Fragile Hearts (Poplar Falls #4) - Amber Kelly Page 0,9
field full of colorful wildflowers.
“Hey, Faith. I’m your auntie Bells, and we are going to be great friends. No matter what, I will always have your back, even against your own mommy and daddy, if you need me to. I’ll have the fun house you come to stay at, and you will always be my favorite girl in the whole wide world,” I whisper to my new niece. “Thank you for waiting for me to get home before you came out to play.”
I kiss the top of her head, and she lets out a small whimper.
And just like that, I’m in love.
Myer comes to my side and smiles down at us.
“So, a baby girl. Sorry, big brother, I know you were hoping for a boy to teach how to ride and throw a football.”
He shakes his head. “I already have my boy. She’s exactly what I prayed for—a little girl who’s a spitfire like her momma and as strong as all the other women in my life. I’m a blessed man to be surrounded by beautiful females,” he says as he kisses the side of my head.
We get a few more minutes together before the room is flooded with everyone. Walker and Braxton walk in with their arms full of flowers and stuffed animals, and Sophie heads straight for me with her arms out. I relinquish the baby to her.
“Meet Faith, Auntie Sophie,” I say as I hand her over.
“Faith. Oh, I love it. You and our Lily Claire are going to be besties,” she tells the baby, and then she bursts into tears.
Braxton comes and wraps his arm around her shoulders.
“What’s wrong, Miss Sophie?” Beau asks.
“She’s just happy, buddy,” Braxton tells him.
Then, one by one, every woman in the room starts losing their own battle with happy tears.
Beau looks around in alarm.
“Women,” Walker says as he scoops Beau up. “They’re all crazy.”
Beau just nods his head in agreement and giggles.
“All right, everyone, let’s clear out and let Myer and Dallas and Faith get some rest.” Beverly urges us all to the door.
“Yes, we can all use a little beauty sleep,” Sophie agrees before handing the baby back off to Dallas.
“Beauty sleep? Woman, look at how pretty I am. I get any prettier, and no one will be able to stand to look at me!” Walker says as Elle nudges him forward.
“I already can’t stand to look at you, dipshit!” Charlotte says as she falls in behind them.
“Night, Dal,” he says as he is shoved out the door.
“Night, guys.”
Bellamy
Momma and I spent Sunday cooking a bunch of meals to freeze and put in Myer and Dallas’s freezer.
Today, I’m up with the chickens to start work.
Pop insisted that Myer take the next two weeks off from the ranch to help Dallas at home. So, I’m going to be pitching in as much as possible. I can’t do a lot of the harder work, but I can clean stalls with the best of them. Plus, Momma and I are going to be helping Mrs. Henderson look after Beau when she is at the bakery.
“I’m here. Where do you guys want me?” I ask as I enter the barn.
Pop is loading a truck with hay bales as Foster and Truett toss them down from the loft. Foster and Truett have worked at Stoney Ridge for Pop for as long as I can remember. They are my brother’s age and started when they were in high school.
“If you could feed and water the horses, that’d be a big help,” he says as he lifts another bale and drops it next to the others.
“Sure thing.” I grab one of the buckets by the sink and start to fill it with fresh water.
He stops and looks my way. “It’s sure nice to have you home for a while, sweetheart.”
“It’s good to be home, Pop. Just don’t get used to it.”
“I won’t; I won’t. But I will enjoy having my whole family together while I can,” he says before shutting the tailgate.
I smile at him. It’s nice to be home too.
Foster and Truett descend the ladder and join him.
“We’re off to fill the feedlots, but hopefully, we’ll be back before Dr. Haralson gets here to check on the mare in the foaling stall. If not, we shouldn’t be far behind,” Pop tells me before they all hop into the truck and drive out of the back of the barn.
Oh boy, another baby is coming.
I spend the next couple of hours getting my work done, and once all