Chapter Fourteen #2
There was plenty to do around the ranch to get ready for the burn.
Cattle needed to be brought in from grazing, and the rest of the animals had to be secured.
They weren’t permitted to start burning until all residents in town were notified.
It was a big undertaking, making sure that everyone was safe.
Aaron, Tag, and Sawyer were heading out to help round up the cattle.
Sunny was hoping that Clint would let her tag along, but leaving Sadie for prolonged periods wasn’t happening.
She watched as the guys all rode out of town, Tag and Sawyer in a gator and Aaron and Clint on horseback.
Watching Aaron ride his horse out of town was sexy as hell.
It was like watching an old John Wayne movie, but her real-life man-made her stomach feel like it was tied up in knots every time he looked at her.
She shook her head as if trying to rid her mind of the dirty thoughts running through it and went back into the main house to find Piper.
Her best friend hadn’t let Sadie go since she arrived. She was going to make a great mother.
“So, how are things going with you and Aaron?” Piper asked. Sadie started fussing, and Piper handed her to Sunny. She settled down as soon as Sunny began nursing her.
“Well, let's see. He’s bossy as hell, a complete caveman when it comes to Sadie’s and my protection, and he won’t let me help. Does that answer your question?” She looked at Piper, who was trying to hide her smile.
“Not really. I already knew what Aaron was like; I’m asking how things are between the two of you.” Piper sat back and waited her out. There was no use in hiding her feelings from Pipe; she could always read her like a book.
“I’m in love with him, and he says he feels the same way.
But I’m also afraid that he’s caught up in the emotional roller coaster that we’ve been on this past month.
He rolls back into town to find out that I’m pregnant, and then a week later, Sadie decides to make her entrance into the world, and he has to deliver her.
And then, there’s the whole mess with this Reid guy and our lives being in danger.
I don’t know that he’s had a chance to think about how he feels.
What happens when all this drama ends and he realizes that he’s not in love with me, he was just following his instincts to protect us?
” She looked down at her daughter and couldn’t help her tears; the thought of losing Aaron haunted her.
Piper pulled Sunny into her arms, smushing Sadie between them, although that didn’t stop her daughter from eating.
They both laughed at the exaggerated sucking noises coming from the baby.
“Sorry. She sure does like to eat, though,” Piper teased. She let Sunny go and sat back down across from her.
“She’s got her daddy’s appetite.” Sunny smiled down at her daughter.
“I don’t know what I would do without either of them.
In such a short amount of time, my life has changed so drastically.
I'm not complaining—I wouldn’t change a thing.
I’m just worried that it’s all going to disappear if I’m not careful.
I don’t want to put Sadie in harm’s way, but the thought of leaving Aaron has me tied up in knots.
” Piper nodded. Of course, her best friend understood; she faced the same ordeals with Tag.
“When I left for New York, I was running away from Tag because I was afraid of losing him.” Piper barked out her laugh.
“Crazy, right? I was giving up the one person that I was terrified of losing. Looking back, it felt like I was doing the right thing. But now, I would do everything differently. I would have let Tag in instead of pushing him away. He changed my life, and now we are going to be a family.” Piper rubbed her little baby bump and smiled.
“I couldn’t imagine life getting any better than this,” Piper whispered.
“Just wait until he or she is born. That feeling, magnified times a million, will be how much you love your baby. Watching Aaron with Sadie was one of the reasons that I let him back into my heart. I saw how loving and gentle he is with her, and I could slowly feel myself letting down the wall that I put up when he left town. I finally told him that I’m in love with him,” Sunny admitted.
“Well, it’s about damn time. I could have told you that a while ago.
I think that you two need to sit down and have an honest discussion about what you both want.
What do you want, Sunny?” She paused at Piper’s question.
What did she want? She spent so much time worrying about how to tell Aaron that she was pregnant and then having to take care of the baby on her own, she didn’t give much thought to what she wanted.
“Um, I want a family. I want Aaron, Sadie, and me to be a family.” Sunny nodded her head as if agreeing with herself.
“Well, I think you should let Aaron know that you want him to be more than just the father of your baby. Who knows, maybe he wants the three of you to be a family too,” Piper said.
“I’ll take Sadie tonight, and you and Aaron can spend some time alone together.
You need to talk before we leave town, Sunny.
You owe each other that much.” Sunny knew that Piper was right.
Hell, she was always right, and it was starting to bug her.
“Fine. You take the baby, and I’ll plan a romantic night for two.
But if I spill my guts to Aaron and he sends me back to Harvest Ridge brokenhearted, I’ll need a lot of consolation ice cream sundaes.
” They both giggled and started making plans.
If she played her cards right, Aaron Steele wouldn’t know what hit him.