And damned if that knowledge didn’t change everything.
He should feel used. He didn’t. He felt . . . hell, he didn’t know what he felt.
“Well, there you have it,” Dixie said. “Sawyer didn’t take advantage of Maisy. Now sit your butt down, Lincoln Hayes, and stop acting so self-righteous. It’s not like you’ve never had a drunken night of sex before. The first time we ever had sex, you were drunk and I took advantage of you.” Lincoln’s face turned red. He sat back down as his wife continued. “Okay, so we now know what happened, why it happened, and how it happened. Now we just have to figure out how to deal with the results of your wild night of sex.”
“I’m not pregnant,” Maisy said. “I was only looking at pregnancy tests at the pharmacy because I wanted to prove to Sawyer that I’m not.” She looked at Sawyer. “Luanne saw me and spread the gossip at the meeting. Miss Gertie just assumed it was a Double Diamond bad boy. And since you are the only single one, you got the blame.”
Sawyer wanted to believe her, but it was getting damned hard. “Then who was Devlin and Dixie talking about last night at Cotton-Eyed Joe’s?”
Dixie laughed. “So that’s what you were doing at Maisy’s trailer last night and why you looked so panicked. I wasn’t talking about Maisy, honey. I was talking about Reba.”
“Reba’s pregnant?” Maisy asked.
Dixie nodded. “She wanted to keep it a secret until after Devlin and Penny’s baby shower so she wouldn’t take away from their celebration. But Devlin overheard her throwing up in Cotton-Eyed Joe’s bathroom. Poor Reba has horrible morning sickness.”
Maisy turned to Sawyer. “See? I’m not pregnant.”
Sawyer might have felt relief if not for one small detail. “You might not be who Dixie was talking about, but you still could be pregnant. Especially when you lied about starting your period.”
“I only lied to you because I didn’t want you to worry that I was pregnant when I’m not.” She swallowed hard. “And because I didn’t want you to hate me for taking you away from the rodeo.”
Taking him away from the rodeo? It took him a second to figure out what she was talking about. She didn’t want to be the one responsible for taking him away from something he loved if she should turn out to be pregnant. He’d acted like such an ass when he discovered she wasn’t on birth control, she had thought he would be happier not knowing if there was a baby.
She was wrong.
He blew out his breath and rubbed a hand over his face before he looked at her. “I’m not your daddy, Maze. I can’t just walk off and turn my back on my own kid. If it turns out that you are pregnant, I’m not going anywhere. My child is more important than some damn rodeo.” He thought that his words might make her feel better. Instead, she looked like she might be sick.
Her face paled and her voice shook when she spoke. “I’m not pregnant, Sawyer. The reason I know is because—”
Dixie cut her off before she could finish. “I think we all need to take a little time out. Emotions are high right now and we don’t want to say something that we’re going to regret later. Lincoln, get Sawyer some ice for his jaw while I drive Maisy back to her truck.”
“I think we need a pregnancy test more than we need ice,” Lincoln said.
“Don’t be silly.” Dixie waved a hand. “Pregnancy tests aren’t accurate this soon after conception. It will be weeks before you can count on one of those over-the-counter tests. I happen to be good friends with the receptionist at Doctor Thomas’s. I’ll make sure she can get Maisy in for an appointment as soon as possible.” Maisy looked like she wanted to cut in, but Dixie took her arm and pulled her toward the door. “For now, we should make sure Maisy gets plenty of rest and vitamins. And you and Sawyer need to make up. He needs his good friend at this stressful time.” She pulled Maisy out the door.
When they were gone, Lincoln fell back in the chair. “The woman is like a tornado. She just whirls in and takes complete control, then whirls back out again, leaving havoc in her wake.” He glanced over at Sawyer. “I really want to kick your ass. You might not have seduced Maisy, but you had no business getting so drunk you didn’t know what you were doing.”
“You’re right. If you want to kick my ass, I more than deserve it.” He tested his jaw. “Although Miss Gertie did a pretty good job.”
The anger left Lincoln’s face and he chuckled. “The old gal packs a powerful punch.”
Sawyer lowered his hand and looked at his friend. “I’m sorry, Linc. I didn’t mean to break my vow to you about staying away from Maisy.”
Lincoln nodded. “I know.” He took off his hat and tossed it to the desk. “Do you care anything about her?”
“I’ve always liked Maisy. You know that.”
“But you don’t love her.”
Sawyer shook her head. “Maisy doesn’t love me either. She might’ve wanted to go to bed with me, but she’s not interested in a relationship any more than I am. She’s a tough cowgirl who is totally concentrated on her career.”
“Maisy’s not tough, Sawyer. She puts on a good act, but underneath all that sass is a scared young woman still searching for a daddy to love her. Which is why I didn’t want you messing with her and breaking her heart.”
“I’m not going to break her heart, Linc.” He paused. “But you might be right about her not being as tough as she lets on. She was crying pretty hard when I showed up at her trailer last night. So the bone turned out to be Sam’s?”
Lincoln nodded. “I knew it would. I think Maisy knew that too. She just didn’t want to accept it. Sometimes people hide from the truth because they just can’t take the pain that comes with it.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I shouldn’t have told her last night. I should’ve waited for Dixie to be there to comfort her.”
“I comforted her, Linc. I’m not that big of an asshole. But I don’t understand why Maisy is so hurt over her daddy’s death when she didn’t even know the man.”
Lincoln lifted his head. “The same reason I was so upset when my mama died. I wasn’t grieving for the woman who had been a bad mother. I was grieving for the woman who could have been a good one. Maisy is doing the same thing. She isn’t grieving for Sam. She’s grieving the one chance she had at having a father. And maybe that’s why I’ve been so protective of her. I’m been trying to fill that father slot for her.” He stared at Sawyer. “What are you going to do if Maisy is pregnant?”
It was a good question. One Sawyer didn’t have an answer for. But Miss Gertie had given him a direction to head in.
“I guess I’ll do the right thing.”
Chapter Ten
As soon as they got into the Dixie’s SUV, Maisy apologized. “I’m sorry, Dix. I should’ve told you the truth from the beginning.”
Dixie backed out of the parking space and headed down Main Street. “I can forgive you for not mentioning that you think you might be pregnant—I would want to be sure before I said anything to anyone too. But I don’t know if I can forgive you for not telling me that you had sex with Sawyer Dawson. What are best friends for if not to share secrets?”