to leave town for a weekend? Hmm. I don’t know.”
Rex laughed.
“You have someone in mind?”
“Bailey Weber,” he said without even thinking.
“Bailey? Moonshiners’ waitress Bailey? Bakery Bailey?”
“One and the same, yes.”
“She interested?”
“She mentioned it to me, so yeah, I’d say she’s interested.” Rex glanced down at the table. “Not the manager gig, no. I think she’s lookin’ for a maid position. Part-time.”
“And that’ll help us how? I mean, besides I won’t have to clean toilets anymore.” His eyes widened. “Wait. I won’t have to clean toilets anymore.”
“I was goin’ to be persuasive,” Rex told him. “I think she’d make a good manager. While she takes care of the guests, deals with meal prep and the like, we can do the manual labor.”
Jack pouted. He actually pouted. “You know how I feel about manual labor.”
Yes, he did. Jack was a bit spoiled, no doubt about it.
“It’s not a done deal,” Rex said with a sigh before taking a sip of his tea.
“Speaking of done deal,” Jack said. “You never told me how your breakfast with Bristol went. She doing okay?”
Rex frowned for a moment. “What does that have to do with ‘done deal’?”
“Nothing.” Jack flashed a smile. “Just needed a segue.”
Rex shook his head. “She’s doin’ good.”
Jack canted his head to the side and Rex knew he was trying to read his mind. He had purposely not told his husband about the details of that conversation because Bristol asked him not to. Or rather, she threatened bodily harm if he told anyone she was pregnant.
“That’s all you have to say? I need gossip, Rex. You know that.”
That was something Rex had learned about Jack after they were married. The man craved gossip. Granted, he probably should’ve figured since Jack wrote graphic novels. He was intrigued by fiction and what better to base it on than real life?
Jack leaned forward, lowered his voice. “Spill. Now.”
“What do I get if I do?”
His husband’s left eyebrow popped up, which was his way of seducing him.
And he’d be damned if it didn’t work. It always worked.
Rex sighed as though he was put out. “She’s pregnant.”
“Bristol’s pregnant? Oh, my God.”
“Jack. Damn it. Keep your—”
“Bristol’s pregnant?” Rachel asked, staring down at them with two plates in her hand. “Holy moly. That’s big news.”
Son of a bitch.
*
Ever since Kaden left Bristol’s house yesterday evening, more than a little disappointed that she had refused to go to Curtis and Lorrie’s for dinner, he had been thinking about her. More accurately, he was trying to determine the best way to broach the subject they were clearly avoiding.
Their relationship.
Specifically, what it meant for the three of them as well as the baby.
Rather than get frustrated the way he had last night, he figured it made more sense for them to talk this out. Which was why he’d proposed dinner tonight. Originally his offer had been for her to come to the ranch, but she had politely declined without giving him a reason.
But he knew. Oh, yeah. He definitely knew.
She was avoiding being seen with them.
Evidently she hadn’t given much thought to the fact she was driving around town in Keegan’s truck, or that both of their trucks had been parked at her house overnight. More than once.
But heaven forbid, if someone saw her at their house, rumors could start.
So here he was.
“I know you might not believe this, but I do have food,” Bristol said when Kaden carried a bagful of groceries into her house on Monday night.
“I believe you,” he said with a grin, “but I doubt you’ll have the stuff for steaks and baked potatoes.”
“And what if I do?” she shot back, her eyes glittering.
“Well, if you do, then…” He glanced around, considered it. “I’ll be your sex slave for the night.”
Her eyebrows rose slowly, eyes glittering with interest.
“But if you don’t, you have to be ours.”
Bristol laughed, her cheeks growing pink. “Where’s Keegan?”
“He dropped me off. Ran to the store to grab a six-pack.”
“I’ll have to be sure to stock beer in the future,” Bristol said sweetly.
Because he had missed her despite his frustrations, Kaden took a moment to greet her appropriately. And his version of appropriate consisted of a long, lingering kiss that ended up with her perched on the countertop, him standing between her thighs. He was surprised to see she was wearing pajamas—which appeared to be a sweatshirt and a pair of tiny shorts—although he’d warned her they would be stopping by.
Right before he put thoughts of dinner behind them and dragged her to the nearest