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“Oh, Chloe!” Waylynn exclaimed. “You should have seen your face. It was beautiful.”
Steed reached for my hand, then pulled me in for a hug, “Well done, son. Well done.”
“Thank you, sir,” I managed to reply.
Chloe was being tossed from one set of arms to another. Demands to see the ring were coming from all sides. Had Paxton put out the all-call for the entire Parker clan to show up?
John Sr, Chloe’s grandfather, walked up to me and smiled. He was the monarch of the family and clearly the one with the most patience. With a firm handshake, he said, “Welcome to the family, my boy. You’ve always felt like a grandson to me.”
A lump formed in my throat. “Thank you so much, sir.”
Then he jerked my arm toward him and whispered, “You hurt her, and I will break both your arms.”
I tried to form words in my suddenly dry mouth. Finally, I said, “I would never hurt her.”
He lifted a brow. “I’m holding you to that.”
Chloe’s gaze caught mine. She looked desperate to talk to me.
I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled. Everyone’s eyes were now on me. “I love that y’all were a part of this moment, but my fiancée needs to get some food in her. If y’all will excuse us.”
Catcalls and claps were heard as a few people gave us their final congratulations and hugs goodbye. Alyssa and Mike were the last to leave. Alyssa held up the picnic basket as Mike handed Chloe the large quilt.
“Congratulations, y’all. It’s about damn time!” Mike said.
“If y’all are up to it, want to hit Cord’s Place tonight?” Alyssa asked.
“I’d love to, if Rip feels like it,” Chloe said.
“Yeah, a night out would be nice. I feel like all we do is go home and work on the farmhouse.”
Mike nodded. “I need a break from church pews and cabinets, anyway.”
“You’re making the church pews?” Chloe asked.
Pointing to the chapel behind him, Mike said, “You’re gonna need places for your friends and family to sit when y’all tie the knot.”
I could see the tears in Chloe’s eyes building.
“We’re going to head out. Y’all enjoy this beautiful day. It’s unusually cool for mid-August. That little front moved down just in time to take the heat out of the air,” Alyssa said, clearly aware that Chloe was holding back her emotions.
Chloe walked up and kissed her best friend on the cheek. “Thank you so much for the picnic stuff, Alyssa. Love you.”
“Love you back. See y’all later tonight!” Alyssa called out as Mike took her hand and led them to his truck.
“See y’all!”
“Bye!” we said.
When Mike and Alyssa got in the truck, I turned to find Chloe laying out the quilt. I set the basket down and walked up to her, taking her in my arms and holding her. It didn’t take her long to start crying.
“It’s okay, baby. I swear to you, everything is beautifully okay.”
She grabbed my T-shirt and attempted to stop crying but only made herself sob more intently.
Smiling, I kissed the top of her head and squeezed her closer to me. “A baby, huh?”
Chloe drew back. Those big ol’ sky blue eyes sparkled as her gaze locked on mine. “I guess my confidence in the pill was slightly overrated.”
Laughing, I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her with everything I had. Chloe moaned into my mouth as she held onto my arms. When I withdrew from her lips, I rested my forehead on hers.
“What are you thinking?” she softly asked.
“I’m wondering about the likelihood of you having twins.”
Chloe busted out laughing. “Let’s hope not too high.”
I stepped back and took her hands in mine. “Tell me what you’re thinking, Chloe.”
“Well, I’m not sure. I could just have a stomach bug, but I feel different. I feel content. Happy. Overjoyed! We’re getting married!”
Smiling, I placed my finger on her chin. “No matter what happens, if we’re pregnant or not, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life.”
“Rip, you had a chapel built at our spot! When? How?” she asked with a chuckle.
I glanced at the white building. “About a week after we moved into the farmhouse, I got to thinking about our spot. I knew someday we’d be married here. We were at the antique store in Waco, and you were looking at those blue doors. You made a comment about how pretty they would look against a white building, like an old chapel. The idea struck me to build a little chapel here on the ranch. I remembered hearing you and your father talk about capitalizing on the ranch in other ways to bring in money. I talked to Trevor, Steed, and your grandparents about my idea for the chapel and suggested that it could be used for other events. Maybe even possibly a wedding venue if that was something they wanted to look at in the future.”
