Chapter 25
The Heart Grows Fonder
“Oh, you three are professional troublemakers, aren’t you?” I tease with my hands on my hips.
Petunia snuffles eagerly, nudging my romper pocket where I have a bag of sliced apples and cucumbers stashed as if she’ll starve if she doesn’t get any. Never mind that she and her sidekicks just broke into the tack room and devoured an entire bin of grain left open by a ranch hand.
Daisy and Peaches circle me, ready to act as backup muscle, and stage an ambush if I don’t surrender the goods. Unable to resist their shameless begging, I take out the treats.
“This totally means I’m your favorite, right?” I coo, holding out my hand flat with a few apple slices for Petunia first. “I don’t see Heath out here spoiling you with the premium snacks. I even sliced these babies myself.”
Never ones to stay on the sidelines, Daisy and Peaches press closer with loud, impatient snorts, and I quickly offer them a snack too, watching them happily munch away with tails swishing.
“Yup, I’m absolutely the favorite,” I declare brightly with a grin.
Heath might spoil them too, but he does it begrudgingly, not willing to admit how much he adores these three troublemakers.
He might pretend they’re nothing special, but they’re his pets whether he likes it or not.
He particularly has a soft spot for Petunia, and I haven’t missed the way he talks to her in that low, gentle voice he only uses for those who’ve wiggled their way into his heart without permission.
It’s the reason I’ve been making the drive out here every afternoon after the shop closes since he left for Wyoming five days ago.
The first few days crawled by, and now that we’ve hit the halfway mark, I’m starting to get very anxious.
In the grand scheme of things, this trip is only a tiny blip, but that hasn’t eased the restless ache of not having him here, or the relentless intrusive thoughts that he’ll do a 180 when he gets back and suddenly change his mind about us.
It doesn’t track with Heath’s actions, given how much he’s done to minimize his absence.
Not only did he leave me plenty of prepped meals so I wouldn’t have to lift a finger but his daily texts have also helped keep me sane.
Still, they’re a poor substitute for his voice, which I haven’t heard nearly enough since he’s been gone.
It’s been challenging to align our schedules to talk. He’s usually out before sunrise with Briggs, learning about his operations and buying cattle to expand his herd, and though I have high bursts of energy during the day, I’m usually exhausted and inevitably crash once I’m back at our apartment.
He’s still likely out in Briggs’s field this afternoon, but my longing to hear from him is overwhelming. So I decide to take matters into my own hands and snap a photo of Petunia and her friends in front of the empty grain bin and send it to him.
Charlie: Your fan club misses you.
Heath: I see they’ve kept up with the shenanigans in my absence.
Charlie: Gotta make sure they’re on their A-game so they’re ready to unleash full chaos when you’re back.
Charlie: You’ve been warned.
Heath: Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll come prepared with lots of bribery snacks.
Charlie: Petunia will require extra head scritches too.
Heath: I’m on it.
Charlie: Still claiming she isn’t your pet?
Heath: Might be willing to negotiate that title.
Charlie: She says it’s about damn time.
Heath: No conspiring while I’m away.
Charlie: Then you better hurry home.
Heath: I’ll be there before you know it, sweetheart.
I really hope so. I know he can sense the uncertainty I’m trying so hard to hide and the internal battle raging inside me to keep it together.
I’ve just tucked my phone in my pocket when I hear the barn doors open. I peek out into the aisle as Heath’s dad comes inside the building, guiding his horse with a lead rope.
I leave the other animals in the tack room to join him.
“Hi, Mr. Halstead. It’s good to see you,” I say with a little wave.
“Howdy, there, darlin’, and what have I told you about calling me Mr. Halstead?” He hesitates, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “Please call me Pops. Took Birdie a minute to get used to it, so I understand if you need more time.”
I blink, momentarily stunned by my husband’s gruff father, who barely speaks more than a handful of sentences at family dinners casually asking me to essentially call him dad. He’s asked me in passing before, but this time feels significantly more personal.
The offer might be inconsequential to most, but I’ve never had a father figure, and the idea of Pops stepping into that role as we grow closer makes my throat tighten with unexpected emotion.
Both of Heath’s parents have been incredible the past few months.
Even though I’m sure they still have questions about the whirlwind timeline of our relationship, they’ve never treated me with anything less than kindness and open arms. They treated me as one of their own long before Heath and I got together, but being officially part of the family feels like coming home.
“I’d like that, Pops,” I say softly, tasting the unfamiliar endearment on my tongue with a shy smile.
He smiles back. “How’re you holdin’ up?”
I shrug, following him into his horse’s stall. “I’m fine.”
Pops looks up from tossing a bale of hay into the feeder and shoots me a knowing look. “When my wife says she’s fine, it means she’s anything but.”
The sincerity in his voice is touching, making it easy to want to open up to him. He doesn’t strike me as the type who would dissect our conversation or broadcast it later, and I appreciate that.
“It’s been tough without Heath here,” I admit, letting out a heavy sigh and lowering myself to sit on the water barrel in the corner of the stall. “Of course I support him expanding the ranch, but I feel restless without him.”
“Believe me, he misses you just as much,” Pop assures me. “Want to know how I’m so sure?”
I nod eagerly.
“Heath told me during our short call yesterday,” he explains while removing the lead from his horse.
He pats its rump, urging the horse toward the feeder.
“We only had about five minutes, and all he cared about was getting an update on you and making sure I was checking in whenever you stopped by to see Petunia and her friends.”
I bite my lip, fighting the ridiculous grin threatening to spread across my face. The thought that Heath is still thinking about me, even when we’re apart, makes it nearly impossible to contain. The comfort it brings is a welcome relief after the uncertainty I’ve been carrying.
“Which you have,” I add, grinning. “We’re both so lucky to have you and Mama Julie. I never had parents who made an effort to get to know me, but I like to imagine they would’ve been like you if they had.”
Pops hangs the lead rope and comes to stand beside me, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “Their loss. Our gain, darlin’.”
I rest my hand over his, letting out a shaky breath. “Thanks, Pops. I needed to hear that.”
It’s not easy accepting that I wasn’t enough for the two people who should have loved me unconditionally.
My dad made that choice before I was even born, and my mom gave me up before she had the chance to see who I’d grow into.
Yes, Grams was more than enough for me, and I don’t usually dwell on the past, but with Heath out of town, it’s stirred up old feelings I’ve long since buried.
“I understand having doubts about how fast things have changed between you and Heath. However, never question that my son would move heaven and earth to keep you and that precious baby safe and happy,” Pops says, nodding toward my belly.
“I know,” I whisper as I glance up to meet his kind gaze. “It’s one of the reasons I’ve fallen for him.”
Wait… am I really in love with Heath Halstead?
The more I think about it, the more I realize it’s the truth. I’m falling for him hard, and that’s why his absence has been so painful. Even the smallest chance that he could return and decide he doesn’t want a life with me would break me beyond repair.
After so much disappointment early on in life, it’s easier to imagine being rejected again than to picture finally getting the happily ever after I’ve been too scared to admit I’ve always desperately wanted.
“I’m totally retiring here when I’m an old fossil like you,” I declare to Florence as I take another bite of my gooey chocolate chip cookie.
We’re in Meadowbrook’s lobby snacking on cookies and iced tea with our feet propped up on an ottoman, waiting for Grams to finish her workout class. I came straight here after talking with Heath’s dad at the ranch, not ready to go back to my empty apartment.
“No chance you end up in a place like this,” she counters before pausing to take a sip of tea. “You and Heath are going to end up old and gray in a cute farmhouse somewhere with a whole gaggle of kids looking after you.”
I quirk a brow. “An entire gaggle, huh?”
“Absolutely,” she says, nodding at my belly. “No doubt you two are going at it like rabbits, and it won’t be long until there’s another bun in that oven.”
I shake my head, laughing. “Slow down there, old bat. I haven’t even popped out this first one yet,” I muse, patting my rounded stomach.
“Lord have mercy when you give birth.” Florence chuckles, slapping her knee. “You’re going to be cursing Heath’s name while the doctor is elbow-deep trying to evict that hardheaded little girl of yours.”
“Gee, thanks for that lovely picture,” I mutter before polishing off my cookie.
“Just doing my civic duty to prepare you properly. Lord knows Kay won’t do it.” She pauses to set her teacup down before turning to face me. “You and Heath pick out a name yet?”
“We’re still figuring it out.” I shrug, brushing crumbs from my lap.