“Will it be bald? Bald people are scary.”
I fell back on the bed laughing. I couldn’t hold it in.
Colt tried to stay serious. I watched him clenching his jaw, trying to contain himself. “Bald people are not scary. Every person is different.”
The questions continued for the next few weeks.
We were probably wrong in some ways to include Noah in the early part of our pregnancy, but we never wanted him to feel left out. I got past my first trimester and was feeling good about carrying the baby to full term. Noah was a good little helper and when he gave me a hard time, Colt was always close enough to give me some space.
It was always important for Noah to know about his birth mother, Krista. I never knew her and therefore had nothing against her. What happened to her was so tragic and I hoped that she didn’t suffer. Noah never talked about the accident. The therapist he used to see said that he spoke about it once and didn’t remember much. He thought his mother was just sleeping. How much can a three year old understand?
At any rate, it was also very important to me and Colt that he be included in everything baby related. We decided, well Colt decided, he wanted the sex of the baby to be a surprise. Noah was not too thrilled. We took him to our sonograms and he kept trying to sweet talk the nurse into whispering it in his ear.
Of course, Colt’s mother insisted on buying him every kind of ‘big brother’ item she could find. He had about five shirts, including one in camouflage, two hats and even a sign for his room. We let him be involved in the decorating of the baby’s room too. He insisted that we move his playroom to the far end of the hall and give his new brother or sister the room closest to him, because he wanted to help with nighttime feedings. We knew it wasn’t going to happen, but he didn’t have to know all that. So with Noah’s help, we picked out an Americana theme. With the help of Aunt Karen and my mother in law, we were able to decorate every inch of wall space with some kind of red white and blue item. We found a great crib bedding set and ordered all of the furniture.
Maybe we were jumping the gun, decorating things so early, but we were just so excited. The doctors were saying that my pregnancy was normal and healthy, and that we had nothing to worry about.
The next couple of months flew by and I was almost to my third trimester. With the exception of Noah’s riding lessons, in which I was not participating in the riding part, I didn’t do much at all. Lucy had little to do at the main house, so my mother in law had arranged that she take care of me and our house more.
We would end up chatting the day away, especially when Noah went out to work with the guys. Ever since our trip to Ty’s farm, he had been obsessed with chickens. We had both kinds of chickens at our ranch. We grew baby chickens for large poultry companies and also raised chickens for eggs. Colt gave Noah the sole responsibility of taking care of the chicken coop. His daily duties were to collect the eggs, hose out the crap and make sure they were all accounted for. You never knew when a fox was going to a have late night feast.
Colt got his little ‘mini me’ son a matching John Deere ball cap for when they worked together. It was the cutest thing. Even his uncle Conner got in on the hat party. Of course, I took a million pictures and added to our family wall in the house.
Ty and Miranda had decided to bring their other horse Thunder to live at our ranch, so Noah was thrilled to be able to play with his cousin Bella and to have another horse to ride. We invited them to stay at our place, but we knew they would be more comfortable at the main house. Miranda and Bella still had their rooms there and it gave them a little more privacy. Even after being married for over a year, the two of them hadn’t exactly settled down. They fawned over each other every chance they got.
We tried to visit with them every couple of months. It was important for us to keep the kids close.
Bella and Noah were instant friends from the first moment they met. I will never forget the first time they saw each other. Since Noah is eight months older than Bella, he made the first gesture. We had greeted them on the porch. Of course Noah stood behind his father, nervous about meeting someone for the first time. Ty was carrying Bella in his arms and slowly sat her down in front of us. When she reached up to hug Colt, it took Noah about two seconds to walk around his father and see who was getting all of his attention. Colt knew what was going on, so he sat Bella down and the two of them just stared at each other. Noah still had a hold of a huge bit of Colt’s jeans.
He put his hand on his son’s head. “Noah, this is your cousin Bella.”
“What’s a cousin?” He asked.
Ty bent down and touched Noah’s chin. “It means that she is your family.”
“How long is she goin’ to stay here?”
“Only for the weekend, Kiddo,” Ty explained. He stood up laughing and shaking his head. “Like father like son. He looks so much like you, it’s unreal, dude.”
Before Colt could respond, we heard chatter from the kids. “Want to see my room?”
“Okay.” Bella took Noah’s hand and they disappeared in the house.
Of course, Ty had some obnoxious comments when they were out of sight. “Dude, have you taught him about the birds and the bees yet? I don’t know if I’m okay with my daughter going into a little boy’s room yet.”
Miranda nudged him in the side. “Ty, shut up! It’s cute.”
For the whole weekend the two of them played like they had known each other their whole lives. In fact, we had to keep checking on them because they never came down for food or drinks. They were inseparable.
After that first initial visit, us adults promised that we would also try to get together as much as we could. Ty and Miranda were the second most excited people to find out that Colt and I were expecting. Since they were hoping to get pregnant themselves, it made us having babies at the same time more exciting.
Family was the most important thing in my life and I had the best one out there. I was so happy and had everything that I had ever wanted. I couldn’t wait to meet our newest addition.
Chapter 19
Colt
If someone would have told me that through tragedy something good would come, I wouldn’t have believed them last year, but seeing my son and my wife proved that theory to be true. Savanna and Noah were my whole world and the fact that he loved her so much, made my life feel complete.
When we found out we were going to have another baby all I could feel was relief. Savanna loved Noah like he was her own, but I knew that having a baby meant the world to her. To add to the excitement, Noah was just as excited. In fact, he couldn’t wait to meet his brother or sister, although he was really hoping for that brother.
I knew I was torturing both he and Savanna, but I wanted to be surprised. This was our first birth and it needed to be as exciting as possible.
With Ty and Miranda arriving any moment, Noah was running around the yard like a maniac. He had already planned out he and Bella’s whole weekend, starting with showing her how he could drive his own golf cart. Bella had just turned four and Noah was getting closer to five. He always took control of their plans. Bella never seemed to care. The two of them could spend hours playing with rocks as long as they had each other.
Being that Bella needed to spend time with her grandmother while they visited, Aunt Karen had planned to take both kids to her house for the first night. Noah didn’t spend the night at places, other than my mother’s house, unless Bella was in town. He went wherever she went. So, while Aunt Karen had a fun night planned for the kids, Savanna and I had planned a night of cards.
Savanna couldn’t drink, due to her pregnancy, but she didn’t seem to care in the least. She had been the one to drive to the liquor store and stock up the fridge with what everyone liked. She had also spent the past two days cleaning everything in the house. I have no idea what made her do it. Lucy kept the house perfect and it wasn’t like she had to impress Ty or Miranda.
At any rate, my wife was pregnant and I tried to not
argue with any of her decisions, even when they were ridiculous. Speaking of ridiculous, she was now on this kick about having our baby in a bathtub. She forced me to sit up with her one night and watch two women having babies in their tubs. After I saw the water turning a shade of red, I had to get up and walk in the other room. Not my wife though, she sat there eating popcorn like it was an Emmy winning flick.
Like all of her ideas lately, I ignored her. I knew it would be pushed aside by some new idea she got in her head.
Ty and Miranda arrived at our house a little after dinner. Bella had unhooked herself from her seatbelt and was already flying out of the door when we walked outside. Clear across the field, I could see my son running toward us, waving his hands.
Savanna came out holding her growing baby bump and gave everyone a smile. Miranda climbed out of the car and gave me a big hug. “Hey Cuz.”
“Hey yourself,” she replied.
Just like every time, Ty went running up toward Savanna. He normally picked her up and spun her around, but as he got closer to her he stopped dead in his tracks. Savanna stood there looking at him. “What?”
“It’s just….well it’s your tits. I barely recognized you with those giant melons.” He immediately started laughing and held his arms out to her.
“I missed you too.” Savanna shook her head as she pulled away.
Ty grabbed her hands and stood back looking at her. “Seriously Van, you look great. Pregnancy looks good on you. The boobs do too.”
I walked up and put my arm around Ty. “It never gets old with you does it?”
“Nope, never.” He leaned in close to me. “Dude, they are huge. Don’t tell me you aren’t loving that shit.”
I cackled and cleared my voice. I said nothing, but the smile on my face says it all. He was right, Savanna’s breasts were huge and I was loving every second if it.
Once Miranda and Savanna had given each other big hugs, Ty and I took the truck to drop Thunder off to the pasture. There was no doubt in my mind that he was going to be happy to see Daisy again.
We got halfway down the lane and Ty was drumming on his knees. He had a huge smile on his face.
“What is up with you? I know for a fact your daughter was in the car on the way here, so what gives?” I asked.
“My wife says I can’t talk about it.”
I knew he was busting, so I decided to use reverse psychology on his ass. “Fine, I didn’t really want to know anyway.”
He immediately turned to face me. “Dude, Miranda is preggers. A miniature me is growing inside of her.”
I shook my head at how he announced it. “I kinda figured. That is awesome Cuz. Savanna is goin’ to be so freakin’ excited.”
“We just took the test this morning, so it’s really early still. I just can’t wait dude. Izzy is going to go nuts when she finds out. I don’t think I can be like you guys and not find out what it is. I want to know right now and it had only been one day.”
I started laughing. “Yeah, Savanna isn’t too happy about waiting either. I didn’t do it to make them suffer. I want to experience the whole natural surprise.”
“Dude, fuck that! There is no way I can go nine months and not know.”
“To each his own Cuz. Have you talked to Conner today?”
“Miranda sent him a text message earlier. He said he might stop by later.”
“Might? What the hell does that idiot have to do that is more important than seein’ his family? Sometimes I wonder what that boy is thinkin’.”
Ty started coughing he was laughing so hard. “You should have seen when he came out to our place for that one week. He wanted to go out drinking every damn night. By the third night, I couldn’t even function. He parties way too much. I know I used to be bad about it too, but he just drinks until he becomes completely belligerent. It really pissed Miranda off. We didn’t want him acting like that in front of Izzy.”
“He works his ass off in the day, but we don’t see him much at night. He never complains and always shows up the next mornin’ to work. I don’t know what to do about him.”
“Have you thought about what we discussed last time we visited?”
“Yeah, I reckon’ we can look into it. You do know what has to happen if we proceed, right?” Ty and Miranda were inquiring about branching out the cattle business to his family farm. Things were going really good for them and they wanted a new venture that would be profitable. With my contacts, and Conner helping them get it all started, it was a great opportunity for both of us.
I tell ya, Ty really had his shoulders on right. Everyone was so upset about he and Miranda at first, but everything we thought we knew about that boy was dead wrong. He was one hell of a father, a devoted husband, and a pretty smart businessman. He managed their money and knew exactly what he needed to do to make sure they never had to worry about anything. It didn’t hurt that he and Miranda would eventually get the farm. He would never have to pay a stiff mortgage, not that I did either. We were both very fortunate.
“I guess we can talk about more when he is around. I don’t want to do it if he is all drunk though. He thinks he knows everything.” Ty wasn’t lying. Conner was unmanageable when he was drunk. The man was sailing down a dangerous path and he really didn’t seem to give a shit what anyone thought about it. Having Savanna and Noah had taken my focus off of Conner and his endeavors. He was a grown damn man, for Christ sakes. He needed to grow the hell up and be responsible.
The moment Thunder went trotting in that corral, Daisy came right up to him. Atticus stayed in the corner of the pasture while the two lovebirds got reacquainted. Ty and I stood there laughing at the two of them for a couple minutes, before heading back to be with the girls.
As we approached the house, we saw Noah and Bella on one of the golf carts. He knew the rules and how fast he was allowed to go, so when I saw them flying past us, I got a little ticked. I slammed on the brakes to our cart and whistled through my two fingers. Noah’s golf cart came to an abrupt halt. “Noah Shelton Mitchell! Get your little butt in the house right now!” I ordered.
My son’s face turned bright red as he passed us. He refused to look our way. Ty covered his mouth to hide his laughter. Bella looked scared to death. When they got ahead of us, I followed the two of them to the house. Noah jumped off the golf cart and started to run in the house. “Get down here boy!”
I rarely had to raise my voice, so he knew he was in trouble. He looked down at the ground. “Do you know why you are in trouble?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Noah, if you aren’t allowed to ride that fast alone, why would you do it with Bella?” I asked.
“Because she told me to,” he answered sadly.
I glanced over at Bella, who was ducking behind her daddy. Ty knelt down on the ground. I could tell he was trying so hard not to laugh. “Iz, did you tell him to go faster?”
She nodded her head up and down. Ty was a sucker. He bent over and kissed her on the forehead. “Don’t do that again, Sweetie. You both could have gotten hurt and if something happened to you Daddy and Mommy would be so sad.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
“Go in the house with Noah. Me and Uncle Colt will be right in.” Bella listened to her father and walked right into the house. We could hear them talking as soon as they got out of our sights.
“Sorry about that.”
“Yeah, she is her mother’s child I see.” I joked.
“Ha ha, douche bag. I get it. You are saying my daughter moves fast like her mother aren’t you?”
As funny as that was, it was not what I meant. “No, asshole. I mean she is ornery like her mother. Jesus, why would I say that about a four year old?”
Ty shook his head. “Shit! Sorry. You know that when it comes to Izzy, I get all overprotective.”
“And Miranda,” I added.
“Duh! It’s my job.”
We headed into the house and already I could smell that Savanna had something good cooking. The smell
of cinnamon and something else filled my nostrils. I ignored whatever Ty was saying behind me as I made my way into the kitchen. Savanna was bent over the oven. I reached down and grabbed her hips pulling her into me just enough to catch her attention. “What are you doing?” She asked startled.
“What are you makin’ that smells so darn good?”
“Miranda and I are making pumpkin rolls. I mix and bake and she spreads and rolls.”
The room filled with mine and Ty’s laughter, while both girls stood there looking like they had no idea what was going on.
Savanna put her hands on her hips, her little belly protruding. “What the heck is so funny?”
I looked over and Ty, who literally had tears rolling down his face he was laughing so hard. “Darlin’ you just said that Miranda spreads and rolls. Do you get it?”
Miranda put her hand over her mouth and began laughing with us. Ty walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek. “She is so good at it too.”
Savanna rolled her eyes. “You guys are so stupid. You know what I meant. If you want any of these treats you better get your asses out of my kitchen.”
She took the oven mitt and swatted it at Ty. “Get out smartass!”
I followed behind Ty trying to avoid the pregnant woman swatting the oven mitt. Ty walked upstairs toward the sound of the kids laughing. When we got into the hallway, we peeked inside the playroom door. Noah and Bella had put one of Savanna’s sexy nighties on the dog. Ty walked in the room and sat down with them calmly. “What are you two doing to Sam?”
“Playing dress-up, Daddy,” Bella answered her father.
Ty tugged on the lace outfit. “Where did you guys find this cool outfit?”
“It was in my mom’s drawer. We wanted to find something pretty because Sam is a girl,” he explained.
I hadn’t heard her walking up behind me, but I heard Savanna gasp and turned around. Her face was already as red as a beet. “Oh my God! Noah, where did you get this?” She walked toward the dog and tried to hide the outfit with her body.
Raging Love (A Mitchell Family Series BK#3) Page 16
