Read Online Close to Her Heart by C. J. Carmichael - Free Book Online Page A

answers. So she went to the sofa, drew up a soft blanket, and then turned on the TV.
    An hour later, she was asleep, and didn’t wake up until the next morning. She went about her usual weekend chores, half expecting that Eliot would stick a note under the door, maybe suggest a run or Sunday brunch.
    But she didn’t hear from him or Miriam all weekend.
    On Sunday, Portia arrived at six. Not wanting to hurt her niece’s feelings Dani tried not to let on that she’d totally forgotten about their dinner plans.
    “Hi honey, do you like Vietnamese? I was thinking of ordering in. Where’s Austin?”
    “Sure, Vietnamese is good. And Austin is doing final edits on his paper. But he said to thank you for the invitation.” Portia looked absolutely adorable in worn jeans, a peach sweater and a pair of funky boots which she took off at the door.
    While Dani ordered their meal off the Internet, Portia went to the bank of windows, and sighed. “Mom is always raving about the view at our ranch. But this is so much better.”
    “I guess if you hadn’t grown up around the mountains and Flathead Lake, you might side more with your mother.”
    “Maybe. Poor Mom might not have that view much longer. Dad wants to sell Bishop Stables.”
    Dani had been afraid of something like this. Besides her daughters, Mattie lived for the Tennessee Walking horses she and her husband had been raising and training since they married. How would her older sister cope if Wes went through with the divorce and sold the property?
    “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
    Portia shrugged. “I don’t think Dad ever really liked the family business. Wren says that’s why he kept at the rodeo for so long.”
    “He’s working at a lumberyard in Billings now, though, isn’t he?”
    “Yeah. And he seems to like it. Oh, I almost forgot. I bought a bottle of wine.” Portia went to the foyer when she’d left a backpack next to her boots. She pulled out a white viognier that she must have noticed Dani serve before. It was one of her favorites.
    “That’s so sweet. But how did you get it?”
    “Austin’s twenty-one. He picked it up for me.”
    Dani had been debating about whether to tell Portia her news. She didn’t want to. She hadn’t even decided if she was keeping the baby. But she had to give her niece an explanation for not opening the wine.
    “I’m going to have to save that bottle. I have some news. It was a surprise to me and it’s probably going to be an even bigger one to you.”
    She could tell by Portia’s face that she didn’t have a clue where this was heading.
    “I’ve been seeing a man for about six months now. You haven’t met him because we work together and we’ve been keeping our relationship quiet.”
    “Is that the surprise?” Portia settled on a stool, next to her aunt. “Is he coming for dinner?”
    “No.” If only. “The surprise is that I’m pregnant. It wasn’t planned and—” She hesitated, not sure how Portia was going to react. “I still haven’t decided if I’m carrying the baby to term.”
    “Oh. Oh. ”
    Dani sighed. “I guess I’m a living example of everything your mother warned you against.”
    “Drugs and alcohol were pretty high on her list too.”
    “Well, I don’t use drugs. I’m probably not the best example when it comes to alcohol though, since you know I enjoy my white wine.” Her sister Mattie almost never drank, a decision she’d made after a girl she’d once given riding lessons to, Neve Shephard, got drunk and ended up drowning at a party after her high school graduation. The accident was something Dani remembered well, since Neve had been in her grade. It was the only time Dani had ever been grateful for her nerd status. She hadn’t even been aware of the party, let alone that she hadn’t been included.
    “We learned at school and from Mom that no method of birth control is one-hundred percent reliable.”
    Dani nodded, glad to let her niece assume this was what had