Chapter 34
Pickle Tickle
Wheeler
I glance out the window at the knock on the door. My heart does a backflip when I see that it’s Mom.
Peeling myself off the couch is no small feat, especially after the emotional roller coaster of the past twenty-four hours. I woke up feeling sore inside my rib cage, like I’d just run a marathon in cold weather.
But it was a good sore. Like the weight that was bearing down on my heart and lungs is no longer there, and my body’s adjusting to the new lightness.
I push myself up to my feet and head for the door.
“Hey, Mom.”
She smiles when she sees me. Her eyes are bloodshot, her face pale.
My stomach drops. She didn’t sleep.
“Hey, honey. I’m sorry to just show up like this, but I—I had to talk to you in person. Do you have a minute?”
I motion her inside. “Of course I do. You want some coffee? Duke always has a pot going.”
“I’d love some, thanks.”
I pour her a mug, and we settle on the couch.
“Duke in the bathroom?” she asks.
I nod. “Man takes more showers than anyone I’ve ever met. Not like I mind.”
“I imagine those cowboys get filthy.”
“They do. They work hard. He was up cowboying at five.”
“His work has paid off. This place is spectacular.”
Smiling, I let my head fall back on the cushion. “I love it here.”
“Have you thought about what it’s going to be like?” I can tell Mom is choosing her words carefully. “Raising a baby on a cattle ranch? Probably gets lonely. There’s a lot of distance between you and, well, everyone else.”
“Might be, at least at first. But Duke’s family is super close, literally and figuratively—”
“I’ve noticed.” Now she’s smiling. “I like that. A lot.”
“And they all help each other out. It annoys him sometimes how far up his butt they are, but I think it shows they care.” I grab her hand. “I’ve got a solid support system here, Mom.”
She nods, then sets her mug on the coffee table. “I’ll be honest, Wheeler. I was surprised when you said you were keeping the baby.”
“Makes sense. I was surprised too when that slowly but surely became the right decision.”
“And you’re sure?”
The bathroom door opens, and Duke emerges. He’s wearing a towel wrapped around his waist and absolutely nothing else.
God, he’s handsome. His wet hair sticks up every which way. His well-muscled torso still glistens—with water, steam, who cares, honestly?—and my eyes follow the happy trail of dark blond hair that arrows downward toward his groin.
I can’t help but smile. “My mom’s here.”
“I can see that.” He gives her a little wave. “Hey, Fran. Gimme a second to get dressed, all right?”
“Sure thing.” Mom puts hand on her face.
“Aw.” I pat her leg. “You’re blushing.”
“Duke is…really something else, Wheeler.”
“I know. That’s why I’m having a baby with him.” I lower my voice. “He’s thoughtful and emotionally intelligent and—”
“A friend.” Mom blinks, her eyes filling. “The way he defended you last night…your father never went to bat for me like that. Ever. He’s too self-involved.”
Swallowing hard, I look down at my hands. “I’m sorry you’re going through what you’re going through, Mom. But I need you to know that I’m not following in your footsteps by committing to this man and having a baby.”
“I know you’re sorry, honey.” She reaches over to tuck my hair behind my ear. “And I know you’re on a different path than mine. Duke is wonderful, Wheeler. Heck.” She scoffs. “I might be in love with him too!”
“I heard that!” Duke shouts. “And I’m very flattered, Fran, but unfortunately I’m taken.”
“Lucky woman!” Mom shouts back, all smiles now.
She turns to me. “I mean that, Wheeler. You’re lucky, but so is he.
You’re lucky to have such good friends in each other.
But I’m your mother, and I’m always going to worry about you.
Now I know, though, that I don’t need to worry about you being with someone for the wrong reasons.
I can’t let you make the same mistake I did, and as luck would have it, you’re not. ”
“Aw, Mom. Thank you for saying that.”
“I know you love it here, but please don’t be a stranger, all right? I didn’t sleep much last night because of…well, everything. But my excitement also kept me up.” She takes my shoulders in her hands. “I’m going to be a freaking grandma, Wheeler!”
“Correction: you’re going to be the best grandma ever.” Duke saunters into the room as he pulls a clean T-shirt over his head. “From what Wheeler tells me, you’re going to be a natural.”
She’s laughing and crying and, shit, so am I.
All this crying. At least it’s happy tears now.
“Y’all be good to each other,” Mom says hoarsely. “But I don’t need to tell you that.”
Duke plops onto the couch beside her. “You got it. Now tell me something, Fran.”
“You name it.”
“Ever seen the Colorado River by ATV before?”
Mom laughs. “I haven’t, no.”
Duke meets my eyes. “How about we go for a little ride? Give grandma-to-be here a lay of the land. Hopefully she’ll be visiting a lot more often.”
Mom’s smile is bigger than I’ve seen it in years. “Only if you visit me in Dallas.”
“You have my word.” Duke holds out his hand.
She takes it. “Congratulations. And thank you for, well, being a cowboy. And for being you. But mostly for being a cowboy. We clearly need more of y’all in this world.”
“Luckily for us, a cowgirl is on the way.” Duke nods at my stomach.
I shake my head. “Cowboy.”
“What do you think, Fran?”
Mom pretends to think for a minute. “It’s a boy.”
Clapping my hands, I laugh. “Told you, Duke!”
“Do y’all have names picked out?”
Duke looks at me. “Not yet.”
“I have some ideas,” I say.
He smiles. “I love them already.”
Mom and I wait in the rocking chairs on the porch while Duke grabs an ATV from the equipment barn. It’s a gorgeous day, warm and sunny, although I can tell it’s going to get steamy this afternoon.
Mom puts her hand on mine on the armrest of my chair.
We rock like that, both of us quiet, for several minutes.
I watch fat, fuzzy-looking bees zoom across the yard, stopping to rest on the wildflowers that continue to bloom as summer rolls on.
The trees rock with us in a refreshing breeze, bending lazily this way and that.
Mom closes her eyes. “I get why you love it here.”
“I really do. I love Dallas too, though. Mollie and me—we’re a little too fancy to stay here all the time.”
Her lips curl into a grin. “A little bit country, a little bit city. You in a nutshell. Duke too, from what it sounds like.”
“We’re good for each other.” I put a hand on my stomach. “I’m excited for what’s ahead.”
Mom opens her eyes and looks at me. “You’re going to be a great mom, Wheeler.”
“Aw, thank you.” I wrap my fingers around hers. “I learned from a really good one.”
“I know I wasn’t perfect, but I hope you know I love you. More than you’ll ever know. When I found out I was having a girl, I was so happy I burst into tears.” She gives me a watery smile. “You’re a dream come true.”
A bubble of joy expands inside my chest, making it difficult to breathe. “I love you, Mom.”
“I know.” She squeezes my hand before glancing out at the yard. “There’s your cowboy. Crazy to think you’ll have two of them soon.”
“Life is good.”
Mom’s smile grows, and for the first time, I see a glimmer of something like hope in her brown eyes. “It is. It really is, honey.”
____
Two months later
I feel a funny little flutter in my center just as Tallulah pronounces Sally and Wyatt husband and wife.
A hundred guests burst into applause. Cash shocks everyone by bursting into tears. He sobs at his place by Wyatt’s side, all five Rivers boys lined up underneath the gorgeous arch of white and yellow flowers where the ceremony is taking place.
I watch, pulse pounding, as Duke pulls his brother in for a hug. His eyes are misty too.
These men may be rough-and-tumble cowboys, but they’re total softies at heart.
I go still at another flutter, low in my belly.
Mollie, who’s seated beside me in the front row, puts a hand on my shoulder. “Are you all right?”
I can barely hear her over the cacophony of joy that surrounds us.
“Mol, I think I just felt the baby move.”
Her face splits into a smile. “Did it feel like bubbles? Or someone was using a paintbrush to tickle your stomach from the inside?”
“Yes.”
“Friend, that is your sweet baby.” Now Mollie’s wrapping me in a hug. So many hugs happening. “Isn’t it the coolest feeling?”
“It makes me want to laugh.” I give her a squeeze before letting her go.
“So laugh. You deserve it after months of nonstop nausea.”
I was one of the unlucky moms-to-be whose first-trimester symptoms lasted well into my second trimester. I’m finally feeling like myself again at nineteen and a half weeks.
Mollie, meanwhile, has popped in a big way. She’s due in the fall, and her dress stretches over her adorable baby bump.
She’s also hot all the time, especially now that we’re in the thick of summer. Wyatt and Sally originally planned to get married on the ranch in the spring, but thanks to some delays in projects around the property, they had to push it back to August.
Luckily we got a rare, moderately warm evening after a big line of storms moved through earlier this morning. Still, Mollie and I are sweating bullets.
“Thank God they gave these out.” Mollie nods at the straw fan she’s currently whipping in front of her face. “I’m looking forward to getting in that air-conditioned tent.”
The ceremony took place in one of the pastures by the New House.
Wyatt and Sally’s wedding planner set up a huge Sperry tent behind it for the reception, complete with farm tables for supper—Sally’s request—and a spot for the cigar roller Wyatt hired to make cigars for the poker they’ll be playing at special tables set up beside the bar.
The bride and groom are all smiles as they process back down the aisle. Sally looks absolutely radiant in a classic A-line gown and the custom Bellamy Brooks boots we designed for her. They’re yellow, her favorite color, and stitched with her and Wyatt’s initials.