18. Tripp
Chapter 18
Tripp
Penny was acting strange.
Maybe seeing Jake again had messed with her head. She hadn’t been quite right since that day.
Determined to provide a pick-me-up for my girl, I crafted the perfect relaxing night in.
Her favorite flowers sat in a vase on the coffee table.
Dinner simmered on the stove.
A bottle of white wine chilled in the fridge.
And a movie marathon was queued up on the TV over the fireplace.
If this didn’t break her out of her funk, I wasn’t sure what would.
After hopping into the shower to rinse off the grime from a hard day’s work on the ranch, I stepped out of the bathroom to find Penny pacing the length of the cabin.
I could literally feel the tension radiating off of her in waves. The cork on whatever she’d been bottling up was about to pop.
Tossing the towel slung around my neck in the hamper, I approached slowly, speaking softly so as not to startle her. “Penny?”
She spun around, and when her wide eyes landed on me, all the color drained from her face.
That wasn’t a good sign.
“Lucky, tell me what’s going on. I’m worried about you.”
A bark of laughter sounded. “Ha! You haven’t seen nothing yet, mister.”
I took her hands in mine. “Whatever it is, we can handle it together, but you have to let me in.”
“You should probably sit down for this,” she urged.
Dread settled like a rock in my stomach, but I obeyed, dropping onto the edge of the mattress.
Penny’s pacing resumed. Her sharp, rapid inhales were so pronounced that her chest went concave with each one.
Shit. She was going to hyperventilate if she kept going.
“You know what? I need to sit down,” she huffed out, breathless, before collapsing onto the couch.
With every muscle coiled tight, I was ready for whatever battle she faced to become my own.
“I’m pregnant.”
Those words acted like a vacuum, sucking the air right from my lungs.
Stunned, I could barely manage a response. “Already?”
That’s the best you could do? Hope the kid never asks how you reacted the day you learned you were going to become a father.
Oh my God. I was going to become a father.
My wife’s scoff brought my brain back online. “Apparently, those Sullivan swimmers of yours are strong.”
Obviously, I’d known this was a possibility. We hadn’t done much to prevent it and were fucking pretty much every chance we got. But still, it was going to take a minute to wrap my mind around this life-changing news .
There was a tremble in Penny’s voice when she spoke again. “I really need you not to freak out about this because I’m freaking out enough for the both of us.”
That was enough to center me, and without conscious thought, I crossed the room to pull her into my arms.
She buried her face in my chest, her arms snaking around my middle, hugging me so tight that my ribs groaned in protest.
Stroking her back, I said, “You did ask me to put a baby in you.”
Her humph came out muffled before she lifted her head to cry, “Well, I didn’t think you were actually gonna do it!”
I wasn’t quick enough to stifle my laughter. “What did you think was going to happen when we skipped out on contraception?”
Lower lip pushing out in a pout, she huffed, “I don’t know.”
“It’s gonna be okay,” I vowed softly. She had to know that, right? That I would do whatever was necessary to take care of her, of our baby? The love we shared was only set to expand with the addition of a little person we created together—a little person that was half Penny, half me.
Excitement buzzed beneath my skin as I began to imagine our unborn child.
Would they have Penny’s eyes or mine?
Would they be a little hellion like their mama or more of a reserved rule-follower like their daddy?
Would it be a little girl I would protect with my life or a rough-and-tumble boy I’d teach how to be a man?
Honestly, the details didn’t matter because they would be ours, and already, my heart swelled with love for a person I hadn’t met yet.
Penny’s heavy sigh rattled her chest. “People already think we’re crazy for running off and getting married. Throw a baby on top? They’re going to have us fitted for straitjackets. ”
For me, the initial shock had given way to overwhelming joy. I was fit to burst, ready to shout from the rooftops that Penny was not only my wife but having my baby. But I could appreciate that she might have mixed emotions regarding our impending parenthood—which was completely fair, considering her contribution continued past conception. Penny was the one who had to carry the burden of a pregnancy. She was the one who would have to endure the pain of labor to bring our child into the world.
Any fear or uncertainty that came as a result of facing that challenge was absolutely valid.
Cupping her cheek, I searched her eyes. “You’re not happy.”
She reared back, eyes growing wide. “I am. Of course I am. I’ve always wanted to have your baby.”
Dragging my thumb over her soft skin, I asked, “Then tell me what’s really bothering you.”
Penny’s eyes slid shut as she sucked in a deep breath before exhaling, and her lashes lifted. “My head’s just swimming with how fast everything’s happened.”
“That’s understandable. It’s a lot to take in.”
“Yeah.” Her lips twisted to the side. “Can you promise me something?”
“Anything.” I meant it. Fuck, I’d lasso the moon if she asked for it.
“For the love of all that’s holy, please do not take a single picture between my legs when I push this kid out.”
Booming laughter burst from my chest. “It’ll be tough to resist,” I teased, earning me a deep scowl from my wife. “But I think I can manage to hold myself back.”
“Jerk.” Penny swatted at my bare chest.
I captured her wrist, brought her hand to my mouth, and kissed her palm. “Sorry. I promise. No money shots of Baby Sullivan entering the world. ”
“Baby Sullivan,” she whispered. “That’s freaking wild.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But so freaking amazing at the same time.”
That got a tiny smile out of my girl. “It is, isn’t it?” She backed out of my arms, and her eyes dipped as a hand came to rest on her lower belly.
My palm covered hers over where our baby lay inside her.
Surreal didn’t begin to cover it. There was a baby in there—our baby.
“So, am I allowed to ask?” Her gaze lifted to meet mine. “Are you a little bit pregnant or a lot?”
Penny snorted. “Pregnant’s pregnant, Tripp.”
“That came out wrong.” I sighed. “What I meant was we’ve been married for almost two months. When did . . .” My words trailed off, hoping she understood what I was asking.
“When did you knock me up?” She finished my question for me, and I nodded.
She lifted a shoulder. “Can’t be certain. Best guess Tucker could give me without an ultrasound is that we should anticipate an arrival sometime in the front half of February.”
February. It was mid-July. That meant we had less than seven months to prepare.
My stress level shot through the roof when I realized there wouldn’t be enough time to secure a more permanent living situation. If we didn’t opt to live in town or with one of our parents, this cabin was it. Sure, my mom and dad had made it work under this roof with two kids, but that was out of pure necessity. It wasn’t exactly ideal.
Maybe this was what my dad had been trying to warn me about in his spiel about hard days.
If having a baby with the woman I loved while trying to find our footing as a married couple was the worst of it, we were going to be just fine.