Page 28 of Never Left You

I snorted a laugh. “Come on guys, you know what to do.” I patted Nick on the back and passed by the other ranch hands as they filled the kitchen. “I’m going to go check on your wife.” I gave Rhett a small hug. “Be careful on the roof.”

I left the house, wishing I had grabbed my coat once the chill air flew through my skin. I jogged to my truck, not willing to make the quarter-mile trek to Rhett’s cabin in this temperature. I was tricked by the sun yet again. It was the beginning of March in Idaho. It could either be snowing one day or sunny and spring the next. As soon as I shut the door to my truck, I caught Cash’s truck from the corner of my eye. He climbed out, gave me a wave and smiled before he turned and went into the stable.

I inhaled, held my breath for a few seconds, and then exhaled through my lips.

He offered to help with the horses and the roof. That’s why he’s here.

Five minutes later, I was barging in through Rhett and Kyla’s front door. The warmth of their cabin greeted me, and I could smell fresh coffee.

“Hey Ky…” I shouted. “It’s just me. Rhett said you were sick—”

“Abi?” Kyla’s voice came from the bedroom, a slight distress to her tone.

“No, it’s Taylor Swift,” I teased, heading to the kitchen to get myself a fresh cup of un-microwaved coffee.

“Abi!” Kyla shouted again. “Is Rhett with you?”

“Pretty sure if he was, he would be in that room with you already.”

Kyla appeared in the bedroom doorway, her cheeks pink with a wide look on her face. I leaned against the counter, her expression already confirming what I was pretty sure I knew.

“How are you feeling? Rhett said you had a stomach bug…or…” I raised the mug to my lips and looked her up and down. “Food poisoning.” I used the cup to hide my smirk.

This girl was not sick. If anything, she was glowing.

“Abi,” she sighed. “I um…” She placed a palm to her stomach.

“Kyla…” I urged her on.

“I’m pregnant.” Her voice broke slightly as a smile spread across her lips.

I mimicked her smile, trying to keep my excitement down.

“I’m…we’re…we weren’t even trying. We wanted to go slow.”

“Yeah well, someone had other plans.” I gestured towards her tummy.

“Rhett will be happy right?”

“Rhett will be ecstatic when he finds out.” I took another sip, resting my hip against the island, watching as my sister-in-law began to pace.

“Like really…he will be, right? He wants kids, right? We haven’t really talked about that yet. We’ve been dating, and we’ve been—”

“You can’t really say you were taking things slow because you are married to the man, and he’d do anything for you.” I looked at my friend, noticing her roll her lips. Her eyes were wide, and the hand over the stomach was quivering slightly. Panic? Anxiety? I wasn’t sure. I handled my own panic differently. I bottled it and moved on. I didn’t let anyone see it. But Kyla’s anxiety was something she’d been working on not bottling up.

“I promise you he’s going to be happy.” I set my mug down and made my way over to her, placing my hands on her shoulders and giving them a little squeeze. “Are you happy?”

She let out a shaky breath. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”

That’s when the tears fell. She beamed and, in an instant, I was in her arms. She laughed as she cried into my shoulder. I could feel how fast her heart was beating. These were happy tears, joyous laughs. Kyla was happy, finally really happy.

“You knew, didn’t you?” She laughed as she broke the hug, holding me at arm’s length.

I gave her a nod. “Well when Rhett said you weren’t feeling well, he jumped from stomach bug to food poisoning. I knew you weren’t sick. When did you find out?”

“Just now. The test turned positive when you walked in the door.”

“Just now?” I repeated, not even bothering to hide the shock in my voice.

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