Megan turned toward the familiar voice.
Maisie Carter, the youngest Carter sister, who owned the local craft brewery, Three Chicks Brewery, entered the bar. From the way Megan knew the story, their late grandfather had crafted their local famous brew in his basement. Maisie, along with her two older sisters, Clara and Amelia, opened the brewery in his honor. With a little tweaking, they had developed Foxy Diva. Megan had gone to school with the oldest Carter sister, Clara.
“Son of a monkey!” Maisie gasped, blowing the dark hair away from her bright blue eyes. She kicked the front door shut behind her with her Converse.
Megan rose to help Maisie, who was carrying the boxes of booze.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Maisie dropped the boxes on the table. “You’ve got a baby in the oven.”
Ah, so everyone in town did know. Megan glanced back at Harper and Emma. They smiled and hopped off the stools to help Maisie get the boxes behind the bar.
Twenty-four-year-old Maisie had a definite cool vibe. Her hair was usually in side braids. Megan had never seen her out of her Converse, and she wore overalls or capris a lot. “My sisters keep thinking I have muscles that I don’t.” She smiled at Emma and Harper. “Thanks for the help.”
“Sure,” Harper said, returning to her stool.
Megan moved around the bar to begin restocking the shelves in the fridges. Now getting a better look, Maisie’s overalls had paint splattered on them. “You guys renovating at the brewery?”
“Nope.” She glanced down, shoved her hands in her overalls, and sighed. “I’m doing arts and crafts.”
Megan’s mouth twitched. “Arts and crafts?”
“Yeah, Amelia says I need a hobby.” Maisie shrugged. “But, uh, don’t tell Clara I’m painting during work hours. She’ll . . .” Maisie cringed. “I’ll hear a year-long lecture.”
“My lips are sealed,” Megan confirmed.
“Cool. Thanks.” Maisie moved to the door and opened it, smiling back at Megan. “Looking good, Megan.” She gave a wave and was out the door a second later.
“That girl is like a butterfly floating in the wind,” said Harper after a beat.
Megan agreed with a nod. “She is pretty chill, isn’t she?”
“Yeah,” Emma said, “can I be that chill?”
Megan laughed, feeling better now than before. Maybe just talking about selling the ring made her feel not so guilty for letting go of something that was so close to her heart. Regardless of the fact that she knew it was the right decision, it still sucked.
“So,” Harper said gently, curious eyes regarding Megan intently. “We don’t need to worry about you, right?”
Megan laughed softly. Not being one for grand emotional displays, she understood their concern. She glanced at her hand again and ran her fingers over her bare finger. “Selling the ring was harder than I expected, but I’m okay, really. I know Grams would be thrilled that I bought a house I love with the money. It was just . . .” her throat tightened, “ . . . special, you know.”
Emma gave those sad eyes again. “Yeah, I know.” She was off her stool and her arms were around Megan again, as were Harper’s.
Megan smiled and leaned into the hug. She had great friends. A hot cowboy who loved her. A sweet baby on the way. And a new house. All she was missing was the white picket fence.
Chapter 18
The following morning, Nash had a lot on his mind. He’d met Shep and Chase for breakfast at Harper’s restaurant, getting his head right before meeting his mother at the bank. After that, he hadn’t stopped getting shit done until he met Megan at River Rock’s medical center. She was there for her monthly checkup, and Nash had gone quiet, his body still, the moment the female obstetrician placed the heartbeat monitor on Megan’s bare round belly.
Nash held Megan’s hand, his whole life changing in a single second at the steady thump, thump, thump on the monitor.
“That’s our baby,” Megan said, tears in her eyes.
Emotion clamped at his throat, and he kissed her hand to gather himself. Things just got real. That was his baby right there. Nash thought once he’d tasted happiness. Holding the championship belt in his hand had meant the world to him. But it couldn’t come close to how this made him feel. He smiled down at her, brushing his knuckles across her cheek. “Listen to our boy. He’s so strong.”
“Well, we won’t know the sex until your second-trimester ultrasound. You’ve got a few weeks before that,” the doctor said.
Megan laughed. “He’s suspects it’s a boy.”
“Not suspects.” Nash placed his hand on the side of Megan’s warm belly. “That’s my boy right there.”