Secret Surrogate

Leaving Lucas alone with Kylie.

Lucas decided the best approach to this was the most obvious one—to continue his interview. He was the sheriff, after all, and he’d questioned many victims of many crimes. He would treat this one no differently than the others.

He stopped and admitted that it was a sad day in a man’s life when he started lying to himself.

He had no choice but to treat this case differently. Because this case involved Kylie.

She shook her head. Winced. Wobbled again. Flashed him when she tried to use her leg to maintain her balance. She probably would have fallen if Lucas hadn’t reached out and snagged her shoulders.

“Thanks.” She dropped her head against his right arm. Eased against him.

As if she belonged there.

And for some stupid reason, he didn’t move. He let her stay.

She was shaking, and she looked up at him. Her eyes were ripe with fatigue, spent adrenaline and the aftereffects of the kidnappers’ drug.

“I’m scared,” she whispered. It was an admission he’d never heard Kylie make. And it was true. He could see that stark fear on her face. He could feel it in her. “They could have killed us. You, me, the baby. All three of us.”

“But they didn’t.”

There was no indication in her body language that she believed him. “And here I was so full of myself. So cocky about how I didn’t anyone want to protect me. God, Lucas.” Her voice broke and became a hoarse sob. More tears came. “I was wrong, and that mistake could have cost you everything again. They could have killed your baby.”

His heart actually skipped a beat.

Your baby.

Lucas opened his mouth to correct her. And might have done that if he hadn’t felt Kylie freeze. She went completely stiff; that extreme reaction had him staring down at her.

She pulled back, meeting his gaze head-on. In the depths of all that blue, Lucas saw something in her eyes that he didn’t understand.

He shook his head.

“It’s true,” Kylie said, as if that explained everything.

It took him a moment just to ask what he needed to ask. “What’s true?”

“The only reason I’m telling you this is because I’m afraid I can’t protect this baby by myself. Not now. Not with those men still out there.”

“What are you telling me exactly?” Lucas tried to brace himself for the answer. Judging from her expression, he couldn’t possibly brace himself enough.

A moment later, Kylie confirmed that.

“When you applied for a surrogate, I pulled some strings. Called in a few favors.” He watched the words form on her lips, and each one stabbed through him. “Lucas, I’m your surrogate, and this baby I’m carrying is yours.”

WELL, THAT IMPROMPTU confession cleared Kylie’s head.

The residual effects of the kidnappers’ drug vanished, leaving her with vision and a brain that was a little too clear. That clarity allowed her to see the thunderstruck expression on Lucas’s face.

“My baby?” he mumbled.

She watched that register. First, he shook his head. Stared at her. Shook his head again.

Then it sank in.

He stepped back, his chest pumping as if he were suddenly starved for air. He tried to speak. Couldn’t. He looked as if he were on the verge of seriously losing it. Kylie reached for him, but he put up his hands, palms out, in a back-off gesture.

“Why?” he finally asked.

She didn’t know how he had managed to speak. His teeth were practically clamped together, and his jaw muscles had seemingly turned to iron. But those responses were tame compared to that look in his eyes. There was fire mixed with all those shades of brown. Fire and brimstone.

“Why?” Kylie repeated. “I’ve asked myself that more than a few times.”

“Is this some kind of warped punishment?” Lucas’s anger chilled his voice. “Your way of torturing me?”

She’d anticipated a few of the things Lucas might say if he ever learned the truth, but that hadn’t been one of them. “No. God, no. It’s because of what happened to Marissa.”

“Don’t. I don’t want to talk about her.”

Kylie didn’t even consider heeding his warning. Despite his glare. Despite his defensive posture. They had to get a few things straight. “I did this because of what Marissa said when she was dying. ‘Don’t let my death kill Lucas. Look after him. Help him heal. Make sure he’s happy.’ And that’s what I promised her I would do. I owed her that promise. But you wouldn’t let me help you.”

“I didn’t want you to do any of those things for me,” Lucas protested, stabbing his accusing index finger in her direction. “I didn’t want your help. I still don’t. In fact, the only thing I wanted from you was never to see you again.”

Now, that she’d expected him to say. Too bad she hadn’t planned a perfectly worded response. Too bad that his words hurt.

“You think this was an easy decision for me to make?” she asked. “Well, it wasn’t. I agonized over it. I’m twenty-nine years old, Lucas, and haven’t had a relationship with a man in years. This may be the only baby I ever have, and it’s not even mine. Hear that? It’s not a baby I can hope that you’ll share with me.”

Nothing she said soothed him. In fact, it had the opposite effect. His jaw muscles jerked. And it seemed as if Lucas were about to let go of the choke hold he had on his anger and other emotions.

“And at no point during this monumental decision-making process did it occur to you to ask me if I wanted you for a surrogate?” he stormed. “No. That would have too reasonable. Something a sane, normal person would have done. And you know what I would have said if you’d asked, Kylie? I would have told you that there’s no way in hell I want you to be the mother of my child.”

Oh, that stung.

Mercy.

And here she thought she was somewhat immune to anything Lucas could say to her. She was obviously wrong.

“I made a promise to Marissa,” Kylie reminded him. Because that was the true bottom line of why she’d made her decision. Yes, her guilt had contributed to it. So had her need to somehow pay for her mistake. But if Marissa hadn’t asked, Kylie wouldn’t have become Lucas’s surrogate. “And I always keep my promises.”

“Oh, that’s a good one.” He took several steps toward her and got right in her face. “What about the promise to keep the citizens of Fall Creek safe? What about your sworn oath to follow regs? Regs you ignored when you went after those two men who robbed the convenience store? Was it worth it, Kylie? Was Marissa’s and my baby’s lives worth catching two scumbags who’d stolen a hundred and twenty-three dollars?”

Kylie had no answer for that, and she’d tried for nearly three years to find one. She’d made a fatal mistake that day. Not waiting for backup. Proceeding on foot after two armed suspects. Though waiting for backup might not have changed the outcome, it was a mistake she’d tried to live with.

So far, she hadn’t been successful.

She wasn’t holding out hope that she would succeed any time soon. Because of Marissa’s death, she turned in her badge. Resigned. She’d quit a job she loved. But Kylie was under no illusions that her resignation would atone for what she’d done.

“Look, I know this isn’t my business,” she heard Finn say. He had come back into the room, stepping between Lucas and her. “But you’re both my friends, and I won’t stand here and let you two rip each other apart. Besides, I’d like to get some sleep. My advice is that both of you should quit talking and instead start trying to figure out what you’re going to do. Not about the baby,” he quickly added. “Leave that for a day when tempers have settled a bit. I’m concerned about a more immediate problem here.”