The Cowboy Meets His Match (Fatherhood) by Roxann Delaney

Author:Roxann Delaney [Delaney, Roxann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-08-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

“Go on up to the house, Erin,” Jake ordered, checking the sky. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Erin couldn’t move. She’d never thought this would happen. Never thought she would ever see the son she gave up. Never dreamed Jake would find out. And she didn’t know what to do or say. Not until she heard what Jake had to say, and she didn’t look forward to that.

“Come on, Erin,” Jonah said, sounding as unsure as she felt.

Jake whipped around. “No, just Erin. I’ll talk to you later.”

Jonah’s chin went up. “I have every right to be there, too. You can’t stop me.”

She realized how much he sounded like her. “Let him come, too, Jake. I want to know how he found my letter.”

“So you did write it,” he said.

“I never said I didn’t.”

He hesitated, watching both of them. “Okay, go with Erin. I want to see how bad this storm might get, and then the three of us will have a talk.”

Jonah nodded and started walking toward the house, but Erin still couldn’t seem to move. Scared. She’d only been scared twice. The first when she’d realized she was pregnant, and the second when the sheriff had come to tell her that her parents had been in an accident.

“Erin?”

She knew she had to start moving, do something. They had to get this done and over with. The time of reckoning had come. Walking silently next to the boy who she now knew was hers, she couldn’t think of anything to say. Numb with shock and fear, it was as if she’d lost the power to think. She’d considered denying she’d written the letter, but she’d been so blindsided by it that she couldn’t speak. What could she say to make things right?

Nothing.

Forcing herself to move, she followed Jonah inside. “Living room is that way,” he said.

She shook her head. She’d never been farther than the kitchen to talk to Ada, and the thought of going anywhere else made her feel out of place. “We’ll wait for Jake.”

They stood in silence for what seemed like forever. Her nerves were stretched as far as possible, and she found breathing a problem. Finally, when she thought she would pass out, she took a deep breath.

Jonah cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Erin. I thought he knew.”

Swallowing and hoping words would come, she shook her head. “No, and I never planned to tell him.”

“Why not?”

“Yeah, why not?”

She spun around to see Jake standing in the open doorway. “Because I never expected to see you again.”

His face hardened. “Not good enough, Erin. And why should I believe he’s mine?”

She gasped at his insinuation. He knew she’d been a virgin. He’d wanted to wait, but she hadn’t.

“I’m not eighteen,” Jonah said, before Erin could think of an answer to Jake’s question. “I’m sixteen, almost seventeen. Next month.”

Erin could see the quick calculation in Jake’s eyes and the moment he accepted it. “Don’t blame Jonah for this,” she told him. “He’s only the product of—”

“Don’t say it,” Jake snapped.

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