Free Only You by Kate Kelly Page B

having trouble pushing out her baby.
    A few people behind them hissed at him to sit. He leaned over Maggie and put his hand on Clay’s shoulder. “I’ll go. They probably don’t need both of us.”
    Clay shook his head. “Dave said the foal’s turned around. He’s having a hard time finding her front legs. I’m coming, too.”
    Ellie was already heading up the aisle to the door. He supposed it was too much to expect the women to watch the rest of the movie together. He followed her outside, into the cool spring evening. A couple strolled along the sidewalk on the other side of the street, and all of the stores, except for Arnie’s diner, were closed. Cooper Creek was a sleepy town where nothing much happened. Someone like Maggie, who was used to a more sophisticated life, would die of boredom living in a place like this. But his life, too, had been vastly different than this, and he’d adjusted to rural living. Maggie didn’t appear to be in a hurry to leave the ranch, but that probably had more to do with Claire and Sammie being there than her falling in love with ranch life.
    JD grimaced. Damn it. He was thinking of Maggie again.
    “Is Sodapop okay?” Ellie asked.
    “There’s a complication with her birth. Clay and I are going back to the ranch to help.” He took one of Ellie’s hands. “I’m sorry. Rain check?”
    “Of course. Call me when you’re free. You go ahead. I can walk home from here. It’s only a couple blocks.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll drive you home.”
    “I’ll drop her off,” Clay said as he joined them on the sidewalk.
    Maggie stood to one side of Clay, her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket, looking decidedly unhappy with the change in plans. She’d probably planned to jump Clay tonight and start in with the baby-making. Clay seemed like a steady kind of guy, not the kind of man who’d go in for one night of crazy, wild sex. JD closed his eyes. He was losing his frigging mind. Any red-blooded male would give his right arm to spend a night with Maggie.
    “I have to go to the clinic and pick up my truck,” Clay continued. “It has most of what I might need in it. I drive past Ellie’s house, so I’ll take her home. You and Maggie might as well head back to the ranch. If that’s all right with you, Maggie,” he tacked on at the last minute.
    She eyed the three of them standing in front of her with a certain amount of disdain. “I suppose.” Then stomped over to the passenger door of JD’s truck.
    “Are you sure, Clay?” JD asked.
    Clay shrugged and trudged off to his car, Ellie trailing behind him.
    “Buckle up,” JD ordered after he started his truck.
    Maggie yanked her seat belt out and slipped it over her shoulder. He glanced once in her direction. She had her back half-turned to him as she stared out the passenger window. Apparently, she was going to give him the silent treatment. Fine with him.
    He drove through the quiet town, again thinking of how bored Maggie would get after a few months of living in the sticks. “I’m surprised you’re still here,” he finally said.
    “So am I.” She folded her arms, shifting her eyes to the front window.
    “Still hunting cowboys?”
    Instead of chewing him out like he expected, she sighed and slid down in her seat. “Not really.”
    “Change of plans?”
    “People are too nice around here. I wanted someone to impregnate me. I didn’t want to make friends. But I like everyone I meet.” She glanced at him, then down at her lap. “I’ll probably go back to the city and find a donor there.”
    JD gripped the steering wheel to stop himself from trying to shake some sense into her. He wasn’t her keeper. If she was determined to find a no-strings baby daddy, it wasn’t any of his business. He couldn’t wait for her to leave. Then maybe he’d stop thinking about her. “What’s the holdup?”
    “Do you have any idea how unhappy Claire is? Your stupid brother has broken her heart. And”—she