The Cowbear's Curvy Christmas (Curvy Bear Ranch 2) (7 page)

He could have savored her forever, but the sound of footsteps in the hall spurred him to action. He quickly pulled her off the island and set her feet on the floor. She brushed frantically at her skirt and had just pushed it past her knees when Logan walked in.

With a smirk he said, “Looks like you’re cooking up something new for breakfast. Or have you sampled that before?”

Mack wanted to wipe the smile off his brother’s face. “You’re here early.”

Logan leaned a hip against the island. “And you look guilty as hell.”

Madison scurried out of the kitchen. It was all Mack could do not to chase after her. But he needed to set his brother straight first. “Mind your own business.”

“I thought she was off-limits.”

“She is now.” Although he couldn’t claim her, he sure as hell wasn’t going to allow his playboy brother to let his bear loose on her.

Chapter 7

Madison fled the kitchen and raced up to her room. She wanted to die of embarrassment. One second she’d been having the orgasm of her life, and the next, she’d had to endure the humiliation of having Mack’s brother walk in on them. Sure, her skirt was mostly around her knees by the time he caught them, but he’d known exactly what she’d been up to.

A knock sounded on the bedroom door. “Honey, it’s me. Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

Mack walked in with furrowed brows. “You didn’t have to run. Logan needs to learn to be a little more respectful.”

“He definitely needs to learn how to be on time instead of early.”

“Can I sit?” he asked. When she slid over, he sat on the edge of the bed. “Why did you run?”

“I was embarrassed. Logan must think I’m easy. I’ve only been here a few days and I’m already letting you stuff your face with me.”

Mack’s belly laugh broke the ribbon of tension in her spine. “Honey, you’re not a slut by any means. Why would you even think that?”

“I picked you up in the bar…”

“We picked each other up.”

“I seduced you in the barn…”

“It didn’t take much convincing.”

“And then I let you have me in the kitchen.”

He lay on his side next to her. Gorgeous hazel eyes watched her intently. “Why are you really upset?”

She rolled onto her belly and picked at the quilt. “I thought I had my whole life planned. We were going to have a big wedding. Probably have a white picket fence and two-point-five kids, and then everything, all of my plans, were gone in an instant. I’m sorry. I’m an emotional wreck.”

“You’re still healing. It’s going to take time.”

“Are you happy being single?” she asked.

He softly rubbed her arm. “I am.”

“Don’t you want to raise a family?”

“I have my brothers.”

“I mean a family of your own,” she clarified.

“If it happens, then I’ll be grateful. But if not, then it’s not meant to be.”

“So you believe in fate?”

“I think there’s someone out there that’s meant for me. When I find her, I’ll do everything in my power to keep her.”

She turned her head to look at him. “How will you know? I thought I had found the love of my life and it turned out to be a disaster.”

“I guess you just have to keep trying until you find the right person. Think of it this way: how much worse would it have been had you married him and found out about his infidelity later?”

“It could have been a lot worse.”

“So maybe what you need to do right now is exactly what you have been doing. Have sex for fun and worry about finding a new relationship later. I think the universe will put the right person in your path at the right time. You just have to be patient.”

“You’re probably right.”

“I know I’m right,” he said with a grin.

“We should probably get downstairs before your brothers get even more suspicious.”

“One quick thing first.”

“What?”

He propped up on one arm and leaned across her chest. “I love kissing you.”

She smiled. What was it about this man that made her as giddy as a teenager? She’d never felt like this with Ben. When they’d kissed, it had felt so perfunctory, so mechanical. But with Mack, when their lips met, it was like soft marshmallows melting into hot chocolate.

A groan escaped her lips before she could stop it. Although, why would she want to? She wanted him to know that his kisses reduced her to a puddle of liquid heat.

“You deserve a good man,” Mack murmured between soft kisses.

She leaned over, ready to take another kiss when her stomach cramped. As a rush of nausea overwhelmed her, she bolted up. “Oh, God. I’m going to be sick.”

After rushing into the bathroom, she slammed the door behind her. She dropped to her knees and bent over the toilet. The biscuit she’d snuck earlier came up with a vengeance. Her stomach clenched and churned until she’d thrown up everything. As she slid down to the floor, the room spun.

Mack knocked once before rushing into the room. “Honey, are you okay?”

“I don’t feel so good.”

“Was it something you ate?”

She put her hand over her mouth so he wouldn’t smell her dragon breath. “I know I’m not the best cook, but I’ve never given myself food poisoning.”

“Did you eat anything different from what you’ve been feeding us? Did you eat anything from the forest?”

“No. I mean, I haven’t been feeling like myself lately. But I didn’t—” A sudden, horrifying thought took hold.

Mack must have read her mind. “You couldn’t be pregnant, could you?”

***

Madison hadn’t said a single word during the trip to and from the store. She held the plastic bag containing the pregnancy test that could change her life. As they bounced along the road to the ranch, her stomach churned. There wasn’t anything left in it, but her stomach didn’t seem to care.

Mack looked over at her. “Are you okay? Let me know if I should pull over.”

“I’m fine.”

She wasn’t fine. How the hell could fate be this cruel? Now that she’d had time to think about it, she’d been feeling slightly nauseous for the last few weeks, long before arriving at the ranch. So if she was pregnant, it wasn’t Mack’s. As if that would be any better.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she whispered.

“You don’t know for sure yet.”

“Don’t worry. If I am pregnant, it’s not yours.”

“How do you know?” Mack asked.

“I didn’t recognize it until now, but I’ve been tired and nauseous the last few weeks. I just thought it was depression.”

“If you’re pregnant, what are you going to do?”

“I have to tell Ben.”

His jaw twitched. “That bastard has no right to your baby.”

“If it’s his child, he has a legal right.”

“Dammit.”

“Yeah.” She waited a few beats. “Sometimes I think God hates me.”

“Why?”

“I haven’t really told you much about myself, but I was born into a very wealthy family. But for all the money we had, there was no love in our house. I don’t even think my parents liked each other, let alone loved each other. They were both from wealthy families and their fathers did business together, so looking back, I think it was more of a marriage of money than of love.”

“That sucks.”

She forced a smile. “Yeah.”

“My parents were madly in love with each other. We didn’t have much when I was a kid. They spent their whole lives building up the ranch to make it what it is today. That’s why I’m so adamant about protecting it. I want to make sure that their hard work wasn’t for nothing.”

“It sounds like you loved them a lot.”

“I did. They did everything for us. Not a day went by that I didn’t know how much they loved me. I was very lucky in that regard. I know not all families are like mine.”

She laughed bitterly. “You have no idea.”

He reached for her hand. “No matter what happens, I’m here for you. Okay?”

“We hardly know each other.”

“I know. But sometimes you can be friends at first sight. It’s like love at first sight, without all the longing,” he said.

She agreed with him about feeling that indescribable spark when she first met him, but she wouldn’t have called it friendship. It wasn’t love either. She didn’t know what it was, only that it was special.

They pulled into the driveway. Mack jumped out of the truck and ran around to her side. After opening the door for her, he helped her down.

“Do you want me to go with you?” he asked.

“Are you going to hold the stick?” she half-joked.

“No. But I’ll sit outside and wait for you.”

“This is so weird.”

“Life can be weird.”

As they walked into the house, she couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks.”

“Let me know what you need and I’ll get it for you.”

Upstairs, she slowed her pace. “I need to do this alone.”

“I’ll be downstairs.” He grabbed her hand. “Regardless of the outcome, I’m here for you. Okay?”

“Okay.”

When she entered the bathroom, a fresh wave of nausea overwhelmed her. She dropped to her knees in front of the toilet. The pit of her stomach hollowed as she dry heaved. Nothing came up but fear.

She stood and washed her hands. After splashing water on her face, she stared at her pale reflection. Dark smudges lined the bottoms of her eyes. Her pale lips pressed together. She set the wrapped stick on the counter and eyed it warily. Part of her wanted to throw it in the trash and pretend that this wasn’t happening. But she had to know the truth.

Two minutes later, she stood over the stick and watched in horror as the blue plus sign appeared in the small window. Her hand flew to cover her mouth. “No.”

A soft knock sounded on the bedroom door. Her knees wobbled as she crossed the room. She opened the door and fell into Mack’s arms.

“Shh…” he murmured.

“It’s… it’s positive. Oh, God. What am I going to do?”

“You don’t have to decide right this second.”

“I have to tell Ben.”

He pulled her closer, wrapping her in his strength. As he held her, she sobbed against his chest. In his arms, she could unleash the torrent of tears she’d been holding back. Several minutes passed before her tears finally dried up.

Her horse voice took on a haunted quality. “I have to tell him, don’t I?”

“I can’t tell you what to do with your life.”

“But it’s the right thing to do. I can’t hide his baby from him. Regardless of what happened between us, it would be wrong to keep it from him.”

He stroked her hair. “My brother just went through something like that. It hurt him more than you could know.”

“That’s why I need to tell him.”

He relaxed his embrace. “I’ll give you some time alone. I’ll go get lunch started.”

“I’m supposed to be doing that.”

“I’m happy to help.”

“You’re so good to me.”

“My mom raised me to be a gentleman. It’s in my blood.”

She gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. “She did a good job.”

As Mack left the room, he closed the door. She reached for her cell phone and took a deep breath before dialing. Ben picked up on the second ring.

“Where have you been?” he asked in an angry tone.

“Away.”

“You need to come home so we can talk.”

“I can’t. I’m working.”

“Working?” he asked as if he couldn’t wrap his mind around the concept.

“Yes, working.”

“Where?”

“I’m on a ranch in Montana.”

“Jesus Christ, Madison. You should be here in Seattle with me. What the hell are you doing on a ranch?”

She sighed. There was no point in trying to cushion the blow, so she blurted it out. “I’m pregnant.”

The silence on the other end of the line lasted so long that she glanced at the screen to make sure he hadn’t hung up on her. The numbers depicting the length of the call continued to click up.

“Ben?”

“You need to come home.”

“I can’t. Not right now. I’ll come back after Christmas and then we can discuss a custody arrangement.”

“The hell we will! You’d better get on the next plane and come home or I’ll hunt you down.”

Anger coiled around her belly and steeled her spine. “No. I just called to tell you about the baby. I’m not going to come back to you. This doesn’t change anything between us.”

“I’m not going to have a bastard child running around.”

“Well if you’d kept your dick in your pants, you wouldn’t have this problem.”

“Why are you so caught up on one indiscretion? It happened once. Get over it.”

She pulled the phone away from her ear. Her finger hovered over the “End” button. Mack was right. She should have waited to call him.

Ben’s nasally voice snarled through the air. “I’m coming out there and we’re going to work this out.”

“Don’t you dare come here. I don’t want to see you. I’ll call you when the baby’s born and we’ll work out a custody agreement.”

His tone changed to whiny. “Why won’t you give me another chance? I made one mistake. Now that we have a baby on the way, we owe it to him to work things out. If you would just forgive me—”

“I’ll never forgive you.
Never.
” She’d never get the image of him in bed with her best friend out of her mind.

“You’re making a huge mistake. I’ll take the baby away from you.”

“There’s no way a court would do that.” She hated the way her voice wavered. With his money and power, anything was possible. He probably had every judge in Seattle in his back pocket.