and the fact that in all honesty she’d much rather have had nearly anybody in the world discover her. “But how is it that you think walking me home is any better than if I’d simply made the hike myself? It appears to me that we’re still going to get caught in the dark either way.”
He grunted and tossed a condescending look over his shoulder.
“What?”
“I’m bigger than you are.”
Seriously? “And that would relate to what I just asked you...how?”
“My stride. It’s much longer than yours. Quicker, too, I’d imagine, given your condition. We’re going to get there faster than if you were walking on your own. In fact, we’ve almost arrived. You’ll be able to see the Becketts’ house in just a few minutes.”
Laney scoffed and shook her head. She didn’t see how Slade could make a ridiculous claim like that and make it sound like a fact. Yes, they were still following the fence line, but the fence—and the land—all looked the same. How could he possibly tell where they were in relation to the house?
“You sound mighty sure of yourself.”
“I am.”
Even though Slade couldn’t see her, she rolled her eyes. Exasperating man.
“You didn’t even know where you were going, Laney. You would have wandered around in circles all night.”
Point taken. But he didn’t have to rub it in.
“And you’ve got to watch out for Brody’s kid.”
As if he had to remind her. Feeling as if he’d just jabbed at her, she instinctively laid a protective hand across her belly. She didn’t like the way he’d just referred to her precious unborn child as the kid. And Brody’s kid, as if she had no part in the baby at all.
“Stop,” she hissed as her anger escalated. Heat expanded through her chest and pressed into her head.
He turned and removed his hat, dabbing sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his shirt. “What?”
“Before we get back to the ranch house, I want to make something perfectly clear to you.”
His shoulders visibly tightened and he frowned. “And that would be?”
“Brody’s parents have been through enough grief without you making unfeeling remarks about their grandchild. This baby is bringing hope, peace, and—pray God—maybe eventually even a little happiness into their lives. I won’t have you upsetting them with your thoughtless implications.”
One side of his mouth ticked. She didn’t know if that meant she’d gotten through to his hard heart or if it was a sign of anger, but frankly, she didn’t care, as long as he agreed to her nonnegotiable terms. She wouldn’t have him upsetting the Becketts. Not for anything.
“Well?” she challenged when he didn’t speak.
His dark brows lowered over his blue eyes, which had darkened from bright and electric to a midnight color. He glowered at her, and between the scowl and the frown were menacing, almost dangerous overtones. He wasn’t a man to cross.
She stared him down, refusing to give in to her roiling stomach and hammering heart. This was one battle she had to win.
“Okay,” he growled and forcefully jamming his hat on his head. “I won’t say anything negative about you or the baby to the Becketts.”
“Do I have your word on that?” She had no idea why she was pressing him. What good was his word, anyway? From what she knew of him, he’d say or do anything to get what he wanted.
He jerked his head in a clipped nod and stalked away from her, causing Nocturne to jolt forward. Thankfully she’d been holding on to the saddle horn or she might have been unseated. The thoughtless man didn’t even consider the consequences to his actions. And yet he had the gall to be all over her about hers?
Slade had better not renege on his promise, if he knew what was good for him. Because if he somehow hurt Brody’s parents—well, he’d have her to deal with.
And it wouldn’t be pretty.
Slade uncinched Nock’s saddle and slid it from her back, slinging it over a barrel with an audible huff and probably more force than was strictly necessary. Since he was temporarily taking over some of Brody’s duties for the Becketts, he’d recently been stabling Nocturne in their barn and not at his parents’ spread next door, where Slade usually kept her. His two brothers ran the family ranch, leaving him to pursue his own interests.
In his day job he was a member of Serendipity’s police force, and he stayed busy with the local small-town rodeo circuit on the weekends. Maybe someday he’d have a ranch of his own, when he settled down. If he settled down. But he was having too much fun being an unabashed bachelor to think about that day.
Or at least he had been, until Brody’s death. Slade no longer considered himself a carefree bachelor. That life had little appeal to him now. Not without Brody. The importance of living every day to its full value meant more than ever.
He should never have given his word that he wouldn’t talk to the Becketts about the baby Laney was carrying and his suspicion that she might take advantage of them, or worse yet, not stick around once the baby had been born, take off again as she’d done right after the funeral. Brody’s folks were like second parents to him, and he wouldn’t forgive himself if they ended up getting hurt when he could have said or done something to keep themselves from heartache. He didn’t know what Laney’s game was, but there were too many unanswered questions that left Slade wary of her motives. In their grief, it made perfect sense that Grant and Carol Beckett would be quick to grasp at a carrot like the one Laney was dangling before them.
A grandchild. Brody’s legacy. A flesh-and-blood reminder of their son.
Slade winced as pain jolted sharply through his chest. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it. What kind of world did he live in where a good man was taken away just as a new life was given?
Why Brody? He’d been a far better man that Slade could ever hope to be. And now to find out that Brody would have been a father. It was almost too much to bear. Why was he still here when Brody was gone? Where was God in all this?
Slade brushed Nock’s sweat-soaked back with long, even strokes. It didn’t make sense. Brody had only recently given his heart to God, vowed to change his ways, and yet had never been allowed to see that through. He’d never been able to go home to Laney and make a new start. He’d never even known he was about to be a father.
Slade had likewise made a commitment to God, for all the good it had done him. After nearly a year of living his new faith, he was more aware than ever that he was too rough a man to settle down and be good. Not like what he figured God expected of him. It wasn’t fair.
Brody—he would have made it. He could have become the man God wanted him to be—with a wife and a family. Brody would have managed to change his life completely, and for the better, if it
