Chapter Forty-Nine

"Say it," Isabella commanded, crossing her arms as she leaned against his truck. Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she took him in. He narrowed his eyes at her, but she merely raised an eyebrow to indicate she could wait.

"Fine…" Austin grumbled. "You're the queen of pool," he sighed, still not believing she'd won fair and square. Though he had no idea how she could cheat, there was just no way she was this good.

"And…?"

"And I'm a sore loser."

Isabella giggled. "That you are." She tossed him his car keys, and he caught them easily. He tried to look grumpy, but she could see the corner of his mouth twitch like he was fighting a smile. "So… what's next?" she asked, rubbing her tummy when her stomach growled.

"Sounds like it's time for some food," the Sheriff chuckled as he walked around the truck. He watched her get in as he did the same. It was amazing how much she'd changed in the last hour alone. She'd actually laughed, and he'd never seen her more beautiful. He'd hoped to get her to crack a real smile, but she'd done more than that; she'd given him a glimpse of the real Isabella, the Isabella he'd been stupid enough to let go. 

Exactly half an hour later Sean's truck pulled up on her drive. Tatum had been sat in the small alcove in her room, waiting for him. She quickly jumped up, grabbed her bag and made her way down the stairs. The redhead smiled when she saw he'd gotten out of his truck to hold the passenger door open for her. Sean returned the smile as he helped her in, his eyes now being drawn to her bump. He couldn't help himself, and he wondered how he hadn't noticed before.

"I thought maybe it would be a good idea to just go for a drive, give us some space and privacy," he told her after he'd walked around and taken his seat behind the wheel.

"Yeah, sounds good," she nodded. Right now, she'd agree to almost anything if it meant they'd get to talk stuff out.

"Great," he nodded as well, giving her a small smile before he pulled away from her house. He wasn't sure when to start talking about things though, as he obviously needed to concentrate on the road as well, so he put the radio on softly to have something in the background. It didn't look like she minded that too much, as she sat back and absentmindedly stared out of the window, her hand tapping along against her leg. The tapping was to keep her calm, as the silence was making her nervous, as well as the prospect of actually having to talk it out.

Sean ended up only driving one town away, the one town in the direct vicinity that his family wasn't involved with yet, and parked up on the edge of town that was close to their café in case she felt hungry or needed the toilet. "Do you want to stay in the car or go for a walk?" he asked once he'd turned the engine off.

"I'm okay to stay for now," Tatum nodded as she undid her seatbelt and turned in her seat to face him; it was starting to get quite warm out and it looked dusty today. He gave her a nervous smile, not sure where to go from here. He'd never had to have this kind of conversation with anyone he liked before and it was out of his comfort zone. "Sean, I'm… I'm sorry I didn't tell you before… about expectin' a baby," she started the conversation. "I guess I needed to know first if you were bein' serious," she added, trying to think through her own reasoning.

"What else do you think I was bein'?" he asked, not liking the insinuation that possibly he'd been playing her.

"Come on Sean, we're still gettin' to know each other. And, you know, with the feud… I mean, that's why no one knows that we've been seein' each other right?" the redhead responded.

"Right, sorry," he conceded. "But… when were you gonna tell me?" he asked curiously.

"Soon, I promise. I mean, it's not like I can hide it for much longer," Tatum tried to lighten the mood a little with a chuckle as she patted her bump now, trying not to scratch as her belly immediately felt itchy; she'd struggled with an itchy belly and breasts for the last day or so. "That's not the only reason I would've told you," she added on quickly before he could say anything. "Sorry, I'm nervous," she apologised when she noticed she was rambling. "I'm still gettin' to grips with everythin' that comes with havin' a baby and it's a lot to expect someone to take on when you first start datin'. There may have been an element of not wantin' to scare you off," she admitted eventually, her eyes lowered nervously.

At this Sean sat back to think about what she'd said, eventually tempting her gaze up. "I'm guessin' it's Kenny's?" he asked after a minute, seeing her nod. "And, what is his role gonna be?" He needed to know if he could expect her ex around more or, if he did decide that he wanted to be with her and her baby, any challenge to him acting like the father.

"He don't want nothin' to do with me or the baby. He made it very clear he ain't payin' a dime or gettin' involved," Tatum answered coolly.

He could tell she'd expected that attitude from her ex, but that it still hurt her a little. "And… what do you expect from me?" Sean asked carefully, seeing straightaway that that had been the wrong thing to ask.

"Nothin' Sean, I expect nothin'," she huffed angrily and jumped out of the car, just so she had something to slam shut. She kicked away some pebbles as she tried to calm herself down.

He got out of the car as well and walked round towards her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked it like that," he quickly apologised when he saw her angry glare. "It's just… most guys have some sort of say about havin' a baby…."

"You do too." 

"But you're havin' this baby one way or another, with or without Kenny or me." At this her green eyes settled on him, a little unnervingly, as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"What's your point?"

"I… don't know," Sean said with a nervous chuckle, one hand going through his hair as he stuffed the other in his jeans' pocket. "It's a lot to take on at the start of a relationship." He looked up at her when he heard her sigh annoyed. "I guess I see why you were nervous about tellin' me," he conceded, seeing her look soften again.

"I know it's a lot," she nodded. "But…" she wasn't sure how to say this next bit.

"But?" he asked.

"But… if you think there's a chance down the line that you might have enough or not want either of us, then I don't even want to go down this road," Tatum said, nervously playing with the edge of her shirt as she awaited his reaction.

"Wait, what?" he asked, not entirely sure if he understood what she was saying.

"Sorry Sean, but it's not just my life or heart that I have to consider," she apologised. "You don't have to answer now if you need to think about it," she offered him some time, seeing that he was still looking confused.

"How is that expectin' nothin'?" Sean surprised her now. "Let me get this straight," he stopped her from responding, holding his hand up. "You don't want to start anythin' if I think there might be a chance of wantin' to bail later? So, I need to decide now if I think there's a future for the three of us?"

"Can you blame me?" she asked, her hand protectively on her bump.

"No, I guess I can't," he sighed when he saw the gesture. "I need some time to think about this," he said honestly after a minute.

Tatum gave him a brave nod, fighting back a few tears. "I'm sorry, hormones," she said quickly as she wiped them away. "Don't take that as emotional blackmail or anythin'," she assured him, getting a small laugh from him now.

"Do you want to get some ice cream or somethin' else to eat?" he asked after a minute or so, seeing a small smile creep onto her face. It was hard to say no to ice cream or the company, even if he did still have a big decision to make.