Page 63 of The Cowboy’s Forever Promise

She patted on the bed next to her. “You should sit down for this.”

“Why?” he asked as he sat down and picked up her hand. “Whatever is wrong, I’m here for you. I’ll always be.”

Chewing her lip, she stared at him. “Well, I hope you’ll still feel that way when I tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

Taking a deep breath, she looked him in the eye. “First of all, I want you to know you’re off the hook if you want to be. You’ve told me this is not what you want right now. I don’t even know if I can do this, I never had a mother, but I’ll give it my best shot. I’ll probably make every mistake in the book.”

Bewildered, Carson finally found his voice again. “Abby, what are you talking about?”

She put a hand on her tummy before she looked him in the eye. “I’m … I’m pregnant.”

The word hung in the air between them. Too stunned to react, Carson stared at Abby, his mind replaying the words over and over. Deep inside him something warm opened up slowly and spread throughout his body.

He couldn’t stop the grin even if he’d wanted to. Leaning forward, he touched her face. “You’re pregnant? With our baby?” In awe, he touched her hand that was still resting on her tummy.

“You’re not mad?”

With a groan, he gathered her close. “Of course I’m not mad, I love you. You’re having our baby, one we made when we were making love. I’m thrilled. When did you find out? How do you feel about it?”

She leaned back against the pillows. “You know I’ve not been feeling myself lately, but this was not what I’d expected. I went to see the doctor yesterday, she had a cancellation. To be honest, I was stunned and freaked out. I still am, if I’m honest. I don’t know if I can do this. How do I know what a mother is supposed to do? I never had one!”

Frowning, he tried to figure out what she wasn’t saying. “I’m not sure I follow you. Are you saying you don’t want this baby?”

Grabbing his hands, she shook her head. “Of course I want this baby, it’s yours, ours. I just don’t know if I’ll be any good at it! I don’t know anything about babies.”

He pulled her close again. “You’ll be a great mom. And remember, you’re not alone. You have me and whether you want to or not, you have the whole Weston clan who would all be happy to help and give advice with the added bonus that Coop and Willow will probably know when the baby has a problem before it shows any signs. What else is bothering you?”

“I … I missed you.”

“And?”

Her hands moved as she talked. “I want to move to the ranch. I have some savings but it’s not going to be enough for me and for the baby. I’ll have to work. I want to work. I need a plan. I like plans, but this time, I can’t seem to come up with one.”

Taking her hand in his, Carson took a breath. He had to make sure he got this right. He remembered June’s words all too well. We foster kids rarely do what we’re told. You’ll have to find another way. His Abby was fiercely independent.

He touched the ring he gave her. “You’re wearing my ring, I’ve asked you to marry me. That means I love you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I want to look after you. I know, I know you can do it all by yourself, but the point is, you don’t have to anymore. Getting married means we’ll be partners in everything. That means my house is your house, my money is your money, and whatever problems we have, we face together. I know you love your work, but if you don’t work for a couple of months, you don’t have to worry about money. As far as new clients go, I can guarantee you you’re going to have more new customers than you can handle.”

“But how? I can’t see the plan.”

“Abby, sweetheart.” He smiled. “Look at me?”

Those green eyes turned to him.

“Do you trust me?”

“I do, but—”

“No buts. Do you trust me?”

“I do.”

“Good, because if you let me, I’ll make the plan this time.”

Frowning, she moved to talk, but he put his fingers on her lips. “Next time I may not know what to do, then you get to make the plan. How does that sound?”

“Okay, so what is your plan?” she asked.