“I do, darlin’. You plannin’ a little getaway?”
“No, but Bree is going to the X Games. I thought, if it was empty, she could stay there. She’s having a hard time finding a place with rooms available.”
“I’ll find a place, Blythe. I can always stay in Basalt and drive in every day.”
“Why’re you goin’ to the X Games?”
“Tell him, Bree. I think what you’re doing is really cool.”
“I’m researching why people participate in extreme sports.”
“There’s more. Go ahead, tell him,” Blythe prodded.
“I’m thinking of interviewing people who ride bulls and broncs, even barrel racers.”
“Jace, why don’t you let Bree interview you?”
Why didn’t Bree ask herself, if she wanted to interview him? He knew the answer—because she didn’t. Blythe was trying hard to make peace between them, like she was doing now, and he hated to disappoint her, but he and Bree barely tolerated one another. She took every opportunity to tell him he didn’t have a place in Blythe’s life.
“Blythe’s family is perfectly capable of taking care of her,” she’d say. “You don’t need to be here every day. Let her get back to a normal life.” Bree worked that into almost every conversation she had with him.
“Can you explain how me leavin’ her alone makes her life normal? She’s pregnant, twenty-three years old, the father of her baby is God knows where and doesn’t even know he’s going to be a father, but it’s me that makes her life abnormal.” Jace had shaken his head and walked away after that conversation. Actually, he shook his head and walked away after every conversation he had with Blythe’s sister.
“Yeah, well, if you can’t find a place, you can stay in the condo in Aspen. Lemme know. Billy’s waitin’ to get started.” That was a crock of shit; Billy never waited on anyone.
“Never seen a woman rattle you that way,” Billy goaded him.
“She doesn’t rattle me. She makes my skin crawl.”
“Whatever,” Billy smirked.
“You ready to get back to work? If not, I’ll let you gossip with the girls sittin’ over there.” Jace motioned toward the barn, where Renie, Blythe, and Bree sat, watching them.
Billy laughed, which made Jace want to knock him into the dirt, but that would happen soon enough without Jace having to do it. This weekend they’d be in Pueblo, and the horse Billy was due to ride had bucked off its last fifteen riders. Jace was as thankful he hadn’t drawn that horse, as he would be to see Billy eat a little dirt.
The baby was kicking up a storm. Sometimes it hurt, but most times it tickled. Like it was now. Blythe started to giggle. Renie and Bree were used to it. If she was laughing and rubbing her belly, they knew why.
“Can I feel?” Bree asked her.
“Of course, you don’t have to ask. I don’t like strangers touching my belly—which happens more than you’d think—but you can, whenever you want.”
Blythe watched her sister’s face turn from troubled to serene when she felt the baby kick. Was she wishing she and Zack had gotten pregnant before he was deployed? At least then she wouldn’t be alone.
Lyric drove up and parked next to where they were sitting. Things would get interesting now. They always did when Lyric was around. She never hesitated to say exactly what was on her mind, which usually resulted in the four of them laughing hysterically.
They formed their own tight-knit circle. Renie wasn’t around as often, between finishing school and raising Willow, who was growing like a weed. She was eighteen months old, walking and talking like a little lady.
“Come here and see Auntie Blythe, Willow. You wanna feel my baby?”
Willow toddled ove
r, and Blythe showed her where to rest her hands. When Willow felt the baby move, she jumped, and then started to giggle. Was there a better sound on earth than a little girl’s giggle?
Jace watched Blythe playing with Willow. When she was around the little girl, she never stopped smiling. She told him she was worried about what kind of mother she’d be, but she’d be a great one. All she lacked was confidence. Once her baby was born, she’d be too busy to over-think herself.
Her baby. Not their baby. As close as he felt to her, and as much as he loved that bundle growing inside her, the baby would never be his. He’d always be Uncle Jace.
He caught Bree’s eye instead of Blythe’s. She was watching him. He watched her too, when she wasn’t looking. Why did she irritate him so much? Every time she opened her damned mouth, he wanted to throttle her.