Last Chance Texas, page 27
“Nathan—”
“Kelsey, please. Just hear me out.”
When she nodded, he continued. “I’ve talked to Sarah at length about this, and have finally concluded that with any child, there are risks. It took my kid sister to knock some sense into me about this. My judgmental attitude about the in vitro was wrong. The more I got to know you, the more I realized that you wanted this child so much you’d have gone to any lengths to get him.”
“That’s true, Nathan.”
“Truth be told, Kelsey, I finally realized that there’s a child out there who will do great things by having you as a mother.”
The comment touched her deeply. “I appreciate that.”
He continued talking, and this time it sounded like someone filled with a deep longing. “If I’d had a lick of sense, I’d have encouraged you to have this child on your own terms from the beginning. It’s not my place to judge you, or to try and decide how other people should live their lives. I’m a slow learner, Kels, but I’ve come around.”
“I suspect you have.”
“When you love someone, you have their best interests at heart. If that means you find someone more in line with your values, then, I’m all for that.” He stopped suddenly, and cleared his throat. When he continued talking, there was a hitch in his voice that hadn’t been there before. “I have no allusions about us, Kelsey. We’re total opposites. I suspect you can do a lot better than a West Texas cowboy.”
Kelsey stared at Nathan in disbelief, and realized that this was the opportune time to show him the painting. And to tell him how she really felt about him.
“I want you to open up your birthday present now. Can you help me carry it to the house? It’s in the car.”
~ ~ ~
When Kelsey first insisted he open his birthday gift at two in the morning, Nathan thought her to be insane. For the second time that day, he considered this was Kelsey’s swan song.
They both unwrapped the package it in the living room, at Kelsey’s insistence. He knew it was a painting and that accounted for her eagerness to show him. So, she’d begun painting again. He hoped in some small way, he’d had something to do with that.
“Step back, Nathan, and take a good look.” Her voice was filled with pride as she watched him view the portrait.
The colors were spot on, the magic of that day coming back to life as he studied every detail of the portrait. “This is amazing, Kelsey. Seriously. I had no idea you were this talented. Really, this is so great! I’m gushing, aren’t I?”
She laughed at the comment, and he considered this might be the very last time he heard that contagious laugh of hers. Only this time, he didn’t laugh along with her. He was already feeling the emptiness that would fill him once she left Alpine.
“Artists never get tired of people gushing over their work, I assure you.” Kelsey seemed in rare form now as she watched him react to the painting.
“You’re unbelievably talented.”
“Thank you, Nathan.” Her tone was soft, and as he studied her for what he suspected might be their last time together, he fought the urge to kiss her.
“You’re most welcome.”
“I’ve spent the last three months doing a lot of soul searching.” She dipped her head for several seconds and then looked back over at him. “Every time I painted those creases in your cowboy hat, I thought about how threadbare it was. Whenever I worked on the skin tones on your hands, I thought of the night we danced at the karaoke bar, how strong your arms felt when you wrapped them about me. So you see, Nathan, even though we were nine hours apart, I thought of you always. Not a day went by that I didn’t.”
Her honesty stunned him. Reaching over, he pulled her against him, and began kissing her. When she moaned, he cradled the back of her neck in his hands. Lifting her face toward him, he kissed her thoroughly. “Kels, I love you.”
“I love you too, Nathan. That’s what I came to tell you.”
The two continued kissing, and he suspected before long, they’d need to continue this upstairs– in his bedroom. With Jessica and Tommy over at Jake’s, now would be the perfect time to ask her.
“Will you marry me? I’ll be a good husband to you, I swear it. You’ll do right by me, Kelsey, I promise.”
She stood on her tiptoes and placed both hands on his face. “Of course I’ll marry you. And just for the record, cowboy, I don’t believe in long engagements.”
Chapter 21
October
As the three women sat down to eat, Kelsey looked about the tea room, thrilled Meredith had driven down to see her and Rachel.
“She looks more than eleven weeks along, doesn’t she?” Rachel looked over at Kelsey as the three of them sat down to eat lunch.
Kelsey touched her stomach, eager for the day the baby would kick. It had become a ritual at the Wainwright house. Nathan never stopped touching her belly and seemed elated at the prospect of them having their own child.
“Nathan, of course, assumes it’s a boy since I got big so quickly. But we’ll see. We go in later today to hear the baby’s heartbeat.” She felt her eyes begin welling up and Meredith leaned over, giving her a hug.
“It’s so good for the three of us to be together again. It’s kind of lonely back there in Dallas without you girls.” Meredith patted Kelsey’s stomach for a second and then continued talking. “Who would have dreamed when we took that trip to the Cowboy Poetry Gathering that one of my best friends would marry a widower and end up pregnant to boot?”
“Who knows, Mere, maybe one day you’ll move out here. Ever thought of getting away from the rat race back there in Dallas?” Kelsey had meant it as a joke, but when she saw the sullen expression on Meredith’s face, she realized how lonely Mere was.
Rachel quickly tried to smooth things over. “That trip to Europe Blake’s taking you on sounds wonderful.”
Meredith managed a weak smile and began moving the lettuce on her salad about with her fork.
“Meredith, I hope—”
“Kelsey, let’s not talk about me right now. You’re the one having a baby. We’re here to celebrate this new life. We can always talk about my marriage.”
Kelsey took the hint and before long all three were discussing baby names.
The three of them talked nonstop for the better part of an hour, and by the time they got up to pay the bill, Kelsey was stuffed. Nathan would be going with her for the baby checkup, just as he always did. She’d have to shoo him away when she stepped on the scale.
Glancing at her watch, Kelsey realized she was running several minutes behind. “I need to leave now, or I’ll be late for my appointment. See you later. I’ll let you know what the doctor says.”
She raced to the door of the tearoom and saw Nathan pulling up in his pickup truck. He was all smiles as he rolled down the window to greet her. “Hey, mama. Time to get a move on.”
When she walked over to the passenger side, he threw open the driver’s side door and jumped out of his truck. “Hey! Take it easy. You shouldn’t be getting in here without me. You could lose your footing. Be careful, honey.”
He’d always been protective, but it was especially true now. They were like two comfortable shoes now as they lived like any ordinary couple. When he’d buckled her and gotten back in the truck himself, he leaned over, his baritone voice rumbling as he traced her mouth with his index finger.
“I love you. Can you believe we’re going to hear our baby’s heartbeat? Isn’t that something, Kels? Isn’t it?” He smiled broadly, exposing that dimple on the right side she’d grown to love. In some ways it was a tell-tale sign, kind of a barometer telling her his happiness level. And today the man was over the moon.
Thirty minutes later the doctor walked into the examining room. She could see the tension on her husband’s face as they prepared to hear the heartbeat. After rubbing the jelly on her swollen tummy, the doctor leaned over. He’d run the stethoscope across her stomach several times, a puzzled expression on his face.
Kelsey felt her pulse rising as the doctor continued trying to find the heartbeat. “Dr. Branson, please. What’s wrong? Is something wrong?”
“Hey, baby. Calm down. Everything’s going to be all right.” Although Nathan’s voice sounded confident, she suspected he was starting to worry as well. He just didn’t want her to panic since she was the one carrying their child.
“Everything’s perfect. Nothing’s wrong at all. Sorry if I worried you. You got some baby names picked out?” The enormous smile on the doctor’s face as he spoke told her all was well.
“Yes.” Kelsey began, relieved everything was as it should be. “We actually have one we both agree on.”
“Just one?” The doctor replied, smiling broadly. “You might want to pick out another. You’re carrying twins.”
~ ~ ~
Nathan could barely contain himself. Twins. The look on his wife’s face had been priceless. Kelsey’s jaw had dropped and those yellow flecks in her eyes that always flickered when she was excited were going wild.
They’d gotten halfway out to the truck when he stopped in the middle of the parking lot. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her deeply. The pregnancy had made Kelsey’s desire to make love even more intense, if that were possible. The woman was on fire. She couldn’t seem to keep her hands off him. And that suited him just fine.
“You don’t have to go back to work today, do you?” As their gazes locked, he shook his head.
“No. I don’t. And the kids are at school until three. Got anything special in mind?” She gave him a playful punch in the arm as he tried to cop a feel.
“Nathan. Not here.” She protested only slightly. They were both insane about one another, doing little to hide the fact.
“Wow! Twins! Am I the man or what?” When she didn’t reply, Nathan continued talking about his prowess, waiting for her to take the bait. “Guess I didn’t need to worry about shooting blanks.”
“Nathan.” She rolled her eyes at his comment, looking as though she realized he wasn’t about to let up.
“I even gave you two for the price of one.”
“Oh, good grief.” Shaking her head, she laughed louder than the first time.
“Well, you have to admit I’m a pretty amazing guy.”
“Okay, mister, I’m going to give you a little anatomy lesson here, even though, since you’re a vet, you should already know this. There are two options here. Take your pick. The first option, we’ll call it “A” is that you’re extremely virile, a real stud to have impregnated me with two babies, rather than one.”
“Well . . . I . . .”
“I’m not finished, Nathan. The other option, let’s call that “B” is that I’m nearly thirty-six years old and as women age, their chances of multiple births increases significantly.”
He looked out the window for several seconds, pretending to think it over. When he looked back at her, he smirked. “Think I’ll go with option A.”
“You would.”
“I gather you think that all this has absolutely nothing to do with my prowess.”
“You’re a mess, Nathan. You know that?” When she poked him in the ribs, he grabbed her hands and the two of them began kissing.
“What’d ya say we drive home and take this into the bedroom?” After he made the suggestion, his wife rolled her eyes.
“Sounds like a plan, cowboy. Let’s go.”
Tessa Gray, Last Chance Texas
