Page 150 of Duke
Duke meets my eyes. “How about we go for a little ride? Give grandma-to-be here a lay of the land. Hopefully she’ll be visiting a lot more often.”
Mom’s smile is bigger than I’ve seen it in years. “Only if you visit me in Dallas.”
“You have my word.” Duke holds out his hand.
She takes it. “Congratulations. And thank you for, well, being a cowboy. And for being you. But mostly for being a cowboy. We clearly need more of y’all in this world.”
“Luckily for us, a cowgirl is on the way.” Duke nods at my stomach.
I shake my head. “Cowboy.”
“What do you think, Fran?”
Mom pretends to think for a minute. “It’s a boy.”
Clapping my hands, I laugh. “Told you, Duke!”
“Do y’all have names picked out?”
Duke looks at me. “Not yet.”
“I have some ideas,” I say.
He smiles. “I love them already.”
Mom and I wait in the rocking chairs on the porch while Duke grabs an ATV from the equipment barn. It’s a gorgeous day, warm and sunny, although I can tell it’s going to get steamy this afternoon.
Mom puts her hand on mine on the armrest of my chair. We rock like that, both of us quiet, for several minutes. I watch fat, fuzzy-looking bees zoom across the yard, stopping to rest on the wildflowers that continue to bloom as summer rolls on. Thetrees rock with us in a refreshing breeze, bending lazily this way and that.
Mom closes her eyes. “I get why you love it here.”
“I really do. I love Dallas too, though. Mollie and me—we’re a little too fancy to stay here all the time.”
Her lips curl into a grin. “A little bit country, a little bit city. You in a nutshell. Duke too, from what it sounds like.”
“We’re good for each other.” I put a hand on my stomach. “I’m excited for what’s ahead.”
Mom opens her eyes and looks at me. “You’re going to be a great mom, Wheeler.”
“Aw, thank you.” I wrap my fingers around hers. “I learned from a really good one.”
“I know I wasn’t perfect, but I hope you know I love you. More than you’ll ever know. When I found out I was having a girl, I was so happy I burst into tears.” She gives me a watery smile. “You’re a dream come true.”
A bubble of joy expands inside my chest, making it difficult to breathe. “I love you, Mom.”
“I know.” She squeezes my hand before glancing out at the yard. “There’s your cowboy. Crazy to think you’ll have two of them soon.”
“Life is good.”
Mom’s smile grows, and for the first time, I see a glimmer of something like hope in her brown eyes. “It is. It really is, honey.”
____
Two months later
I feel a funny little flutter in my center just as Tallulah pronounces Sally and Wyatt husband and wife.
A hundred guests burst into applause. Cash shocks everyone by bursting into tears. He sobs at his place by Wyatt’s side, allfive Rivers boys lined up underneath the gorgeous arch of white and yellow flowers where the ceremony is taking place.
