Tempted by the Texan

“I wish I could,” Bria said, her voice sympathetic. “It’s not an exact science, and each pregnancy is different. For some women it’s just a few days and others it’s a couple of months. But it usually goes away by the time you get to the end of your first trimester.”

Mariah groaned. “That sounds like an eternity.”

Bria nodded. “It feels that way sometimes.” They were silent for a few moments before she asked, “When are you going to tell Jaron?”

“I don’t know.” Mariah reached into her jeans pocket and withdrew the pregnancy test to show her sister. “I took this a little while ago and it indicates I’m between one and two weeks along. I guess I’ll tell him when I go over to the Wild Maverick to clear out the rest of my things next week.”

Bria surprised her when she laughed. “Sweetie, I don’t think it will take that long.”

“What do you mean?” Mariah asked, confused by her sister’s speculation.

“I know Jaron loves you, and it’s my guess that he won’t be able to wait for you to come back to the ranch,” Bria said, apparently more confident about it than Mariah was. “I think he’ll be over here within the next few days. Remember how Sam came after me when we were having problems?”

“This is different,” Mariah insisted. “Sam was willing to talk to you and try to work things out. Jaron refuses to do that. Knowing him, the first thing he’ll do when he learns there’s a baby on the way will be to tell me he’ll do the right thing and we’ll get married.” She shook her head. “That’s not going to happen. He’d want to keep his secrets even if we were married and it would end in disaster.”

Bria nodded. “I can understand that. Sam’s reluctance to share all of himself with me almost ended our marriage.”

“I’m not sure Jaron will ever be able to open up and tell me what haunts him,” Mariah said, staring down at her hands twisted into a tight knot in her lap. “One of the reasons I left the other night was because he told me that his issues were none of my business. That’s not exactly the basis for a lasting relationship.”

“Give him time, Mariah,” Bria advised as she rose to leave. “I know he loves you. He looks at you the same way Sam looks at me.”

“I know he loves me,” Mariah admitted. Looking up at her sister, she shook her head. “But there are times when love just isn’t enough.”

Nine

The next morning, when Jaron parked his truck in Sam and Bria’s driveway, he stared through the windshield at the house for several minutes before he finally took a deep breath and got out. He’d tossed and turned the entire night, going over what he intended to say to Mariah. Nothing he’d come up with was adequate to cover how bad he felt over the way he’d handled things with her.

Knocking on the back door, he waited for what seemed like forever before Sam opened it. “Hey there, Jaron. I’ve been expecting you. How are you doing?”

“I’m betting about the same as you when you screwed up with Bria,” Jaron answered.

Sam nodded. “Yeah, I figured you’ve been going through hell the past few days.”

“Where is she?” he asked, looking around.

“Upstairs. First door on the left.” When Jaron started to cross the kitchen, Sam stopped him. “Wait a minute. I’ll be right back.” He disappeared into the pantry. When he returned, he shoved a box of tissues into Jaron’s hands.

“What are these for?” Jaron asked, frowning.

His brother gave him a knowing smile as he rocked back on his heels. “Trust me. They’ll come in handy.”

Jaron groaned. “I hate when a woman cries. But when it’s Mariah doing the crying, it feels as if I’ve been punched in the gut.”

“It’s our penance for screwing up,” Sam agreed, nodding. “Good luck,” he added when Jaron started down the hall.

When he reached the top of the stairs, he knocked on the door. He thought about calling her name, but stopped himself. For one thing, Sam and Bria’s little boy might be sleeping. And for another, as bad as he’d messed up, he wasn’t sure Mariah would let him in if she knew who was knocking.

“Hello, Jaron,” Bria said, opening the door. She stepped back for him to enter the room. “It’s good to see you.”