Loving the Mountain Man, page 19
part #7 of Montana Mountain Men Series
When he turns around, his face is that neutral expression again. “Betty, you’re definitely pregnant. I’m going to step out for a moment and get the nurse to bring down the machine so we can look at the fetus.”
I nod, watching numbly as he pulls off his gloves and deposits them and the specimen cup into a biohazard bin. He leaves, returning a few moments later with the nurse in the pink scrubs wheeling a machine with a screen. It’s the same machine I saw them use when I went to Bay and Missy’s appointment.
They have me drink two bottles of water, then thirty minutes later, the nurse instructs me to lie down on the bed and pull up my top. The gel they squirt on my stomach is cold, and I flinch, then she places the wand thing on my stomach and moves it around until I see it.
It only looks small, nothing like a baby really, more like a kidney bean–shaped blob, but it’s there, its heart fluttering away.
My baby.
Mine and Cody’s baby.
Unable to take my eyes off the screen, I watch as the image changes and measurements are taken. I have a person growing inside of me, a real person, half me, half Cody, alive and here, its heart beating.
“Betty,” the nurse says, pulling my attention.
Turning my head, I look at her, blinking as I realize she’s handing me something. It’s a handful of tissue.
“To wipe off the gel.” She motions to my stomach.
Reaching out in a daze, I take the tissue and do as she says, wiping the clear lube-like substance off me. The nurse bustles around, packing up the machine and wheeling it out, and I watch her go, dazed and bewildered, until the doctor takes a seat at the small desk off to the side and motions for me to join him.
“Okay, Betty, well, from the ultrasound measurements, I’d say that you’re ten to eleven weeks pregnant. The fetus is growing as it should be. There’s a strong heartbeat, and everything looks to be progressing as expected. I’m going to guess, due to your reaction, that this wasn’t a planned pregnancy. At this early stage, you have options—”
“I know,” I say. “But I want to proceed; I don’t need to know about any other options.” I’m pro-choice, and abortion is a decision I one-hundred-percent support for those who need it. But I want this baby. Maybe it wasn’t planned, and it’s definitely not the ideal situation, but now that I know it’s happening and I’ve seen its tiny heart beating, I’m doing this.
“Okay, well, great. Now, I’m going to write you a script for some prenatal vitamins and give you some pamphlets about the dos and don’ts of pregnancy.”
I zone out as he takes my blood pressure and draws blood for some standard testing he needs to do. By the time he’s patting me on the shoulder and holding the door open for me, my mind is a blur. The one thing that I am completely sure of is that I’m going to have to tell Cody.
I know I could probably keep this from him, and with us living hours away from each other, he’d likely never find out if I cut ties with Missy. But I’m not that person, and he deserves to know he has a child in the world.
Walking back to my car, I climb into the driver’s seat, but instead of putting the key in the ignition, I exhale a shaky breath and place a hand over my stomach. Looking down, I stare at myself. I still don’t have that sudden surge of maternal love I thought I’d get when I found out I was having a baby one distant day in the future, but now that I’ve seen my little bean, there’s a sense of warmth that wasn’t there before.
“Hello, Little Bean,” I whisper. “I’m your mom. I didn’t know you were in there. If I had, I wouldn’t have drunk all that coffee and Red Bull. I hope that doesn’t fuck you up too much. You’re tiny, so I don’t think it will, and I promise, now that I know you’re there, I’m going to do all the stuff you’re supposed to, like not eat nuts and drink beer.”
My hand is trembling a little as I rub side to side slowly. “Your dad’s name is Cody Barnett. He’s a good guy. He doesn’t know about you yet, either, but I’m going to tell him. He’s not going to be very happy with me, but if it’s just me and you, that’s okay. We’ll be okay.”
Sighing, I lift my hand and start my car, then I drive home, trying to decide how I call and tell the guy I’ve been ghosting for the last three months that he’s going to be a dad.
13
CODY
It’s been three months. Three fucking months since I saw my woman and I am losing my fucking mind. She won’t take my calls, won’t tell Missy her new address, and the one time I called her using Missy’s cell, she hung up on me and then refused to speak to Mis for days.
I’m going out of my mind. When I get ahold of her, I swear to fuck I’m going to spank her ass so hard she’s not going to be able to sit down for a fucking week. She speaks to her sister, sending pictures of her and Thad, looking all happy and in love, but I don’t buy it. I saw the way she reacted to him cheating on her, and I felt the way she wanted me, the way her body craved me, and that wasn’t fake. It wasn’t rebound sex or payback sex.
When she was in my bed, her body spread out like a buffet for me, she was all in, completely in the moment, mine. I’ve fucked women who belong to other men, and they don’t act the way Betty did. If she’s back with the cheating douche for real, then I can guarantee she’s fucking miserable.
My cell rings, and I pull it from my pocket and stare at it in disbelief.
It’s her.
Fumbling, I almost drop the fucking thing in my haste to answer it.
“Betty.”
“Hi, Cody,” she says, her voice wary.
“Are you okay?” I’m glad to hear from her, but if she’s calling me, something must be wrong since she’s put so much effort into avoiding speaking to me.
“I’m okay. What about you?”
I swallow back the disbelieving scoff that tries to break free. “Well, Betty, I’m a little pissed. My woman decided to run away from me, then she refused to speak to me and got back together with this douche whore who put his dick in another woman.”
“I…” she starts, then trails off. “I didn’t call to argue with you, Cody.”
“No?”
“No,” she whispers.
“Tell me what you need, then, Brat. Which color of the rainbow isn’t he embracing today? Is all that vanilla getting old yet?” I’m being an asshole, but I just don’t seem to be able to stop.
Her sigh is so loud it’s audible. “Cody, I—God, I don’t even know how to say this, so I’m just going to blurt it out, okay?”
“Okay,” I tell her cautiously.
“I’m pregnant.”
I hear the words, but my brain struggles to process them.
“Did you hear me? I’m pregnant.”
“Why did you call me to tell me you’re having a baby with him, Bett?”
“I’m not having a baby with Thad.”
“You what?” I rage, instantly furious. “That motherfucker breeds you and then dumps you?”
“No. No,” she rushes out. “The baby isn’t Thad’s.”
“Then whose the fuck is it?”
The line is silent for so long I wonder if she’s disconnected the call.
“It’s yours, Cody. The baby is yours.”
“Give me your address,” I demand, using my dom voice, hoping that the authority I’m exuding right now will make her comply without thinking about it too hard. It works, and she relays an address to me, which I immediately save on my phone. Then I end the call and pull up an airline app.
It’s the middle of the night, but I don’t give a fuck. After we spoke, I bought a ticket on the next flight heading in the direction of Rapid City, and when I landed, I drove straight to her place. Normally, I wouldn’t turn up at someone’s home at four in the morning, but the fact that my woman is bred with my kid seems like it might be the exception to the rule.
Climbing the steps to her door, I lift my fist and knock. When she doesn’t answer, I knock again, spotting a doorbell and pressing it a few times for good measure. After a while, the lights in the apartment come on, and she opens the door, looking sleep rumpled and sexy as fuck.
“Cody?” she says warily.
Pushing her carefully aside, I step into her home, not waiting to be invited. The time to play nicely and use my manners is gone. “Where is he?”
“Who?”
“The douche whore.”
“He’s not here.”
“Why the fuck not? He not happy about you being knocked up with someone else’s kid?”
Shaking her head, she sighs. “He moved out the day after I came home.”
“What?” I snarl.
“We’re not together.”
“Since when?” I ask through gritted teeth.
Looking away, she focuses on the floor.
“Brat, lift your fucking chin up and look me in the face, right the fuck now,” I order.
Her chin snaps up, and her eyes lock with mine. I might not be a real dom, and she might not be a real sub, but she responds like one when I use the right tone to demand her attention. “Explain.”
“He was here when I got home. We talked. I stayed at a friend’s that night, and he packed up and left the next day.”
“So, you’re not back with him?”
“No.”
“You lied?”
Closing her eyes to hide from me, she nods.
“Open your eyes and look at me.”
Her lids snap open, and I capture her gaze with mine.
“You lied?”
“Yes,” she confesses.
“Go pack a bag,” I order.
“What? Why?”
“Because I’m not staying in the apartment you used to share with him.”
“I’m not. This is my new place. He’s never been here,” she starts to explain.
“Pack a fucking bag or come without anything except what you’re wearing. Either way, we’re leaving. It’s up to you.” I’m so angry I can barely contain my fucking rage. She lied. He was gone this whole time, and she kept herself from me for no fucking reason.
“Cody.”
“Now!” I yell, trying to calm down and failing.
Spinning on her heel, Betty rushes away. Following her, I stand in the doorway to her bedroom and watch as she yanks things out of her closet and throws them into a small overnight bag.
“Where’s your purse?” I ask, taking the bag from her the moment she steps back into the living space. She points to the couch, and I grab it, then take her hand and tow her back to the front door. “Shoes,” I hiss, pointing to the small rack against the wall.
She shoves her feet into her boots and doesn’t protest when I open the front door and tow her down the steps to the rental car I have parked at the curb. Opening the passenger door, I turn and lift her off her feet, putting her inside the vehicle and strapping her in like I’ve watched Bay do to Missy a hundred times before.
Closing her door, I throw her bag and purse into the trunk and then get in behind the wheel, starting the car and pulling away from the curb. Once I’m heading back toward the airport, I take a full breath, but I’m too angry to turn and look at the woman beside me.
“Cody,” she says.
“No.”
“No?”
“I don’t want to talk while I’m driving. Once we get home, I’ll have plenty to fucking say to you.”
“Home?”
“Yes, home.”
“Cody, I—”
“Shut the fuck up, Betty. I don’t want to hear it right now. I am so fucking angry at you, so just be quiet and let me calm the fuck down.”
I’m surprised when she actually closes her mouth and sits back in her seat, saying nothing as I drive us back to the airport. I’ve already booked tickets back to Montana and checked that it’s okay for pregnant women to fly. From the moment she told me she was bred with my baby, all I could think about was bringing her home. I know she’s not going to be happy about it, but right now, I don’t give a fuck. She shut me out for months and let me think that she was screwing another dude. The time for her to make decisions is over. I’m in charge now, and she can just fucking deal with it.
It doesn’t take long to get back to the airport, and I return the rental to the desk, my fingers clenched tightly around her wrist, her bags in my free hand.
“Cody.”
“No,” I growl, not turning to look at her as I pull her with me to the airline self-service check-in desks.
“Cody.”
Ignoring her, I release her wrist only long enough to open her purse and find her ID. Once I have it, I take hold of her again and check us in for our flight. My mama would be slapping me upside the head if she were here right now. She taught all of us never to go into a woman’s purse, but I don’t care. I’m not behaving like the man she raised right now. I’m all pissed-off caveman Neanderthal, and normal rules of conduct just don’t apply.
The machine prints off our boarding passes, and I pull her toward security, happy that it’s quiet so early in the morning.
“Cody,” she says a little louder, yanking at her wrist to free herself.
Glancing around, I spot a disability bathroom and walk her toward it, opening the door and yanking her inside, then closing it behind us, twisting the lock into place. “What?”
“I’m not going to Montana with you.”
“The hell you aren’t.”
“You’re being an asshole.”
“Considering how you’ve behaved for the last few months, I’d say it’s a fucking miracle I’m this calm. Now, we’re going to get on that fucking plane, and we’re going home. If you try to fucking make a scene, and the airline won’t let us board, I will throw your ass over my shoulder and hire a private fucking jet that won’t give a fuck why I’m dragging you on there because I’m paying them a shit ton of money. Either way, we are going home, and you’re going to do what you’re fucking told.”
Her mouth falls open, and she stares at me like she has no idea who the fuck I am. That’s okay, I don’t know who the fuck I am right now, either. All I know is that this woman is mine and that my kid is growing in her belly. I’m angry and hurt and hopeful and a thousand other emotions that I’m not sure I’m even capable of processing right now.
“Are you going to get on this plane with me, or are you going to be a pain in my ass?”
“I have to work tomorrow.”
“Not anymore, you don’t.”
“Cody, I can’t just leave.”
“You mean like you did to me? You can’t just leave like when you got in your car and drove the fuck away from me without even a goodbye and a thank-you for all the fucking orgasms?”
Her cheeks heat, and she drops my gaze, staring at her feet. “I—”
“I don’t want to hear it. Not now.”
“Okay.” She nods, looking contrite.
“So are you getting on the plane, or am I getting arrested?”
“I’ll get on the plane.”
Nodding, I wrap my fingers around her wrist, unlock and open the door, then walk into security, not speaking to her or even looking at her. After we reach our seats on the plane, I motion for her to take the one closest to the window, then open the overhead bin and place her purse and overnight bag inside. Confident that she can’t see, I open her purse, pull out her cell, and turn it off, then slide it into my pocket. Taking the seat beside her, I lean my head back against the headrest and close my eyes.
I can feel her staring at me, but I don’t want to speak to her right now. Not here. As the plane starts to taxi, I exhale a relieved breath. She can’t run when we’re miles above the ground, so I allow myself to relax for the first time since she called me.
14
BETTY
Cody ignores me the entire flight, not sleeping but just sitting with his eyes closed, his fingers clenched into tight fists resting in his lap. He’s pissed. No, he’s more than pissed, he’s hurt, and I feel like the world’s biggest asshole.
I didn’t expect him to still be so angry about the way I left. Though I don’t know why I thought he’d be okay, he hasn’t given up on getting me to speak to him. When I left, I guess a part of me just assumed he’d get over it and be fucking someone new and more suited to him by now.
When I called to tell him about the baby and he hung up on me, I figured he was too pissed to have a conversation with me. I mean, that’s a lot to dump on a guy you had a fling with who’s really pissed at you for ghosting him. I was ready to tell him I didn’t expect anything from him and that he could be as involved as he wanted but that I had no expectations. Instead, he ended the call before I had a chance. I didn’t even get time to tell him that I was keeping it, that our baby meant something to me.
I definitely wasn’t expecting him to be hammering on my door in the middle of the night or that he’d drag me onto a plane to Montana before he even said hello. I’m still in my pj’s, for fuck’s sake. Luckily, they’re semi-decent, a baggy shirt and leggings, but my hair is a mess, and I only have a random assortment of clothes that I threw into my overnight bag while he glowered at me from the doorway. He didn’t exactly give me time to pack for a trip. Hell, he didn’t tell me we were going on a trip.
As the plane touches down at the Bozeman airport, the sky is bright, and the sun is peaking through the clouds. It’s still early, but I’m starving. The flight is only half-full, so we disembark quickly, entering the terminal building with the other passengers. Cody has hold of my wrist again. I wish he’d hold my hand, but his touch isn’t a sweet gesture. He’s restraining me, making sure I don’t run. He’s not holding me tight enough to hurt, just keeping me where he wants me. If he wasn’t so angry at me, I’d think it was kind of hot.
“Cody.” My voice sounds raspy because apart from telling the flight attendant that I didn’t want a drink, I haven’t spoken in what feels like hours.
“What?” he snaps, zero softness in his tone.
“Can we get something to eat?”
His eyes drop to my stomach, then lift back to my face, and his expression softens a little. “I’ll pull into a drive-through. Let’s just get to the car.”
