Through some intricate Tahoe connection, Emily got Kaylee an appointment with her sister’s OB/GYN the next day. Kaylee hadn’t told Emily the reason for her need to see the specialist, only that the urgent care doctor said it was important she go.

Pregnancy was a big deal. Especially when a person was told they couldn’t get pregnant.

The physician at the urgent care had to have been mistaken.

“Well,” the doctor said, folding her hands in her lap, “I’ve told you that the over-the-counter pregnancy test they gave you at the urgent care clinic is highly accurate. After the physical exam and a quick ultrasound, I can confirm your pregnancy.”

Kaylee’s jaw unhinged.

“I saw the scar tissue the previous doctor noted. In my opinion, it wouldn’t have been enough to prevent future pregnancies, which is why you’re pregnant now. I’m sorry they gave you such a dire prognosis and left you unprepared. From what I can tell, your pregnancy is progressing just fine. Would you like to hear the baby’s heartbeat?”

Baby. Baby.

Kaylee couldn’t speak. Couldn’t form words. She simply nodded.

The doctor grabbed the ultrasound wand and placed it back on Kaylee’s lower tummy with light pressure. She pressed a button—and Kaylee heard the rhythmic sound of her child’s heartbeat.

Her and Wes’s child.

She started crying. “This can’t be.”

A warm hand gently landed on her shoulder. “It’s real,” the doctor said. She turned toward the screen and made small movements with the wand on Kaylee’s belly. “You’re about ten weeks, according to these measurements.”

Kaylee sat up abruptly. “Ten weeks!”

The doctor smiled. “Ten weeks. I’d like you to start taking prenatal vitamins right away. There’s a small list of other things I want you to consider while you’re pregnant—foods to avoid, that sort of thing. There are several pregnancy books out there to help you deal with the changes going on inside your body. But in the meantime, do you have any questions for me?”

“Yes. What do I do?”

The doctor laughed. “Take care of yourself. Get plenty of rest. Stay hydrated and eat healthy. Exercise as you normally would, and if exercise isn’t something you typically do, you might consider taking walks at least once a day.”

The doctor put the ultrasound wand away and gave Kaylee tissues to wipe the gel off her stomach. “Have you told the father?”

“No.” Kaylee shook her head in a daze. “I didn’t even know this was a possibility. My periods are irregular, and with the scar tissue…”

“Understandable. I’m happy to meet with him as well if you want to schedule another time to come in. Otherwise, I’d like to see you in four weeks. You can schedule the appointment at the front desk.”

The doctor gave Kaylee forms to fill out and left her to get dressed. Kaylee walked out of the exam room and scheduled her next appointment.

She exited the building, walking blindly to her car, where she sat. And stared out the windshield. One moment, tears streamed down her cheeks and she smiled. The next moment, panic tightened her chest and she was crying for a different reason.

She breathed in and out slowly, attempting to calm down. Stress wasn’t healthy, and she had a baby growing inside her.

What the hell was she going to tell Wes?

Wes’s dreams were coming true. Dreams that not only took him away from Kaylee, but would take him away from their child—if this pregnancy didn’t end in miscarriage like the first.

God, miscarriage.

She shook her head. Couldn’t think about that right now. She had to focus on telling Wes. She wouldn’t make the same mistake twice and leave him in the dark. He deserved to know, regardless of how he might take it.

He was a good man. An even better man than when she’d dated him before—and she’d loved him to stupid levels back then. Only what if she told him about the baby and he quit the tour? And gave up the only dream he’d ever wanted?

---

Kaylee was upstairs when Wes called out her name. He must have used her hide-a-key, the bugger.

“Up here!” She quickly shoved the pregnancy book her doctor had recommended under the bed and crossed her legs, brushing back her hair.

She heard him bound up the stairs and cross the hall to the master bedroom. He stood in the doorway.

Wes was beaming, happier than she’d ever seen him. He dropped his bag, crossed the room, and crawled onto the bed. He wrapped his arms around her waist and used her stomach as a pillow. Right above their baby.

Kaylee blinked back tears that all of a sudden flooded her eyes. Damn pregnancy hormones. She couldn’t start crying. It was critical they had this conversation without her showing too much emotion and guilt-tripping Wes into doing something he’d regret.

Wes let out a long sigh, his entire body going lax and heavy. “I missed you. So happy to be home.”

Were they a home? The two of them together?

He looked up sleepily. Poor guy had been traveling nonstop. “How are you feeling? You’ve been fighting that bug for a couple of weeks now, right? Have you gone to see someone about it?”

She nodded.

“And?”

“I’m healthy.” She didn’t know why she didn’t just tell him then. She was allowing her fears to get the best of her.

“Good. So have you thought about what I said over the phone?” He sounded super excited. “About you traveling with me? Levi will kick my ass if I take you away from the club, but whatever. He can deal.”

She looked at him sadly. “I can’t travel with you, Wes.”

“Can’t,” he repeated, and sat up. “Why not?”

“My life is here. I really like my job and I don’t want to leave it.”

He nodded slowly as though considering. “I understand.” He sent her a mischievous smile. “Doesn’t mean I’m not going to use everything in my arsenal to change your mind.”

Kaylee tried to smile.

His grin faded. “What else is going on? You don’t seem yourself.”

She stared out the window at the pines beyond. “Wes, what if I told you that I found out the doctors were wrong? About me not being able to get pregnant.”

“I’d say that’s amazing.” He snorted. “And that you need to get on the pill, stat.”

Her eyes narrowed and her mind suddenly went in another direction. “Not condoms?”

He looked at her innocently. “You ruined me. I must be inside you without anything between us.”

“Are you serious right now?”

“No, I’d wear a condom,” he grumbled. “But if it’s all the same, I’d be happy for you to go on the pill.”

She watched his eyes. “I’m not going on the pill…because I’m already pregnant.”

His smile dropped. “Say again?”

She twisted her mouth and tapped her chin. “You know, you very well might have knocked me up that first night on the golf course. This is all your fault, if you think about it. You said you’d impregnated me, and you did. It’s because of your cockiness and virility that we find ourselves in this situation.”

He jumped off the bed. “What the fuck!” His stare was so intense that she thought he might have a heart attack.

“Sit down before you hurt yourself.”

But he didn’t sit. He walked around the bedroom, glancing every now and then at her stomach. “Can’t be.”

“It is.”

“How?”

She gave him a look. “How do you think?”

“But you said…”

“I was wrong. The doctor who told me I couldn’t get pregnant was wrong.”

“But you’ve been…you know.” He sighed. “I really don’t like thinking of you with anyone else, so it pains me to bring this up, but you’ve been with others.”

“I’ve been with one other since you. A person who can’t have children.” She lifted her eyebrow.

“Holy. Fuck.” He started to pace again and ran his hand through his hair. He stopped to stare at her stomach, then shook his head and paced some more. And then he was muttering incoherently.

“Wes.” He didn’t acknowledge her. “Wes, you’re starting to worry me.”

He stopped at the edge of the bed, eyes wide, and swallowed. “Are you okay for a little while? Do you need anything?”

She shook her head slowly. She’d worried he would take the news badly, and this didn’t look good.

“Okay. Because I need to see my brothers. But I’ll be back.” He glanced once more at her belly then left the room, keys in hand. She heard the front door open and close downstairs seconds later.

Was this how it was going to be? Zombie Wes? She could handle Zombie Wes, because she was freaked out too. That wasn’t what had her worried.

She was worried about ruining his dreams. The ones he’d finally grasped. And that he’d think she was ruining them too.