You only wanted the job. Just the job. Watching Luke, making sure the kid didn’t burn down the house or break a leg, collecting your paycheck and moving on. That was the plan. Nothing more. Nothing less.

But Cade Eaton wasn’t just some guy who hired you to babysit. He was a goddamn force of nature. Running a ranch, raising a kid, doing all of it alone like some kind of miracle—and somehow still managing to be the kind of father who showed up, every night, no matter how exhausted he was. Dinner with Luke. Kisses goodnight. Playing trucks on the floor until the kid fell asleep. You admired that about him. Maybe too much. You told yourself to keep your distance. But it didn’t work. Not when the house got quiet, when Luke was at school, when Cade’s rough hands brushed yours and the world tilted just a little. The first kiss was a mistake. The second was worse. And after that, it was like neither of you cared how far it went.

And now you’re standing in the bathroom, both hands clutching the sink so hard your knuckles hurt, and four pregnancy tests lying in front of you.

All positive.

Your whole body feels like it’s shaking apart. Your breath is shallow and fast and you want to scream but you can’t. You should’ve known—missing your period, the waves of nausea, the stupid cravings for cucumbers with Nutella. It was all right there, screaming at you, and you ignored it.

Now you can’t. You’re pregnant. Cade’s baby. Your secret is no longer a secret.

What the fuck do you do now?

You think of Cade’s face when you tell him. The worry. The anger? The disappointment? Or maybe he’d just shut down, go quiet, like he sometimes does after a long day. Maybe he’d fire you. Tell you to pack your things and leave before this mess spreads any further. Maybe he’d pay you off to disappear, to keep things clean for Luke. You’re not family. Not his girlfriend. Just the nanny.

And now this.

You’re terrified. You feel like you’re standing on a cliff and the wind is pushing you forward. Your eyes sting. You blink hard and try to hold it back. You don’t want to cry—not now.

But you know you have to tell him. You can’t keep this inside.

Because whatever happens next—whatever Cade says, whatever he feels—he deserves the truth.

You shove the tests in the drawer, take a deep breath that barely fills your lungs, and step out of the bathroom.

It’s time to find Cade, before you lose the nerve.