Free Furever Yours by Catherine Vale

ashen.
                Sympathy
filled Emily ’s eyes. “Positive,
huh?” She crossed the room to give Jade a hug, who was standing there looking
shell-shocked. “Normally I’d squeal and dance around the room with you... but I
get the idea that you're not thrilled about this.”
                "I...
I don ’t know what to think.” Jade
wrapped her arms around Emily’s slender waist and held on. “I... I've never
been pregnant before.”
                Emily
laughed, then stepped back. “There’s
always a first time for everything,” she said, shaking her head. “Trust me,
you’ll get through this. You're a strong woman, and you've got childbearing
hips.” She squeezed said hips playfully.
                Jade ’s lips twitched at the saucy gesture. “I don’t
know, Emily. I don’t want to be a single mom.”
                "Then
don ’t.” Emily placed her hands on
her hips. “Call the guy up and tell him. If he’s half the man you think he is,
he’ll accept the baby and you guys can get married and live happily ever after.
Or not,” Emily added with a shrug. “Not everybody has to get married.”
                "Okay. ” Jade let out a long breath. “Yeah, you're
right. I’ll call the resort and see if I can get him.” It was late at night, so
he should be at his cabin right now... unless he was with another woman.
                Her
gut twisted at that thought, and she tried to ignore how awful the thought made
her feel. She had no right to feel betrayed by that idea —she’d left him without so much as a
goodbye. Any guy would have written her off by now, which only made calling him
even scarier now that she thought of it. What if he’d found another woman and
actually liked her? Or worse, was in love with her?
                Stop
it. Even if he doesn ’t want
to be with you, you still have to let him know he’s going to be a father.
                She
pulled out her cellphone and then dialed the number for the lodge.
                An
unfamiliar voice answered the phone .
Whoever they’d assigned for the night shift wasn’t family. “Encantamiento Lodge
and Resort, how can I help you?”
                "Hi. ” Jade paused for a moment, scrambling to
remember which cabin Dawson was in. “Can you patch me through to Cabin 104,
please?”
                "Certainly.
Please hold. ”
                The
phone rang for a minute and then someone picked up. “Hello?”
                Jade ’s heart plummeted into her stomach at the sound
of a woman’s husky voice. “Umm... hi.” She wanted to hang up, to pretend that
the call had never happened, but she knew that she would be up all night,
conjuring up visions of what the woman on the other end looked like and
wondering whether or not Dawson gave her the same molten silver look that had
made feel Jade so wanted and desirable. Plus, she had to tell him. “I’m looking
for Dawson McKinnon?”
                "Dawson
McKinnon? ” Annoyance crept into the
woman’s tone, driving the sleep from her voice. “There’s no Dawson McKinnon
here, it’s just me and my husband. You should call the lodge back and make sure
you have the right number. Goodnight.”
                "Wait! ” Jade cried. “You... are you staying in Cabin 104?”
                "Yes. ” The woman sounded cross. “And I’d really like
to get some sleep now. Goodnight.”
                There
was a sharp click and then the sound of a dial tone. Relief swept through Jade
so fast she felt light headed as she sagged back down onto the couch cushions.
                "Well? ” Emily asked, a curious expression on her face.
“What happened?”
                "He
wasn ’t there,” Jade told her. The
relief gave way to another bout of anxiety. “He’d already left the cabin. I...
I don’t