His Pregnant Texas Sweetheart (Peach Leaf, Texas) by Amy Woods

Author:Amy Woods [Woods, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-08-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Ryan didn’t like it one bit.

After what happened to Katie earlier—her sudden, unexplained dizzy spell—he vowed to keep a hawk’s eye on her at all times, whether she liked it or not.

And she definitely did not, or so she’d told him in at least ten different ways since they’d returned, wiped down and brushed the horses, and headed over to join the rest of the campers for dinner.

As he grabbed a couple of hot dogs and carelessly doused them with condiments, Ryan watched Katie for any sign of distress. He grabbed an ice-cold Coke from a cooler and walked over to the picnic table where she sat, her flushed face shielded from the sun by a canopy. She looked a little tired but happy as she laughed at something Liam and Paige Campbell’s little boy said and helped Shelby cut up her food.

His heart lifted a little, seeing Katie next to the sweet little girl he’d only met that morning. He wondered if the baby he and Sarah had lost—the little girl he’d never known but loved with no less ferocity—would have become anything like Shelby.

He’d had some time to heal after the stillbirth, and when he took a hard look at the situation, he knew that he didn’t really miss Sarah. What he missed was what she’d represented: family. The possibility of home and all that meant. He’d wanted so badly for it to work out between them, all the while knowing that his heart didn’t belong to her. It belonged to Katie—always had, always would.

He never should have tried to pretend otherwise.

He knew things were over with Sarah before she gave birth to a baby that wasn’t breathing. Sarah knew it, too. They’d discussed the possibility of annulment a few times during her pregnancy, but Ryan had always refused. He wouldn’t be like his father. He would be someone they could rely on and trust. Even if things weren’t perfect with Sarah, he’d promised to always be there...a promise he’d taken very seriously.

But after what happened, after they’d tried to help each other through the crippling grief, Sarah had called it quits, and Ryan, weary from sorrow and the truth of what his life had become, had agreed. They parted amicably and checked in on each other now and then. They would always share a sort of bond, but they would never love each other.

Strange, he thought, how trying so hard to be a good man...to be honest and true and loyal...had turned him into a liar.

The only truth he’d ever known for certain was that he loved Katie Bloom.

And it was also the only truth he’d never spoken out loud.

He would have to change that, and soon. He would have to face his fear—the very real possibility that she did not feel the same, at least not anymore—and tell her what had been in his heart for so long.

The day away from his father, from their work on the hospital blueprints, was a good thing for him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.