Either way, after the shooting ordeal at Crosswinds, she wasn’t going to convince her family that she was fine—her usual, untroubled, independent self—until she started to feel that way again.

  She had to talk to Sebastian.

  Hannah and Frannie, twenty-eight and twenty-six, respectively, came in together. Hannah was carrying a reusable insulated bag bearing the logo of her catering business, and Frannie had a cardboard holder with three cups of coffee from her bookshop café.

  Unusually happy to see them both, she stood to help divvy up the goodies they’d brought, taking a foil-wrapped package out of Hannah’s bag, hoping for her sister’s signature grape-laden chicken-salad wrap, and caught the scent of coffee when Frannie removed the lid and set a cup in front of her.

  One whiff, and the jitters she’d been feeling turned into cold sweats. Her head swam.

  And she opened her eyes to see both sisters staring at her with panicked gazes.

  One on each side of her chair. A hand each on the arms of her chair.

  Her chair.

  She’d been standing.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, hearing the weakness in her tone.

  “You passed out, that’s what!” Hannah, the no-nonsense Colton, stated emphatically. “We need to get you to the ER.”

  “I’m fine,” Ruby said, sitting up. Waiting for the light-headedness to return. “Seriously,” she added, when it didn’t.

  “Come on, Ruby,” Frannie, the quiet bookworm, and baby of the family, said, her hazel eyes imploring. “You don’t just pass out for no reason.”

  “You’re a doctor,” Hannah added, her green-eyed gaze no less impactful. Because looking into Hannah’s eyes was like looking in a mirror. Colton eyes. Similar to their dad’s eyes, and exact replicas of Uncle Buck’s. “You know this isn’t normal or fine.”

  She was a doctor of veterinary medicine. Not a doctor for humans.

  But because Hannah’s point was valid, she agreed to let them drive her to the clinic in town. Just to get her vitals and fluids checked. It made good sense.

  And would reassure her little sisters so that they didn’t go running to their mother with the news of Ruby’s little mishap.

  “It’s the stress,” she told them as they waited for results of the urine and basic blood tests, which would, she was sure, show no infection. “I haven’t had much of an appetite.”

  “I knew you weren’t fine,” Hannah said, sitting on her right, leaving the chair on the left to Frannie. “You could have been in that car for all the shooter knew. If he shot from as far away as the cops said he did. Of course, you’re overwrought.”

  “The stress from everyone watching over me,” Ruby said dryly. “I love you all so much, you know that, but eleven of you, twelve including Uncle Buck, texting me at least once a day...”

  Hannah glanced at Frannie, across Ruby’s perfectly healthy frame. “Yeah,” she said. “We should have been better organized about that.” Her middle sister’s tone held definite I-told-you-so isms.

  “Hannah wanted us on a schedule, so there’d be a timeline,” Frannie allowed. “Fletcher said it was better, since you live alone, if we each just check in throughout the day.”

  Her words dropped off. And Ruby didn’t know whether to laugh or groan.

  As it turned out, she didn’t have a chance to do either as the physician’s assistant who’d seen her entered the small exam room.

  The first thing the woman did was glance at Hannah and Frannie, then her gaze landed on Ruby. “Is it okay to talk in front of your sisters?”

  Frannie gasped, clutching Ruby’s left hand so tight that she felt her baby sister’s nails digging into her skin. “Of course it is,” Hannah said, covering Ruby’s other hand with her own.

  Just laying her palm there. Warm. Supportive.

  She met the medical professional’s gaze. “Yes,” she said calmly. There was nothing a simple urine or basic blood test was going to show in such a short period of time. Her vitals had been fine. But then she’d been certain of that before she’d come in.

  The PA looked only at her and said, “You’re pregnant.”

  * * *

  She couldn’t be.

  It had to be a mistake.

  As soon as she got to her own transportation, she was going to get a home pregnancy test—out of town, so no one would see her buying it—and prove the PA wrong.

  Sitting in the front passenger seat of Hannah’s car, Ruby continued to feel the weight of her sister’s open-mouthed, disbelieving stares—just as when they’d been in that tiny room at the clinic.

  A room that was now forever ingrained in her brain and would probably give her nightmares in the years to come.

  Huh. Her, pregnant?

  The woman who knew one thing about herself for certain.

  She couldn’t ever see herself wanting a husband.

  Let alone raising a family.

  She could not be pregnant.

  “Who is he?” Hannah’s question came the second she closed her driver’s door.

  “There is no he.”

  “You had yourself inseminated?” Frannie asked from the seat directly behind Hannah.

  “Of course not. Either of you see me as the mothering type?”

  “Yes,” they answered in unison. Shocking her so much, she turned to stare at each of them in turn.

  “You know the last thing I want is to get married and have a family.”

  “I know that’s what you say, but you’ll make a great mother, sis.” Hannah’s tone was unusually soft. Compassionate. The woman was so in love with little Lucy, she figured everyone would feel the same after giving birth. “Now, who’s the father?”

  No way. Uh-uh.

  “No one.”

  Sebastian Cross wasn’t even her lover. He most definitely was not the father of the child. Even the one that only existed in one PA’s words and on a chart.

  Charts could be corrected.

  Words, maybe not forgotten, but the mistake could be forgiven.

  Yes, that was it.

  There’d been a mistake. Picking up her phone, she dialed the clinic. Asked to speak to the doctor. Insisted on holding, was still holding when Hannah pulled up at Colton Veterinary Clinic, parked and turned off her ignition.

  “I didn’t even know you were dating anyone,” Frannie said, as they all just sat there.

  “I’m not dating anyone.” She didn’t even try to keep the exasperation out of her tone. And then, as reality hit her, she filled with total panic.

  Her sisters thought she was...

  Turning in her seat, phone still to her ear, she stared them both down. Hard. A big-sister, I’m-seriously-going-to-tell-every-secret-you’ve-ever-had stare. “Do not breathe a word of this to anyone,” she said then. “I mean it. Not Mom. Not anyone.”

  There was no compromise on that one.

  She saw the glance Frannie and Hannah shared. It didn’t bode well and did nothing to calm Ruby.

  “I’m serious,” she said. “My medical information is private.”

  Frannie shook her head. “But, Ruby...a baby...”

  Ruby cut her off with a glare. “It’s a mistake,” she said. “Which is why I’m waiting to speak to the doctor in charge today. And even if it wasn’t, this is my business to share or not, to handle how I see fit, not yours.”

  She was dead serious.

  Hannah, the only mother among them, sighed. And Ruby drew her first easy breath since the PA had made her ridiculous announcement. “Just tell me that you weren’t...forced, or...”

  In light of the recent happenings at Crosswinds—her car being shot at, all the worry her family had shared on her behalf—she felt Hannah’s concern to the bone. “I swear to you, sweetie, no one has ever touched me, like that, without my full cooperation.”

  “So you did sleep with someone,” Frannie said softly. “Who is he?”

  “No one,” she said again, calmer now. “It’s a mistake.”

  Hannah still sat, door closed. She was the one Ruby knew she had to contend with if she wanted her secret kept. Frannie was naturally quiet. Reserved.

  “I won’t say anything about the baby,” Hannah said then. “You’re absolutely right, it’s your secret, your business. But if you are pregnant, your secret’s going to start showing itself before too long.”

  Hannah had been there and done that.

  Ruby nodded, looked at Frannie. “You’ll keep this to yourself?”

  “Of course, I won’t say anything.” Frannie looked as though she wanted to say a lot, though.

  “Say it wasn’t a mistake...would you have it?” Hannah asked.

  Ruby knew what Hannah was really asking. And was fairly certain her sister wouldn’t judge. Whether Hannah agreed with Ruby’s decisions or not, she would want to be supportive. “I wouldn’t not have it,” she said softly.

  And had to escape the car before she threw up all over her sister’s upholstery.

  * * *

  A week had gone by since the shooting of Ruby Colton’s windshield and her subsequent visit to deliver Jasmine’s last three puppies.

  A week without seeing her.

  Sebastian was still on edge. Someone had shot up his property. Twice. Causing damage both times. First the shrapnel hit Oscar—though, arguably, that had likely been collateral damage, not intentional—and then Ruby’s windshield had been shattered.

  And the complaints...

  Who was out to get him? When would they hit next?

  The not knowing was getting to him—maybe that was the perpetrator’s goal?

  Give him an enemy to fight, and he’d get the job done. Sitting around waiting for an attack from an unknown source that could come without warning?

  All the Marine training in the world wasn’t going to prepare him for that.

  Not well enough to suit him, at any rate.

  So he focused on the training he excelled in—search-and-rescue. Each dog generally took two years of weekly training before being ready for a search-and-rescue mission. At Crosswinds, he had canines at every level of training, all the time. Those just starting out. Those almost ready to go to work. Some had handlers who came to Owl Creek, stayed at one of the motels in town that gave Crosswinds a special rate and came out to the facility to work with the dog before taking them home.

  Search-and-rescue wasn’t an easy business. Or a cheap one. He ran a highly accredited, elite organization. Yet, a lot of handlers were volunteers. Sebastian did what he could to keep his costs down for them. His property, while outfitted as well as the best training facilities, was all basic brick and wood buildings—all painted one color. The military green he preferred.

  And he did as much of the training himself as he possibly could.

  The second Thursday in April, he’d spent the morning and midafternoon at Buck Colton’s ranch. One of the golden retrievers, Elise, a relative of Oscar, was at the tail end of avalanche training. He’d needed to take her to an unfamiliar site, with another dog and avalanche tools—spikes and shovels—lying around.

  Malcolm Colton—Wade’s cousin—and Malcolm’s SAR dog, Pacer, had helped with this particular session many times.

  They had ridges dug out for that purpose. Sebastian would bury Malcolm in one, under a couple of inches of dirt with full breathing capability, and give his trainee—that day, Elise—Malcolm’s scent, while Pacer was given a different smell to follow and went off for his prey. The idea was for Elise to ignore Pacer and all other distractions to follow Malcom’s scent, and then be willing to dig to get to him. For which she’d get a treat.

  The girl performed in record time. Every single time they repeated the exercise. Getting to Malcolm, and then racing straight to Sebastian to lead him to her find.

  At one point, when the burial point was on a steep incline, she stayed with the uncovered body and barked until Sebastian came to her.

  Sebastian was just heading back to his truck, with Elise trotting, head high, at his side, when Wade came out of the barn. He called out to Sebastian.

  In jeans, a long-sleeved denim shirt and cowboy boots, Wade walked with the same sense of command he’d displayed in his US Marine Special Forces uniform, black eye patch and all.

  “Quick question for you,” Wade said, petting Elise’s head as he reached them. “My sister Hannah just called. She says that Ruby’s been dating someone, has some boyfriend, but won’t say who. Hannah thinks this might be the guy who shot out Ruby’s windshield. Said she was really odd, to the point of angry, when Hannah asked her about him. None of us had any idea she was dating anyone. Did you?”

  Sebastian shook his head immediately.

  Ruby had a boyfriend?

  A development he’d never even considered.

  Relief didn’t flood him, as he’d expected it to.

  She might have mentioned that detail.

  Sleeping with another guy’s woman was not his way.

  And could cause unforeseen complications—like a guy targeting her at Sebastian’s place.

  “Anyone who’s been at the kennels that she might have had contact with?” Wade continued to grill him. “She’s been spending so much more time out there, and with the handlers you have coming in...”

  He thought over the people who’d been in and out of Crosswinds, when Ruby might have been there, who might have taken exception to Sebastian’s friendship with her, from before Oscar was shot.

  That’s when the violence had started. With Oscar’s injury.

  But the complaints had started before then.

  And had continued.

  She’d slept with Sebastian while she’d been seeing someone else?

  Gut clenched tight, he had to admit it made sense. They could have taken offense at how much time Ruby spent with Sebastian’s dogs. Maybe not believing she was just seeing the dogs. The jealous boyfriend...shooting up his place in the middle of the night. Complaining about noise. Then still seeing his girlfriend’s vehicle there until dawn?

  Maybe she’d explained she’d just been there for Oscar. Had sworn that nothing else had happened. She’d sure been eager to pretend that it hadn’t.

  Maybe the guy had seen her with Sebastian again.

  Made sense that the violence would have escalated.

  And most definitely fit shooting out Ruby’s windshield while she was parked there.

  “I can’t think of anyone,” he told his friend honestly. Sebastian was reeling from the sudden turn of events. Did the guy know Ruby had slept with him?

  How could she not have at least told him she had a boyfriend?

  If the perp was this violent without knowing the full story, how much further would he go if he found out they had slept together?

  “How sure is Hannah that she has one?” Sebastian asked, careful to keep his question completely casual. Curious. But, because of the violence, concerned, too.

  “She’s positive. She wouldn’t say how she knew but she told me that her proof was one hundred percent positive. She’s worried sick.”

  Sebastian didn’t blame her. After that news, he was, too.

  Worried about the potential for more violence, worried about Ruby’s safety. And a bit concerned about the incredible disappointment coursing through him.

  He’d never have taken Ruby Colton for one to screw around on her boyfriend.

  Or to have sex with Sebastian and not tell him she was in a relationship.

  Not that the sex meant anything.

  But with the violence, her windshield... They’d talked about possible threats. About any potential enemies.

  Why hadn’t she at least told him about her secret possibility?

  For that matter, why did she have to keep it secret at all?

  That question led to an unpalatable, and yet possible answer.

  The guy was married.

  And Sebastian’s day had just gone down the toilet.

  Chapter 4

  Ruby talked to the doctor at the clinic.

  And after work, she went back to the medical facility on her own for a second urinalysis.

  She’d had a period since she’d slept with Sebastian. Granted, it had been light, but that happened occasionally, based on her workload and stress level.

  And since making the hellacious mistake of having sex with her older brother’s friend, she’d been fairly stressed.

  Besides, they’d used a condom.

  She hadn’t been kidding, or doubting herself, when she’d been so adamant with her sisters regarding her test results.

  She’d known they couldn’t be right.

  And being a doctor, she also knew that sometimes test results were skewed. A faulty test strip. Or technician. Both happened, even in the best hospitals and clinics.

  Then she’d thrown up.

  Something she hadn’t done since she was a kid.

  And she’d gone into full doctor mode. Symptoms. Tests. Results.

  When symptoms contradicted each other, test a second time, just to be sure.

  And there she was, walking out of the clinic, just after seven, having watched the test being run, and the results appear, right along with the doctor.

  She, Dr. Ruby Colton, DVM, was pregnant.

  And in two years’ time, there was only one man she’d had sex with.

  Once.

  She had to talk to Sebastian.

  Thought about calling him.

  A charged conversation like the one they were bound to have...might be better over the phone.

  Easier, at least.

  In her car, she glanced at the second set of test results. And knew she had to drive out to see Sebastian. He deserved to see the results, both sets of them.

  She stopped by her office and made copies of both test forms she’d received that day, put her own in a folder and folded his and put them in her satchel. She lifted the leather bag up to her shoulder, and, with a “have a good evening” to the evening staff, she left.