Page 74 of Crashing the Altar
Maybe this was what my dad had been trying to warn me about in his spiel about hard days.
If having a baby with the woman I loved while trying to find our footing as a married couple was the worst of it, we were going to be just fine.
Chapter 19
Tripp
WhenIopenedthedoor to the cabin, I was greeted by the sight of my wife flat on her back atop the bed. Legs spread, knees bent, she grunted each time her ass lifted off the mattress.
Leaning against the doorframe, I settled in to enjoy the show while remarking, “I like that move better when you’re not wearing any pants.”
Collapsing with a huff, Penny grumbled, “Well, the way things are going, you might get your wish.” A frustrated sigh sounded. “Swear to God, the second Tucker said the words ‘you’re pregnant,’ my clothes stopped fitting.”
It wasn’t all that surprising. The woman was naturally thin, no matter how much she ate. If she was the ten weeks along that Tucker had estimated, it stood to reason she’d start showing earlier than expected.
Latching the door, I approached where she lay, legs sprawled, an arm draped over her eyes. She was adorable when she was being dramatic, though I’d never tell her that and invite her aggravation to shift in my direction.
My knee on the mattress caused it to dip as I crawled closer. I pressed a kiss to the skin exposed by her open fly before speaking directly to her stomach. “If you can hear me in there, your mama’s mad at her jeans, not at you. So don’t pay her any mind and keep growing. We want you all chubby and cute when you get here.”
Fingers sifted through my hair, and I peeked up to find a soft smile gracing Penny’s face. “You’re gonna be a good daddy.”
I hummed. “I sure hope so. I’ve got some time to figure that part out. Right now, I’m focused on taking care of this little one’s mama.”
“My zipper won’t close,” she whined weakly.
“I can see that.”
“What am I supposed to wear now?”
I knew I was stating the obvious when I said, “We’ll have to buy you new clothes. Or we can ask Aspen if she’s got any you can borrow when we go over there tonight. Just to get you through since you’re in a pinch.”
Penny shook her head. “I’m not ready to tell anyone yet.”
My fingers drew lazy circles over the slight swell of her lower abdomen. “Pretty soon, you won’t have much choice. Seems this little one is ready for their presence to be known.”
She blew out a heavy breath. “Thought I’d have more time.”
“How about for now, you throw on a dress, and we call it a day?”
“Can’t very well wear a dress when I ride,” Penny huffed.
That had me rearing back. “Over my dead body are you riding after you admitted to almost sliding out of the saddle because you started to fall asleep.”
“That probably won’t happen again.” Penny waved a dismissive hand.
“Probably?! You’re betting your life, our baby’s life, onprobably?“ My voice rose—along with my heart rate—as the mental image of what itwould look like if she did happen to fall flashed through my mind. “You could have snapped your neck!”
She scooched away from me until she sat up against the headboard, arms crossed over her chest defensively. “Oh, I know you’re not telling me what to do, Tripp Alan Sullivan.”
Normally, when she brought out my middle name, that was enough to make me back down.
Not this time.
I fisted the covers, my voice going gruff. “I know you’ve never seen it before, but this is me putting my foot down. No more riding. End. Of. Discussion.”
Her mouth dropped open at my commanding tone before she regained her bearings and shot back, “This ranch is massive. How exactly do you expect me to get around to do my job?”
“Take a UTV. We’ve got half a dozen of them.”
