He raised an eyebrow. “Your child? You do mean our child, don’t you?”
Savannah bit her lip. No, she meant her child. She had begun thinking of this baby as hers ever since she’d taken the at-home pregnancy test. She’d begun thinking of herself as a single mom even before her doctor had confirmed her condition. She had accepted Durango’s role in the creation of her child, but that was as far as it went.
“Understand this, Savannah. I want to be a part in our child’s life.”
She felt a thickness in her throat and felt slightly alarmed. “What kind of a part?”
“Whatever part that belongs to me as its father.”
“But you live here in Montana and I live in Philadelphia. We’re miles apart.”
He nodded and studied her for a moment then said, “Then I guess it will be up to us to close the distance.”
Savannah sighed. “I don’t see how that is possible.”
Durango leaned back in his chair. “I do. There’s only one thing that we can do in this situation.”
Savannah raised an eyebrow. “What?”
Durango met her gaze, smiled confidently and said, “Get married.”
Three
Savannah blinked, thinking she had heard Durango wrong. After she was certain she hadn’t, she couldn’t help but chuckle. When she glanced over at him she saw that his expression wasn’t one of amusement. “You are joking, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Well, that’s too bad, because marriage is definitely not an option.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “And why not? Don’t you think I’m good enough for you?”
Savannah glared at him, wondering where that had come from. “It’s not a matter of whether or not you’re good enough for me, and I have no idea why you would believe I’d think otherwise. The main reason I won’t marry you is that we don’t know each other.”
He leaned in closer, clearly agitated. “Maybe not. But that didn’t stop us from sleeping together that night, did it?”
Savannah’s eyes narrowed. “Only because we’d had too much to drink. I don’t make a habit out of indulging in one-night stands.”
“But you did.”
“Yes, everyone is entitled to at least one mistake. Besides, we just can’t get married. People don’t get married these days because of a baby.”
His lips twitched in annoyance. “If you’re a Westmoreland you do. I don’t relish the idea of getting married any more than you, but the men in my family take our responsibilities seriously.” In Durango’s mind, it didn’t matter that he wasn’t the marrying kind; the situation dictated such action. Westmorelands didn’t have children out of wedlock and he was a Westmoreland.
He thought about his cousin Dare, who’d found out about his son A.J. only after Shelly had returned to their hometown when the boy was ten years old. Dare had married Shelly. His uncle Corey, who hadn’t known he’d fathered triplets over thirty years ago, was an exception to the rule. Corey Westmoreland could not have married the mother of his children because he hadn’t known they existed. Durango’s situation was different. He knew about Savannah’s pregnancy. Knowing about it and not doing something about it was completely unacceptable.
He had knocked her up and had to do what he knew was the right thing. Given the implications of their situation, getting married—even for only a short period of time—was the best course of action. He and Savannah were adults. Surely they could handle the intimacies of a brief marriage without wanting more. It wouldn’t be as if he was giving up being a bachelor forever.
“Well, consider yourself off the hook,” Savannah said, reclaiming his attention. “The only person who knows you’re my baby’s father is Jessica, although I’m sure she’s shared the news with Chase by now. If we ask them not to say anything to anyone I’m sure they won’t.”
“But I’ll know, Savannah, and there’s no way I’m going to walk away and not claim my child.”
For a quick second she felt a softening around her heart and couldn’t help appreciating him for declaring her child as his. But she would not marry him just because she was pregnant.
She gave him a brittle smile as she rose to her feet, clinging on to her carry-on bag and placing her camera pack on her shoulders. The sooner she left Montana and returned to Philadelphia, the better. “Thanks for the offer of marriage, Durango. It was sweet and I truly appreciate it, but I’m not marrying you or anyone just because I’m pregnant.”
Durango stood, too. “Now, look, Savannah—”
“No, you look,” she said, eyes narrowing, her back straight and stiff. “That’s what happened with my parents. My mother got pregnant with my brother. Although my father did what some considered the decent thing and married her, he was never happy and ended up being unfaithful to her. It was a marriage based on duty rather than love. He met another woman and lived a double life with her and the child they had together.”
She inhaled deeply before continuing. “Dad was a traveling salesman and my mother didn’t know that he had another family, which included Jessica, on the West Coast. His actions were unforgivable and the people who suffered most, besides his children, were the two women who loved him and believed in him. In the end one of them, Jessica’s mother, committed suicide. And I watched the hurt and pain my mother went through when she found out the truth about him. So no matter what you say, I would never let a man use pregnancy as a reason to marry. I’m glad we had this little chat and I’ll keep in touch.”
Chin tilted, she turned and quickly walked away.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, due to the snowstorm headed our way, all flights out have been canceled until further notice.”
Savannah stared at the man behind the counter. “All of them?”
“All of them. We have our hands full trying to find a place for everyone to stay so they won’t have to bunk here for the night. It seems that all the hotels in the area are full.”
The last thing she wanted to do was sleep sitting up in a hard chair.
“You’re coming with me, Savannah.”
She turned around upon hearing the firm voice behind her. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Durango took a step forward. “Yes, you are. You heard what the man said. All flights out have been canceled.”
“Is this man bothering you, miss? Do you want me to call security?”
Savannah smoothed the hair back from her face. This was just great. All she had to do was look at Durango’s angry expression to see he did not appreciate the man’s question. To avoid an unpleasant situation, she glanced over her shoulder at the ticket agent and smiled. “No, he isn’t bothering me,
