Loving Laney. Harmony Evans

much I don’t know about her.

      “Now, I’m going to ask you one more time. Is the baby mine?”

      He tightened his jaw and waited. After a few moments, he strode over to where she stood by the window and touched her elbow.

      She twisted away roughly, as if her skin were on fire.

      “Four months,” she hissed.

      His mouth dropped open. “Wh-what?”

      For once, he was able to push the sensual memories of Laney out of his mind, so he could do the math.

      “Four months,” she repeated more curtly. “That’s the answer to your question.”

      Austin stared at her, stomach roiling, his mind almost numb with shock. He was glad he’d skipped lunch.

      “So it is mine.”

      His voice sounded garbled in his ears, as if his words were spoken underwater.

      Laney tilted her chin up. “Correction,” she asserted. “It’s mine. This baby doesn’t concern you.”

      If her defiant tone was meant to let him off the hook, it backfired. Instead, it only served to anger him.

      He squared his hands on his hips. “What are you talking about, Laney? I’m the father.”

      Her eyes crept over his body, as if she still couldn’t believe it was true, making him contemplate the gravity of that one word:

      Father.

      That one word led to a world of diapers and daycare and sleepless nights. It also led to Laney.

      Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “This wasn’t supposed to happen, okay? I was protected. You were protected.”

      She stared at him and shook her head, before facing the window and closing her eyes. Austin wondered what was going through her mind. Had she thought about him since?

      That night, neither of them was drunk. They were both fully cognizant of what they wanted and what they were doing.

      Austin hadn’t bothered to ask if she were on birth control, he’d just used a condom as he always did. It was just the right thing to do.

      But something must have gone wrong.

      He thought back to the utter veracity of their coupling. It was like he’d lost his mind or something and she’d kept urging him to go faster and faster, and plunge deeper and deeper. Willingly he’d complied. All night and far into the morning until she’d said goodbye and he’d never heard from her again.

      He swallowed hard as his desire for her once again swept through him. How he longed to place his hands on her bare legs, lift her dress and—

      Austin cleared his throat and forced himself to concentrate. “It wasn’t supposed to happen, but it did. The question now is—what are we going to do about it?”

      She glanced back over her shoulder. “We aren’t going to do anything. I’m not holding you to any obligation here. It happened. Let’s just leave it at that, okay?”

      He arched a brow at Laney’s tone, hardly believing that she could be so casual about this situation. His question was a sensible one. Not only that, unlike the college frat boy that she obviously thought he was, it was responsible.

      He stared at her. “Does your family know?”

      She turned and nodded. “That’s what we were discussing when you came in.”

      He took a deep breath. That’s what he’d been afraid of.

      Steven and Gwendolyn Broward were powerful influencers in the Granger community and he’d heard that nothing worthwhile happened in town without their complete buy-in.

      Steven had even emailed him some articles about a new influx of wannabe ranchers that could threaten their stronghold. However, even as an outsider looking in, based on his past dealings with them, he was confident that the Browards would prevail. He also had no doubt that the wealthy couple had the same strong influence on their family.

      Suddenly, his heart clenched in his chest and he steeled himself to ask the most difficult question of all.

      “You’re keeping it, right?”

      Her eyes widened in shock. “Of course I am,” she cried out, aghast. “How could you even have the gall to ask me that? This baby is mine.”

      Austin breathed an inward sigh of relief. “I didn’t mean to offend you, but you know I had to ask because this baby is my responsibility, too.”

      A scowl marred her pretty face and he hated to see it. Would he ever be able to make her smile again?

      “I don’t want anything from you, Austin.”

      “That’s not what I mean and you know it. As the child’s father, I have legal rights, not to mention a moral obligation.”

      Not to mention that I’m still attracted to you.

      Still, having been played for a fool before, he had to be cautious. Due to the Broward family wealth, he was confident that Laney was not after his money, and right now, that’s all he had to give her.

      His heart was off-limits.

      He moved toward Laney, wanting to embrace her, unsure if she would accept him. He wasn’t about to go chasing after a woman who wasn’t interested in him. That is, unless that woman was carrying his child.

      “Moral obligation aside,” Laney insisted, her voice tight. “It’s not like I can’t afford a baby. We’ll be fine.”

      “That may be so,” he said, moving closer. “But I still want to help.”

      Suddenly she whirled away, out of his reach, taking his gentle feelings with it.

      “Stay away from me, Austin,” she warned, her brown eyes flashing dangerously. “Stay away from me. And my baby.”