Chapter Four
“How’d this happen?” Wyler paced the sidewalk down from the club.
“If you don’t know then you should go back to sixth grade health class.
” Liberty thought he looked like he’d eaten a live frog as he continued to stare at her blankly.
His hair was a bit shaggy and the ends touched his collar.
He’d grown a thick beard in the last four weeks, making him look older, rougher around the edges.
The first time she saw him she’d been captivated by his rugged beauty, and later his intelligence.
A man like Wyler had a wealth of knowledge.
“You know what I’m talking about, Liberty.” He rubbed his whiskered jaw as if stating the words had been an invisible hammer to the cheek.
“I’m about six weeks. Neither of us were thinking about protection.” She took a step back and leaned against the brick building, underneath the sign for Dorothy’s Wizard Books. “Wraps are only ninety-nine-percent effective if they’re on the penis.”
“I guess I assumed…” his words trailed off.
“That I was on the pill? I went off weeks before the first time you and I had sex. I’ve been meaning to go to my doctor over in Lonestar, but who has the time? How ironic because now I’ll have no choice but to keep my appointments.”
With a shake of his head, he braced a hand on the brick and leaned in as if he was holding the wall up behind her. “Was this part of the plan?”
“The plan?” she droned. “Because I stopped taking birth control?”
“You and Honor have always been in competition. Barrel racing. College grades. Fastest horses. Sam’s attention. Now it just so happens that you’re both pregnant?” He looked down his nose at her. “I should have listened when Sam said this would happen.”
His words both hurt and angered her. “Daddy said I would get pregnant on purpose?”
“He said you and Honor can’t do anything solo.” Wyler’s voice was low and thick. “He didn’t insinuate you’d do anything on purpose. That’s coming purely from my point of view.”
“Is that what you think? That I’d intentionally get pregnant so I can steal the spotlight?” Even as she voiced the words, she felt an invisible stab to the center of her chest.
“Steal the spotlight? Probably not. But maybe you got the baby itch seeing Honor pregnant.”
“Are you trying to be an ass or is it just coming naturally?”
“I have a right to question your motives.” He tilted his chin.
“You have a right to your opinion and I have a right to discard it.” She started to take a step but he caught her by her wrist.
“Uh-uhh, sweetheart. You searched me out and now we’re discussing this until I say we’re done.”
He was different, more assertive than she remembered. Impatient even.
“Let me remind you that you were the one who didn’t wrap it up that night! Or any of the other nights. Maybe this was your plan?”
He looked over at the traffic light that was squeaking annoyingly then back at her. His jaw was tight. “Plan for what? That I’d be stuck in a marriage of convenience for another six months? Yeah, because it has been so much fun so far.”
“You did say that you’d like kids eventually.
Fathering a child would certainly put you in good graces with Daddy,” she said haughtily.
He gritted his teeth and she smiled. “Oh? You don’t like being accused of secretly planning a pregnancy?
This wasn’t what I wanted or planned, despite your opinion. ”
“Unwanted. Just like this marriage. Those are your feelings.” His voice was laced with incredulity.
“Unwanted isn’t the word. A shocked pregnancy.
I did want you, Wyler. But…” How could she find the right words.
She swallowed hard. How could she have ever believed that she could have kept her emotions safeguarded?
What they’d shared before they married had been fun, spontaneous, exciting…
and when she said “I do” Wyler had become…
a husband. A man who made her breakfast in the morning, brought her coffee, stopped by the ranch just to check on her.
It had been enjoyable. And scary. Especially when she found herself depending upon him.
“We both are responsible,” she said softly.
He pushed away from the wall but kept his gaze connected with hers. “The baby changes everything.”
“If you think I did this as some kind of plan to trap you, you’re wrong. I’m not ready to be a parent, and I’d never do this behind your back. I don’t think you did this as part of some kind of plan either.”
“And you think I’m ready to become a parent?” He rubbed his palm down his face, looking tired.
“If you want, we can still get the annulment.”
“If you think I’m walking away from my child you have another thing coming,” he said in a low voice. “When I say I’m not ready it doesn’t mean I’m some dipshit father who is willing to leave his kid. That’ll never happen.”
“If you want to be a father—”
His gaze turned steely. “I will be a father.” His glare left no room for doubt.
“We can work out some kind of an arrangement.”
He laughed but nothing about the harsh sound evoked humor. “Is that how you see this? As another arrangement? That’s just like a Rose to categorize a human’s life as an arrangement. Next, you’ll be talking about visitation like a business plan.”
“Wyler, I—”
“Not this time, Liberty. You’re not going to check off a list of rules and expect me to abide by them.
The day you told me we were through you showed me the light.
” He brushed past her and paced the sidewalk as if he needed to purge his body of restless energy.
When he stopped, he faced her with an expression that she couldn’t read. “We’re done playing by your rules.”
“It’s important that we don’t lose our heads and react accordingly. That’d be a mistake. There’s no reason to be angry.”
His brows came together over his glimmering eyes. “Which part should I remain calm about? The fact that you came to me and told me our marriage is over, or the itty-bitty fact that we’ve created a baby?”
She twirled a piece of her hair around her knuckle, almost finding his troubled expression comical. “First, you and I had both agreed to getting married. You can’t tell me you didn’t see an opportunity when I offered Crescent Rose. And as for the end, one of us had to initiate it.”
“Then I guess the end will have to be put on hold.”
“This wasn’t the arrangement, Wyler.”
“You’ve got that right, sweetheart. Since the very beginning I’ve jumped through your hoops.
” He rammed his hand through his hair. “What did you think would happen? That you’d tell me you’re pregnant and I’d want to cut all ties?
Maybe you thought I’d be like my pa and have the deadbeat gene.
Well, you were wrong. Believe it or not, sometimes even a Rose can be wrong.
It’s high time you lose some of the arrogance. ”
Liberty took a deep breath and found some compassion for his situation.
She knew enough about his childhood and the regret he carried with him.
“I didn’t think that far ahead. I just found out myself two days ago and I’m still trying to wrap my head around the news.
Let’s keep in mind it takes two to tango and two to make a baby.
You have Crescent Rose, at least part of it.
Stop acting like I did you so wrong. The land is worth more than—””
“Then a hand will ever make in his lifetime?” he snapped.
“No! More than the value. It’s a legacy.”
“You should know my land its no longer Crescent Rose. You’re talking about Willow Wild,” he said proudly.
She nodded. “Right. Willow Wild.”
“Willow Wild is a dream come true , but there are things in life that are worth so much more. You probably don’t get that. You think I should take my gift and go stand in the corner like a good boy.”
“You’re twisting my words.”
“Problem is, you don’t stop and think about others and their emotions.
Anything a Rose wants, they get. You’re right, I did agreed to marry you to appease your father, to help you, but this…
” his gaze fell to her stomach. “is all about us. I won’t walk away from this so don’t even think about asking me to. ”
She folded her arms over her waist. “Then what do we do? What do you want?”
Wyler blew out a long breath. “We’re not getting a divorce, not yet. How that looks I don’t know but our baby isn’t going to pay because we can’t get our shit together.”
“You’re making a permanent decision based on your temporary emotions.”
“Said the woman who ended our marriage in a woman’s bathroom.”
“Do I have to keep reminding you of our agreement?”
He chuckled. “No, I have it tattooed on my brain. The baby wasn’t part of the agreement either and yet here we are. First, I’m coming home. I’m tired of living in the camper like some outcast. A man should be with his wife and child.”
“Didn’t you hear me when I said not to overreact?
” She felt a sour taste in the back of her throat.
Not because she entirely hated the idea of Wyler moving back to the Manor, but she wasn’t sure how she could manage her emotions.
That morning she’d cried when she’d run out of toilet paper.
She had no clue pregnancy hormones could make a woman cry at the drop of a hat.
He drove his hat over that head full of silky hair. “This isn’t overreacting. You’re just not used to how it feels when you lose control.”
She gave her head a decisive shake. “Don’t get too cocky. I haven’t lost any control.”
He took a step toward her and leaned in, so close she caught the scent of leather and his cologne.
She wanted to wrap her arms around him. She needed a hug of reassurance.
A modicum of security. To know she wasn’t alone.
The second that Doc Lafferty confirmed her pregnancy, she felt like her world was blown off its axis.
“I think you secretly like when you’re challenged.”
She looked up at him through the veil of her lashes. “You’re angry. You need time to absorb the news and lose some of the bitterness.”