“Come on, it’s almost time!”
Cassie stopped pacing the kitchen, placed her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. “Be right there,” she said to Charlie, who was seated in the media room of Wyatt and Toni’s hilltop home.
The whole group had come together to watch the Super Bowl: Cassie’s in-laws, Frances and Aaron Yates; Sandy and James Brody; Christie and Cal Crawford; Darla and her parents, Bobbi Jean and Burl Maxwell; Clarissa and her boyfriend; Colby and his date, Angela; Amanda and Leo Casale; and of course, Wyatt and Toni with their new addition, two-month-old William Martin McCall.
And last but not least, Aunt Helen and Uncle Jim, who had driven in from California in their RV to watch the premiere of Charlie’s commercial and hopefully, as they’d said, stay long enough to see their grandchild born. Cassie had teared up again when they’d claimed this baby as part of their family, just as they’d done with her so many years ago.
“Sit down,” Darla said, scooting over on the love seat since everyone was packed around Charlie on the couch.
“Maybe I should stand,” Cassie said, knowing that if she got down on the cushion, it might take a crane to get her back up.
“Shh! The commercial is about to come on,” Frances said, clutching her husband’s hand.
Cassie smiled at Charlie across the room. He didn’t say much about his small-screen debut, but she knew he was excited and proud.
Not as excited and proud as you’re going to be later, she could have told him.
Cassie perched on the arm of the love seat and watched as the clock ticked down to the end of the first quarter. This was the scheduled commercial break they’d all been anticipating.
She watched her husband ride across the snowy plains on a beautiful deep chestnut horse. The camera panned out and left, showing a herd of cattle in the background and a lone steer running ahead of the horse. Charlie reined his mount and cut off the steer’s path, guiding him back toward the herd.
The commercial part came on, with various shots of a bank and bankers, with reasons you should trust them to keep your money safe.
And then the last shot was of Charlie, sitting on the horse on a slight hill, looking out over the herd with the sun setting over the snow-covered mountains in the background.
Another commercial came as the room erupted into cheers and claps.
“You were wonderful,” Frances exclaimed.
“Great job, son,” Aaron said.
“Pretty cool, bro.” Colby grinned.
“We’re so proud of you,” Bobbi Jean said.
“Charlie, that was a wonderful, moving piece of work,” Aunt Helen said with real sincerity.
Cassie gave them as much time as she could to pat him on the back, ask him how they’d gotten the snow on the ground and the mountains when the commercial was filmed around the first of September, and wonder if he was doing another one.
She finally pushed off the arm of the love seat and made her way to the buffet, where Charlie now stood, entertaining them with yet another story from his brief career in Hollywood. She wouldn’t put it past him to do another commercial one day, but she no longer worried that he’d want to move to California or that he’d be a part-time dad. He’d made a real commitment to the ranch and his rodeo school and seemed to have a knack for teaching aspiring ropers to be contenders on the rodeo circuit.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she said as she stood beside him and he put his arm around her, “but it’s time for us to leave.”
“Leave?” Wyatt said incredulously. “It’s only the end of the first quarter.”
“Yes, but for me, it’s the end of the third trimester. I’m sorry, but this baby has decided to be born on his or her daddy’s big day.”
“What?” Charlie said. “Now? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but the contractions are about twelve minutes apart, so we’d better get on the road.”
“Oh, my God,” Frances said. “Our first grandbaby! Aaron, get the car warmed up.”
Aunt Helen looked as if she might faint as she jumped up from her chair. “Oh, Dear Lord in Heaven, please let Cassie and her baby be delivered safely,” she prayed before sinking back onto the cushion.
“Clarissa,” Cassie said, “will you please make sure my aunt is okay? I’ve got to go now!”
“I’m going, too,” Darla said.
“I’ll ride with you,” Sandy volunteered.
“Wait!” Cassie said. “Everyone doesn’t have to go.”
“We want to go,” Darla said. “Charlie might need us.”
What could she say? “Okay, but let’s get going. I don’t want to have this baby in Wyatt and Toni’s guest bedroom.”
The crowd of friends parted as Charlie guided her to the door. “What about the suitcase?” he asked.
“I put it in the pickup earlier,” she said. “It’s always good to be prepared.”
He smiled, leaned down and kissed her. “My little planner.”
“That’s right. Now, let’s get on the road, cowboy!”
EMILY FRANCES YATES was born later that evening, making her entry into the world just before midnight so she could officially be born on Super Bowl Sunday. Charlie couldn’t believe the joy and relief he felt when the nurse handed him his blanket-swaddled daughter.
“A girl,” he whispered. He looked at Cassie, who was exhausted but radiant.
“We have a little cowgirl,” she said, dabbing at her damp temples.
“You did a really good job,” he said, amazed that just hours ago, this baby had been inside of his wife. As much as he knew about animal husbandry, he still couldn’t believe this miracle was possible. “She’s beautiful.”
He leaned down so Cassie could see their daughter once more. “Her face is a little squishy,” she said.
“What? She’s fine. She’s perfect.”
“She’ll be beautiful tomorrow. Tonight she’s squishy.”
“I can’t believe you’re talking trash about our baby!”
Cassie laughed. “I’m being realistic. Babies who go through the birth canal get a little more beat up than babies who are born Cesarean. It’s okay. I’m sure she’ll be beautiful. After all, look at her daddy.”
“Oh, come on.” He felt a blush coming on. Cassie had started kidding him about his movie-star looks since she’d seen stills from the commercial. He’d explained that was mostly courtesy of lighting and makeup, but she insisted that if he were any prettier, she’d have to keep him at home.
That was fine with him, as long as he was home with her and little Emily Frances.
“My mom is going to be so proud that we used her name.”
“It’s a good name,” Cassie said, yawning. “You’d better let the nurses take her to the nursery so everyone can see her.”
“I know,” he said, using one finger to smooth her dark hair. “I just don’t want to put her down.”
Cassie smiled and closed her eyes. Charlie leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Get some rest, darlin’.”
He looked at his daughter, who had her eyes tightly closed. She wiggled and pursed her pink lips. Okay, maybe Cassie was right. Emily Frances did seem a little squishy at the moment.
Was she going to cry? He glanced around for the nurse.
“I’ll take her,” she said with a smile.
Charlie handed the baby over to the nurse, took one last look at his sleeping wife, and headed out the door to see his family and friends. He might not be able to compete on the circuit any longer, and he’d decided he didn’t want to be a movie star after all, but he was without a doubt the luckiest cowboy in the world.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0839-1
THE TEXAN AND THE COWGIRL
Copyright © 2011 by Victoria Chancellor Huffstutler
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*Brody’s Crossing
The Texan and the Cowgirl Page 18
