Brie clung to Caleb’s hand, but her gaze remained fixed on the monitor.
“There’s your baby,” the tech said, as the image came into focus.
“Wow,” Caleb said, his tone reverent as he leaned forward for a closer look.
Brie remained silent, her throat clogged with emotion.
The tech moved the mouse around, taking measurements of their baby. Then she tapped a few more times, and suddenly the rhythm of the baby’s heartbeat was displayed on the bottom of the screen, with each spike that indicated a beat accompanied by deep ‘woop’ sound.
Brie turned her head to look at Caleb then, and through the tears that filled her eyes, she saw that his were wet, too.
They’d never had a chance to see their first baby. She’d made a doctor’s appointment as soon as they got back from Vegas, but she’d miscarried before the scheduled visit. She never even knew if the baby she’d lost was a boy or a girl.
Of course, at just under ten weeks, it was still too early to tell the sex of this one, but at least they could be sure their baby was real. There was no longer any doubt that a tiny person was growing inside her womb—a new life that she and Caleb had created together.
They left the clinic half an hour later not only with that sense of awe and wonder but photographic evidence of their baby.
And snuggled in Caleb’s arms later that night, Brie knew that nothing mattered as much as sharing every joy of parenthood with the father of her child—the only man she’d ever loved.
* * *
Caleb fell asleep to the soft, even sounds of Brielle’s breathing—and woke up to the blaring of a guitar riff.
“What the—” He jolted upright, his brain scrambling to decipher what he was hearing.
Then the music cut off, and he heard Brie say, “Hello?”
Obviously what he’d heard was another customized ringtone on her cell phone.
He dropped his head back onto the pillow and squinted at the glowing numbers on the clock beside the bed.
4:17.
“Who the hell is calling at four o’clock in the morning?” he grumbled.
She touched her fingertips to his lips, silencing him.
“Oh, Spencer, that’s wonderful news,” she said, answering his question. “How are they?”
Caleb closed his eyes as she continued to talk quietly. He slid an arm around her, tucking her close to his body, and nearly fell asleep again while she finished up her conversation.
“Boy or girl?” he asked, when she’d set her phone aside.
“An almost ten-pound baby boy they’re calling Owen. Spencer has yet to break the news to Dani.”
“She wanted a sister,” he noted, recalling his brief conversation with the little girl at the grocery store.
“Well, of course.” Brie rolled over so that she was facing him, and even in the darkness he could see the smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Because boys are yucky.”
He raised his brows. “Do you think so?”
“Not anymore,” she said, and brushed a soft kiss on his lips. “But when I was a five-year-old girl, I probably did.”
“So if we had a boy...you’d be okay with that?”
“I’d be thrilled,” she told him. “I know it’s cliché, but I really don’t care if we have a boy or a girl—I just want our baby to be healthy.”
That was his number one concern as well.
Number two was figuring out how to give their baby a real family when his or her parents were living twenty-five hundred miles apart.
* * *
Caleb was already in the kitchen with a cup of coffee by his elbow and his phone in hand when Brie made her way downstairs the following morning.
“Going somewhere?” she asked, noting the open map app.
“I’m figuring out the best route to the east end of Long Island,” he told her.
She selected a coffee pod and positioned her mug under the spout. “Why do you want to go all the way out there?”
“Because I have a job interview this afternoon.”
“What kind of job?” she asked, surprised.
“Working as a ranch hand at a cooperative cattle operation.”
She sipped her coffee as she considered this information.
“I did a lot of thinking about what you said the last time I was here, and I realized you were right. I never should have assumed that you’d want to come back to Haven just because you’re having my baby. If we’re going to make our marriage work, we need to be willing to compromise.”
“You’d really move to New York?”
“Well, setting up house halfway between Brooklyn and Haven doesn’t seem to be a viable solution,” he pointed out.
“But you love working at the Circle G.”
“And I’d hate being a long-distance dad that my son or daughter only sees a couple times a year,” he said.
Brie didn’t want that, either, but she couldn’t imagine that he’d ever be happy so far away from his family or working on a ranch that wasn’t his own. The fact that he was even contemplating such a scenario made her wonder if she wasn’t being a little bit unfair, asking him to leave everything that was comfortable and familiar just because she’d chosen to do so seven years earlier.
And yes, she felt a little bit guilty that he seemed willing to make such a sacrifice for their future together. For her. Because she’d talked about wanting to work things out and then dug in her heels when he’d mentioned the possibility of her moving back to Haven.
Uncomfortable with the introspection, she dragged her attention back to the present to ask, “What time’s your interview?”
“Two o’clock.”
“You do realize it can take more than three hours to get to Long Island using public transportation?”
“I do now,” he said. “I was trying to put together all the schedules and connections when Grace dropped a set of keys on the table and told me to take her car.”
Because mass transit was so easy and efficient for her daily travels, Brie sometimes forgot that her friend owned a vehicle—and paid four hundred dollars a month to keep it in a parking garage two streets over. “But did she tell you where to find her car?”
“She gave me the address of the garage, the number of her parking space and her license plate,” he confirmed.
“Then I guess you’re all set.”
He nodded. “But I probably won’t be here when you get home today.”
“Actually, I’m going to be late tonight,” she told him. “It’s our fall open house, so I’ll be at the school until six. You’re welcome to come by, when you get back.”
“I’ll do that,” he promised.
* * *
He made it, but not with a lot of time to spare.
By the time he’d finished his interview and toured the facilities, he was heading back to Brooklyn in rush hour. Not that the earlier drive had been without delays, but the midday traffic hadn’t prepared him for the snarl and congestion he encountered on the same route a few hours later.
He tried to focus on the positive as he parked Grace’s car in its designated spot. He was confident that the interview had gone well, and he’d enjoyed the tour of the facility. But it was a hell of a commute from Brooklyn to Long Island and not one he could imagine looking forward to every day. On the other hand, ninety minutes of driving added to each morning and night so that he could spend those nights with Brie and their child? Totally worth it.
Of course, that assumed they’d find a place they liked and could afford in Brooklyn. Or maybe Brie would be willing to move a little farther away from her job to lessen his commute. But then they’d both be spending more time away from home and their child.
And until he had a job offer, all those questions and concerns were moot. So he pushed them to the back of his mind and walked the short d
istance to Briarwood Academy.
It had been a long time since he was in kindergarten, but he didn’t think his classroom had looked anything like this bright and spacious room with the students’ artwork prominently displayed on the walls. His teacher had definitely not looked anything like Miss Brie, as she was identified on the nameplate on the door.
Venturing into the room, he saw that there were bins of toys and building blocks and musical instruments on shelving units below the windows, a “Reading Corner” with colorful pillows on the carpet, and a “Discovery Center” with water and sand, rocks and shells. Folders were set out on a round table, each neatly labeled with a child’s name: Jayden, Bayleigh, Aeryn, Kalvyn and Peyton, making him wonder if there’d been a sale on the letter y the year all these kids were born.
There were several people—adults and kids—milling around in the classroom, so it took him a minute to find her. She spotted him at the same time, and her smile widened as she waved him over.
“I was beginning to think you might not make it,” she said.
“Traffic.”
The man she’d been talking to nodded his understanding. Of course, anyone who’d ever driven in the city could probably commiserate on the subject.
She quickly made the introductions, then excused herself as a little girl with red pigtails dragged her away to meet her parents.
“Do you have a student in Brie’s class?” Caleb asked the man who’d been introduced as Marcus Crawford.
“Not this year,” the parent replied. “But she taught my son MJ last year.”
“You took her to the Yankees game,” Caleb realized.
“She told you about that?”
“Of course. We don’t have any secrets from one another.”
Comprehension slowly dawned in the other man’s eyes. “You and Brie are...dating?”
“Actually, we’re married,” Caleb said, as his wife rejoined them.
“I hadn’t heard the news,” Marcus said, directing his comment to Brie. “When did this happen?”
She sent Caleb a look that warned he would answer to her later but curved her lips into a smile. “It was a quick trip to Vegas.”
“Well, congratulations to both of you.”
“Thank you,” Caleb said.
Brie managed another smile and a nod.
The few lingering visitors made their way to the door a short while later, and Brie and Caleb exited with them. But she waited until they were out of earshot of her colleagues before she turned to him and said, “You can’t go around telling people that we’re married.”
“Why not? It’s the truth.”
“Because it could get back to my principal,” she said. “Although it would probably be better for her to find out that I’m married before she hears I’m going to have a baby, so I’m not in violation of the morals clause in my contract.”
“Are you suggesting that she could fire you for being pregnant?” he asked incredulously.
“It’s a private school,” she reminded him. “As role models for the students, teachers are expected to uphold certain standards of behavior. An unmarried teacher having a baby would not meet that standard.”
“Then I guess it’s good that I made an honest woman of you,” he said.
Brie responded to that with a roll of her eyes.
“Of course, your principal might not believe you’re married if you don’t have a ring on your finger.”
“You don’t have one on yours, either,” she pointed out.
“She can’t fire me.”
“Speaking of firing—or hiring,” she said. “Tell me about your day. How did the interview go?”
“I think it went well. So long as they don’t call anyone at the Circle G for a reference.”
“I guess you didn’t tell your father you were looking for a job in New York?”
“I didn’t realize that I was until I saw the posting,” he admitted. “I also didn’t realize how long the commute would be from Brooklyn to Long Island.”
“Are you seriously considering a move to New York?” she asked, not convinced his search for a job wasn’t anything more than an elaborate attempt to manipulate her.
He turned to face her, his gaze steady and true. “I’d move to Timbuktu, if you were there.”
She sighed. “I know that should make me happy, but I want you to be happy, too, and I can’t imagine that happening here.”
“Being with you makes me happy,” he assured her.
“What if you only think being with me makes you happy?” she asked worriedly.
“I’m not sure I understand the question,” he admitted.
“We don’t know each other half as well now as we did seven years ago,” she pointed out to him.
He slid his arms around her and pulled her close. “Do you really think we’ve changed that much?”
“I know we have.” Though the way her body responded to his nearness was one thing that hadn’t changed.
“I can’t speak for you,” he said. “But I know I still want the same thing I’ve always wanted.”
“A wife and a home on the Circle G?” she guessed.
He shook his head. “You.”
* * *
It was Tuesday night and Caleb’s cupboard was pretty close to being bare. His freezer, too. Of course, he’d missed his usual shopping day when he was out of town, but the lack of food was a price he was willing to pay for the pleasure of spending the weekend in New York with Brielle—and being there for her ultrasound.
Now he had a picture of their baby in his wallet and was chomping at the bit to shout the news of her pregnancy far and wide. But they’d agreed to wait until she was home for Thanksgiving—and into her second trimester—so they could make the announcement to their families together.
Of course, he’d slipped up already and told his father, but Dave had promised to keep the news a secret until the expectant parents were ready to share. Caleb was grateful for his discretion and optimistic that his father’s experience with Valerie and Ashley meant he’d be supportive of whatever choices Caleb and Brielle made for their future together.
But for now, he was on his own and without anything for dinner, so he made a quick trip into town to pick up some groceries and a pizza.
While his pie was cooking, he watched Jo roll out dough, spread sauce, sprinkle cheese and add toppings. But the tinkle of the bell over the door had him automatically turning to see who’d entered the restaurant—and brought him face-to-face with Spencer Channing.
Brielle’s brother nodded, an acknowledgement more than a greeting.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Caleb said.
“Thanks.” The proud father’s grin confirmed that his happiness exceeded his hostility toward anyone named Gilmore.
But only temporarily, Caleb realized, when the grin faded and Spencer said: “You must have good ears to have heard the news when you were out of town all weekend.”
“Keeping tabs on me?” he asked, amused.
“Looking out for my little sister,” the other man clarified.
“Your little sister’s a big girl.”
The former rodeo star drew himself to his full height and squared his shoulders, as if to prove that he was bigger.
Bigger, but still about an inch shorter than Caleb, though he didn’t straighten to prove it. He had no intention of getting into a contest with Brie’s brother because he knew that even if he won, he’d lose.
“How’s that half-cheese and half-pepperoni?”
Though Jo called out the question to the teenager working the ovens, she pinned her customers with a narrow-eyed stare that warned she wouldn’t tolerate any trouble in her place of business.
“Coming out now,” the teen replied, sliding the wooden paddle under the hot pie, then dropping it into an
open box.
Jo picked up a cutter and quickly sliced the round into eight pieces, then folded the top of the box into the bottom.
Spencer reached into his back pocket for his wallet, but Jo waved him away. “Congrats on the new baby.”
“Thanks,” he said again, and exited without another word to Caleb.
“Friendly guy,” he remarked dryly.
Jo shook her head as she sliced Caleb’s bacon, mushroom and pepperoni pie that had just come out of the oven. “Always stirring the pot, aren’t you?”
“I was trying to play nice,” he said.
“You’ve been playing with his sister,” Jo pointed out.
“And you’ve been listening to gossip,” he chided.
“Not much else to do in this town,” she reminded him.
* * *
Brie was counting down the days to Thanksgiving and her trip to Haven when she and Caleb would finally share their joyful news. The expectant parents knew a baby wouldn’t magically erase the conflict between the Blakes and the Gilmores, but they hoped their friends and relatives could at least be happy for them.
“Have you arranged for someone to pick you up from the airport?” Margaret asked, during their usual Sunday night FaceTime call before the holiday.
“I have,” Brie confirmed. She’d also decided to take another personal day and leave New York on Wednesday to ensure that any delays wouldn’t make her late for the midday meal at Miners’ Pass.
After much discussion, she and Caleb had agreed that he’d go with her to her parents’ house for lunch, after which they’d head over to his dad’s place for dinner. Though Thanksgiving was generally a feast shared with family and friends, there was a possibility their announcement would generate more fireworks than a Fourth of July celebration.
“I’ll make sure Greta has your room ready,” Margaret told her daughter.
“That isn’t necessary,” Brie said.
“Don’t be silly—it’s her job.”
“I mean it’s not necessary because I won’t be staying at Miners’ Pass.”
“Why not?” Her mother wanted to know. “We have a lot more space than Regan and Connor—especially now that the twins have moved into their own room.”
One Night with the Cowboy Page 16