would you please? Is Pax coming over tonight?”
“That’ll be him on the porch now.” She got up from her chair.
“Hey, food arrived.” She opened the door and stepped into his open arms. “Lucas is joining us.”
“Great.” Pax kissed the top of her head. “I want to hear how Landon worked out today. Maverick and I owe you big-time for taking him in.”
“Honey,” she whispered, “I believe giving your brother a job is nothing compared to what you’re doing for me.” She took his hand and led him into the living room, where the containers of food had already been opened on the coffee table.
“Help yourself,” Matt said. “You’ll have to get your own beer. Me and Lucas is set and we ain’t gettin’ up.”
“I’ll bring our drinks,” Alana said. “Lemonade?”
“Sweet tea if you have it made,” Pax answered. “Remember, Matt, I’ve given up alcohol until…” He looked over at Lucas.
“Until what?” Lucas asked.
“Alana, you want to tell him?” Pax removed his hat and hung it on a lampshade.
“I’m pregnant,” Alana said.
Matt slapped Lucas on the back. “How about that for great news? We’d as soon it didn’t get out until after the wedding, though. We don’t want folks sayin’ that’s the reason Pax is marryin’ her.”
Lucas let out a whoop, removed his hat, and slung it in the air. It came down from the high cathedral ceiling and landed on a pair of steer horns hanging above the sofa. “That’s the best news we’ve heard since we started talkin’ about the wedding. A baby on the ranch!! I told you that I was goin’ to live long enough to see a grandbaby, didn’t I?”
“You sure did, and since you helped me raise Alana, I think our baby ought to call you Papa,” Matt said.
Lucas puffed out his chest. “I would be honored to be the new baby’s papa.”
Alana brought two glasses full of sweat tea back to the living room and sat down on the sofa beside Pax. “From all the noise, I guess Lucas knows now?”
“Yes, I do, and congratulations to both of you. Promise I can buy the baby its first pony like I did yours,” Lucas said.
“We’d be honored.” Pax picked up a paper plate and handed it to Alana. “How’d Landon do today?”
“You done good, Alana, when you stole that boy from next door,” Lucas chuckled. “He’s a hard worker. I set him to stringing barbed wire. When he finished the job, he moved on down the line without bein’ told and started replacing the old wooden posts with metal ones. I wish I had a dozen like him. He’s strong as an ox and kind of quiet. He sings when he’s busy, though. Hasn’t got a voice for shit, but he seems to enjoy it.”
“What kind of songs does he sing?” Pax asked.
“It was George Jones today,” Lucas answered. “I asked him why a kid from California would be singing Jones, and he said there was an old foreman on the ranch where he used to stay in the summer who loved country music. He admired the old guy and hung around him as much as he could. He got to listenin’ to that kind of music and learned to like it, he said. He never even stopped stringin’ barbed wire when he answered my questions. Damn near worked me to death today, tryin’ to keep up with him. Tomorrow I’m going to give him a job and then go on about supervisin’ somewhere else. That kid don’t need bird-doggin’. He’s got the kind of ethic that you and Maverick have always had.”
“Sounds like he’s going to do fine, then,” Pax said. “Matt, you do know that he has a business degree, don’t you? You could steal him from Lucas and get him to work in the office some of the time.”
“Well, now, that’s even more good news,” Matt said. “This winter, when things slow down a little, you might think about that, Alana.”
There was a lot that she’d have to think about when winter came, Alana thought, like what is the best way to take care of a new baby, how to get past the grief of losing her father. Thank God she and Pax had decided to wait on the divorce. She wanted him beside her through the next few months. No, that wasn’t right. She didn’t only want him, she needed him in her life forever.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Matt got his wish on Thursday afternoon when seven women and four children all arrived at