“I’m pregnant.”

The words hit Fraser like a bus, rendering him mute and paralyzed. He sat in silence for long, still moments, letting the words reverberate through his ears, his brain. The full meaning of them fell upon him slowly, gradually.

This couldn’t be happening. He didn’t want this. He’d seen the danger of giving in to romantic feelings. Fraser had decided a long time ago that that sort of commitment—the family and marriage sort—wasn’t something he was interested in. It couldn’t possibly be worth the heartache to everyone involved. Okay, so when he looked ahead, maybe he did see a couple of kids in his life, between the dogs and the lambs and the horses. But that didn’t mean that they were a realistic part of the picture, because they didn’t come on their own. The thought of committing to any woman was completely off the cards. But to this woman—someone who had already caused him too many sleepless nights—it was impossible.

The commitment of raising a child was an unimaginable complication—how could it not be?