Paisley scowled, not liking the sounds of it. “If that’s a woman he needs to cut loose before then, I will literally chop off his dick and cram it down his throat. I don’t even care how good it is.”
My head shook, and I blinked through everything he’d told me. “No…I don’t think it’s that.”
Her frown deepened. “Do you trust him?”
I didn’t have to search too deep inside myself for the answer. “I do.”
“And you love him back?”
“So much.”
“Then you hold onto that. But just…” Her frown deepened more. “Be careful, okay?”
Unease quivered through me at her statement. It reminded me too much of the warning my mother had given.
Before I had time to answer, she smirked. “And enjoy that D. Based on this…” She glanced down at the phone she’d set on the counter. “…I’d say you are.”
“That is a very safe assumption.”
She giggled and squeezed my hands again. “I’m so happy for you, Dakota.”
“I’m happy, too.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
Moisture stung my eyes, and I wiped at it and inhaled the emotion down and straightened. “Okay, enough about me. We need to make some final decisions about this party. I’ve worked up a sample menu, and I’d like to come by the ranch to check out the area you want to set up in so we can figure out what we have space for and what we need to order.”
“That would be great.”
“I’m off Saturday, so I thought I’d swing by then.”
“But that’s your day off.”
“Please, I’m happy to do it. Besides, it gives us a chance to hang out a little bit. I feel like I haven’t seen my sweet Evelyn in forever.”
“Why don’t you bring Kayden with you and we’ll make a day out of it?”
“I’d love that.”
She squealed again, but this time I didn’t shush her. “I can’t wait to surprise Caleb with this. I know he’s going to get all grumbly and act like he doesn’t need us making a fuss over him, but I think he’s going to love it.”
“Because he loves you.”
“That’s right. He does. Speaking of…” She glanced at the watch on her wrist. “I need to get to the bank. He had some meetings this morning, and he wanted me to meet him to get me on some accounts.”
I quirked a brow. “Who would have ever thought my bestie would end up with a billionaire?”
She giggled as she hopped off the stool and slung the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “Not me. Not that I care a bit about that money except for all the horses that man keeps buying me.”
She winked, then she clambered around the bar and threw her arms around my neck. “Love you, Doodle-Boo. I’m so happy for you.”
I hugged her tight. “Thank you for always knowing when I need someone to talk to.”
She edged back and tapped her finger to her temple. “Sixth sense.”
I laughed. “See you Saturday.”
“Bye.”
I watched her strut through the double doors in her pink boots and cut-offs, laughing under my breath at my whirlwind of a best friend, before I blew out a sigh, figuring I’d better go check on things in the back.
The kitchen was chaos the way it always was but done in an order that always seemed to work. Beth was back there shouting orders at the cooks.
“All good back here?” I asked.
She sent me a waggish grin. “Do you even need to ask? I have it under control, the way I always do.”
I chuckled under my breath. “Are you implying you have no need for me?”
“Just keep coming up with the recipes and we’ll be just fine.”
“I see what I’m good for,” I drew out.
She pulled one of the specials out from under the warming lamp. “It’s good all right.”
Pride pulsed, and I gave a smile before I went into my office. I quickly went through emails and returned a couple that needed to be addressed, though my thoughts kept drifting to Ryder.
To everything that had happened in such a short time.
I finished what I needed to in my office, and feeling like I was floating again, I headed back for the dining room and pushed through the swinging door.
Only I froze the second I stepped out. All the blood in my head drained, leaving me dizzy and covered in a cold slick of dread.
It was impossible to breathe.
Impossible to move.
My legs lead as I stood gaping at the man sitting in the same stool that Paisley had been sitting in earlier.
Because in a flash, I knew my life was never going to be the same.
FORTY
DAKOTA
I carefully edged up to the counter, my feet so heavy and my heart thundering so hard that everything had gone fuzzy.
Throat thick.
My chest about to cave.
I attempted to swallow it down and act like nothing was out of the ordinary as I gauged the man’s purpose who sat with both his elbows resting on the counter, his gaze wary.
It was that instant I was sure that he wasn’t there because he was interested in today’s special. Knew it in the way he looked like he was covered in a sheen of dread, too.
Like he was questioning coming, all while knowing that he had to be there.
He wore a white button-down with blue pinstripes, and the top two buttons were undone like he’d been sweating so bad he needed to loosen it so he could breathe.
Trey.
“Hi,” I barely managed when I made it opposite him.
He scrubbed an agitated palm over his face before he was eyeing me in speculation again. “Hey.”
“Can I…get you something?”
He shrugged a small gesture that affirmed the reason he was there. “I, uh, sure. An iced tea would be nice.”
My hands shook out of control while I poured him a glass, and it clanked on the counter as I passed it to him.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” I smoothed my damp hands over my dress, anxiety riding so high I was about to drown in it.
He hesitated before he blew out a sigh that spoke of his discomfort. “I think we need to talk.”
I gave him the slightest nod. “Okay.”
“You remember me?” he asked.
I choked out a disturbed sound, realizing this guy didn’t know a thing about me, only the tiniest tidbits we’d shared that night. “Yeah. I remember you.”
He nodded quickly, and he looked to the tea glass like he was reading tea leaves, searching for answers through the anxiety that weaved around us. “I…I was in town about a month ago. I’d stopped by the grocery store to grab something to drink on my way back out to Poplar. I saw you in the parking lot as I was leaving.”
He peeked up at me.
A barbed-wire ball rolled in my stomach.
I could barely nod.
He roughed a shaky hand over the top of his head. “I’m going to be honest…it took me a second to place you. Where I knew you from, but the second I did, it punched me in the gut because you had this little boy hooked to your hip, and my mind instantly started calculating.”
He stalled out, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. “I was too shocked to do anything. I just sat there like an idiot as I watched you drive away. I tried to shake it off, but I couldn’t stop the nagging at the back of my head telling me that little boy might be mine.”
A shiver rolled, head to toe, and I tried to form a response, but he kept going like he was trying to fill the discomfort with words.
“You have a sign in the back window of your car. I had some business back here in Time River again today, and when I drove by, I…I couldn’t do anything but stop because I need to know.”
I gulped around the razors in my throat. “I tried to find you. After I found out I was pregnant. I went back to the bar where we’d met at least ten times, but I never saw you.”
He nodded like he accepted the confirmation. “I don’t hit bars all that much. It’d just been a bad day and I hadn’t wanted to be alone. Same as you, I suppose.”
“Yeah.”
He looked down, his fingers slipping over the condensation that dripped down the sides of his glass, a war in the way his shoulders tensed and his entire being clenched.
“He’s cute,” he finally rumbled toward his tea.
I thought it might have ripped my heart out of my chest. “He’s my world.”
He still wasn’t looking at me when he mumbled, “Can I…take some time to process this? I don’t know…”