Free Endangered Hearts by Jolie Cain

hadn't even given any thought to using a condom. That had never happened before. He hadn't had unprotected sex with a woman since he was in high school. If she hadn't been on the pill, he could've gotten her pregnant. So, why was it that the thought of Abby pregnant with his child didn't scare the shit out of him like it should have?

Chapter Five
    Jack was gone when Abby awoke the next morning. She felt a little relieved that she didn't have to deal with the morning-after awkwardness. All of this was so out of character for her that she needed some time to figure how she felt about it. She'd never actually had a “one-night stand” or even any brief affairs. The truth was, she was a bit inexperienced, with only three previous relationships in her past, and one of those had been when she was in college years ago. Determined to clear her head and burn off some restless energy, Abby decided to take Bear and go explore the surrounding woods. Amazingly, she wasn't hung-over at all. Did great sex always affect a person like this? She'd never really had great sex before, but if it left everybody feeling as marvelous as she did right now, no wonder there was so much of it going on. She hadn't known what she was missing.
    The two of them began their trek, following a rough path they'd discovered on an earlier exploration. The trail wove through a dense stand of trees. On the other side was a clearing in which a lone tree stood. It was an old gnarled oak with branches extending down within easy arm's reach. She grinned. “Look, Bear. That looks just like the tree that was in Grandma's backyard. I climbed all the way up it one summer when I was about eleven years old. Beau dared me, and I couldn't let a boy get away with calling me a scaredy-cat!"
    With an eager spring to her step, Abby moved toward the tree. She contemplated its height and then looked down at Bear. “Heck, I bet I could still make it to the top. What do you think?"
    He tilted his head sideways as if considering her question. Again she examined it, placing one hand on the trunk. She squinted upwards. It looked like it would be easy enough to climb. There were limbs sticking out everywhere—plenty of handholds and steps. She made a quick decision. “I'm gonna do it, Bear. You wait down here for me like a good boy.” Abby reached out and grasped the nearest branch, pulling herself onto the first limb. “That wasn't bad at all,” she declared, observing Bear from her perch a few feet off the ground. “This ought to be a piece of cake, huh?"
    Her adrenalin was beginning to pump, and on she climbed, the physical labor keeping her from dwelling on the events of the previous night. She moved higher and higher into the branches. As she went up, the convenient branches got farther and farther apart, and she began having to stretch for each new handhold.
    Just as she was reaching out for the next limb, there was a sharp crack, and the branch beneath her foot broke in half. In panic, she reached out to grasp the limb before her, and, after much struggle, she managed to pull herself up. She sat there for several long minutes, trying to recover her breath and calm her nerves. Her heart was beating double-time, and she had skinned her hands and knees in her fight to rescue herself.
    At first, she didn't realize the precariousness of her position, grateful to be sitting on something solid, but gradually an awareness of her situation began creeping into her consciousness. Looking down, she could see that the next unbroken limb was several feet below her dangling shoes. She stretched as far down as she could without losing her balance, but she didn't even come close to touching the branch. Oh, Lord. What was she going to do now? She looked over and saw Bear dancing around chasing butterflies not too far away. Maybe—nah! No way. Dogs only rescued people in the movies.
    She was an idiot to think that she could possibly get Bear to go for help. But she was feeling desperate.