Julieta put a calming hand on his arm. “Honey, she’s pregnant, not an invalid.”
Lizzie’s temper bubbled. “I am capable of handling things! Is there anything I’ve done that’s jeopardized the business in any way? Don’t bother replying, we both know the answer is no because I report to you every night since you don’t trust me enough to let me do the job on my own.”
Alex stopped gnawing on his bone and looked up. Lizzie’s five siblings all sat back a little in their chairs, a unanimous expression of “whoa” written all over their faces.
“Liz,” Chris said quietly at her side.
“Her name is Lizzie,” Brock snapped.
She saw Chris’s jaw tighten.
“My name is Elizabeth,” she said quietly, but with an underlying note of steel. “And Chris can call me Liz if he wants to.”
“Sir,” Chris began cautiously, “we wanted to tell the family all together. We’re really quite excited about the baby. We hoped Lizzie’s family would be, too.” She noticed he’d switched back to Lizzie—a placating gesture?
“Does that mean you’re getting married?” Savannah asked, and Lizzie wanted to throttle her well-intentioned sister.
“We’re taking our time to figure everything out,” Chris replied, cutting Lizzie off before she could answer.
“Chris quit the circuit and took a management job with his previous company right here in Dallas, to be closer to...to us.” She looked over and offered Chris a small smile. “It was a pretty big step, and we’re just taking things one day at a time for now.”
Brock continued to glare down the table but the family seemed to be recovering from the shock fairly well. “Well,” Jet said, leaning his chair back on two legs. “I’m going to be an uncle. How ’bout that.”
“It’ll be nice to have a baby around again,” Julieta offered gently. “I’ve missed that since Alex started school.”
“We should have pie to celebrate,” Savannah piped up. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll help,” Jacob offered, getting up from the table.
Carly stood, too. “Come on, Daniel, let’s start clearing these dirty dishes.”
“I’ll help,” Chris offered, getting up and taking Lizzie’s and his plates and a big bowl of denuded bones.
No one thought it odd that Anna, the housekeeper and cook, didn’t get up to help. She had her hands full getting Alex to the bathtub without smearing sauce on any other surfaces than his face. Lizzie smiled as she watched the older woman marshal her young charge inside. Anna had been with the family for a long time. Even when they were kids, though, they’d had to pitch in and help. Just because they’d had money didn’t mean they’d been allowed to skip out on good, hard work.
“Daddy,” Lizzie said quietly, wanting to smooth the waters, knowing the family had given her the space to do just that. “I’m sorry. I know the timing isn’t great. I just... I knew you were worried about the company and frustrated at being injured and I didn’t want to add to it. I promise I’m fine. And you’ll be back to work long before the baby’s born anyway.”
His gaze softened a little and she was encouraged. “You’re going to be a grandpa,” she murmured, and pressed her hand to her belly.
“Lizzie.” He sighed. “I just... Damn, girl. I kind of hoped you’d do things in the proper order.”
She laughed. “Dad, please. I’m thirty already. I was so busy with my job and everything else that I never really made time for serious relationships. If I’d dated and then gotten married and finally got around to having kids, my eggs probably would have dried up.”
Brock chuckled at last. “Can’t really argue with that.” He frowned. “Lizzie, why do you think I didn’t want you to take over the company? I know you can do the job. But it’s a big job, and it eats up your life. And before you know it you’re getting old and falling off bulls and getting banged up and carted around in a stupid chair.”
“Daddy,” she whispered, and got up to go around the table and pull out a chair next to him. “You’re not old.”
“I’m no spring chicken, sweetheart.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Well, duh.”
He chuckled again.
“This Chris fellow. He’s treating you right?”
She swallowed, thought back to how understanding and generous Chris had been since finding out the news. After the initial surprise he’d done just about everything right. Some things too right, she thought, remembering the way he’d kissed her on the sofa.
“Better than I deserve,” she admitted.