Page 62 of The Cowboy’s Forever Promise

Well, this baby was coming whether it was convenient for Daddy or not.

After she’d finished her tea, she stared at her phone. Maybe she’d feel better after a shower. There was nothing that said she had to phone them right this minute.

She’d still be pregnant tonight.

If she could think, clear her mind of the panic, maybe she could come up with a plan.

*

It was nearly half past ten on Wednesday evening when Carson knocked on the door of Abby’s apartment again. He was tired and irritated and worried sick. Neither he nor June had been able to get hold of Abby since yesterday afternoon.

When Abby had still not answered his texts or calls by late morning, he’d sent a message on the family group to say he was going to Seattle. The only flight he’d be able to make was a late flight, but at least it had been a direct flight.

June had been overjoyed to know he was going to check on Abby.

Obviously, something had happened in Abby’s life, something she didn’t want to tell either him or her best friend. Of course, his mind had been working on all sorts of scenarios, none of which had managed to calm him down.

Hunter was right about his assessment of a long-distance relationship—it sucked. Big time. Hopefully Abby had had time to think about his suggestion that she work in Seattle for a week each month and spend the rest of the time with him on the ranch.

Sounds from inside Abby’s apartment reached him. His heartrate picked up. At least she was here. The door didn’t open right away.

“Abby?” he said. “Please open the door?”

Slowly, the door opened and there was his Abby, looking stunned and pale. With one movement, he was inside. As he dropped his bag and closed the door behind him, he tried to stay calm. “Why don’t you answer your damn phone?” was the best he could do.

“Don’t yell at me,” she scolded before she walked into his arms. As he pulled her closer, he relaxed.

Something was obviously wrong, but at least she hadn’t sent him home. And, he checked, his ring was still on her finger.

He waited. She’d tell him when she was ready.

“I’m here, Abby. Whatever you need,” he crooned as he rubbed her back.

With a groan, she turned around and stormed away in the direction of her bedroom.

What the hell? Fed up, he followed her. Why the hell couldn’t she just talk to him?

She wasn’t in her room, though. Sounds from the direction of her bathroom reached him. The door wasn’t completely closed, so he knocked.

“Abby? Are you okay?”

The next sound he recognized. She was sick.

Without waiting for a reply, he entered the bathroom and found her hunched over the toilet, her face chalk white.

“Go away,” she mumbled as she bent forward again.

Ignoring her, he picked up her hair, holding it back until she was done.

“Sorry you had to see that,” she muttered as she sat up.

Grabbing a face towel, he rinsed it under lukewarm water before he crouched next to her. “There we go,” he crooned as he wiped her face.

“I feel better, just give me a minute,” she said as he helped her up.

He waited for her outside the door. The moment it opened, he picked her up before she could say anything and gently put her on the bed against the pillows.

“Talk to me?”