I was alone in my room, lying on my bed, crying to myself. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been in that position, but I was sure it had been over an hour since I’d finished eating and took my plate back to the kitchen, at least.

Curt had, of course, left the house instead of looking for me to talk things out. I should have expected it—though it was more like I shouldn’t have expected anything more from him.

It still hurt.

“This is so stupid,” I said to myself with a wet laugh. “And so fucking dramatic.”

I’ve never been the dramatic type. I’ve always been level-headed and calm, never this much drama. My primary focus has always been taking care of others and always doing the responsible thing—unlike Curt who always ran away from all of his problems and never dealt with anything.

“Fucking Curt,” I mumbled to myself, squeezing my eyes tight against the tears dripping out of my eyes. “Why’d you have to go and be such an ass?”

I laughed at my poor, joke, though midway the laughter turned into loud sobs, and I buried my face in my pillow to muffle the sound. There was no one around to hear me, anyway, but I tried to calm myself down.

Minutes later, my phone rang, and I forced myself to calm down, and the tears had started to dry on my face. It was on the pillow beside me, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone, even my brother.

But I was pretty used to acting like an adult, and every call could be important, so I sat up and reluctantly answered the call, putting the phone to my ear.

“Hello?” I murmured, then felt my face flush as I discreetly cleared my throat. I barely sounded like myself. “This is Hope.”

“Mrs. Winston? It’s Franklin Smith, Mr. Winston’s lawyer.”

I sat up straighter as I wiped at my face and ran my fingers through my hair. Though he wasn’t there to see, I was self-conscious about how I looked, knowing my face must have gotten blotchy and puffy from all the crying.

“Mr. Smith, is there a problem?” I asked, then bit my bottom lip. “Is it something to do with the ranch or the will?”

It occurred to me just then I’d have to tell him about the pregnancy. Well, the test could have been mistaken. I didn’t think it was, but I figured I’d have to go to a doctor and get an official report. He probably didn’t even need to see that, as long as I was pregnant, I’d be giving birth in under nine months, anyhow. But it would be nice not to have to worry about a technicality causing the ranch to be taken away, after what I’d already gone through to keep it.

I tightened my lips. Well, we, but I had a feeling Curt was no longer in the picture.

“Funny you should ask that. My call does have something to do with the will.”

I wiped a shaky hand down my thigh as a ball of anxiety swelled in my stomach. I suddenly felt nauseous, and I wasn’t sure if it was the pregnancy, or if I was just worried.

“What is it?” I asked, my voice coming out raspy.

“Your husband came by my office earlier this morning.”

I frowned, feeling my stomach drop. “What did Curt want?”

Was he in such a hurry to have the ranch passed to his name that he went to the lawyer as soon as he found out I was pregnant? I curled my hand into a fist against my thigh, tugging on the fabric of my pajama pants.

“He came to tell me to revoke his claim on the ranch in his will,” Mr. Smith said. “I’m to draft the document and send it to him, but I wanted to inform you as I will also be needing your signature as you are to become the sole beneficiary.”

What?

Did I just hear him right? What was Curt doing? Revoking his rights, to his grandfather’s ranch and leaving it all for me?

No, it didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense anymore.

“Are you sure about that?” I asked, breathless. “Why on earth would Curt do that? I’m pregnant now so that we can have the ranch.”

“Ah, yes, he did inform me about that. Congratulations, by the way,” he added. “Curt let me know that he wanted the changes made as fast as possible and that he intends to go back to the city. I take it he didn’t tell you about any of this?”

“No, he did not,” I said quietly.

Just what was he doing now? He was a jerk; I’d made peace with it already. I didn’t like it, but I would learn to live with it, but I couldn’t believe what the lawyer had just said to me.

I was looking down at my fisted hand in my lap, and I wasn’t sure how long I sat quietly for, but I came back to myself when I felt something wet drop on the back of my hand. My lower lip wobbled as I brought my hand up to wipe at my eyes, wondering why I was crying.

“Would you excuse me, Mr. Smith,” I whispered, my voice hoarse. “I think I need to find my husband and talk to him.”

“Of course, Mrs. Winston,” he said pleasantly, then hung up.

I dropped my phone on the bed and rushed to the bathroom. I grimaced at the look on my face, my cheeks were blotchy just as I’d expected, my nose red and my eyes puffy from crying. I looked about as terrible as I felt, but there was a feeling of urgency as I jumped in the shower for a quick wash, bypassing my hair to save on time.

Back in my room, I picked the first outfit that my hands caught, a pair of tight jeans and a top, pulling both over my underwear. Then I grabbed my phone, and my purse, and hurried out.

I didn’t have time to stop for gas, so I jumped in one of the trucks we used for the farm, usually used for supply runs into town. It had been a while since I’d been behind the wheel of an old work truck, but I fired it up, the engine sputtering as I put it into drive. I didn’t know where Curt would be, specifically, so I drove straight to the motel where he’d stayed last. I pushed the truck and made it there in under twenty minutes, parked against the curb and jumped out.

I thought I would have to go inside and talk the clerk into telling me his room number, but then there he was, walking out with a sour look on his face and hands shoved into his pocket.

“Curt!” I called out without thinking.

He looked up, eyes widening as his jaw dropped, and he slowly pulled his hands from his pockets, letting his arms stay down at his sides. One moment, my eyes were blurring with tears, and to the next, I was running right at Curt and jumping on him.

“Hope?”

The way he said my name, so confused, but I thought with just a hint of desperation underneath, made me tighten my arms around his neck, then pull back as I blinked the tears out of my eyes. I frowned at him and punched him hard on the shoulder. He frowned back, still some shock on his face as he raised a hand automatically to touch the place where I hit.

“Hope, what the hell are you doing here? You should be at home, resting—”

“Shut up,” I growled. “You do not get to tell me what to do, Curt.”

His mouth snapped shut, eyebrows jumping up in surprise at my tone.

“I always let you do the talking,” I went on. “And you know what, Curt? You’re going to listen to me this time.”

A flash of surprise crossed his face before he blanked his expression. “Go on,” he said flatly.

“The lawyer called and told me what you’re planning,” I said, cutting him off. “And you’re not going anywhere, Curt. You don’t get to make decisions like this on your own.” I paused for a sniffle, and he didn’t interrupt. “I don’t know where you got the idea that you were going away and leaving me everything is the best of me. I am pregnant with your child, and you are going to stick around and help me raise it.”

Curt was still, but then suddenly, he had me wrapped up in his arms as he held me tightly, but with an edge of gentleness that was uncharacteristic for him.

“Look, Curt,” I said quietly. “I don’t know if we’ll work things out or not, but if you can just stay and try to work things out instead of running away all the time, I could try.”

Curt squeezed me and laughed a little. “Are you sure you want me around,” he teased. “I’m a jerk remember?”

But even with the teasing tone, when I pulled away from the hug, he had a serious expression.

“Are you willing to change?” I asked instead.

His expression grew determined. “Definitely. For you, and especially for this child that we’re having… I want to be a better man, Hope. I just… I hate it when I keep hurting you.”

I snorted and lightly smacked his shoulder. “It’s not like I would just let you, you know. Not anymore. The next time you do something stupid, I’ll put my foot down and give it to you straight. If we’re going to give our relationship and honest chance, we’ve got to start communicating better.”

The smile he aimed at me melted my heart. He pressed his forehead against mine as he held my gaze. “I would like that. You need to tell me things, too. I’ll try, as long as you meet me half way.”

I moaned a little as I closed the space between us, wrapping my arms around his neck to kiss him fiercely. Curt just chuckled against my mouth and gentled the kiss, until our lips parted, and he grinned down at me.

I matched his grin. “So can we please go to the lawyer and tell him to hold on those documents? We’re not going to be needing them anymore.”

Curt snorted and rolled his eyes. “I’d bet you anything he hasn’t even started on them. He never told me anything about contacting you when I left his office, and that was deliberate.”

I pulled away from his arms to take one of his hands in mine. “If that is true, then we both owe him a lot of thanks.”