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The truly shocking thing was that she was even surprised. He’d made his feelings clear from the beginning. He thought babies were a thankless responsibility and love was for suckers.
Belle cried until her eyes burned, then at midnight, pulled over to a roadside motel to sleep fitfully till dawn.
The next day, the hypnotic road started to calm her. She started feeling like she’d dodged a bullet. She didn’t need a cold, heartless man wrecking her peace of mind and breaking their child’s heart. Better that Santiago abandon them now rather than later.
By the third day, as the mile markers passed and she left the green rolling hills of east Texas behind, she started to recognize the familiar landscape of home, and her heart grew lighter. There was something soothing about the wide horizons stretching out forever, with nothing but sagebrush and the merciless summer sun in the unrelenting blue sky.
Feeling a sweet flutter inside her, Belle put a hand to her belly. “So be it,” she whispered aloud. This baby would be hers alone. She would spend the rest of her life appreciating this miracle, devoting herself to her child.
It was still morning, but already growing hot. The air conditioning in her pickup didn’t work, but both windows were rolled down, so it was all right. Though she was lucky it wasn’t raining because one of them wouldn’t roll back up.
As she drew in to the edges of her small town, she took a deep breath. Home. Though it wasn’t the same, without her younger brothers. Ray now lived in Atlanta and twenty-one-year-old Joe in Denver. But at least here, the world made sense.
But as she pulled into the dirt driveway, she abruptly slammed on the brake.
A big black helicopter was parked in the sagebrush prairie, tucked behind her house.
She sucked in her breath. A helicopter? Then she saw the two hulking bodyguards prowling nearby. That could only mean...
With an intake of breath, she looked straight at the old wooden house with the peeling paint. Her heart stopped.
Standing on the wooden porch, with arms grimly folded, was Santiago.
What was he doing here?
Fear pounded through her as she turned off the engine of her truck.
With a deep breath, Belle got out of her old pickup, tossing her long brown ponytail, slamming the door with a rusty squeak.
“What are you doing in Texas?” She lifted her chin to hide the tremble in her voice. “Let me guess. Did you think up some new ways to insult me?”
He came down the rickety wooden steps toward her, his black eyes glittering. “Three nights ago, you showed up at my house with a very shocking accusation.”
“You mean I accused you of getting me pregnant?” Waving her arm, she said furiously, “Such a horrible accusation! No wonder you wanted me to get the hell out!”
Standing on the last step above her, he ground his teeth. “I was calling your bluff. It was a negotiation. I expected you to swiftly return with a demand for a specific sum of money.”
Calling her announcement of pregnancy a negotiation! He was just the worst! A lump rose in her throat. Blinking fast, she turned toward his entourage and helicopter in the field. She said evenly, “How did you find my address?”
“Easy.”
“You must have been waiting for hours.”
“Twenty minutes.”
“Twenty! How?” She gasped. “There was no way you could know when I’d get here. Even I didn’t know exactly!”
He gave a grim smile. “That was more difficult.”
“Were you tracking my truck? Spying on me?”
“Stop changing the subject,” he said coldly. He stepped closer on the packed dirt driveway, towering a foot over her. His black eyes traced the length of her body, from her oversized T-shirt to her shorts to her flip-flops, and a flash of heat coursed through her. “You were telling the truth? The baby is mine?”
“Of course the baby’s yours!”
“How can I trust a proven liar?”
“When did I lie?” she said indignantly.
