‘I must have eaten something,’ she fudged, avoiding his stare.
‘Get the doctor to check you over.’ There was a full medical team on-site. ‘Now,’ he prompted when Rose hesitated. ‘I can’t allow you near the horses if there’s the slightest chance you’re under par.’
‘I’m not sick,’ she flared, turning around to face him.
‘How can you be sure?’
‘Because I’m pregnant.’ She let the silence hang for a few moments, before adding, ‘I took a test and it’s positive.’
His logical mind accepted this calmly. They hadn’t been exactly abstemious. Even using protection there was always a risk.
Rose’s face betrayed nothing. It was as if all the progress she’d made in expressing herself freely had taken cover behind a protective shield. There was nothing to compare with a mother’s instinct. Rose would protect that child above herself.
That was the logical side of things, but something else was happening that he couldn’t ignore. Feelings were erupting inside him faster than he could control. He was going to be a father. His own father had been the most wonderful man, and Rose would be the most wonderful—
She broke into his thoughts. ‘You don’t have to say anything. I know this won’t work for you.’
He held up his hand. ‘Give me a chance to take it in. It isn’t every day I get the news that I’m going to be a father.’
‘I don’t expect you to become involved,’ she continued as if he hadn’t spoken. ‘I can handle this on my own. You made it clear from the start that this sort of thing isn’t something you’d want to be part of, and I accept that—’
‘This sort of thing?’ he interrupted blankly. A lifetime of telling himself that he would never have a family—that he didn’t deserve a family, after the way he’d stood helpless as his parents had perished—had been turned on its head, firing his thoughts in all directions at once. He could hardly keep track of what Rose was saying, for wondering why he hadn’t declared his happiness right away. Why was he selfishly keeping these thoughts to himself? Was it because a man locked in some ridiculous eternal struggle with guilt believed he had nothing to offer a child?
‘I’ll do what every single mother does,’ Rose was saying as he refocused. ‘I’ll keep on working and juggle my commitments. I still have some savings left—’
‘Stop.’ His command was fired by anger at himself. Surely, he was better than this? ‘Why would you struggle when I can help you?’
‘Is that you saying you want to take over? Because, if it is,’ she warned, ‘I’m telling you now that I won’t let you control every aspect of this pregnancy. I won’t join the mares in your breeding block to be cosseted and guarded for the duration. I’m a healthy woman who doesn’t need to be smothered by expert attention. All I ask is to care for my child.’
‘Who says you can’t?’ He was beginning to see his way through the maze. Rose needed more than reassurance, she needed proof that he would care for her, whatever her decision. ‘I get that you’re up in the air right now, with hormones racing, but please give yourself the chance to think things through calmly before you turn me down. There are consequences I’m not sure you’ve considered.’
‘Like what?’ Rose demanded defensively.
‘Like the fact that you can’t continue to work as you do—’
She paled. ‘Are you firing me?’
‘Of course not.’ Her question had shocked him. ‘But I must lay out the facts. You can’t have close contact with my horses. This is a professional stable, housing spirited, highly bred and occasionally unpredictable animals. I’d be derelict in my duty as your employer if I allowed you to take any risks. Let alone the fact that my insurance won’t cover you in your current condition.’
The effect of his speech appeared on Rose’s face in tension lines and pallor. ‘I hadn’t thought about that,’ she admitted quietly.
‘Why would you? You haven’t given yourself a chance to consider anything properly.’
She frowned. ‘But I should have thought things through...’
‘In the time it took from taking the test to now? Don’t be so hard on yourself, Rose. This is as new to you as it is to me, but we’ll find a way. We’ll make this work with plans that suit both of us, and, more importantly, that secure our baby’s future happiness.’
He meant every word to reassure her, but they seemed to have the opposite effect on her. It was a shock to see Rose, strong, resilient Rose, the woman who challenged him every step of the way, drop her face into her hands and cry.
Rose blundered out of the room, barely knowing where she was heading. How could she have overlooked something as vital as insurance cover? A policy for a pregnant woman working in a professional stable? She doubted such a thing even existed. Wrapping her arms protectively around her waist, she headed off down the road from the ranch to the vast acreage beyond. The urge to find space surrounded by nature was the only thing she could think of to soothe her mind. What she didn’t want was Raffa outlining his cold-blooded plans. For once in her life, Rose Kelly, the biggest planner of them all, wanted something far more elusive and precious—Raffa’s love, for their baby, for Rose and for the family she longed for. She longed to share this overwhelming joy with him. She’d wanted Raffa to pull her into his arms and say he was the happiest man alive.
Piercing bird calls drew Rose’s gaze skywards. There were eagles in this part of Spain. She loved to see them wheeling and jousting, coming together only to fly apart again, before yielding to some mysterious force that brought them back to fly together.
Was that love?
Whatever it was, watching the magnificent birds calmed and healed her. Any child would be lucky to be brought up here, but Rose had many things to consider—her father, the family, the farm, the programmes for Sofia and the fact that she couldn’t stay here indefinitely, watching from the wings, trying to explain to a child why its father wasn’t around all that often.
They’d move forward with or without Raffa, Rose vowed silently. Like every single mother on the face of the earth, she’d find a way. Hadn’t she taken care of her brothers since her mother died? She wasn’t exactly a novice when it came to running a home.
