Page 65 of All in with the Maverick Montana

“A secret baby!” Tori added, nudging Carly. “This is like one of those episodes of I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant. I keep trying to get Bobby to watch it with me, but he just thinks it’s ridiculous.”

“Oh my God, you’re so right!”

“I always wondered about those stories,” Faith said, sipping her sweet tea. She’d gathered up all their sisters at Lulu’s BBQ for lunch, surprising Amy after the doctor’s appointment, and Amy’s heart was full to bursting. And not just because she was starving, and Lulu’s ribs were her favorite of anywhere in Bronco. “Like how do you reach nine months and not know you’ve grown a whole child?”

“Well, I do know I’m pregnant now,” Amy said. “And according to Dr. Rangely, the baby is officially the size of an avocado.”

There were squeals of delight around the table, and Amy had to hush her sisters so as not to disturb the other customers with their excitement. It had been an emotional morning, hearing the heartbeat and missing Josh, but despite everything, Amy was looking forward to welcoming this baby into her life, and knowing that her sisters supported her was the biggest gift of all.

“Your little avocado,” Elizabeth said on a sigh. “I remember those days. Enjoy these moments. Pregnancy will go faster than you think. I’m not saying it’s all sunshine and rainbows—”

“Yes, the morning sickness made sure of that,” Amy said.

The corner of Elizabeth’s mouth turned up. “I don’t miss that, but there are definitely other moments you’ll miss. Feeling the baby kick for the first time, watching your bump grow.”

Amy smiled softly, considering her words. Elizabeth had lost her first husband, but she’d remarried Jake McCreery, and between them they now had five kids. If any one of her sisters should be offering parenting advice, it was definitely Elizabeth. “Well, I can’t say I’m looking forward to giving up horseback riding for the foreseeable future—” she laid her hand on her stomach “—but I suppose some sacrifices are worth it.”

“I guess that’s you off the rodeo circuit for a while longer,” Tori said. “At least for the duration of the pregnancy and some maternity leave.”

“Yeah.” Amy sighed. “I wasn’t in any big rush to get back to it, honestly. At least, not until this nonsense with—”

“Yes!” Carly interrupted. “Let’s talk about Tru. How is the baby daddy doing?”

Tori hushed her, looking around like their conversation might attract the paparazzi.

Amy’s eyes cut across to Faith, who threw her hands up. “Like I was going to be able to keep that a secret.”

“It’s not like we didn’t know,” Elizabeth said diplomatically. “Or we at least suspected you two had something going on. When we learned you were pregnant and how far along you were, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.”

Amy grumbled. “I was a fool. I know, I know.”

“You were in love,” Tori said, patting her hand. “There’s a difference.”

“What I can’t understand is why a man with Tru’s money and resources can’t be bothered caring for his child,” Carly said. “It’s not like you’re expecting him to tote the baby down a red carpet in a stroller. But he could at least kick over a bit for formula. Or set the kid up with a small trust fund for school or whatever.”

“Caleb says he’s too full of himself to genuinely care about anyone else in his life,” Faith said.

Amy nodded. “I can’t help thinking that maybe his rejection was a blessing in disguise. I mean, Tru’s not cut out to be any kind of parent. That became more than obvious when I last saw him. And throwing this baby into the limelight, for the tabloids to exploit before the baby can even understand the situation, feels cruel. If there’s one thing I want to be able to do as a mother, it’s protect this child. Even if that means protecting them from their own—”

“Father?” Carly cut in.

Amy hesitated. “He’s not, though, is he?” She’d been thinking more and more about this since the ultrasound this morning. Lying there on the exam table, alone, she’d come to the conclusion that Tru was not this baby’s father, not in the sense that he should be. “He might have donated his DNA, but he’s never going to do all the things a father is supposed to do.”

Her sisters nodded, and Amy knew they understood. Maybe better than most. Being adopted really gave them a different perspective on what family was. It had nothing to do with DNA or blood. All that mattered were the people who stuck around in the end.

The people who chose you.

“Tru didn’t choose me or this baby. So, I don’t plan to tell him when the baby is born. He won’t be at the hospital with me. I don’t even plan to write his name down on the birth certificate.” She would tell her child, one day, when they were ready to hear the truth, but until then, she didn’t see a reason to weigh them down with the disaster that was Truett McCoy.

“Is there someone else’s name you want to write down?” Elizabeth asked quietly, eyeing her over a plate of corn bread.

Amy opened her mouth, closed it, emotion clogging her throat. It was so hot and tight she couldn’t get the words out. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. When she thought about that moment, about bringing this little life into the world, the only person she saw by her side was Josh.

“Oh, honey, I didn’t mean to make you upset.” Elizabeth reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

“It’s not you,” Amy said. “Honest. I’m just… I’m missing Josh. I feel like we were moving in a really good direction and now it sort of feels like I’ve been bucked off the back of a horse. I don’t really know where we stand or where to go from here.”

“Well, that’s easy enough to figure out,” Tori said.