Page 56 of The Cowgirl's Forever Love
Tamara laughed. “Well, I’ve heard just as often of people being sick when they had girls. I’ll tell you though, I’m thinking long and hard if I want to go through that ever again. The only redeeming feature was labour didn’t suck too much. If only we could choose what kind of pregnancy we have.”
“Nine months of nausea versus twenty-four hours or more of pain.” Karen made a face. “Difficult decision.”
“Shut up.”
“I was being serious,” Karen insisted.
The afternoon passed quickly. The little girls arrived home from school and joined the mix. Lisa soaked in every minute of the time with her sisters, pausing supper preparation when there was scratching at the back door.
Emma raced across the room and peered out the glass. “It’s Ollie.”
What?Lisa dried her hands on a towel and headed to the door. “What’s she doing here?”
“Maybe Josiah’s on the ranch,” Tamara suggested. “I thought you said he was taking care of her.”
“I didn’t think he’d bring her along if he was working,” Lisa said.
She glanced out the door to check for Josiah’s truck. When she didn’t see anything, she sent him a message.
Lisa:Where are you?
Josiah:Steven’s. What’s up?
Lisa:Ollie just arrived. I’ve got her in the house, but I didn’t want you to worry about her.
Josiah.Damn it. How the hell did she do that?
Josiah:Never mind. I’m nearly done. I’ll swing by and grab her.
Lisa:Want to stay for supper?
Josiah:Sure. Or I can take you out.
Which is when Lisa realized she’d just dropped Josiah into the middle of a “meet the parent” event. Did she want to do that? It was kind of impossible to retract her invitation at this point, but there was no way she could not be there when her dad arrived.
It seemed she was going over the waterfall in the barrel, and there was no changing direction.
She’d let him decide.
Lisa:No can do. Dad is arriving to meet Tyler, and if I’m not here I’ll be on the naughty-daughter list.
She expected him to take a moment to respond, but seconds later he was already writing back.
Josiah:That doesn’t surprise me. I fully expect you to be at the top of any naughty list. I’d love to stay. I’ll swing by Buns and Roses after I shower and grab something for dessert.
She bent and offered Ollie a firm rub on the back. “I don’t know how you found me, but I’m glad you’re not lost out there somewhere in the snow. Silly creature.”
Lisa filled a bowl with water, grabbed some food, and then tucked Ollie into the laundry room. She left the door partly open so Ollie could see out without actually being underfoot. Caleb was in thedogs don’t belong in the housecamp and Lisa didn’t want to push it. Not when her dad was going to be here soon and was very firmly of the same opinion.
And then she chased down the little girls and made them haul out their homework. The same things she’d been helping with over the past months. But as a pair of big brown eyes watched her intently from where Ollie had settled down on the nest Lisa made for her, it felt different.
Not only was there a brand-new little life in the house, but Lisa stood at a split in the road. She wasn’t planning on running off and leaving Tamara that minute, but change was close. Very close. She’d have to make a decision about what to do next.
She was nowhere near ready.
Mealtimes at SilverStone ranch were never awkward. They were noisy, they were loud. There was usually enough tempting food to make Josiah want to overindulge until he had to adjust his belt—something he tried extremely hard not to do.
The two things he wasn’t used to experiencing when he joined the Stone family for dinner were babies and parents, and tonight he was getting both.
