Page 27 of Second Chance with the Rancher
Her sister’s brows pinched. “Why?”
Mieka went quiet again.
“Mieks?” Triss demanded, forcing Mieka to face her sister again. “What’s going on with you and Nate? Has something already happened? I know you two were flirty at the wedding but—” Her eyes nearly exploded out of her face. “Did you two sleep together at the wedding?”
Mieka’s mouth twisted.
“When?” Triss exclaimed.
Mieka’s shoulders fell and she laced her fingers together in her lap, fixing her gaze on the lock for the glove compartment. “The night of the wedding. The reception. It was late, we were both stupidly hammered and we snuck out of the reception and had drunk, sloppy sex up against the barn. Then I took off back to work the next morning but apparently, he thought it was going to be more than just a quick fuck.”
“And was upset you left without saying goodbye?”
“Among other things, yes.” It wasn’t that Mieka didn’t trust her sister and feel comfortable telling Triss about her abortion, she just was more concerned with how that kind of information could affect Triss’s relationship with Nate. They lived on the same ranch, were in each other’s lives daily, so Mieka didn’t want to give her sister any fodder to harbor resentment toward Nate. Mieka and Nate could go years if not a lifetime without ever seeing each other again, or at the very most, remaining civil and amicable when in the same space. So she needed to prioritize Triss and Nate’s relationship above everything else.
Pasha knew about the abortion, obviously, since she had been the one to set it up for Mieka in Seattle with her former colleague. But Mieka hadn’t told her other sisters. Would they be mad? They were all progressive women, and as far as she knew her sisters were pro-choice, just like her. But it was easy to say that you were pro-choice when those getting abortions weren’t close to you. People changed their tune when the issue suddenly got closer to home. She also knew that Triss and Asher had been trying to conceive for months to no success—until now. She didn’t know how Triss would take knowing that Mieka was Fertile Myrtle while she and Asher struggled to conceive.
Triss pulled over to the side of the road and put the truck in park. They weren’t near anything but fields. A field of brown cows on one side of the road and a field of wheat on the other. “What aren’t you telling me, Mieka?” Triss said, adopting her best big sister and mom-to-be voice.
Mieka swallowed.
“Mieka Contessa Young—”
“I got pregnant and had an abortion. Nate knows. He came with me when I had the procedure. Pasha set it up with a former colleague in Seattle.”
Now she really was worried that her sister’s eyes were going to burst free of her skull.
Triss sat there in stunned silence for several heartbeats. Mieka wasn’t sure what to do. Her bottom lip wobbled.
She wasn’t upset about having the abortion. She knew it was the right choice. She hadn’t been ready to have a baby. She was still dancing, had no roots to put down and she and Nate hardly knew each other. It made sense.
But tears marred her vision as she stared at her big sister. “Are you mad at me?” She tipped her head to Triss’s flat belly. “I know it took you guys a while to conceive. Are you upset that I … that I terminated my pregnancy when it was so hard for you to get pregnant?”
Triss snapped out of her trance, unbuckled her seatbelt and lunged across the truck, wrapping her arms tight around Mieka. “What? Oh God. No, not at all. I’m so sorry you went through that. You know you could have called me, too. I would have come to support you. Me being pregnant and struggling to conceive has nothing to do with your accidental pregnancy. Nothing. I could never be mad or resent you for that. You have to know that.”
“I know,” Mieka said through sniffles. “Pasha was going to come with me, but Raze got sick so she had to cancel. I called Nate and he flew out to be with me. It was okay.”
“Is he mad you had the abortion?” There was ire threatened in Triss’s tone, but she withheld it until Mieka responded.
“No. At least he says he’s not. He held my hand, brought me food and tea. He was … wonderful.”
They broke their embrace, and Triss wiped the tears from beneath her eyes. “Honey, I’m so sorry you had to make that choice. I mean, I’m glad that we still have that choice … for now.” She cast her eyes sideways and frowned. “Fucking patriarchy. But I’m glad that you did what was right for you and that you weren’t alone.”
Mieka nodded. “Me, too.”
“So what’s Nate trying to do now? Win you back?” A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “’Cause, I’m not going to lie. I think you guys are actually pretty perfect for each other and I would love to have you move here and for us to get closer.”
“Way to pile on the pressure,” Mieka teased.
Triss shrugged. “I want what I want, and I want my sister close.”
Well, that warmed Mieka’s heart more than she was prepared for. “I want to be close to you, too. But I just …”
“You’re sorting shit out. I get it. I wasn’t in exactly the same boat as you when I ended up on the farmhouse doorstep a couple of years ago, but my life was at a crossroads. Lorne had just dumped me and I was wondering what to do with my life. Yes, my career was fulfilling and I loved it. I still do, but we can’t get so wrapped up in our careers that it is all we use to shape our identity, you know?”
Mieka nodded. “I know.”
Triss reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “We’ll figure it out. But in the meantime, don’t get mad at me for jumping on the bandwagon with Nate and trying to convince you how awesome life is on the ranch. I’m also totally team Nate and think if we married brothers, it would be AMAZING!”
