Free Gabe (Men of Clifton Montana Book 2) by Susan Fisher-Davis Page A

personally cut his balls
off,” Olivia told her.
    Emma
shook her head. “No. Gabe didn’ t hurt me. I think… I think I may be preg nant.” Her
voice choked. When Olivia didn’t say anything, Emma glanced up at her not
knowing what to expect.
    “Didn’t
he use a condom?” Olivia asked through clenched teeth.
    “He did,
yes, but I’m late and I’m never late.”
    Olivia
sighed, and then sat down beside her, wrapping an arm
around her shoulders. “First time for everything, I guess. You need to make
sure.”
    Emma
nodded. “I know but the minute I go in the pharmacy to pick up a test, it will
be all over town that I’m pregnant.”
    “I’ll
get it for you,” O livia said. Emma looked at her in
disbelief. Olivia snorted. “You think I care what the locals think? They don’t
know me and it will drive them crazy trying to figure out which cowboy I did
the nasty with.”
    Emma
laughed through her tears. “Liv, you are som ething
else. I’ll love you forever if you pick it up for me.”
    “ Pffft …you’ll love me forever anyway.”
Olivia stood up, and patted her on the shoulder. “I’ll go right now. I should
be back within thirty minutes so try not to freak out while I’m gone.”
    Emma s at there as patiently as she could while Olivia was gone.
Stacy was at the front desk so it was covered. Emma had already prepared lunch
and knew what dinner was going to be so no one would miss her for a while. She
jumped nervously when she heard Olivia c ome in the
back door. Hurrying, she met her in the kitchen. Olivia smiled at her.
    “Well,
the gossip tails are wagging.” Olivia laughed as she handed Emma the test. She
took it from Olivia’s hand and stared at it. “It ain’t going to do it by
itself, Emma gi rl.”
    Emma
took a deep breath, nodded and returned to her apartment with Olivia on her
heels. Olivia took a seat on the sofa while Emma went into the bathroom. When
she emerged a few minutes later, she was unable to hold back the tears.
    “Are
those happy tea rs because it’s negative or sad tears
because it’s positive?” Olivia asked her, tilting her head in ardent curiosity.
    “I’m
pregnant.” Emma started crying in earnest this time. Olivia jumped up and put
her arms around her and she was suddenly grateful for h er friend’s comforting arms. They sat together on the sofa with Olivia
muttering soothing words, but Emma was flabbergasted. Thinking she was pregnant
was one thing, knowing it was another thing completely. How was she going to
tell Gabe? Pulling away from Olivia, she stood up and
took a deep breath. She knew what she had to do first.
    “I have
to tell Gabe,” she whispered, and then shook her head. “How is he going to take
this?”
    “I can
go with you. You know, in case he’s a dick about it,” Olivia said with a smirk of a smile.
    Emma
grinned. She knew Olivia would go to bat for her friends. It didn’t matter how
big or small the opponent was, she stood up to them. She took care of her own.
“I’ll go alone. If he’s a...dick about it, I’ll let you know.”
    Olivia
burst out laughing. “You must be stressed. You’ve
never used the word dick before.”
    Emma
laughed and it felt good. “Maybe I have been hanging around you too much.” She
hugged Olivia, remembering Gabe commenting on the same thing. She grabbed her
purse, and head ed out for a confrontation at Gabe’s
ranch.
    Her
stomach was in knots the entire ride there. Emma pulled up to the barn, parked,
and asked one of the ranch hands where Gabe was. He pointed to the hay barn.
She entered the barn, stopping to let her eyes adju st.
The barn smelled of newly cut hay. The floor, covered with pieces of hay made
her steps silent. Gabe was at the end of the barn stacking the bales. Taking a
deep breath, she walked up to him. He lifted his head and when he saw her, he
smiled. She could n’t dig up the effort to smile back,
and watched as his smile died. He met her in the middle of the barn. She could
smell