Just a Positive Pregnancy Test - London Casey Page 0,102
Ma?” Mila asked.
“Yeah?” Theresa asked.
“Can we laugh now?”
Theresa smiled. “Please… yes…”
Chapter Forty-Seven
MILA
Edith on the horse with Crosby walking next to her… wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t sure what was said, but at some point, Crosby handed Edith the reins and stepped back.
“What is he doing?” Thomas called out. “What is she doing?”
“Thomas, she’s fine,” Tyler said. “Just relax. You’re going to make something bad happen here. Give her a chance.”
Thomas wasn’t having any of Tyler’s advice.
Thomas went one direction and Tyler went back to Olivia’s side.
We all stood there and watched as Edith took care of the horse on her own.
“Well, she’s doing it,” Silas whispered to me.
“Careful,” I whispered back. “Don’t let anyone hear a thing.”
I looked at Ma.
She looked at me and shrugged her shoulders.
Edith had the horse slowly walk along the fence.
Baby Hank let out a little crying sound and I reached for him.
Ma gave up her hold on the baby.
I cradled him in my arms and stared into his eyes.
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering if this is the kind of stuff we do here in this family? And it is. I know Edith is probably too old to be on a horse, but you know what? In this family, we’ve all learned that you have to live. You have to take chances, good and bad. You have to have some fun… good and bad.
I felt someone standing behind my right shoulder.
“He’s perfect,” Crosby said to me.
“He really is.”
“I knew you could do it,” he said, touching my other shoulder.
“It’s still hard to believe,” I said. “I have a baby now.”
“It’s hard for me to think about,” Crosby said. “That means my sister… does stuff… my little sister… she’s not innocent anymore…”
I looked back and smiled. “Crosby, the word innocence waved goodbye a long time ago.”
“Oh, my ears,” he said. “Stop.”
“You’re one to talk,” I said.
“I’m a guy. It’s different.”
“Don’t even start with that crap,” I said.
Crosby gently touched the back of his pointer finger to baby Hank’s cheek.
Baby Hank smiled and looked right at Crosby.
“That’s right, my little man,” Crosby said. “You and me. We’re going to have some fun in this world together. Between your father teaching you guitar and me teaching you some cowboy stuff, the ladies are going to love you. You’re going to-”
“Stop,” I said. “I don’t want to know where you’re going with that.”
“Nowhere,” Crosby smiled. “I love you, Mila. You’re a great sister, you know that? A bit of a pain all the time, but you know how to make a cute baby.”
Crosby kissed the top of my head and the top of baby Hank’s head.
“Thanks,” I said. “Shouldn’t you be out there with Edith? You kind of just snuck away, huh?”
“She threatened my life,” he said. “Things were going to be cut and diced up. She’s doing just fine. Look at her go.”
Crosby began to walk back toward the fence.
That’s where Cliff had wandered too.
He had one foot up on the fence and hung his hands over the top, holding a cowboy hat in his hands.
“Way to go, Edith!” he said. “Keep yourself steady. Trust the horse so the horse will trust you.”
“I don’t like that,” Ma whispered to me.
“What?”
“You’ll see…”
I tried to look for Thomas to gauge his reaction.
He had already made his way toward Cliff.
I sucked in a breath.
Cliff started to yell something else at Edith.
Thomas turned Cliff around.
And punched him.
“Thomas,” Crosby growled.
Poor Cliff was caught off guard by the punch. He stumbled back, throwing his hat to the ground. He kept his balance though, which only made Thomas more irritated.
“He’s been flirting with her this entire time!” Thomas bellowed.
Edith looked back and realized what had happened.
She started to turn but the horse began to get confused.
“Crosby, watch out,” I warned.
Crosby took one look and began to run toward the horse.
He made it just in time, before anything happened. He took the reins from Edith and made sure the horse stayed calm.
That left Tyler alone with two old men who wanted to beat the hell out of each other.
I threw an elbow at Silas.
“I know,” he said to me.
Silas wandered off to get into the middle of it all himself.
He picked up Cliff’s cowboy hat and dusted it off.
“You got your one in, pal,” Cliff said to Thomas.
“There’s more where that came from,” Thomas said. “The knuckle sandwich factory is open all day long, my friend.”
Thomas showed his fists.
Tyler put his hands over Thomas’s fists. “Will you calm down?”