Page 27 of A Cowboy's Trust
Pulsing a small steady beat in time with her hopeful heart.
7
Outside, the wind howled, rattling the windows and loud enough to be heard over the music playing softly in the background. But inside what was now Marina’s apartment over Buns and Roses, the smell of popcorn, chocolate, and cheesy goodness hung on the air.
It was the sort of cold January night that made staying indoors feel like a luxury.
Tonight, a nice combination had gathered, and while Tansy was considered the host, she’d had the brilliant brainwave of asking Marina if she wanted to join them and Marina had instantly offered her apartment for them to gather in. She’d added thick blankets to the backs of the couches, and as everyone settled, the soft covers were eagerly grabbed and draped over legs and shoulders. Candles were lit and snack plates filled.
“It’s been forever since our last girls’ night out.” Petra made a face. “Or it feels like forever.”
“You’ve been too busy with your guy and being Mom-ish to Jinx to notice we’re constantly underfoot. Tansy more so than usual.” Petra’s sister-in-law Julia Sorenson pointed out. Her hand rested lightly on her belly, stroking the small bulge.
Petra looked thoughtful. “I suppose. Although I don’t know how I feel about that Mom-ish moniker.”
“We do need to come up with something snappier, but it’s true.” Tansy dropped onto the couch next to her. She glanced at the other ladies settling around the coffee table that all but groaned under the weight of all the goodies on it. “Jinx seems to have settled on Aiden and Petra as her surrogate parental figures. She asked Aiden to come to the father/daughter game night at the school.”
Marina frowned for a moment. “I thought Declan was Jinx’s official guardian while she’s going to school here.”
Tansy waved a hand. “He is, but Jinx seems to consider Declan a combination of superhero and idol to be kept on a pedestal. If she needs some parental-type cuddling or advice, look no farther than Petra and Aiden.”
“Awww, that’s sweet,” Marina said as a series of nods set off around the room, like cooperative bobble heads.
“As long as she’s got someone, that’s what counts,” Sydney offered approvingly.
With seven of them tucked around the table, it was a little tight, but it still seemed perfect to Tansy. Like most girls’ night out gatherings in recent years, whoever hosted sent the time and place out to the universe, and those who could make it, did.
Of course, these days that meant less of certain ladies at sometimes, or in far different combinations, as work, children, and life in general interfered. So far their girl gang had stayed tight, though, which was a joy all in itself Tansy liked to take some credit for.
She and Rose were the founding members of the group, after all.
Tansy scooped up a cheesy jalapeño onto a cracker and popped it in her mouth, as she counted heads, somewhat amused to realize that in spite of Rose being missing, the ladies were a near perfect mix of old to new residents.
Petra, Sydney, and Marina were definitely on the new list. Petra’s sister-in-law Julia, and the very mischievous Lisa Ryder—now married to the local veterinarian with a three-year-old and five-month-old baby—had both been around long enough that they qualified right in the middle.
Finally there were Tansy, and Kelli Stone, a ranch hand at the local Silver Stone ranch and married to Sasha Stone’s uncle Luke. They’d both lived in Heart Falls for years.
As a fifteen-year-old runaway, Kelli had walked into Silver Stone ranch as if she owned the place and been accepted. Tansy had held Kelli’s secret tightly all those years. Just like Kelli was the only one who knew all the details of Tansy’s past, pre-Fields adoption.
They were the Fort Knox of secret keepers for each other, they’d always teased.
Now as Kelli wiggled to the front of her chair, expertly manoeuvering in spite of the baby belly rounding in front of her, so many memories tangled in Tansy’s mind.
In spite of her past, Kelli was now loved beyond measure by not only Luke, but the entire Stone family. She was about to start a family of her own?—
Maybe, just maybe, big, beautiful changes were possible for Tansy as well.
Thankfully, before she could spend more time being hyper-contemplative, Petra pointed at Kelli’s belly. “Is that not supposed to be bigger by now? It’s the end of January, and you’re due in four weeks.”
Kelli filled a bowl with chips then eased back in her chair. She stretched her legs out in front of her displaying fuzzy socks that didn’t quite match. Somehow it totally worked. “The baby is healthy. I just have a long torso, I guess.”
Julia sighed. “What do you want to guess thatI’mgoing to swell up and look as if I swallowed a watermelon patch?”
“You’ll look adorable,” Petra assured her. “Oh, and I found something for you that I think is appropriate for this moment.” She reached under the couch and pulled out a paper bag.
Suspicion on her face, Julia wiggled the present. “Is it safe to open this in public?”
“Of course. I’m always public approved,” Petra assured her sister-in-law before glancing at the candle on the table she’d brought that saidSo Fucking Zen. “Well, mostly public approved.”
