Epilogue #2
She lowers her eyes, and my heart jumpstarts with her reaction.
“It was Tripp.”
And now it just flatlined.
“Wait...” I scratch my head as if my brain’s trying to figure out a calculus equation. “My brother Tripp?”
She winces at my raised voice I didn’t mean to release. Clearing my throat, I try again.
“Tripp, as in the guy you’ve crushed on for nearly a decade and has never shown an interest in you, Tripp?”
“Yep.” She sucks in her lip as she nods. “Turns out he does kinda like me.”
Fuck. This is going to crush him.
“If he truly does, he’ll accept you and the baby,” I tell her. “But he might not be ready for that, which you’ll need to prepare yourself for that possibility.”
“Oh, I am. I’m expectin’ him to push me away and never speak to me again.”
She sounds so defeated, and I hate that she feels that way.
“Well, I’ll be here for you no matter what.” I hug her again. “My little niece or nephew will be spoiled as hell.”
“Thank you. I can’t believe you get to sit behind me and chant push, push, push durin’ my labor before I get to do it for you. My hot girl summer just turned into fat girl winter.”
“Oh my God.” I burst out laughing. “First, that was never gonna happen. Second, summer was over before your little one-night stand mishap, but if it makes you feel any better, we’ll at least be fat together.”
She straightens her shoulders as she lowers her gaze to my stomach. “What?”
I nod with a smile I can’t contain. “Yeah. Just found out this mornin’.”
Her jaw drops as she smashes me in a hug. “Holy shit! I never thought we’d be pregnant together!”
“Me neither. We weren’t even tryin’!”
“Damn. Daddy Fisher sperm workin’ double time.” She waggles her brows, and I playfully smack her arm.
“I swear it was the water at that place. Either that or honeymoon sex works faster.”
She grins wide, leaning against the counter. “What if our kids grow up and marry each other? We’d be in-laws!”
“You’re nuts, you know that?”
“I do. These hormones are about to make it worse, too.”
“Now we can annoy Fisher and my brothers together.” I lean over to grab my coffee and taste it since I’ll be switching over to decaf after this.
“About that. I need you to keep this a secret, at least until I can tell Tripp myself.”
“Yeah, of course. Are you gonna tell Travis?”
She groans. “Eventually. I wish I didn’t have to, but if he finds out before I tell him, he’ll be even more immature about it. If it were up to me, he wouldn’t exist at all.”
“You know that ain’t fair, though. He deserves a chance to be a father; if he chooses not to be, you can cut him out completely. Just don’t let him back into your life, if you know what I mean.”
She crosses her arms and sighs. “Yes, Mother. I don’t wanna anyway.”
“Good. Then all you need to focus on right now is eatin’ healthy, stayin’ stress-free, and gettin’ enough sleep.”
“What ’bout you? Are you still gonna ride?”
“Yes, but I won’t do tricks or stunts. I’m sure Fisher will try to ban me from all trainin’, but it’s literally my job, so he’ll just have to deal with it. But otherwise, I’m gonna make sure I don’t overdo it, either. We can be accountability partners.”
“I love that idea. This is much more excitin’ now that you’re knocked up, too.” She giggles, then takes out her phone.
“Happy to have forgotten my birth control for you.” I snicker.
“I downloaded this pregnancy app. You should get it, then we can track our progress and milestones. It says my baby is the size of a lentil.” She holds up her hand to make a tiny circle.
Once I have it pulled up on my phone, I input the date of my last menstrual cycle, and it shows I’m four weeks along.
“Mine is the size of a poppy seed.” I show her the photo on my screen. “Hm, Poppy. That’s a cute name.”
“Sorry, but I’m not namin’ mine Lentil.”
I burst out laughing at her deadpan expression. “Fair enough.”
By our dates, Magnolia’s two weeks ahead of me, which means we’ll still go through a lot of our milestones together.
“I’m excited to go through my first pregnancy with you. Even if the circumstances aren’t what you’d hoped for, you’re gonna be a mom, and that’s somethin’ to celebrate,” I tell her when she stares at her phone.
When she looks up, I notice the wetness in the corner of her eyes. “You’re right.”
“We’ll plan a dinner and sleepover at my house this weekend. What do ya say? I’m sure Mallory and Serena would love to come for a dance party.”
“Can you still have slumber parties when you’re married?” she teases, wiping her cheeks when the tears fall.
“Um, duh. Fisher knows who he married. If he wasn’t prepared for Taylor Swift sing-alongs and pajama nights, he shouldn’t have proposed.”
“You’re so lucky to have each other. You won the husband lottery.”
“And you will find someone equally as lucky to have you. I promise.”
Before leaving, I give her one last hug, then promise to call her later after work. I haven’t even told Fisher I took a pregnancy test, so I need to figure out how to announce it.
At least he’s prepared for the possibility, considering we went unprotected, but I’d like to do something special like he did when he proposed.
Since he’s already working in the barn, I sneak over to my parents’ house and dig through the scrapbooking supplies. We’ve been working on a second-year-together album, and I plan to do a separate one for the wedding photos, but for now, I’ll add a new page for finding out we’re pregnant.
“What’re you doin’, sweetie?” Gramma Grace walks into the dining room with a mug in her hand.
“Just makin’ somethin’ to show Fisher later.” I smile, closing the book before she can see the page.
There’s a vintage frame in the center surrounded by little wheat clippings. On top I wrote, Our First Ultrasound. Once we have a picture, I’ll add it inside.
She walks around the table and pats my shoulder. “You’re gonna make a great mom, Noah.”
“H-how?” My mouth drops open. “How do you always know stuff before anyone else?”
Gramma Grace’s dimples deepen as she sits down next to me. “I’m a good observer.”
“But I literally just found out, so what could you have noticed?”
Her eyes lower to my chest as she smirks. “Your breasts are swollen. That’s one of the first symptoms. I saw you walkin’ into the house earlier, and your hand was on your stomach. We’re instinctively protective when we know we’re pregnant. And finally, you’re glowin’.”
“I’ll give you the first two, but I think you’re confusin’ my glow for sweat. I walked to the retreat and back.”
When I went to visit Magnolia, I didn’t bother driving since it’s only a mile, but I didn’t think about how I’d have to walk back to get to the ranch.
She raises her brow and smirks. “That is the pregnancy glow.”
“Great.” I chuckle.
She stands with her coffee and pats my cheek. “Just wait till you find out what tradition you get at your baby shower.”
I furrow my brows, wondering what she could be talking about.
“Well, now I’m scared to know.”
“You’ll find out soon enough...” Gramma hums as she walks away, leaving me to my thoughts.