Bacon Seed is doing great. Turns out, she sleeps better in her kennel than in bed with us, and Luke has added pig training to his research. He says they’re super smart and can almost be dog-like as pets. I told him I knew my little girl was brilliant, and she’s way better than any old dog. Unless he got me one of those too. Then they could be little pet-pal siblings as they grew up.
I thought it sounded like a fine idea, but he’d said no. Apparently, he’s already asked Mama Louise to pig-sit while we go to Kentucky, but he thinks pig- and puppy-sitting might be a bit much. Begrudgingly, I’d agreed and snuggled Bacon Seed closer while I pouted just a little bit.
From the back pasture, I hear a truck blazing up like fire, loud and fast. I look up and see Mark’s work truck sliding to a stop, and James jumps out.
He’s yelling something I can’t hear, and then I read his lips. “Sophie!”
“Oh, shit! She’s in labor!” I answer, just as loud, even though he can’t hear me through the window either.
Mass chaos reigns, or least it feels like it. But mostly, it’s just James freaking out. Mama Louise picks up the walkie-talkie and presses the button. “It’s time. Everyone to their stations.”
She thought that’d be a funny alert, but it’s pretty close to the truth. I know that acres away, Bruce and Bobby are hopping in their truck, Mark and James are already here, and I can hear Brody’s ATV whining as he gets closer. Luke’s in the barn, but I bet he’s already got every horse put away safely. I grab Bacon Seed and run for the house. I set her down in her kennel with a little pig feed and promises of all the snuggles tonight when I get home.
She snorts, so I take that as agreement.
We all load up, though it takes two trucks to carry us all. “What’d Sophie say?” Mama Louise asks James.
His eyes are wide, wild. “She said, ‘Don’t freak out, I’m fine. My water broke and Doc’s taking me to the hospital so he doesn’t have to see my hoo-ha and deliver this baby.’”
Mama Louise pats his hand. “Then don’t freak out. She’s in good hands either way.”
“Doc Jones, the veterinarian, is not delivering my baby!” he says, as if his words can make it true.
Minutes later, we park at the hospital and rush in like a wild pack of animals. Or cowboys. Same thing.
“Sophie Bennett?” James says to the receptionist. She looks him up and down and then leans over to look at the rest of us. I swear her eyes linger on Brody for a second longer, though. “She’s having a baby!”
The receptionist smiles professionally, not at all ruffled by James’s outburst. “Labor and delivery is on the second floor, sir.” She points and James is off like a shot, all of us following behind at a slightly less frantic pace.
He smacks a metal pad by a set of double doors and then forces his way through sideways before they even open halfway. A woman in scrubs stops him with a raised hand. “You must be the Bennetts? We’ve been expecting you, though when Mrs. Bennett said a herd of buffalo was coming, we thought she was exaggerating.”
She laughs like the joke is funny, but James is too far gone. “Where is she?”
Her smile is sweet and warm, like she’s used to dads-to-be freaking out.
“Mr. Bennett, if you’ll follow me? The rest of you can step into the family area around the corner. There’s free coffee and vending machines, if you’d like something. It’s probably going to be a long night.”
James is gone, following the doctor, and we all shuffle around the corner as directed. Katelyn is already there, sitting primly in the feminine skirt and heels combo she usually wears to work. I guess she made it faster than we did since the resort is so much closer. We sit down with her to wait.
It doesn’t take long for the memories to come back. The ass-numbing chairs, the uncertainty, the antiseptic smells teasing at my nose.
None of us have been in a hospital since Daddy passed. It hasn’t been long by the calendar, but so much has happened, it feels like a lifetime ago.
It feels like a family ago.
I look around and meet Brody’s dark eyes. He lifts a brow, asking me if I’m okay, and I nod. I do the same back to him, and his shoulder lifts a centimeter before dropping again. I watch as Bruce and Bobby nod back to Brody’s silent question too.
At some point, Jake and Roxy show up and sit vigil with us. Jake looks sick with worry and Roxy pats his hand, whispering in his ear.
Hours later, a frazzled James pops his head in. His blond hair is standing straight up and his eyes are bloodshot. He looks exhausted so I can only imagine what Sophie looks like. “She’s about to start pushing. It’ll be soon. I’m gonna be a Daddy, guys.”
His eyes shine with unshed tears, but he looks happy. He sees Jake and Roxy and asks if they want to see her for a minute. They nod and the three of them disappear.
“Will you join me?” Mama Louise says. She stands, and we all stand with her, making a circle. She takes Mark’s hand on her right and Brody’s on her left, and we each take the hand of the person next to us, completing the connection.
Mama Louise closes her eyes. “Please protect Sophie, guide her along the journey she faces, and help her baby join this family. We have a lot of love to share, with each other and with the next generation. May her delivery be as pain-free as it can be, as beautiful as Sophie is, and may her baby bring her as much joy as I have received from all my children.”
A mix of deep timbres gruffly says, “Amen.” Katelyn and I sniffle and whisper it too.
And then we sit back down to wait. As a family. To greet our newest member.
* * *
I have never truly seen bliss before. It’s a word I’ve said, a word I’ve read, but I’ve never truly seen it for myself until James comes back into the waiting room. His face is pure, unadulterated bliss.
“It’s a girl. A beautiful, gorgeous, squalling pink girl. Both her and her pretty momma are doing well.”
We erupt in cheers, the boys all patting his back too hard and us girls blubbering like faucets. “Congratulations!” we all say over and over.
“What’s her name?” Mama Louise asks.
“Cindy Louise. We named her for Sophie’s mom and you,” James says. Mama Louise cries some more and pulls on James’s shoulders so he’ll bend down to hug her.
“Thank you, that’s so sweet. I never . . . thank you.”
When Mama Louise lets him go, he laughs. “The other good thing is, I won the bet. Thank God!”
He looks up, his palms spread wide, and we look at him in confusion. When he looks back at us, he explains. “Oh, Sophie didn’t tell you? She made me promise that I did not put a ten-pound baby in her. I guess that was her big fear after Mama’s comments about Bennett babies and her belly being so big. She said if it was ten pounds, we were done, no more babies. Good news, though. Nine pounds, ten ounces! So there’s a chance there will be a next time.”
He looks relieved, and I know that Sophie is too, both because ten pounds of baby sounds painful as hell and I know she wants a bunch of kids. She and her brother grew up alone, him raising her after their parents passed when she was just a kid, so she’s always wanted a big family.
Though maybe big is relative . . . like maybe two, if they’re nine-pounders. Ouch!
“Doctor said she can have visitors, but only one at a time. Wanna come meet your granddaughter, Mama?”
She nods, a tissue pressed to her eyes.
We sit down, happiness weaving through us like sparklers, invisible to the naked eye. But I can feel it. We were already making our way, growing into something greater, but this baby is going to tie us together in a whole new way. We’re all gonna love that little girl like mad. We’ll teach her to be country crazy, love animals and the land, and take care of each other just like we all do.
Because we’re a family, by blood and by choice. And that’s what family does.
Epilogue
Luke - Six Months Later
“You think she’s gonna like it?”
I ask Brody, who’s squinting like the diamond is ridiculously small.
To be clear, it’s not. It’s a modest, respectable size, I think. Well, I hope. It’s also made to hold the diamond super-secure because the lady at the jewelry store said if my bride-to-be is hard on her hands, it’s important. And since Shay typically has an animal in her arms, dirt under her nails, and smells of hay and sunshine, I figured safety first was a good move. Because this is definitely for the long run . . . or forever, whichever comes last.
“Fuck if I know what she likes,” Brody finally says with a shrug. “I would’ve said she’d shoot you on sight, and look how that turned out.”
I laugh at his grumpiness. It’s not nearly as bad as it was six months ago. He’s lighter, friendlier, and dare I say . . . funnier. As long you can take a solid verbal smackdown. The guy’s a pro at dry, eviscerating one-liners.
I smack his shoulder, another thing that wouldn’t have happened months ago. “Seriously, fucker. It’s good, right?”
He smiles, finally giving in. “Yeah, it’s pretty and sparkly and all that girly shit. You sure you shouldn’t get her one of those silicone rings instead? She’s kinda . . . well, you’ve met her. She’s rough and country, more one of the guys than princess-like.”
I nod, knowing my eyes look starry and not giving a single fuck. “I know. She’s perfect. And she is girly with me, sometimes. But I love her just how she is.”
“Good fucking thing, otherwise, I’da had to kill you a long time ago,” he says, succeeding in looking menacing. I haven’t forgotten the couple of shots he’s taken on me, and he hasn’t forgotten the ones I got on him either. But they seem more like brotherly fights now, not territorial disputes over my bride-to-be and where her loyalties lie.
Essentially, we’re all one big happy family now. Like the fucking Brady Bunch Goes Country or some shit.
“You tried,” I respond with a shrug.
He grins, the camaraderie easier and getting better every day. “Okay, fuck stick. Tell me how you’re gonna do it so I can tell you it sucks.” He stands with his arms crossed and his jaw clenched tight. Judging me.
But when I’m done telling him my plan, he smiles and shakes my hand. “She’ll love it. Don’t fuck it up.”
It’s a blessing I didn’t think I’d ever get when Shay and I first started sneaking around. But through loss, recovery, teamwork, and family, we’ve done more than dismantle a useless feud. We’ve made something greater.
* * *
“What’s up, hot stuff?” Shay asks from the barn doorway. She’s got on denim shorts, boots, and plain white tank top, her hair braided in plaits, and she’s got my favorite dirty straw hat perched on her head.
She looks stunningly sexy. I want to throw her over my shoulder, run home with her, and fuck her so senseless, she doesn’t even notice when I slip this ring on her finger. Maybe that makes me a fucking caveman, but I don’t give a damn right now.
But she shoots me that shy smile, though we both know good and well that she’s not shy in the slightest, and I know I can’t steal away with her. I want to give her tonight, complete with all the grand gestures and romance she can stand. This will be the story we tell our kids, not that I fucked her into marrying me.
I walk to her, letting her soak in my intentions, and then wrap my arms around her waist, dipping her back the slightest bit before kissing the line of her neck. I drop my voice down to the rumble I know drives her wild and makes her heart race beneath the press of my lips.
“You look good enough to eat, honey.”
“You taking Duster out?” she asks breathlessly, looking over my shoulder, though I’m doing my damnedest to distract her with more kisses.
“Hmm? No, not me, we. We’re taking Duster out. I’ve got plans for you, Shayanne Tannen,” I tell the full lushness of her tits where they’re pressed up against the neckline of her tank.
Her arms wrap around my head, holding me to her. I could suffocate in her tits and die a happy man, but I settle for teasing her nipples through her shirt and kissing every inch of skin I can get at.
“You sure about that? I was thinking we could visit your office over there and reenact one of our first dates again. I could hop up on your desk and you could sit in your chair in front of me, maybe get an up close and personal view of my pussy while you put on a show for me too?” She looks hopeful, fluttering her lashes at me like I’d be doing her a damn favor.
Holy fuck.
She’s gotten good, too good, and I’m this close to doing what she suggests and then heading out for my plans. But if we do that, we’ll miss the sunset.
I sigh heavily, my need for her and the dirty things she promises riding me hard. But I persevere because I’m not a pansy ass. I can be strong for her. I can wait a little bit to get inside her because I know damn well that I’m getting inside her tonight.
“No.” She blinks at me, not understanding the word, so I try again, trying to get the blood to flow north to my brain instead of south to my cock. “No, I’ve got other plans for you tonight, and I won’t be deterred.”
Shit, I might as well have waved a red cape at a bull. She’s all ‘challenge accepted’ anytime someone lays down the law.
But she surprises me again by smiling sweetly. “All right, then. Take me places and show me things. Whatcha got in mind?”
“It’s a surprise,” I say, kissing her smile so I can taste her happiness, the happiness I bring her just by being here at the end of the day, wherever here might be. The ranch, our house, another city, another state, and one day soon, another country, if I can swing a few things for a trip to see a special horse. But as long as I’m by her side, she’s happy.
And making her happy makes me happy, so it’s perfect.
I lead her over to Duster and climb up, helping her get situated behind me. I let Duster take his time. He’s getting older and sometimes is a little fussy about having to go for his daily walks. But he’s always more spry if he keeps moving. A couple of days lazing around the barn and he’s about good for nothing but nose kisses and neck scratches.
Our tree comes into view, and Shayanne presses her cheek to my back. I hum happily, knowing she’ll get a tickle from the vibration. I feel her smile and pat her hands around my waist.
We get down, and I let Duster roam to eat the fresh grass in the area, knowing he’ll come back when I call for him. Shay walks toward the tree. “Hey! There’s something there.”
She reaches for the piece of white paper, sitting beneath a rock on the lowest branch. We haven’t left notes for each other like this in ages, though I’ll sometimes scribble something in her notebook for her to find unexpectedly.
She reads the words I wrote for her. Ones of promise, ones of future, ones of love.
She’s already crying when she turns around. I’m down on one knee, ready for this moment.
“Shayanne Tannen, when I first saw you, I thought you were an annoying brat of a munchkin.” She laughs through the tears just like I’d hoped she would when I worked on this speech, wanting to get it right.
“But when I saw you again, I realized you’d grown up into something truly spectacular. You were the worst kind of off-limits, but I’ve never been much on rule-following, anyway, and neither have you, my little tomboy badass firecracker.” She swats at my shoulder, and I grab her hand to kiss it and hold in mine.
“Somewhere along the way, I fell head over heels in love with you. You make everything better—my heart, my home, my life. And if you’ll let me, I’d like to spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to love you. Will you marry me?”
She nods, her bottom lip tucked behind her teeth. “Gonna need the word, honey. Just so we’re clear those aren’t tears of pity.”
She tackles me, my legs flailing out from beneath me, and I’m suddenly really glad I spread a blanket on the ground when I was here with Brody earlier because she’s kissing me all over, each smack punctuated with a resounding “Yes!”
; Before I know it, we’re naked except for the ring on Shay’s finger, with only the setting sun to see our celebration. Shayanne sits on top of me, riding me like a damn cowgirl, with her tits bouncing and her hips lifting and lowering in a wave, and I fall in love all over again with my sassy spitfire.
Her resilience, her kindness, her caring heart, and her untamed zero-fucks-given approach to everything. She is who she is, and you can take it or leave it.
And I’m definitely going to take it. And love her for the rest of my life.
At some point, we collapse into each other, spent and exhausted. She snuggles into my side, her head on my chest and my arm wrapped around her as the full June moon rises in the purple sky. “Everyone’s waiting at Hank’s for drinks and dancing to celebrate with us. I told them we’d be there when we got there.”
Shay squeals and kicks her feet in the air. She holds her hand up, looking at the diamond.
“I can’t believe they almost double-handedly ruined this for me,” she says, shaking her head.
“Huh? Double-handedly?” I answer, not following her in the slightest but loving that she still surprises and confuses me sometimes. It keeps me on my toes.
“Yeah, double-handedly.” She looks up at me like I’m stupid when she’s over here making up words. “It’s like single-handedly, but there’s two of them. Hence, double-handedly.”
“Uh, okay. So they almost double-handedly ruined this?”
You ever say a nonsense word so many times that it starts to make sense? Or a real word so many times it begins to sound like gibberish? That’s what I’m feeling right now. It might have something to do with the blood flow not recirculating through my body yet, though. It’s still rather centrally focused at the moment since Shay’s naked and pressed against me.
Her nod is definitive, like she’s glad we got that out of the way and I understand her now. I don’t, but I’m not gonna highlight my failures if she’s not.
Racing Hearts: Bennett Boys Ranch Page 33
