She was chatting with Eric and her father when the kitchen door opened. To her shock, Cousin Tim stepped outside.
Her jaw dropped. Of all the days for her surly cousin to visit... She was in no mood to face him. The mere sight of him made her remember the lawsuit and Sly, and right now, she didn’t want to think about Sly or yesterday, or any of the secrets she was keeping from her family.
“What’s he doing here?” she grumbled in a low voice.
Her father’s eyebrows rose a fraction. “Come on, honey, he’s family. Didn’t your mother tell you? She called yesterday and invited him to dinner.”
That explained the ribs.
Her father gestured her cousin over. “Glad you could make it, Tim.”
The man joined them at the grill with his usual stiff nod. “That’s some fancy grill. I see you’re putting it to good use, cooking up a mess of Grandpa Jake’s ribs.” He almost cracked a smile, which made him appear much more approachable. “I haven’t eaten ribs since last year’s Fourth of July picnic. Before I forget, Michele says it’s too nice to eat inside. She wants to eat out here.”
“Great—we’ll use the picnic table,” Lana’s father said. “It’s been a few weeks since we touched base, Tim. How are things?”
“Lousy.” The unpleasant male’s jaw tightened. “That damn lawsuit...” He looked as if he could spit nails. “I figured out why Pettit’s picking on me. He aims to bankrupt me, ruin my reputation, and drive me off my land by making me pay for something I didn’t do.”
He had it all wrong. Sly would never do that. Lana warned herself to stay out of it, but the urge to defend him was too strong. “That’s an awful thing to say,” she retorted.
Her cousin seemed taken aback. She was just as surprised at herself, but unable to stop. “It’s not as if he’s asking for the sun and the moon. He wants restitution for the animals he lost and an apology.”
“I sure as hell won’t apologize for something I didn’t do, and I won’t pay, either.”
His suddenly thinned lips and fisted hands made Lana’s knees shake, but this was important. “Have you ever actually made the effort to explain to Sly that you didn’t do it?” she asked.
All three men stared at her, and she realized she’d referred to Sly by his first name, as if they had some sort of connection. Which they did, but her family had no idea about that. She continued, “You and Sly—er, Mr. Pettit—have never really discussed the poisoning, have you? When he attempted to talkwith you, you pointed a rifle at him and ordered him off your land. If you would just sit down and engage in a rational dialogue, you could work this out.”
He squinted at her, his narrowed eyes scary. “How the heck do you know about it, and why are you defending him?”
Lana swallowed and came close to explaining exactly why. But this wasn’t the right moment to reveal that she was carrying Sly Pettit’s baby.
Imagining her family’s shocked reaction to that, her stomach flip-flopped. So much for the crackers.Oh, please, not a bout of morning sickness now.No, she decided. This queasy feeling had nothing to do with morning sickness and everything to do with fear. She’d done what she dreaded most—stirred up family controversy. If she wanted to make it through the evening in one piece, she’d best keep her mouth shut.
Tim was waiting for her reply. “I’ve heard a few things,” she hedged.
“What you’ve heard is wrong. Pettit outright accused me of poisoning his cattle, when I never did any such thing. I hope the bast—the so-and-so rots in hell.”
Lana managed to bite her tongue, but she was sure her cold expression spoke volumes.
After a lengthy and somewhat tense silence, Eric cleared his throat. “Pretty amazing the Grizzlies made it to the tournament this year. How do you figure they’ll do next year, Tim?”
As the men launched into a lively conversation about basketball, Lana released a silent sigh of relief. As much as she enjoyed the sport, she needed to escape. “I’m going to help Mom and Liz now,” she said.
Promising the kids a game of hide-and-seek after the meal, she headed inside. Anything her mother said was preferable to listening to her cousin and fighting with herself to keep her mouth shut. Though why she was defending a man who nowprobably wanted nothing to do with her or their child, she had no idea.
Chapter
Seventeen
Sly’s sisterhad invited him over for dinner Monday night. Not in the best mood, he debated canceling. A couple of times, he picked up the phone to do just that. But he was tired of being alone with his thoughts, thoughts that only seemed to go around in circles.
Lana was having a baby.Hisbaby. He couldn’t get his arms around that, was still numb with shock. But she seemed overjoyed about it. She really wanted a child. He, on the other hand, didn’t—didn’t want to screw up his own kid like he had Seth.
Tough beans—want to or not, he was having a baby.
He only hoped Lana hadn’t told anyone. He didn’t want the news spread around town just yet. And it would spread—Amy and Sheila and everyone else in Prosperity would make sure of that. He made a mental note to ask Lana not to say anything to anyone right away.
Looking forward to enjoying himself for a few hours, he arrived at Dani’s place with a bottle of merlot in hand.
