Absentminded Angel(Divine Creek Ranch 20)(79)

Heated conversation drew their attention to the windows and True groaned as they watched Paul and Noble share angry words with Kendry and Jared. Kendry put a hand to Jared’s chest and held up the other, evidently trying to be the voice of reason.

Shaking her head, unable to help that situation, she turned back to True and saw the stark emotion in his eyes. She looked down, thinking it might be easier to deal with this if he was angry.

“True, you have to believe me. I was on the pill. I thought I was protected against pregnancy.”

“Honey, I should’ve used a condom. You trusted me and I could’ve exposed you to any number of diseases.”

She smiled and shook her head, even though she knew it was supremely naïve. “My gut instincts about you were right. There were no worries there.” The words, in light of the world they lived in, made her feel even more stupid. Should’ve kept that thought to myself. Now he probably thinks I’m an idiot.

“That was the last time I went without a condom because the thought of doing something like that to someone so sweet was…I’m shutting up about that now,” he said with a chuckle, and she smiled when he flushed.

“We’re a pair, huh?”

“Noble would say I’m an idiot. He probably is right now,” he replied with a gesture out the window.

“I was just as shocked when I found out I was pregnant as you are now.”

“He’s adorable. How old is he?”

“He’ll be two months old in a week. He was born in early November.”

True nodded as he handled Whit’s chubby little foot, grinning when Whit flexed it against his hand. He flicked his dark, seductive gaze up to her and she remembered all over again why she’d been entranced by him in the first place as he said, “I thought about you a lot. Wondered how I’d find you if I ever came back this way.” She looked away from him. Her heart belonged to others now.

“So…you’re famous?” True’s smile was bittersweet as he nodded. She could see subtle changes in him from last spring. The twinkle in his eyes was tempered by the shadows beneath them. He was tired. But his smile lines were also deeper. He reached out, and a tingle zipped up her spine as the calluses at the tips of his fingers traced over the top of her hand that rested on Whit’s hip. She smiled and said, “Your calluses. I remembered them. I should’ve guessed that you were a musician.”

True looked at his hands and chuckled. “Noble and I are an up-and-coming duo in the country and western music scene. We live in Nashville. You’ve never heard our music?”

Regret filled her because she had a feeling she’d have recognized his voice right away if she’d ever turned on a country station. “I’m sorry. I remember you singing something to me when we…when we were together later that night. I thought you had a beautiful voice but I never made that connection. I…” Embarrassment filled her and her throat closed as tears flooded her eyes.

“Honey,” he murmured as he stroked her hand comfortingly.

The tears coursed down her cheeks. She had to whisper past the knot in her throat. “I’m so sorry, True. I regretted my choice to keep things anonymous but by then you’d fallen asleep. I planned to at least tell you my name when we woke up in the morning. I wanted to know your name—I wanted to know you. You were so sweet to me and…” She looked out the window, regret filling her heart as she watched Kendry and Jared watch the bus, like sentinels, waiting and protective. She didn’t doubt that they’d put themselves in front of the bus if the driver tried to move it.

True cleared his throat as he held her hand in his, gently palpating the small bones under the skin. “You were like a little angel, sleeping in my arms, when I woke up during the night. I couldn’t stop watching you. I knew if you woke up, I’d break our deal and tell you my name, maybe even beg you to come with me. But I was headed to Nashville, to meet up with Noble. We’d been signed by a recording label just a few weeks before I met you and I was on my way cross-country. You…you changed everything.”

Whit unlatched and let out a replete sigh, ready to be switched, and she did so without looking up as she said, “I changed everything? How?”

True seemed to weigh his words, before looking over at the guitar resting on the cushion, propped at the end of the couch. He reached for it and drew his fingers across the strings. Whit reacted, putting a hand out, nearly knocking away the drape before she caught it, still focused on True.

He struck a chord, softly playing as he sang the verse of a song, the lyrics speaking of love, yearning, and regret, and more tears filled her eyes before falling. Whit let go for a second as if he sensed her emotions, before he patted her breast and latched on again. She watched True’s long, nimble fingers as he played, and some memory tickled at the back of her mind as he sang the chorus.