Reckless Love (Cowboys & Angels 7)

Tripp bent down and hugged her. “Thank you, Chloe. I know Rose will love anything she gets from her cousins.”

“Oh, dear,” my mother said with a slight chuckle. “Six grandbabies down, two more to go!”

My father wrapped my mother up in his arms and kissed her. I could see the happiness practically dripping off of the two of them.

“Can you imagine what Christmas is going to be like in the next few years?” Steed said with a laugh.

I couldn’t help but catch the way Mitchell looked at Corina. I’d seen that look before. Plenty of times. When he caught me looking at them, I gave him a questioning stare. He gave me a quick wink, then a nod, and reached for Tripp’s hand to shake it.

“Holy shit,” I whispered.

“What?” Scarlett asked. Leaning down, I placed my mouth to her ear. “Corina’s pregnant.”

Scarlett gasped.

“Don’t say anything. I totally just guessed it and Mitchell confirmed.”

Glancing between me and Mitchell, she gave an incredulous look.

“How did you guess it and he confirmed it when y’all are standing ten feet apart and haven’t even spoken?”

With a wink, I replied, “Baby, the Parker men have more than one talent.”

She rolled her eyes and made her way to Chloe where she quickly got pulled into a conversation about how Chloe was going to bring Patches up to date as soon as she got back to the ranch.

“I’m going to head back in with Harley,” Tripp said. “If y’all will give us just a bit more time with the babies, then we can start letting folks in to visit.”

“The grandparents are first,” Gus called out.

My father pointed to Gus. “Yes, what he said.”

Patches.

Holding up my bouquet, I stared at the half-eaten flowers and wanted to cry.

“It’s okay. We can fix this,” Waylynn said. “Look, here comes Maebh now.”

The moment I saw Maebh I relaxed. We had become close since last fall, and by now she felt more like a sister to me than anything. The fact that she pushed her own wedding out a few weeks into July so that Trevor, me, and the baby could be there, meant the world to me.

“Look! See, it’s even more beautiful than the other one. That arse of a goat couldn’t pull one over on us today!” Maebh declared as she held the flower up in victory.

When she set the bouquet down, she glanced out the window. I followed her gaze. Trevor, Cord, and Wade were all chasing Patches in the yard. He had already tried to get into the backyard and Melanie had nearly had a fit.

Maebh laughed. “Look at those eejits. All they have to do is give the beast food.”

Waylynn let out a sigh. “I’m going to need to get…what’s the word for drunk again, Maebh?”

“Langered.”

“I’m going to need to do that after this week. Between the spring fling yesterday, the wedding today, and the dinner tonight, I’m knackered.”

“Very well done!” Maebh exclaimed as Waylynn smiled.

With a giggle, I went to stand and stopped. A strange feeling I’d never felt before rolled over my stomach. A contraction, maybe? Harley and Amelia had told me about the Braxton Hicks contractions. I hadn’t had any yet, so maybe that was what it had been.

“Are you well, Scarlett?” Maebh asked.

Nodding, I smiled. “I think I might have had a Braxton Hicks contraction.”

“Well, take it easy and sit down. You don’t need to head over to the pasture for another thirty minutes.”

The sound of Trevor yelling outside made me look again. Chewing on my lip, I watched as Wade did an impressive dive and grabbed Patches.

“They got him!” I said. Relief sweeping over me. The last thing I wanted was for that goat to cause more problems. I knew Chloe loved him, and her feelings had been hurt when Trevor and I had said Patches couldn’t be a part of the wedding because it was set up too close to the dinner. She understood, but it killed me to see the disappointment on her face.

“Do you know how many diaper bags I went through because of that damn goat? I swear, if Chloe didn’t love it so much I’d…”

“Don’t say it!” Paxton said, walking into the room with a bottle of water. She handed it to me and placed her hands on my stomach.

“Thirty weeks and some change. Oh my gosh. You’re getting closer!”

“I know! I’ve been having the strangest dreams.”

Paxton nodded. “I did too, probably around the same time as you. Heartburn was a bitch for me.”

“I don’t have that, but I know Amelia has been cutting back on certain foods because of heartburn.”

Corina pinned a loose curl back as she spoke. “Well, at least you aren’t swelling. I was so swollen from thirty weeks on.”

My eyes met hers, and she smiled. Mitchell and Corina hadn’t told anyone, but it was obvious she was pregnant. I didn’t want to push her, since she might be very early on. Melanie and John were going to be over the moon.