Dakota slept the entire drive home, her arm cleaned and wrapped in a fresh white bandage. When we arrived, I carefully carried my wife to our bed, keeping the lights low as I tucked her in and then shut them off completely before leaving the room.
I’d just crashed on the living room couch when Trent slid through the back door, silently inviting himself in and making a beeline straight for the fridge.
“Where’s your wife?” I asked, watching as he grabbed two beers from the bottom drawer and a bag of chips off the counter beforecoming over and plopping his ass in the empty space to my left, offering me one of the long necks.
“Sleeping. Yours?”
“Same…” I twisted the cap off my bottle and took a long, refreshing sip. One that I’d needed since this evening began.
“Well… they did it.” Trent huffed a relieving laugh as he did the same, making himself comfortable. “Our girls fucking did it.”
“Cheers to that. And I’ve got even better news...” I wasn’t planning on telling him until the morning, but since he was here and I could barely contain my excitement, there was no better time than the present.
“Oh? Was Tiffany tellin’ the truth?”
“That she was. Dakota is, in fact, carrying our baby, just don’t know exactly how far along. She passed out before they could get the information needed to determine a rough estimate, so until she wakes up, I’m in the dark on the due date.”
“My boy Rhy is gonna be a Dad.Ho-ly fuckin’ shit. Never in a million years did I think that would happen for you. Pining over a single cowgirl who didn’t even know you existed, to married with kids on the way. Ain’t that just the perfect love story to tell your kids when they grow up.”Our toxic, unhinged, and beautiful love story.
“And you? Any future plans come to mind?” Aside from the constant bickering, there was chemistry brewing between Trent and Tiffany, and I was curious to know how their relationship had been going since tying the knot.
“Don’t get your hopes up. She’s still being all hot and cold with me, and can’t make up her damn mind on anything.”
“She’ll come ‘round eventually.”
“You think?”
“Do youwanther to? If I remember correctly, you were the one who didn’t want toplay babysitter.Or have you suddenly changed your mind and found a liking for a younger woman?” I never resisted teasing Trent when I could, especially when those opportunities were rare, and this one was too easy.
“I’m not into faking shit for the hell of it. Besides, Dustin would know very fuckin’ quickly if we weren’t legit, and she’s... Well… you know…” The perfect kind of woman for him–one who insisted on testing his patience whenever she had the chance. Someone who could keep him on his toes and make life interesting.
“What did Silas call her… aspitfire?” A laugh bubbled up from my chest as I recalled our previous discussion and how hethinkshe lucked out by not being set up with Tiffany. But I know that Trent was the real winner here.
“She’s got more personality and passion than over half the women I’d ever considered dating.” Sobered at the thought, he swirled the bottle in his lap, watching the amber liquid as it tipped and tilted. “I could see myself eventually falling in love with her… and hopefully in time she’ll do the same.”
“That’s all that matters, right?”
“Baby steps… not like she can leave me now. But I’m a man of my word, and I sure as hell will give her a reason to stay.”
And that’s why I knew he’d be the right man for Tiffany.
Trent will fight for his wife, just as I have for mine.
Chapter 35
Dakota
Openingmyeyes,Ifound myself staring up at the ceiling of a dark room with no concept of time, feeling as if I’d been thoroughly trampled by a pissed-off bull or run over by a freight train at full speed. If it weren’t for the familiar decorative rafters overhead, I wouldn’t have known that I was home in our bedroom, safe and sound.
Out of habit, I rolled over, reaching for my phone on the nightstand to check the time, and as I did, a stinging sensation shot up my arm, ripping a loud hiss from the back of my throat.
Fuck… that still hurts like hell…
In a second attempt at trying to figure out what time of day it was, I turned my head toward the opposite side of the room, across Rhylan’s empty pillow, where I could see a thin sliver of light shining through the blackout curtains that had been drawn shut.
Morning, or at least something close to it.
I returned my gaze to the ceiling, breathing through every wave of pain that radiated from my head all the way down to my arm, which was now draped across my stomach… my belly,the baby—
