Taking Catie (The Temptation Saga 3)

“Not hungry.”

Dallas guffawed. “That’s gotta be a first. Come sit down with us anyway. Bea’s already got the kids taken care of.”

“Okay. I need to talk to you.”

“What’s up?” Annie asked.

Chad sat, and Annie put a sandwich in front of him.

“Well, I guess I’ll just come right out and say it. I married Catie Bay yesterday.”

Dallas jumped from his chair. “You what?”

“You heard me.”

“Chad, that’s wonderful news,” Annie said.

“It’s not exactly as wonderful as you might think.”

“Why on earth not? And why’d you do it yesterday?” She swatted him. “Dallas and I could have stood up for you.”

“She’s pregnant, Annie.”

“Aw, man,” Dallas said. “How the hell did that happen?”

“The same way the twins happened, I suspect,” Chad said. “Jesus, Dallas.”

“I mean, didn’t you learn your lesson—”

“Don’t bring that up.” Chad gritted his teeth. “I took every necessary precaution.”

“Then what happened?”

“Catie says the condom broke.”

“What do you mean, ‘Catie says.’”

“Says she saw it by the wastebasket the next morning, after I’d already gone out to work. It had a tear in it.”

“Well, you put it on, didn’t you?”

“Uh, yeah, the first couple of times, anyway.”

“Couple of times?” Annie shrieked. “What the hell’s been going on, Chad?”

“It was… Hell, I don’t know. I can’t talk about this.”

“I understand,” Dallas said. “It’s private. But you took precautions. It sounds like this was just an unfortunate accident. It happens.”

“Not to me. At least not anymore.”

“Clearly it does.”

“Yeah. So I married her.”

“The great and single Chad McCray, brought to the altar by a little rodeo queen.” Annie laughed.

“Ha. I guess she’s no longer our rodeo queen, brother.”