"Fuck my life," he said under his breath and spun on his heel so he didn't have to watch Caitlyn walk away. He was sure she'd find a way home. She was an independent, resourceful, intelligent woman. Those were the qualities he admired most in her. Didn't she realize that he didn't want a girl? He wanted a woman. And not just any woman. He wanted Caitlyn.
"Thanks for getting rid of her," Lindsey said. "She was making me feel awkward."
If she'd been a dude, he would have decked her. "I didn't get rid of her. You got rid of her. Now, what are you doing here and why do you think I'm the father of your baby? We used protection."
"It isn't one hundred percent foolproof. And I know you're the father because I hadn't had sex with anyone for weeks before I was with you and I haven't been with anyone since."
"What about Shade? Adam? Tex? Gabe? Ringing any bells? I wasn't the only one who had sex with you that night."
The security guard no longer looked concerned. He looked slightly scandalized and very intrigued.
Tears flooded her eyes. "But I want it to be yours."
"Shit, that doesn't make it so. Are you here by yourself? You're a long way from Idaho."
"I lost my job and my parents disowned me. The entire town turned its back on me. I didn't have anywhere else to go."
"What about your friend, the one who was with you on the tour bus? What was her name?"
"Vanessa?"
"Yeah. I'm sure she'd help you out."
Lindsey shook her head. "She joined the army to get away from that place. She's in boot camp in South Carolina right now. Don't you think it was hard for me to come here? I wasn't even going to tell you. I was going to raise him on my own, but I don't have any money so I … I … I can't."
She burst into tears again.
Owen wrapped his arms around her and drew her into a comforting embrace. He stroked her hair and murmured, "Don't cry. We'll get this sorted out. Don't worry."
So he held the woman who might or might not be pregnant with his child, a woman he had no interest in on an emotional level, while the woman he really wanted had left, perhaps forever. Why did he have to be so fucking weak to a woman's tears?
"I know it's your baby, Owen. When I feel him move inside me, I know he's your son." Lindsey's sobs increased without provocation. "Oh God, I love our baby so much."
Every hair on Owen's body stood on end. No. Just no. He was in no way ready to be a father and certainly didn't want to have a baby with a woman he didn't love. "You can't know that it's mine," he said. "You slept with every guy in the band that night. What makes you so sure I'm the father?"
Her sob fest made him wish he hadn't said anything.
"You hate me, don't you? I should just kill-"
He took her by both arms and shook her. "Don't finish that sentence. Even if it isn't my baby, I'm not going to toss you out in the street. Come inside while I figure out what to do with you." He really wished Kelly's calming presence was here. Kelly would help Owen figure out what to do. As it was, Owen couldn't think. What he really wanted was to push Lindsey aside and go after Caitlyn. Not that he expected Caitlyn to ever speak to him again after what she'd just witnessed. He rubbed the center of his chest, took Lindsey by the elbow, and helped her ascend the steep steps of the tour bus. Adam, Shade, and Gabe's round of laughter died as their eyes settled on Owen with Lindsey in tow.
"What happened to your other chick?" Shade asked.
"She, uh, had to go. We have a little situation here," Owen said.
"I remember you," Gabe said to Lindsey, a smile of recognition on his lean face. "Christmas Eve. We all … " His eyes widened as they settled on her distended abdomen.
"Is she … ?" Adam's dark eyebrows rose to comical peaks.
Lindsey avoided their eyes but straightened her shoulders. "I'm having Owen's baby."
"You can't be sure that it's mine," Owen insisted. "Is there anyone on this bus you didn't fuck that night?"
Her big blue eyes flooded with tears. "I know it's yours, Owen. I just know."
"Did you do her without protection?" Shade asked.
"No, I wore a condom. Did you forget?" Owen asked Shade.
"Of course I didn't forget. I might be dumb, but I'm not stupid."
"I wore a condom and I'm getting a vasectomy, so it's definitely not my kid," Adam said.
"You have to actually have the procedure done before you have unprotected sex," Shade reminded him.