Pregnant with the Rancher's Baby: Reclaimed by the Rancher

“Yeah, I thought about that.” Nate groaned. “I’m pretty sure I’m already well on the way to developing an ulcer just thinking about some skinny-assed kid trying to get her into the back of his daddy’s pickup truck for some star gazing.”

“Karma’s a bitch,” Jaron said, grinning. The most serious one of his brothers, it was good to see the man enjoying himself, even if it was at Nate’s expense.

“Don’t laugh too hard, bro,” Nate advised. “You know what Hank always told us about laughing at each other. The very thing you make fun of has a damned good chance of coming back to bite you in the butt.” Nate grinned back at his brother. “Like you said. Karma’s a bitch.”

“Yeah, but unlike you, I didn’t try to date the entire Southwest female population,” Jaron shot back good-naturedly.

“Hey, in the past two and a half years I’ve only been with one woman,” Nate pointed out. The realization that what he said was true caused the breath to lodge in his lungs. Even when they had broken up he hadn’t wanted to date anyone else.

“You should have married Jessie a long time ago,” Jaron said, voicing what Nate was sure all of his brothers had been thinking. “She’s the only one you ever went back to. That should have told you something.”

Nate nodded. “I had my reasons, the same as you have yours for trying to keep Mariah at arm’s length.”

“Yeah,” Jaron agreed as they walked back to Nate’s truck. “I’ve got too much respect for her to saddle Mariah with that kind of baggage.”

Nate knew what his brother meant. They had not only become brothers during their time at the Last Chance Ranch, they had become best friends. Nate was the only one who knew the whole truth about what Jaron had gone through as a kid and the crushing guilt the man carried because of it to this day.

When they returned to the ranch house, Nate followed Jaron as he walked over to get into his truck to leave. “If you don’t mind, keep the news about the baby’s gender under your hat for a while.”

“Hey, it’s your news to tell.” Jaron chuckled. “Besides, I figure you probably want to avoid the rest of the brothers giving you what for when they find out you and Jessie are having a girl. At least for a while.”

“Yeah, I’m going to be a major source of entertainment for you guys for quite some time to come,” Nate said, laughing. “But look at it this way. If they’re picking on me, they’re leaving you alone.”

That earned him a big grin from Jaron. “That’s what I’m counting on, bro.”

* * *

Two days after Jaron stopped by the ranch, Nate found himself strolling through the furniture department at one of the baby boutiques in Waco. He felt like a fish out of water looking at all the gadgets and things a baby needed. How could something that tiny need so much stuff?

“I never realized there were so many different styles of baby beds,” he said, stopping to look at a white crib and the one just like it in light oak. “Or colors.”

Jessie nodded as she used the scanner the manager had given her to scan the UPC code for the gift registry she was setting up. “I think I’m going with the white furniture. I don’t know why, but it seems more girlish than the natural wood.”

“Yeah, that oak is about the same color as a baseball bat I used to have as a kid,” he agreed. He mentally noted the color and style she liked. He knew a master furniture craftsman and fully intended to surprise her by having the entire ensemble custom made for the nursery.

“Funny you should mention that,” she commented as she checked out a rocking chair that matched the white crib. “I had decided to decorate the nursery in a baseball theme if I found out I was having a boy.”

“What are you going to use for the theme now that you know we’re having a girl?” he asked, picking up a purple unicorn with a rainbow-colored horn.

“I can’t decide between ponies or ballerinas,” she answered. “Why?”

“I was just wondering if this is something that would go in the nursery and if you think the baby would like it,” he said, holding up the stuffed toy for her inspection. “I’ve never been a unicorn type of guy, but this one kind of grows on you.”

Jessie laughed. “I don’t think we’ll know for a while what she likes.”

“I think I’ll go ahead and get it,” Nate said, tucking it under his arm. When Jessie gave him an indulgent smile, he felt a little self-conscious. “You know, just in case it turns out that she does like unicorns.” He wasn’t sure why, but he wanted to be the first one to buy something for his little girl.