I smirk, eyeing my partner hungrily. All I want to do is get the mattress from the hallway and finally have her again. We haven’t had any privacy in weeks. We went from the cabin at SterlingRanch back to my cabin, and with there only being one bedroom, there hasn’t been a chance to do…anything.
Between hunting for this house, getting Cassidy’s storefront, and everything in between, we’ve been too busy to do more than just survive.
My girl raises a hand, wiggling her fingers. I help her up and immediately pull her into me, enjoying the way she fits snugly against my body. I can’t wait to see how these curves get reshaped over the next nine months.
“Maybe we should have told them today,” she murmurs, meeting my stare, her dark eyes full of worry. “I mean, it’ll be another huge change.”
“One I think they’ll be excited for,” I reply, cupping the side of her stomach.
Cassidy chews her lip as she covers my hand with hers. “Wait until the end of the first trimester,” she decides. “But I’ll need to get a feel for where they’re at.”
“They probably already sense something is up since we’re extending the cottage.” The kids know the plans: three beds to five is the goal for now, since there’s enough space and land to do it, and we don’t want them sharing rooms again. They’ll be teens soon enough, and they’re at an age where being more independent is crucial. The other room is a guest room for if Olivia ever travels to Colorado.
“Yeah, but they won’t guess I’m pregnant,” she whispers, eyes shining. “God, I can’t believe you knocked me up on the first try.”
I brush my nose against hers before kissing her. It’s long and slow, an exploration of one another. I taste every inch of her mouth with dedicated strokes, just enjoying how good it feels to finally be together.
Having this.
It definitely wasn’t easy getting here, but I’ll do everything in my power to keep it. Keep them. Sure, a surprise pregnancy definitely wasn’t in the cards for either of us, and it might be yet another disruption in the chaos that is our life, but like everything, we’ll handle it.
Together.
EPILOGUE
CASSIDY
TWO MONTHS LATER
Istare in shock horror at the very obvious marriage certificate glaring back at me. “Olivia, you didn’t,” I groan.
My sister appears on the screen, eyes wide with shock and fear. “I did.”
Beside me, curled into my side with a bag of Doritos, Cleo looks up at me. “Was it another cowboy?” she asks, totally serious.
Arlo and Caleb look up from their video game. “Wait, what?” Arlo asks, jumping from the other sofa. “What did Aunt Olivia do now?”
Olivia smacks her face. “Your aunt made a huge mistake while we were with Cousin Lennon. Nothing to be worried about.”
My sister gives me a look like I should have warned her the whole family was here, but, hey, how the hell was I supposed to know she’d be showing me her very real, very valid wedding certificate to a man namedFord? Like, who names their kid that?
“What are you going to do about your…mistake?” I ask.
She drops her hand, moving to where baby Christopher lies in his crib. She flips the camera around so we can see him. The little dude is wide awake, grinning, and has no idea his mother just gave him an accidental stepdaddy.
Look, mistakes run in our family. For me, getting knocked up twice by accident and falling in love with a man I just met.
For Olivia, it’s getting knocked up and then accidentally married in Vegas.
Hopefully, our children don’t follow in our footsteps.
“I don’t have time to findtwodifferent men,” Olivia says finally, flipping the camera back to her face so I can see the distress marring her features. “I still need to find Chris’s father.”
“You also need to findFordand get an annulment,” I reply seriously. “You have his full name. That should be relatively simple to do.”
Olivia chews her lip as she runs a hand through her messy hair. “You’re right. I’m getting nowhere with his father.” She stops and sighs. “You know what’s weird?”
“What?” I ask as Caleb and Arlo return to their video game quietly. It amazes me how quickly my children pulled him into their lives and how much they already adore him. I thought there would be more pushback, but I suppose they’ve always had a man in the house.
