“I have another brother or sister?” My mind immediately thought that they must have put the baby up for adoption.
“No. We were seniors in high school, fixin’ to graduate, and I lost the baby.”
I sucked in a breath. “Oh Mom, I’m so sorry.”
She smiled. “It’s okay, honey. You didn’t know. Your father and I have debated telling you and Gage, but it was so long ago. It was painful for me and things weren’t good between your father and me back then. I think that’s why it was so hard for him to sit back and watch you and Rip deny your feelings. When you’ve learned hard lessons in life, you just naturally want to pass those along to your kids. Some lessons, though, need to be learned on their own.”
I nodded. “Were you very far along?”
“I was about a month.”
Swallowing hard, I said, “I’m twelve weeks.”
She pulled me into her arms and gently rocked me. I loved this. Loved that she still held me like her little girl. Still sent that warm feeling rushing through my body that said everything was okay. “Darling girl, you’re going to be fine! Just fine.”
“I know. I am feeling better and better every day. It is still something I worry about.”
She shook her head and pushed a piece of my brown hair behind my ears. “When you were little you had such beautiful blonde hair. Those blue eyes of yours just stood out against all those curls. As you grew up and it turned darker, I remember your daddy saying, ‘I can’t pick her out in the crowd anymore. Those blonde curls were my marker.’”
I smiled.
“No matter how old your child is, you will worry. You’re going to worry every time you feel a strange pain or panic if they don’t move every single hour. It’s all part of being a parent. No matter how young or old your baby is, you will always be worried about them.”
“Are you secretly happy Gage is staying home?”
She winked at me. “I’ll never tell.”
“That is a yes!”
Mom shrugged and stood. “Come on. I’m taking you out to a fancy restaurant, and we are going to celebrate you saying yes to the dress and my little grandbaby.”
“I love that idea!”
Rip
I STOOD STARING at the baby goat in the pen. Steed stood next to me, a giant smile on his face.
“A goat?” I asked.
“Yep.”
The little kid, who happened to be dressed in tiny pink pajamas, was currently bouncing all over the place. “A goat?”
“Yep. It will be the perfect wedding present.”
My brows lifted. “Not to put your idea down or anything, sir, but I was thinking along the lines of some diamond and pearl earrings for Chloe.”
Steed looked at me, then rolled his eyes. “Not from you! From me and Paxton.”
Relief swept over me. Thank God.
“That makes more sense, I think.”
“I know how much Chloe has been missing Patches, and I think she will love this idea. I was thinking we could have your little niece, Renee, walk the goat down the aisle with her.”
My oldest sister Evie would totally think this was precious. Her daughter Renee was five and would be over the moon walking a goat down the aisle.
Between my two brothers and three sisters and Chloe’s nine cousins, we had decided to only have Mike and Alyssa in the wedding party. Sort of like our actual wedding. Renee was the youngest in either family, so she was the natural pick for the flower girl.
“I’m sure she would love that,” I agreed.
“The one with the pink sweater!” Steed called out.
“You’ll keep it in Patches’ old stall?” I asked as the farmer picked up the goat and put her in my hands.
“Yes. Then when you both come back from your honeymoon you can bring her home.”
I forced a smile. “Great. Can’t wait.”
Steed looked at me and then busted out laughing.
As we walked to his truck, Steed started to talk. “Your mom and dad invited me and Paxton over for dinner tonight. That was sweet of them. You kids sure you want to spend the night before your wedding with your folks?”
“Of course we do.”
What Steed didn’t realize was that Chloe and I were going to tell our parents we were expecting a baby in March. We’d tell the rest of the family when we got back from France—which Chloe still didn’t know was our honeymoon destination.
With the baby goat in the back seat of Steed’s truck, we set off for Frio Cattle Ranch. When I looked back, I smiled. The goat was sound asleep in a peaceful slumber.
“Looks like we have the opposite of Patches,” I mused.
“I love your optimism, Rip. It’s one of your better qualities.”
“Mom knows already,” Chloe confessed in the truck on the way to my parents’ house.
“I figured she knew from that day in your grandparents’ kitchen.”