“The baby is fine,” Lana assured her, and counted her blessings that at least that part of her life was going well.
“That’s good.” Her friend blew out a big breath. “So, what’s the matter?”
Where to begin? “For starters, I’m in love with Sly.”
“That’s obvious. He wants to be part of the baby’s life, right? He even showed up at your doctor’s appointment the other day. You can’t ask for more than that from a commitment-phobe. We haven’t touched base since before the appointment. How’d it go?”
“Great. Sly and I got along so well that after the doctor’s appointment, he invited me to his ranch and showed me around. He fed me dinner, too. He doesn’t do that with just anyone.”
“No wonder we haven’t talked all week. Sounds to me as if Mr. Single is getting serious. Go on.”
“We had sex.”
Kate gave her a funny look. “He disappointed you?”
Lana shook her head. “Sly is the best lover I’ve ever had.”
“Lucky you. That sounds pretty darned perfect. So, what’s the problem?”
“Everything was wonderful—then my mother phoned.”
“You answered her call when you were with Sly? Are you nuts?”
“I’m beginning to think I might be.” Lana gnawed on her thumbnail, or what was left of it. “We were in the kitchen, grabbing a snack.” They’d been happy and relaxed. “It was later than she usually calls, and I was worried.”
She wished she could go back in time and switch off her phone or at least ignore the call. Unfortunately, that was impossible. “It wasn’t an emergency. She wanted to tell me that someone had poisoned Cousin Tim’s cows. One even died. My cousin is blaming Sly and countersuing.”
“No.” Kate’s jaw dropped. “Sly would never do anything like that!”
Lana envied her friend’s instant certainty. If she’d reacted with the same outrage, Tuesday night would’ve ended very differently.
“That’s a pretty sad face you’re making,” Kate commented. “Things can’t be that bad.”
“You haven’t heard the whole story yet.” Lana’s head hurt, and she massaged her temples. “I really screwed up, Kate. When I heard about the poisoning, I couldn’t help but wonder whether Sly had done it.”
“After all the great things you’ve said about him, you really believe he’d do something like that?”
“Not in my heart. It was sort of a gut reaction.”
Kate shook her head. “And you said this to Sly?”
“I didn’t have to. He saw my face, and you know, what an open book that is.” Dropping her head to her hands, Lana groaned. “It was horrible of me to suspect him, even for a moment.”
Wonderful friend that Kate was, she didn’t comment, instead sat quietly and waited for Lana to pour out the rest of the miserable story.
Lana gave her all the awful details. “I’d do anything to change those seconds of doubt,” she concluded. “I wish there was a way I could convince Sly that I believe in him, and that I’m absolutely certain he would never do what my cousin is accusing him of.”
“You didn’t ask for my opinion, but if I were you, I’d tell him what you just told me. If he’s as good a man as you claim, he’s bound to forgive you.”
“You weren’t there. The way he looked at me...” With shuttered eyes and a cool disdain, as if he were seeing her for the first time and didn’t like the woman he saw. She wanted to sob. “Trust doesn’t come easy to him, but I’m pretty sure he was beginning to trust me. And I blew everything by not trusting him. I hurt him, Kate.” She hung her head. “I lost my chance with him.”
Now Kate became glum, too. “There must be something you can do.”
For the life of her, Lana couldn’t come up with anything. “Like what?”
“Well...” Kate tapped her finger to her lips and appeared pensive. “Invite him over and cook his favorite foods. Then apologize and swear you’ll always believe in him.”
“He’s angry at me. I doubt he’d come. Besides, words and a meal wouldn’t prove anything. It has to be something important.” An idea popped into her mind that she needed to test on Kate. “What if I go to my parents’ house right now and tell them about Sly? Then I could drive over to Cousin Tim’s and convince him that Sly would never hurt his animals.”
