Nearly an hour later, when she parked in front of Abe’s house, her mind was still spinning as she tried to decide how to approach Quint.
This past Sunday, she’d had a brief phone call from him, explaining that he and Jake were leaving for Clovis on Monday morning and weren’t planning to be back until Wednesday, which was today. The trip was to purchase a special herd of cattle and haul them back to the Golden Spur. Calling him tonight wouldn’t be the wise thing to do, she decided, as she let herself into the house.
No doubt he’d be tired and could possibly still be out on the range, moving the cattle to their new location. When she talked to him about the baby, she wanted his undivided attention. Early in the morning, before he became too deeply involved in work, she’d call and suggest they meet somewhere private. He’d probably get the idea that she was calling to make a date for them to make love. And he’d be partly right, she thought wryly.
“Maura, is that you, honey?”
Maura turned from putting her purse away to see Abe entering the living room. The look of concern on his face troubled her even more than she was already. She was here to see after Abe’s health. Not the other way around. But several times this past week he’d caught her taking stomach medication instead of eating her breakfast and he’d pestered her until she’d promised to drive to town and visit the doctor.
Smoothing a hand over her hair, she wondered if she looked as unsettled as she felt. “I’m sorry I’m so late getting back, Abe. My sister was very busy and had to work me in as her last patient.”
“Hmmph,” he said with a snort. “You’d think being a relative you’d get special treatment.”
“Bridget always plays fair,” she said, then looked at him more closely. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Hell, yeah! Just worried about you.” He took her by the arm and led through the small hallway toward the kitchen. “I’ve fixed you a nice little supper and I want you to sit and eat.”
“Abe—”
“It’s soup and crackers and iced tea. It’ll soothe your stomach,” he insisted.
Her heart melted. Abe wasn’t a kitchen person. For him to take this much trouble for her was more than touching.
“Okay, I’ll try to eat a little,” she told him. “Let me go wash up and I’ll be right back.”
After a quick trip to the bathroom, Maura headed to the kitchen and found Abe at the cookstove. As she sidled up to him, he winked at her and she suddenly realized that no matter what happened with Quint, she would always have this man’s love. It was a comforting thought.
Stirring the broth and noodles, he explained, “Just giving the soup a little heat. Did that sister of yours give you something to fix your stomach?”
Maura let out a heavy breath. “Sort of.”
Scowling, he practically shouted, “What the hell does that mean? Can’t she fix an upset stomach? You need to eat. You’re lookin’ gaunt.”
Emotions clogged her throat and stung her eyes. She tried to push it all away, but it was like fighting a tidal wave. Joy and fear were carrying on a giant war inside of her and she didn’t know how to make the two emotions call a truce.
“I’ll be fine,” she said hoarsely. “It’s just going to take a while for me to get over this.”
Lying the spoon to one side, he thoughtfully ran his fingers down his drooping mustache, then cut his sharp gaze directly to her face.
“Why is that? You gonna have a baby?”
Maura gasped as warm color flooded her cheeks. “How did you guess?”
He grinned as though she’d just handed him a box of prized treasure. “My missus was pregnant twice. The first one she lost. The next one was Lewis. Both times she couldn’t eat and she had that look about her. The same one you have now.”
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