“I have no idea. Last I heard he was in San Antonio.”
“No, he came back here. Harper and Amber know him.”
“They’re busy with wedding plans.”
“True. But we can easily find him. He used to work for Chad. I’ll give him a call.”
“Okay. Whatever you think is best,” Sydney said. “I’m going to call the foreman at our ranch and see if Mama and Daddy have come home yet. They’re still not answering the land line. I’m going to call our neighbors, too.”
“You do that. But first—” He pulled her to him for a hug. “I’m sorry about the race.”
“No, I’m sorry. We needed that money, Sam.”
“We’ll make do. I have credit cards and a good job with Zach. We’ll be fine.”
“I have my purse money from the race the other day. It’s in the safe in my room.”
“Good. We won’t use it unless we have to.”
“I want to use it. This is all my fault. I want to help.”
“That’s sweet of you. All right. Let’s make our phone calls, and then we’ll go grab a bite to eat and figure out what to do next.”
* * *
Blake hadn’t changed a bit.
He was still a good-looking and feisty cowboy, though he seemed a bit more humble. Clearly he’d been taken down a few notches over the last several years. Happiness swelled in Sydney’s heart. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him.
Sam had gotten his number from Chad, and Blake had agreed to meet them for dinner in the privacy of Sydney’s hotel room. They ordered pizza, and Blake came with a six pack of Bud.
“It’s good to see you, Sis,” he said. “How are Mom and Dad?”
Sydney let out a sigh. “They’re fine, as far as I know.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“We’ll get to that,” Sam said. “Right now we have a lot of questions for you.”
“Starting with why you left home,” Sydney said.
Blake took a long drink of beer. “That’s a story for sure. Why, though, do you want to know now? It’s been a while since I’ve been gone. You were expecting, I believe, when I took off.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to the baby?”
“It’s a long story. But first you need to know that the baby is Sam’s.”
“What? You fucked my baby sister and left her pregnant?” Blake stood.
“Stop, stop,” Sydney said. “I was a willing participant, and he didn’t even know I was pregnant.”
“I heard Mom and Pop adopted a kid after I left. Was that…?”
“Yeah.”
“I see. Well, spit out your story then, Sis. If you expect me to be honest with you, I expect to know why you’re asking.”