“So, you want me to tell them?”
“Yes.” The answer felt so obvious to someone like Charlie, someone to whom family meant everything. “He should know who his father is.”
“I told you I didn’t know the sex yet.”
“Oh, right.” He cleared his throat and stood up straighter. “Sorry.”
She shook her head with a smile. “Okay, I’ll share your identity with the baby when it’s old enough. I just wanted you to know that I’m not telling you this to get anything out of you, but I thought you had the right to know. It might be nice to have a medical history, but outside of that, I can handle the rest myself.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to keep the baby and raise it, obviously.”
Charlie didn’t think that was as obvious asshedid, but he didn’t want to say so. “You’re going to raise a child on your own?” he asked. “Why?”
“Why not?” She crossed her arms over her chest again.
He got the impression he was messing up somehow, and he seemed determined to dig himself out of whatever hole he’d gotten himself into. “Your job. You travel around a lot. Wouldn’t it be hard to raise a kid like that?”
“That’s howIwas brought up,” she said. “Are you saying I didn’t turn out fine?”
“No,” he blurted out. “No, you turned out… I mean, you’re a wonderful person… as far as I know. I just thought maybe it would be harder to travel around with a kid, that’s all.”
She frowned, thinking over whether to continue the conversation, no doubt. Finally, she came to a conclusion. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I plan to settle down a bit, find a small town like this one to raise my baby in. Like I said, though, I’m only telling you because you have the right to know.”
“You’re giving up your career?” He could hardly believe that part was true. She clearly loved what she did for a living. In fact, he’d rarely come across a person who took more pride and more enjoyment in their work than Anna did. “I thought your job was really important to you.”
“Of course it’s important to me.” Anna was starting to lose her temper a bit, and Charlie tried to remind himself that she was pregnant. As he understood it, mood swings were part of that process. She caught herself and started again in a calmer tone. “Of course my work is important to me, but some things are more important. This baby is important, and I want to give mychild the best possible life. That life includes an involved, loving mother.”
It was beautiful, that idea. Charlie had no argument for her, but her having to give everything up like that… he could hardly stand the thought of it. It just wasn’t right, as far as he was concerned. She shouldn’t have to make sacrifices like that, not when he was equally responsible. “I need to think,” he muttered.
“You don’t need to do anything,” she assured him once more.
He groaned. “You’re right. I don’t need to think. Iwantto think. Sorry. Do you mind giving me a couple of days to work through this news? I want to decide how involved I’d like to be. You did say it was my choice.”
“You’re right,” she admitted. “I did say that. Okay. I’ll give you all the time you need. You have my number. Call me if you want anything more from me, but again, please don’t worry about any kind of obligation. You have none.”
“I understand.” He nodded, and then he escorted her back to her car. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, and though he was a prickly kind of guy, he had old-fashioned values, bestowed upon him by his beloved parents, and he always followed them when he could. After she sat down in her driver’s seat, Charlie said, “Thank you for telling me. I know you didn’t have to, but I’m glad you did. I’ll be in touch, okay?”
She nodded and started her car. “Okay.”
He closed her door for her and sent her on her way.
CHAPTER 23
CHARLIE
After seeing Anna off, Charlie took another walk around his property. Only, this time, he visualized walking beside a child, his child. He imagined teaching his kid about how to care for horses, how to chop wood, how to survive out in the world. He imagined what it would be like to take responsibility for a whole person like that. Far from feeling the kind of dread and uncertainty he might have expected, this little exercise in imagination made him feel excited, happy, like a whole new life was ahead of him.
Strange, but not unthinkable. Charlie had always been a family man. This period in his life was the first where he didn’t have a family to think about. And far from feeling like a relief, the solitude made him feel useless and directionless. Now, there was a chance to find purpose again, and Charlie didn’t want to let it go.
He drove to the Jolly Ram that evening just to feel normal, but the drive went by in a flash. His mind was on so many other things that he wasn’t even noticing the passage of time. He arrived to find an empty parking lot, quite a change fromthe busyness of the previous week. Hopefully, this slow period wouldn’t last after the movie came out.
That hope, that thought, surprised Charlie. The man he’d been before this whole ordeal would have hoped for an empty bar so he could have it all to himself. But now he knew better. The man who owned this establishment, a man Charlie would no longer hesitate to call a friend, needed the business. And Charlie would sacrifice his own solitude to know John was doing well. That was another change Anna had brought about in him.
He slid up to the bar, sitting in his usual spot—some things would stay the same, of course—and he ordered his usual drink. The difference happened when he actually said, “Howdy, John. How’s business been lately?”
Starting a conversation was unlike him, but he just wanted to know. He cared. And John seemed shaken up by the change in a good way.
