Chapter 12
When Joe came back into the kitchen, Tabitha practically jumped out of her skin, her nerves stretched to the limit. “He’s going to eat something then you have to talk to him. This is ridiculous, the man obviously loves you, he could have gone straight home but instead he came here to you. It’s time to face the music and tell him about the baby.” Joe said, handing her a cup of tea.
“I know, but how am I going to tell him? I’ve made a mess of things.” Tabitha whined.
“The first thing you’re going to do is stop whining and face up to reality. The second thing you’re going to do is tell Owen how you feel. Nothing but the truth is going to get you out of this one. I want to see that old Tabitha, the one that was sure of herself, even if he rejects you don’t forget who you are and where you came from and what you’ve accomplished.”
Tabitha knew that Joe was right, but that wasn’t going to make this any easier, but luckily, she didn’t have long to think about the coming confrontation with Owen. Almost as soon as Joe went out the door, Owen came in. Without even thinking she was on her feet and across the room, throwing herself into his arms, so relieved to see him alive and well that all thoughts of the baby disappeared for a second.
Owen held Tabitha in his arms, drinking in her smell, still so familiar to him. But as he held her he became aware that she felt different in his arms. Pulling back, he looked into her eyes, trying to figure out what had changed. Then he realized what it was, her belly was pressed up against his middle, a tight ball that seemed to be rolling and moving. Grabbing her firmly by the arms, he pushed her away from him and put his hand on the swelling that was now easy to see.
“Tabitha?” He couldn’t even begin to verbalize all the questions swirling around in his mind.
“I’m sorry Owen, I should have told you, but I didn’t know how.” She said, tears welling in her eyes.
Owen wasn’t sure if he was happy or mad, a baby wasn’t something you hid from its father, unless he wasn’t the father. Maybe all these months of hiding and avoiding him had nothing to do with Sarah and everything to do with Tabitha being the one who was unfaithful. After all she’d had plenty of opportunity while he was gone, he knew the thoughts were wrong, but just couldn’t stop them, his tired brain making connections where there were none.
“Is this why you accused me of cheating, because you did it yourself.” He sneered at her.
Tabitha was so shocked at his accusation that she couldn’t speak. “I…. what?” She finally stammered.
“That’s what I thought, and to think I’ve been waiting around for you to come to your senses and see that I love you, when all you were doing was growing another man’s child.” Owen said, stepping even farther away from her.
Tabitha finally managed to find her voice, “Owen that’s not true.” But he was already gone, accepting her silence for an admission of guilt.
It was several days before Tabitha had enough energy to get out of bed, since she’d decided to leave the canyon the moment Owen when went through the kitchen door, she’d been lying in bed trying to mend her heart enough to go on. But today the baby had woken her early in the morning with the first real kick of its short life and happiness had welled up inside her. Even if she didn’t have Owen she had his child and that would have to be enough for now.
Determined to make the most of her life just as she’d always done, she got out of bed took a shower and got dressed, then headed for the restaurant and some boxes so she could pack a few of her things. She’d only be gone for a few months and most of her clothes didn’t fit anyway, so there wasn’t much to pack. When Joe saw her walk down the stairs and into the kitchen a huge smile spread across his face, He’d been worried about his friend but she looked rested and much more serene this morning.
“Good to see you’ve rejoined the land of the living.” He said, putting a huge plate of food down in front of her, which smelled so good she began to eat almost immediately.
“It’s time to move on, I’m leaving tomorrow for LA. I’m going to miss you.” She said, her mouth full.
“I’m going to miss you too, and I suppose I don’t have to tell you again that you need to talk to Owen again. He was exhausted that day and it had to be quite a shock to find you this way.”
“I wish it was that simple and you know it’s not. I just have to face the fact that it wasn’t meant to be, and maybe it’s a good thing that Owen thinks this baby isn’t his, at least I know he won’t be trying to take it away from me. Can we please talk about something else?” She been over this with Joe many times, and was tired of talking about it.
Joe had never been one to interfere in his friend’s love lives, but Tabitha and Owen needed some help and he was the only one to give it so when the restaurant closed for lunch, he got on his snowmobile, and headed for the ranch hoping to find Owen there. When he got to the ranch, he spotted Owen in the paddock and waved at him, expecting Owen to come over to him, but he only turned his back and went back to what he was doing.
Cursing the man’s stupidity for the hundredth time, he slogged his way across the paddock to where Owen was working. “What do you want?” Owen barked at him, shooting him a dirty look.
While Tabitha had been moping around in bed, Owen had convinced himself that Joe was the father of Tabitha’s baby so he was the last person he wanted to see right then. Joe seemed to read his mind, although it didn’t take a genius to read the look on Owen’s face. Fed up with the entire situation, Joe decided right then and there to spell everything out for Owen.
“First if you’re thinking that the baby is mine, you better think again. I’ve got news for you, that baby is yours and only yours and it’s time you faced it before it’s too late. Tabitha loves you, of that I’m sure, but you’re too stupid to see that. I don’t know what happened in Australia, but nothing happened here except that the woman that loves you is waiting patiently for you to come home.” Joe said, the anger in his voice finally penetrating the wall Owen had put around himself.
Owen opened his mouth to speak but Joe held up his hand, “I’m not finished. If you don’t fix this and fast you’re going to lose her and the baby. She’s leaving for LA tomorrow and although she says she’s coming back I’m not sure that’s ever going to happen.” Satisfied that he’d done what he could, Joe started back across the paddock.
Watching Joe stalk across the paddock, the mud splashing under his feet, Owen began to question all the assumptions he’d made. He’d been so happy to see Tabitha, but when he’d felt the baby kicking him, he’d panicked and made the accusation. Now he could see how much that must have hurt her and could understand why she hadn’t answered. But what he still couldn’t understand was why she hadn’t told him about the baby months ago if it was his; that part still didn’t make sense to him. It shouldn’t have been something she wanted to hide.
Unable to think straight, he knew that he needed to talk to one of his brothers, and Jack was probably the best one. Conveniently he was at the barn and not hard to find, but it took Owen several long minutes to come to the point, which Jack endured with patience, aware of the situation his brother had found himself in and the mess he’d made of it.
“I need some advice.” He finally said, not able to meet his brother’s eyes.
Jack took a deep breath and said, “I wondered when you come to me. Let’s go in the house and talk, Chloe’s out on a call so we’ll have some privacy.”
After Owen had poured out the whole story, including his suspicions about the baby being Joe’s to Jack, he sat back and took a sip of the coffee that had gone cold in front of him and waited for his brother to comment. “Sometimes I think you live in a different world than I do. Did it ever occur to you that the reason the baby could kick you is because it’s old enough?” Jack, after taking a minute, finally said to him.
“How am I supposed to know stuff like that?” Owen whined.
“You supposed to know stuff like that because you’re involved in that baby’s life. Do you really think that child is anyone’s but yours?” Jack asked the one question Owen hadn’t wanted him to ask.
“I know it’s mine, but I don’t understand why she didn’t tell me. I would have been there for her no matter what.” Owen said, realizing that his pride had been wounded. “I guess it hurt that she didn’t want me involved. It took me almost dying for her to realize that she wanted me around.”
“If I recall there was the little issue of that phone call. Do you think she lied about that?” Jack was hitting all the weak points dismantling Owen’s anger and hurt piece by piece.
“No, but I wasn’t with Sarah, Mike and I were out on the range.”
“Where was Sarah when all this bonding was happening?” Jack asked, sure he’d just figured out what happened.
“I don’t know, she wasn’t at the ranch when I got there and I didn’t see her when I left.” Owen said, then understood what Jack was getting at. “You don’t think she answered the call?” He asked, but then remembered that when they’d gotten home, Mike’s phone had been out in the grass not on the table where he’d left it and his phone had been in the house.
“I think it’s just the kind of thing she’d do.” Jack said, nodding his head.
“Our phones were moved when we got back, but it had been a long night and I never thought that much about it. I need to call Mike.” Owen said, getting his phone out of his pocket.
“No what you need to do is go stop Tabitha from leaving. If you love her, you better not let her leave.” Jack said, letting out a deep breath, hoping that when Flynn fell in love it would be easier for him than it had been for his brothers.
By the time he reached his cabin and grabbed a few things, it had started snowing again and it was getting dark, but Owen didn’t care. He felt like he didn’t have a moment to waste, getting to Tabitha was the most important thing right now. Now that he understood just how much he loved her and the baby, his safety seemed of little concern, he’d survived six feet of snow in the high-country, a few inches in the canyon shouldn’t be any problem.
He arrived just as the snow became nearly impossible to see through, but there was a light burning in the restaurant window guiding him as visibility became almost zero. Cedar Ridge was closed up for the night, only a few lights shining in the windows around town, but Owen didn’t care how late it was. When he tried the front door of the restaurant he was surprised to find that it was unlocked, but then realized that there was no one who needed to be locked out, unless it was him. With that grim thought in mind, he opened the door and stepped in, relieved when a rush of warm air caressed his chilled skin. He breathed a sigh of relief to have made it safely.
Knowing that Tabitha was upstairs in her apartment, he climbed the stairs, rehearsing in his mind what he’d say to her. He had to make her understand that it was really over with Sarah and that all he wanted to do was to spend his life with her and their son or daughter, that thought making him smile. When he reached her door, he knocked hoping she was still awake, and was rewarded by Tabitha’s faint invitation to come in.
He knew that she wasn’t expecting him, so he opened the door slowly, not wanting to scare her. She had her back turned to him, so he cleared his throat to get her to turn around, when she did his heart began that familiar rhythm that the sight of her always caused. But as happy as he was to see her that emotion was clearly not returned, the scowl on her face broadcasting her feelings clearly.
Tabitha had been expecting Joe who had promised to carry her boxes down to the restaurant when she’d finished taping them up, but instead it was Owen standing in her door. He was dripping melting snow all over her carpet and looked half frozen, her first instinct was to go to him and help him out of his wet clothes, but they were far past the point where she should be taking care of him.
Instead she demanded, “What are you doing here?”
“Stopping you from making the biggest mistake of our lives.” He said, pulling off his wet coat and dropping it out in the hallway, then shutting the door. “We have to talk Tabitha.”
Tabitha was done talking with Owen, “Yeah, it seems like we always need to talk, I’m tired of talking Owen. Let’s just face facts, we’re not meant to be together, there’s just too much stopping us.”
Owen crossing the room and pulled her to him, Tabitha wanted to resist but couldn’t, she’d been waiting for Owen to come to her for months and for just a few minutes she’d enjoy being in his arms again. “Don’t say that, it’s just not true.” He said, tipping her face up to look in her eyes. “Can you honestly tell me that you believe that?”
Tabitha didn’t believe her words, but she was tired of fighting for Owen. “I don’t know, it always seems like there’s something coming between us and I’m tired.” She said, a sob escaping her lips.
Owen pulled her closer and said, “I’m sorry about what I said when I found out about the baby. I was tired and I let my jealousy and pride get the better of me. I guess I was a little hurt too, I love you Tabitha and you pushed me away.”
Tabitha’s heart soared when he said he loved her, but that didn’t erase what she thought happened in Australia and she had to know the truth. “Owen please tell me the truth about what happened when you went home.”
“I can’t completely explain that call, but I can tell from the phone log that the call came in when Mike and I were out on the range. I think Sarah might have gotten her hands on my phone, I told her about you, told her that it was over between us because I’d found someone who gave as much as she took. She didn’t take it very well.” Owen hoped his explanation would make sense to her.
“But it was late at night there when I called. Why were you out riding at night?” That he’d been out riding at night was the only thing that didn’t make sense to her.
“Oh, honey, Mike and I have been doing that since we were just kids. I promise you, I wasn’t with Sarah, I was with Mike.”
Tabitha finally looked up into his eyes, seeing all the love and longing she’d been looking for and in that instant, she knew that he was telling her the truth. “Oh Owen, I love you and I thought that I’d lost you to her. I’ve never loved anyone like I love you and it’s scary, then I found out I was pregnant and everything looked impossible. I should have told you, but I was afraid you’d stay with me for the baby and I couldn’t have handled that.” Tabitha couldn’t hold the tears back any longer and she began to sob.
Owen pulled her over to the couch and held her, whispering over and over that he loved her and that they’d be together forever if she’d just forgive him. When she finally managed to stop crying, she was embarrassed, “I’m sorry, I guess it’s the hormones.”
“No, it’s me being the idiot that I am. But I promise never to hurt you again.” Owen said, pulling something out of his pocket. “Tabitha, I love you and I don’t ever want us to be apart, baby or not I want to marry you as soon as possible. We belong together, can’t you feel it when we’re together, we’re connected.”
Tabitha watched, still sniffling as Owen slid a ring on her finger, unable to believe that just a few hours ago she was going to walk away from him. “Yes, Owen I’ll marry you and the sooner the better.” She said, putting his hand on her swollen belly just as the baby kicked.
“I just hope I’m a better father than I’ve been a boyfriend, but I promise you I’ll be the best husband I can be.” Then he pulled her up off the couch and back to the bedroom. “I want to make love to you Tabitha it’s been too long since I’ve had you in my arms.”
They undressed each other slowly, savoring the passion between them, each piece of clothing that hit the floor resulting in kisses and caresses. There was none of the frantic need that had possessed them in the past, this time they knew that they had all the time in the world, that they’d survived the biggest test of their relationship.
When Owen’s hands finally found Tabitha’s swollen breasts, he gasped with surprise then took one stiff nipple in his mouth, savoring the taste of Tabitha after all this time. The feel of Owen’s mouth on her sensitive nipple should have been uncomfortable, but instead it sent fire racing through her veins and need springing to life deep inside her. Her body flared to life under Owen’s hands, each nerve ending singing with the passion only he could bring her.
Suddenly overwhelmed by the depth of her desire, she said, “Owen it scares me how much I want you.”
Owen answered her with a passionate kiss then said, “I feel the same way, but it’s okay we’ll find our way together. Let me love you.” Then he laid her down on the bed and stretched out next to her and took a moment to let his eyes roam over her naked body.
Much to his surprise the changes the baby had made to Tabitha’s body only increased his desire for her. “You’ve never looked so beautiful.” He said, then covered her mouth with his.
Those simple words and the love in Owen’s eyes took away all her fear and she kissed him back until they were both so wrapped up in each other that the outside world ceased to exist. Owen’s hand slid over her swollen belly and between her legs and he began to stroke her, growling when he discovered her wet and ready for him. When he slid a finger deep inside her, she spread her legs, moaning with pleasure as the pressure began to build.
Owen knew just how to bring Tabitha to the height of pleasure, and that was all he wanted in that moment, her writhing in his arms as she climaxed. So, he slid down her body and spread her legs even further. Unlike the last time, she knew what to expect and began whimpering before his tongue even touched her. Her hands tangled in his hair, she rode the waves of pleasure crying out his name as he took her to the very pinnacle of pleasure then back down, until she begged him to give her fulfillment.
“Please Owen, I can’t take this much longer. I want you inside me, make us one.” She panted, clawing at him until with a final thrust of his finger he let her tumble over the edge, her body shuttering with the pure pleasure he’d unleashed.
“I want us to be one as much as you do.” He said, sliding back up her sweating body, “But I don’t want to hurt you.”
Tabitha pushed him away and got onto her hands and knees, and Owen immediately understood what she wanted. Kneeling behind her, he stroked her back, letting his throbbing erection slide over her swollen clit until she climaxed again. Then he slid into her as her muscles rippled with the force of her orgasm, holding her hips, he slowly pulled out then buried himself inside of her again, reveling in the feeling of her hot slick passage.
He pushed them both to the edge of their passion, thrusting into her over and over again, knowing that only Tabitha could ever make him feel this way. When he knew that he couldn’t last much longer, he reached between Tabitha’s legs and found her clit, rubbing in gentle circles until he felt her muscles begin to contract. Leaning over her, he whispered how much he loved her, cementing their love with not only his words but his body.
When they finally crested the wave of pleasure, it was together, Tabitha knowing that she’d never have another man in her bed or her life, the connection between them so clearly forged in the physical passion between them. But she also knew that it was something so much deeper than that, a merging of their souls that would take them through the rest of their lives. When her body clenched around Owen’s she felt the power of that connection and couldn’t stop the tears that began streaming down her face.
When Owen saw that she was crying, he was immediately concerned, “Sweetheart what’s wrong?” He said, gently laying her down on the bed on her back.
“I’m just so happy.” She laughed, then added, “I guess these are happy tears.”
Owen breathed a sigh of relief, “I was afraid I hurt you.”
“No, I’m fine, actually better than fine. I’m perfect.” She said, leaning up and kissing him.
Owen opened his mouth to tell her how much he loved her but just then her stomach growled loudly. “Looks like you’re not so perfect after all. I think we’d better feel you two.”
Tabitha laughed, “This might be the last chance for us to have a dinner for two, before long there’s going to be three of us.” Then brought Owen’s hand up to the swelling that was their son or daughter who chose that moment to kick hard enough that Owen’s hand rose in the air.
The end.