“Okay, my turn.” I tap my mom on the shoulder, trying to get the baby from her. I knew she was going to be a baby hog, but she’s been holding her for ten minutes.
“Fine.” She sighs heavily before setting the baby in my arms.
I forget how tiny newborns are. So small and delicate. Swaying back and forth, I get lost, thinking about the life she is going to have. And how I didn’t think it was possible to love someone this much.
It feels all too surreal that I am going to have one of my very own in less than six months.
Rhett peeks around my shoulder. “Hey, pretty girl.” I half wonder if he is talking to me until he does something that melts my heart and heals it all at the same time. He gently rubs her forehead; his hand is almost the size of half her body, but he does it with such delicacy.
We have absolutely nothing figured out, but by the looks of it, it doesn’t matter. Our baby has won the lottery with Rhett. I gently lean into him, savoring this moment, and maybe even breaking my own rule of daydreaming.
Chapter 14
Rhett
Watching Aspen hold a baby was like a looking glass into the future. The memory of baby Grace in her arms yesterday plays on a loop in my mind as I drive home from work, my headlights brightening the tree-lined gravel road.
My place isn’t far from the ranch. None of our cabins are. I should saywerenow. Weston has a bigger one closer to his parents’ place, but still tucked into an off-road deep in the pines. Maverick ditched his cabin for a new home he had built for him and Ava. It’s still on the ranch but more secluded. Mine is tucked back between Mav’s old one and Weston’s. There’s plenty of trees and space in between to give us our privacy. That theory is tested frequently.
My phone starts ringing just as I pull up to my cabin.
Aspen's name lights up my screen and I smile without even thinking about it; just the thought of her brings some light in. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Just leaving the hospital from visiting Ava and Mav. They are getting discharged in the morning. I was going to stop by their place and make sure it’s ready for their homecoming.” Her first instinct is to always help people. It’s one of the many reasons I think the world of her. “If you’re not busy, I was going to swing by your place before.”
This used to be a regular occurrence; she’d swing by to say hi, but usually one thing would lead to another and, well, now everything is different. That was before she wanted more, and before she ended the sneaking around. Now we’re just friends who are having a baby.
It’s easier now that she knows about the BMD and why I don’t do relationships, but it doesn’t make me want her any less. It doesn’t make me miss the times I had her in my arms and those brief fleeting moments where things in my life finally felt right.
“I’d love that. You hungry? I can make you some food?”
“The only thing that has sounded good today has been grilled cheese and saltine crackers. I did keep some vending machine snacks down last night though, that was a win.” I can hear the amusement in her voice.
It had only been a few weeks since she had ended it before we found out we were pregnant, but in that time apart, I missed this. Her random phone calls and hearing about every part of her day like I was her human diary. I have enemies at her work that I’ve never even met, but I’ve heard about them in such great detail that I feel like they personally offended me.
“I’ve got stuff for that. I’m pulling into my drive now.”
She does a happy squeal on the phone. “Sounds good. I’ll be there in about ten or fifteen minutes.”
I park and then hustle into the cabin. I flick the lights on and take off my boots. The cabin isn’t large, but it’s perfect for one person. Though I have to figure out what I’m going to do oncethe baby starts staying here. I might need to build a place once they need their own room.
The kitchen is all the way in the back, the living room and bedroom combo is to the left, and bathroom to the right. It’s perfect for me though.
Stepping into the kitchen, I pull out all the supplies and get to work. At least she wasn’t craving a culinary masterpiece. Two pieces of bread and some cheese I can handle.
Aspen knocks twice before stepping into the cabin, bundled up in her coat. The cold likes to stick around here, even when the snow doesn’t. The warmer spring days will be a welcome reprieve.
“Hey, it smells like bachelor and grilled cheese.” She sniffs the air for extra effect.
My chest shakes with laughter. “This place does not smell like a bachelor pad, but your grilled cheese is ready.”
I flop the grilled cheese onto the plate, and then grab a butter knife from the drawer and cut it in half, not down the middle but corner to corner, just the way she likes her sandwiches.
She ditches the coat on the chair by the door and strides over to the barstool to take a seat. Without saying another word, she dives into her sandwich, and I get a hefty dose of amusement watching her eat it like it’s the first meal she’s had in weeks.
Knowing she’ll be thirsty after eating that quick, I grab her a glass of water and set it down just as she swallows the last bite.
She drinks half the glass and then sets it down. “Thanks. Sorry, I was so hungry. I either am starved or nauseous all day and there really isn’t an in-between.”
