Page 136 of Never Left You

“A little?” she repeated. “More than a little. Do you even think anyone will eat the mac n cheese?” she pointed to the dish sitting on the kitchen island.

“Once the newness has worn down, yeah. They will want to eat…especially Kyla. She loves your mac n cheese.”

She inhaled again. “Okay. This is fine. I’m used to people in this house.”

“Not recently.”

She stepped into me. “True. It’s just been us in this little bubble, hasn’t it?”

“I like our bubble.”

“Me too.” She leaned in closer, her arms wrapping around my waist as she let out a deep sigh, melting into me.

So much in fact, the small box that sat in my pocket was burning a hole through my sweater. I knew the moment I came back to Hartwell Hills that I was going to marry Abi. I had just been waiting for the right time to propose. My thoughts went from the Fourth of July Rodeo, stupidly having it in my pocket while I rode, to a rodeo on the road, to Thanksgiving dinner—but no time felt like the right time to ask her. I had to remind myself that we didn’t need a ring or piece of paper to prove we loved each other.

The front door opened, pulling our attention from our bubble to Grace—who was carrying way more bags than she should be—barreling through the front hall. Lachlan stepped in behind her, closing the door, keeping his chin down.

“I told you I’d beat them here.” Grace smiled at Abi. “I got all the basic supplies…”

“Pretty sure they got all of that already?” Abi raised up on her tip toes, pulling on the bag to peek inside.

“Well, now they have more.” Grace beamed, looking at the pile of baby supplies that now littered the kitchen island. “You can never have too many onesies. I guarantee you that baby is going to poop through all of them.”

Lachlan cleared his throat as he passed us, his eyes avoiding Grace completely. “An Uber just pulled up, too. Kyla’s mom I’m assuming?”

“Oh, okay.” Grace looked at Abi. “I’ll go greet her. The dinner smells delicious. Kyla will be excited.”

Abi gave a soft smile, her body relaxing. “Thanks, I bet she will be.”

Grace gave Abi’s shoulder a squeeze before turning back to the front door, opening it only to have to step aside to let Wyatt and Stetson in. Wyatt slipped off his hat, took an inventory of the room surrounding him, and looked at his twin. Wyatt came up to stand next to his sister, stealing a noodle from the mac n cheese before opening his mouth to speak. Stetson, however, beat him to it.

“Mommy!” Stetson bounced. “They’re here! They’re here!”

“Wait, what?” Abi turned to her brother, who gave her a single nod.

Abi didn’t even hesitate. She rushed to the door, flinging it open and letting the cool air inside. I followed, placing my hand on the small of her back, delighted to see Rhett, opening the back passenger door to let Kyla out, then pulling out a car seat next.

Abi gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. “I can’t believe she’s here,” she whispered.

Kyla had given birth early yesterday morning to a perfect baby girl. As much as everyone wanted to rush to the hospital to visit and meet the baby, Rhett had requested they keep it just the three of them, but now that they were home, I could see the love flooding them. Kyla set the car seat down on the coffee table and slowly pulled her daughter from the car seat. Rhett’s hand never left his wife’s back as he watched his baby do the infamous baby curl. Her hands were by her ears, her back arched, the perfect restful expression on her face once she settled herself into the crook of Kyla’s arms.

“Everyone”—Kyla smiled, her cheeks glowing with so much love as she looked at her daughter—“this is Poppy.”

“Poppy Grace Hartwell,” Rhett added, kissing Kyla’s temple.

After a few moments, Poppy was passed from Kyla’s mother to Grace and then finally to Abi. Tears welled in her eyes asshe took in her niece, her tiny fingers wrapping around Abi’s. She walked over to me, slowly, her lips in the perfect ‘o’ and she cooed to Poppy. Seeing Abi hold this small baby pulled at my heart, tugging it in ways I’ve never felt before. I took a deep breath, trying to stop this new sensation.

“She’s beautiful,” Abi whispered, a tear falling from her cheek.

“She is. You did good, Rhett.” I looked up at my friend, noticing how crackled my voice was.

“Nah, it was all Kyla.” Rhett chuckled.

“Well, you helped.” Kyla smiled, kissing her husband’s cheek.

“Look at her.” Abi looked up at me, her voice still soft. “Can you imagine…” she began, her eyes drifting back to the baby.

No…I couldn’t…

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