by Stuart, Amie
He hadn’t forgotten. The place almost felt like home. A couple more rugs, some new curtains, my books and lamps, and we’d be set.
I felt like crying.
Instead, I smiled and gingerly kicked off my shoes, balancing a box of sleepers and baby gowns in one hand.
"Need some help?" He looked up at me. All showered and squeaky-clean, dressed in baby blue sweats and a navy t-shirt that was stretched across his broad shoulders. A fringe of pale blonde bangs covered his forehead, making him look all of seventeen instead of thirty.
"Yeah, if you don’t mind. There’s another box in the car."
"What’d you get?" He stood and headed in my direction.
"Baby clothes," I confessed with a sheepish grin. "I ordered them last week."
"I’ll go get it. I left you a plate on the counter." He took the box from my hands and set it on the dining table before slipping past me and heading out into the chilly evening air.
I glanced at my watch and winced. Nearly seven and I’d forgotten to call. No wonder he’d eaten without me.
Chapter Twelve
HONEY AND THE MOON
Ty stood at the dining room table and slowly pulled out the tiny garments. As excited as he felt at the sight of each outfit, in a multitude of colors, he winced at the price tags dangling from the sleeves. Babies were expensive. Life was good, but he wasn’t a rich man.
He glanced at the kitchen door, but didn’t hear anything over the television. He and Bettina needed to discuss money soon. His gut clenched, and he automatically blew out a long slow breath, wondering how she’d react to a budget. He dreaded the discussion. With Rhea, discussions about money always meant a fight. She’d acted like he was a gentleman rancher not a cowboy-ranch hand. Tim was the bigshot cutting horse trainer with money. And Dad owned the Rockin B. At least Bettina worked. Another price tag came into view, and he nearly choked.
Thirty dollars for a tiny baby outfit?
Ty gulped. How the hell could he afford a kid? What had he gotten himself into?
"Watch’a think?"
He whirled around, one miniature white outfit clutched in his fist.
"Cute, huh?"
The tiny sleeper had ducks across the chest and the smallest bow he’d ever seen. It was cute but looked like something a doll would wear. He smiled. "Yeah, real cute."
They could talk later. Standing there with a plate in hand and her feet bare, Bettina looked tired. Of course, if he hadn’t woken her up in the middle of the night with his nightmare...She leaned up and kissed his cheek and he smiled at the tiny gesture.
"How was your day?"
"Good." The tension he’d felt when he heard her car pull into the driveway eased up considerably. He needed to quit worrying so much.
Everything was fine. This wasn’t Rhea. Another knot unworked itself.
"Did’ja catch hell for being late?"
He couldn’t smother the embarrassed grin that crept across his face. His dad had smirked a bit and mentioned something about him taking a day off. Tim and Zack had given him hell. Especially Zack, who’d made a comment about paybacks from his own wedding earlier in the year.
"That bad, huh?" She smiled as if reading his mind.
All he could do was nod.
"Mmm, look at these booties!" She set down the plate with a clank of china and dug through a box until she found what she was looking for. A set of navy blue baby booties with little silvers stars and moons. Next came a matching hat.
He smiled and tried to picture the tiny baby who would wear them. "When’s your next appointment?"
"A week from Wednesday at ten. You are coming with me, aren’t you?" Bettina settled in a chair.
Shit! That was the same time as his therapy appointment. He’d reschedule when he went in tomorrow. Hell. He’d have to tell Dr. Ritter about getting married. Another smile broke through. The doc would chew his ass out. So much for her suggestion to find a lover.
"Ty?"
He snapped back into the present.
"You are going with me?"
"Absolutely. I wouldn’t miss it for the world."
"Thank you for getting my furniture, Ty."
"It was definitely my pleasure." He did have to admit her stuff looked a hell of a lot better in the house than that white monstrosity Rhea had begged and bitched for. He’d been more than glad to donate it to the women’s shelter Dr. Ritter volunteered at.
"I know you already ate, but you could sit, if you want."
He did and tried not to stare while she finished up the last of her leftover brisket and mashed potatoes.
"So, what do you want?" she asked between bites. "A boy or a girl?"
"I don’t care." He shrugged, then winced at his sharp tone. "I mean, either is fine."
"I agree. A girl would be so sweet but a boy..." She smiled, letting her words trail off. "I could just picture one with your dimples."
Ty grinned and ducked his head even as he felt the heat in his cheeks. "A little girl with your curls," he quietly confessed, eyes on the dark tabletop.
"Aw, that would be sweet, huh?"
"Yeah."
"So, I was thinking—"
"You look tired." His head snapped up and he frowned, suddenly worried about her overdoing it.
"I am." She pushed her nearly empty plate away and nodded, her curls not quite as bouncy. "Early bed soon. I was thinking, we could turn that second bedroom next to ours into a nursery."
"Whatever you want is fine with me." He smiled as his eyes drifted down to her cleavage, and he remembered waking this morning with his face buried in her warm sweet neck. His cock twitched and swelled ever so slightly beneath the table. Stop it, Ty. Damn, she just walked in the door and already you want to jump her bones. No wonder Rhea used to complain so much.
He was snapped from his reverie by the sight of Bettina getting up and heading for the kitchen. Her ass jiggled beneath the tight black pants, reminding him of how soft and lush she was. How good she’d felt wrapped around him this morning, how different she was from Rhea, who’d been so bony. He decided it wasn’t such a bad difference but frowned, not sure he liked Bettina wearing such tight pants to work.
His erection wasn’t going anywhere. He should go sit on the couch and hide it before she got back. Ty stood and stretched, intent on doing just that when she returned from the kitchen. There was no hiding the evidence.
"Why, Ty Boudreaux, did you miss me that much?" Her soft purr only made him harder. She was teasing him again. Don’t get all bent out of shape, Bubba.
"Sorry." He gave her an embarrassed grin and tugged at his shirt.
"Lemme go change," she said softly.
He nodded and watched her head for the bedroom, wondering if he should go help. No, go sit on the couch.
He curled up in a corner of the couch, feet propped on the coffee table and a colorful throw over his legs and slowly shrinking erection. However, he couldn’t prevent his head from snapping up at the sound of the bedroom door opening a few minutes later.
Bettina emerged in a long, cotton nightgown and robe. He’d imagined she’d be the kind to wear something sexy like a satin teddy, but the sight of her in worn cotton gave him an unexpected charge. He watched her cross the room, breasts bouncing beneath the thin material, and lifted his legs, so she could slip by. As she passed the coffee table she threw something down. A washcloth. He stared not quite sure what it was for.
For after sex, stupid.
She lifted the multi-colored throw and slipped beneath it, curling up next to him. His hard-on returned full force. Damnit!
"Hi," she whispered and snuggled nearer.
He wrapped an arm around her, suddenly concerned she’d think they had to fool around and get tired of him like Rhea had. But he couldn’t seem to help himself. Bettina drew him in, relaxed him somehow and turned him on all at the same time. "We don’t have to do anything, if you’re too tired."
Her fingers nimbly untied the drawstring on his pants and pushe
d the material out of the way.
"We..."
"Shh, hush." She had his cock in her hand by this time and stroked him, her eyes on his face. Hell, she did it better than he did. Maybe it was just the novelty of having it done for him. He leaned over to kiss her and moaned into her lush, warm mouth as their tongues collided. She pulled back and snuggled near, her hand never stopping. "Is this okay?"
"Oh, yeah." The words came out more a moan than actual speech. Reality quickly faded. He leaned into her shoulder, inhaling her warm, spicy scent. Another long low guttural moan ripped itself from his throat as her hand sped up. Oh God. "More."
"Want more, baby?" she whispered, shifting against him.
"B—B’tina." His hips arched and his sac drew up as he moaned louder this time in the crook of her neck. Curls tickled his face. He pried his eyes open and reached up to nip her earlobe, his free hand caressing her face, her hair, everywhere. Pure primal instinct ripped through him.
He wanted to mate. To come. To bite and claw. He shook with the force of it.
He heard her talking somewhere nearby and reached up to nip her earlobe again. Then her neck. And her shoulder. He shoved her gown aside, buried his face in her neck and bit her hard, his teeth sinking into tender flesh as the force of his orgasm overtook him. Her squeal only drove him to sink his teeth in deeper. His hips took on a will of their own, and he clung to her until it was over.
Ty sat panting, not ready to move just yet. He pressed a kiss to her neck, then finally eased back only to stare in shock at the deep love bite and teeth marks he’d left behind. In his hand he held one plump bare breast.
He’d never lost control like that before.
Beside him, Bettina gasped for air, her head thrown back against the couch cushions. How’d they get so tangled up? His leg was thrown over hers and one of hers was propped up, her gown pushed up around her waist. Between her thighs, among dark blonde curls were her fingers.
Hell, she’d gotten them both off.
He released her breast, and his fingers slipped down the length of her arm to join hers. They were soaked, and her clitoris was swollen. She shuddered as he gently stroked her, their fingers intertwined, his own becoming drenched. The smell of sex, of her arousal, teased him. He brushed his wet fingertips across her bare, rosy nipple and watched it pucker and harden, wet with her juices. He’d never in his life done such a thing. So decadent and sensual.
He licked his fingers, then leaned over and sucked it clean. She tasted good. A combination of sweet and salty.
"No more," she purred.
Ty reluctantly released her and rested his head on her chest. Once they’d cleaned up their mess, they sat wrapped up in each other’s arms watching television in an easy silence. Inch by inch he relaxed, and his eyes drifted lower.
Then he stood in a field. The back pasture, furthest from the house and his favorite place to ride Dancer. Why was he walking through the field barefooted and in his pajamas? Oh yeah. He was dreaming. This was a dream.
In the distance he saw the old cottonwood hovering protectively over the stream and walked toward it. The sun shone and he heard birds. Bettina waved, and he smiled, his heart melting. She had the baby perched on her shoulder. His baby. Dressed in white with tufts of blonde hair sticking straight up.
Ty broke into a run, but the more he ran, the further away they got. Then the light slowly faded and a storm blew up out of nowhere as he finally reached the tree. Thunder cracked and lightening danced. The wind whipped at him in angry gusts.
Bettina and the baby were gone. He looked everywhere, until he was practically running in circles around the tree.
Only to come face to face with Rhea holding the empty baby carrier. "Expecting someone else?"
"No! Bettina!" He reached for the Rhea-Demon, wanting to get rid of her once and for all. "What the hell did you do?" Oh, God, where was Bettina and the baby?
He awoke in the middle of sitting up, gasping for air. It was a dream. Another dream. A bad one. He was in the living room and it was really dark.
Where was Bettina, dammit!
He threw off the blanket and staggered into the bedroom on shaky legs. Moonlight snuck through the window and slipped across the bed. Bettina was fine. She looked so peaceful, curled up on her side, the sheets tucked under her chin. She was safe.
The baby was safe.
Ty heaved a huge sigh of relief, then shivered as the sweat on his dream-fevered body began to cool him down. He headed for the shower, doing his best to shake off the remnants of his nightmare while he waited for the water to warm up. But even awake, he kept hearing Rhea laugh.
He climbed beneath the shower’s hot spray as the dream continued to replay itself. The thought of her going anywhere near his child, poisoning it, hurting it, made his skin crawl. On some deep primal level, he worried that if Rhea knew about the baby, she’d do her best to hurt it. Hurt him.
He’d be damned. He’d be damned if he’d let her take away what was his. Something good and pure she couldn’t taint.
Bitch.
Chapter Thirteen
THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD
I rolled over and stretched out. Ty’s pillow was cold. And the sun was up. He’d been gone a while.
I slid out of bed, my eyes on the clock. Just after seven and my first appointment was at nine-thirty.
In the middle of scrambling an egg, my front door slammed and someone holler, "Hello, hello!"
Great, morning company, and I was still in my robe. Sounded as if Jessa had decided to come calling. "I’m here."
"Morning," she called, breezing into the kitchen.
"Want some eggs? Or coffee?" I offered.
"No thanks." Dressed in jeans and flannels, she looked young, despite the slight swell of her belly. From what I’d seen at the wedding, she seemed good for Zack, her earthy qualities a nice contrast to his otherworldly ones, and he and Travis, his four-year-old son, obviously adored her.
Ty had always had Rhea. Tim had had Charlene until she’d left him, Zander had his roping and football and Zack painted—definitely the odd man out.
I carried my plate to the table and sat with legs crossed, one knee jiggling, while she checked out the kitchen. Since she didn’t come off as one to hem and haw, I knew this visit had a purpose.
"Sure looks a hell of a lot better in here." She slid into the chair next to mine.
"What’s up?"
"Haven’t seen you around and wanted to stop by, welcome you to the family properly and just say that if you hurt my favorite brother-in-law, I’m gonna whup your ass." While your ass came out sounding like ya’ass, her smile fell far short of her dark blue eyes.
My God we’d only been married one day. If I’d had a mouthful of eggs, I’da choked ‘em. Instead, I laughed until tears ran down my face and I nearly peed my undies. While I laughed, Jessa sat there calmly watching me. She was nearly pregnant, for Pete’s sake.
The visual of two pregnant women dukin’ it out sent me off again. Finally, I had to excuse myself and empty my poor bladder. I threw on some purple sweats and headed back to the kitchen. She hadn’t moved an inch.
"Well, guess we know where you stand, huh?" I said, picking at my eggs.
"I may be pregnant, but I don’t play." She slowly rubbed her belly and studied me with narrowed eyes. "Did you know Jerrod let all the guys come in early yesterday to go get your furniture? Not that I blame you, but there’s more than just you and Ty wanting things to work out. We all want Ty happy. He deserves it."
As if they were the only ones with anything to lose.
"What the hell does that mean?" I damn sure had more at stake than his damn family did. "Never mind. Just leave! And from now on, mind your own fucking business!" I threw down my fork and lurched to my feet.
"Ty is my business. Boudreauxes take care of their own," she said, standing. "Just remember that."
"So, what, no outsiders allowed?" Story of my life.
"You got two choices, siste
r. Run with the herd, or get eaten by the coyotes. I ain’t thrilled by this marriage at all. But I know how excited Ty is at becomin’ a daddy. You hurt him, you take that away from him, and you’ll answer to me and the rest of the family. We won’t abide it. Understand?"
My sense of humor got drowned in self-righteous anger. "How dare you? Get out! Get the fuck out of my house!"
"It’s the Boudreaux way or the highway, sister."
"I ain’t your sister. Now get the hell out of my house!"
Once she was gone I collapsed in my chair long enough to catch my breath, then bawled, thankful I hadn’t put on my makeup yet.
How dare she?! Maybe Maggie Boudreaux sent her.
I hopped up, slid my dirty plate in the sink then stopped. What the hell could I say to Ty’s momma, for heaven’s sake? Did you sic your daughter-in-law on me? Prego a Prego?
I considered canceling my nine-thirty, but I wasn’t going to have my hand forced by a cranky pregnant woman. I sniffled again and headed for the bedroom. I had to get my makeup on. Just the thought of it made my tears fall faster. That’s how Ty found me, lying on the bed bawling my eyes out.
So much for making nice with the in-laws.
"What are you doing here?" I mumbled, eyeing him through tear-swollen eyes.
He studied me, the expression in his eyes changing from concerned to slightly wary. "I was in the home pasture and saw your car. Don’t you have to work?"
I nodded, curling up on my side and pushing my hair off my face. I hoped he wouldn’t be mad at me for bawling all over his pillow.
Ty headed into the bathroom and returned with some tissues. Crouching next to the bed, he handed them to me.
"What’s the matter?"
Hiccups caught me off guard, then I got caught up in a huge case of the sniffles. I mopped my face and looked at him. How could I tell him his pregnant sister-in-law had threatened me? And that I thought his momma had sent her?
How juvenile and asinine could you get? That made me start up all over again.
"I’ll be right back, okay?" He brushed some hair off my forehead and planted a soft kiss there.
