Staying Home (Roped by the Cowboy Duet Book 2)
Page 16
Her smile was infectious, and Nash found himself fighting his own. He wanted whatever was in that envelope to be something good, and judging by her reaction, it certainly was.
Vivian was beside herself, her face turning red from unspent laughter. Finally, she choked out a strained, “Here, read it for yourself.”
Cautiously, he accepted the piece of folded paper and held it between both hands, taking time to brace himself for whatever information it held inside.
As it turned out, he’d worked himself into a tizzy for nothing. Because Ms. Gretta always got the last word.
And the last laugh.
Dearest Sweet Pea,
I told ya so.
I win.
G
EPILOGUE 2
Five years later…
Nash’s face hurt from smiling so much. Watching as Vivian rode around the pen on Maxine’s back was its own kind of therapy from all the bad things in the world. Seeing her up there with their daughter tucked safely between her arms, having the time of her life, was just icing on the cake.
Every time he thought back on it, he thank Ms. Gretta for being such a pushy old woman and never giving up on him—or them. She knew what he didn’t, saw what he couldn’t, and she’d forged a future for him brighter than his wildest imaginings.
“Daddy! I rode a the horsey all by myself,” Grettalynn called out as they rode up and pulled Maxine to a stop.
“I see that, baby girl.” He reached up to help her down off the saddle.
His little girl was the spitting image of his wife, all classic beauty and refined charm, despite never having set foot in a big city. And she was every bit Gretta, her namesake, with drive, determination, and attitude to match. There wasn’t a night that passed that he didn’t have to negotiate terms for bedtime. She was always bargaining her way out of a punishment, which came about often because she was always getting into trouble. To top it all off, if he didn’t know better, after witnessing her first attempt to matchmaking between a boy and girl in her daycare, he would call her the reincarnation of Gretta.
She was the embodiment of both of the women he loved and respected most in the world, and Nash wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Need a hand, pretty lady?” Nash asked Vivian as he reached for her waist and helped her get her feet back on the ground.
He didn’t let go.
Instead, Nash kept hold of his woman and pulled her into his arms, laying a big, wet kiss on her.
“Ewwww! Ca-ca!” Grettalynn squealed with delight and tore off toward the house.
As Nash pulled away, he shared a smile with his wife. “I missed ya.”
“You were watching us the whole time.” She laughed and playfully slapped his arm as he released her.
Taking her hand into his, Nash led Vivian out of the pen and closed the gate, leaving Maxine to graze a bit before retiring her to the barn for the night.
“Can’t help it. I can’t take my eyes off of ya.” He raised their joined hands and placed a soft kiss on the back of hers. His gaze dropped to the tiny bump barely visible through her sunny yellow blouse. “How are ya feelin’, darlin’?”
Vivian was just into her second trimester and already showing. Automatically, her hand went to her stomach. “Pretty good today. Especially now that the morning sickness has passed.” She huffed and rolled her eyes. It hadn’t been any easier for her this time around, but they pay-off of a beautiful bouncing baby was more than worth the struggle.
“Our son is going to be amazin’. I can’t wait to meet him.”
She side-eyed him. “You mean our daughter.”
Nash chuckled. They’d been arguing this point repeatedly since Grettalynn came into the world. “Now, honeybun, I thought we agreed on this. I gave you your girl, and now you gotta give me my boy.”
“That’s not how it works.”
“Maybe if you tried that castor oil Amy at the pharmacy’s been talkin’ about.”
“Or maybe I should stand on my head for an hour like that guy down at the tractor store suggested. Honestly,” she scoffed, “the stuff people come up with.”
Nash couldn’t help but laugh. He knew there was no controlling it, but it always tickled him to get her all riled up. It made for interesting nights, that was for sure.
Grettalynn beat them to the house with her tiny, speed runner legs, and her high-pitched laughter and pitter patter of feet echoed down from the second floor.
No doubt, she was already getting into trouble.
“I betcha she has that damn cat again,” Nash cursed roundly. Grettalynn didn’t see her chasing and toying with small animals as cruel. She just assumed they were playing with her too.
“I’ll go get her.”
Nash stopped Vivian with a hand on her arm. “No, you go put your feet up. I’ll get her washed up and ready for dinner in a jiff.”
“You better not be messin’ with that cat again,” Nash called ahead as he climbed the stairs. There was a giggle and another rambunctious booming of feet racing down the hall from one room into another.
Nash knew exactly where she’d gone.
He didn’t dread going into the master bedroom anymore, now decorated to be the perfect young girl’s room in pastel pinks, purples, greens, and blues. Everything from the past had been stripped clean to make room for a clean future.
When they’d sold off the bulk of Gretta’s estate, they’d included most of the furnishings in his own home. A clean slate. That’s what they needed. Of course, they’d kept a few keepsakes and some innocuous pieces without too many memories attached either way, but overall, Nash and Vivian had decided a fresh start was best for both of them moving forward.
It had been the best decision he’d made. They’d gone on to have a wonderful, solid marriage with only a few arguments here and there when one or both of them was feeling feisty. But they always made up, having agreed to the rule of never going to bed angry. If Nash had any bit of marriage advice to hand out, it would be that.
It hadn’t steered him wrong yet.
Grettalynn was under her bed, the little white tassels decorating her comforter’s edge dangling over her bare heels.
“Whatcha doin’ under there, princess?”
Her muffled voice replied, “Playin’ with the kitty, Daddy.”
She sounded so sweet and innocent. Most days she was just that, but Nash knew when her voice rose at the end like it just did, she was being naughty. But not too naughty.
“Well, all right, princess, but it’s time ta let the kitty rest and come have dinner.”
“Aw, do I have to?”
“Yes, ya do, and I don’t wanna hear any lip about it. Come on now, before it gets cold.”
She was already crawling her way out from under the bed. When she emerged, her face was a pitiful scowl. “But I don’t like mushrooms.”
Nash scooped her up and carried her back downstairs. “They’re so little, you won’t even notice.”
“They’re gross.”
“They’re delicious.” And Vivian was craving them, so there was no choice in the matter.
“When I’m ten, I’m movin’ out.” She huffed and crossed her arms against his chest.
“Well, then you’d better start doin’ lots of chores and savin’ your pennies.” Nash learned not to argue with her. Grettalynn was a master bargainer. As long as she thought she was winning the argument, she was happy.
A smile graced her face, and Nash let her down. Immediately, she took off into the kitchen, ready for her dinner.
Vivian smiled at him from the couch as Nash approached and she held out her hands for him to pull her to her feet. “Maybe I should make her something else…”
“Nonsense. She’ll get used to mushrooms. Fifteen times, that’s what all the books say. Fifteen times for a kid to be introduced to a new food before they’ll accept it.”
“Well,” Vivian sighed, looping her arm around his waist as he looped his around her shoulders, “I guess we hav
e our work cut out for us.”
“Just a thought, but do you ever get the feeling Ms. Gretta is up there watching over us…and laughing?”
Vivian twisted her face up to look at him. “All. The. Time.”
At least they were in agreement. While their matriarch might not be on the physical plane, she was still making an impact on their lives every single day, and their little girl would make it so her memory was always bright and alive.
The end.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Thank you to everyone who took time to read and fall in love with Nash and Vivian! These two have been such a joy to bring to life, but I think you’ll all agree with me when I say that Ms. Gretta stole the show. She’s one character that will always make me smile and have a special place in my heart. I hope she’ll do the same for you.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J.C. Valentine is the USA Today and International bestselling author of the Night Calls and Wayward Fighters Series and the Forbidden Trilogy. Her vivid imagination and love of words and romance had her penning her own romance stories from an early age, which, despite being poorly edited and written longhand, she forced friends and family members to read. No, she isn't sorry.
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