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“All the time,” he said, nodding.
“Cecelia and Deacon are together now—she’s pregnant, too,” Naomi pointed out unnecessarily. “And Simone and Hutch have worked things out and she’s pregnant with triplets, for heaven’s sake.” She threw up both hands and let them fall to her sides. “It’s a population explosion with the three of us. We’re not the mean girls anymore. We’re...” She sighed. “I don’t know what we are anymore.”
“I do,” Toby said, watching her with a smile. “You’re Naomi Price—the woman who wears useless boots that cost more than my saddle...”
She laughed, as he’d meant her to.
Staring directly into her eyes, he continued. “You’re also the woman who started her own television show and worked her behind off to make it a success.”
“Thank you, Toby.” She smiled at him, and he felt a sharp tug inside in response.
“Okay,” she said, nodding to herself as she pushed away from the fence, giving that top rail one last slap. “You’re right. I’m strong. I’m ready. I can do this.”
“Yes, you can.” Finished saddling his horse, Toby stroked the flat of his hand along the animal’s sleek neck.
“I don’t know how to tell them,” she said, all the air leaving her body in a rush. “The whole strong, independent feminist thing just goes right out the window when I know I have to face down my parents and tell them I’m pregnant.”
Toby turned, braced his forearms on the top rail of the fence and tugged the brim of his dark brown hat down low over his eyes. “You should have already told them.”
“This is so not the time for cool logic,” she snapped. Pacing back and forth along the fence line, she crossed her arms over her middle like she was hugging herself. “What happened to Mr. Supportive?”
“I’m being supportive,” he argued. “I’m just not patting your head, because you don’t need it.”
She muttered something he didn’t quite catch and kept pacing. If she’d stop walking so damn fast, he’d give her a hug himself. But the minute he considered it, Toby pushed the thought aside. Hell, he’d been burying his attraction for Naomi for years. He was a damn expert. She’d come to his ranch looking for a friend, so that was what he’d be for her. Which meant telling her what she didn’t want to hear.
“Naomi,” he said, “you knew you couldn’t keep this a secret forever.”
She stopped directly opposite him, with the fence separating them. A soft summer wind lifted the ends of her hair, and she squinted a bit into the sunlight, those beautiful brown eyes of hers narrowing. “I know, but...”
“But nothing,” he said, yanking his hat off to stab his fingers through his hair. “Somebody else took the reins from you. You don’t have a choice now in when to tell your folks. Time’s up.”
“How did Maverick even find out?” She took a breath and exhaled on a heavy sigh. “You’re the only one—or so I thought—besides me who knows about the baby.”
That sounded like an accusation. His gaze snapped to hers. “I didn’t tell anyone.”
“I know that.” She waved that away with such casualness he relaxed again. Toby was a man of his word. Always. The one thing he always remembered his father saying was, “Without his honor, a man’s got nothing.” That had always stuck with him, to the point that Toby never made a promise unless he was sure he could keep it.
“You know, you’re the only man in my life who’s never let me down, Toby,” she said softly. “The one person I can always count on.”
He nodded but didn’t say anything, because knowing Naomi, she had more to say.
“I tried to contact Gio again.”
And there it was. Irritation spiked inside him, and Toby didn’t bother to hide it. Gio Fabiani, a one-night stand who had left Naomi pregnant and wasn’t worth the dust on he
r fancy boots. But Naomi being Naomi, for the last couple of months she’d been trying to track the man down to tell him about the baby. Even if she did finally find him, though, Toby was sure that Gio wouldn’t give a flying damn.
“You’ve got to let that go,” he ground out. “Just because the man fathered your child doesn’t mean he’s good enough to be its father.”
“I know, but—”
“No buts,” he said, interrupting her. “Damn it, Naomi, you told me yourself that sleeping with that sleaze was a mistake. You really want to make another one by bringing him back into your life?”
“Shouldn’t he know that he has a child?”
“If he hadn’t blown in and out of your life so fast, he would know,” Toby said, though in truth he was damned grateful that Gio hadn’t been more than a blip on Naomi’s radar. She deserved better. “I did some checking of my own when you first told me about this.”
“You checked? Into Gio?”
