Chapter Twenty-Nine - Lilibeth
Lilibeth
I paced back and forth in my bedroom as I wrung my hands.
“Don’t overthink this, Lilibeth. Just wait until Caden comes back.”
Stopping in the middle of the room, I closed my eyes and slowly shook my head.
Rachel had shown up at Caden’s house. And I was the one who’d answered the damn door. The way that woman looked at me with such disdain is something I’ll never forget. Or how incredibly beautiful she was. Her long, dark, wavy hair, blue eyes, and a perfect body to finish it off.
“No!” I said, pushing my hands out to the sides. “You’re not going to do that.”
Glancing at the clock, I noted that Caden had been gone for twenty minutes.
I sat down on the bed and drew in a deep breath. Caden wasn’t going to go back with Rachel. I saw the look on his face when he saw her. It wasn’t a happy look, but more of a shocked, angry expression.
My mind raced with reasons why Caden had followed Rachel off the ranch. Did he want to talk to her alone, so I couldn’t hear what he said? What would they talk about? What would she say to win him back? Did he still love her?
I quickly stood. “Ugh! Stop this, Lilibeth! Right now, stop this.”
A part of me was glad I hadn’t told Caden I loved him today. It had been on the tip of my tongue after we made love. There were a few moments I thought he might say it to me, as well, and then I’d whispered it after he fell asleep.
“This is all so stupid. You’re being ridiculous.”
I was also talking to myself now, apparently. I placed a hand on my stomach. Caden wouldn’t leave us, that much I knew.
The sound of his truck pulling up caused me to stop pacing, draw in a deep breath, and slowly exhale.
I wasn’t going to hide up in my room and wait for him to find me. I’d go downstairs and let him tell me what happened.
Doing just that, I got to the living room right as Caden walked through the front door. I stood at the bottom of the steps and watched him shut and lock the door. He turned around, stopped…and smiled when he saw me. It instantly made my stomach flutter.
“Are you okay?” I asked him, as I stepped down the last step.
“Am I okay? Are you? I hope her coming here didn’t upset you.”
Softly smiling, I nodded. “I’m okay. A bit rattled, if I’m being honest.”
Caden walked up to me, took my hand, and guided us to the sofa. We sat down. “Tell me what you’re thinking, Lilibeth.”
I exhaled. “It’s stupid, and I know I’m just…”
“Tell me. We promised we’d always be honest with one another.”
Nodding, I said, “Truth be told, since finding out that was your ex, my mind has been racing with different thoughts. The thought of you…” I blew out a breath and tried to steady both my heart and breath.
“The thought of you going back to Rachel makes my stomach feel sick. I know this thing between us is new, and yes, we’re having a baby together, but she was your first love.
The woman you wanted to build a life with.
Before, she was just a faceless person in my imagination.
But seeing her tonight…here in your house…
it just made all these fears I hadn’t realized were there come to the surface. ”
He squeezed my hands, then brought them to his mouth and kissed each wrist. “First, this is our house, Lilibeth. Yours and mine. I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. I’m all in. One-hundred-percent, and it’s not because you’re pregnant. I’ve never been surer of anyone in my life than I am of you.”
Caden reached up and wiped a tear off my cheek.
He smiled and went on. “When I was younger, before I even started to date Rachel, I used to go up in the barn and sit there, watching the sun go down over the mountains, and I used to pray to God that he’d bring me someone to love the way my father loved my mother.
And I prayed that she’d love me back just as much. ”
He glanced at our hands and smiled as he shook his head slightly before looking back up at me. “I’m far from a church-going kind of guy, but man…I used to pray so hard for you.”
Confused, I asked, “Me?”
“Yes, you, Lilibeth. I prayed for someone to love me like my mother loves my father. For someone whose smile steals my breath away. Eyes that look into my soul and know more about me than I do myself. I always knew deep inside my heart that Rachel wasn’t the person I prayed for.
I lied to myself, though, because I thought I was in love.
And I was…just not the right kind of love.
“I had this whole life planned out, and I tried so hard to force Rachel into the image of the person I saw by my side. Even after she left, I continued to lie to myself. Then I thought maybe I didn’t deserve the kind of love my mother and father had.
I told myself that over and over. If I’d just loved her more, did more for her, maybe she would have loved me back just as I was. ”
I shook my head, ready to tell him how wrong he was. “Oh, Caden.”
He held up a hand. “Let me finish. Then you walked into my life and turned it completely upside down, or I should say, right side up. That perfectly planned life had been thrown a plot twist, and it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”
He laced his fingers with mine. “I was waiting for this perfect moment to tell you that I love you, Lilibeth. I wanted it to be grand and beautiful, but someone I love very much told me I was an idiot, and that I needed to tell you now.
“You, Lilibeth Asher, are everything I prayed for, so long ago. I want to spend the rest of my life making sure you’re happy and loved, and the same with our children.
I can’t promise that life will always be easy or perfect, but I can promise that I’ll never leave you.
Because when I look into your eyes, all I see is forever. ”
A sob escaped as I covered my mouth with my hand. “I love you too. More than you know.”
He stood and drew me up with him. Wrapping his arms around me, he held me. “I promise you, no one will come between us. Never.”
I buried my face in his chest and let the tears I’d been holding in fall freely. Caden ran his hands over my back, and it instantly calmed me.
When I drew back, our gazes met.
“Tell me that you believe every word I said.”
Smiling, I traced a finger down the side of his face. “Of course I do.”
That brilliant smile of his appeared, and he hugged me, lifting me up and spinning me around. Then he swiftly put me down and put his hands on my belly. “Shit, I’m sorry!”
Laughing, I placed my hands over his. “It’s okay.”
“How about we go take a bath.”
My brows lifted. “Together?”
“Have you seen my tub?”
I bit my lip. “Only if you promise we can have pregnancy safe bubbles.”
“Bubbles? Do you honestly think I’d have bubbles, Lili?”
My grin was so wide that my cheeks instantly hurt. “Caden Wilde! I found them under your sink!”
He laughed, swept me into his arms, and headed to his…our…bedroom.
Sunday dinners with the Wilde family were…wild. There were so many conversations at once that it was hard to follow any of them.
Rhett, Kate, and Jimmy were running around with Moose, Emeline’s chocolate lab. The kids’ squeals of laughter were music to my ears, and I could tell Vivianne and Ladd loved the chaos as well.
Ensley walked up and bumped my arm. “You’re glowing.”
My hands covered my cheeks. “I am?”
She chuckled. “You are. How are you feeling?”
I couldn’t help my smile. “I think I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”
“Which says a lot, because you always seem happy.”
We both laughed.
“Things good with you and my brother?”
Looking around for Caden, I spotted him in what looked to be a serious conversation with his father. “Things are amazing.”
“Did the idiot finally tell you he loved you?”
I whipped my head around to stare at Ensley. “What?”
She waved off my surprise. “Please, I knew months ago that he was in love with you. Before the baby, I knew. He just had to get out of his own head.”
“He has told me. And can I just say, your parents did a beautiful job raising you all. I wish I’d been recording what Caden said to me.”
Ensley wiggled her brows. “Romantic, huh?”
“Very.”
Emeline poked her head between us. “What are you two whispering and giggling about over here?”
“How romantic our brother is. He told Lilibeth he loved her.”
Emeline let out a squeal, then clamped a hand over her mouth. She wrapped her arm around mine and quickly dragged me through the house, Ensley on our heels. We walked into Ladd’s office, and Emeline shut the door.
“Tell us everything!”
Smiling, I said, “Everything?”
“You can leave out the sex stuff,” Ensley added with a wink.
I sighed and sat down in a large chair in the corner of the room. My hands went to my chest, and I closed my eyes. “I am so in love with your brother. And the other night, when Rachel came, the way he poured his heart out to me was… I don’t have words to describe it.”
They both sighed.
“Goddamn it, why can’t I find a love like that?”
Emeline and I both looked at Ensley. Taking her sister’s hand, Emeline said, “You will, Ensley. When you least expect it.”
Rolling her eyes, she replied, “I’ve given up, Em. Totally given up.”
“Don’t say that,” I begged.
Ensley smiled sadly as she looked from me to Emeline. “Look at you both, with your cute little baby bumps. Maybe I’ll look into IVF.”
Surprised, Emeline asked, “For a baby? You want to have a child?”
“I’m almost thirty, Emeline. Of course I want to have kids.”
My heart ached for Ensley. “You’ve still got plenty of time.”
Waving off where the conversation was going, Ensley said, “We didn’t come in here to talk about me.”
Nodding, I said, “Things are going wonderful with Caden. Did you guys know that he can draw?”
They both nodded their heads.
“He’s been drawing for as long as I can remember,” Ensley said. “He’s damn good at it.”
I smiled. “He drew the baby’s nursery. Well, how he envisioned it.”
“How did he do?” Emeline asked.
“It’s beautiful. Stunning, if I’m being honest. If he ever wants to change careers, he could make a living as an artist or nursery design.”
Both sisters laughed.
Emeline sighed as she smiled at me. “I’m so glad things are going good. When I found out Rachel had shown up at Caden’s house, I wanted to track her down and rip her hair out.”
“That makes two of us,” Ensley added.
“You know, in a way, I’m glad she showed up. I think I would have always had that worry in the back of my mind about whether or not Caden was over her.”
Ensley huffed. “Oh, he’s over her. Trust me. I don’t think he ever truly loved her.”
There was a soft knock at the door, and Vivianne poked her head in. “It’s time.”
Emeline jumped up and clapped. She reached for my hand and pulled me out of the room.
“Jesus, Emeline, are you sure you’re not having twins? I just realized your belly is bigger than Lilibeth’s.”
Glancing back at her sister, Emeline shot her a dirty look. “Bite your tongue, Ensley!”
When I walked into the large living room, everyone was gathered around. The kids all sat on the floor, and the adults were scattered throughout the room. Emeline made her way over to Levi, who kissed her as she sat down. Ensley slipped onto the sofa next to Ladd.
Caden held his hand out for me to take, and we stood in front of everyone. Nellie was beaming, as was Gus. I knew Caden was beyond happy that his grandparents would get to see their first great-grandchild.
“So we didn’t want to have one of those gender reveal parties, but we did want to make this fun,” Caden started, as Gatlin brought in two containers and set them on a table.
“As you can see,” I said, pointing to the containers. “We took diapers and wrapped them in either pink or blue wrapping paper. Gatlin will walk around and have everyone draw a number. You’ll pick in that order.”
“If you pick a blue diaper, everyone who also thinks it’s a boy has to chant, boy! Boy! Boy!”
Katie practically bounced in place as she squealed in delight. “I hope it’s a girl!”
Caden laughed. “Maybe you’ll pick the right diaper.”
“Wait, how will we know?” Ensley asked.
Caden and I both grinned as I replied, “One of the diapers has a little surprise in it.”
Jimmy, Kate, and Rhett all yelled, “Gross!”
I held up my hands. “Don’t worry. It’s not a dirty diaper!”
Laughing, Caden said, “We’ve got enough diapers for everyone to pick at least twice.”
As Gatlin passed out the numbers, Emeline asked, “Do you know which diaper it is?”
“No clue!” I laughed.
Emeline had drawn number one. She walked up and picked up a blue diaper. As she opened it, everyone cheered. I was hoping no one would find the right one too soon.
Looked like luck was with us. Everyone got one round, then we started over again.
Katie rose and stood before the two containers.
She’d picked pink the first time, and I thought for sure she’d pick blue now.
Instead, she picked up another pink diaper, grinned at Caden and me, then turned to face everyone.
My heart warmed at how happy she was. Both she and Jimmy were in the process of being adopted by Levi and Emeline, and seeing them so happy at being part of the family nearly made me tear up.
“Girl! Girl! Girl!” half the room shouted, as she opened the diaper. She peeked in, then glanced up at everyone.
“Well?” Ensley cried. “You’re keeping us in suspense!”
Katie sighed with the saddest expression. Everyone groaned—until Katie suddenly jumped and spun the diaper toward the group, pink confetti flying out.
“Holy crap!” Gatlin laughed. “Get that girl into acting classes.”
My mother was the first to rush up and hug me. She held me so tight, I didn’t think she’d ever let go.
Eventually holding me at arm’s length, she smiled. “I would have been happy either way.”
“Me too,” I agreed.
My father moved from Caden to me, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You’re going to love having a girl.”
By the time everyone offered their congratulations, and Vivianne brought out a cake for everyone to eat, I was ready for a nap. I leaned my head against Caden’s shoulder and felt my eyes slowly closing.
“Caden, take that poor girl home, will you,” Ensley said, as I opened my eyes and tried to smile.
“I’m so sorry. I’m struggling to keep my eyes open.”
My mom and Vivianne both stood and went to get our coats.
“Time to get home and rest,” Mom said, as she hugged me once more. “Congratulations again, sweetheart.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
We said our goodbyes, and the next thing I remembered was Caden carrying me into the house and to our bedroom. He lay me down, and I snuggled into the pillow. I felt him removing my shoes and socks, then felt the bed dip. He drew me against his body, kissing the back of my head.
“Go back to sleep, Lili.”
Smiling, I closed my eyes and drifted off, feeling safe and loved.