freak rain storm?”

She looked up at him, not wanting to admit that part and who actually did it.

He shook his head. “Of course you did.”

“Brandon, I may have cast the reverse attraction spell, but it didn’t work completely. The strawberry shakes, you remembered that they were my favorite and that’s why you started drinking them.”

She took a deep breath and continued. “And the reason you bid one thousand dollars on my strawberry shortcake is because you joked right before you ate the enchanted cupcake that you’d pay that amount for one of my desserts.”

Brandon glanced toward the inn. She shivered in the cold air waiting for him to say something . . . anything. The seconds ticked by.

He finally turned, and she knew his question was coming. “Is your baby mine?”

Abby met his stare. What she said next would change everything.

“Abby, is the baby mine?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I had no idea I was pregnant when I cast the spell. I would have never done it if I knew we were going to have a baby. You have to believe me.”

He shook his head and then let out a deep sigh. “Abby, do you realize how f’d up all of this is? I don’t even remember us together, and now I’m going to be a
dad
.”

Abby stood in silence, tears rolling down her face. She’d rehearsed in her head what she would say once he knew the truth—how much she loved him and would never pull a stunt like that again—but the words were stuck in her throat. “I never meant to hurt you,” she managed to push out.

“I think you should go back in. Have Emma take you home.” He reached down and pulled her cape around her. That small act of compassion gave her hope.

“Can you take me?” she asked. “I’d like to talk.”

“Abby, I can’t do this right now.”

“But I can’t leave with you feeling this way.”

“All I know is the one person I trusted more than any woman I’ve ever been with has been lying to me the entire time. You’re not the woman I thought you were.”

Those words caused her heart to shatter, but Brandon didn’t stick around to see the damage. Abby watched as he headed back to the inn.

Not even a minute later, Emma flew down the hill, gathering her dress so she wouldn’t trip. “Are you okay?”

“He knows everything.” The tears fell fast.

“I know.” Emma opened up her arms and gave her a hug. “Let’s get you home.”

She didn’t want to go, but she needed to get out of the bitter cold. Walking away from the dock, a piercing pain stabbed her in the middle, causing her to hurdle over. “Emma,” she whispered as fear took over her entire body. “The baby.”

B
randon paced
the hospital waiting room. It’d been over two hours since the ambulance came for Abby, rushing her to the ER. He should have never yelled at her like he did. It’s just learning what she’d done and that he was going to be a father caused him to lose it.

“I thought you could use this?” Jason came over and handed him a cup of coffee.

“Thanks, man.” Brandon took a sip. It tasted like crap, but he didn’t care. “And thanks for sticking around and locking up the inn.”

“No problem. Mitch and Tom gave me a hand. Have you heard from the doctors?”

“Not really. Emma’s with her right now.” He sighed and sipped his coffee.

“Probably not the night you were expecting, huh?”

“You could say that again. Unless you’ve ever been involved with a woman that cursed you so that you’d forget you’d had sex with her and gotten her pregnant.”

“I’m guessing that’s not exactly how it happened.”

Brandon shook his head. “Did you know about her spell?”

“No, Emma filled me in. Listen, I know all of this is a lot to take, but I saw the effect Abby had on you, even if you don’t remember that you never told her how you felt.”

“So this is my fault?”

“No, man. All I’m saying is she’s good for you. You were different this fall . . . happier than I’ve seen you in a long time.”

“I wish I knew why she cursed me.”

Emma came over and joined the conversation. “I might be able to help with that.”

“How is she? How is the baby?” Brandon asked, holding his breath for the answer.

“She and the baby are both fine. The stress of tonight was a little overwhelming.” She gave Jason a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“It seems I missed a lot,” Jason said, wrapping his arms around Emma.

“Hey, at least your memories weren’t stripped away.” Brandon directed his next question to Emma. “Why did she do it?”

Emma stepped out of Jason’s embrace. “She’s never admitted it, but I think her name appearing in your batter this summer really freaked her out. My cousin feels deeply. I suspect she had strong feelings for you even before she saw my prediction.”

“Then why did she cast that spell?”

“She thought you wouldn’t ever want anything more than a good time and that wasn’t enough for her. If she erased your memory of your time together and reversed your attraction toward her, it wouldn’t hurt as much.”

“She said that?”

“She didn’t have to. I know my cousin well. You’ve always had her heart, even if you can’t remember how you stole it.”

“Emma . . .” Brandon sighed. He didn’t know what to make of the situation. The woman he thought he’d fallen for had lied to him this entire time. She’d done so many wonderful things for him these last couple of weeks, encouraging him to buy the inn and go after his goals.

Hell, he hadn’t been able to write a single word until that Sugar & Spice date, and now he had a completed first draft. The story he couldn’t get down for months had just come to him.

“Oh, my God. That’s it.” He searched his pocket for his car keys. There was something that could help him sort out all he was feeling and give him some answers. “I have to go.”

“Now?” Emma asked. “Do you want to see Abby?”

He zipped up his leather jacket. “I can’t.” He turned to Jason. “I just need to be alone right now.”

“Yeah, man. We understand. Go.”

He leaned down and gave Emma a good-bye kiss on the cheek. “Take care of her, will you?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.” Brandon headed for his car. He’d wanted to ride in the ambulance earlier, but Emma had worried that it might further upset Abby. His thoughts raced as he headed down the lake road back to his cottage.

Thank God she and the baby were fine—
their baby
. Was this really happening? How many times had they been together and when had he gotten her pregnant?

He shook his head. How awful had he treated her that she felt the need to curse him so he’d forget their time together?

She’d said it was a reverse attraction spell, but it clearly hadn’t worked because he’d fallen in love with her over the past two weeks. Now the question was: had he fallen in love with her
again
? He needed to find out.

Pulling into his driveway, he jumped out of his car and headed up his back deck. He couldn’t help but remember the Sugar & Spice Night and grilling dinner for her. Of course she’d been so surprised to see the deck finished. If everything was true, she’d probably been stepping over wood and tools for weeks.

He headed inside and turned on the light. First, he needed to start a pot of coffee. While he waited for it to brew, he changed his clothes.

It was all starting to make sense. He shook his head, smiling for the first time in hours. No wonder she’d known exactly what to do to drive him over the edge in bed.

He had so many questions. Pouring some milk and sugar into his coffee, he headed into his living room and sat down at his desk. It took only a minute to rev up his computer and hit print.

Minutes later, he stared down at the stack of paper in his hand. Had his attempt at fiction these last two weeks turned into an autobiography? He was about to find out.

“
O
kay
, hot stuff. Continue reading, we’ll be ready for you in about fifteen minutes.” Betty poked her head out the door into the animal shelter’s main lobby.

Brandon smiled and glanced down at his binder. He’d been reading its pages since last night and all this morning. Reaching for his coffee, he drained his cup. He needed something stronger than a strawberry milkshake since he’d only gotten a couple hours of sleep.

He still couldn’t believe that he was going to be a dad. He’d called Jason this morning to ask how Abby was doing. His buddy said that she was fine, and she had spent the night with Emma.

Good. He knew he should have called her himself, but he still wasn’t entirely sure what he’d say. Going off on her last night wasn’t something he was proud of.

It’s just in that moment, nothing he’d learned made any sense. The pages in his binder were starting to shed some light. His protagonist had fallen for a feisty resident redhead and that scared him. Brandon shook his head. How could he have not realized he was writing about his own feelings for Abby? Glancing down, he continued to read.

“Hey, you here for the calendar shoot?”

Brandon looked up and a young man with blond hair joined him on the bench. “Yeah.” He couldn’t help but snicker. “Betty roped me into doing it, but didn’t tell me I’d be naked. You just missed Mr. October go in a few minutes earlier in nothing but a bathrobe.”

The guy laughed. “What we won’t do for the animals.” He extended his hand. “Carter Manning.”

As in Abby’s fling, Carter Manning?
“Nice to meet you.” Brandon shook his hand. “Brandon Swift. You were Abby Stevens’s fling last summer, right?”

Carter smiled. “You heard?”

Brandon shrugged. “You know, small town gossip.”

“Sweet gal—and funny. I never laughed so hard.” Carter chuckled. “I’ve missed her.”

He did, did he? Brandon raked his hair. “But you two didn’t date long.”

“No. I went back to Indianapolis. Biggest mistake I made, letting her get away.”

Brandon was starting to think he knew the feeling. Abby may have taken matters into her magical hands, but he must have given her a reason to end things with him.

“Anyway,” Carter continued, oblivious to how close Brandon was to the subject, “I called her last week to let her know I’d accepted a job as the shelter’s new veterinarian and was moving here. She told me she was seeing someone. Lucky bastard.”

Just then, Betty popped out and whisked Carter away. “You’re next, sugar lips. We’re saving you for December.” She winked at Brandon and escorted Carter into the room.

Brandon bent over and buried his head in his hands, his thoughts racing. How crazy that he just met the guy that he’d thought was the father of Abby’s baby. He recalled Abby’s answer at the bakery when he asked her if the father knew.

He does now.

She hadn’t been talking about Carter. She’d been talking about him. His heart pulled finally realizing the enormous amount of guilt she must have been feeling over what she had done. He was beginning to see that it was his fault for pushing her to take such a drastic measure to end things.

He shut his binder. Carter was right. He
was
a lucky bastard, and he needed to make a big move to let Abby know that he knew it.

He whipped off his shirt and stormed into the room. “Betty, I’m sorry but there’s something I need to do that can’t wait. Let’s get this show on the road.”

A
bby finished frosting
the last of her chocolate mint cupcakes, swirling the flat knife along its dark, fluffy top. She’d been working all day by herself while Emma did some errands and decided she’d make some cupcakes for Batter Up night.

Emma had offered to close the bakery for the day if she wasn’t feeling up to coming in, but Abby insisted that she felt fine. Plus, she wanted to keep busy. It took her mind off the mess she’d created and all the damage she’d done.

It’d been three days since the Halloween party, and she still hadn’t heard from Brandon.

Could she blame him? Not wanting to push, she gave him some space to think through the several verbal bombs dropped that night, the least of which learning he was going to be a father.

Though she hadn’t talked to Brandon, Jason had told her that he was as good as could be expected and had spent most of the weekend doing some reading.

Reading?
Okay. Maybe that’s how he was hardwired to handle difficult information. She’d wanted to stop by his cottage several times but had lost her nerve. His words on the dock still pierced her heart. She hated what he’d said, but he’d been absolutely right about her breaking his trust.

And she hadn’t a clue how to win it back.

“Hello. I can’t believe how long my errands took.” Emma rushed out from the kitchen and grabbed a coffee mug, filling it to the rim. “Those cupcakes look divine.”

“Thanks. I made them for tonight.” Abby sighed. “And thought maybe I could take some over to Brandon if I somehow get the nerve.”

Emma cocked an eyebrow. “You really thing that’s a good idea?”

She had a point. Abby probably shouldn’t offer Brandon a cupcake anytime soon. “You’re right. Bad idea. I just miss him and want to know what he’s thinking.” Her eyes teared up for the umpteenth time, a fresh batch ready to pour out. “Emma, is he ever going to speak to me again?”

“Yes.” She reached for Abby’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“When? At our kid’s wedding?”

“He just needs a little more time. Jason said he was working at the inn yesterday.”

Abby started placing the finished cupcakes in the counter carousel. “Well, that’s good to hear. Do you think he’ll still let us operate our business out of there?” She shook her head. “Will he even want to work with me?”

“I’m sure he will.”

Abby wasn’t convinced, not when her presence would be a constant reminder of how she’d hurt him. “I hope so.” She couldn’t stop thinking about his reaction to learning he was going to be a father. Would he want to be a part of their child’s life? She had to believe he wouldn’t take her deceit out on their baby.

Pushing through the heartache, she grabbed a rag and started wiping down the counter. “God, I knew it was only a matter of time before Caitlin would blab about my name appearing in Brandon’s batter. What if it turns out that we’re both carrying his babies?”

“She’s definitely not.”

“How do you know?” She stopped wiping. “Did Aunt Sheila have a premonition?”

Emma let out a deep sigh. “I know who the father is, and it’s not Brandon.”

Abby’s eyebrow shot up at that news. “Caitlin gave you a name? Is it Michael?” She was referring to Emma’s ex-boyfriend who had also dated Caitlin a long time ago. The two had been spotted hanging out together last summer.

“No.”

“Who is it then?”

Emma pulled out a stool. “You might want to sit down for this.”

Abby declined the suggestion to sit. “Okay, enough. You’re scaring me. Who in the world could it be that I’d be affected by the news?”

“It’s Josh.”

“What?” Abby’s hands slapped the counter. “Josh, as in my
brother
?”

“Yep.”

“When the hell did that happen?”

“Caitlin ran into him at the tavern the night she saw you and Brandon making out. Apparently, one thing led to another . . .”

Abby’s hand flew up. “Stop right there.” She thought back to her brother’s last visit and how she’d teased him about not needing her guest room. He’d downplayed it, saying he was just having a little fun with an old crush. Had he been shacking up with Caitlin that week?

And when did he have a crush on the she-devil? He’d hated her in high school.

“How could this happen?” Abby shook her head, not ready to believe it. “He’s never liked her.”

“Looks like he does now—or at least he did last summer.”

Abby pulled her purse out from under the counter and reached for her phone.

“What are you doing?” Emma asked.

“I’m calling Josh.”

Emma snatched the phone from her, holding it away from Abby. “You can’t do that.”

“Why the hell not?”

“He doesn’t know yet.”

“Oh.” Abby took her phone back and put it away. Obviously, she wasn’t one to judge when it came to sharing baby news with the father, but this was her brother. She turned back to Emma. “Wait, it can’t be his, she’s lying.”

“Why?”

“Because, did you get a good look at her? If we got pregnant around the same time, she shouldn’t be showing. I can’t take this. If it’s Brandon’s, she needs to confess and not drag Josh through her charade.”

“Well, I thought about that, too, but then I got to thinking about my mom’s premonition about Josh.”

“That he’d have three kids one day. So?”

“It’s going to be three at one time.”

“Oh . . . my . . . God. You’re not saying what I think you’re suggesting?”

“Yep. Triplets.” Emma took a sip of her coffee. “She confirmed it, and she’s scared how Josh is going to react.”

“He’s going to freakin’ flip.” Abby knew her brother well enough to know that babies were not part of his career plan—at least not now—and certainly not with Caitlin or any woman from Buttermilk Falls. He’d left his past behind and built his life in New York City.

And now he was going to be a father to
triplets
? And with
Caitlin
?

Emma sipped her coffee. “She seems to be really happy about the fact she’s going to be a mother.” She shook her head, adding, “She apologized for her outburst.”

“Wow, I just don’t even know. Wow . . .”

“It is something,” Emma agreed. “She even apologized to Jason and me for all her meddling in our relationship.”

“Did she say when she was going to tell Josh?”

“No, but she knows your parents are with him now. She hinted she’d visit him shortly after they leave. I told her we wouldn’t say anything.”

Abby covered her face. “Oh, God. I can’t believe I’m going to be an aunt to
Caitlin’s
offspring. Our kids are going to grow up together. I could strangle Josh for this.”

“It is going to take some getting used to,” Emma agreed. “She also told us that Brandon knows that Josh is the father.”

Abby released her hands. “Brandon knows?”

“Yes.”

“Unbelievable.” She sighed. “Well, at least this tangled up mess is all out in the open. My days of stirring up spells are done. All I want to do now is focus on this little one,” she said, patting her stomach.

“And I’ll be here to help you.” Emma smiled. “Speaking of stirring up, do you think you could help me out tonight with Batter Up?”

“Of course.” Although she was hanging up her magical hat for the time being, she loved watching her cousin cast the spell. “I still can’t believe Mel’s tonight’s bachelor. How many years has he waited?”

Emma disappeared into the kitchen and then emerged with her pink apron. “He deserves a shot at true love.”

“Yeah, and he’s been shacking up with Betty for the last thirty years. You better hope her name appears in that batter. She might be old, but she’s quite strong.”

Emma giggled, reached down behind the counter, and pulled out the mixing bowl she’d use later.

“Don’t laugh. You know I’m right.”

“I think we’ll be okay. Why don’t you take a break? I’m going to stir up some hot apple cider and do some inventory before the guys get here.” Emma slipped on her apron and tied the back.

A break actually sounded nice since she’d been on her feet all day. “I think I’ll take you up on that. I’ll just lie down for a quick nap.”

“Take your time. I’ll call you when the guys arrive.”

Abby headed into Emma’s office and settled in on the couch, covering herself with a blue throw blanket. Her hands rubbed her stomach. While tonight would be a lot of laughs hanging out with all the men that would surely stop by to support Mel, she couldn’t help but wish she was spending her evening curled up on Brandon’s couch, watching a movie. His strong arms around her while he kissed her neck.

Would he ever give her a second chance?

“It’s going to be all right, Baby Swift,” she whispered. “Even if your daddy doesn’t forgive me, I know he’ll love you just as much as I do.”