excited or scared, and his heartbeat kept sprinting nonetheless. He approached her, but she didn’t turn to retrieve anything from the bathroom.
“I’m pregnant, Bear,” she said, giggling immediately afterward. “I’m late for my period—really late, but I had a touch of that flu Oakley had, and I just thought that was why I was a little sick in the morning. I haven’t been throwing up or anything.”
She did pace into the bathroom then, but Bear was still trying to process her first few words. He couldn’t move and think so hard at the same time.
“And then we had all those parties, and I thought my stomachaches were because of all that rich food or whatever.” She appeared in the doorway again, and this time, she held something in her fingers.
“But when I realized I should’ve had another period by now, I stopped at the store last night and got a pregnancy test.” She was talking so fast, and Bear was still back on those first few words.
“It says to take it in the morning, because you know, that’s when the hormones are the highest—that’s why you’re sick. Did you know that? I didn’t know that—anyway. I took it and got in the shower, and it says I’m pregnant.” She looked down at the stick in her hand and then back to him, her eyes wide.
Bear swept her into his arms, wonder and joy filling him now. “My sweet Sammy,” he said. “I’m so excited.”
“Are you?”
“Of course I am,” he said, pulling back to look at her. “I’ve always said I wanted kids. We’ve been trying since we got married.”
“It’s August,” she said. “But like I said, I think I’ve missed two periods now. I’m probably at least two months along. Which means I’ll be due in…March? Maybe end of February.”
“We have to go to the doctor today. He’ll tell us, right?”
“I can’t go today,” she said. “I have that meeting this morning, and two cars I said I’d deliver today.”
“Sammy,” he said. “You’re pregnant. The cars can wait.”
She looked up at him, several emotions flying through her expression. “I’m pregnant.”
He whooped and lifted her off her feet. She squealed too, the towel twisted in her hair slipping. “Bear,” she laughed.
“You’re not even going to work today,” he said. “I’m calling the doctor right now.” Not that he knew who to call.
“You’re crazy,” she said. “It’s six-fifteen in the morning.”
“So I have time to figure out which doctor to call. I think there’s a specific kind you see when you’re pregnant.”
She laughed again, but Bear simply gazed down at her. He loved going to bed with her at his side. He loved waking up to his alarm and looking over to see if he’d disturbed her. He loved everything about Sammy, and while everything wasn’t perfect between them, they were both working. They both tried to forgive. They both had honest conversations.
“I love you,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss her.
She kissed him back, and Bear found his hand sliding down to her stomach as if he could feel the life there through the towel and all of her skin and muscle. “I can’t believe you’re going to have my baby,” he whispered. “I love you so much. So, so much.”
“I love you, too, Bear.” She kissed him again, and Bear let himself get lost in the touch and smell and love of this good woman.
“There he is,” Ranger said when Bear walked into the conference room in his suite. “How’s it looking out there?”
“Good,” Bear said, brushing his hand up the back of his neck again. He needed to shower again already, as cutting hay seemed to get the stuff everywhere. “We’ve almost got the north and west sections done. Royce is mowing the last field now.”
They’d been out working all night, as Bear liked to mow when it was dark, so the fields were ready to dry in the hot August sun the moment it came up. He was getting too old to pull the all-nighters, but he had good men who could do it when he had to stop. He paid double the daily rate for all-night work, and the sign-ups for it never ended.
“I have two, no, three, things to add to the agenda,” he said, glancing at Cactus as he sat down. “Hey, Cactus. Haven’t seen you for a while.”
“Same,” Cactus said, a smile actually touching his mouth. “I have something for the agenda too.”
“And you guys forgot how to text?” Ranger asked, frowning.
“You know about