Free The Baby Truth by Stella Bagwell Page A

such a rude manner. Especially toward a woman. The man normally adores females. The whole thing makes me suspicious.”
    Sassy shook her head. “I don’t see anything suspicious about it. Evan said that I looked like Darci, their late sister. It didn’t seem to bother Orin or the brothers that I resembled her. But it could have bothered Bart. Could be that I reminded him of the painful memory of losing his granddaughter. Does that make sense? I hope so. Otherwise, I don’t know why he would hate a complete stranger.”
    “I wouldn’t use the word ‘hate,’ Sassy. But he clearly didn’t want you around for some reason. You could be right about Darci, though. Could be you were like a living ghost to him.”
    “Have you ever seen pictures of her?” Sassy asked curiously. “I wonder if she did resemble me that much.”
    “I’ve not see any pictures. Once I asked why there weren’t any photos of her in the house. Clancy explained that his mother had stored away everything connected to the girl. Supposedly, the memories were too painful for her to deal with. Now that Claudia is gone, you’d think they’d bring out a picture or two, just to acknowledge her brief time with the family, but I’ve not seen any.”
    “How sad.” The notion had Sassy suddenly thinking of her own baby. No matter the circumstances, the unborn child had already latched on to her heart. Losing her son or daughter, now or in the future, would tear her to pieces. “Well, I won’t be guilty of stirring up memories for the Calhouns a second time.” She glanced over at him. “Earlier you asked me if I was disappointed. Well, to be honest, Jett, I feel badly about coming here. It’s clearly caused problems with Bart, and I’m worried it’s all going to spill over on to you.”
    He shook his head. “Forget about me. I’m not worried.”
    “But that remark Orin made—Bart might want to fire you!”
    “Look, Sassy, Bart Calhoun can’t make or break me. So put the whole thing out of your head. What I’m more concerned about now is what the old man might possibly know about your birth.”
    She shook her head. “Do you honestly think that Bart might know something about my parents?”
    “The old man has always been truthful with me. But people can lie when it suits their purpose. And that purpose could be to keep the past hidden in the past.”
    “If he would stoop to lying to keep me out of the family, then it would be pretty clear I’m not wanted. I don’t think I’d want to learn I was related to him, Jett.” Her eyes stinging with inexplicable tears, she turned her watery gaze to the passenger window and the snowy night beyond the thick glass. “I’ll be going home as soon as I can get a flight back to New Mexico, so hopefully that will put an end to everything.”
    “Is that what you want to do?” he asked with annoyance. “Hurry back home? What’s that going to fix?”
    Everything, she thought. She could go back to her old life, her old job at the Chaparral. She could forget all about the Calhouns. And she could especially forget about Jett and how just looking at the man made her heart flutter. But once she got back in her familiar daily routine, would she be able to put Jett out of her mind? She had the baby to focus on now. Its impending arrival would surely be enough to wipe memories of the man from her mind. She had to believe that.
    “I don’t need to fix anything,” she murmured. “I just need to get on with my life.”
    A stretch of silence passed and then Jett said, “Have you stopped to think that that might be what you’re doing right here? Right now?”
    Sassy couldn’t answer his questions, but later that night in her bedroom, when she picked up the phone to call Frankie, she was still thinking about them. Since she’d arrived in Carson City, her life felt as though it was changing by the hour. It was a dizzying spin, making it impossible for her to know where she belonged.
    Frankie answered on the