“Who is it?” I asked, afraid to look. I was getting weak. If it was Grant, I wasn’t sure I could ignore him anymore.

“Blaire,” Mase replied, tossing the phone into my lap. “I’m heading down to the barn. Got some feed coming in, and I need to show Major what jobs I’m passing off to him now he’s settled in. You need to talk to Blaire. Then think about calling Grant.”

I touched Answer on my phone, then held it to my ear. “Hello?”

“Hey. Haven’t heard from you in a few days. I wanted to check in and see how things were going.” Blaire didn’t know about the pregnancy. I trusted her with everything except keeping secrets from Rush. She’d tell him, and I knew Rush would tell Grant. He wouldn’t be able not to. So I kept that secret close.

“I’m doing fine,” I replied, not even believing my own voice. “How are things there?” I asked, unable to say his name.

“You mean, how’s Grant? He isn’t doing well. Still the same pattern. Lots of work and little sleep. He doesn’t talk to anyone but Rush, and now he’s begging Rush daily to tell him where to find you. He’s pitiful, Harlow. He needs to hear your voice.”

My heart squeezed, and I blinked away the tears in my eyes. Knowing he was hurting was hard to accept. But how could I call him and not break down on him and tell him how much I missed him? That wouldn’t help anything. He would only be more hurt when I refused to tell him where I was. “I’m not ready,” I told her.

Blaire let out a sigh, and I heard Nate’s laughter in the background. Baby laughter was all I needed to remind myself why I couldn’t let Grant know what was going on.

“Blaire, can I ask you something?” It was out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

“Of course,” she replied.

Nate’s little voice started chanting “Dada” over and over.

“Hold on a sec. Rush just walked in, and Nate gets excited when he sees his daddy. Let me take this in another room,” Blaire said.

I wanted what Blaire had. More than anything . . . I wanted that. I wanted to watch Grant with our baby. The child we created. The child that was inside me. But would Grant want that?

“OK, I can hear you better now. What is it you want to ask me?”

Closing my eyes tightly, I hoped this wasn’t a mistake. “Before Nate was born, would you have given your life for his? Did you love him that much?”

Blaire didn’t answer. She was silent for several seconds, and I started to think I’d said too much. That she would figure out why I was asking her this.

“He was a part of Rush and me. I would have done anything for him from the moment I knew he was inside me. So, yes,” she said. Her words were slow and almost tortured, but I knew she was being honest. I also knew that she’d understand my choice. “But Rush wouldn’t have felt the same way,” she added.

The emotion clogging my throat made it difficult to respond. “Yeah. I didn’t think so. I, uh, I need to go. I’ll talk to you soon.” I didn’t wait for her to reply before ending the call, dropping my phone into my lap, and covering my face with both hands, letting the sorrow free. I sobbed for the life I might not be able to give my baby, for the possibility that I might not be there if the baby was born, and for the life I wanted so badly with Grant but feared I’d never have. I cried until all the tears dried up. Until I couldn’t cry any more. Then I covered my stomach with my hands and sat there as the breeze dried my tear-streaked face. It was time I found the strength I needed to do this. To say I wasn’t scared of dying was a lie. I was terrified, but I would do it if it meant this baby inside me could live. This life was a part of me and the man I loved. The only man I would ever love.

Before I’d met Grant, I hadn’t known what it felt like to be completely in love. I had watched couples and daydreamed about the day a man would look at me with devotion and adoration in his eyes. I had imagined walking down the aisle toward a man who saw and loved only me. A man who loved me in all of my awkwardness. A man who loved me and my imperfect heart. For a moment, I was sure I had found that . . .

My thoughts were interrupted by Maryann’s red Dodge truck coming down the gravel road that led from the white farmhouse to Mase’s log cabin. Maryann hadn’t been by in a couple of days. Major had been a good distraction for her. I knew my next doctor’s appointment was coming up. They wanted me in every week since I was considered high-risk. But I wasn’t sure which day she had set my next visit for.

Instead of going to lunch at the house, I had stayed here the past two days. Alone. I was safe alone. I also wanted to give them time to talk about family things with Major. I knew he wasn’t comfortable discussing them in front of me. I wasn’t his family. The only problem was, I had nothing to do to fill my time. I was left to my thoughts. Reading was something I used to escape into, but now I couldn’t seem to stay focused on the story.

My thoughts were always on Grant and the future.

The truck came to a stop, Maryann’s door swung open, and her jeans-clad legs swung out as she jumped down. She was a natural beauty. Every cowgirl I had ever imagined looked like Maryann to me. Tall and slender, always dressed in snug jeans, riding boots, and a button-down plaid shirt tied at her waist. The cowboy hat on her head was the finishing touch. It wasn’t feminine at all but dirty and used.

She walked up the steps and turned to look at me with the concerned frown of a mother. A mother I’d never really had. “You trying to worry me, girl?” she asked, studying me closely.