Unexpected Mates

Her whole body was on fire, threatening to incinerate her. She’d never imagined a kiss could make her feel like this, but Ty’s did. She felt it, and his hands, on every part of her body, and she shifted her thighs together, hoping to ease the ache that his kiss had brought on.

She brushed up closer to him and Ty’s hands began to roam her body, leaving trails of heat in their wake. One hand moved around to touch her stomach and he suddenly paused. Wrenching his mouth away from hers, he set her away from him, breathing heavily.

“I’m sorry,” he panted. “But I can’t do this. I have to go.”

Bolting away from her, he went inside the house like the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels. Parker stood there, breathing heavily, struggling to control the hurt she felt as his dismal and the way he had ran.

What had just happened?

Everything had been fine. More than fine, it had been the most amazing kiss of her life. It had gotten more intense, his hands moving, and then…

He’d touched her belly.

Parker felt her shoulders droop at that realization. The extra padding on her belly had probably turned him off, maybe even disgusted him.

She could understand that. There had been times when she herself had felt disgusted when she looked at her body in the mirror.

But this extra fluff on her belly was because of the baby. He knew that. He was the one who’d helped her look like this.

Then, maybe that’s what had turned him off. He’d remembered that she was pregnant. Maybe the thought of her carrying a baby, even if it was his, grossed him out.

Parker fought to feel anger, struggled to feed the tiny spark of it she felt deep inside. But as she headed inside, head down and posture defeated, all she could feel was a crushing hurt. In the end, it didn’t matter why he’d rejected her. Only that he had.

Chapter Eight

When Parker woke up the next morning, the hurt from the night before was still there, but she was also filled with determination. She wasn’t here to try for anything more with Tyler. It didn’t matter how much she wanted it, how much she longed to truly be his. She was here so they could get to know each other. She was here to give her child a shot at having both parents.

She showered and dressed before grabbing her laptop and heading downstairs. Tyler had said he oversaw the outer operations of the farm in the morning, so she wouldn’t run into him. She’d grab some breakfast and then get some work done.

She paused in the sitting room, setting her laptop on a table before looking out the window. An angry thunderstorm had broken out just as she’d gone inside yesterday, and this morning, everything was shiny and still wet, washed clean from the rain. She loved storms, and it had soothed the hurt inside of her a little last night.

Ty had been right about the storm, and she was glad he had been. Ty’s rejection of her still hurt, but she felt like the storm had washed her clean, too. Reminded her of why she was really here. Her hand dropped to her belly. The precious life she was growing was the reason. Nothing else mattered.

Turning away from the window, Parker headed into the kitchen, shyly greeting Leah when she got there. Leah directed her to the counter, where pancakes and bacon were waiting, and Parker filled a plate while Leah poured her a glass of orange juice after she passed on coffee.

Parker sat at the table to eat, smiling a bit uncomfortably at Leah as the older lady sat down across from her with a cup of coffee for herself. She’d never been very comfortable eating while others weren’t, but she couldn’t tell her no.

“How are you liking the farm so far?” Leah asked her.

Parker smiled as she swallowed a bite. “It’s beautiful. I think I’m going to enjoy my time here very much.” Parker hesitated for a moment, feeling fairly certain that Ty hadn’t told anyone about the pregnancy yet. “It’s going to look stunning on the website.”

Leah snorted before taking a sip of her coffee. “And when are you due?”

Parker felt her eyebrows raise. “Ty told you?”

“No, but I can tell. You have that look about you. And I had six babies myself, so it’s a look I know well.”

“Oh, wow, six?” Parker shook her head as she smiled. “I can’t imagine doing this six times.”

Leah chuckled. “I couldn’t either, when I had my first. But I wouldn’t change a thing. Those babies are the best thing that ever happened to me. Well, I guess they’re not babies anymore. All grown up, and all of them living somewhere else now. I wish I saw them more, but we all talk on the phone fairly often.”

Parker chatted with Leah more about babies and pregnancy while she finished her breakfast, staying to talk after she was finished. Leah had a lot of experience and was full of valuable advice, everything coated in humor and laughter. Parker had a feeling they could get pretty close if she stayed long.

Leah finished off her coffee and stood with a sigh. “I reckon I ought to get back to work. And I’m probably keeping you from that website you’re designing,” she said with a wink thrown Parker’s way.

Parker laughed as she stood up. She offered to wash her dishes, but Leah shooed her away with a joke about trying to take her job, and Parker headed back to the sitting room. She sat down and opened her laptop to work, but her eyes kept straying to the window.

She sighed and rubbed her head, frustrated that she couldn’t focus. She didn’t have anything pressing at the moment and had scheduled it like this for a reason while she took her trip, but she d