Expecting the Rancher's Heir

She looked thoughtful for several long moments before she finally nodded. “We need to discuss something at length and I think it would be a very good idea to have the privacy of your ranch to do it.”

Surprised and more than a little pleased by how easily she had agreed, he hugged her close. “Talking wasn’t what I had in mind when I asked you to go with me. But I guess we can hash over whatever you think is so important while we rest up from more pleasurable pursuits.”

She gave him a warning look. “Will you be serious?”

“Angel, I thought you’d have figured out by now that when it comes to making love, I’m always serious,” he murmured as he kissed the side of her slender neck. “But if you think it’s necessary, I’ll be more than happy to take a few minutes to refresh your memory.”

“After I tell you what I discovered this morning, I think you’ll agree that there should be less emphasis on teasing and making love this weekend and more concentration on making some very serious decisions about what we’re going to do,” she said, pulling from his arms to stand up. He watched her shoulders rise and fall as she took several deep breaths. “Shane, there’s no easy way to put this and I doubt you’ll be happy to hear about it.”

His smile slowly faded. Her body language and the seriousness of her tone warned him that whatever was on her mind was most likely something unpleasant. But he had never been one to avoid an obvious problem. He preferred to hit the difficulty head-on, deal with it and move forward.

“Why don’t you just tell me outright and get it over with, Lissa?”

“A-all right.”

The slight tremor in her voice and the lone tear slowly slipping down her cheek when she turned to face him caused his heart to stutter and had him moving to get to his feet in the blink of an eye. But her next words stopped him stone cold.

“Shane, I’m…pregnant.”

Two

Feeling as if he had taken a sucker punch to the gut, Shane stared at her as he sank back down into the plush chair. Rarely at a loss for words, he suddenly couldn’t have strung two words together if his life depended on it.

Pregnant. Lissa was pregnant. That meant he was going to be a…he swallowed hard against the knot forming in his stomach…a daddy.

Un-freaking-believable.

He shook his head in an effort to make some sense of his tangled thoughts. He wasn’t sure what he had expected her to tell him, but the fact that she was having a baby—his baby—certainly hadn’t been it. Hell, he had never expected any woman to announce that he had made her pregnant.

“The baby belongs to you,” Lissa said, sounding a little defensive.

He shook his head. “There wasn’t a doubt in my mind about that, angel. When did you see the doctor?”

“I haven’t.” She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and he knew she was thoroughly stressed. “I just took the home test this morning.”

“Maybe it was wrong.”

“I don’t think so. I’ve missed one period and getting close to missing the second.” Her shoulders slumped. “Besides, the test boasts the highest accuracy rate of all the in-home brands.”

Suddenly needing a good dose of fresh air and a little time to come to grips with her news, Shane rose to his feet. Walking over to her, he used the pad of his thumb to wipe the tear from her cheek.

“Why don’t you pack a bag for the weekend while I go get my truck?”

“But what if someone sees us leaving town together?” she asked, looking uncertain.

“We’ve got bigger things to worry about than what some busybody with nothing better to do than spread gossip is going to say about seeing the two of us together,” he interrupted, anticipating her argument. Taking her into his arms, he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. “Once we get to Rainbow Bend, we can discuss things, sort it all out and decide what we’re going to do. For now, get your things together and be ready to go when I get back.” Without waiting for her to change her mind or find an excuse to stay at the resort, he quickly released her and walked outside.

Pulling the door closed behind him, Shane stood on the deck for several mind-numbing moments and gazed at the panoramic view of the Rocky Mountains against the bright blue September sky. Splashes of gold from the aspen trees making their annual autumn transformation painted the slopes and quavered delicately in the slight breeze. He saw none of it.

He was too focused on the fact that he had done the one thing he had sworn he would never do. Hell, he had never even considered fathering a child as part of his life plan.