Temptation Trails (The Haven Brothers #3)

I raised my eyebrows. “Fine?”

“Okay, he might freak out too. But only at first.”

“Why are you so calm? Wait, because you’re fourteen and you have no idea how much this is going to change our lives.”

He chuckled. “Maybe. But I think it’s pretty cool.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. Being an only child is boring.”

“Owen, you’re so awesome,” Audrey said.

He grinned again. “Thanks.”

“See?” Marigold put an arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “You’ve got this. It’s going to be okay.”

I clutched my stomach. I didn’t think I’d vomit, but I couldn’t completely rule it out, either. “Okay, this is happening.”

“Can you promise me something?” Owen asked, his voice softening.

“What?”

He hesitated, a flash of emotion crossing his features. It almost looked like he was holding back tears. “Just don’t leave.”

“Oh, Owen.” I brought him in for another hug. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He hugged me back.

I pulled away, keeping my hands on his shoulders as I looked him in the eyes. “I don’t know how this is all going to work. But whatever happens, your dad and I are in this together. That means you too. Promise.”

He nodded and I stepped back a little.

“What time does your dad get off work today? Do you remember?”

“Six, I think.”

I glanced at the time. That gave me a little less than five hours to figure out how to tell the man I’d just started dating I was pregnant with his child.

CHAPTER 23

Garrett

The house was quiet, but my mind was not.

Owen had texted earlier in the afternoon to let me know he’d be at my parents’ place. They’d offered to bring him home later, so I didn’t have to worry about picking him up. That had freed up my evening, so when Harper had texted to see if I wanted to get together, it had been an easy yes. I’d invited her to my place so we could decide what we wanted to do from there.

I should have been thinking about where to take her, but I was stuck in an endless loop. Frustration ate at me. I’d never had disciplinary issues at work. I took my job, and the ethics required to do it well, very seriously. I didn’t use my position to harass or bully people. I strove to treat people with respect, no matter who they were.

Maybe it was just bad timing. A coincidence. Matt had a personal issue, but it wasn’t actually related to my job. He was just trying to get me in trouble. His call happened to come on the heels of a guy who would have complained about any deputy who’d talked to him that day. And the anonymous complaint was obviously bogus.

But why? Why had someone called in with a fabricated complaint about me? It wasn’t just that it was anonymous, it hadn’t happened. The caller had said I’d pulled him over, made him exit his vehicle, and frisked him without cause. But I couldn’t recall a recent traffic stop that followed that scenario.

My gut was telling me something was wrong, but I couldn’t put the pieces together. Did the pieces even fit? Was there an explanation that tied the complaints together? Or was I starting to tread into conspiracy theory weeds.

Maybe I was just being paranoid.

I went to a cupboard in the kitchen and took out a bottle of bourbon. I didn’t drink very often, but I wanted something to take the edge off. Especially because Harper was on her way. I didn’t want to be so wound up.