“I get it. I didn’t tell you immediately either. So how do you feel about becoming a father?”
“There aren’t words that won’t make me sound like a pussy, but I’m thrilled about it. I didn’t think I could be more protective of her, but damn I about punched a nurse yesterday. A female nurse. I didn’t think she was gonna let me go back with Ginger for the blood test.” Evan shook his head trying not to get angry again. “I wish Dad were here to talk to so I don’t screw him up.”
“Him?”
“Yeah, God knows girls need big brothers, so the baby’s a him.”
“Uh huh. Have you discussed that with Ginger? Since I know some girls who only have younger brothers, I don’t think it works that way.”
“We’ll see. By the way, smartass, there’s a chance he was conceived on the kitchen island. You know, the same one your apple was sitting on earlier.”
“Must run in the family because I had Mak there last night,” he said through his laughter.
Evan laughed along with him as they got the bags out of the trunk.
25
While the boys went to the car, Ginger talked with Kayla. She was excited to hear what had happened around the ranch, but Kayla started first.
“I’m so happy for you.” She touched Ginger’s belly. “I can’t believe there’s a little person in there. Have you been throwing up?”
“Not yet, just queasy. I snack every couple of hours to keep the nausea at bay. I sleep a lot though, and Evan has been good about it. Oh Kayla, his first day back he cleaned the house while I slept. It was a nice surprise, but he’s already warned me he’s going to hover,” Ginger said with a little laugh.
“I can’t wait to see how he handles this. He’s so protective. He’s going to freak when he can’t control what’s going on.”
“He’s already giving me a fit about changing doctors. He wants me to have a female OB. Do you know if there’s one in town? He’s not happy thinking about a male doctor seeing my hooha. I told him I’d talk to Thomas, and you should’ve seen him. He thought I meant for Thomas to be my doctor. You’re going to have to help me with him because he may drive me crazy before this is over.”
“I can see that. Are y’all going to stay here?”
“We haven’t discussed that. Is it okay until we decide what we’re doing?”
“I was hoping so. This house is just as much Evan’s as it is Mitch’s. Since he’s working at the ranch, it makes the most sense.”
Ginger swallowed before she said, “I saw the other man on Monday.”
“Excuse me? What other man?”
“You know—the one from the café.”
“Oh shit. What did Evan do? Was he with you?” Kayla asked with wide eyes.
“He was on his way home, but hadn’t gotten there yet. He was, um, worried.”
“I bet. Are you okay?”
“Yes, now. I just thought you’d want to know.” Ginger rubbed her hands down her legs. “So, enough about us. Have you set a wedding date?”
“No, what about y’all?”
“Evan says sooner rather than later. He wants Mitchell by him when we do, though. I haven’t even told my parents.” A worried look came over Ginger’s face. “I’ve got to call them today, and Evan hasn’t met them yet. You’ve met my dad. What do you think?”
“Oh Ginger, I don’t know. Mitch thought he’d have it easy with my dad, but apparently he asked questions Mitch hadn’t thought about. Evan’s not only meeting your parents, but telling your dad he got you pregnant. Are you sure you don’t need to plan a funeral instead of a wedding?” Kayla chuckled.
“I know. I just hope they’ll go easy on him because I’m pregnant. Eloping keeps sounding better and better.” The concern in Ginger’s voice couldn’t be hidden.
“Have you actually thought about that?”
“Yeah, I’d be happy to go to the Justice of the Peace,” Ginger said with a sad chuckle. “Seriously, I’ve never been a big wedding kinda girl. At the most, I thought something small here. Since you and Mitchell got engaged first, I thought y’all would want to get married first.”
“Mitch told me to be ready as soon as y’all got home. He’s past ready.” She stared out the glass doors for a moment. “Something small here sounds nice. My fear is pissing off the town since it’s named after their family, and I think the town expects to be at their weddings. That’s the only reason I’ve thought about something big. I swear we ought to get married right in the middle of town square. We could post one huge invitation and do it right there. Then have a street dance for the reception. Thomas and Cat could be our attendants, the boys would only have to dress up once, hell we could get married in blue jeans for that matter.”
“What are you saying? A double wedding?”
“Why not?”
“You don’t think some women around town would object?”
“Not if they know what’s good for them,” Kayla said with a mischievous smile.
“Do you think we can pull it off?”
“I don’t think it’d take much. Do you want to?”
“I don’t know. Maybe? It could be fun. I need to find out when my parents could come up. How quickly do you think it could happen?” The excitement was building inside of Ginger. A double wedding!
“It just so happens, Mabel Gregory is on the planning committee for the church socials and the festival planning committee for the town. Somehow I think this can happen as quickly as we want it to.” They were laughing like school girls by the time the boys walked in.
“I’m going to call my parents,” Ginger announced.
She walked to her and Evan’s room so she could lie down as she made the call. It felt good to laugh with Kayla, but now she was nervous. How were her parents going to react? She never thought she’d get married without her brother in attendance. Then again, she never thought she wouldn’t see him for years either. She took a deep breath and placed the call.
Evan walked in just as Ginger had hung up with her parents. “How did it go?”
“Could’ve been better. My dad may try to punch you when they come up Saturday.”
“Fuck! I should’ve met them before my trip. They’re coming Saturday?”
“It’ll be fine. He’ll calm down before then. Do you mind if I take a nap before the guests arrive?”
“No, darlin’, you sleep so my baby can grow.” He gently laid his lips on her forehead. She didn’t remember seeing him walk out the door.
26
Evan sat out by the pool having a beer. Maybe they should’ve waited until after the wedding to tell them about the baby. This was another time he wished his dad was here to give him advice. He needed to remember all of this so he could tell his kids. Boy or girl, this shit was important.
When Mitchell came out, Evan took a long pull off his beer. “Man, you okay?”
“I don’t know. Ginger said her parents will be here Saturday and her dad may want to punch me. Maybe we should get married tomorrow.”
“Where is she anyway?”
“Lying down. She wanted to rest before the guys get here. She’s been taking a lot of naps.”
“What did you think her dad was going to do, welcome you with open arms for knocking up his daughter? Do you remember how Thomas acted that first night toward me? I’d be surprised if he wasn’t on his way up here now.”
“Yeah man, I do. I didn’t do it intentionally, but I’m not sorry it happened. I know we got the cart before the horse or whatever, but I love her.”
“I know, and her dad will see that too. What time is your party starting?”
“The party has arrived,” Nathan said as he and Sam joined them.
Evan stood and greeted the guys with brotherly hugs.
“Starting without us? We figured you’d be rejoicing, not drowning your sorrows,” Sam said.
“She left your sorry ass, didn’t she? Is it too soon to ask for her number? She doesn’t still have that burner phone, does she?” Natha
n said through a chuckle.
“Would you stop? She hasn’t left me. She’s inside.”
“Then why are you drinking alone?”
Evan wanted Ginger with him when they told Nathan and Sam so he changed the subject. “What happened yesterday? Did y’all meet with Ben?”
“Yeah, he said he was coming out here tonight. We’ll let him tell you. Most of it’s good,” Sam said.
“Most?”
They had started another round when Ginger stuck her head out the door. “Can we come out or is this a boys’ only club?”
Nathan stood. “Hey, sugar. I hoped you’d want to see me. It’s fine to tell Evan you’re leaving with me. He’ll understand.”
Ginger hugged him. “There might be a problem with that.” She turned her left hand around and showed him the ring.
“Hell, Riverton. Thanks for buying her the ring, but I don’t think we’re quite ready for that stage yet.” Nathan still had an arm around Ginger.
“You’re not, but we are,” Evan said as Ginger walked over to him and he spread his legs for her to sit between them. He helped her sit before he kissed the side of her jaw. “How you feeling?” He asked in her ear as he put his hand on her tummy.
“Hmm,” she sighed. She laid her head back on his shoulder. “Better now.”
“Don’t be getting too friendly over there,” Nathan called across the pool so Evan flipped him off.
“I heard voices around here. I hope it was okay I walked around back,” Ben announced before they could tell the other news.
This time Evan didn’t stand, but Ben came to shake his hand. “Hey, man. These guys were just telling me y’all were a bit busy yesterday.”
“And today. You ready for this?”
“Tell me what you can.”
Ben slipped his jacket off and laid it over the back of the lounger next to Evan and Ginger then rolled up his sleeves. “It hit the news last night that Chief Curtis Taylor was arrested for passing counterfeit currency. When we picked him up, he sang like a canary. Apparently, there’s more than the ten K we found at his house, and he’s willing to name names for a deal.”
“That’s fan-fucking-tastic. So, what’s the bad news?”
“Deputy Frank Smith is in the wind.” Ben paused, and Evan tightened his grip on Ginger. “We had a plan to talk to him about the assault on Harley and question him about the murder. He called in and told the desk clerk he had to go to Cloverville, but Sheriff Cahill claimed he didn’t know why. He never showed back up yesterday.” Ben sat in the chair next to Evan and Ginger. “This morning the clerk found a vacation request sitting on her desk when she came in. Apparently, Smith stopped by last night. Since no one knew we wanted to talk to him, no one said anything or called the Sheriff. I rode with Cahill out to his house, but he wasn’t home.” He cut eyes to Evan. “You still think the Sheriff is clean?”
When Mitchell looked at Evan, they locked eyes. “Ben, I told you before I’d be shocked as shit if Cahill was dirty. I still don’t think he is.”
“If he didn’t tip Smith to stay away from the station, who did?”
“I don’t know. Here,” Evan said as he gave Ben the fingerprints he took from Ginger’s phone.”
Evan was deep in thought about Ben’s question and didn’t realize he was stroking Ginger’s belly, but his actions didn’t go unnoticed. “Other than the rock sitting on Ginger’s finger, is there something else you need to spill, Riverton?” Nathan had a cocky grin on his face.
“What?” Evan replied when Nathan nodded toward his hand. “Oh, just letting my little guy know his daddy’s got him.”
“Congratulations, man. Is that why you left?” Sam asked.
“Partially. After being here for a month, I realized this was where I wanted to be. Ginger’s family’s from Georgia, and she has a place in the mountains so coming back east made sense. I didn’t want her worrying if I had to go back undercover.” He kissed the back of her head and nonchalantly said, “If something opens up here, then I’ll look into going back into law enforcement.”
“Funny you should mention that. You have an appointment with Mayor Sinclair at nine o’clock sharp in the morning,” Ben said.
“For what?”
“That new law enforcement career is probably beginning sooner than you think. I’ve got to go check in with the guys babysitting Taylor so I’ll talk with you tomorrow,” he said as he stood to leave.
“What the hell, Ben?”
“Just talk to the Mayor, Evan. Call me when it’s over. You were going to get pulled back anyway, I’m just giving you a head start, remember? By the way congratulations,” he said over his shoulder as he walked around the house.
Everyone was quiet. Evan didn’t know what to say after that, but thankfully Sam helped him out. “On that note, we better head out. Looks like the lovebirds have some things to discuss.”
Evan helped Ginger out of the chair so they could tell Nathan and Sam goodbye. Sam shook Evan’s hand as he said they’d talk the next day then congratulated both of them. As Sam made his way back through the house, Nathan gave Evan a hug.
“If you take the job and decide to clean house, let me know. I kinda like this small town life.” Then turned his attention to Ginger, “Sugar, are you sure you’re preggo? I mean, it’s okay. We can leave here, and I’ll raise him as mine.” He gave her a smile that Evan was sure had gotten more women in Nathan’s bed than he cared to know.
“Nathan, stop. You know I love Evan. All you’re doing is making him more protective,” she said as she hugged him goodbye.
He winked at her. “I know. I just like to rile him up. Seeing him like this is great.”
“Dude, one day there’ll be a woman who knocks you on your ass. I can’t wait for it to happen,” Evan chimed in.
Nathan busted out laughing. “Not anytime soon. I need to make sure you do right by Ginger first. I may need to be there to pick up the pieces, but don’t worry I’ll love her good.”
“I better be six feet under.”
“Please don’t talk like that. Our baby needs his daddy,” she said with a shaky voice as she slapped Evan’s chest.
“I’m sorry, darlin’,” Evan said as he wrapped her in his arms. The tears in her eyes made him feel like shit so he flipped Nathan off behind her back.
“Sorry sugar,” Nathan said in an apologetic tone before he kissed the back of her head and mouthed sorry to Evan before he left.
Evan nodded as he guided Ginger to the swing where they sat the first night she was there. “Can you tell me where your thoughts are?” His arm was around her as his thumb stroked up and down hers.
“We’re planning a wedding and having a baby, and you’re talking about dying!”
“Fair enough. Bad choice of words. You know Nathan and I were just joking. Darlin’, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Are you going to talk to the Mayor?”
“Yes.”
“What if something happens?”
“You’ve been here. Nothing happens.” When she looked at Evan, the emotion in her eyes said you’ve got to be kidding me. “Well, there’s been more action in the last month than in my entire life here. Gin, I’ll be home with you every night and still help Mitchell on the ranch. Once we get some of the corruption out, Riverton Crossing will be the most boring place you ever imagined. It’s a safe place to raise a family, and I intend to be right in the middle of raising mine.”
“You’re just talking though, right?”
“If he offers me the Chief of Police position, I’m taking it.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I told you I’d support your decision when you quit your job so I’ll support this one, too. It has to be safer that working undercover, right?” She looked into his eyes. “Will it make me more of a target?”
“I’m gonna find that son-of-a-bitch, Gin. You can rest assured he’s on my radar.”
They sat in silence for several minutes while his thumb continued to strok
e her arm. She finally said, “I guess the water works are part of the hormones. Can you love me through them?”
“You bet your cute little ass I can. Darlin’, I promise you it’s safer than undercover. It’s getting late so let’s get you to bed. ”
Evan couldn’t sleep so he got up to let Ginger rest and made his way to the office. It’d been years since he looked at the pictures on the bookcase of his dad, mom, brother, and himself. He wanted this life for his family. He wanted them to have the best, safest life possible. Even though he never thought he’d want to work in his hometown, he knew he could do good things here.
He’d make sure Ginger would be safe, their baby would be safe. Funny how perspectives changed. When he was younger, he wanted out of here because the place reminded him of Mayberry. Now with his own kid on the way, he wanted it to be Mayberry. If he joined the police force, he could ensure that. He just had to make Ginger comfortable with it. She said she’d support his decision, but he wanted it to be their decision.
On his way back to bed, he brought her crackers and water for the morning. He crawled into bed and pulled her close. The feel of her body next to his relaxed him enough to fall asleep.
Evan walked into Mayor Sinclair’s office at eight fifty-nine the following morning. Apparently the Mayor’s assistant was expecting him because as soon as he said his name, she escorted him in. The Mayor sat behind his desk and raised his head when she cleared her throat.
“Mr. Riverton is here, sir.”
“Mr. Riverton, welcome,” Mayor Sinclair said.
“Good morning, Mayor. Call me Evan,” he said as he walked into the office.
“Evan,” he said as he walked around the desk. They shook hands as the Mayor indicated for Evan to take a seat. Instead of going back around the desk, he took the chair opposite Evan. “Has Ben told you what’s been happening here?”
Unfinished Business Page 19
