Page 15

Colt walked in the front office and found Stella and Bethany huddled behind the check-in desk. They both stopped whispering and jerked their heads toward him when he entered.

“Don’t mind me.” He propped his good elbow on the desk. “Who are we talking about?”

Stella had been around the ranch a long time, and she had her nose in everything. Colt liked to know what was going on, but Stella always had the dirt. She brushed a hand over her sweater and raised her eyebrows. “No one.”

“Liar,” Colt whispered. He turned to Bethany. She had a crush on almost every cowboy on the ranch, and he wasn’t above using his charm to get her to spill the beans. “Bethany, what’s going on?”

Bethany sat up straighter and cut a glance to Stella. “Nothing.”

“Nothing except…” Colt said.

Bethany leaned close and whispered, “We think Ava is pregnant.”

Stella huffed and slapped the younger woman’s shoulder. “Now everyone will know, andwedon’t even know for sure yet.”

Colt straightened with a smile. Mission accomplished. “Don’t worry, ladies. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Not a chance,” Stella said, propping her hands on her hips. “I’m serious, Colt. Keep it under wraps. She hasn’t told anyone yet, but we’ve been suspecting for a while. She’s been sick for weeks.”

That was the difference between men and women. Colt knew Ava had been sick, but he hadn’t put two and two together. “Okay. Okay. I won’t say anything.”

Well, he wouldn’t say anything to anyone except Remi. He didn’t keep secrets from her.

Stella pointed a finger at him and narrowed her eyes. “I’ll have my eye on you.”

“‘Cause I’m eye candy?” Colt asked.

Stella smiled and stepped around the desk to wrap him in a hug. “You’re my favorite. Don’t tell the others.”

Colt hugged her back. Stella hadn’t ever been a mom, but she would have been a great one. Definitely better than his mom. He didn’t remember much about her, but if she’d been anything like Stella, she wouldn’t have left her husband and two sons.

“I can’t promise to keep my mouth shut on that one. I’ll probably be helping Ava out today, so I’ll try to get her to spill the beans about the whole baby thing.”

Stella held a finger in front of Colt’s lips. “Shut that trap and get to work.”

Colt stood tall and gave her a salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

Bethany and Stella went back to whispering as Colt headed down the hallway to Ava’s office. He knocked on the open door, and Ava looked up from her computer. Her cheeks were paler than usual, and her eyes were dark rimmed.

“Hey. You feeling okay?” she asked.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Colt took a seat in the chair across from her desk.

Ava buried her face in her hands. “I haven’t had anything to eat in days.”

Colt sat forward. Maybe he should have been more concerned with Ava’s sickness. “Anything I can do to help?”

A knock on the door turned Colt’s attention. Ava’s husband, Jameson, stood in the doorway. “Any better?”

Ava shook her head slowly.

Colt stood, looking back and forth between the couple. “Should I come back later?”

Jameson went to Ava’s side and wrapped an arm around her. “No, you’re fine.”

“I actually came by to see if I could help out around here today. I can’t do any heavy lifting just yet. I think I’ll be good enough to work next week.”

Jameson looked down at Ava who kept her face buried in her hands. “She’s pregnant. We’re planning on telling everyone today.”