Expecting His Secret Heir(31)

"Okay?"

She could barely get the word out. "Yes."

"Goodbye, Sadie."

Her whole body screamed in protest, but she kept her lips sealed as he  walked away. She could hear his footsteps down the hallway, then the  click as he opened the door.

"Wait. Zach," she called, then forced her timid feet to follow him. She  paused a few feet away from where he waited by the front door. "I-I know  I disappointed you." She swallowed at the lump trying to form in her  throat. "But there's something you need to know. You can't leave without  knowing...two things, actually."

He nodded, but didn't encourage her by word or any further gesture.

"One is... I love you. I'll always be glad that I experienced loving you, even though I screwed it up so badly."

His expression didn't change, and she died a little inside. But this had to be done.

"And two?" he asked.

She almost couldn't say it, almost told him to leave, but that was as  selfish as every choice she'd made up until now. "Two is-I'm pregnant."

"I know."

"I don't want you to feel obligated-wait, what?"

Now she detected a touch of amusement in his voice. "I already know."

And from his softening expression, she knew he accepted it. "How?" she breathed.

Very gently, he closed the door. "You dropped the test. I found it when I went to get my things."

Sadie groaned, collapsing with her back to the wall. "Oh, goodness. I  was putting it back in the box to bring home with me. I knew if I threw  it away there-"

"Miss Gladys would have found it and the whole town would know, not just me?"                       
       
           



       

"Right." She opened her eyes to find him right in front of her. "I was  trying to figure out how to tell you without making you feel..."

"Obligated?"

She nodded. "And I knew I couldn't do that with you looking at me,  touching me. So I thought it was better to wait." She offered a  halfhearted smile. "After what happened between KC and Jake, I couldn't  keep your child from you. I wouldn't do that, Zach."

"I know that now."

"You do? How?"

"You just showed me. Thank you for trusting me with the truth, Sadie."

"So you aren't angry?"

He shook his head, stepping in until they stood body to body. "I'm not  angry. We have a lot of things to work out, and I think we will both  have to learn to let someone else take care of us, instead of always  being the strong one." He brushed his lips gently over hers, leaving her  weepy and boneless.

"We can make all of this work," he said, "but I think it's gonna take the two of us."

"You don't mind?"

"Never have."

That's when she started to weep in earnest. And Zach stood right there with her, supporting her through the storm.

"I love you, Sadie," he said when she finally quieted.

"Oh, Zach, I love you, too."

For long minutes neither of them spoke. They simply held each other and let their bodies confirm what they had known all along.

"Just promise me one thing," Sadie finally murmured.

"What's that?"

"That you will never do anything for me or my family that you don't feel completely comfortable doing," she insisted.

"The same here," he said.

After she nodded, he added, "And never walk away without letting me know where you're going."

"It's a deal."

* * * * *

Pick up all the Harlequin Desire novels from Dani Wade

HIS BY DESIGN

A BRIDE'S TANGLED VOWS

THE BLACKSTONE HEIR

THE RENEGADE RETURNS

***

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Claimed by the Cowboy

by Sarah M. Anderson

One

"May I help you?"

Josh Calhoun whipped off his Hollister-Whitney trucker hat and beamed a  grin at the receptionist. "I sure hope so," he said, unconsciously  letting his country accent bleed through a little more. He couldn't help  it. This was the first time he'd been back in Chicago in five years and  so much had changed.

Once, he'd tried to hide his accent. He'd tried to blend in with the big city.

Not anymore.

"I'm looking for the Newport boys," he went on, leaning his head toward  the receptionist. Her eyes widened and he thought he saw a little bit of  color come to her cheeks. He wasn't flirting-not intentionally-but  Sydney, God rest her soul, had said that this was just his way. His  down-home charm was what had attracted her to him in the first place.

Damn it. He hadn't been in Chicago proper for more than thirty minutes and he was already thinking about Sydney again.

He hated this town.

"I'm Josh Calhoun," he went on. "They asked me to stop by."                       
       
           



       

Which was the only reason he had bothered to come back to Chicago.  Brooks, Graham and Carson Newport were old college friends, and all  three men had called him recently-apparently, without the others knowing  that they were making the same call. Brooks Newport had asked for  Josh's help in dealing with a rather stunning set of revelations about  Sutton Winchester-Josh was still having trouble putting it all in order.

Apparently, Sutton Winchester was Carson's father and for a couple of  months, Brooks and Graham had suspected that maybe the old real estate  baron was their father, as well. But the paternity results had been  conclusive-Brooks and Graham didn't share a father with Carson.

Ever since Sutton's involvement with their mother, Cynthia, had come to  light, the Newport boys had been locked in a fierce battle with Sutton's  daughters-Eve, Grace and Nora Winchester. As best Josh could gather  from scrolling through the news stories on his phone, Sutton was on his  deathbed.

The Winchester girls-particularly Eve-were not that happy to have a  newly discovered brother who had strong opinions about staking his  newfound inheritance claims. The rumors on the internet were flying fast  and furious, and Josh had had trouble figuring out what was real and  what were strategic PR leaks.

Brooks wanted Josh's legal advice on how to make Sutton pay for getting  his mother pregnant with Carson and leaving her high and dry. His twin  brother, Graham, wanted Josh's help in finding out who their father was,  since it wasn't actually Sutton. And Carson, the baby of the family,  desperately wanted Josh to come help calm Brooks down.

Josh wasn't sure he could actually do any of that. He was a former  corporate lawyer and a dairy farmer. He negotiated with representatives  and senators on legislation governing the dairy industry. He ran a  multi-million-dollar dairy company. Sure, he had a reputation for being  ruthless behind his good-time smile, but he wasn't a miracle worker.

Not for a single second did he think that anyone named Winchester would  so much as give him the time of day. What did Chicago real-estate moguls  care what a guy who made ice cream for a living thought? But he had to  try. He owed the Newport boys.

The receptionist turned her attention to her computer screen. "Ah, yes. I  see. Sadly, none of them are available." She looked up at Josh and he  noticed that she had some dimples. "Brooks is in a private meeting and  asked not to be disturbed. Graham is off-site, as is Carson."

"Off-site?" Chicago wasn't exactly a two-horse town. Off-site could mean  anywhere. "Can you tell me where Graham and Carson are? They are  expecting me." Irritation snaked up the back of his neck. At their  request, he'd sucked it up and braved coming back to Chicago for the  first time since the funeral, and they weren't even there to meet him?