He nodded. “So you’re the reason our Chris has run off to Dallas.” He winked at Chris. “I can see why, son.”
Chris was expecting Lizzie’s blush and sure enough, the pink hue blossomed on her cheeks. “We figured it was time you met,” Chris began, unsure of where to insert the details into the conversation. Now or after dinner? Or during?
“What do you do, Liz? Chris never really said.”
Lizzie’s gaze swerved to his and he half shrugged. “It didn’t come up,” he explained, though he knew he’d kept it a bit quiet. Not for any reason other than they had kept their relationship fairly secret until the last week or two.
“I’m Lizzie Baron,” she explained. When no one answered, she added, “I’m the acting president of Baron Energies at the moment.”
“Baron Energies?” Bob’s jaw dropped. “The oil company?”
She nodded.
“But Brock Baron always ran that. Chris, you competed against his boys, didn’t you?”
“Sure did. Jet’s good, but Jacob is phenomenal. He could end up with a title this year.”
“My dad was injured in an event on the seniors’ tour,” Lizzie explained. “I’m only heading things up until he can come back to the office. I usually head the Human Resources department.”
Which was still a pretty impressive resume in itself, Chris added mentally.
Lizzie took a drink of tea and smiled at his parents, who were still obviously trying to absorb the fact that Lizzie had a rather high-profile position. “Rodeo is how Chris and I met, actually. He was competing the same weekend as my brothers.”
He reached over and took her hand. A show of solidarity. Of...affection. Not long ago it had been only a show. Now there was more. A lot more. He’d found that moving in with her had been nearly seamless. Ever since they’d agreed to try seeing each other, taking things slowly without making demands on the future, they’d gotten on extremely well.
The only problem was, Chris wanted to make demands. He wanted to make plans. Damn it, he wanted to be with her, and he was scared to tell her in case she pushed him away entirely. He felt as if he was standing on a knife edge. One wrong move and he’d wreck everything.
“I have to admit, we were plenty surprised when Chris said he was taking a year off to compete again. We were also pleased when he went back to his job, even if the promotion took him further away.” This from his father, who, Chris realized, was looking pleased as punch that his son had given up the crazy idea of rodeo.
Lizzie squeezed his hand, though, and leaned into his shoulder a little bit. “Well, as long as he’s happy. I don’t think it really matters what a person does, as long as they enjoy it.”
He was surprised at the support she was giving him right now. Even more surprised at the challenge she’d politely issued to his father, all while smiling sweetly.
Bob leaned forward. “Pardon my bluntness, but that’s probably easier to say when you’ve been brought up a Baron.”
Chris tensed. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go! They still had to break the news about the baby. He tightened his fingers on Lizzie’s, a silent warning.
But Lizzie relaxed against his arm and once more turned her warm smile on his dad. “Yes, that’s true. But I wouldn’t be part of the business if I didn’t want to be. I love what I do. I love the company. My brother, on the other hand, isn’t so interested in the energy sector and has his own ranch close to Roughneck. My sister runs the farm store.” She leaned forward a little. “The one thing we were taught growing up? The value of hard work. There’s never been a job any of us was too good for, you know? We all did our fair share of washing dishes and cleaning stalls. Our silver spoon was shaped like a shovel.”
Bob’s eyes lit with a new respect. “I’m glad to hear it.”
She laughed a little and Chris let her take the lead. She was winning over his dad in exactly the right way.
“The one thing I’ve learned about your son in the time we’ve been...together?” Chris caught the slight hesitation and hoped his parents hadn’t. Lizzie continued on, “He is hardworking, honorable and is determined to live up to his responsibilities. You raised a good man.”
Chris watched as his dad sat back a bit, satisfied, and his mom beamed from her chair across the narrow verandah. More than that, though, he felt a warm glow within himself at her words. Was that really how she saw him? As a good man? Honorable? He tried. God knows he tried. And if he’d had to sacrifice some of his happiness, it was worth it.
“You’re the first girl Chris has brought home since Erica,” his mother said, her eyes shining. “Now we can see why.”
There it was. The stamp of approval, even if his mom had brought Erica into the conversation. One thing was for certain, he didn’t have to worry about Lizzie wanting him for what he could provide for her. She could manage stability all on her own.
So why was she here? Really? It wasn’t about amicable coparenting anymore, hadn’t been for a while. Was she starting to truly care for him the way he cared for her?
“There’s another reason why,” he said softly, looking over at Lizzie for permission to give them the news. She smiled softly and nodded and his heart pounded. Had he just thought the word care with regards to Lizzie? It was more than that. He was falling in love with her. Head over heels, stupid in love with her.
He faced his parents, and his chest felt as if it was expanding with...what? Pride? Happiness? He couldn’t be sure, but he smiled and said the words.
“We’re having a baby.”