Love at First Sight

by Kelly Elliott

  Chloe

  THE LIGHT KNOCK on my office door made me glance up. Gage stood there, a smile on his face.

  “Hey!” I said, making my way across the room to meet him.

  “What’s going on?”

  “You’ve been so busy this summer I’ve hardly seen you.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “I know. There’s not much time between helping out on the ranch and hanging with friends. You know, trying to get it all in before we all leave for school.”

  I nodded, walking us over to the two chairs in front of my desk. Something was bothering him.

  “Come on, let’s sit down.”

  He followed me, not saying a word. Once we sat down, I watched him stare out the large picture window that looked down the hill and to the main barn behind my grandparents’ house.

  “What’s on your mind?”

  He let out a big breath and his entire body sagged. He was stressed about something. Probably the idea of leaving for school in a few short weeks. Gage had been offered a football scholarship to Texas A&M. The Parker family was well-known at that school, for sure.

  “I don’t want to leave.”

  I smiled softly and took his hand again. “I know it’s scary to leave for college, but once you get there, it’s going to be okay, Gage.”

  “You don’t get it, Chloe. I don’t want to go to school at all.”

  My eyes widened, and I was positive I wore a stunned expression. “You mean…at all? Like never go to college? Ever?”

  He let out a nervous chuckle. “Yeah. Never. I don’t want to leave the ranch. I mean, I have been working here since I could practically walk. I’ve watched Trevor, Mitchell, Dad, Jonathon, hell even Granddaddy. I’ve watched all of them over the years work on this ranch. I’ve studied every book I could get my hands on in granddaddy’s library. I know what it takes to make this a successful ranch simply by watching the people who have already done it. What am I going to learn at school? How to run a business? Hell, Chloe, that’s your job. That’s Rip’s job someday when Dad steps down. I’m meant to be in the dirt. With the animals. I know what nutrients need to be in the soil from watching and listening to Uncle Wade.”

  Our Uncle Wade worked on the ranch and was married to my father’s sister, Amelia. She had taken a step back from writing to raise our cousin John Jr, but now that he was in high school, she had gotten back into writing again. She was writing mostly historical romance books, her one true passion.

  “I don’t want to leave,” Gage said.

  I squeezed his hand. I actually got what he was saying. I hadn’t wanted to leave this place to be with Easton. And everything Gage needed to learn about running the ranch, he already knew. He wasn’t the least bit interested in the business end of things. Really, none of our other cousins showed much interest in working on the ranch.

  “Have you talked to Mom and Dad about it?”

  He scoffed. “Please, we both know they are going to force me to go.”

  “You don’t know that, Gage. Be honest with them and tell them what you feel in here.” I patted his chest. “I think you’ll be surprised by what they might say.”

  “Do you really think so?”

  “I know so. Do you want me to be with you when you talk to them?”

  He swallowed and nodded.

  “Rip is picking me up for lunch today. He said he has a surprise for me.”

  Gage’s eyes lit up.

  “Wait a minute. Do you know what the surprise is?” I asked.

  “Me? No, but the guy is always surprising you. Hell, he bought you a house, for Pete’s sake. I can only imagine what he has planned next.”

  I giggled. “He is pretty amazing, isn’t he?”

  “Chloe, I’m really happy y’all are together. It was meant to be.”

  I chewed on my lip. “I know it was.”

  He stood. “Okay, well, there’s no time like the present. Mom is here with Grams in the kitchen.”

  “I’ll go get her. You go wait in Daddy’s office. Family meeting time.”

  Gage pulled in a deep breath and exhaled. “I hope you’re right about this, Chloe.”

  Giving him a reassuring smile, I silently hoped I was right, too.

  Gage headed to Daddy’s office which was next to mine. I walked down the hall and into the main part of my grandparents’ house. I could hear Mom and Grammy talking in the kitchen. I could also smell cookies baking. I took in a deep breath as I walked into the kitchen, ready for the scent to fill my senses with warm chocolatey goodness. Instead, it made me sick to my stomach. I covered my mouth and gagged.

  Grammy and Mom both turned and looked at me.

  “Chloe?” my mother said, rushing over. “What’s wrong?”

  I shook my head and lowered my hand as the wave of sickness passed. “I just got so sick to my stomach when I smelled the cookies baking.”

  Grammy pushed my mother out of the way. Her fingers pinched my chin, and she studied my face.

  “What are you doing, Grammy?” I asked, letting a little giggle slip free.

  “Oh. My. God,” Grammy said.

  Then it was my mother’s turn to do the same thing. She studied my face, then let her gaze roam over my body. “How long has this nauseous feeling been hitting you?”

  They were both so serious, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Um, once?”

  “One other time? Or just this once, Chloe Cat?” Grammy asked.

  I shrugged. “I mean, I had an upset stomach last night, but I think it was the pizza we ate. It didn’t agree with me.”

  “Are you using condoms when you have sex?” Grammy asked, causing not only me but my mother as well, to start choking.

  “Wh-what? Why would you ask me that?” I sputtered.

  “Paxton, do you remember the story about the chocolate chip cookies with Steed and Mitchell?”

  Mom’s face lit up. “Yes! Oh my God! Yes!”

  They grabbed each other and started jumping and spinning around in the middle of the kitchen.

  “Um, listen, I don’t know what time the two of you started drinking today, but it’s only like ten or so I the morning. You might want to pull back some.”

  My grandmother brushed me off with a wave of her hand before she focused on my mother. “Now, let’s not get too excited. It could be nothing.”

  “Right. Nothing. Or it could be everything!”

  They both started to jump again. I rolled my eyes. “Okay, well, Mom, I hate to break up your weird little celebration, but Gage needs to talk to you and Daddy. He’s waiting for us in Daddy’s office.”

  Turning to face me, my mother took a step closer. “Chloe, sweetheart. Smell this!”

  She shoved a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie in my face.

  “What the hell, Mom!” I cried out, knocking it out of her hand. Another wave hit me, and I covered my mouth. This time, it felt like I was going to get sick.

  “I knew it! I knew it!” Grammy shouted.

  My mother started to cry, and I was about to throw up all over the kitchen.

  “I need to…oh, God.”

  Barely making it to the half-bathroom, I leaned over the toilet and threw up violently. I could feel the presence of my mother behind me. Suddenly, I was hyperaware of every single smell. I started to sweat and wished I had worn shorts to work today. It was mid-August in Texas and hot as hell. What was I thinking wearing dress pants and a dress shirt, especially knowing Rip wanted to eat outside?

  “Mom, I think I have the stomach flu,” I mumbled before throwing up again.

  She rubbed my back lightly, instantly making me feel better.

  “Oh Chloe Cat, this isn’t the stomach flu.”

  “It’s not?” I asked, raising up and taking the wet washcloth from her hands. She was wearing the biggest smile. How in the world could she be smiling when I just nearly puked up my lower intestines?

  “No!” She was beaming. Placing her hand on the side of my face she said, “You’re
pregnant, sweetheart.”

  I let her words settle into my brain for a few moments. Then laughed. Then quickly stopped laughing.

  “I’m on the pill.” It was the only thing I could say. Even though I knew being on the birth control wasn’t one-hundred percent effective, it was damn close to it.

  “I’m pretty positive, sweet girl.”

  “Mom, you and Grammy deduced I was pregnant because I got sick from smelling a cookie?”

  She nodded. “Not just any cookie. A chocolate cookie. When your grandmother was pregnant with your father and Mitchell, the smell of anything chocolate made her sick to her stomach. Especially cookies.”

  I laughed, but it sounded like an uncertain reaction to this little bit of information my mother just dropped on me.

  “But. But. I’m not ready. I mean. Rip and I have only been together for two-and-a-half months. We’re not even engaged! Mom, you’re both wrong. I would feel it. I would know if I was pregnant.”

  She gave me a sweet smile and took my hands in hers. “Yes, you are so right. You would know it.”

  And like that, she dropped my hands and walked out of the tiny bathroom and back to the kitchen. I pulled in a deep breath and let it out, allowing myself to think back to when my last period fell.

  Oh hell, when was my last period?

  I stood and looked at myself in the mirror. My cheeks were pink, but that could be from being sick. Looking harder, I swore something was different. I’d noticed the rosy glow on my cheeks yesterday, and Alyssa had even asked if I had been out in the sun.

  Placing my hands over my stomach, I closed my eyes. A wave of warmth swept over my body and I knew. Deep within my very soul, I knew.

  I was pregnant.

  Without even opening my eyes, I knew I was smiling.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  My eyes popped open, and I looked at myself in the mirror. “Oh my goodness, I’m pregnant.”

  Turning on my heels, I walked back into the kitchen. Grammy glanced at me but didn’t say anything. My mother cleared her throat and said, “Your father wants us for a family meeting.”

  She walked past me, and my eyes caught Grammy’s once more. She winked, and I couldn’t stop the smile that lit up my face. I followed my mother into my father’s office. Gage and Daddy were talking about something happening in the south pasture. Construction of some kind.

  “It’s coming along nicely.”

  “What is?” I asked. I hadn’t been aware of any construction on the south side of the ranch other than a barn Daddy had mentioned a few weeks back.

  “A new barn, I told you about it, Chloe,” my father stated.

  “Yep, I remember you mentioned it.”

  “Trevor thought it would be best to have some sort of shelter since we’ve been noticing more cattle grazing that pasture land,” Gage said.

  “They’d better stay away from my tree!” I stated as I took a seat at the conference table. Everyone chucked. “What? I’m serious. I plan on getting married there someday.”

  Dad cleared his throat and looked at Gage. “You called the family meeting, so the floor is yours.”

  Family meetings in our house had been pretty common when Gage and I were younger. I had called the very first one. It was after my parents insisted Patches could no longer stay in my room with me for what I called bestie sleepovers. I must have been eight or nine. Gage was about three. He, of course, was easily swayed to be on my side. But my parents won out. They said Patches would have the best stall in the main barn among my grandfather’s prized horses. I honestly believe Patches liked it in the barn better. He was subjected to me dressing him up if he slept inside the house.

  “Right, so I think I’ll just cut to the chase. I don’t want to go to college, and before you both launch into the reasons why I need a degree, I want to say that this ranch has been my everything for as long as I can remember. I’ve learned everything I know from the best of the best. I’ve already proven my worth a few times. I’ve given suggestions to Trevor, who says that if he walked away tomorrow, he knows I would do the Parker family legacy right. I don’t know what a degree is going to teach me. All it’s going to do is keep me away from here for four years. I honestly don’t think I could take it.”

  My mother and father calmly looked at each other and then back to Gage.

  “What about football? I thought you wanted to play,” Dad said.

  “Not as much as I want to be here. Chloe’s back now, and this feels right. I know I’m going to hate leaving. Football is great, but it’s not what I’m interested in doing with the rest of my life. I already talked to Chloe about it.”

  All eyes landed on me. “I agree with Gage. He isn’t interested in the business side of the ranch, and he probably knows more than the professors at school about the practical side. He’s got his teachers here…at Frio River.”

  My mother attempted to hide the smile creeping up her face. Dad nodded thoughtfully and then looked off in the distance. He was letting everything Gage had said sink in. Finally, he took in a breath and exhaled. “I agree. If you don’t feel like school is your thing, then you shouldn’t go.”

  My jaw dropped, and it felt like it went all the way to the table. Gage stared at our father, dumbfounded.

  “Paxton?” Steed asked. “Your thoughts.”

  “I’m with you on this one, sweetheart.”

  Blinking, I shook my head slightly. “Wait, you’re both okay with Gage not going to college. Not getting a degree?”

  “I mean, would I like for Gage to go and get a degree? Yes, I would. I also know my son.” Dad focused on Gage. “Gage, anything you do in this life, if you do it with your heart and passion, we’re going to support you. If this is the path you feel like you need to travel, I’m behind you one-hundred percent.”

  “We both are,” Mom added.

  “Gage, I’m so damn proud of you, son. You don’t have anything you need to prove to us.”

  My eyes filled with tears as I looked at my parents. They both amazed me. They loved us unconditionally and always made sure they never pushed us one way or another. It was so important for them that we learned things on our own journey. Just like with Easton. They knew that would never work, yet they let me work through it.

  Catching me looking at her, my mother smiled. Something passed between us. I placed my hand on my stomach, knowing that no one could see me beneath the table. Would I be as good a mother to my children as she was? I prayed so.

  A light knock sounded on the office door. “Come on in,” my father called out.

  I didn’t need to turn around to know it was Rip. A rush of tingles swept up my body and landed in the pit of my stomach. I stood and walked over to him, wrapping my arms around him. He hugged me back and whispered against my ear, “I missed you, Chloe Cat.”

  I giggled. “It’s only been a few hours since I saw you last.”

  He winked and then looked past me to see everyone else. “Family meeting?”

  Gage was still sitting in his chair, shocked. Dad made his way over to Rip, reaching out his hand and shaking it. “Good to see you, son. How are things with the house? Chloe said you’re making good progress.”

  “We are. We’ve got the kitchen, one bathroom and our bedroom finished.”

  “Probably going to have to start working on the other bedrooms,” I said absentmindedly.

  “Floors are next. I’m glad we had the second floors sanded first. We still have to stain them.”

  Rip talked to my father about all the little projects in our adorable farmhouse. I looked up at Rip. Could he see the change in me, if I truly was pregnant? Maybe that was why he asked about kids the other day. I glanced over to my mom. She stood there intently listening to Rip. Gage had finally snapped out of shock and made his way over. He reached out his hand and shook Rip’s.

  “I can help with the floor staining.”

  “That would be great, but I don’t think we’ll be able to get to it for another week or two
. You’ll be gone by then.”

  Gage smiled. “I told them.”

  Rip’s eyes jerked to my father. He simply nodded and that was that.

  “You knew?” I asked Rip.

  “Yeah, Gage came to me for advice. I told him to follow his heart.”

  “You went to Rip before you came to me!” I said, my hands on my hips.

  Gage lifted his palms in defense. “I need to head on out. Trevor is expecting me.”

  I kissed Gage goodbye and my parents hugged him. I heard Gage say, “Thank you, Dad. I love you.”

  Dad told Gage he loved him, and Mom and Gage left Daddy’s office together.

  “You ready for that picnic?” Rip asked. “I thought we could go visit our spot on the ranch.”

  I looked at Daddy and smiled. He laughed and shook his head as I said, “Yes, I’m ready.”

  Rip

  I TRIED LIKE hell to keep my hands from shaking as I wrapped my fingers around Chloe’s. We walked to my truck slowly.

  “How’s your morning been?” she asked.

  “Busy. Jonathon’s got a job here in Oak Springs, and I checked on it this morning.”

  “Oh? What kind of job?”

  “It’s a chapel.”

  She gasped. “A chapel! Oh wow, is it for a venue?”

  “No, it’s just a personal chapel, but could certainly be made into a venue.”

  “You know I heard once about a guy who built his wife a small white chapel on their property. It overlooked the hill country. She wanted a place to go and do her devotionals each day, so he had it built for their anniversary.”

  “That was nice of him,” I said, turning to look at her as I drove down the gravel road to our tree in the south pasture. When we were younger, we would saddle up horses and ride out to our tree. Once I got my license, we drove one of the ranch Jeeps. For that tree being so damn important to us, I don’t even remember how we stumbled upon it.

  “Do you remember how we even found this tree?” I asked.

  I could feel her eyes on me. When I peeked at Chloe, her mouth was gaping open.

  “What?”

  “You mean to tell me there is something that you don’t remember! I can’t believe it.”