Читать книгу The Sheriff's Nine-Month Surprise - Brenda Harlen, Brenda Harlen - Страница 13

Chapter Five

She hadn’t intended to blurt it out like that, but now that the words had been spoken, Kate actually felt relieved. It was no longer this big secret that she was keeping bottled up inside; she’d done the right thing and told Reid about the baby.

Now she just had to deal with his reaction, whatever that might be.

He reached behind him, his hands curling over the edge of the island countertop, as if he needed the support to remain standing. She understood how he felt—she was more than a little unsteady herself.

She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, waiting for him to say something, anything.

“You’re sure?” he asked, after a long minute had passed.

She nodded. “I took one of those over-the-counter tests. Actually, I took three,” she admitted. “And I got official confirmation from the doctor last week.”

He went back to the table for his beer, tipped the bottle to his lips. “That’s why you were in Echo Ridge,” he realized. “Because you think it’s mine.”

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, but she couldn’t fault him for asking. She’d jumped into bed with him only a few hours after their first meeting—why wouldn’t he assume that was normal behavior for her?

“I know it’s yours,” she told him. “You’re the only man I’ve been with in...a long time. But considering how quickly everything happened between us, I can understand why you’d ask, why you’d want proof.”

He fell silent again, and she found herself babbling in an effort to fill the silence.

“We can have a DNA test as soon as the baby’s born. It’s possible to do paternity testing before birth, through amniocentesis, but it also increases the risk of miscarriage and I’d rather not take the chance when there are no other factors that warrant it.”

He nodded, but whether it was in agreement or understanding, she had no idea.

“I’m not asking anything of you,” she hastened to reassure him. “I made the decision to have this baby on my own, and I intend to raise the baby on my own.”

That, finally, got a response from him.

“You didn’t make the baby on your own,” he pointed out.

“Well, no,” she agreed, her body humming in remembrance of the pleasures she’d experienced in his arms.

“And I don’t shirk my responsibilities,” he said with grim resolve.

“I appreciate that, Reid, but—”

He shook his head. “No buts, Katelyn.”