He pulls me close again. “It’s okay to cry, Bonny Blue.”
His permission invites a fresh wave of sobs. And with my eyes closed, I clutch his shirt and empty myself of tears.
When a knock sounds, I sit up and scoot out of Parker’s lap. More than a few minutes have passed, but I’m so out of it, I have no clue how much time has passed. “I’m sorry. I must’ve fallen asleep.”
He brushes hair out of my face. “I’m guessing you didn’t sleep much last night.”
“Not really.”
He walks to the door and looks at me with eyebrows raised for permission to open it. When I nod, he cracks it only enough to see who’s outside. “Paisley, hey. Come on in.”
My friend’s eyes are red and puffy. “I’m so sorry, Bluebonnet.”
“Parker told you?”
“I knew you had an appointment yesterday, and then you sent that message today. I put the pieces together but texted him to confirm. I asked him point-blank. He didn’t volunteer the information.” She drops down beside me and wraps me in a hug.
And now we’re both crying.
* * *
I’m backin Dumplin’s lap, but this time, I’m not crying. After telling my dad and hearing the disappointment in his voice and then repeating the same with Parker’s parents, I cried until I made myself sick. Sweet Parker has handled it all in stride, a calm in the midst of my chaos.
“Want to get out of here for a bit? We can go for a drive. On the way home, we’ll pick up pizza or barbecue. Whatever sounds good to you.”
“A drive sounds good.”
He taps on his phone. “Dallas is going to let me use his truck. It has a bench seat.”
His kindness stirs up my guilt. “Thanks. I promise I won’t spend days and days sobbing all over you.”
“It’s fine.” He catches my hand. “Ready?”
“I’m going to run into the bathroom before we leave. I’ll meet you out there.”
When I walk out, he has the truck stopped in front of the cabin, and I slide to the middle.
It’s like he has a sense that I need him right now.
After a half hour, I lean my head on his shoulder. “What are we going to tell everyone else?”
“We can either say nothing, or we can say you miscarried. They don’t have to know how far along you were or anything else.”
“You’re right.” I close my eyes, guilt flooding me. “And I am sorry. If this changes things for you—”
“It doesn’t. Not a bit.” He glances at me, then looks back at the road. “I’m not going anywhere.”
For now, I choose to believe him.
Chapter 28
Parker
Useless. That sums up how I feel most days right now. The last few days, I’m barely getting stuff done in the barn, spending as much time with Bluebonnet as I can, and still unsure about how she feels. And the worst of it is, I can’t do anything to help her feel better.
She snuggles beside me when we go on drives, but we don’t talk.
“Parker!” Beau’s voice carries into the tack room.
