“Thanks. I’ll think about what you said and give you a call if I decide to head back to Indiana. Give Dad a big hug and kiss for me, will you?”
When the call ended, she laid her cell on the kitchen table. She had to go home. Her time with Clay was drawing to a close. First, she needed to tell him about her pregnancy and once that information was shared, he would either ask her to leave or she would be so uncomfortable around him she would leave on her own.
Then she needed to return home to be there for her dad. Her family. She could get a call asking her to return home at any time, so she knew she had to tell Clay about th
e baby even though he wasn’t cut out for a relationship, let alone fatherhood. She needed to go back to Indiana so she could be with her family. She had to tell him soon.
* * *
“Stay and have supper,” Clay said, standing in the open door between their offices the following day. “I’m tired of eating alone.”
Sophie eyed him with no small measure of suspicion. There were any number of people he could call on to have supper with. He didn’t need her. But maybe it would afford the opportunity to tell him about the baby.
“What are we having?”
“Steaks and baked potato.”
“With a salad?”
“Any way you want it.”
Clay put in the request and by seven o’clock they were seated outside on the terrace that overlooked land that went on as far as the eye could see. The rolling hills were green—a rarity, happening only in the spring and early summer months. Most of Clay’s acreage had been cultivated, seeded each year and fertilized to ensure plenty of grass and forage for the fifty thousand head of cattle that roamed over the land.
“I’m going to ride out to the branding site, probably in the morning. I’m ready to get out of here for a couple of days. I want to see the new calves and get a close-up look at the heifers. We’re looking to triple the herd this year and I’ve decided to add some new bulls to the mix. I need to pick those out, as well.” He looked at Sophie. “Want to go?”
“Are you going by horseback?”
“Nah. That would take three days each way. I’ll go in the chopper. One day to get there and check everything out, stay overnight to enjoy the campfire and back the next day.”
“Okay. Yeah, I’d like to go. How about I have Rose fix some sandwiches and ice down some sodas for the trip?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“When are we leaving?”
“Early.”
“How early?”
Clay shrugged. “How about if I wake you just before I’m ready to go?”
“There is a perfectly good alarm clock in my bedroom at the cottage.”
“Hell, Sophie. A clock is no way to start the day. There are other things a lot more...invigorating than that.”
She picked up her water and took a sip. She knew what he wanted with regard to waking her up. She wanted him, too. But this couldn’t go on without her telling him about the life growing inside her. A life he’d helped to create. A little life that might someday have his easy sexy smile and eyes that could melt the coldest heart.
“Name one,” she teased.
“Ouch. Now, that hurt.”
She set down her glass as Rose came to take away their dinner plates. Sophie then pulled the dish of homemade strawberry shortcake from the center of the table, her mouth already watering.
“Rose is a great cook. But there are some foods at which she absolutely excels. This is one of them.” Clay picked up his small dessert plate and placed it in front of him, losing no time digging into the tantalizing dessert.
“Oh, my gosh,” Sophie said, unable to hold her comment until she’d finished chewing. “This is amazing.” She laughed, covering her mouth with her napkin.
For a few minutes neither spoke. The only sound was the clinking of spoons against the bone-china dishes as they inhaled the dessert.