Chapter 9

Afterward, Mia was worn out. She needed some time to collect herself, so after Austin pulled his clothes back on, she made plans to hook up with him the next day and kissed him goodbye.

After he left, there was a light knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Emma stuck her head in.

“Can we talk?”

“Why are you suddenly being so polite? Earlier, you and the Neanderthals thought it was okay to barge in,” Mia complained.

“I understand, and I’ve had a talk with the guys. It just sounded like he was killing you,” Emma said.

“It’s a little sus that every time Austin and I have sex, you three show up.”

Emma looked at her shoes.

“It’s just ... uhm ... that Austin being with you surprised us. He’s not the kind of guy anyone would expect you would ... you know,” Emma babbled.

“At first, he helped me forget Noah’s rejection. Did you hear that Noah’s at his uncle’s and hooking up with some slut from his past?” Mia asked.

“I heard a rumor, yes.”

“Then Austin showed me his junk. I’d have to be crazy to pass that up, right?”

“I suppose,” Emma said, then rushed on. “Austin and I are becoming friends, and he has a concern.”

Those words made Mia worry she’d done something wrong and might lose him.

When Mia just sat there, waiting for the other shoe to drop, Emma said, “He told me you missed your period for the past two months.”

Mia let out her breath, which she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“It’s okay—”

“I bought you this,” Emma interrupted, showing Mia a pregnancy test.

Mia’s mind shifted into spin mode and landed on pissed.

“I will fucking kill Noah.”

“Before you do, maybe make sure first,” Emma suggested.

Twenty minutes later, Mia still hadn’t checked the results. She’d locked herself in the bathroom and cried because the boy she trusted lied to her. Austin must think she was the biggest loser in the world to have fallen for Noah’s lines.

Finally, Mia grabbed the test stick and looked at it. It showed a plus sign, so she grabbed the box to confirm what it meant. Yup, pregnant.

What was she going to do?

Austin came down for breakfast dressed in his cowboy gear. He wanted to strap on his guns out of habit, but stopped himself when he remembered he didn’t have them. Besides, he recalled how people in Texas lost their shit over that. If it happened there, it would be ten times worse in Virginia, just outside DC, especially since he wasn’t of age there.

He’d dressed that way because he was scheduled for his first Western riding class at the Blackwater Riding Club. Mrs. Warren had called and said eight students had signed up, so she would have Miss Sandy help him for his first session.

“Howdy, Tex,” Emma drawled when she saw him.

“Ma’am,” Austin said, tipping his hat.

“No hats in the house,” Grandma Montgomery said as she looked over her paper from the breakfast nook.

“Ma’am, cowboys don’t follow those conventions,” Austin said.

“My house, my rules.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Austin said and took it off.

Emma winked at him as Max demanded his attention. Someone needed to go out.

While he took care of his puppy, Emma put together breakfast for Austin and his grandmother. He and Max returned to some interesting aromas.

“What’s in the grits?” Austin asked.

“Shrimp,” Grandma Montgomery said.

The only shrimp he’d ever eaten came breaded and frozen in a box. He’d never had fresh ones before. Austin took a bite and smiled.

“I think the boy likes it,” Grandma Montgomery said.

“Yes. Very good,” Austin said to Emma.

While they ate, his grandmother updated him on his mother and Charlie’s ‘courtship’—her word.

They’d gone to the resort for dinner and dancing. Austin’s mother requested that he and his grandmother join the two of them for dinner that night to celebrate his first riding class. He didn’t voice his displeasure about going to the resort because his grandmother was invested in Marie finding a new man. Austin was okay with that since his father had remarried, but he wanted to bail because he’d be expected to dress up.

“You should ask Mia to join you,” Emma said.

“Who?” Grandma Montgomery asked.

“Austin’s new girlfriend.”

“I should call her parents and invite them,” Grandma Montgomery said.

“I’ll give you their number,” Emma said.

“Wait, slow down. Mia and I are not officially dating, so I’d say it’s too soon to get parents involved,” Austin said.

“I’ll hold off on making wedding arrangements, but I would like to meet the young lady,” Grandma Montgomery insisted.

“I’ll message her and see,” Austin said.

His grandmother stared at him until he pulled out his phone and sent Mia a message. He got one back, which he showed her: Mia accepted the invitation. A rare smile cracked his grandmother’s face. Austin set a new mission for himself: find his grandmother a man to distract her from meddling in everyone else’s lives.

Before he left for his class, Emma pulled him aside.

“Mia took the pregnancy test, and it confirmed your suspicions.”

“Damn,” Austin said. “Any idea what she plans to do?”

“I encouraged her to call Noah and see a doctor to confirm it.”

“Good plan,” Austin said, asking, “Am I supposed to know?”

“No. Let her tell you if she wants.”

Austin knew she was right. Whatever he had with Mia was new, and this didn’t have anything to do with him. He didn’t like the idea of Mia talking to Noah since the guy had so easily manipulated her before. But this was their decision to make, and they would have to deal with the consequences.

A baby wasn’t like a puppy you could stuff into a crate when you wanted to leave—which was where Max would be going as soon as Austin saddled Red.

He figured the pup would con Emma into letting him out as soon as Austin left, but she would put him back in while she cleaned the house. Max couldn’t entirely be trusted unsupervised. Austin had found little tooth marks on his boots that morning, which didn’t make him happy.

Mia’s day had gone to shit. She’d told her mother she thought she might be pregnant, and her mother called her dad. He went ballistic, demanding to know the father’s identity and ranting about how his daughter wouldn’t ruin her life by raising a baby.

If Mia did have it, then the father, aka Noah, would raise it, or she would give it up for adoption. The unspoken solution was to go somewhere and make the problem go away.

Mia had received a message from Austin inviting her to dinner that night. Those plans died a quick death because her father insisted on bringing Noah’s parents into the loop, compounding her pain.

She called because she couldn’t bail on Austin via a message.

“Hey, babe,” Austin said as he picked up.

“How did you know it was me?” Mia asked.

“You put your picture in your profile on my phone.”