“Wow…early on into it. ”
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t going to say anything to anyone until after the wedding, but y’all are different. I just got too excited, and I couldn’t hold it in. ” Ari shrugged her shoulders and looked at Jeff.
He had a huge smile on his face. My stomach did butterflies, thinking about my brother becoming a daddy. I smiled at him as he grinned and winked back at me.
Heather turned and saw Josh standing there, looking at her. I could tell she was somewhat shocked and mad as hell. She turned to glare at me. I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders.
“So, who wants to hike up a giant ass granite rock?” Gunner said with a smile.
As we all started to head up the trail, Heather grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
“What’s he doing here?” Heather said through gritted teeth.
“I didn’t know! Jeff and Ari invited him. ”
“I don’t want to see him, Ellie. ”
“Listen, Heather, I know it upsets you to see him just as I’m sure it upsets him to see you, but we’re all friends. You’re going to see him when we all get together sooner or later. ”
Heather let out a sigh and looked down the trail. “Where is the bitch girlfriend of his?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Fine. I’m only doing this because I need the fresh air and exercise, but I have no intentions of talking to him. ”
Heather pushed past me and started to walk up the trail. Gunner stopped and waited for me. By the time I caught up to him, I was fuming mad.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
“Heather. She’s what’s wrong. She is so messed up in her stupid-ass thinking that she’s pushing away the one and only person she is ever going to love. She’s pissed because he is here, and she won’t talk to him. I mean, I love Heather like a sister, Gunner. Does she even realize that she is the one who keeps hurting him?”
Gunner looked at our friends walking down the trail. Jeff and Josh were in the lead, and Ari and Heather were behind them talking.
“Don’t worry, Ells. Things have a funny way of working themselves out,” Gunner said with a wink.
“I sure as shit hope you’re right. ”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
JEFF
I opened the truck door and helped Ari into the truck. After I gave her a kiss, she smiled at me and then looked past my shoulder. When I turned around, Josh was standing at Heather’s car, talking to her.
Jesus, those two. I thought Ari and I had acted like idiots, but these two were making us look like love at first sight. I looked back at Ari and leaned into the truck.
“Don’t worry, baby. They’ll be okay. ”
Ari gave me a funny look and nodded her head. I shut the door and started to walk around to the driver’s side of my truck.
Gunner and Ellie had already left to head back to the ranch. We’d decided we were all going to go to a barn dance tonight. The couple who were hosting the dance were good friends with Garrett. I was surprised that Heather decided to crash at our house since she’d found out that Josh was staying there also.
The drive back home was dead quiet. My princess had fallen fast asleep with her hands on her stomach. Each time I looked over at her, my heart swelled more and more. For some reason, knowing that our child was growing in her body just turned me the fuck on. When I saw a small gravel dirt road coming up, I smiled. I turned down the road and drove a few miles until I found an open field. While my truck drove over the bumpy field, Ari woke up
.
“Holy hell, where the fuck are you going? See, I knew it. I knew if I fell asleep, you’d get lost. I just knew it. ”
I started to laugh as I looked over at the love of my life, who was now was carrying the next love of my life. I pulled up under a large Oak tree, turned off the truck and looked at her.