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“So?”
“When I found out I was pregnant, I did some research on the O’Donovans.”
“Yes?”
“I found out they had a sad history. Their daddy was a ranch hand for Jason McCray when they were little. Their mama died of leukemia when Sam was only ten. They moved to Montana to their grandparents’ ranch so she could die there.”
Roy nodded. “That is sad.”
“It gets worse. When Dusty was eighteen, she got the same kind of leukemia. Her dad mortgaged the place to the hilt to pay for her treatment. Luckily she survived, and obviously she’s fine now. But their dad committed suicide after nearly bankrupting their ranch. I didn’t know till later that Dusty had married Zach McCray and she was fine. At the time, I thought Sam had to take care of her and the ranch. I just couldn’t saddle him with another responsibility.”
“But baby, that was not your choice to make.”
“I knew enough about Sam to know he’d sacrifice everything to do the right thing, even if he didn’t love me and didn’t want a child. I thought I could spare him that. And I knew you and Mama had tried to have another child a few years before without any luck.”
“How did you know that?”
“Mama told me.”
“Yes, we did want another baby. Since we married so young, we were still young enough. But it didn’t happen.”
“I could make that happen for you. You’ve been great parents to Duke.”
“He’s a blessing, that’s for sure. We won’t give him up without a fight.”
“I know that.” She fiddled with strands of her hair. “I never thought I’d see Sam again. And I certainly never thought he’d find out about Duke.”
“Sydney, you had to consider the possibility.”
“He says he tried to look me up after that first night.”
“It’s not surprising that he didn’t find you, especially if he didn’t look too hard. You were on bed rest for a lot of the pregnancy and you got off the rodeo circuit for over a year after that.”
“I know.” She shook her head. “I had no idea he’d want to see me again. I mean, I figured it was just a one night thing for him.”
“Was it that for you?”
She shook her head again. “No. Please believe me, Daddy, it was my first and last one-night stand.”
“So you thought he was special, then?”
“Yes, I did, and I was right. He is special. And I’ve blown it for eternity.”
“I won’t sugar coat it, baby girl. You have made a mess of things. Not only for yourself and your mama and me, but mostly importantly for your innocent baby brother.”
“I know. And I know we can’t tell him what’s going on. He won’t understand.”
“No, he won’t.”
“Oh, Daddy, what am I going to do?”
“I think you need to talk to Sam. Tell him the truth, exactly what you just told me.”
“Will you come with me?”
Roy shook his head. “You’re a grown-up, Sydney. You need to do this yourself. Clean up your own mess. Once we see how he reacts, I will certainly get involved, but for now, he deserves to hear the truth from you.”
Sydney nodded. Her father was right, of course. “I will call him.”
