Ellie smiled and those beautiful blue eyes lit up as a single tear rolled down her face. I wiped it away and then stood up. I helped my beautiful girl up to her feet before I grabbed her and kissed her. The small moan she let escape ran through my body.
I pulled away and smiled. Then, I turned and started walking us back to my truck. Later, I’d have Ellie drive me back over here to the pick up the ranch truck, right now I just needed to get her home.
“Wait, where are we going?” Ellie asked.
I was practically dragging her along the way.
“Home. I need to make love to you right now.”
She let out a giggle and ran up next to me.
“Well, who am I to argue with such a romantic gesture?”
I reached down and picked her up as she let out a little scream.
“Be ready, baby. I’m gonna rock your pregnant world.”
Ellie laughed as she pushed up off my back.
“Bring it on, Gunner. Bring it on.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
JEFF
I walked down to the barn to check on Josh. He’d been staying with us the last two weeks, along with Heather. I still had to chuckle when I thought of the look on their faces when they both saw each other, then when they found out they were both staying with us. It was priceless. I would have paid a million bucks to have that shit recorded.
Ari told me that they went for a ride together this morning, so at least they were making progress.
When, I walked into the barn, Josh was brushing Sweet Pea, the new mare I bought last week.
“You know, country life agrees with you, Josh. Gunner and I sure could use your help out here, especially with Drake moving to Austin and Aaron helping Jenny more and more with her event-planning business.”
Josh turned and smiled at me.
“I would move out here in a heartbeat if I thought I could. My business is growing pretty fast in Austin though.”
“Dude, you can make furniture anywhere. All this damn fresh air might also inspire you..”
Josh took in a deep breath. “All I smell is horse shit, dude.”
I let out a laugh.
“How was your ride this morning with Heather?”
“Good. She still seems distant though, almost like she’s doing something wrong by spending time with me.”
“I think I know why.”
Josh stopped brushing and looked at me.
“Alright, asshole, you’re planning on sharing with me right?”
“Do you remember when Heather came back from the bathroom so upset on the night of my wedding?”
“Of course I do.”
“Well, first off, I need you to know that Heather just told Ari and Ellie this a couple of weeks ago.”
“What? What did she tell them, Jeff?”
“In the bathroom that night, Lynda told Heather that you asked her to marry you, but y’all had decided to wait on telling anyone.”
Josh dropped the brush to the ground.
“Wait…what? I haven’t asked Lynda to marry me. She keeps pushing me, but I’ve never even mentioned marriage to her.”
Josh put his hands on his knees. I walked up to him and put my hand on his back.
“Motherfucker. Is that why she started partying and everything? She thought I was getting married?” Josh asked.
“I guess so. Every time we ever asked her to come along and do something with us, as soon as she found out that you and Lynda were going to be there, she’d change her mind. Josh, do you love Lynda?”
Josh stood up and looked at me.
“I care about her, but do I love her enough to marry her? No, not at all.”
“Do you love Heather?” I asked.
Josh looked at me with tears in his eyes. “Yes, I love her more than anything.”
“Do you want to spend the rest of your life with her and only her?”
“Yes.”
“Then, go the fuck after her. She took Rose, and is down at the river reading.”
“Yeah, I know, I helped saddle her up.”
“Sweet Pea could use some exercise.” I said, raising my eyebrows.
Josh grabbed a bridle and put it on Sweet Pea, and then jumped up on her.
“You’re riding bareback, dude?”
Josh smiled and took off toward the river.
“Do you know where she’s at along the river?”
“Ari just said Heather went for a ride to the river to read.”
“Wish me luck!”
“You got this, Josh. Just be honest with her. Wait!”
Josh stopped Sweet pea while I ran over to my truck and opened the door to the backseat. I smiled when I found the folded-up quilt. I ran over to Josh and handed it to him.
“What the fuck do I need a quilt for?”
I just looked at him.
“Oh, um, right. Thanks, dude!”
I watched Josh gallop off on Sweet Pea. I was hoping for two things: the first, that he made it to Heather in one piece and didn’t fall the fuck off the horse, and second, that those two got their shit together once and for all.
By the time I got back to the house, I walked in to see my very pregnant, very sexy wife standing at the kitchen sink. She was listening to her iPod, and those hips were just moving to the beat of the song. I walked up closer to see if I could hear what she was listening to. I could hear Kenny Chesney’s “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.”, Then, she started to sing, or rather scream the words. The last thing I wanted to do was scare her, but when I came up behind her and put my hands on her hips, she jumped and yelled.
She pulled her earbuds out as she turned around. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, you asswipe. You scared the shit out of me!”
I put my hand on her round belly.
“How are you and little bit doing this afternoon?”
She smiled and moved my hand to the right side of her stomach. Right then, the baby kicked…hard.
I smiled as I looked at Ari.
She smiled back at me. “I would say he’s doing well. Me on the other hand…I’m so ready for this baby to be out of my stomach. I’m so glad Dr. Wyatt is inducing me in two days. I don’t think I could carry him around another day.”
I still couldn’t believe it. In two days, and we would be having a baby at the hospital in Austin.
“Jeff, we really need to decide on a name.”
I rolled my eyes and sat down on the bar stool. Ugh…baby names kill me. Even after we found out we were having a boy, we still couldn’t agree on a name.
“You still set on Luke, Ari?”
“Yep. Are you still set on Hunter?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, how about we wait until we see his face, and then we decide. Fair enough?”
Ari smiled and walked up to me. She kissed me so sweetly and softly that I think I would have settled on Luke if she asked again.
“Fair enough, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be walking out of the hospital with the name Luke Drew Johnson.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re right baby.”
“Is Josh still down at the barn?”
“Nope, he took off bareback on Sweet Pea when I explained what Lynda said about them getting married.”
Ari dropped the knife she’d been using to cut up apples in the sink.
“You told him? I promised Heather that I wouldn’t say anything, Jeff. I told her they weren’t engaged, and she believed me. Why would you tell Josh?”
“Because he needed to know why Heather pushed him away again. He has a right to know.”
Ari smiled and leaned against the sink. “So, he went right after her, did he?”
“Yep, and I even gave him our lucky quilt to take.”
Ari smiled and raised her eyebrows.
“That means…they could be down at the river for a while.”
I stood up and took her into my arms. “You double lock the backdoor, and I’ll double lock the front door.”
“I’m on it.”
I’d never seen my nine months pregnant wife move so fast. When I looked down the hallway, she was already taking off her shirt. I smiled and headed to the front door. Shit, I might have to keep her pregnant all the time. This girl was hornier than a frat boy in a house full of virgins.
“Jeff! Hurry! Let’s do this before they come back,” Ari yelled out from our room.
I walked down the hallway and headed into our bedroom. She was already undressed and trying to get up on the bed.
She turned and looked at me.
“Be creative! I can hardly move!”
I let out a laugh as I pulled my shirt over my head, and then I started to take off my pants.
“Oh, don’t worry, baby. You won’t be disappointed.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
JOSH
Shit. I should have asked Jeff if Heather had stayed on his property or if she had ridden over onto the Mathews’ place.
Then, I saw her. With a blanket already laid out on the ground, she was lying on her stomach, reading a book. I jumped off Sweet Pea and decided to just let her roam. She would probably make her way over to where Rose was tied up and eating.
As I walked toward Heather, she didn’t look up. The sound of the river must have been blocking out my steps.
“Hey, Heather,” I called out.
When she looked up, I was hoping that she wasn’t going to seem disappointed to see me.
She let a huge smile play across her face, and I felt my own smile spreading across mine.
I love her. I only want her.
She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. She looked beautiful, sitting there under the blue sky. I could practically see her blue eyes from here.
“Hey, what are you doing out here?” she called out as I was walking closer to her.
By the time I got to her, she had stood up.
I didn’t know what to say or how I should even start it. So, I did the only thing I’d wanted to do since I saw her walk into Jeff and Ari’s house two weeks ago. I inched closer to her, took her face in my hands, and kissed her.
The moan that escaped from her mouth drove me mad, and my dick was hard within seconds. It had nothing to do with the fact that I had not slept with Lynda in months. It was because I was kissing Heather. I craved her kiss and her touch more than anything else in my life.
I pulled away from her mouth, so we could catch our breath. When she closed her eyes, a tear rolled down her face.
I took my thumb and wiped it away.
“I love you, Heather. I’ve only ever loved you.”
Her beautiful blue eyes opened, and it was like she was staring into my soul.
“I’m so sorry. I never meant for what happened with Jerry to happen. I can’t get it out of my head. I’ve tried to do everything I could think of to just forget it, but I can’t. That was supposed to be you. I wanted that to be you so badly, Josh.”
She started crying even harder.
I pulled her into me and held on to her.
“I wanted it to be you more than anything.”
“It’s okay princess. Please don’t cry. It doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is you and me, Heather.”
She pulled away, looking at me.
“I know what people think about me, and they’re wrong. I haven’t been with anyone since that night with Jerry. I couldn’t be with anyone else but you.”
I leaned down and took her mouth with mine. I kissed her with as much passion as I possibly could. I needed to show her how much I loved and wanted her.