Page 37 of Hometown Cowboy
Darby swallowed noisily and nodded as best she could with her dad still cupping her face. He stepped back and patted her shoulder.
“Come, now. We’ll have a cuppa.” He turned and walked into the kitchen, leaving the rest of them staring at each other.
Darby let out a hiccup of a laugh. Ed Jameson thought a cup of tea could fix anything.
Obviously even broken hearts.
Chapter Sixteen
Ryan sat onthe edge of the verandah floor, elbows on his knees, staring at the dirt.
She doesn’t want me.
He let out a strangled laugh. Why was that such a surprise? Darby was way above anything he could ever aspire to; so far out of his league that they weren’t even in the same postcode. He didn’t deserve her, never had.
He wasn’t sure why his chest hurt so damned much. It didn’t mean anything, not really. Did it?
She was right, he could co-parent easily enough not being there in the same house, but damn it! He scraped his hand over his face. Hewantedto be there with her, wanted to go through the whole shebang by her side.
Okay, so the pregnancy itself was an accident. Fine. But he wasn’t some low-life jerk who disappeared on his friend because he’d knocked her up.
Surely she could see heneededto be there?
He rubbed at his chest. It felt so damned tight he was surprised he could still breathe.
Why did it matter if he loved her? Helikedher. A lot. He liked how they were together, liked their easy companionship, their camaraderie.
He particularly liked how she responded to him in bed.
They were good together. Why wasn’t that enough?
“Goddammit!”
He hung his head in his hands and tried to breathe. He couldn’t seem to get his lungs to work properly.
What the hell was wrong with him?
The crunch of gravel and the rev of an engine pulled his head up. Gabe’s ute flew up his driveway.
Ryan closed his eyes momentarily, then stood. “Goddammit,” he repeated, resigned to what was coming.
“Bill, heel.” The dog wiggled his butt in the dirt, happy to see his friend Gabe, but obedient to the command.
The ute stopped in a spray of gravel toward the carport and Gabe hauled out of the driver’s side door.
Bill glanced at Ryan and he flicked his fingers in Gabe’s direction. The dog bounded toward him, looking for pats. Gabe ignored him and rushed at Ryan.
Gabe grabbed him by the shirt and hauled him forward.
“What the hell? I mean, what the actual fuck? You slept with Darby? Then you piss off and leave her to tell us she’s pregnant, all alone? Whodoesthat? I told you to stay away from her!”
Gabe shoved him backward, hard. Ryan stumbled then straightened. Gabe shoved his hands through his hair and turned from him.
“It’s not what you think. I mean, it is, but it’snot.”
The rage on Gabe’s face would’ve scared him if he hadn’t already been gutted by the fight he’d had with Darby.
He didn’t have anything left to give.