Chapter 12
BUCK
“It’s quiet now, but wait a few more weeks when calving kicks in,” I said, peeling a potato in Ma and Pops’ kitchen. Cam was beside me, helping.
“I’ve got time blocked off next week for the pre-calving shots,” he added.
He was a vet and spent a day or two with me and Pops out in the pasture getting all the cows covered.
He’d be back later in the spring when the calves were born for other vaccines.
“Isn’t Zeb coming in from school to help with calving this year? ”
I nodded, passed the peeled potato to him so he could cut it into cubes on a cutting board in front of him. “Yes, Cammie, too, but he’ll wait ‘til they’re delivered first.”
“You make me feel like a cow ready to calf,” Lainey muttered, rubbing her big belly. Beau came over, leaned down and kissed her cheek, then set a glass of lemonade in one of her hands and a meat stick snack in the other, the top already unwrapped, then left the kitchen for the couch and the others.
The combination, citrus and smoky beef, sounded awful, but I was used to the women’s weird food choices.
None of us brothers wanted to think about how Lainey ended up pregnant–meaning Beau had done unthinkable things with her–but he doted on her and made her the center of his world.
As she should be, or he’d be very, very dead.
“Katie’s first, although I guess we can’t say that with certainty with the way Clarabel decided to come early,” I said, looking to the other room
Molly glanced my way from her spot on the couch, a burp cloth and baby Clarabel over her shoulder.
She had two dark haired parents but her hair was fair.
The fire was lit in the hearth and Colt was slouched down and napping beside her.
Even though they–along with Ellie and Trig–just got out of the hospital, they were here for dinner.
Reaching out, I patted Lainey’s bowling ball stomach. “You got some time to cook yet. Keep that little rodeo clown in there for a bit longer.” She had over two months to go.
She bit into the meat stick and glared, but knew I was right. “Rodeo clown? She is going to be the first woman bronc rider.”
“Over my dead body,” Beau called from the other room.
“I thought you were having a boy,” Cam wondered.
“So did Ellie and Trig,” she countered, taking another bite of the meat stick.
Ma walked by with baby Sage tucked into her arm like a little football.
She was in pink fleece pajamas as a very bright reminder that she’d tricked everyone.
Her eyes were open and looking around, although I wasn’t sure a baby less than a week old could see much.
“Baby Sage is here. When’s your Sage coming? ” she asked.
My Sage. I liked that.
I grabbed another potato from the pile. Dinner tonight was meatloaf, which was in the oven and scenting the house with garlic and seasoned meat, and mashed potatoes. “Shep texted that they were on their way. I’m sure–”
As if my thoughts of my girl conjured her up, she walked in the back door, Shep on her heels. Shep shut the door, cutting off the swirl of cold air, then leaned down to take off his boots.
I shoved a potato in Cam’s chest and went to her. She was in a thick coat, her cute pompom topped hat. Her dark hair was back in the usual braid and her cheeks were flushed from the cold.
But her eyes… those dark eyes held heat. Need. Desire. Want... love? Was that just wishful thinking?
I didn’t look away, only tried to read her. Gone was the wariness or doubt. A baby fussed. Cam yelled to Colt to wake up and help with the potatoes. I didn’t pay them any attention.
When I stood before her, I set my hands on her shoulders. The jacket was chilly from the outdoors. “Hi,” I said, then leaned down and kissed her.
Her lips were chilly. “Buck,” she whispered.
I pulled back only enough to meet her eyes. I stayed quiet. Waited.
“Yes.”
“Yes?” I repeated.
She nodded. “Yes, to everything.”
My heart leaped and my dick was instantly hard.
“Everything?”
“Everything.”
My Stetson was on a peg by the door with all the others. I grabbed it, set it on my head, then grabbed my coat. “No dinner for us,” I called, taking Sage’s gloved hand and leading her out into the night.
If my girl wanted everything, then I wasn’t letting a family dinner get in the way.