“How about this one?” Virginia asked.
“Yes!” my mother and I both said at the same time.
Virginia chuckled and motioned for me to back into the small suite. After I shimmied out of one dress and into the other, I had my back to the mirror. There was only one in the room, and as tempted as I was to look, I waited.
When I walked into the large room, my mother kept her back toward me.
“Mom? What are you doing?”
“Have you seen it yet?” she asked.
“No,” I replied with a giggle.
“Let’s look at the same time.”
Virginia shrugged, and we walked up onto the platform, my back facing the mirrors. “On three, ladies. One. Two. Three.”
While Virginia held the dress, I turned. Mom and I gasped at the same time.
It. Was. Perfect. The lace on the bodice trickled down into a white tulle fabric over satin. Beautiful lace designs edged the bottom of the tulle skirt. It wasn’t too tight, yet was tight enough to hug my shape.
Tears pricked at the back of my eyes and I blinked. Virginia leaned in and said, “Stop fighting them.”
I did, and tears quickly rolled down my face. My eyes caught my mother’s, and she was fighting back her own tears.
“Oh, Chloe Cat.” Her voice cracked. “You look beautiful.”
Pressing my lips together, I tried to calm my rapid heart. The baby was probably wondering what in the heck I was doing. I placed my hand over my lower stomach and a sob slipped free.
Full. On. Pregnancy. Crying.
After I cried my heart out, I stood in front of the mirrors and beamed with happiness. “I love it.”
“I do too, sweetheart. It was made for you.”
“When would you need it by?”
“Today,” I said, watching Virginia smile. “Well, it fits you like a glove. You might need to take the waist in a bit. When is the wedding?”
“Two weeks, and I’m pretty positive I won’t need to take it in.”
My gaze caught my mother’s. She quickly dabbed at the corners of her eyes.
“Oh well, then. Let’s get this off and get it run under the steamer and then you, my dear, have your dress.”
Three hours later, Mom and I were sitting in my hotel room eating room service ice cream. Mom hadn’t mentioned the baby, and truth be told, I was dying to talk to her about it.
“Mom?”
“Yes?” she asked, looking over at me while spooning vanilla ice cream into her mouth. She wanted chocolate, but I had been having a good two days of no morning sickness, so she opted for vanilla.
“What was it like being pregnant?”
She stared at me for the briefest moment, then smiled. It was as if a memory flashed by and something about it hurt her. “It was amazing. Beautiful. I loved being pregnant with Gage. He gave me a bit of hell in the beginning, like what you’re going through, but not nearly as bad.”
I smiled. “How did you and Grammy know?”
She shrugged. “Call it mother’s intuition.”
I chewed on my lip. “Were you afraid?”
Drawing in a deep breath, she exhaled and set her ice cream down.
“Very much so, at first. Chloe, your daddy and I never told you something. We were pregnant before you.”
My mouth dropped open and I stared. Even though my mom, the one sitting across from me, wasn’t my biological mother, I had no idea she and my father had a baby before me. I knew they had dated in high school. They reminded me a lot of Rip and myself. Maybe they had a great love at one point, and something had driven them apart, only for fate to bring them back together.
“I have another brother or sister?” My mind immediately thought that they must have put the baby up for adoption.
“No. We were seniors in high school, fixin’ to graduate, and I lost the baby.”
I sucked in a breath. “Oh Mom, I’m so sorry.”
She smiled. “It’s okay, honey. You didn’t know. Your father and I have debated telling you and Gage, but it was so long ago. It was painful for me and things weren’t good between your father and me back then. I think that’s why it was so hard for him to sit back and watch you and Rip deny your feelings. When you’ve learned hard lessons in life, you just naturally want to pass those along to your kids. Some lessons, though, need to be learned on their own.”
I nodded. “Were you very far along?”
“I was about a month.”
Swallowing hard, I said, “I’m twelve weeks.”
She pulled me into her arms and gently rocked me. I loved this. Loved that she still held me like her little girl. Still sent that warm feeling rushing through my body that said everything was okay. “Darling girl, you’re going to be fine! Just fine.”
“I know. I am feeling better and better every day. It is still something I worry about.”
She shook her head and pushed a piece of my brown hair behind my ears. “When you were little you had such beautiful blonde hair. Those blue eyes of yours just stood out against all those curls. As you grew up and it turned darker, I remember your daddy saying, ‘I can’t pick her out in the crowd anymore. Those blonde curls were my marker.’”
I smiled.
“No matter how old your child is, you will worry. You’re going to worry every time you feel a strange pain or panic if they don’t move every single hour. It’s all part of being a parent. No matter how young or old your baby is, you will always be worried about them.”
“Are you secretly happy Gage is staying home?”
She winked at me. “I’ll never tell.”
“That is a yes!”
Mom shrugged and stood. “Come on. I’m taking you out to a fancy restaurant, and we are going to celebrate you saying yes to the dress and my little grandbaby.”
“I love that idea!”
Rip
I STOOD STARING at the baby goat in the pen. Steed stood next to me, a giant smile on his face.
“A goat?” I asked.
“Yep.”
The little kid, who happened to be dressed in tiny pink pajamas, was currently bouncing all over the place. “A goat?”
“Yep. It will be the perfect wedding present.”
My brows lifted. “Not to put your idea down or anything, sir, but I was thinking along the lines of some diamond and pearl earrings for Chloe.”
Steed looked at me, then rolled his eyes. “Not from you! From me and Paxton.”
Relief swept over me. Thank God.
“That makes more sense, I think.”
“I know how much Chloe has been missing Patches, and I think she will love this idea. I was thinking we could have your little niece, Renee, walk the goat down the aisle with her.”
My oldest sister Evie would totally think this was precious. Her daughter Renee was five and would be over the moon walking a goat down the aisle.
Between my two brothers and three sisters and Chloe’s nine cousins, we had decided to only have Mike and Alyssa in the wedding party. Sort of like our actual wedding. Renee was the youngest in either family, so she was the natural pick for the flower girl.
“I’m sure she would love that,” I agreed.
“The one with the pink sweater!” Steed called out.
“You’ll keep it in Patches’ old stall?” I asked as the farmer picked up the goat and put her in my hands.
“Yes. Then when you both come back from your honeymoon you can bring her home.”
I forced a smile. “Great. Can’t wait.”
Steed looked at me and then busted out laughing.
As we walked to his truck, Steed started to talk. “Your mom and dad invited me and Paxton over for dinner tonight. That was sweet of them. You kids sure you want to spend the night before your wedding with your folks?”
“Of course we do.”
What Steed didn’t realize was that Chloe and I were going to tell our parents we were expecting a baby in March. We’d tell the rest of the family when we got back from
France—which Chloe still didn’t know was our honeymoon destination.
With the baby goat in the back seat of Steed’s truck, we set off for Frio Cattle Ranch. When I looked back, I smiled. The goat was sound asleep in a peaceful slumber.
“Looks like we have the opposite of Patches,” I mused.
“I love your optimism, Rip. It’s one of your better qualities.”
“Mom knows already,” Chloe confessed in the truck on the way to my parents’ house.
“I figured she knew from that day in your grandparents’ kitchen.”
Chloe looked at me sheepishly. “Well, in Dallas I sort of let it slip. Okay, it wasn’t sort of. I really needed to talk to her. I was feeling scared and well…”
Taking her hand in mine, I squeezed it. “Chloe, you don’t have to explain why you told your mom. That’s your mom. It only makes sense you would tell her first.”
“I just didn’t want you to think I was playing favorites or anything.”
I chuckled. “I would never think that.”
When we pulled up, both sets of parents were waiting on the front porch. My folks shared the swing, while Paxton and Steed sat in the rockers.
“There they are!” My father walked down to greet us. “Chloe, you look beautiful as always.”
Chloe blushed. “Thank you, Rip.”
“RJ, how’s that farmhouse coming?”
My father always called me RJ. Short for Rip, Jr. I was named after him. My three older siblings—Jonathon, Evie, and Hollie—were from our mother’s first marriage. After she married my dad, Dalton, Hope, and myself came along.
“House is great. It had some really good bones, so it hasn’t taken too much to fix it up.”
“We need to come and see it again. You’ve made a lot of changes,” my mom said. She kissed Chloe. “Hello, darling.”
“Hi, Kristin. I can smell that roast from out here!” Chloe said. “Smells amazing.”
My mother grinned. “Well, I know my roast was always your favorite.”
Steed and Paxton hugged Chloe, then Steed shook my hand and Paxton followed up with a hug.
When we made our way into the house, Chloe glanced to all the boxes in the corner.
“Getting ready for Christmas, Kristin?” she called out.
“Don’t you know it! I’d have it all up, but I was helping your momma and Melanie make some things for the reception tomorrow. I’ve got my outline all done and printed up.”
“Laminated, of course,” my father added.
“Each room color coded,” Mom said with a wink.
Mom was the queen of Christmas. It was almost October and any normal year we would have at least two trees up in the house by now. Our wedding had thrown my mom off her game.
We stepped into the kitchen that also held a large table were we mainly ate together as a family.
“I made your favorite dessert, Chloe. Chocolate ganache with homemade ice cream.”
“Oh no,” Chloe whispered before slapping her hand over her mouth.
My mother had made Chloe’s favorite dessert. Why hadn’t it crossed my mind that she would make Chloe’s favorite dessert? This was my first fail as a husband and upcoming father.
“Shit,” I cried out as I ran past everyone, nearly knocking my mother into the chocolate ganache cake. I grabbed the trash can and rushed back to Chloe.
Opening the lid, I put it under Chloe who promptly leaned over and threw up.
I glanced over my shoulder to see four sets of eyes gawking. Steed and my dad looked like they were fixin’ to have a sympathy throw up, while Paxton and my mother exchanged a knowing look.
“I’ve got some homemade peppermint tea in the fridge. That will settle your stomach,” Mom said, rushing to get out the tea.
“I’m going to go ahead and take this cake on out of the room,” Paxton said as she grabbed it and headed out the back door.
“Wait! Where are you taking the cake!” Steed cried out, following Paxton.
My father covered his mouth and raced out of the room. Once Chloe was finished being sick, I rubbed her back and then took the warm washcloth my mother had handed me. I sure as shit hoped I would be able to parent half as well as she did.
“Here, baby. This will feel better.”
Chloe took the washcloth and then the tea from my mom.
“Is the cake gone?” Chloe asked, her eyes still watery from throwing up. This baby was giving her a run for her money.
“Yes. Sweetheart, I’m so sorry. Are you feeling okay?”
If my mother suspected anything, she wasn’t letting on.
Chloe smiled. “I’m fine. I’m sorry about that.”
We could hear my father from the hall bathroom. Mom rolled her eyes. “Good Lord, he’s gonna need me. You’ll soon see, Chloe, when a man gets sick in any sort of way, they all believe they’re fixin’ to die no matter how minor it is.”
Giggling, Chloe took a sip of the tea.
When Mom walked out, our eyes met.
“Your mom had peppermint tea made up,” she said.
I smiled. “I swear to you, I didn’t tell her. She always has peppermint tea made.”
Paxton and Steed walked back into the kitchen, and Steed was arguing with Paxton about why the cake had to stay outside.
“It’s gonna melt!” Steed protested.
“You’re fine, Rip. You had a little bit of sympathy throw up, for Pete’s sake. Let’s eat dinner, shall we?” Mom said as she walked into the kitchen. “Chloe, did you want to eat something?”
“Yes, please. I’m fine now.”
“You sure?” Dad asked.
Chloe nodded. “Sorry about that, y’all.”
Everyone quickly got busy filling their plates with roast and vegetables, then made their way to the table. Steed and my father quickly fell into a conversation about the barn that Chloe had suggested they transform into an event venue. Mom and Paxton went over last-minute things that needed to be done before tomorrow. The actual wedding ceremony was family only and a few close friends. The reception, on the other hand, was going to be held at Chloe’s grandparents’ house. It was the largest on the ranch, and Melanie had everything already to go since she hosted a spring charity event each year. The backyard was being transformed for the wedding reception. I had to admit it all came together pretty fast since I had first shown Chloe the chapel a month-and-a-half ago.
I glanced over at Chloe. She was staring at me. We both smiled at each other, and I cleared my throat.
“Um, since we have all four of you here, there is something Chloe and I would like you to know before the wedding tomorrow.”
All eyes were on me. Looking at my beautiful bride, I motioned for her to take over.
“Rip and I are going to be making an announcement when we come back from our honeymoon, but we wanted y’all to know first.”
“What is it, sweetheart?” my mom asked.
Chloe’s eyes lit up and her face broke into a stunning smile. “Rip and I are expecting a baby. My due date is March 7.”
I had to admit, I was nervous about what our folks would say. So far, no one had told us we were rushing into anything, especially since we had really only started dating in June. Now we were getting married and having a baby.
“A baby?” Mom said, standing up. “A baby! A baby!”
Paxton jumped up next. “A baby!”
My father was next. “We’re having another grandbaby!”
My parents hugged while Paxton walked up to Chloe and wrapped her arms around her. I smiled as I took in the whole scene. When I got to Steed, my smile faded. He was sitting there, staring at Chloe.
“Daddy?”
Steed slowly shook his head and then stood. “Excuse me one moment.”
He walked out of the kitchen. My heart dropped, and when I saw the tears forming in Chloe’s eyes, I wanted to go after Steed and hit him.
Paxton moved to follow him. “I’ll go see what’s…”
“No, Mom, I need to
go. If you’ll excuse me.” Chloe gave a polite grin and went in the direction Steed had disappeared.
“Paxton, is he not happy about this?” my mother asked.
“I’m sure he is in shock. I know he’s happy.” She looked at me. “He knows how much you love her. He probably wasn’t expecting y’all to have a baby so soon.”
“Well, we weren’t either,” I said. “I don’t regret it for one moment.”
“Of course you don’t, RJ. Of course you don’t,” Mom said.
I glanced to where Chloe and Steed had walked out of the kitchen. Paxton reached for my hand. “Give them a few minutes, sweetheart. It’s going to be fine.”
“Of course it will,” Dad added. “It’s hard for a dad. You’ll learn that someday, son, if you have a girl.”
Doing the only thing I could, I nodded and sat back down at the table.
Chloe
I FOUND MY father sitting on the front porch steps, staring out over the perfectly manicured lawn.
“Daddy?”
He looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Come sit down, pumpkin.”
A warm rush of happiness washed over me. My father hadn’t called me pumpkin in years. I sat down next to him.
“Are you disappointed in me?” I asked, barely above a whisper.
“What? God, no. I’m sorry I reacted that way. I needed to leave before I did something.”
“Hit Rip?”
He jerked his head to look at me. “No! Why in the world would I hit the boy?”
I shrugged. “I dunno. You sat there with a deadpan expression, then got up and left.”
Daddy chuckled. “Chloe, I was trying not to get upset. I can’t be crying in front of Rip’s daddy. I’ll look like a pansy ass.”
Grinning, I wrapped my arm around his and leaned my head on his shoulder. For a man in his forties, he was still muscular. I could easily remember these arms lifting me up and putting me on his shoulders for a ride.
“You’re not mad?”
“Pumpkin, I’m so happy for you and Rip. I mean, I wish y’all would have waited just a bit longer, but I understand.”
Love at First Sight Page 23
