Pregnant By The Colton Cowboy

“Anytime.” Knox set off down the hall. “I’ll call you,” he said over his shoulder.

Thorne stood by the door to Maggie’s room for a moment, considering his options. They clearly needed to talk. He owed her an apology—had owed her one for quite a while, in fact. Now might be the best time to offer it, while she was stuck in the hospital bed. It was a little cowardly of him to use her situation to his advantage, but he did have things to say and he wanted to make sure she heard them. Since she was essentially a captive audience until the doctor released her, he might as well bite the bullet and plunge ahead, despite the fact that he wasn’t used to trying to explain his actions to someone else. Still, he had to try. He might not get another opportunity like this again.

Nerves jangled in his stomach, making him feel like he’d just jumped off a galloping horse. He took a deep breath and decided to take a page from Knox’s book. Flowers might not be the answer to every problem, but they certainly wouldn’t hurt. And the walk to the hospital gift shop would give him a little time to compose his thoughts.

He glanced around, checking to see if there was a doctor nearby who might be going to see Maggie. He definitely didn’t want to miss the obstetrician’s visit, provided Maggie was okay with him staying in the room. Fortunately, there were no white coats in sight.

He set off down the hall in search of a peace offering. He couldn’t think of the right words to say, but hopefully the flowers would help make up for that.

He’d find out soon enough.

* * *

Maggie sighed and rubbed her eyes, trying to massage away the dull throb of her headache. Now that she knew she was pregnant, she didn’t want to take anything stronger than Tylenol for fear of hurting the little life inside her. She mentally reviewed her actions over the last few months, trying to recall if she’d done anything that may have harmed the baby. Nothing came to mind; she hadn’t so much as had a drink since the beginning of the year. That was good news for the pregnancy, but a rather sad commentary on her social life.

Or lack thereof.

What would her friends say about this news? The last time they’d had a girl’s night had been New Year’s Eve, five long months ago. They stayed in touch with regular texts and a few phone calls, but everyone was so busy it was hard to find time to get together. They all worked too much, and on top of that, Sonia and Amber had families of their own keeping them occupied.

And soon I will, too.

She smiled at the thought. Her life was going to irrevocably change in a few months. Was she ready?

Was Thorne?

He had seemed different somehow when he’d returned to the room with Knox. Still quiet, but she’d sensed a determination there, as if he’d made up his mind about something. And then when Sheriff Jeffries had stopped by to make his nasty allegations, Thorne had practically vibrated with silent indignation on her behalf.

She wasn’t quite sure what to make of this apparent shift in his behavior. Had he experienced a true change of heart, or was this simply a reaction to the explosion and the news of the baby? Would he go back to ignoring her after the shock wore off and life returned back to normal?

Only time would tell. She was going to have to be patient.

A wave of dissatisfaction swelled in her chest. She wanted answers now, not in a few months! But pushing Thorne for a response might actually drive him further away. And while she was going to protect her baby no matter what, she didn’t want to deny her child a father.

An upbeat jingle interrupted her thoughts, and she grabbed her cell phone off the rolling lap desk next to her bed. It was a wonder the thing still worked, but she supposed her body had absorbed the brunt of the impact when she’d been blown across the yard.

“Hello?”

“Hi, sweetie.” Her mom practically sang the words. “Your father and I are taking the RV to Big Bend to do some camping, and we thought we’d stop by on our way out so we could all have dinner together. We should be there in about a half hour.”

Maggie’s stomach dropped. She loved her parents, but her mom had a tendency to overreact. The last thing she needed was for them to find out she was in the hospital—she’d never hear the end of it.

“Oh, this is a surprise,” she said, stalling for time. How could she convince them to skip the visit without raising suspicions?

“Well, it’s not too hot yet, and we’ve been wanting to go for a while. And we haven’t seen you in ages, so I thought it would be a nice chance to catch up.”

“Sure,” Maggie said, trying to sound enthusiastic about the possibility. “Um, but the thing is I’m pretty swamped at work and I don’t know if I’ll be able to get a break for dinner—”

“Oh, honey,” her mom said, disappointment and disapproval warring for dominance in her tone. “You have to eat. And I know you’ve been working a lot lately. You need to take a break. You know what they say about all work and no play.”

“I do. But this is such short notice, I don’t think I can get away tonight.” Inspiration struck, and she nearly cried out in relief. “Why don’t you swing through town on your way home? I’ll make sure to take the afternoon off and we can spend a few hours together. How does that sound?”

“Well...” her mother said, a bit grudgingly. “That might be okay.”

“Paging Dr. Thompson. Dr. Thompson, please report to the ER.” The disembodied voice blasted into her room without warning, and Maggie scrambled to cover the phone with her hand.

Please don’t ask...

“Maggie? What was that?”

She cursed silently. Brenda Lowell had ears like a bat. Of course she had heard the loudspeaker announcement.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Maggie said, striving for nonchalance. “Maybe it was the radio.”

“Margaret Helen Lowell.” Her mother’s voice was sharp now, all business. Were all women born with a “mom voice,” or was it something that manifested during pregnancy thanks to the effect of hormones on vocal cords? One more thing she would find out soon enough... “Don’t lie to me. Where are you?”

Maggie sighed, knowing she’d been caught. “There was a small accident. I’m in the hospital.”

“Oh my God! What happened? Steve—she’s in the hospital. No, don’t slow down—drive faster! We have to get there! Where are you? No, take the next right. The next right. Hold on, honey, we’re almost there.”

Maggie could hear the rumble of her father’s voice in the background and couldn’t help but smile. After thirty years of marriage, he was used to her mother’s knee-jerk reactions.

“Fine, just wait a minute, will you?” Her mother sighed. “Maggie, your father wants to talk to you. Do you feel up to it?”

“Of course. I really am okay, Mom.”

“If that were true, you wouldn’t be in the hospital.” Her mother sniffed and Maggie could tell she was trying to hold back tears. She felt a pang of guilt for making her mom cry, but she had tried to protect the woman from the news...

There was a muffled sound as the phone was passed, and then her father came on the line, his voice calm and measured. “Sweetie, what’s going on? Are you hurt?”

A rush of love filled Maggie’s chest and tears sprang to her eyes. She really was fortunate to have two parents who still worried about her, even though she was a fully functioning adult. Sometimes she felt smothered by their concerns, but she knew they only wanted the best for her.

“I had a car accident, and I got a little banged up. But I’m doing okay. Just waiting for the doctor to clear me so I can go home.”

“That’s good. How’s your car?”

“Well...” Maggie hedged. “It’s going to need some work.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, honey. I know it was new. Hopefully your insurance won’t give you a hard time about it.” She heard the phone shift, and then her father spoke again. “She’s okay, Brenda. Here’s a tissue—you don’t have to cry, honey.”

“I’ll deal with the insurance company later. I’m sorry to have worried you,” Maggie said. “I hope this doesn’t ruin your vacation.”

“It won’t,” her mom said. Maggie realized her dad had put her on speakerphone. “We’re canceling it and coming to see you.”

“Mom, I don’t think that’s really necess—”

“Don’t bother trying to talk her out of it, Mags,” her father advised. “Your mother won’t breathe easy until she sees you with her own eyes. We’ll just pop in and make sure you’re really okay, then we can continue on our way.”

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