Page 136 of Stay Wild Darlin’

“We hired a surrogate. She’s in Dallas, and she’s already twelve weeks along. We wanted to wait until things felt safe and real. And now they do.”

“Oh my god.” Harleigh stood up and walked around the table to give Fable a hug. “That’s amazing.”

Mr. Banks let out a soft, stunned laugh, setting his glass down with a quiet clink. He stood slowly, the candlelight catching in his eyes as he looked from Beau to Fable.

“My first grandchild after Cora. I can’t believe I get to say that. You two—” He paused, shaking his head slightly like it was still sinking in. “You’re gonna be incredible parents.”

Fable blinked fast, pressing her hand to her heart. Beau stepped over and clapped a hand on his dad’s shoulder.

I looked over at Dalton and watched the way his expression softened, how something in him unclenched. Because even though Dalton wasn’t blood, I saw how much it meant to be included in a moment like this. To be wrapped in the folds of a family that hadn’t hesitated to make room for him.

Dalton leaned closer, brushing his fingers along mine under the table. “Think Cora’s ready for a playmate?” he murmured.

“Yeah,” I said softly, looking around the room.

The rest of the night passed in a blur. Everyone took turns hugging Fable and clapping Beau on the back. Harleigh brought over dessert and insisted everyone take a slice, whether they wanted it or not.

“Celebrating a baby without sugar should be a crime,” she declared, sliding a plate in front of me.

Dalton kept close. His hand on my knee. His arm over the back of my chair. His lips brushing my temple when no one was looking.

By the time the dishes were cleared and the last of the cobbler was scraped from the pan, people started filtering toward the front door, hugging goodbye and promising to meet up again soon.

Dalton and I thanked Fable and Beau, and I gave her one last long hug before we headed toward the truck. He opened the door for me, tipped his hat like a show-off, and we drove off down the gravel road beneath the stars.

It was quiet for a while. The kind of peaceful silence that comes when your heart is full and your stomach is content and you’ve run out of reasons to pretend you’re not thinking something big.

“Do you want kids?”

I looked over at him, surprised. The dash lights glowed softly across his face—jaw set, eyes on the road, but his hand was still resting between us, palm up like an invitation.

I didn’t answer right away.

“Yeah,” I said quietly. “Someday, yeah, I do. Do you want more?”

“Fuck yeah,” he said without hesitation. “I love Cora. After watching you with her, I’d have a whole goddamn ranch full of kids with you if you’d let me.”

“Stop it,” I laughed, cheeks flushing as I grabbed his hand and laced my fingers through his.

He chuckled low in his throat, thumb brushing slow circles against the back of my hand.

“I’m happy for Fable and Beau,” he said as we turned onto our street. “I know this was a hard journey for them.”

“Me too. They deserve this.”

He pulled into the driveway and threw the truck into park, then leaned back slightly in his seat, stretching his arms with a grin.

“Now onto focusing on the more important things,” he said as he unbuckled and opened his door.

“The championship,” I said at the exact same time he said, “Fucking you.”

I froze.

He paused.

We both cracked up.

Dalton rounded the truck to my side, eyes twinkling, cheeks flushed from laughing. He opened my door and leaned in with that wicked little grin of his.