One Night with a Cowboy - Sara Richardson Page 0,23

knew people wanted to hear? Oh, maybe because he’d stood there and apologized to her just a few hours ago about not being available the night before and then he’d run off and been gone all morning. “We’ll see about the fishing spot,” Thea said, brushing off Wes’s sudden absence. “We have so many other fun things—”

Somewhere deep inside her beach bag, her phone rang. Thea pulled out a towel, her sun hat, three different types of sunscreen, and a water bottle before she found it. Jane! She lifted the phone to her ear and walked a few steps away from Ryan. “I’m so happy to hear from you!”

“Thea, I’m sorry I’m not there.” Jane sounded like she might be on the verge of tears.

“No way. I won’t let you apologize.” She almost started to cry, too, emotional mess that she was today. “Things here are great. I’m worried about you.” She purposely hadn’t called, knowing that Jane and Toby were occupied with constant checkups and preparations in case the baby came early. “How are you holding up?”

Jane sighed into the phone. “All’s good with the baby. But it’s hard to be here. It’s hard to sit still.”

“I can’t imagine.” Her nesting instinct had really kicked in during the last part of both her pregnancies. All she’d wanted to do was work on the nursery and organize the baby clothes. “You’re a champ. Being there is the best place you could be right now.”

“I know.”

But that didn’t make it any easier, Thea would imagine.

“I wanted to check in,” Jane said, raising her voice over some unintelligible noise in the background. “Are things going okay with Wes?”

Hmm. She wasn’t exactly sure how to answer that question. Thea glanced at Ryan, who had started to build a sandcastle on the beach. Gratitude washed over her again. “Wes has been amazing.” It wouldn’t be a stretch to say he saved the day, but she didn’t want to worry Jane and tell her about Ryan’s solo adventure. “Everything is going perfectly.” Well, everything except the minor breakdown she’d had earlier.

“Okay.” Jane paused. “Wes is great, but I know he’s got a lot going on, so I have a call in to August. You might see him around there soon.”

August? As in the eldest Harding brother? Thea had never met him.

“I just want to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible for all of you,” her friend went on.

Thea didn’t like the concern in her voice. “I’m not worried.” At least she was trying not to worry. Even if Wes didn’t step up, Thea had been around the ranch before. She knew how things went. “We’ll manage fine. All you need to do is sit back and relax and prepare for that baby. I can’t wait to hold her someday.”

“You and me both,” Jane said. “At least they’re monitoring everything. They’ll know if anything goes wrong.”

“Nothing will go wrong,” Thea assured her. “And the hospital stay will all be worth it. Soon you’ll be holding a little angel in your arms.” And there was no better feeling in the world. She knew that.

There was more commotion in the background. “The doctor is here and wants to chat again.” Her friend’s voice seemed to have perked up. Hopefully Thea had allayed her concerns about what was happening at the ranch.

“Take care of yourself and that baby,” Thea said, bidding her friend a quick goodbye before she hung up.

“Mom!” Ryan waved her over. “Come help me build a sandcastle.”

“Actually…” She checked her watch. “It’s about time for us to head up to the lodge to greet everyone else.” Who knew if Wes was around?

“Do we have to?” Her daughter groaned. “I was almost asleep.”

“I guess we have a few more minutes.” Thea eyed a water gun sitting in a toy bin nearby. Hmmm… Maybe a quick few minutes of impromptu fun would help Liv loosen up a little.

She winked at her son and crept over to the toy bin, lifting the water pistol into her hands. Her son’s eyes got wide as he rushed over to take it from her.

“You relax, sweetie,” Thea said to Liv, quietly pulling another squirt gun out of the bin. She joined Ryan at the shore, letting the cold water lap at her toes as she filled up the gun.

“Thank you.” Liv stretched out more on her lounger and Thea almost felt bad for what was about to happen. Almost.

She shared a wide, toothy grin with her son, and he yelled,

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