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“I lied,” he grits out. “Why?” “Because you’ve never been just the nanny, Willa.”
“I love Luke. You love Luke. And the three of us feel right together. Tonight she’ll be gone and you’ll still be here. At the end of this summer, you’ll leave, but you’ll be back. Because there’s no way in hell that this ends here. I won’t allow it. We’re going to figure this out. You got me?”
Like he can read my mind, he leans over my back and grits out, “You want it all, Willa? The house? The babies? The ranch?”
“You’re going to spend as much time as you want at our house,” he says, while thrusting into me slowly. “You’re going to work whatever job you want. Wherever you want. But you’ll always have a place here. A home here. I’ll make you coffee every morning. I’ll leave you all the Post-it notes you want. I’ll cook your dinner every day. I’ll eat your pussy in the hot tub before bed every damn night.”
I groan and lean back in my chair. “Will you take back my feminist card if I tell you I really just want to live in that little house on the ranch, teach guitar lessons, get titty-fucked in the hot tub, and have a bunch of adorable babies?”
I just shake my head before turning to Sloane. She’s standing beside Violet but has her full attention on Jasper, like she has since she was a kid. And he’s fucking clueless, like he has been since he was a kid.
“I’ll grab you one for the road. Also, Summer told me to never go in that hot tub again. The fuck you been doing in there?” “Get fucked, Rhett. I use chlorine tabs in there and test the water regularly.” “Is the water pregnant yet?” he tosses over his shoulder while jogging away.
Willa’s eyes bug out when a doctor walks into our waiting room with her face turned down to the clipboard in her hands. “Winter?” The doctor’s head snaps up, icy eyes widening only momentarily. “Like Summer’s sister, Winter?” I blurt because I’ve heard stories about this woman.
“Yes.” Her lips thin, and her heels click against the floor as she shuts the door. “The one and only. I’m sure you’ve heard only good things,” she says dryly before adding, “but I promise your fingers are in excellent hands, Mr. Eaton.” Hoo boy. Another woman who could use someone to tell her some good things about herself.
I’ve known Winter since we were teenagers. When Summer was in the hospital, we spent some time together. Winter isn’t as bad as everyone has made her out to be. She’s been dealt a shit hand.
I was also there in the hospital, sitting by Summer’s bedside, when Winter would sneak out of the house to be with her too. But only if Summer was sleeping. It’s an unspoken secret Winter and I have kept for years.
“Everything is fine.” Her voice cracks, and I feel her chest hitch when she sighs. “Fuck. That’s not true. Everything is a mess. And I lost the baby.”
I laugh but stop as I process the words. Pre-period I’m always extra-bitchy. I’m a couple of days into my placebo pills for the month but nothing has started. The other day, Summer complained about her cramps, and I just tittered like a sex-drunk idiot. The blood drains from my face.
Winter’s eyes scan me, intelligence flashing in every glance. “Oh shit,” she says, rearing back a little. “Did you let that cowboy knock you up, Willa Grant?”
Winter tracked me down a pregnancy test while Cade had his fingers casted. It came back positive for a tiny Eaton, and I just sat in the waiting room staring into space.
“I didn’t do this on purpose.” He blinks at me. “I swear I’m on birth control, but apparently barfing it up for two days straight isn’t ideal.”
“Was that a carrot?” is the first thing Cade says to me since I told him I was pregnant with his baby.
“She’s pregnant.” I can feel my dad’s stare, see him take a thoughtful sip out of the corner of my eye. “Did I let you watch the bulls get turned out with the heifers too much as a child, boy?” I groan. “You got something against condoms?” “Dad.” “Some sort of breeding kink I don’t know about?”
“I don’t care. Don’t you get it? I’m in love with you, Willa. Prickly legs, random carrots in your purse, pregnant, not pregnant. I want you.”
“I saw your bathroom garbage is full of a bunch of what you already know. How many tests did you buy?” “Twenty.” “Seems reasonable.” She nods, taking another bite.
“Do you have any coins? I want to make a wish.” Weight lands in my stomach and my lungs constrict. Such a simple request, and yet it feels intensely meaningful. I’m doing with my little boy what my mom once did with me.
“And this one is yours.” He points at a heart that’s right next to one with the initials C.E., except this one says W.E. “My initials are W.G., bud.” I give him another squeeze and he giggles. Cluelessly. “I know. But dad made that one. I told him the same thing.”
“I love you, Cade,” I murmur against his chest. “I love you too, Red.”
Leaning back away from me, she gives me a playful little smirk. I quirk a brow in her direction. “You know the rule, Red?” “You wear the hat, you ride the cowboy.” She winks at me, looking fucking adorable wearing my hat.
And I realize in that moment maybe I am heartless after all, because the beautiful girl with the copper hair grinning back at me right now is the one who stole it.
Whoever said pregnancy is beautiful can die a fiery death, as far as I’m concerned.
“Hey, Willa,” he says, turning my way. “Hey, Luke.” I wink at him. “Can I ask you something?” “Always.” His wide blue eyes take on an uncertain expression, and his lips press together. “What is the baby going to call you?” “Well, babies don’t talk, Luke, so I imagine they’ll just babble a lot of random shit.” He gives me a scoff and a little eye roll, looking like a dead ringer for his dad when he does. “I meant once they can talk. Will they call you mom?” My eyes travel over his face as I chew. I haven’t even known him for a year and still find myself marveling at how much he’s changed. “I
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Our little girl, Emma Eaton, comes into the world healthy. Kicking and screaming and surrounded by so much love that tears trail freely down our cheeks.
The nurses place her tiny body on my chest, and I stare down at her in wonder. Light eyes. Dark hair. She’s us. “She’s perfect,” I whisper. “Both my girls are,” is what Cade says as he crawls onto the bed beside me and holds us both.
