Saved (53 page)

I looked up at her with
tears building in my eyes.
We’re going to
have a baby.

“Ellie, I’m not upset about that. I mean, if
it’s okay, I want to go to all your appointments with you from
now.”

“Of course, it’s okay! Are you happy?”

I looked up at her and saw the tears in her
eyes. I took the back of my hand and ran it along the side of her
face.

“I’ve never felt so happy in my life, Ells. I
love you so damn much.”

Ellie smiled and those beautiful blue eyes
lit up as a single tear rolled down her face. I wiped it away and
then stood up. I helped my beautiful girl up to her feet before I
grabbed her and kissed her. The small moan she let escape ran
through my body.

I pulled away and smiled. Then, I turned and
started walking us back to my truck. Later, I’d have Ellie drive me
back over here to the pick up the ranch truck, right now I just
needed to get her home.

“Wait, where are we going?” Ellie asked.

I was practically dragging her along the
way.

“Home. I need to make love to you right
now.”

She let out a giggle and ran up next to
me.

“Well, who am I to argue with such a romantic
gesture?”

I reached down and picked her up as she let
out a little scream.

“Be ready, baby. I’m gonna rock your pregnant
world.”

Ellie laughed as she pushed up off my
back.

“Bring it on, Gunner. Bring it on.”

CHAPTER
FIFTY-FIVE

JEFF

I walked down to the barn to check on Josh.
He’d been staying with us the last two weeks, along with Heather. I
still had to chuckle when I thought of the look on their faces when
they both saw each other, then when they found out they were both
staying with us. It was priceless. I would have paid a million
bucks to have that shit recorded.

Ari told me that they went for a ride
together this morning, so at least they were making progress.

When, I walked into the barn, Josh was
brushing Sweet Pea, the new mare I bought last week.

“You know, country life agrees with you,
Josh. Gunner and I sure could use your help out here, especially
with Drake moving to Austin and Aaron helping Jenny more and more
with her event-planning business.”

Josh turned and smiled at me.

“I would move out here in a heartbeat if I
thought I could. My business is growing pretty fast in Austin
though.”

“Dude, you can make furniture anywhere. All
this damn fresh air might also inspire you..”

Josh took in a deep breath. “All I smell is
horse shit, dude.”

I let out a laugh.

“How was your ride this morning with
Heather?”

“Good. She still seems distant though, almost
like she’s doing something wrong by spending time with me.”

“I think I know why.”

Josh stopped brushing and looked at me.

“Alright, asshole, you’re planning on sharing
with me right?”

“Do you remember when Heather came back from
the bathroom so upset on the night of my wedding?”

“Of course I do.”

“Well, first off, I need you to know that
Heather just told Ari and Ellie this a couple of weeks ago.”

“What? What did she tell them, Jeff?”

“In the bathroom that night, Lynda told
Heather that you asked her to marry you, but y’all had decided to
wait on telling anyone.”

Josh dropped the brush to the ground.

“Wait…what? I haven’t asked Lynda to marry
me. She keeps pushing me, but I’ve never even mentioned marriage to
her.”

Josh put his hands on his knees. I walked up
to him and put my hand on his back.

“Motherfucker. Is that why she started
partying and everything? She thought I was getting married?” Josh
asked.

“I guess so. Every time we ever asked her to
come along and do something with us, as soon as she found out that
you and Lynda were going to be there, she’d change her mind. Josh,
do you love Lynda?”

Josh stood up and looked at me.

“I care about her, but do I love her enough
to marry her? No, not at all.”

“Do you love Heather?” I asked.

Josh looked at me with tears in his eyes.
“Yes, I love her more than anything.”

“Do you want to spend the rest of your life
with her and only her?”

“Yes.”

“Then, go the fuck after her. She took Rose,
and is down at the river reading.”

“Yeah, I know, I helped saddle her up.”

“Sweet Pea could use some exercise.” I said,
raising my eyebrows.

Josh grabbed a bridle and put it on Sweet
Pea, and then jumped up on her.

“You’re riding bareback, dude?”

Josh smiled and took off toward the
river.

“Do you know where she’s at along the
river?”

“Ari just said Heather went for a ride to the
river to read.”

“Wish me luck!”

“You got this, Josh. Just be honest with her.
Wait!”

Josh stopped Sweet pea while I ran over to my
truck and opened the door to the backseat. I smiled when I found
the folded-up quilt. I ran over to Josh and handed it to him.

“What the fuck do I need a quilt for?”

I just looked at him.

“Oh, um, right. Thanks, dude!”

I watched Josh gallop off on Sweet Pea. I was
hoping for two things: the first, that he made it to Heather in one
piece and didn’t fall the fuck off the horse, and second, that
those two got their shit together once and for all.

By the time I got back to the house, I walked
in to see my very pregnant, very sexy wife standing at the kitchen
sink. She was listening to her iPod, and those hips were just
moving to the beat of the song. I walked up closer to see if I
could hear what she was listening to. I could hear Kenny Chesney’s
“She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.”, Then, she started to sing, or
rather scream the words. The last thing I wanted to do was scare
her, but when I came up behind her and put my hands on her hips,
she jumped and yelled.

She pulled her earbuds out as she turned
around. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, you asswipe. You scared the shit
out of me!”

I put my hand on her round belly.

“How are you and little bit doing this
afternoon?”

She smiled and moved my hand to the right
side of her stomach. Right then, the baby kicked…hard.

I smiled as I looked at Ari.

She smiled back at me. “I would say he’s
doing well. Me on the other hand…I’m so ready for this baby to be
out of my stomach. I’m so glad Dr. Wyatt is inducing me in two
days. I don’t think I could carry him around another day.”

I still couldn’t believe it. In two days, and
we would be having a baby at the hospital in Austin.

“Jeff, we really need to decide on a
name.”

I rolled my eyes and sat
down on the bar stool.
Ugh…baby names kill
me.
Even after we found out we were having
a boy, we still couldn’t agree on a name.

“You still set on Luke, Ari?”

“Yep. Are you still set on Hunter?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, how about we wait until we see his
face, and then we decide. Fair enough?”

Ari smiled and walked up to me. She kissed me
so sweetly and softly that I think I would have settled on Luke if
she asked again.

“Fair enough, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be
walking out of the hospital with the name Luke Drew Johnson.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re right baby.”

“Is Josh still down at the barn?”

“Nope, he took off bareback on Sweet Pea when
I explained what Lynda said about them getting married.”

Ari dropped the knife she’d been using to cut
up apples in the sink.

“You told him? I promised Heather that I
wouldn’t say anything, Jeff. I told her they weren’t engaged, and
she believed me. Why would you tell Josh?”

“Because he needed to know why Heather pushed
him away again. He has a right to know.”

Ari smiled and leaned against the sink. “So,
he went right after her, did he?”

“Yep, and I even gave him our lucky quilt to
take.”

Ari smiled and raised her eyebrows.

“That means…they could be down at the river
for a while.”

I stood up and took her into my arms. “You
double lock the backdoor, and I’ll double lock the front door.”

“I’m on it.”

I’d never seen my nine
months pregnant wife move so fast. When I looked down the hallway,
she was already taking off her shirt. I smiled and headed to the
front door.
Shit, I might have to keep her
pregnant all the time
. This girl was
hornier than a frat boy in a house full of virgins.

“Jeff! Hurry! Let’s do this before they come
back,” Ari yelled out from our room.

I walked down the hallway and headed into our
bedroom. She was already undressed and trying to get up on the
bed.

She turned and looked at me.

“Be creative! I can hardly move!”

I let out a laugh as I pulled my shirt over
my head, and then I started to take off my pants.

“Oh, don’t worry, baby. You won’t be
disappointed.”

CHAPTER
FIFTY-SIX

JOSH

Shit.
I should have asked Jeff if Heather had stayed on his property
or if she had ridden over onto the Mathews’ place.

Then, I saw her. With a blanket already laid
out on the ground, she was lying on her stomach, reading a book. I
jumped off Sweet Pea and decided to just let her roam. She would
probably make her way over to where Rose was tied up and
eating.

As I walked toward Heather, she didn’t look
up. The sound of the river must have been blocking out my
steps.

“Hey, Heather,” I called out.

When she looked up, I was hoping that she
wasn’t going to seem disappointed to see me.

She let a huge smile play across her face,
and I felt my own smile spreading across mine.

I love her. I only want her.

She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest.
She looked beautiful, sitting there under the blue sky. I could
practically see her blue eyes from here.

“Hey, what are you doing out here?” she
called out as I was walking closer to her.

By the time I got to her, she had stood
up.

I didn’t know what to say or how I should
even start it. So, I did the only thing I’d wanted to do since I
saw her walk into Jeff and Ari’s house two weeks ago. I inched
closer to her, took her face in my hands, and kissed her.

The moan that escaped from her mouth drove me
mad, and my dick was hard within seconds. It had nothing to do with
the fact that I had not slept with Lynda in months. It was because
I was kissing Heather. I craved her kiss and her touch more than
anything else in my life.

I pulled away from her mouth, so we could
catch our breath. When she closed her eyes, a tear rolled down her
face.

I took my thumb and wiped it away.

“I love you, Heather. I’ve only ever loved
you.”

Her beautiful blue eyes opened, and it was
like she was staring into my soul.

“I’m so sorry. I never meant for what
happened with Jerry to happen. I can’t get it out of my head. I’ve
tried to do everything I could think of to just forget it, but I
can’t. That was supposed to be you. I wanted that to be you so
badly, Josh.”

She started crying even harder.

I pulled her into me and held on to her.

“I wanted it to be you more than
anything.”

“It’s okay princess. Please don’t cry. It
doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is you and me,
Heather.”

She pulled away, looking at me.

“I know what people think about me, and
they’re wrong. I haven’t been with anyone since that night with
Jerry. I couldn’t be with anyone else but you.”

I leaned down and took her mouth with mine. I
kissed her with as much passion as I possibly could. I needed to
show her how much I loved and wanted her.

Heather pulled away again.

“Josh, I know you’re with Lynda, and I
wouldn’t want you to be unfaithful to her.”

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh.

“Heather, I have no intentions of staying
with Lynda. The minute she gets back from Costa Rica, I’m going to
tell her it’s over. She knows that I don’t love her. We haven’t
even slept together in months.”

“Really?” Heather asked, her voice a little
too excited.

I smiled at her.

“Yes, really. I’ve never loved anyone but
you. I only want to be with you.”

Heather slowly lowered herself onto the
blanket. When she was lying back all I could see was her chest
moving up and down. I knew she was scared to death.

I got down on the blanket and put my hand on
her stomach. I felt her whole body tremble under my touch. I was
nervous as hell. I hadn’t felt this way since the day we were in
Jeff and Ari’s hallway. I leaned down and captured her lips with
mine. Her hands immediately went in my hair, pulling me closer. She
was driving me crazy.

Slow, Josh. It needs to be special. This is
her real first time.

I slowly moved my lips away from hers.

“Princess, sit up for me.”

She looked confused for a second, but sat up
anyway. I got on my knees and kissed her forehead, then her nose,
and then down the side of her face to her neck.

“Oh god.” she said.

I started to kiss her gently on her lips as I
moved my hands to her T-shirt. I only broke the kiss to bring the
shirt over her head.

“Lie back down, baby.” I felt her body
trembling as I helped her lie back. I wanted to do everything I
could to make her feel loved and wanted.

I took my finger and pushed a piece of her
blonde hair behind her ear. Then, I traced down her jaw to her neck
and then lower to her chest. When I ran my finger along the edge of
her bra, she sucked in a breath. I leaned down and kissed the top
of her chest.