While I wanted babies so badly my biological clock was like Big Ben clanging at the top of the hour, I was glad I hadn’t had any with Jackson. Turned out, he sure as hell wasn’t the father I wanted for my children. What made me so upset was that I’d given up years…YEARS for him.
I’d gone to law school because that was what my father expected. I joined his firm because that was also what was expected. I stuck out a relationship Ishould’ve bailed from a long time ago because being with Jackson was expected. Good family. Good prospects. I’d gone along with everything for far too long, and that was on me.
I was upset that Jackson cheated, definitely. But the fact that I’d missed it stung even worse. He could’ve said he wasn’t happy and walked. I could’ve been with someone else instead, someone who’d wanted what I wanted. Babies. A family. Love.
But no. Jackson was a selfish jackass wanting a girlfriend with a big trust fund and good connections while fucking his paralegal on the side. So much so that he wouldn’t get the memo that I’d dumped him.
Call me. Seriously.
Sage you took my messenger bag! I need it.
Where the hell are you?
Those were just a few I read and then blocked.Annoyed, I was seriously considering the turkey baster route to get the baby I wanted. I hadn’t made an appointment yet, but the reasons not to do it were shrinking. The only man who’d interestedme in ages was the cowboy from this morning. The one I’d talked to long enough to take his breakfast order. Even that little hit of butterflies when asking him what kind of toast he wanted wasn’t enough for me to think he was into me, yet as I approached the maternity floor waiting room, I couldn’t do anything else.
The room with photographs of newborns on lily pads and tucked into wagons was full. There were five, no six, men, all big and while they had different coloring, it was clear they were related. Several women were with them, two clearly pregnant. An older couple was in the middle of the crowd. I had no idea what they were talking about before I came in, but they stopped as soon as they saw me.
One popped to his feet from the institutional chair and came over. It washim. He was here! In front of me! Mr. Cowboy looked better than I remembered, and it’d only been a few hours.
“Hi,” I whispered, my voice unable to come out any louder. I had to tip my head back to meet his gaze. “I… um, brought you all some food.”
His eyes held mine for a moment, then roved over my face. He wasn’t exactly smiling but happiness lit his eyes and his mouth was turned up, as if someone had just told him something amusing.
He blinked, then took the big paper bag I’d filled with leftover cheese and cherry danish. The left-behind Stetson was stacked on top.
“Trig’s hat,” he commented. “Thanks.”
One of his brothers–I assumed–grabbed the bag from him and went to set it on a nearby low table on top of a pile of old magazines. I set the cardboard coffee carafe next to it.
“I figured you all might not have had anything to eat in a while,” I said to no one in particular. “Although, I didn’t bring paper cups.” How could I bring coffee but forget cups? Idiot! I felt more out of place now than ever. It was definitely time to duck out, especially because this room, this place, was only a reminder of what I wanted so desperately, but couldn’t have.
Except… sperm bank. I could have what I wanted, I just had to go about it a different way. Without a man. I just needed an appointment, a few tests and then to get the sperm to make a baby solo.
“What a treat this is!” a woman called, coming up to me and putting her arm around my shoulder in a surprisingly friendly gesture. She looked nothing like my mother–mine wouldn’t be caught dead in jeans or a turtleneck, even if it looked like merino wool. She also didn’t act like my mother.Mine didn’t hug. “You’re Mabel’s niece. Sage.” She turned us both to face the others. “This is Sage, everyone!”
Okay, she was… happy. Her enthusiasm was over the top, but I assumed it was because she was becoming a grandma.
I nodded, ducked my chin when everyone smiled at me, said hi and waved. Casual introductions were made. I heard Bray, Hayes, Katie, and a few other names. “Hello, Mrs. Wilder. Congratulations.”
Two of the other men–Cam and Shep maybe?–went to the bag and began rifling through. The napkins were on top so they started handing out the breakfast treats down the line to the others.
“Thank you for bringing this to us,” she added. “How is Mabel doing in rehab?”
“Better,” I said. “Giving her physical therapist a lot of grief.”
She laughed. “Good for her. Tell her I said hello, will you? I hope she enjoyed the cookies I made for her, but please let me know if she–or either of you–need anything else.”
“Yes, no problem. I… um, should get going,” I told her. “I don’t want to interrupt your special time.” I turned to walk away, then spun back. Looked at Mr. Cowboy, who was stillright there.“Oh,” I said,pulling the cash from my jeans pocket and shoving it at him. I’d almost forgotten. “Here. You left too much money behind this morning at breakfast.”
He didn’t say anything, just reached out and took it, our fingers brushing. The spark of electricity made me look up, meet his dark eyes. I didn’t let go. He didn’t pull away.
Our gazes held. And held. My heart galloped as wild as the horse I was sure he rode.
“Buck, you know Sage?” Mrs. Wilder asked, looking between us.
Buck.Buck. Buck Wilder.
He ran a hand over the back of his neck. “We met at the diner this morning but didn’t get a chance to be formally introduced,” he told his mother. “Blame that on your new niece for making me rush out.”
