If the Ring Fits by Cindy Kirk Read Free Book Online Page A

slammed together. “I thought that was off the table.”
    “I never said that.” She shifted her gaze into the darkness over his shoulder. “Neither of us want to stay married. Not really.”
    “But you’re pregnant.”
    Mary Karen sighed. “Believe me, I’m well aware of that fact.”
    Without warning Travis pushed his door open and stepped from the vehicle.
    “What are you doing?” Mary Karen asked.
    “I’m going for a walk.” Travis rounded the front of the car and opened her door. “With you.”
    When he held out his hand, she hesitated for only a second before placing her fingers into his firm grasp and stepping from the warmth of the car into the cool night air. The stones of the gravel road crunched beneath her sandals.
    She hadn’t even had a chance to shut her door when a gust of wind swept across the open countryside, ruffling her hair and making her shiver. Mary Karen wrapped her arms around herself. Perhaps going for a walk wasn’t such a good idea.
    Travis paused. Then he bent down and reached under the seat, rummaging around.
    “I know it’s here somewhere.” Finally, with an exclamation of triumph, he pulled out a wrinkled gray hoodie. “Just what the doctor ordered.”
    Though the jacket looked a bit tattered, when he offered it to her Mary Karen wasn’t about to argue. She slipped her arms into the soft, warm fleece and Travis zipped it up with a solicitousness that brought tears to her eyes.
    Just for a second, she let herself wonder what it’d be like if Travis loved her and wanted to raise children and grow old with her for all the right reasons. She breathed in the faint scent of the cologne that clung to the fabric and wished with all her heart that things could be different.
    “Warm enough now?” he asked.
    She nodded and ducked her head, afraid of the longing he might see in her eyes.
    “Good.” He took her arm and crooked it through his. “Now, tell me why you won’t give me, us, a chance.”
    Mary Karen looked up. The moon hung large in the sky. A zillion stars sparkled brightly overhead. But romance and love were no longer in those stars for her. She thought of the other dreams she’d once clung to, the hopes she’d had of making a difference in the world. Those fantasies were now out of reach, too. Sadness engulfed her heart.
    It would be so easy to let Travis move in. It would certainly make her life easier. But her boys’ welfare had to be her priority. A father who didn’t want to be one would only hurt them in the end.
    She felt his curious gaze on her as they walked down the deserted stretch of road.
    “M.K.,” he said. “I want to do right by you.”
    Of course he did. Despite his somewhat hedonistic lifestyle, Travis Fisher was an honorable man. Whenhe’d been a teenager, he’d made the sacrifices necessary to keep his family together. Now he was once again willing to sacrifice the life he’d always wanted because he’d gotten her pregnant.
    But as fearful as Mary Karen was of raising four children alone, she was more afraid of being in another marriage based on duty and obligation, not love.
    Just like she wanted more for Travis, she wanted more for herself and her boys.
    If she said that to him, he’d assure her they’d make it work. That’s what Steven had said, too. Until making it work had become too onerous and he’d wanted out.
    “M.K.? Let me be a part of your life.”
    Mary Karen stifled a groan. She knew Travis. He wouldn’t stop until he’d convinced her.
    “I have my standards, Trav,” she said softly, taking a step closer, crowding him. She lifted her hand and brushed a strand of hair back from his forehead. “I could never be with a man who cheats at poker.”
    Travis’s eyes, which had darkened with passion, cleared and he chuckled. “It was strip poker. And you wanted that last piece of lingerie off as much as I did.”
    She waved a hand. “So you say.”
    But he caught her eye and they shared a smile.
    Mary Karen resumed