Page 19 of Sudden Summer

“Oh shit.” Mae blinked a few times. “Sorry, these hormones are killing me, and the thought of Beau being such a dummy he can’t see how perfect you are…ugh. Do you need me to talk to him?”

“No! No, we’re good! I promise.”

“Alright, well I love to meddle, and it would give me something to take my mind off of impending labor, but I get it. It probably wouldn’t be helpful for me to push you towards him and chant ‘kiss, kiss, kiss’ until you do.”

“You are too much. I’m not back to work until Tuesday, so no labor until then. I want to be the one to deliver that sweet girl.”

We turned, arm in arm and walked back towards the place where we’d left our guys. No. Oh my God. Not our guys. Where Mae had left her husband, and I’d left Beau.

“Why are you all red?” Beau asked as soon as we got back.

“Mae was making me laugh.”

His eyes dropped to my empty hands. “No special dress then?”

“Nope.”

“Hm.”

“Alright, Cowboy. How about we pay for all these goodies and get back to the ranch so you and Juniper can take a nap.”

“Sounds good to me, Chickadee.”

“He’s already rhyming like a children’s hymn,” Mae teased.

“Congrats again, Beau.” Stone shook his hand.

“Thanks, man. Let us know when you’re up for visitors after your little one arrives.”

“I’ll make Beau bring steaks, and I’ll clean and tidy the entire visit,” I promised.

“Deal!” Mae laughed.

We waved goodbye to them, heading towards the register. After a bill so big I gasped—while Beau just tipped his hat at the sales associate and swiped his card—we were finally on our way out of the store.

“Why don’t you take the baby and get her situated in her car seat?” Beau asked as we walked up to the truck. Her little lashes were fluttering against her rosy cheeks. The way her eyes moved under her eyelids, I knew she was dreaming.

“She’s asleep. We shouldn’t try to transfer her from you to me, and then me to the car seat. You put her in and get her buckled, and I’ll start in on all these bags. For someone who wasn’t sure about getting her clothes, you sure did some damage.”

My laughter was met with a smile as he walked to the tailgate of his truck and lowered it for me. “Yeah, there was this really cute ladybug dress that I just couldn’t resist. Reminded me of one I’d seen before, and it felt special.”

“Well, ladybugs are very lucky.”

“You’ve told me that before,” he whispered. I was sure I had. As a kid, I’d been obsessed with them. But what I didn’t know was that he remembered that.

“And clearly you were a good friend and listened to me.” I tapped his forearm, where he had several small ladybugs tattooed. “Better to get her a matching dress than to wait until she’s old enough for a matching tattoo.”

“That’s never happening,” Beau groaned. “Don’t pick up anything heavy while I get her situated.”

My eyes rolled into the back of my head before I could stop them. “Funny. I’m going to have to change your nickname from Cowboy to Caveman.”

“You can call me whatever you want, as long as you don’t pick up something and hurt yourself on my watch.”

The protective edge in his voice sent a shiver down my spine, even with the warm spring sun shining down on me.

Something pulled in the pit of my stomach as Beau walked away. Glancing back over my shoulder, a man standing off to the side of a vehicle hadn’t just casually caught my eye. No. He was full on staring at me as I turned, moving some of the bags into the back of the truck.

The same man who had been within earshot of me and Mae.