Yep, she was beautiful.

He walked over, sat down beside her and stared out over the sea, as if trying to see what she was seeing. This was a beautiful setting.

‘Sorry.’ She winced and moved sideways. ‘It’s been too big a day. The rodeo. The baby. Surgery. I…I need to find a shower.’

‘You definitely need to find a shower,’ he told her. ‘But it was blood gained in a battle worth fighting. Well done.’

‘Thanks.’

They stared some more at the sea. Trying to figure out where to start. Where was he supposed to start? Surely it was up to her. To do this to him…

She kept her silence. Seemingly it was up to him.

‘Would you like to tell me,’ he said finally into the stillness, ‘just what is going on?’

‘We may just have saved a baby.’

‘Gina…’

‘Sorry.’

‘Is CJ…mine?’

She glanced at him then-and then looked away as if she couldn’t bear to see him. Which was maybe exactly how he’d expect her to feel.

‘Yes,’ she whispered.

More silence.

‘Hell,’ he said at last, and she nodded as if that was no more than she’d expected.

‘I guess it is.’

There was anger building now, an anger so overwhelming it was all he could do to stay still, not to stand up and crash his fist into the veranda pole, not to yell…

Yelling would achieve nothing. He had to stay calm.

‘So.’ He stared out to sea some more, not looking at her, not wanting to look at her. ‘So I got used.’

‘I- What do you mean?’

‘You and your husband used me as a sperm donor.’

‘Cal, it wasn’t like that.’ She turned to him, her face puckering in distress. ‘It wasn’t. I need to tell you…’

‘That’s what it seems like to me,’ he said savagely. ‘You come out here, you say you love me, you con me into taking you to bed-’

Her breath drew in, shocked, stunned. ‘Cal, I never did. I wouldn’t.’