Chapter 31
Trent’s parents totally believed his statement that Brittany was pregnant. They loved the name Montana, which they said would work regardless of whether the baby turned out to be a girl or a boy.
That was the good news. The bad news? They were totally against the two-household, platonic friendship plan for raising that baby. They made their objections clear all the way back to Wagon Train.
But once they stepped through the door of Desiree’s house, all discussion on the topic ended. Desiree didn’t bring it up, either. Trent assumed Andy had the info by now, but he certainly wouldn’t be the one to say something.
Angie joined them for lunch and she didn’t say a word about it, either. After they ate, all seven of them went riding, which allowed him to introduce his folks to Gigabyte. That went well. If only their meeting with Brittany would go as smoothly. He wasn’t optimistic.
Then came the potluck dinner he’d forgotten about. The whole family showed up, and he spent the evening watching his every word.
That sucked, especially with Rance. He’d been a good friend and deserved to know what was going on.
The party started breaking up after dessert. His folks were tired and everyone was intent on resting up in preparation for a busy weekend. Before his mom and dad headed down the hallway toward their room, Trent hugged them each goodnight.
“It’ll all work out, son.” His dad squeezed his shoulder. “Don’t worry.”
“What he said.” His mom smiled. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
“I think you did in February.”
“Then I’m sure I’ll recognize her when she comes for the rehearsal. Tell her we’re looking forward to seeing her again.”
“I will.” He had plenty more to tell her. And a request.
He offered to help with cleanup, but the gang had everything under control so he headed out. He took the ranch road slow to avoid the night critters, his muscles tight with impatience.
Finally he was inside his cabin and could pull out his phone. He hadn’t said he’d call her and he had no idea if she’d be home or not. She could be over at her mom’s. He hoped not.
She answered on the first ring. “Hi, Trent.”
“Where are you?”
“Standing in front of my closet trying to decide what to wear to the wedding.”
He sucked in a breath. She would have to mention a closet.
“Where are you?”
“In my living room wishing I could be there so we could make use of your closet.”
“You need to ditch that fantasy. I doubt it’s nearly as much fun as you’re imagining. You might throw your back out.”
“Have you ever done it in a closet?”
“No, but?—”
“Then how do you know?”
“I’ve never done it outside during a blizzard, either, and I know for a fact it would put my body in danger.”
“But what a way to go. I know which part of me would freeze last.”
“Is this your version of a dirty phone call?”
“Maybe. Is it working?”
“I’m not going to tell you.”
“That means it is. I can be there in thirty minutes.”
“Don’t come.”
“I’ll hang on until I get there.”
She laughed. “Stop it. Don’t tease.”
“I’m not teasing. I doubt any cops are patrolling that road on a Thursday night. I could make it in twenty.” He could already taste her kisses and feel the warmth of her?—
“Stay where you are, please.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Hang on a sec. I need to apologize to my buddy. He’s easily excited.”
“Don’t I know it.”
He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “Alrighty, let’s start over. I had a reason to call. I need your permission to tell Rance. He should be home by now. I’d like to go over and talk to him tonight.”
“Then you weren’t serious about driving into town to see me?”
“Oh, I was dead serious. If you’d said yes, I would have figured out a time to catch him tomorrow. I have my priorities. Want to reconsider?”
On the other end, her breath hitched. “No. We need sleep.”
“You’re probably right. I just miss you.”
“Same here.”
The tender way she said it made him long to wrap her in his arms. What if he promised to just hold her while they fell asleep? Could he do that? Yeah, probably not.
“Why do you want to tell Rance tonight?”
“He’s the one I’m closest to out here, except for Dallas. We just finished up a family gathering and it bothered me that he doesn’t know. I don’t want him getting the news when the rest of them do. He deserves to hear it from me ahead of time.”
“Then by all means tell him. Just ask him to keep it to himself.”
“I will.”
“Just so you know, he has a reputation as the family rabble-rouser.”
“And I’ve seen that side of him. I also trust him. There’s a lot going on under the surface with that guy. He’s more solid than most people think.”
“I’ll respect your judgment on it, then. You know, if you’re telling Rance, I should probably talk to Ella.”
“I get that, but you might not want to contact her tonight. She was yawning at dinner and said she was going straight to bed when she gets home.”
“And her PE classes start early in the morning. Maybe I can find a time at the rehearsal. Hey, you haven’t mentioned your parents, yet. Did they get here okay?”
“Sure did. My mom said to tell you she’s looking forward to seeing you again.”
“She remembers me?”
“Not specifically, but she knows she’ll recognize you once she sees you again.”
She responded with a chuckle.
He smiled. “Come on. She will. She?—”
“Your mom doesn’t remember me, but that’s okay. She had enough on her plate keeping track of all the McLintocks. Never mind about that. What was their reaction to the pregnancy announcement?”
“At first they were stunned. Not that they didn’t believe it, but… not my usual behavior.”
“I’m sure.”
“But they warmed up to it fast. Naturally they’re hoping this supposed friendship agreement will morph into something else.”
“Just like my mom.”
“Yep. I don’t know if we’ll get any of them to understand that angle, although it helps that Desiree had the same idea. They’re also really excited about the baby and they love the name Montana.”
“So their reaction was mostly positive.”
“It was. But like I said, they don’t like that we’ll maintain separate households. They never said the M word, but they think a child does better when the parents live together.”
“Even after meeting the McLintock gang?”
“They said Buck and Marybeth made a huge difference and having a bunch of kids helped, too. When I mentioned divorced parents, they said divorced parents aren’t often good friends. If we like each other, living together shouldn’t be a problem.”
“It’s a logical argument except for one thing.”
“I wasn’t going to say we can’t keep our hands off each other. Not when I’m doing seventy with my beloved family members in the truck.”
“Good grief! I wouldn’t want you telling them that while we’re sitting around enjoying a warm beverage.”
“I won’t have to tell them since Desiree’s fully informed. I guarantee we’ll be the main topic of conversation at breakfast tomorrow morning. And I’ll come up with a good excuse not to be there.”
“Maybe hearing it from Desiree is for the best.” She let out a sigh. “I really didn’t think this through. I pictured it as a private matter between the two of us. It’s anything but.”
“Listen, if you’re worried about me telling Rance, I’ll?—”
“No, go ahead.”
“Then I’d better hang up before it gets any later. See you tomorrow afternoon.”
“See you then.”
“Feels like forever.”
“I know. G’night.”
“Sweet dreams.” He forced himself to tap the disconnect button. Then he texted Rance.
He texted right back and said he’d open a couple of beers. With a silent apology to Brittany, he sent back a thumbs-up emoji.
Rance’s log cabin had some features similar to the others — a rock fireplace on the wall opposite the front door, a kitchen to the left and two bedrooms down the hall, a primary and a guest room. But instead of a sofa and chairs in his living/dining area, Rance had a pool table.
He”d only had it a couple of months, and to make space, he’d moved the sofa into his guest room and placed the easy chairs against one wall. Four dining chairs were lined up along the opposite one. No telling what he’d done with the dining table.
The only other furniture in the room was an antique rolltop desk and matching chair. The desk was a little too tall and blocked the lower third of a large window that looked out on the porch. But it wasn’t so high that it ruined a premium view of the Sapphires.
Rance handed him a beer the minute he walked through the door. “Glad you came. I could tell something was on your mind tonight. Something you didn’t want to bring up with everyone around.”
“There is.” He took one swig and then started talking. He paced back and forth, gesturing with the bottle, until he’d given Rance the whole complicated picture, including the work glove reference to explain how he knew Brittany was pregnant.
At last he was done. Pausing, he looked at Rance. “So, what do you think? Does her plan stand a snowball’s chance in hell of succeeding?”
Rance grinned. “You know the answer.”
“I suppose I do.” He took another sip of the beer. “Any advice?”
“Do the program.”
“Should I tell her I don’t think it’ll work?”
“This isn’t about telling, dude. It’s about showing.”