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Callum’s words echoed in Sloane’s mind as she fumbled to fold a shirt with shaking hands.

“How do I even know if it’s mine?”

The question repeated on a maddening loop, drowning out everything else he had said before rushing off to help with some car accident.

Her stomach lurched, and she dropped the shirt, abandoning her halfhearted attempt at neatly packing. Neat didn’t matter. She had to get out of here. Not just Callum’s house, but Oak Creek entirely. Coming here had been a mistake from the start.

Sloane grabbed her duffel bag, shoving in the rest of her meager possessions. The walls of the bedroom seemed to close in around her, Callum’s doubting words reverberating off them. She yanked the zipper closed and fled the suffocating room.

Keys. Where were the keys to Annie’s car? Sloane found them on the kitchen counter and snatched them up with a trembling hand. She had to make it to Joy’s house. Her friend could drive her to the bus station in Reddington City. Then Sloane could get far away from here and…

And what? Where would she even go? The unanswerable question made her throat constrict as she hurried out to the borrowed car.

“How do I even know if it’s mine?”

The words beat against her skull in time with her pounding heart as she started the engine. Tears blurred the road as Sloane drove through the center of Oak Creek, hands white-knuckled on the wheel.

When she pulled up in front of Joy’s tidy clapboard house, Sloane roughly swiped at her wet cheeks. She grabbed her duffel from the passenger seat and approached the front door on leaden legs.

Sucking in an uneven breath, Sloane knocked, praying her friend was home. She didn’t know what she would do if Joy wasn’t there. Sloane had nowhere else to turn.

The seconds stretched into a painful eternity before footsteps sounded from inside. The door swung open to reveal Joy’s surprised face.

“Sloane? What’s wrong?” Joy’s warm brown eyes widened as she took in Sloane’s distressed state. Without hesitation, she ushered her friend inside.

“I…I need you to drive me to the bus station in Reddington City,” Sloane managed, her voice barely above a whisper. “And return Dr. Annie’s car.”

“What? Why?” Joy guided Sloane to the cozy living room, concern etched across her features. “Did something happen?”

Sloane sank onto the overstuffed couch, her duffel falling forgotten at her feet. She shook her head, unable to form the words.

Joy disappeared into the kitchen, returning moments later with a steaming mug of chamomile tea. She pressed it into Sloane’s hands before settling beside her.

“Talk to me, honey. What’s going on?”

Sloane stared into the swirling depths of the tea, her vision blurring once more. She couldn’t bring herself to meet Joy’s gaze.

The silence stretched between them, broken only by the ticking of the antique clock on the mantel. Finally, Sloane drew a shuddering breath.

“I’m pregnant,” she whispered.

Joy’s gasp mingled with the shattering of Sloane’s heart. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks as the reality of her situation crashed over her once again.

But then Joy was pulling her into a tight hug, the comforting scent of vanilla enveloping Sloane.

“Oh, sweetie. It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this out together.”

Sloane clung to her friend, Joy’s unwavering support a lifeline in the tumultuous sea of her emotions. When they parted, Joy’s eyes shone with excitement.

“The baby… It’s Callum’s, isn’t it?”

“How did you know?”

Joy smiled softly. “Um, the fact that he’s shown up at the Eagle’s Nest for almost every shift you have? And I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I’ve never seen him look at anyone else like that.”

A hollow laugh escaped Sloane’s throat. “You’re mistaken. Callum doesn’t want anything to do with me. Or this baby.”

Joy frowned. “Did he tell you that?”

The memory of Callum’s accusation sliced through Sloane like a knife. “When I told him I was pregnant, he got angry. He asked if it was even his. Like I would ever…”

“He said what ?”

“He said the condoms should have worked. I think he felt like I was trying to trap him.”

Just as she’d feared he would.

Joy’s expression hardened with determination. Without a word, she strode to the coat closet and yanked the door open. Sloane watched, perplexed, as her friend reached inside and pulled out a baseball bat.

Joy turned back to Sloane, the bat gripped tightly in her hand. She swung it against her palm with a resounding smack. “I think it’s time we had a little chat with Sheriff Webb.”

Sloane’s eyes widened in alarm. Was Joy seriously planning to attack Callum with a bat? The mental image would have been comical if the situation weren’t so dire. Joy, all five foot one of her, looked positively ridiculous wielding a bat nearly as big as she was.

“Joy, what exactly is your plan here? To assault the sheriff?”

The other woman lifted her chin defiantly. “Assault’s a hard word. I’m just going to…show him the error of his ways.”

Despite the gravity of the moment, Sloane couldn’t help but feel a surge of affection for her fiercely loyal friend. She crossed the room and gently pried the bat from Joy’s hands.

“I appreciate the sentiment, slugger, but violence isn’t the answer,” Sloane said, setting the bat aside. She pulled Joy into a tight embrace, her heart swelling with gratitude. “Thank you, though. For being willing to go to bat for me, literally.”

Joy hugged her back firmly. “Of course, Sloane. You’re my friend. I’ll always have your back.”

Tears pricked at Sloane’s eyes. She wasn’t sure she’d ever had a friend and definitely hadn’t had one in recent memory.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Sloane whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

“I have an important question. Do you want this baby?”

Sloane put a hand on her stomach. “Yes.”

That was the honest truth.

“Then stay in Oak Creek, Sloane. Don’t leave. You don’t have to go through this alone. If Callum doesn’t want the baby— and you won’t let me use my handy-dandy bat to convince him otherwise—then we can raise it together! My house is plenty big for the both of us, and it’s been too quiet since my parents passed.”

Sloane hesitated, her mind whirling with uncertainty. Could she really impose on Joy like that? But the thought of striking out on her own, pregnant and alone, sent a shiver of fear down her spine.

“I don’t want to be a burden,” Sloane said, biting her lip. “And you haven’t had a chance to really think about this.”

“You could never be a burden.” Joy squeezed her hands. “And…okay, fine. Maybe you don’t live here forever, because I’ll assume both of us will get married to someone someday. But at least for now. At least until you get things figured out.”

The word wrapped around Sloane’s heart like a warm embrace. She’d spent so long yearning for a place to belong, for people to call her own. Could she really have found that here, in this small town?

“What about Callum?” Sloane asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “What if he doesn’t want me here?”

Joy’s expression softened. “I know you think he doesn’t want this, but give him some time. Don’t give up on him just yet.”

Sloane wanted to believe her, wanted to cling to that sliver of hope. But the memory of Callum’s angry words still stung.

“And even if he doesn’t come around, you’ve still got me. I’ll be Auntie Joy!” She clapped her hands in glee.

A laugh bubbled up in Sloane’s throat, the first genuine one in hours. She could picture it all too clearly—Joy, with her wild enthusiasm and tendency to leap before she looked, and Sloane, the voice of reason trying to rein her in.

Sloane didn’t want to leave Oak Creek. She had neither the means nor the desire to go somewhere else and start over.

“Okay,” Sloane said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll stay.”