Page 24 of Not Our First Rodeo
Jade gives him a charming smile. “I assume that’s what’s happened to your penis.”
His grin broadens. “I’m sure you’d like to find out, wouldn’t you?”
“I could throw a rock in any direction in Larkspur and ask the first person it hits, and they’d be able to give me an answer.”
Cooper leans in her direction, and I wonder if either of them notices how close they’ve gotten. “Careful, Jade, you’re starting to sound jealous.”
“Careful, Cooper, you’re starting to sound delusional.”
“You guys want to see an ultrasound photo?” I ask, interrupting them, and both heads swivel in my direction, looking like they’d forgotten I was here.
“You have one?” Jade practically squeals, bounding for me.
I nod, pulling the already worn sonogram from my back pocket. I’ve already stared at it a hundred times, running my thumb over the little speck that is our baby.
The three of us look down at the photos in awe. We never got a sonogram of our first baby, and I hadn’t realized how much I wanted one. It makes this photo special for many reasons.
“Can I hold it?” Jade asks, her emerald eyes connecting with mine.
I hand it to her, watching as she examines the photo, tears welling in her eyes. “It’s perfect.”
There’s a lump in my throat, making it hard to speak, so I just nod.
“It looks like you,” Cooper says, and it snaps the band of tension.
A laugh rumbles out of me despite my best effort, and I roll my eyes. “Yeah, okay.”
“Poor kid,” he says.
Jade looks at him over her shoulder. “You two have the same face.”
“I’m much better looking than he is,” Cooper responds.
“Humble too,” I say.
He grins at me. “Yes, that too.”
I take the sonogram from Jade and pocket it again, ignoring the urge to stare at it longer. “I really should get back to work. Dad’s bound to come looking for us soon, and it won’t be good if he finds us.”
“Clint wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Jade says.
“No,” Cooper says, “he wouldn’t. He would just start yapping and we’d never get anything done.”
“True,” she replies, and then turns to face me. “Are you and Elsie going to tell everyone at dinner tonight?”
Monday nights are Jennings family dinner nights at the big house and have been happening weekly since long before Cooper and I were born. It’s not just Jenningses who are invited, though. There’s an open invitation extended to the family we’ve created over the years—Jade and her mom, who was our vet before her, and her father included. But since the separation, there’s been one noticeable absence. Elsie.
I shift on my feet. “I am, but I don’t think Elsie is ready to go yet.”
“Well,” Jade says, wiping her hands on her jeans. “If that’s what she wants, then that’s what we’re going to make happen.”
Behind her, Cooper makes a noise under his breath, and Jade and I fix him with hard stares again.
“What’s that sound supposed to mean?” she asks before I get a chance.
He doesn’t back away from the anger in her eyes. “Why are we always doing what Elsie wants? What about Beau? You think he wants to tell his family he’s going to be a dad all alone? They did this together, they should face it together.”
“Cooper,” I say, voice weary. “It’s fine. Leave it.”
