Cheyenne changed the subject.
“You know when...when you got pregnant with Wyatt?”
Her son squealed as he found the lever that revealed Big Bird. “What?” Presley said, returning her attention to their conversation.
“The night you got pregnant.”
“What night would that be? Aaron and I always used birth control. So I have no idea exactly when I conceived.”
“Whatever night it was...somehow it happened even though you were using a condom?”
Where was she going with this? “Yes. Condoms aren’t a hundred percent effective, Chey. That can’t come as a shock to you. You’re not suggesting I tried to get pregnant—”
“Of course not!”
Presley had always been afraid she might be accused of trying to trap him, since everyone knew she cared more for Aaron than he did for her. But she’d kept Wyatt’s connection to Aaron a secret, so that argument was irrelevant. Still, she didn’t want anyone thinking she’d tried to use him to give her a child, either. “Then what are we talking about?”
“Aaron’s obviously capable of fathering children.”
“Why would anyone assume otherwise?”
“They wouldn’t, but you got pregnant, despite trying not to. That suggests he has...you know, strong, competent swimmers.”
“You’re evaluating the potency of his sperm?”
Presley regretted her shocked tone when Cheyenne immediately backpedaled. “No, never mind. Forget it.”
She sat up. “Why would you have any interest in Aaron’s sperm?”
“Because he has the same genes as Dylan!” her sister replied, exasperated. “Why else?”
“The rest of the Amos brothers would have those genes, too.”
“But Aaron would be the most likely to cooperate with something a little...unorthodox—and the least likely to tell Dylan.”
Unorthodox? Presley wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. Switching the phone to her other ear, she stood and began to pace. “You’re considering artificial insemination.”
“Maybe.”
“With Aaron as the donor?”
There was a brief silence. Then her sister said, “I’m getting desperate, Pres. What we’re going through is affecting our marriage. I hate seeing my husband feel so bad about himself.”
“How do you know Dylan’s sterile? It could be you, couldn’t it?”
This pause lasted longer.
“Chey?”
“No,” she replied. “It’s not me. I’ve been checked.”
Presley sucked in her breath. As often as they talked—and she thought they shared everything—Cheyenne hadn’t mentioned going to the doctor. “Did Dylan go with you?” She couldn’t help wondering how he’d taken the news.
“No. I haven’t told him about it. I don’t think I ever will.”
So she’d made the appointment and driven to Sacramento on her own. Why hadn’t she asked Presley to go with her? Cheyenne had always been too damn private about whatever struggles she faced. She opened up only if she had no choice, which told Presley how concerned she was about this issue. “When did you see the doctor?”
“Last month.”
“And Dylan?”
“He hasn’t been checked, at least not officially.”
“There’s an unofficial way to do it?”
“There are kits you can buy online.”
“Seriously?”
“They have just about everything these days.”
“Wow. So he tested himself?”
“I tested him—without his knowledge. I didn’t want him to know...just in case. But now he’s talking about going to see his doctor. He mentioned it last night. And that means he’ll find out he’s infertile even if I don’t tell him. I’d rather wind up pregnant, if I can arrange it, so he can feel he did it. As if there’s nothing wrong with him...”
Cheyenne loved Dyl so much. She’d do anything to protect him, even concoct a daring plan like this. But she wasn’t a deceitful person. Keeping Wyatt’s true paternity a secret was enough of a burden for her. How would she cope with a much more personal secret?
“Dylan has been through so much, Chey. And he’s always managed. He can handle this, too. I think you’re selling him short.”
“It isn’t that at all! The question is why make him handle it? Why can’t I be his guardian angel for a change? He’s brought me so much happiness—I want to return the favor. If Aaron could lend me some sperm, Dylan would never have to cope with feeling inadequate. He won’t have to feel indebted, knowing how we got the baby, or jealous or disappointed, either. I mean, God, he deserves a break, right? Who deserves a break more than he does?”
“But using Aaron to get pregnant? That’s your solution?”
“Why not?”
“For starters, he and Dylan fight like crazy.”
“Doesn’t matter. Aaron would never tell a soul. I know he wouldn’t. He loves Dylan as much as I do. He’d do whatever was necessary to ensure Dylan’s happiness, especially if he understood what Dylan’s going through right now—how emasculating this is for him.”
Presley had to agree. Aaron had his issues, but he was loyal to the bone and, whether he’d admit it or not, he admired Dylan more than any other person on earth.
But there were as many reasons to reject Cheyenne’s idea as there were to consider it.
“Are you sure it’s time to resort to fertility treatments? It’s only been a couple of years. Maybe his sperm count will go up.”
“That’s highly unlikely.”
“How do you know?”
“I spoke to my doctor.”
“And?”
“She said there’s always a chance we could get pregnant, but in our case it would be slight. She suggested we look into alternatives.”
“Are there things you can do to increase that chance?”
“We’ve already done everything we can. We started trying for a baby almost as soon as we were married. The past six months, I’ve been taking my temperature and tracking ovulation. And I’ve never been on the pill. I was a virgin
