Page 41 of My Redneck Baby Daddy

"Because they’re mine."

The whole office went still. Somewhere outside, the roll-up door came down. His green eyes came up to meet my brown ones.

"I'm pregnant."

Chapter 13

Bobby Jo

The things were sitting on my desk blotter between a stack of invoices and a coffee cup I had not washed since Tuesday.

"Pregnant?"

Rue pushed her glasses higher on her nose again. "That is generally what a positive pregnancy test means."

"Mine?"

Her mouth came open.

I shut my eyes. "That ain't what I meant."

"I certainly hope not."

"Rue."

"You are the only man I’ve ever had sex with, Bobby Jo Maddox. Unless we are revisiting immaculate conception, yes. Yours."

I came around the desk, and then I did the dumbest thing a man can do in that situation, which is look straight at her stomach. She was wearing a cardigan over a dress and there was nothing to see and I knew there was nothing to see, and I looked anyway.

"There's a baby in there?"

Something in her face went soft.

"Apparently."

I had to put my hand on the corner of the desk.

I do not know how to explain what happened in my chest right then. It was joy coming up so fast it scared me, and underneath it a cold spot, because a man like me does not get handed something like this without wondering who is going to take it back.

Then my brain came on all at once and wouldn’t shut off.

"You seen a doctor?"

"Not yet. I just found out last night."

"You need one of them appointments. The first one." I was already moving. "Claire know? She's a nurse, she'd know who to call. You taking vitamins? They got vitamins you're supposed to be on."

"Bobby Jo."

"You're on the school insurance, right? Because mine might be better. I'd have to look at it." I got to the filing cabinet and turned back around. "Where we gonna put a baby? Your place ain't got but two bedrooms."

"Neither does yours."

"Mine's got three." I stopped. "One of them's full of my granddaddy's tools, but that ain't nothing. I can move tools."

"Bobby Jo."

"The truck's a problem. You can't put a car seat in a truck, not right." I was pacing my own office at this point. "I can trade the truck."