Page 16 of Lost Trust

I smile faintly. “I got pregnant.”

His eyebrows shoot up. “What?”

“I found out a week after my last National Finals Rodeo in Vegas.”

He blinks several times. “Wow, Marina. That’s … congratulations.”

I blow out a breath. “It was a surprise. I didn’t tell many people. My team and sponsors knew, but that was it.”

I stir my coffee even though I haven’t added anything to it.

“And they didn’t want to announce it?”

“I didn’t. I think I was in shock. They said I was stepping away for the season for personal reasons and left it at that. I planned on coming back after.”

“What happened?”

I smile despite myself. “Ryder happened.”

His face softens immediately. “You’ve got yourself a little boy?”

I nod. “Yeah. He’s four.”

“Four.” There’s genuine delight in his voice. “What’s he like?”

The sadness in my chest eases just enough. “Wild.”

Bryce laughs. “I would’ve been disappointed if he wasn’t.”

“He thinks he’s a cowboy. He lives in boots and a cowboy hat my mom bought for him one of the times she breezed into town. It’s bigger than he is.”

Bryce laughs harder.

“He even sleeps with his boots on. And every stick he finds is somehow a horse.”

“I already like the kid.”

“Yeah. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

The words come out before I realize how desperately true they are. I love my son more than anything. I’d leave the arena a hundred times over for him. Even knowing how everything would turn out.

Bryce’s smile slowly fades again. “And his father?”

I glance out the window. “Gone.”

“Is he what’s got you crying today?”

There it is. The real question.

I take a slow breath.

“Part of it. He’s been gone for a little over a year. He left for a rodeo in Oregon and forgot to ever come back.” I swallow. “Left us in the condo we were living in here in Dallas.”

“Son of a bitch,” he mutters under his breath.

I force a laugh. “I had savings, and I thought I’d be okay.” I shrug helplessly. “We were okay. I’d actually saved most of my winnings from my time on the circuit and made some good investments.”

“Smart.”