Candy Hearts, Vol. 2

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Owen was freaking right out.

He was pressed against the hard wall of Jeb’s chest and belly, his stomach right there, completely something no one could ignore. And Jeb was staring at him, eyes blazing, and he wanted to just?—

Oh, he didn’t know what to do. Cry. Whack Jeb hard. Give him a titty twister. Lean on him and absorb the strength that Jeb carried within him so effortlessly.

Okay. No leaning and no crying.

Maybe the twister.

“Let me go, Jeb.”

“No, baby. Not until we wrangle this.” Jeb leaned down, mouth hovering over his. “I’m not going anywhere.”

No. No, no, no. If Jeb kissed him, he would be lost. That was how it worked with them. Mouths and hands and kissing and touching made everything else okay, but this couldn’t be fixed with a tumble into bed.

So he tore away and stepped back, enjoying a petty moment of satisfaction when Jeb grunted and gave him a surprised eyebrow raise.

“I can’t just pretend that loving you will fix anything, Jeb. I’m having a baby, and I have to be logical.” And figure out what to do.

“What’s logical about running away from me, Owen?” Jeb didn’t reach for him again, but those big hands flexed.

“I—Nothing. But just sitting here, watching you have a life that has nothing to do with me? That’s hell.” And Owen knew it.

Jeb was a good man.

Honest.

And Jeb had said, over and over again that he didn’t want to be married, have a family, settle down, lose his freedom.

Now it would just be…pity.

“You think I would do that?” No Jeb was scowling at him. “Jesus, baby. I’m not a dick.”

“No. No, I really don’t. I think you would marry me and raise our daughter and just quietly resent the fact that I fucked up your life.” Owen sat down, eyes burning with his unshed tears. “I love you too much to let you do that.”

Jeb came to sit next to him, because he’d managed to land on the couch. “Baby. Please don’t cry. I need to just— Can we breathe for a minute?”

He nodded and sucked in a lung full of air. “I’m sorry.”

He was. He was sorry that he hadn’t told Jeb. He was sorry that things were messed up. He was sorry that the birth control had failed.

He wasn’t sorry about their daughter.

“I am too. I’m sorry I was an ass, and I’m sorry you thought you couldn’t tell me.” Those dark-dark eyes fastened on him, holding him captive. “I’ve missed you so damn much, Owen.”

“I hate this. I’ve tried so hard to be brave for her…” But he’d cried a lot.

“I wish—” Jeb cut himself off, a muscle ticking in his jaw like it did when he was upset. Jeb wasn’t great at talking about feelings. It took him a while to come around to it sometimes.

“I didn’t cheat on you,” he whispered. He never would have. Never.

“I know that, you dork.” Jeb sighed, reaching for his hands and taking them in both of those big, callused hands he liked so much. “I tried to call. I left voicemails. I texted. I asked all of our friends to plead my case. I just— I got snarly.”

“I didn’t want you to be disappointed, and then I was so scared…” Terrified even.

Thumbs rubbing the backs of his hand, Jeb nodded. “I can see that, baby. I can. And God knows I’ve run my mouth about not settling down and all.” Jeb studied him, the silence stretching until he squirmed. “Come to supper, Owen. Get some food in you. And then we can talk about you letting me have another chance.”

“Everyone’s going to stare…” He stroked his belly.

“Oh, baby, this is Friendsgiving. These are our friends. They’ll be staring at me too, but no one is going to be mean.”

“Okay…I—” She kicked and rolled, and he extended an olive branch. “She’s moving. Would you like to feel?”

“I would.” Jeb let him put one hand on his belly, his expression akin to a man about to touch a snake. Which made him chuckle.

“She doesn’t bite. I promise.” He moved Jeb’s hand to where she was playing soccer.

Jeb blinked, and then a wondering sort of expression dawned on his face. “She’s moving. You know for sure she’s a she?”

“Yeah. I went for the ultrasound Monday. She’s a little girl.” Your little girl.

“Oh, wow.” That hand was warm and firm on his belly, Jeb not at all scared, he thought. Not now. “Wow. I hope she has your eyes.”

“I hope she has your smile.” Owen was not going to cry. Not.

“Come to supper with me, baby. That’s all. One day at a time, okay?” Jeb gave him a smile, those dimples he loved making Jeb look so much younger. Happier.

“One day at a time. Okay. I can’t promise not to cry.”

“So? You’re all preggers.” Jeb went to the kitchen. “You want to bring… Sprite?”

Since that was almost all that was in his fridge, it was a good call.

He just hadn’t been hungry. Sprite was calories, if not nutrition.

“Sprite it is.” Jeb pulled out an unopened bottle. “Ta-da. Something to bring. Do you have shoes?”

“I do own shoes, yes.” He slipped on his boots and his coat, because it was cold out there. This whole thing was insane.

“I thought I remembered you having some.” Jeb was grinning now, teasing him, and he dammit, why did he like Jeb so much. Not just love him, but like him.

“Shut up. I’ll beat you.” Neither of them were worried about that, but it felt good to threaten.

“Mmmhmm. Promises, promises.” Jeb carried the Sprite, then steered him toward the door. “I’ll drive. That way you can just relax on the way.”

Relax?

He’d been avoiding his friends for a couple of months now.

Jeb opened the truck door for him, helping to boost him up. “Don’t look so nervous, baby. These are your friends. Have they been calling? Checking on you?”

“They’ve been trying,” he said, not without guilt.

“Well, then, they care.”

“I do too. I just didn’t know what to do.” He’d been ostriching.

“I know. I can tell.”

What did that mean? Okay, maybe Jeb had seen all the blankets and pillows and boxes of Kleenex.

“I just needed to be able to focus on work. The kids depend on me.”

“Of course they do, baby. I wasn’t being an ass.” Jeb got them moving, more carefully than usual, he noticed. And he had to bite back a grin.

He didn’t know what to say. Whether to bitch or laugh or what.

“What?” Jeb asked with a sideways glance.

“You usually drive like a bat out of hell.”

“It’s icy.”

“Yeah. A little. At least the roads seem pretty clear…”

“They do. I just want to be careful, baby. And I would even if you weren’t pregnant on ice this bad.”

To be fair, Jeb had never driven him around in the worst of the winter storms before.

“Fair enough. It makes a difference, though, doesn’t it?” He understood.

That dark gaze met his again briefly. “It really does. I’m— I don’t know what I am, exactly, but I’m amazed, for sure.”

“Yeah. You haven’t had time to work through all this.” And Owen wouldn’t be surprised if Jeb needed a lot of time to think about everything.

“I haven’t, but don’t think I’m going to let you get away, baby.” They crossed the river, and it took no time for Jeb to pull in at the Grand Springs Hotel.

He didn’t know what to say about Jeb’s words, so he didn’t try. “We’re here.”

“We are.” Jeb reached across the console to grab his hand, then he brought it up to kiss it. “All friends.”

“I hope so.” He cupped Jeb’s jaw. “Us too?”

“Us too, baby. First and foremost. And then more.” Jeb kissed his fingers, making them tingle.

Owen wasn’t going to cry, but damn, he wanted to.

“Come on, you,” Jeb finally said. “Let’s go have some pie.”

And that sounded like the best thing ever.