Page 10 of Born Wild

“They’d send me away.”

A chill runs down my spine. “You really think they’d do that?”

“My parents are good people. They love me, I know they do. But Daddy is a leader at the church. He can’t have an unwed pregnant daughter. Not in a town as small as ours.”

“So, marry me.” The offer flies past my lips with the utmost sincerity. “Marry me.”

“What?” Cassie laughs. “I wish.” She rolls her eyes, not taking my offer seriously. Why would she? I’ve given her no inclination of my feelings. Fear of losing our friendship has been holding me back, along with my concern for what’s best for her.

But if her parents send her away and I did nothing to stop it? I couldn’t live with myself. “I’m not joking, Cass. Marry me. It’s the perfect solution. There’s plenty of room on the ranch. We can move into one of the small cabins and raise this child in the town we both love.”

“You would do that?” The shock is clear in her tone.

“Of course I would.”I’d do anything for her.

Her jaw drops and she sputters as she finds her next words. “Everyone will assume this baby is yours.”

“Yeah.” I shrug.

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“Not in the slightest.” I don’t give a flying fuck what anyone thinks. Especially if this keeps Cassie in my life.

“That’s crazy, Tim!” Her eyes are wide and I feel her gaze studying my face when I look back to the road. “It’s a bad idea.”

“Why?”

“For one, you deserve better. You deserve a chance to find love, and how are you going to do that if you’re legally wed to me, raising another man’s child?”

This is it. The opportunity to confess my feelings and tell her how she’s got it all wrong. But I’m not brave enough and the words get caught in my throat. “That all?”

“I mean, that’s a pretty big one. Tim, even if this could work, I can’t let you ruin your life for my mistakes. I care about you too much to put that fate on you.”

“But that’s my choice to make, not yours.” I glance to the right and meet her gaze for a second, conveying as much of the truth as I can. “How about this? Give yourself some time to think on it. To think about what you want. We could create a life together. One that would bring us both a lot of joy and peace.” I reach my arm across the back of the bench seat and squeeze her shoulder gently before forcing my hand back to the wheel. “You won’t start showing tomorrow. We have time. For now you focus on taking care of yourself, and the little one growing inside of you. And in the meantime, let me take care of you, and drive you wherever you need to be.”

“You’re too good to me.”

“And I’m not going to stop.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” I hear her unspoken question. She wants to know my motive. She wants to know why I’d do anything for her. And maybe I can’t bring myself to confess my feelings in words, but I can show her.

“I like spending time with you, Cassie.” I grip the wheel so I’m not tempted to reach for her hand.

“I like spending time with you, too.” Her words are a balm to my aching heart. She doesn’t know how much I need to hear that. She owes me nothing, but the fact I offer her a fraction of the solace she gives me is all the assurance I need.

5

CASSIE

I’m almost to twenty weeks. The halfway point is in sight and I’m still no closer to a clear path forward than I was two months ago. The only thing I know is that I love this baby, and I will protect him or her with my entire being. So much that I’m actually considering Tim’s offer. He hasn’t brought it up again, and I can’t tell whether that’s because he’s giving me time to consider, or he regrets asking.

Either way, I shouldn’t bring my mess into his life. It would be taking advantage, I know, but the more time we spend together, the more I like him. Really like-like him.

Sure, he’s not the flashiest guy. Not the most handsome, or the most talkative. But those traits I used to consider essential don’t matter as much as I once thought. In the span of a month, my values have shifted and I’m beginning to think a person’s character is worth its weight in gold.

I’m scared though.

Scared to drag him down.

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