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“We’ll build it as soon as we can.” Davis glances around the forest. “We might have to raise the baby in the lodge for a few months, but we’ll get it done.” He curses, and I swear I can see the long list of to-dos running through his laser-sharp brain. “I need to babyproof.”
I laugh, then kiss his scruffy cheek. “You’re going to be a wonderful father, Davis.”
He closes his eyes. “Koty—”
I hold on tighter to him. “Thank you for keeping me safe all these nights. Thank you for loving me. And him.”
A muscle in his jaw jerks. He looks down at my belly. Palms it. “We’ll make it official,” he says, his voice thick with emotion. “After he’s born.”
I nod. “Yes,” I whisper.
My son and I will live the great life we deserve with Davis Montgomery.
I cup his cheek, feeling the scratchy stubble beneath. “I love you,” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck and beaming up at him. “And I know I’ll love being your wife.”
“I love you, Cupcake,” Davis growls, his eyes misty.
I poke his chest. “Tonight, we tell my father.” Nerves crash over me, and I look at the ring glittering on my finger. “And I have to tell him I want The Corner Store.”
His big fingers fiddle with the dog tag around my neck. “You got this, Dakota.”
I laugh. “Am I crazy for taking on a bakery and having a baby?”
He chuckles. “No, because I’ll be right here with you.”
He kisses me again, then takes me by the hand. Halfway back to the truck, I stop and turn around. I survey the forest. Stareup at the bright spring sky. I used to think it overwhelming and frightening. But not anymore.
It’s wide and open, like my future.
I hold my stomach. Squish kicks.
A rustling has me looking off to the right. I see the flicker of the wolf’s tail and I smile.
Go, I think.Be free.
Because I am.
Fallon lives in between Resurrection and Runaway Ranch, far enough out of town that her cute cottage still feels like it’s out in the country. The weather tonight is perfect, warm enough, yet in true Montana style, breezy. Everyone’s assembled for Family, which Davis has told me is a get-together to bullshit and rally around Stede. It makes me love him and his brothers even more. They took care of my father when I was gone.
And Family’s especially important tonight. Fallon and I were both with Stede earlier this week when our father rang the bell at chemo. After nine months, he’s finally done with treatment. Another light at the end of the tunnel.
Everyone sips beers and sits around on the mishmash of patio furniture. A picnic table, two Adirondack chairs and a dusty old sofa. The air hangs heavy with the scent of cornbread and chili.
Keena, her nose resting on my leg, watches enviously as Davis takes a bite of chili. She whines and I sneak her a hunk of cornbread. I’m a sucker for her and she knows it.
I shift and rub my belly. The old Adirondack chair’s violent slope backwards isn’t doing a thing for my center of gravity.
Davis leans in, an amused smile on his face as he watches me wiggle. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just rallying.” So far, Davis and I have been chickens and let the night pass without talking to my father. I stick a hand out to Ford who’s passing by. “Help.”
Ford chuckles and pulls me to standing.
Davis makes a move to follow, but he gets caught up in a conversation with my father about the calving season.
Holding my belly, I pace the small backyard and wonder if Squish can feel my anxiety.
I look up at the moon, full and bright in the dusky evening sky. The flames from the fire cast an ominous gray glow across the fence. Something pricks at the back of my neck as I stare out into nothingness.
