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The pregnancy test was tucked safely in the middle section of my purse. I had peed on it, slipped it back into the box and hadn’t looked at it since.
“That’s great, Jonathon!” Tripp said, slapping his future brother-in-law on the back. “Now, when is it exactly you’re going to be marrying my sister?”
Jonathon’s face turned a few shades whiter. When he took a step back, Tripp let out a low grumble.
“You didn’t,” he said with a touch of anger, but even more amusement in his voice.
“It was Waylynn’s idea. We had your folks, my folks, and Liberty there with us.”
I gasped. “Y’all got married!”
A smile bigger than the state of Texas spread over his face. “Yeah. It was just to make it official. Once Liberty gets a little bigger, we’re thinking a beach wedding.”
“Oh! I love that idea!” I said, rushing into his arms. “Congratulations!”
“Thanks, Harley.”
Tripp extended his hand. “As long as my folks were there, I’m good with it.”
“We plan on announcing it tonight at the family dinner,” Jonathon said. His happiness shone. I was surprised Tripp and I hadn’t noticed it before now.
A car door shut behind us, making us turn around. Mitchell jogged around Corina’s car and helped her out.
“Holy shit!” Tripp whispered. “She’s huge.”
I hit him. “Hush up, Tripp Parker.”
They made their way over to us. Well, Mitchell made his way, Corina sort of wobbled. She looked miserable.
“Hey there!” I said, rushing to her so she didn’t have to keep walking. I hugged her, while her stomach had me arching to get my arms around her.
“How are you feeling?”
She sighed. “Big. Hot. Big.”
I tried to give her a sympathetic smile, and she returned one, but it didn’t touch her eyes. Something was off.
“Wow, this place is really coming along,” Mitchell said.
Tripp, Mitchell, and Jonathon walked off to talk about everything men talk about on a construction site.
“Come on, let’s sit in the chairs.”
Corina looked at the camping chairs. “I won’t be able to get back up if I sit in that.”
I laughed. “Yes, you will. Let’s get you off your feet.”
After making our way over to them, I decided to see if Corina knew anything about Amelia.
“So the day of my wedding, Chloe mentioned something to me.”
Corina was fanning herself with a piece of paper she had brought from the car, a makeshift fan. Poor thing. I was secretly hoping I was pregnant. If so, I’d be giving birth in the winter and wouldn’t have to deal with the Texas heat at nine months pregnant.
“What did she mention?” Corina asked.
“It was something about Amelia.”
The fanning stopped and our eyes met. She knew something…or at least she suspected something. Leaning toward me, her brows pulled in tight.
“What do you know?” we said at once.
“I don’t know anything!” we exclaimed in unison.
Falling into a fit of laughter, Corina rested her hands on her stomach.
“Honestly, I don’t know anything, but we all suspect it. She hasn’t said a word, and Mitchell and Steed have started to ask Wade when they thought they would start a family. The man is like stone. He responded with something like, ‘In a few more years. We want it to be just us for right now.’ Or something like that.”
Chewing on my fingernail, an idea occurred to me. “Corina, what if Amelia is pregnant and hasn’t told Wade?”
Her face dropped.
“You don’t think so, do you? I know Wade said that, but he would be over the moon if they were having a baby.”
“I don’t know. I can’t imagine she would be able to hide it. I mean, I can’t wait to show Tripp the pregnancy…”
Stopping abruptly, I tried to cover my mistake. “The, um, the progress of the vet clinic.”
Corina slowly shook her head. “No way. You cannot hide that blunder, Mrs. Parker.”
“Why, Mrs. Parker, I don’t know what you mean,” I said, placing my hand over my chest in a fake shocked way. Okay…that had to be a Parker gesture. Once you married into the family it wore off on you.
“Harley! Are you?” Corina whispered. Her body jerked and she let out a quick breath.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She nodded. “Just got too excited.”
I watched as she rubbed her stomach. Placing my hand on it, I felt her belly tighten and watched her breathe heavily until the contraction subsided.
“Braxton Hicks, I’m sure,” she said.
“That was a pretty strong contraction from the look on your face, Corina. And I felt it.”
She chewed her lips. First the bottom, then the top. Tears formed in her eyes. “I’m not due for another few weeks. I’m scared.”
I dropped down in front of her. “Sweetheart, it’s okay to be scared. I would be too.”
“What if the baby isn’t ready to come out?”
“He or she is. I promise.” Reaching for her hands, I pulled her out of the chair. “Is everything packed up?”
