Chapter Twenty-One – Colt
Colt
Ensley and I sat on the sofa in Ladd and Vivianne’s house while both our parents stared at us. It was my mother who finally broke the silence.
“I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s long overdue. But you both just got back together. Are you sure you want to jump right into marriage? I’m sure you’ve both changed a lot in the last ten years.”
“Nonsense,” my father said. “Look at the two of them, Lynn. It was clear the moment Colt came back to town that nothing between them had changed.”
Ensley and I exchanged a look. She reached for my hand, and I held it tight as I turned back to our parents.
“We don’t want to waste another minute of this life. You might think it’s too soon, Mom, but I never stopped loving Ensley once in the last ten years.”
“And I never stopped loving Colt. As he said, we don’t want to waste another moment. Life is too short.”
“Yes, we’ve both changed, but our love for each other hasn’t.”
Vivianne stood and made her way over to us, reaching down for Ensley, who took her hand and stood.
“The only thing we care about is your happiness.” She looked down at me. “Both of you. If this is something you feel like you’re ready to do, we support you one-hundred percent.”
“Of course we do,” my mother added, joining them. I stood and hugged her. “I just want you both to be happy, as Vivianne said.”
Kissing her on the cheek, I replied, “Thank you, Mom.”
Vivianne took a step back and grinned. “Have you thought about a date?”
Ensley beamed. “Well, we were thinking of a spring wedding. Nothing big, just family, and we’d like to get married at the tree, like you and Dad did.”
Vivianne’s eyes filled with tears. “I think that’s a beautiful idea.”
Ensley and her mother hugged while Ladd quickly joined them. My father approached and held his hand out for mine.
“Congratulations, Colt. It truly feels like a new beginning for all of us.”
Mom nodded and leaned against my father. “It does.”
I hugged both of them. “I’m so sorry I was gone for so long.”
Holding up her hand, Mom said, “No more living in the past. We have a beautiful future to look forward to.”
Vivianne smiled as she said, “Is it too soon to start planning the wedding?”
“Yes, Mom. It’s going to be simple. Nothing big or fancy. Small.”
Nodding, Vivianne replied, “Got it. Small.”
Turning to my mother, Vivianne locked arms with her and the two women started walking toward the kitchen. “There’s so much to plan!” we heard Vivianne say. “Flowers, food. Backup plan in case it rains.”
“Reception inside or out?” my mother asked.
“Yes, we’ll need to think about that, as well.”
As the two of them walked away, I glanced at Ensley, who was scowling in her mom’s direction.
Ladd cleared his throat, obviously trying not to laugh. “I think now would be a great time to mention we got a new horse.”
And just like that, Ensley’s attention was on her father. “A new horse?”
He shot me a quick look, and I smiled. Anyone who knew Ensley knew that the easiest way to divert her attention was to mention anything about horses.
“Yes. We can take the side-by-side and go see it.”
“Count me in,” my father said.
Ensley turned to me, eyes filled with excitement. “You coming?”
“Heck yeah.”
And just like that, Ensley forgot all about our mothers, who had their heads together plotting the perfect small wedding.
The light knock on my office door had me lifting my head and smiling the moment I saw Ensley.
Even though it was Christmas Eve, I had to finish up a few things before we headed to her parents.
She stood there looking like an angel from above.
Her blonde hair was pulled up, with curls piling on top of her head, a few hanging down around her face.
She wore a white chiffon top and red pants, a white coat slung over her arm.
She looked stunning. Even more beautiful than when I’d seen her earlier that day.
“Wow, you look beautiful.”
She let her eyes roam over me as she took in my black cowboy boots, black jeans, red sweater, and black cowboy hat.
“And you look handsome as all get out. I like that sweater.”
Glancing down, I grinned. “You should, you laid it out for me to wear.”
Laughing, she walked into the office, set her coat down on the chair, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me.
“I missed you.”
“It’s only been a few hours since I saw you last.”
She sighed. “Yes, that’s true, but I can’t seem to stop thinking about the way you woke me up this morning.”
Smiling at her, I waggled my brows. “We have time for a repeat.”
Acting shocked by my suggestion, she playfully hit me on the chest. “Colt Owens! We are in your family barn.”
Tightening my arms around her, I replied, “And we’re the only ones here. If you remember correctly, my mother and father went on a cruise. They were so bummed they missed the one with Gus and Nellie.”
“But my hair is all pretty, and look at my outfit.”
I let my eyes take her in slowly. “You do look gorgeous.”
“Save it for tonight?”
Letting out an exaggerated sigh, I said, “Fine. Are we staying at your place tonight?”
She nodded and smoothed her hands up my chest. “I assumed. You’ve been there every night. Do you think we should talk about whether you want to move in with me?”
I tilted my head in surprise. “Move in with you?”
With a half shrug, she replied, “We are getting married in April. You’re always at my place, so it only makes sense to me.”
Smiling, I cupped her face in my hands. “I’d love nothing more than to move in with you.”
Bouncing on her toes, she kissed me quickly, then said, “Okay! Well, I was thinking, what if we remodel the cabin and add onto it?”
I tossed my head back and laughed. “Wow, that escalated quickly. How did we go from me moving in to a major remodel and expansion?”
Her cheeks turned a beautiful shade of pink. “Well…we’re going to need the extra room.”
Shrugging, I said, “It is a pretty small place. It would be nice to have an office we could share.”
She nodded. “We did talk about merging our two businesses. A shared office is a great idea.”
“With the wedding and merging the businesses, do you think we should take on such a big project right now?”
Chewing on her lower lip, she took a step back. “Well, we kind of have to…probably the sooner the better.”
My brows drew down in confusion. “Really? Why?”
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a long white box. Handing it to me, she said, “This is why.”
I took the box, opened it—and just stared at what was inside.
When my gaze lifted to meet hers, a single tear was slowly making a path down her cheek. I glanced back at the box and smiled, then set it on my desk, tugged her into my arms, and hugged her tight.
“Ensley…oh my God!”
A sob that also sounded like a laugh came out, and she drew back to look at me. “Are you happy?”
I blinked a few times. “Am I happy? I’m fucking over the moon! How far along are you?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a laugh. “I missed my period earlier this month, and I’ve been feeling off. Maybe a few weeks? I was so nervous, I told Emeline I was late. She pulled me into her office, yanked open her desk drawer, and handed me a pregnancy test!”
Laughing, I said, “She just keeps them on hand?”
Wiping her tears away, she laughed, as well. “I guess so. Anyway, according to this, we’re going to have a baby.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “I can’t believe it.
Holy crap! There’s so much to do! So much to think about.
” I started to pace. “We’re going to have to hire someone to help us remodel the house.
I want the baby to have a playroom, and we need a family room.
We should also add another bedroom, maybe two.
What if we have twins? Do they run in your family?
They don’t in mine, but we’d want the kids to have their own rooms—”
Ensley put a hand on my arm, and I stopped walking.
“Colt, take a breath.”
Inhaling deeply, I exhaled in a rush. “I’m sorry. I guess I had a moment there.”
She smiled. “I had that moment earlier today in Emeline’s office. She just laughed at me, the little brat.”
I took her hands in mine. “It’s early, and I know couples usually wait to tell anyone. Right?”
Nodding, she replied, “Emeline said at least until we get past the first trimester.”
“I think I’m going to faint. Will you be able to keep working? Fuck, Ensley, I don’t want a horse to kick you or anything!”
Her brows furrowed. “I’ve never in my life been kicked by a horse.”
“Never?” I asked, stunned. “Not once?”
She shook her head. “Not once.” She pointed at me. “Don’t you dare start telling me what I can and cannot do, Colt Owens.”
I held up both hands in a defensive move. “I would never do that, Pip. Ever.”
She drew in a deep breath of her own. “Now. We have to promise each other we keep this between the three of us.” She looked up in thought. “Four of us.”
“Four?”
Frowning, she replied, “If I know my sister, the second I left her office, she called and told Levi.”
I laughed. “I promise I won’t tell a soul.”
Ensley walked back up to me and placed her hand on my chest. “You’re really happy?”
Nodding, I leaned down and brushed a kiss across her lips. “I’m beyond happy. I love you.”
Her blue eyes sparkled as she said, “I love you more.”
All I wanted to do was pick her up and carry her somewhere that I could make love to her. But I knew that would have to wait. “We should get going before we’re late. You didn’t have to drive here, by the way. I thought we were meeting at your parents’ house?”
“I wanted to tell you the news alone. I didn’t want to risk telling you around the fam.”
With a slow shake of my head, I said, “I hope I don’t give it away.”
Ensley reached for her coat, and I helped her put it on. “Trust me, no one will be the wiser. And I trust Emeline to keep it to herself.”
I reached for my own coat, shut my office door, and locked it. “This has got to be the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten.”
Lacing her hand in mine, Ensley agreed. “Best Christmas Ever.”