Beau
Days like today were fun; I didn’t care what anyone else said.
In the saddle, out under the bright blue skies, the team moving our herd across the land.
Back when it was a family effort, Colt would tell anyone who listened how sore his ass would get when we spent the day on horseback, but I had always loved it.
Probably why I got no arguments from him when I made it clear my heart was always all-in on running the ranch for our family one day.
A whistle cracked through the air over my shoulder. I took my hat off for a second, wiping the sweat off my skin as I turned to face Travis. He pointed to the back of the herd where some of the cattle had broken away, heading back around to where we’d just walked them in from.
“We got ‘em!” I called across the field to Denver and Emmett as I turned and took off after the wayward cattle.
I had no idea what spooked ‘em so badly they had to take off like that, but it happened from time to time. Our herd dogs Maple and Oakley were usually right on their tails keeping them in line. I couldn’t recall seeing where the girls were with all the commotion.
“You seen Oakley or Maple anywhere?” I asked Travis as I caught up to him.
“They were right up with Denver last time I seen ‘em.”
“Doesn’t matter now, just need to keep an eye on them and make sure they’re circling the herd like we want them to. Been feedin’ them too many treats lately.”
“Says the guy who was petting them at lunch.”
My jaw clenched. “Just say ‘yes, boss’ so we can finish this up sometime today.”
Travis smiled. “You got it, boss.”
I kicked my heels into my horse and settled into the rhythm he set as our speed picked up. We caught up to the wayward cattle, right up against a long section of fencing—fencing that I could immediately see needed some repair.
Fuck.
“You start pushing them back. I’m gonna hop down and take care of that over there.” I pointed to the section of wire fencing that had definitely seen better days.
“You sure you got it on your own? It’ll take us half the time if we both jump down.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Start heading back to the herd. I wanna be done in time to have supper with my girls.”
Travis laughed, turning around to start pushing the cattle back to the main drive as I headed toward the fence line.
Hopping down, I grabbed my wire stretcher and pliers. If I was lucky, this would be a quick fix. I slipped my hands into my worn, leather gloves, relieved to pull my hat off so I could enjoy the breeze now that I was right next to an oak tree with lots of shade. Then I went after it.
It was simple, but good work. It was especially nice to stretch my legs after a day of riding.
The first part of the fence repair went exactly how I expected, so I moved on, letting my mind wander to Birdie and Juniper.
They were spending the day with Colt, Vi, and Connor.
I already knew Jessie would be there, too.
There was no telling what shenanigans I would come home to.
I hope it helped Birdie feel better. She’d been struggling so much with the news about her patient. The wire stretcher slipped off the wire, and I let a curse fly. The fucking tool in my hands was older than I was, and it was so damn finicky sometimes.
Yeah, I grumbled as I lined everything back up, letting my hands crank down on the tool more than I should have. And damn, did karma fucking come for me. I didn’t realize what had happened for a second. Not even as the wire coiled by the post and something warm ran down my face.
Oh, fuck. My fingers ran across my forehead, and when I pulled them down, red was seeping into the leather.
Goddamn it. Birdie was going to fucking kill me.
I heard her laughter spill out of the house before I even stepped foot on the porch.
Yeah, I looked like a mess. But the important part was that the fence was fixed, the cows got reunited with the herd making it into their new pasture, and I had a handkerchief that I shoved under my hat to stop most of the bleeding until I got the fence done and could find Kip who had the more robust first aid kit with him.
“Oh, you are fucked. What the hell happened?” Colt stood up, his boots clomping across the old wooden slats of my front porch, eyes immediately dropping to the blood on my shirt.
“Had to repair a section of fencing on the fly. The wire broke and got me. Don’t tell Birdie, but I was fucking lucky it didn’t catch me in the eye.”
He scoffed, putting his hand on my shoulder as he looked up at the cut. “Don’t tell Birdie? You know she has eyes of her own. She’s going to freak out when she sees your shirt.”
I laughed, pulling my shirt free from the waist band of my pants. I tugged it over my head and threw it onto the chair.
“Toss that in the trash for me, will ya?” I grimaced. “Wait…What are you even doing out here?”
“The girls wanted some space for girl talk. Figured out here I could still keep an eye on things, and I wouldn’t accidentally hear Jessie talking about Hawk’s—”
“Yeah, yep. I get it.” I held up my hand. “How long have you been out here?”
“Couple of hours. They fed me and brought me a beer, though, and I was on Beckett duty most of the time. It’s been great!”
I laughed, my left eye squinting a bit as the pain flared in my freshly stitched up head. “Glad you had a good day. Ready to take your family home so I can enjoy mine?”
Colt shook his head, and I knew he was getting ready to be a dick with the way his mouth curled up in a half smile.
“Actually, I was hoping to watch Birdie chew you out for getting hurt.”
“Goodbye, big brother.” I opened the door and stepped inside, closing it right behind me so he got the message.
I couldn’t help but smile at the scene in front of me.
Birdie was down on the floor with Juniper, both my girls in matching overalls.
Birdie’s hair was pulled up into two little pigtail-bun things with strands falling out all haphazard, ticking Juniper’s face.
The squeals of delight coming from my daughter etched their way across my memory.
“Look, sweet girl. Daddy’s home.” Birdie helped Juniper sit up without looking closely at me, wrapping her little worm cushion around her back so she had half a chance of staying seated for more than ten seconds.
My eyes drifted to Violet, sitting with Connor on the couch. “Vi, my brother is annoying me. Take him home and give him hell for me?”
Violet stood, her forehead crinkling as her eyes widened. “Right. Thanks for the girl time, Birdie. I had so much fun today.”
“Me too.” Birdie’s face fell for a second before she smiled. But it didn’t reach her eyes. “Thanks for everything earlier.”
“Anytime.” Vi turned back to me. “We love you guys.”
“Love you too.” She pressed a kiss to my cheek, her eyes darting up suspiciously to my head, but I just smiled and walked deeper into the living room.
“Hey, there are my girls. Sounds like you’re having fun in here.” I pulled my hat off, setting it on the table to the right of the door, only to jolt at Birdie’s gasp.
“Oh my God, Beau! What the hell happened? How did you get hurt?”
Suddenly, the itching on my scalp was back. Emmett and Kip flushed the damn cut as best they could when we were out in the field, but I’d need a shower to get the rest of it off my skin.
“Can’t believe me being shirtless got no reaction,” I grumbled as she pushed up off the floor and stormed over towards me, her fingers immediately pressing around the sensitive skin.
“Knock it off! What happened?”
“It’s really nothing. I’m fine.”
“You are not. Come over here and sit down.” She laced her fingers through mine, pulling me toward the couch. “When did this happen?!”
“Just after lunch time.” I winked at Juniper who was smiling up at me while gnawing on a teething toy.
“You stubborn ass. I could have driven out and stitched you up.”
“And demanded I come home…”
“Well of course, I would have! What cut your head, Cowboy? A branch? Did you fall off your horse? Oh God, was it a rock? Because if you slammed your noggin against a rock, no matter how hard your head is, it still could mean you have a concussion.”
“I don’t have a concussion. Take a deep breath.” I wrapped my hand around her wrist, pulling her fingers out of my hair. “You’re shaking.”
She closed her eyes for half a second, drawing in a long breath. “I don’t like seeing you hurt.”
“This is nothing, I promise. If I thought it was bad, I would have called. I didn’t even blink after getting cut.
I swore so much Ma would probably make me bathe in holy water, shoved a hanky up in my hat, finished fixing the fence, and went back to the herd.
Kip pretty much fixed me up, and we just got back to it. ”
“He didn’t get you fixed up. What the hell did he use to get the cut to go back together.”
“I dunno. The first aid kit has like some medical super glue or some shit. Just dabbed a bit of that in there, and then I pressed both sides together.”
She shook her head. “You’re going to have a scar; I could have stitched you up in no time. When was your last tetanus shot?”
“Last year when I put that nail through my thumb, remember?” I playfully tugged on the arm still in my grasp. “If you wanted to play nurse, all you had to do was tell me, Birdie. I love role play just as much as the next guy.”
“Knock it off. You could still get an infection.” She pushed against my chest, but from the way her cheeks blazed, I knew she wasn’t unaffected by my comments.
“If you’re happy with how Kip helped, then I’m happy for you.
Come on, berry girl, let’s let Daddy get washed up while we finish getting supper on the table. ”
“Birdie…”
“Wash up, Cowboy. Don’t get your hair wet, though. I want a better look at it later.”
“Does that mean you’ll shower with me after Juniper goes to bed?”
She rolled her eyes, snorting as she walked into the kitchen with my daughter on her hip. “I won’t be showering with you…Nurse Birdie will. And she’s no nonsense. I have a feeling you’ll regret that request.”
“Naked, wet woman I love…nope. Not ever gonna regret that.”
She rolled her eyes, her hand waving me down the hall. I’d just wash my hands and put some water on my face downstairs. No use running all the way up to our bedroom when we’d be up there soon enough.
I flipped on the light, watching as dust and dirt swirled down the sink as the scent of lemons filled the small space.
Fuck, I loved that every inch of my house finally felt like home with touches of Birdie everywhere.
She wasn’t a guest anymore. She’d always belonged here.
She was always the thing that made this place feel warm and right.
I reached over to grab the cow-print towel—another touch of Birdie—when my eyes dropped to the trash bin.
What the fuck?
Reaching down, I pulled a rectangle box out, and my throat closed up in the next second. Why the fuck was there a pregnancy test in the garbage?
We weren’t very careful, that first time. We’d been caught up in the moment…and I had a condom but they weren’t always…
I looked up at myself in the mirror, and I was fucking smiling. Because Birdie might be pregnant with my baby. Shit. She’d told me the other night in the shower her period was going to start…but it definitely hadn’t yet. How had I not realized?
Should I reach inside to see? Should I wait for her to fucking tell me? What if she had something special planned, and I’d ruin it? But what if she was freaking out and actually needed me…
I was going to need to build an addition on the house. What did I care? I’d burn this place to the ground and build a brand new house with so many bedrooms, we’d have a hard time filling them all if I had to.
I put the box back in the trash, not looking inside. She took the test without me, which sat in my fucking chest like a goddamn rock, but she had her reasons. I needed to honor that.
The warm, homey scent of whatever she was cooking up filtered down the hall and swirled around my heart, tugging me back down to Earth.
“Hey, whatever you’ve got cooking smells good.” I wrapped my arms around her waist and slipped them down low on her belly. Maybe I could get her to talk to me about it through subtle cues. But Birdie went still under my touch.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She bumped her hip back into me. “I’ll have dinner ready in a minute. Go sit so I can see that hard head of yours.”
“Why don’t you let me take care of you tonight?” I asked. I knew I was pushing it. I saw it immediately in the way her eyes crinkled around the edges, but I couldn’t help myself.
“What has gotten into you? Go over and sit with Juniper. I’m sure she missed you today.”
I laughed as I kissed her cheek, turning to go tickle Juniper’s belly as she giggled away in her bouncer. I was going to need a hell of a plan to bring up what I’d found to her.