“Get her to fall in love with horses, and she won’t be interested in men,” Will had told me time and time again.
“I’m a big girl now, you said so.”
I nodded. “I did say that. What kind of horse do you want?”
Feeling her almost vibrate with excitement, she answered, “I don’t care, as long as she’s a girl. It’s got to be a girl, Daddy.”
“A mare.”
She nodded. “I forgot. A mare. I’d like a mare, Daddy. Maybe one like Uncle Ryan’s horse.”
“A paint. My girl has good taste.”
Liliana giggled.
“I’ve got an idea. I need to swing by the shop today and check out a playhouse, and I’m going to need your expert advice on it.”
She nodded and said, “I’m on it!”
Since I’d married Saryn, Liliana had become the official tester for all the playhouses we built. We would send her in when they were almost complete and see what she liked and didn’t like. There were many times when we followed her around and she asked where something was; in her little mind there should be a telescope here or a chair to read in there. Liliana was very much like her mother, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up working for the business someday. Hell, she’d probably take it over and do better than me. She was a valuable member of the team and even had her own T-shirt with her name on the back of it and the title, Official Playhouse Tester.
“How about this. We stop by, check out the playhouse, then stop and pick up a surprise for Mommy and then head home and make Mommy dinner.”
“Yes! I love that idea. Can we get a surprise for Nolan, too?”
My heart melted. We had named our son after Nolan, my best friend who had surprised me and came in for the wedding. I knew how hard it was on him to be back in Boerne after the loss of his child and Linnzi leaving him.
When baby Nolan was born, he made the trip back to Boerne again. I was hoping he could come again for Nolan’s second birthday party.
“If you want to get a surprise for your brother, we certainly can. That’s very sweet of you. You’re a great big sister.”
Liliana leaned her head back against me and let out a very dramatic sigh. “He can be a pain, Daddy.”
“Well, he is only two, or almost two.”
Another sigh. “I hope the next baby we have is a girl.”
I laughed. “You’re ready for another baby, huh?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure. Today I am, but tomorrow, well, I might not want her tomorrow so maybe we should wait.”
I kissed her light brown curls and turned the horse toward the barn. To my surprise, waiting for us was Saryn and baby Nolan.
“Hey there!” I called out.
My wife and son both waved in excitement.
I slid off of Marco and helped Liliana down. She ran over to Saryn and hugged her.
“Mommy, I’m going to test a playhouse, then we’re going to get you a surprise, it’s flowers, then Daddy said I can buy something for Nolan.”
Nolan cried out in excitement simply from picking up on Liliana’s excitement.
“Sweetheart, when we say the flowers are a surprise, we aren’t supposed to tell Mommy that.”
Liliana covered her mouth and giggled. “I did it again!”
Saryn chuckled and looked up at me. “Your mom and dad offered to watch the kids tonight.”
My entire body jumped at the idea of being with my wife for an entire evening alone.
“Really? Both kids?”
She nodded and wagged her brows. “I wanted to have a date night with my sexy husband.”
“I like the sound of that,” I stated.
Saryn look Liliana’s hand. “Come on, let’s go eat an early dinner and then pack up for Grandpa and Grandma’s house.”
“But what about the playhouse and surprise?” she asked with a concerned expression.
“We’ll do it tomorrow,” I replied.
“Yay!” Liliana cried out as she nearly dragged Saryn back to the house.
As I walked Marco back into the barn, Saryn called out. “I left you a gift in the barn. It’s in a small brown bag.”
“Okay!” I called back to her. After taking off Marco’s saddle and getting him washed and brushed, I walked him back to his stall to give him some oats. Then I saw the small brown bag sitting on the bench across from Marco’s stall. I walked over and picked it up. I opened it and pulled out a long box. It was the kind that you might keep a bracelet or necklace in. I opened it and nearly fell to my knees.
I reached in and took out the pregnancy test, the positive pregnancy test.
“Holy crap,” I whispered.