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door. Especially as right next door is his brother’s ranch.”
    Leave . Maggie’s breath stopped in her throat. She hadn’t been here a week, and already the thought of leaving made her feel sick.
    “You’re right. I should go.” She bit her bottom lip as she tried to organize her thoughts. She was supposed to defend her position, not capitulate. “But you and Sammie are the two people I’m closest to, and you’re both here. I need my friends right now.” She stood and took a turn around the kitchen. Panic tightened her throat. “I’m thirty-six years old. I should have a family and a whole community behind me. When did I become such a loser?”
    Claire got up and hugged her. “You’re not a loser. You own a condo in San Francisco, and everyone at the art gallery loves you. But you do jump before you look. You haven’t thought out your strategy very well.”
    Maggie returned the hug then walked over to the window and looked out at the backyard, the tightness in her chest easing as her brain started working. “Okay, suppose I’m pregnant. I want to be around you and Sammie, so I should look for a place to buy around here. But then what do I do about JD?”
    “ If you’re pregnant, and if you decided to stay in this area—those are some pretty big ifs. And honestly? I don’t see myself living here any longer than I have to. But if that’s what happens, you’d have no choice but to come clean to JD.”
    “He’d hate me for trapping him.”
    “Probably. But at least you wouldn’t be expecting marriage or financial support. Lots of kids these days are brought up in two different households. It might be a little rocky at first, but it’s doable.”
    She didn’t want the complications of having a relationship with the father of her child. She probably wasn’t pregnant. Not after one night. And if she were? Well . . . she’d leave. Maybe.
    She turned to look at Claire who had returned to her spreadsheets. “Seriously? You’ve never considered living here?”
    “I’m a city girl, Maggie. Once I fulfill my contract and get that twenty-thousand-dollar bonus, of course I’ll leave. Why would I stay?”
    “Because Ethan will move here?”
    “I work for the man. He tricked me into coming here with that damned clause in my contract. Once I have my money, I’m gone.”
    Maggie had a feeling leaving wasn’t going to be as simple as Claire assumed, but she kept her thoughts to herself. “Maybe I’ll look around, and see what’s for sale in the area whether I’m pregnant or not. I did wonder if JD would sell his house to me.”
    Claire laughed. “You really do like to complicate things, don’t you? I don’t know if he loves or hates that place, but I do know he’s not going to want to see you living there with his kid.”
    “You’re right. Again. I’d love to decorate the house for him, though. It drives me crazy how empty it is.”
    “If you decide to stay at least for a while, ask him. He can’t live with his brother for the rest of his life, and you have great taste. It would give you something to do for the next few months.”
    “No. I can’t imagine being around him and not wanting to jump him every chance I got.”
    “You’re going to have to get used to not having sex with him if you’re pregnant, and he finds out you got pregnant on purpose. There’s no way you two could have a healthy relationship after that.” 
    “Who can’t she have sex with?” Sammie drifted into the room and slumped into a chair at the table.
    “JD.” Claire peered at her. “You don’t look so good.”
    “Dave and I argued.” Sammie laid her head on the table. “He thinks I’m distracting the new kid they hired from his work. Russ and I were only talking for a few minutes, and we kept working the whole time. I don’t know what Dave’s problem is.”
    Maggie perched on the corner of the table. “Maybe he’s jealous.”
    “Of who?”
    “Whom,” Claire corrected her.
    “Whom. He treats