Page 35 of The Mountain Man's Curvy Surprisem
Her husband, Fierce Amestoy, trudges in behind her. It’s not often I’m around a man who stands taller than me at six foot four, but he’s got a good two inches on me. He offers his hand, his blue eyes dancing. But I pat him on the back instead, holding up my hand in a brace.
“How’d you do that?” he asks in rich tones, a slight French accent coloring his voice.
“Punching boulders.”
I expect him to act shocked. Like pretty much everyone else. Instead, the brute of a shepherd shrugs as if it’s a natural thing to do.
“So, this is McGregor,” my woman says, coming up next to me and wrapping her arm around my waist.
“Mack?” Felicity corrects, scrunching her forehead.
I shake my head, but Calliope beats me to the punchline. “He goes by McGregor with friends and Mateo with me. But never, ever Mack.”
Felicity’s eyebrow arches, her face filled with a thousand questions.
“I know. I know. I still have to fill you in on everything. This week has been so busy,” Calliope excuses, placing her hand on my chest.
“For us, too,” Felicity says, smiling broadly at her husband. “On that note, you have a lot of explaining to do! McGregor is practically our neighbor! Why didn’t you tell me he lives in Rough and Ready Country?”
I shrug. “Like I said, I was trying to avoid the small-town rumor mill and how it might influence my first impression of Mateo.”
Fierce eyes me for a long moment. “You’re one of those Army Ranger guys. A friend of Wolfe Ormsby, right?”
I nod. “You know Wolfe?”
“I detest that guy, along with his entire family,” the Basque man declares with a bravado that makes me stand back on my heels. I make a mental note to ask Wolfe about this. My boss is the most agreeable guy in the world when he’s not beating the shit out of people.
Calliope’s eyes round, but Felicity’s face remains relaxed. “There’s bad blood between the Amestoys and the cowboys of Rough and Ready Ranch. A land war, you might say.”
Fierce growls low in his throat, his face simmering. But I want to keep today light and happy for my girl’s sake.
“Well, I stay out of shit like that. Make yourselves at home. Can I get you something to drink? Water, tea, juice?”
“Do you have iced tea?” Felicity asks.
“Girl, you know we do,” Calliope says. “Sweet or unsweetened?”
“You already know the answer to that,” her bestie giggles. They head towards the kitchen.
“Ma luciole.” Fierce shakes his head, tsking his tongue on the back of his teeth. “Caffeine? What about the baby?”
“The baby?” Calliope shrieks. “What does he mean?”
Felicity giggles, nodding. “I’ll tell you about it in the kitchen.”
Fierce and I head outside, where I’m manning the grill with my good hand. “A baby, huh?” I ask, lifting the lid of the Traeger and grabbing a spatula to turn the burgers and sausages cooking over the flames.
The giant of a man with curly black hair grins from ear to ear. “Yes, I’m going to be a father. We only found out a few days ago. In fact, you two are the first people to know, which is saying a lot if you knew my big, traditional Basque family.”
“I can imagine,” I nod, eyeing him for a moment. “My mom’s family is from Mexico. When they get to gossiping about shit like babies and marriages, things go off the rails pretty quickly.”
“And do they know about your engagement, yet?”
“More than engagement,” I chuckle. “She’s my mail-order bride.”
I expect Fierce’s head to bob up, his face filled with surprise or alarm. Instead, he nods. “I had one of those, too. But she married my brother instead. Because after meeting Felicity, I couldn’t settle for anything less than her perfection. She’s everything to me.”
In the past, as an inveterate single man, I would have felt out of my depth at this point in the conversation. But now his words ring so true I can feel them vibrating through my soul. The corners of my mouth turn up. “That’s how it is with Calliope and me. She’s a goddess, and I don’t know what she sees in me. ButI’m determined to make her happier than she could ever imagine … for the rest of her life.”
