Secretly Hers (Sterling Canyon)(70)

 

“Based on how he interacts with Fee, and on things he’s told me in confidence. Reasons it’s really important to him that any kid of his knows he’s loved.” She looked around the table. “We may not be engaged yet, but I wouldn’t bother dating him if I didn’t believe we had a good chance of ending up together. As you’re all pointing out, I’ve got a tough road ahead. Please don’t make it harder for me. Just love me and support me now, okay?”

 

Maura sighed. After exchanging some silent mind-reading message with Bill, she rose from her chair and came around the table to hug Kelsey. “Congratulations, Kels. It will be nice to go through our pregnancies together.”

 

Kelsey clung to her sister as she noticed her parents exchange a resigned look.

 

“Guess there’s not much more to say. What’s done is done,” her mother finally said through a strained smile. “And we certainly can’t be sad about another grandbaby.”

 

Kelsey had hoped for a little more enthusiasm, but she knew her parents weren’t looking forward to the gossip within their church group. She’d have to give them time to come around.

 

“Hey, Kels,” Bill interrupted. “Think Trip will give me an in-law discount on some backcountry action?”

 

Kelsey smiled, grateful for Bill’s attempt to lift the weight from the room with a little levity. “I’ve skied with you. Stick to the corduroy so we don’t have to dig you out of an avalanche.”

 

Bill chuckled and the tension ebbed from the room. As Kelsey answered more questions about her recent trip and her pregnancy, she couldn’t help but wonder about how Trip was feeling and whether he’d told his family.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Fourteen

 

Kelsey sat at her desk with the phone pressed to her ear, rubbing the creases from her forehead with two fingers. “Just because Wade’s still waiting on the completed impact study doesn’t mean we should halt all negotiations, Nick. Let’s hammer out the major deal points with an option agreement so we’re ready to go once we learn that, overall, the development project will be a boon for town and for your family.”

 

She tapped the eraser of her pencil against her desk while listening to Nick Copeland hem and haw on the phone. This deal mattered more than ever now. Raising a child would be an expensive undertaking. Trip said he’d help, but his business was never going to be a cash cow. Kelsey knew she’d have to be the breadwinner. If this commission mattered to her future before, it meant even more now.

 

“I don’t want to spend time and money with lawyers if it’s going to be moot, Kelsey,” Nick replied. “Just hold off until Mr. Kessler gets his hands on that study.”

 

“I understand.” Kelsey managed to hide her massive disappointment and remain pleasant and professional. “I’ll be in touch soon.”

 

Setting the phone on her desk, she checked her calendar. Fall wasn’t her busiest time of year, but things would ramp up soon, as skiers from all over the country would come to town, be struck with mountain fever, and decide to plunk down a wad of money on a vacation home.

 

Wade’s retail project would make the town that much more appealing to potential buyers. God, she really wanted this deal to go through. If only Trip hadn’t stirred up the town and forced the idea of that darn impact study. If she didn’t like him so much, she’d wring his neck. The delay he’d caused was costing Wade time and money and giving the sellers cold feet.

 

Trip. Such a contradiction. A womanizer, a former womanizer, but with a gentle heart. Bigger than life. Sexy as hell, but just as frustrating and intractable. So why did the very thought of him make her smile inside and out?

 

Sitting back, she sipped her orange juice and popped a strawberry in her mouth. Folic acid—check. Satisfaction? Not so much. Why weren’t mochas and cinnamon muffins good for fetal development?

 

The bell above her door jingled. She looked up just as Mason strolled through her door looking suitably humble, a faded yellow-green bruise beneath his eye the sole evidence of his fight.

 

So much had happened since that night, it already seemed a lifetime ago. Dormant humiliation shot a blast of heat to her cheeks. Kelsey brazened ahead, resting her chin atop steepled fingers while Mason politely smiled and cleared his throat.

 

“Sorry for the intrusion,” he began, “but I was afraid you’d tell me to go to hell if I’d called first.”

 

For an instant, she considered saying it then and there, but part of her wanted to hear why he’d come.