Page 65 of Duke
Jesus Christ, why didn’t we use backup?
I look for confirmation in Cash’s expression. His eyes are full.
Sympathy. Regret. Some embarrassment too from revealing a secret he wasn’t supposed to. Wonder how he found out.
Oh shit, Wheeler is definitely pregnant.
Why wasn’t I her first call? The idea that she’s handled this alone—without me—knocks the wind out of me. I can just imagine the poor thing shaking like a leaf again.
“Fuck.” Cash closes his eyes and lets his head fall back. “I didn’t say that.”
A hand grips my windpipe and squeezes. “Is it true? Is Wheeler pregnant?”
My brother opens his eyes. They’re glassy. “Yes, Duke. Wheeler is pregnant.”
Somehow, we’ve all slowed to a stop. So has my heartbeat.
My brothers look at me, their faces blank with naked shock. I may be one of the “wild cards” of the family, but I’m not careless.
Maybe this is the universe’s way of keeping me humble.
If so, the universe is one sick son of a bitch.
I am frozen in place. I don’t know what to do. What to say.
All I know is Wheeler’s handled this on her own, and that’s not fucking fair.
Squeezing my legs, I urge my horse into a sprint as I pull hard on my left rein. The pounding of his hooves on the soft ground echoes inside my breastbone as we head back home.
I ride like a bat out of hell. By the time we arrive at the barn, he’s foaming at the mouth and I’m soaked head to toe in sweat.
Wheeler is pregnant.
I don’t understand why she hasn’t told me.
I’m truly and deeply crushed I wasn’t her first call. Then again, why would I be? She told me why she wants to keep her distance. Her family—
Shit.This is how her parents’ story started, isn’t it? Her mom getting pregnant unexpectedly. Her dad doing what he thought was right and marrying her.
My stomach lurches.Parenthood.I’m not ready for that. I want to travel. Try new things. Figure out what the hell I wanna do with the rest of my life.
Settling down and having a kid isnotpart of the plan.
My hands shake as I dig my phone out of my back pocket. I’m a wreck. But as scared as I am, I bet Wheeler’s feeling ten times worse, and that’s what I need to focus on right now—making sure she’s okay.
I only have one bar of service in the barn, but that’ll have to do. I shoot off a text to Wheeler.Call me please.I know she won’t pick up if I actually call.
Then I call Mollie.
“Hey!” she says after she picks up on the second ring, clearly surprised to hear from me. “What’s up? Everything okay?”
I don’t call Mollie all that much at the moment. She’s busy with Bellamy Brooks, my brother, and the baby, and I’m busy…well, pining after her best friend like a lovesick dickhead.
“Where is she?” The words come out as a growl, but I’m too anxious to apologize at the moment. I haven’t seen Wheeler’s car around the ranch today, so I don’t know if she went back to Dallas or what.
“Who? Duke, what’s going—”
“Wheeler. Cash just let slip that she’s pregnant, which I assume he heard from you?”
