She told Jake she needed one more day to finalize some negotiations and later that morning, she went to a medical facility and had a blood test done. She was almost certainly pregnant, although they told her that sometimes it could be a false positive. Her symptoms, however, pretty much clinched the diagnosis. She walked out onto the sidewalk with her head in the clouds, enveloped in dreams.

She didn’t tell Jake, for fear that he might share the news before she was ready. She still had to deal with Cort, and she wasn’t certain how to do it. So she flew back to Catelow with Jake, her face as solemn as if she’d lost a member of her family to the grim reaper, even as the joy of her pregnancy welled up inside her.

CHAPTER TWELVE

CORT WAS FURIOUS. His father, drunk and disorderly, had fired one of the ranch’s top hands in a drunken stupor. Cort had to find the man and offer him more benefits to come back. He hadn’t wanted to leave Catelow in the first place. He should have had two more blissful weeks getting to know Mina. He wanted to marry her, whether or not she was pregnant. He’d never been so crazy about a woman in his life. And here he was, instead, babysitting a man who should have been plenty old enough to take care of himself!

“What the hell is your problem?” he asked his father, exasperated, as they sat down to dinner, served by their longtime cook.

“She kicked me out,” Vic said, his voice still slurred. “I need another drink…”

“Over my dead body,” Cort shot back. “Why did she kick you out?”

“I was just flir…flirting with one of her friends.”

Cort’s pale brown eyes narrowed. “Just flirting?”

The older man flushed. “I can’t manage with just one woman,” he said belligerently. “I’ve always slept around. I even told her, when we married.”

“I know,” Cort said coldly. “You slept around on Mom, when she was dying.”

Vic had the grace to blush. He averted his eyes. “You don’t understand.”

Cort laughed coldly. “I understand, all right. You were a hell of a loss as a father. I guess you’re even worse as a husband.”

Vic gaped at him. “What?”

“Oh, come on,” Cort said irritably. “You were never around when we needed you, especially after you split up with the stepmother from hell. Old Larry and our housekeeper took care of us when we had problems at school. They patched up the cuts and spoke to the principal when we got in trouble. They made Thanksgiving and Christmas for us while you were off philandering. God, if I turn out to be a father like you, I’ll shoot myself!”

Vic stiffened. “I never wanted kids,” he confessed.

“Then you should have learned about birth control!” Cort returned. “And shame on you for even admitting that!”

The older man had the grace to blush. He averted his eyes. He felt even sicker than he already was. He hated hearing those charges from his favorite son. Okay, he wasn’t supposed to have favorites, but Cort had been with him at the ranch long after his other sons had scattered to the four winds.