“That stands to reason, since Robyn was behind them. She doesn’t know anyone in town and therefore wouldn’t have confided in anyone locally.“
“Yeah.“
Diana frowned slightly. “Colby, is something wrong?“
He shook his head. “Not any longer. The only thing that’s bugging me is that Robyn is getting off damned light for what she did.“
“She doesn’t see it that way. She wanted marriage in the worst way, and now she’s missed her chance with Brandon.“
“Thank God.“
Brandon walked into the house shortly after seven. Colby took one look at his son’s haggard face and headed for the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator, took out a six-pack and returned to the living room.
“You want to go outside and sit on the porch for a while?“ he asked his son.
Brandon looked up wearily. He nodded and got to his feet.
Diana settled back against the sofa and picked up Shock Value. “You two go on,“ she said easily. “I’m going to get through this book if it kills me.“
Colby gave her a faint smile. The woman understood things, he thought. They didn’t have to be spelled out for her. She knew that right now he needed to talk to Brandon alone.
It was crisp out on the porch but not too cold for a couple of macho males who happened to have a six-pack handy. Colby opened two cans and handed one to his son.
“There are times in a man’s life,“ Colby said, “when the one thing he needs most in the world is a beer.“
“Yeah.“
“Rough drive back to Portland?“
“Yeah. I hurt her bad.“
“And she hurt you just as bad.“
“She wasn’t the kind of girl I thought she was.“ Brandon looked perplexed. “I mean, she always seemed so sweet and helpless. I couldn’t believe it when I realized it was her running out of Diana’s house today. I wonder how Diana guessed about Robyn?“
“Diana’s pretty sharp.“
“Robyn blamed her for everything going wrong. But it was my fault, wasn’t it?“
Colby shook his head. “You changed your mind about rushing into marriage. Everyone’s got a right to do that.
That’s why it’s a good idea to take your time about it. That’s why you have to leave your options open until you’re very sure of what you want.“
Brandon grimaced. “Translated, that means you have to be careful about not getting the girl pregnant until you know damned well you want to marry her.“
Colby shrugged. “Pregnancy has a way of closing down options, all right.“
“Do you ever regret getting stuck with me?“
“Hell, no. Not for a minute. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Brandon. If it hadn’t been for you, I might have wound up in jail or in a gutter somewhere. You’re the one who taught me the meaning of responsibility.
You’re the one who gave me something to work for. No, I don’t regret having you. I just wish I’d been a little older and wiser when I did get you. As it was, you had to teach me about fatherhood, too.“
“No,“ said Brandon after a long pull on his beer. “I didn’t have to teach you about fatherhood. You’re a natural.
Too bad you didn’t have some more kids somewhere along the line. You’re wasting your talent in that department.“
Colby felt an unexpected paternal warmth well up inside him. His voice became a little gruff. “Thanks, kid. I guess we both turned out okay, huh?“
“Yeah. I guess so.“
“What you went through with Robyn was a very difficult situation. I want you to know I think you handled it damned well.“
“I should never have gotten into it in the first place.“
Colby grinned faintly. “Son, let me tell you something. Whenever you’re talking about women, you’re talking about difficult situations. They go together like fleas and dogs. You don’t get one without the other.“
Brandon smiled for the first time since he had walked in the door. “I’ll remember that. By the way, just for the record, there was never any danger of me getting Robyn pregnant.“
Colby nodded. “Glad to hear it.“
“Not because I wasn’t using precautions,“ Brandon said deliberately. “Although I would have if we’d ever done it.
I’m not stupid. But we never did. Do it, that is. She said we had to wait until we were married. She kept telling me how good it was going to be after we were married. She really had me going.“
Colby raised his brows inquiringly. “You’re telling me I misinterpreted that little scene of you coming out of her bedroom the other morning?“
“I was in there, all right. But it was just the usual heavy make-out session. I was planning on going back to my own room before you, uh, got home, but I fell asleep.“
“I apologize for jumping down your throat that morning.“ Colby shoved his fingers through his hair. “Seems like I’
ve been doing a lot of apologizing lately. First to Diana and now you.“
“There’s something else I wanted to tell you, Dad.“
“What’s that?“
“Robyn swore over and over again during the drive back to Portland that the only prank she staged was the last one with the garbage. She claims she got the idea of doing something out of Shock Value after hearing about the other two incidents.“
Colby gave Brandon a level look. “Do you believe her?“
Brandon looked thoughtful. “I know there’s no reason to believe her, not after what she pulled. But for some reason, I think that this time she may have been telling the truth.“
“Difficult situation,“ Colby mused. “Do you think we should tell Diana?“
“No, she’s got enough on her mind as it is.“
“Like what?“ Brandon asked curiously. “I’m waiting for her to tell me.“
She couldn’t wait any longer. She was sure. It wasn’t just that she was several days late – it was that she had a feeling. Somehow she knew for certain she was pregnant. The knowledge existed within her on some deep level that defied rational analysis. She stared down at the calendar in her hand, and the little numbers and days blurred together.
“You’re not supposed to count the days when you’re on a vacation, honey.“ Colby walked up behind her and put his arms around her. He deftly removed the calendar from her fingers. “Or is something more important going on here?“