Second Chance Ranch by Audra Harders Page A

the Zac that stood before her today. “I didn’t want you to resent us.”
    “So you just took the decision out of my hands because you didn’t think I could handle it?” his tone strung so tight it cracked. “Wasn’t that just martyr-ly of you.”
    “I didn’t know what to think, Zac,” she snapped and began to pace across the porch. “I didn’t know what to do. I was eighteen years old. I was scared. I had no one to turn to. I prayed and prayed for an answer and then prayed some more…and still, I wasn’t sure.” Her emotions collided as memories boiled to the surface. “Being a martyr had nothing to do with it. I didn’t want to disappoint you, I didn’t want to disappoint my dad.” She stopped back at the railing and looked out along the pine-covered slope. “But that’s exactly what I was — a big, fat disappointment.”
    She fought the tears, yet they spilled down her cheeks anyway. “I couldn’t go home. I couldn’t run to you. All I could do was ask God for direction, and I didn’t get a whole lot of that either.” Brushing at her cheek, she confronted the last demon on her list. “If your parents found out, they would’ve made you do the right thing. I couldn’t let that happen.”
    He turned from her and planted his hands on the railing, dragging in a deep breath. “You more than anyone—” he stopped, the veins in his neck protruding along side muscle and tendons. “I thought you believed in me. I thought you knew me.”
    Jen leaned closer, trying to catch his soft words. Her own thoughts jumbled together…a couple of months out of Hawk Ridge, he’d found the life he’d dreamed of...and it hadn’t included her. “I knew you; I knew me. I knew we weren’t old enough to take responsibility for a new life. I did the best I could.”
    “You decided for the both of us.”
    “You’d moved on.”
    He straightened, his movements stiff and pained. Folding his arms across his chest, his biceps strained within the confines of his sleeves. “How do you know what I felt?”
    “I had a pretty good idea.” Jen didn’t want to dig any deeper into the memories she’d kept closed away for so long. She certainly didn’t want to open the door and let them spring out all over Zac. She wasn’t ready for that yet.
    “You always thought you knew it all,” he said with a rawness that tore between them. “You never had a clue.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    The last few bites of his sister-in-law’s savory chicken potpie stuck in his throat like paste on a pinata.
    “Good to have you home, Zac.” Melanie passed a bowl of seasoned zucchini to him as the family sat around his parents’ kitchen table. “After two years of being a part of this family, I’m looking forward to getting to know at least one of Gabe’s brothers.”
    “You got the prize out of this litter, Mel. You might think you want to get to know them, but really, you don’t.” Gabe grinned with pride.
    Zac grabbed his glass of water and took a long drink. Gabe’s wife, Melanie, knew how to make meals tasty and heart healthy. Even six months pregnant with twins, she insisted on cooking for the entire family whenever Gabe gave the go ahead. For a man who swore he’d never get married, Gabe hit the marital jackpot when Melanie and her son had literally crashed into his life.
    That crash didn’t compare to the explosion Jen had detonated only hours earlier. He set the glass down and picked up his fork, stirring a piece of crust with the tines. He prided himself on knowing what he wanted in life and going after it. How was he supposed to deal with this foul ball? The familiar dinnertime banter surrounding him should have bolstered his mood, but instead, left him feeling like a complete and total alien.
    He’d fathered a child. Did he tell his family? What happened next? He herded a small group of peas with his fork to the center of his plate.
    “Don’t you listen to him, Melanie.” Grace Davidson