My stomach rolls at the thought of what he’s going to do when he finds out it’s me. And if it weren’t for the looming test results, I would tell him right now. But I’d like to have some answers before we add another stressor. Aspen’s pregnant, and it’s my job to carry as much as I can.
If I told him today, at least I would have Maverick here to break up a fight, that’s if we can wake his ass up. But I can’t do that to her. We’ll tell him together, when our own little storm has settled.
We spend the next four hours driving across the ranch, checking the cattle, treating the sick and if we’re lucky enough, petting some calves. They’re usually pretty timid. The only times they really warm to us are if they’re bottle fed and we’ve been lucky and only had three. One orphaned and the other two, it was their mom’s first time calving, and they rejected their claves. It’s always sad when that happens, but those calves end up being my favorite.
When we get back to the ranch, West and I are beat, but Maverick’s battery is fully charged because we let him sleep in the back of the truck the whole time.
We get out of the truck and Mav stretches, raising his arms above his head as he yawns.
“Glad you got your beauty rest, sleeping beauty,” West jokes and not-so-gently shoves the duffel bag full of supplies against his gut.
“Maybe next time it should be your turn so you don’t scare your wife with that ugly mug,” Maverick fires back.
I laugh and shake my head, staying far away from their insult spar.
“Let’s go ask her; I’m pretty sure she’s in the office today,” West says.
His wife is really the star of the show; she does all the background work to keep the rental cabins running effectively and keeps up with the back-end work of the ranch.
We walk around the office portion of the office and I tag along, mostly wanting to see if West’s wife will roast him.
He knocks twice on the door before walking in. She sits leaned back in the chair across from Ava, who has her baby in tow.
“I get to take a nap at work and see my girls; this is shaping up to be the best day ever,” Maverick jokes as he walks to Ava and pulls baby Grace from her mom’s arms.
She is so tiny, wrapped in all of those blankets. Even in the crowded office, I find myself inching closer. Knowing I will have one of those soon makes me want to see her up close. I think of Ava and Mav, and how they work together to make life as easy as possible for that sweet girl.
“You finally over your fear of babies and ready to hold her yet?” Ava jokes to me.
Guess my subtle shuffle into the room wasn’t so subtle after all.
“I don’t know, she still looks pretty small and breakable.” That’s a fear I need to get over sooner than later if I am going to be of any help to Aspen. And over my dead body will I be one of those dads scared to hold the baby or change a diaper.
“You can hold her, but hold on.” She digs around in her diaper bag and pulls out a travel-size Purell.
My brows shoot up in surprise. “Why do you have that?”
“Babies are susceptible to germs since they don’t have any immune system. If you want to stand within a six-foot radius, you're sanitizing your hands.” She hands over the bottle of sanitizer and I drop a healthy dollop on my hand. “If we were at the house, I’d make you wash your hands. Mav, give him the baby before he chickens out again.”
“Do you want to sit down?” Maverick asks. Looking between me and his baby girl, I see the difference in him. He has always been fiercely loyal and protective, but it’s like he’s dressed up in armor, ready to defend that baby. Something I understand entirely now.
“Do I need to?” I ask, suddenly feeling unsure. “Maybe I shouldn’t hold her.”
“He’s got this; hand him the baby, Mav,” Ava assures him. Everyone in this room, but one, knows I am going to be a dad in a few short months. Ava smiles, reassuringly, nodding her head from Mav to me. At least one of us is confident in my abilities.
As Mav sets the baby in my arms, I melt. Entirely. For this sweet little girl. She’s a spitting image of her mom, but with her dad’s dark hair. She fusses a little and I instinctively bounce to help settle her down.
“You’re a natural, Rhett,” Ava praises, her encouraging smile saying everything she can’t in this room.
“Thank God she looks like you,” I joke, needing to divert the heaviness sitting on my chest.
“God heard my prayers loud and clear on that one,” Mav says as he steps up, wanting to look at his girl. She’s got him wrapped around her tiny little finger. I think she has us all that way.
“So she’s not dating till she’s forty, right?” I ask. My own protective nature flaring. “Uncle Rhett will make sure to keep all of the boys with jacked up trucks and small brains far, far away,” I whisper to her.
“She’s going to be the world's most protected girl, that’s for sure. I almost feel bad for her,” Willow jokes. “It’s like Aspen all over again.”
I go rigid at the mention of her name, not wanting to think about that.
