Page 61 of The Christmas Cowboy

They stopped atthe back door to her family’s house. “What if—” Val began.

Before she could continue Liam took her in his arms and kissed her. As usual, once he kissed her, she lost all desire to do anything else. Except continue. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him back. They were both lost in the kiss when she heard Riley say, “Get a room.”

They broke apart. Her brother stood at the door—her strong, dependable, loving brother who would do nearly anything for her. When she’d asked him to be present for the confession he hadn’t hesitated to say yes. Even though she was sure he wanted to be there even less than she did. He was going to catch hell for his part in it, too.

They stepped inside and she gave Riley a hug. “Thank you.”

He shook his head and held out his hand to shake Liam’s.

“Are you ready?” Riley asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” Liam said, a touch grimly.

Her parents were waiting for them in the great room. Their father’s health wasn’t good, although he’d been taking better care of himself recently, thanks to their mother putting her foot down. Still, Riley had taken over ninety-five percent of the running of the ranch and she didn’t think that was going to change anytime soon.

After Val hugged both her parents her father asked, “What’s this about, Valerie?”

Her dad was the only person who ever called her Valerie. Not even her mom called her by her full name.

Might as well dive right in. “Liam and I have something to tell you.” She put out her hand and Liam took it. Both her parents looked a little confused. “I’m pregnant.”

Confusion cleared and they were both wreathed in smiles. “Oh, honey, that’s wonderful,” her mother said, hugging her.

“Happy to hear it,” her father said.

Yeah, he wasn’t going to be in a minute. “There’s more.”

“More? You mean you’re having twins?” Her mom again.

“No.” She drew in a breath and let it out. “Liam isn’t the biological father.”

A stunned silence. “What are you talking about, Valerie? Are you saying you cheated on your husband?” her father asked.

“No, of course not.”

“Val was pregnant when I asked her to marry me. It’s one of the reasons we married so quickly.”

“Did you know about this?” Jasper Fletcher turned to Riley with a thunderous look.

“Not initially. I found out after Liam asked her to marry him.”

“And no one thought to tell us?” Lorraine asked.

“I didn’t want you to know. I knew if I told you I was pregnant and unmarried you’d be—”apoplectic“—angry and upset. Liam and I hoped you’d never have to know.”

“You married her knowing she was pregnant with another man’s child?” Jasper asked. “Why would you do that?”

“That doesn’t matter now,” Liam said, taking control of the conversation.

Val was thankful he had. She sat down, her legs having decided to turn to jelly.

“What matters is we’re married,” Liam continued. “I love Val and the baby and I want to be a father to it. I’mgoingto be a father to it.”

“Why tell us now?” her mom asked. Her father was silent, clearly struggling with his temper.

Liam looked at her, silently asking if she wanted him to continue. At least, she hoped that was what he was asking. “Please.”

“The biological father originally wanted nothing to do with Val or the baby. But now he’s changed his mind and rumors have started, thanks to him. We didn’t want you to hear the gossip before you knew the truth.”

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