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“Have you talked to Josh lately? Is he still
dating Lynda?”

“I talked to him earlier as a matter of fact.
He’s coming to your party tomorrow, and yes, he’s still with
Lynda.”

“Huh.”

“Why? What’s going on? Did you ever able to
find out what happened with Heather? I asked Josh, and he’s was
very vague. All I know is that what ever happened fucked him up for
a few months.”

“Nope, she hasn’t said anything to Ellie,
Amanda or me. She’s changed though, Jeff. She just seems so…lost.
It breaks my heart. I know she loved, or loves, Josh, but this
crazy idea of him leaving her or whatever bullshit she’s afraid of
is just stupid. I mean, he did leave her…at her request. Anyway,
she asked about him today. She wanted to know if he was still with
Lynda. I told her that I wasn’t sure, since we hadn’t seen him in a
few weeks. I guess she’s still dating Jerry. I don’t trust that guy
one bit. Heather seems to think he would never do anything to hurt
her. I just have a bad, bad feeling about him.”

I agreed with Ari. I’d
already seen the asshole slip a waitress his number.
Dickwad.

“You want to know what else I did today?” Ari
asked.

“Of course I do. I always want to know what
my beautiful girl is up to twenty-four seven.”

“I went to an appointment that I went to with
my mom before we met back up with Ellie.”

“Really? About the wedding?”

“Nope, not about the wedding at all.”

I raised my eyebrows at the cute-ass little
smirk on her face.

“Do I have to guess, baby, or do I need to
get it out of you another way?”

Ari smiled at me with an unbelievable light
in her eyes. I just wanted to take her in arms and make love to
her. During the last few weeks, she had such a glow about her even
though I knew she was stressed about the wedding. Thank God for
Jenny and Ellie.

“I went to see Dr. Wyatt today.”

My heart started to
pound.
Please God...

“Yeah?”

“Yep!” Turning, she walked over to Rose’s
stall and leaned against it.

“Ari, you’re killing me. Why did you go see
him? Is everything okay?”

She threw her head back and
laughed. Then, the look she gave me made heart drop into my
stomach.
God I love this girl with every
ounce of my being.

“Everything is more than okay, Jeff. You’re
gonna be a Daddy in about seven months.”

Holy shit.
It felt like my knees were about to give out. I
just stood there for a few seconds and stared at her smiling
face.

She’s two months
pregnant…two months ago...the day in the barn
.
It was the day in the
barn!

I walked over to her and put my hands on the
sides of her face. Leaning down, I kissed her lightly at first,
nipping at her bottom lip, and then I kissed her with as much
passion as I could.

After what seemed like forever, I pulled my
lips from hers, both of us were breathing hard. When she smiled at
me, I almost dropped to ground.

“I love you, Arianna. I love you so damn
much.”

“I love you more.” She giggled.

I put my right hand on her
stomach and looked down at it.
I’m going
to be a father.
I smiled at the thought of
Ari having my baby.

“When I’d asked you to marry me and you’d
said yes, I thought that was the best moment of my life…” I looked
into her eyes that were filling with tears.

“But I was wrong. This is the best moment of
my life.”

“So far,” Ari said with a wink and a
smile.

I laughed and kissed her again. “Yeah, baby,
so far.”

CHAPTER
FORTY-THREE

ARI

I woke up and instantly smiled.

Last night had been perfect…beyond perfect.
It had been amazing. I didn’t think Jeff had ever made love to me
so sweetly and passionately as last night. I touched my still
swollen lips, remembering his kisses, and smiled.

I could still feel his hands all over my
body, touching me so tenderly. The way he’d kissed my stomach and
talked to the baby just about had me melting right there on the
spot. I held up my hand and looked at my engagement ring. I still
couldn’t believe that I was marrying this man. This man who I’d
been in love with the moment my young eyes saw him.

I thought back to yesterday when I’d sat,
waiting, in Dr. Wyatt’s office. When he’d walked in the door with a
smile on his face, it only confirmed what I’d already known. This
time, I hadn’t taken any pregnancy tests. I’d just known. Somehow,
I’d known the day when Ellie and I were running all over Austin,
threatening Rebecca, getting tattoos, and just being silly and
carefree. Earlier that morning on the same day, I’d somehow known
that Jeff and I did something amazing together. We’d had sex plenty
of times since that morning, but I truly believed that’s when I got
pregnant. My little angel was watching over us.

***

When I told my mother, the first thing she
did was quote the great Katharine Hepburn.

“Always remember, Arianna, ‘Children need
boundaries, so they can know how far they have to go to get beyond
them.’

I had to laugh. “Really, Mom? No
;congratulations, Ari’? Just another Katharin Hepburn quote?”

“Hey, I’m so beyond excited right now, baby
girl. That quote was the first one that came to my mind.”

“
I’ll take it,
Mom.”

She hooked her arm around mine as we walked
to her car.

“Mom, I didn’t tell Ellie why I had her drop
me off at your house this morning.”

“Okay, why didn’t you tell her, Ari? You know
that she’s going to be beyond thrilled.”

“She’s been trying to get pregnant ever since
this summer, and it’s not happening. I’m so worried, Mom. What if
she can’t have kids? Gunner has all but stopped talking about it
with her. She thinks he’s upset, but Jeff said Gunner just doesn’t
want to pressure her.”

“Has she talked to Grace?”

“Yeah, and Grace pretty much told Ellie the
same thing I did. She needs to take a break from trying to get
pregnant and just enjoy her time with Gunner. I know Gunner is so.
He’s learning about the cattle business, so Garrett and Emma can
retire for good, he’s designing their house. Besides Jeff, I’ve
never in my life seen a man who would do anything for the woman he
loves. He absolutely adores the ground Ellie walks on. It’s so
incredibly sweet, Mom.”

“He is a sweetheart, no doubt. I would have
to say you and Ellie are two very lucky bitches.”

“Oh my god, Mom! Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! And
people wonder where I get it from.”

“Come on, let’s go meet Ellie and find you a
dress.”

***

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Jeff’s
voice.

“Good morning, babies.”

I had to smile. I sat up in bed and watched
him carry over a tray full of food, setting it down over my
lap.

“Oh my gosh, what’s all this?” I looked at a
bowl of fresh fruit sitting next to a plate full of scrambled eggs,
two pieces of whole wheat toast, and blueberry muffins along with a
glass of orange juice.

“It’s breakfast for my two favorite
people.”

“Two, huh?”

“Yep, you and the boy,” Jeff said with the
cutest damn smile on his face.

“The boy, huh? What makes you so sure it’s
gonna be a boy?”

“I’m not sure at all. I figured I’d just take
turns each day. Today, the baby is a boy, and tomorrow, a girl That
way, it’s equal time for both.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “I love
that idea. Now, about all this food, Jeff. I can’t eat all of this
even if I am eating for two.”

“Just eat what you can, babe, I’ll eat the
rest. By the way, happy birthday, Ari. I got you just a little
something to start off your day.” He reached into his pocket and
pulled out a jewelry box.

My stomach had butterflies
in it.
How does he do this to
me?

As soon as he handed it to me, I started to
take off the wrapping paper, and then I opened the box. When I saw
what was inside, I let out a gasp as I looked up at him. He was
smiling with tears in his eyes. As I looked back down, everything
started to blur. I reached up and wiped away my tears.

“Jeff, it’s...I don’t even know what to say.
It’s absolutely perfect.”

“Do you like it?” He started to take the
diamond angel-wing pendant necklace from my hands to put it on.

Leaning forward, I lifted up my hair. When
his hands brushed against my neck, I became covered in goose
bumps.

“Like it? Jeff, I love it. Beyond words, I
love it.”

He leaned over and kissed me so gently on the
lips that I let out a moan.

“Shit, Ari, don’t make noises like that, or
you won’t be eating breakfast anytime soon.”

I smiled against his lips and then let out
another low sexy moan.

The next thing I knew, the tray of food was
gone, and Jeff was on top of me, kissing me. What started out with
very slow gentle kisses quickly turned into something more heated
and passionate.

After I was able to catch my
breath, I smiled at him. “I think that was the best birthday
present
ever!
”

“I’m so glad to hear that, baby. Come on, I
have another surprise for you at Garrett and Emma’s house.”

“Jeff, wait. Before we go up there, I need to
tell you something.”

“Is everything okay?” Jeff looked
panicked.

“Yes, I mean, it is with me, but this is
about Ellie.”

“What about her? Is everything okay with
her?”

I let out a small laugh. “Would just let me
finish? I didn’t tell Ellie about the baby. She’s been so upset
with the fact that she has not gotten pregnant yet, and I feel like
if I told her then I’d be rubbing it in her face.”

Sitting down on the bed, Jeff rubbed his
hands down his face.

“Fuck. I didn’t even think about how this was
going to be for Ellie and Gunner.” He looked over at me and reached
for my hand. “They’re going to be happy for us, baby. You know that
right?”

“Yeah, I know that, it’s just... I’m so early
on in the pregnancy, so I was thinking of waiting to tell everyone
until after the wedding. Maybe we could even wait until after New
Years? Just… well you know, just in case.”

“Ari, listen to me. Everything is going to be
okay. Please don’t worry about losing the baby. We’re going to do
everything we can to make sure this baby is born healthy and happy.
You can’t live in a glass box, baby. You’ve gotta live life. As far
as telling people, I think you’re right. We need to wait until at
least after Christmas.”

“I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, baby. Now, eat your
breakfast, so we can head up to the ranch house. Gunner is probably
pissed that I backed out on helping him and his dad mend a fence
this morning.”

Jeff got up and made his way back out to the
kitchen. I could hear him cleaning up as I tried to eat all the
food he put on my plate.

When my cell phone went off, I reached over
to grab it and then saw a text from Ellie.

Ellie:
Happy birthday, bitch! I love you more than life itself. See
you soon

”

Then, I saw Heather and
Amanda’s messages.
Hmm, I must of missed
those earlier.
I read both of them and sent
off my thank-you’s to each.

Then, I sent another one to
Heather:
Are you going to be at the party
tonight?

Heather: Yes
of course! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Studying my ass off..ugh. Love you.

I finished eating what I could, and then I
got up to get dressed. When I walked into the kitchen, Jeff was
walking around on his cell phone.

“Can you hear me now? Fucking cell
coverage!”

His words reminded me of
that day we got stranded when the Jeep wouldn’t start. I had to
laugh at the thought.
Ah, the
memories.

Jeff looked over at me and smiled. “It’s
alright, dude. The birthday girl just walked in so I can’t talk
anymore. I’ll catch up with you when I get into Austin.”

“Oh, that was just plain mean,

Jeff.” Jeff looked me up and down, and the
lust in eyes almost made me lose my breath.

“Again, Mr. Johnson?”

“Holy hell, Ari. You look amazing ,baby. I
wish I could, but we need to get up to the house.”

I looked down at what I had on: a white
T-shirt tucked into my jeans with my brown belt and cowboy
boots.

“What’s so special about this?”

“You look beautiful. Come on!” He reached
down and scooped me up.

I let out a scream.

“I can walk to the truck, you know.”

“Oh, I know, but this way, I get to keep you
close to my body,” Jeff said with a wink.

***

By the time we pulled up to
Emma and Garrett’s place, Ellie, Gunner, and his parents were all
sitting on the front porch.
Oh
god
. Ellie was holding a glass of sweet
tea. For some reason, I needed a glass, like right now.
What the hell?

“I’m so glad that Grace and Jack moved back
here after Jack retired from the Army,” Jeff said.

“Yeah, me too. Shit, I want some sweet tea!”
I practically yelled.

Jeff laughed and reached over for my hand
right before I was about to jump out of the truck.

“Ari, wait.”

I turned to look at him. “Yeah?”

“I just wanted to tell you what a lucky son
of a bitch I am to have you love me. I’m so happy right now, baby,
but I’m so afraid at the same time.”

Oh. My. God.
The butterflies were taking flight in my
stomach.