Chapter 16 #2
“Hey.” Hunkering down beside the chaise lounge, he scanned his eyes over her, feeling the familiar jolt as he stared at the bulge of her belly. She was going on seven months, and they had discovered they were having a daughter. He couldn’t be happier.
She had survived a very brutal winter that had given her bad patches of worry for him as he stayed out with his men battling with the vagaries and fickleness of the weather which had caused flooding and several animals succumbing to the impossible cold.
After what seemed like a year of the brutal cold, the weather had changed. Spring had not made an appearance except for a few showers of rain that had washed the snow away to make room for the summer. And she had adjusted to being a rancher’s wife.
Her book was coming out in a few months, and she had started another. This one being on a more personal level.
“Why are you here?” Her brow cleared and she rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I specifically told her not to call you. It’s just heartburn.”
Rising, he sat on the edge of the chair and took her hand in his. The nursery was already prepared, with her supervision and he could not resist the urge to step inside the room and look around, imagining his daughter sleeping in her cot.
“I gave instructions to alert me if there was anything going on. Mother knows that if I am left out of the loop, I would be pissed.” His eyes clouded. “How bad, baby?”
“Not awful. Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting or two?”
He nodded. “I finished up early. I am wearing the entire ranch on my skin and here you are looking as fresh as a daisy and smelling like summer.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the knuckles.
“Feel…” Dragging their joined hands down to her stomach, she treated him to the delight of feeling their daughter kicking. Emotions stormed through him like a thunder cloud, and he just sat there, his hands pressed against her belly and took it in.
“I love you,” he told her thickly. “I don’t think I can ever say it enough.”
She tugged him to her and embraced his lean strength, closing her eyes in utter joy. He was so attentive and caring; it made her throat ache and her insides melt. “Come for a swim with me.” She whispered. “We can have our meal out here and just enjoy the evening.”
He held her against him for a bit more as he struggled to compose himself. He was not afraid of being vulnerable with her and often was.
“Okay.” Lifting his head, he kissed her softly. “Okay.”
*****
“She’s gorgeous.” He whispered as he gazed into the round face of his daughter. “And I think she recognizes me.” Her large eyes were an unusual shade of brown and green and followed his every movement.
“Of course she does. You’re her daddy. Abigail Angela Leonie, is quite a mouthful.”
The entire family, her mother, grandfather, and friends had come over for the birth and were staying at the ranch for two weeks.
She had come back home from the hospital to the celebration going on, initiated by Leonie and Helen.
“Come sit by me, darling.” She patted the space next to her on the comfortable sofa. He did, making them a unit. His throat worked frantically to swallow the lump that had lodged inside his throat.
“My two girls. My queen and my princess.” Securing his daughter carefully in one hand, he cradled his wife with the other. “Thank you, baby.” He whispered in his wife’s hair.
Wrapping her arms around his lean waist, she inhaled his scent and sent up a silent prayer of thanksgiving.
The end…