Happy in the Border Lands

by Marla Monroe

  “Did at first. Got better. Like you said.” She really wished they’d wait to talk.

  “I think she’s still recovering,” Jeff said with a chuckle.

  “Me too. Better to give her a little more time.”

  She popped her arms across both men’s abdomens, hard, knocking the breath from them, and they got the idea. Neither one of them asked her any more questions for a long time. In fact. They all fell asleep before they even thought about asking more questions.

  Chapter Nine

  Ughg. Lucille raced for the bathroom again. This was the second time she’d gotten sick this morning. She couldn’t afford to be sick. She had vegetables to put up. They were piling up in the kitchen. They needed to be canned or dried before they rotted. They couldn’t afford to lose a single one. She rinsed her mouth out and patted her face dry. What was wrong with her?

  She walked back to the kitchen to find Ty standing in the room waiting on her. He had a funny expression on his face.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I think I have a stomach virus. I’ll be okay.”

  “You feel okay right now?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I’m fine, why?”

  “I think you’re pregnant,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “What?” She felt her heart jump into overdrive.

  Pregnant? Could I be pregnant? Well, duh. Yeah. I’ve had sex almost nonstop since we started. Of course I can be. Oh, my God. What will I do?

  “Whoa there. Settle down. It’s okay.” Ty pulled her into his arms and patted her back. “Don’t panic. It’s good. It’s all good. A baby is great, Lucille.”

  “How will we take care of a baby? We don’t have anything for a baby.” Lucille felt as if she was going to throw up all over again.

  “We’ll be fine. I’m sure we can borrow some things from your sister that they don’t need anymore, and we’ll find everything else we need. Don’t worry. Jeff and I will get what we need. One way or another. Settle down. We’ve got work to do. Can’t wait to tell Jeff about this.” Ty squeezed her tight then pushed her away.

  “What if I’m not pregnant though?” she asked. “It could be a virus.”

  “I don’t think so. You have all the symptoms. Your breasts have been super sensitive the last couple of days, you’ve been sick for two days, but it only lasts a few hours, and then you’re fine. Plus, you haven’t had a period for at least a month or two. Think about it,” he said.

  She did and had to agree. She sighed and nodded her head. He was right. She probably was pregnant. She smiled. She’d look on the good side. Her baby would have someone to play with. Her sister’s baby would only be a year older than hers.

  “Come on. Let’s get to work.” Ty let go of her and led her toward the mountain of work that lay ahead of them.

  For the next two hours, they cooked and put up tomatoes, peppers, beans, and made pepper jelly. She had cucumbers soaking for pickles. Just when she was sure they’d get caught up, Jeff walked in with a barrel full of more fresh veggies. Ty cursed, and she pushed out a loud whoosh of breath.

  “Don’t shoot me. I couldn’t leave them on the vine to rot,” Jeff said.

  “Set it down over there out of the sunlight. We’ll work on them in the morning,” Lucille said.

  “We’ve got some good news for you,” Ty said.

  “Ty,” Lucille warned. “Now’s not the best time.”

  “Best time for what?” Jeff asked, narrowing his eyes.

  “Lucille’s pregnant.”

  “Damnit, Ty,” she said.

  “Pregnant? Are you sure?” Jeff asked with wide eyes.

  “Yeah. As sure as you can be without tests. She’s been sick and hasn’t had a period in a couple of months,” Ty said.

  Jeff looked from one of them to the other, and then a huge smile took over his face before he rushed her and picked her up to swing her around in the air.

  “That’s fucking great news, hon. Great news,” he said.

  “Not a good idea to swing me around,” she said.

  “Oh, sorry.” He set her back down but continued to hold her. “We’re going to have a baby.”

  Lucille smiled, but it wasn’t as big as the guys’ smiles were. She couldn’t help but be worried about how they’d take care of it. She knew that Holly seemed to be happy and sure about her baby, but she had quite a few things already set up for her baby, while they didn’t have anything there for a baby. They’d have to look for things for a baby.

  “You don’t look very happy about this, Lucille. Why not?” Jeff asked, stepping back.

  “We don’t have anything for a baby. How are we going to take care of one?” she asked.

  “We’ll get what we need. Don’t worry about that. Let Ty and I worry about that. We’ll forage for whatever we need. You can tell us what to get, and we’ll either find it or make it. No big deal. I promise, hon. It will be fine.” Jeff kissed her on the forehead. “Please be happy about this. We are.”

  “I’m trying. I’m scared more than anything,” Lucille said.

  “She’ll be better once she’s had time to think about it. It just hit her today. Give her time, Jeff,” Ty said.

  “Let’s finish this stuff up and eat then get to bed. I want to hold our woman and our baby for a while,” Jeff said.

  “Me, too,” Ty said.

  They quickly finished off canning the tomatoes, pickles, and the beans before eating a light supper of tomato sandwiches and cucumber salad. Then they locked up for the night and had a quick shower. The night was hot, so they had the windows upstairs open, and a soft breeze blew in as they lay beneath a single cover. It was too hot to sleep on top of each other, but both men insisted on having a hand on her belly as they lay in bed and talked.

  “This is the best news ever,” Ty said.

  “I wish you were a little more excited about it, honey,” Jeff said.

  “I am. I’m just scared and worried. It’s a huge responsibility”

  “Yeah, it is, but there are three of us. I think we can manage one baby,” Jeff said.

  “I know you’re right. We’ll need to start looking for stuff we’ll need,” Lucille said.

  “You need to make a list of things we need immediately for us, and we’ll start figuring out where to look for them,” Jeff said.

  “Some of the things we can borrow from your sister,” Ty said. “By the time you have your baby, her baby may already be out of them and you can borrow them.”

  “That’s true,” Lucille said.

  “Honey, I love you.” Jeff rolled over and kissed her. “I haven’t told you before because I was a little afraid to tell you because you’d think it was just because of the sex or something. Now I’m afraid you’re going to think it’s just because of the baby, but I think there’s never a perfect time to tell you, so I’m telling you anyway. I love you. You’re perfect for us.”

  Lucille felt her eyes fill with tears. She blinked rapidly to try and dispel them, but they fell anyway. “I love you, too.” She looked over at Ty. “I love both of you. I’ve loved you almost since you first brought me here. I was afraid that I didn’t know what love was, but the longer I was with you, the more certain I knew that what I felt was love because it filled me up every time I was around you.”

  Ty pulled her close to him and kissed her on the nose. “I guess I just expected you to know that I loved you, angel. You’ve been in my heart since I first laid eyes on you. You’ve been the angel in my heart from day one. You’re still the most beautiful angel I’ve ever seen. I love you more than anything.”

  “You’re going to make me cry,” Lucille said.

  “See, pregnant. Hormones,” Ty said.

  They all burst out laughing, and Lucille popped him on the arm.

  * * * *

  Early the next morning Lucille sat at the kitchen table while the tomatoes boiled and the beans cooked and made a list of the most important things she’d need for the baby righ
t off the bat. She wished she had a baby book. She was sure she’d forget something since she’d never been pregnant before and hadn’t been around a baby before either. Maybe she needed to see her sister and talk to her about it. Of course, she was about to have her baby now. She’d be the perfect person to ask these questions in a few weeks.

  That made her stop and smile. She was going to be an aunt. Soon she’d have a little niece or nephew to rock and hold. She couldn’t wait to meet them. She also couldn’t wait to tell her sister that she was going to have a baby, too.

  “You doing okay, honey?” Jeff asked.

  “I’m good. I’m just trying to make a list of what I might need. I think I’m going to need to talk to my sister once she’s had the baby to be sure of what I need. Either that, or I’m going to need a baby book to see what I need. I don’t know the first thing about babies. I’ve never been around a baby or a pregnant woman other than my sister.”

  “Good point. One of us will go over to Canyon City in a few days and check for a baby book at the local library. Should be one left there. Maybe get a woodworking book on making furniture like baby beds or such as well,” Jeff said.

  “That’s a great idea. How far is Canyon City?” she asked.

  “About a day’s walk away. Half day on horseback,” he said.

  “Wow. Either way it’s overnight. I’ll hate for one of you to be gone all that time,” she said.

  “Has to be done. It will be fine. Do I need to stir anything?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Stir both pots please. Not as enthusiastically as you like to do though,” she said with a smile.

  “Go ahead and laugh. I only made a mess once. I learned my lesson from that,” Jeff said. He’d splashed tomato juice all over the stove the first time he’d stirred them, thinking he needed to stir with some force. He hadn’t done that since then.

  “I’m not laughing. Really,” she said, biting her lip to keep from giggling anyway.

  Lucille stood, walked over to where Jeff was standing in front of the stove, and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She felt content with her men. Knowing that they loved her, and having finally been able to tell them how she felt about them, gave her a sense of rightness. She wanted them to be a family more than anything, and now she felt like they were. Having a baby only made it more complete.

  “What are you thinking about?” Jeff asked as he turned in her embrace to face her.

  “About how lucky I am to have you and Ty in my life,” she said.

  “No, you’ve got it all wrong. We’re the lucky ones,” Jeff said. “Without you, we’d be living out here wasting away. You’ve brought hope and color to our world.”

  Lucille smiled and felt warm inside with his words. She hoped she had brought a little happiness to their world because they’d made her very happy. Life wasn’t the easiest in their world now, but it was basically all she knew. Having solar power was a huge plus for her. She had nothing to complain about. Now they had a baby on the way, and once she got past the worry and fear, she would be ecstatic. Yeah, life was good.

  “I love you, Jeff.”

  “I love you, Lucille. More than anything in this fucked-up world we live in.”

  “Wow, you must love me a lot.”

  “You know what I mean,” he said and tugged on her hair.

  “When can we go see Holly? I want to see her and see if she’s had the baby yet. I know the guys would let us know, but they won’t leave her side once she’s had the baby for several days, I’m sure.”

  “The harvest is settling down some now. How about next week around the middle of the week? One of us will go to see about the baby book in the next few days, and then next week you and I will go to see your sister for a couple of hours. We can’t stay long, okay?” Jeff said.

  “Okay. I know. I just really need to talk to her.” Lucille needed to tell her she was pregnant and ask her some questions. She didn’t have a mother to ask.

  Being pregnant and alone was scary. No, she had the guys, but she didn’t have another female to ask female-type questions. She needed to talk to her sister. Maybe she even needed to talk to Mrs. Johnson. She’d had children. She’d be a great resource. But she lived several hours away. That would be much harder.

  “Let’s get these vegetables put up so we can finish dinner. I’m sure Ty will be ready to call it a night. The days are getting harder and harder in the garden. He’s pulling up the plants that are dead or no longer producing, but those damn cucumbers and tomatoes are going to produce until the first frost.” Jeff took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

  They worked side by side to put up the beans and tomatoes over the next few hours then finished the roast for dinner that night. While Jeff went out to milk the cows, she cleaned up the kitchen. Ty walked in with a bucket full of tomatoes and cucumbers. He set it next to the back door before pulling off his boots, grumbling the entire time.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Just fussing about the damn tomatoes and cukes. They don’t die. I thought about not watering them anymore, but that would be cheating,” Ty said.

  Lucille laughed. “Yep. Have to let them run their course. See how long it takes them to die.”

  “I sure as hell hope we aren’t having tomato sandwiches tonight,” Ty said.

  “Nope. Roast with carrots and potatoes.”

  “Thank God.”

  “Go shower, and it will be on the table when you get back,” she said.

  He kissed her cheek as he walked by. “Thanks, angel.”

  Lucille smiled as he walked into the den to head for the stairs. He was so cute. She was so lucky to have both men. They were as different as night and day but complemented each other perfectly. She had the best of both types of men in her life. She hoped they were as happy with her as she was with them.

  That was when she felt something wet on her leg. She looked down and noticed the blood.

  Chapter Ten

  Ty heard the scream just as he was about to get out of the shower. He turned off the water, grabbed up the towel, and dried off his feet so he wouldn’t slip and fall. He ran down the hall to the stairs and took them two at a time to reach the den then the kitchen. He nearly ran into Jeff carrying a crying Lucille from the kitchen toward the den.

  “Move, Ty. Got to get her up to the bedroom. She’s bleeding,” Jeff said.

  “Did she cut herself?” Ty asked, backing out of the way.

  “No. She’s bleeding between her legs. The baby,” Jeff said.

  “Oh, fuck.” Ty followed them upstairs, where Jeff gently laid her down on the bed.

  Ty ran to the bathroom and grabbed some towels. When he returned, it was to find Jeff removing Lucille’s shorts and underwear. They were soaked, but it looked as if the bleeding had stopped. He handed his brother the towels then climbed onto the bed next to their woman and took her trembling hand into his.

  “Easy, angel. We’ve got you,” he said.

  “But the baby. I don’t want to lose the baby,” she cried.

  “The bleeding has stopped. It looks like a lot of blood, but I don’t think it’s really that much. You’ve been on your feet too much and have been moving those heavy pots of vegetables around by yourself. That stops right now,” Jeff said.

  “From now on,” Ty began, “we move the heavy things, and you direct us.”

  “And you take rest breaks with your feet up,” Jeff added.

  “Do you really think the baby’s okay?” Lucille asked, hiccoughing.

  “I think so. Time will tell though,” Jeff said. “We need that baby book though. Ty, we need you to go to town tomorrow and look in the local library for any maternity book or baby book you can find and bring it back. We need to know what to expect and what supplies we need for the baby.”

  “I’ll leave at first light. If I ride one of the horses, it won’t take as long, and I should be able to get home by dark.” Ty didn’t want to be away from home overnight. He was worried about Lucille.r />
  “I’m scared, Ty,” Lucille said, looking up at him.

  “I know, angel, but we’re going to take care of you. Jeff will be here with you, and I’ll be back before you know it. All you have to do is stay in bed and keep your feet up.” Ty squeezed her hand.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up, honey. Then we need to eat. We’ll bring yours to you up here. You need to stay in bed for the rest of the night,” Jeff said.

  “I’m not very hungry,” she told them.

  “I know, but you have to eat for the baby,” Ty said. “The baby needs the nourishment.”

  She sighed then nodded. Ty could still see the evidence of her crying clinging to her lashes as sparkling diamonds. He hated that she’d been so scared. He looked down and chuckled. He was still stark naked.

  “Guess I better get some clothes on if I’m going to help finish up dinner.” He winked at Lucille.

  “I can’t believe you came running down the stairs like that,” she said with a soft laugh.

  “You scared me to death screaming,” Ty said.

  “You think you were scared,” Jeff said. “I was just walking up to the house when I heard her. I came running and nearly tripped over my feet getting into the house. I found her standing in the kitchen screaming with blood on her legs.”

  “You going to be okay while we finish dinner up?” Ty asked.

  “I will be. I’m a little tired now. I’ll probably nap for a while,” Lucille said.

  Ty crawled off the other side of the bed and quickly pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt before sliding his feet into a pair of sandals that had seen better days. He looked over at where Jeff was finishing cleaning her up then walked toward the stairs leading downstairs. By the time Jeff joined him, Ty was somewhat settled down and had dinner finished and ready to eat.

  “She okay?” he asked Jeff as the other man fixed his plate.

  “Yeah, as okay as she can be. She was just about asleep when I left to come down here,” he said.

  “What about the baby? Do you think she lost it?”

  “I honestly don’t know, but I don’t think so. There wasn’t that much blood.”