I forced a smile and opened my truck door. “It appears so.”
“Tell me, Trevor, are you the type of guy who can actually settle down with one woman?”
Staring at her, I laughed. “Let me guess, Kenzie. You’ve been talking to Eric.”
She smirked. “As a matter of fact, I have been. He thinks there may be a story in there somewhere.”
With a smirk, I took a step closer to her. “I’m disappointed in you.”
Her face went pale. “Excuse me?”
“A piece of advice for you, Kenzie. Let the town gossip mill stay with the prayer chain. This bullshit you’re trying to pull, it doesn’t become you.”
Lifting her chin, Kenzie forced a smile. “Well, if things don’t work out between y’all—”
I shot her a look that instantly had her shutting her mouth.
“Oh, it’s going to work out. See ya’ around, Kenzie.”
With a lift of her hand and a fake ass smile, she waved. “See ya’ around, Trevor.”
I started my truck and pulled out of the lot. Anger quickly had my body heating up. That fucking Eric. What in the hell was that guy’s deal? Shaking off all thoughts of that dickhead, I focused on Scarlett and getting the last of her things out of the house. Christmas was in a couple of days and the sooner she was with me, the better I’d feel.
The smell of bacon had me opening my eyes and letting out a soft moan.
“Oh God, bacon.”
Throwing the blanket and sheet off of me, I slipped my robe on and headed to the bathroom before making my way to the kitchen. Trevor knew I had been craving bacon and had been making it every single morning since I officially moved in a few days earlier. Before that, I’d pretty much been staying at his house every night and slowly moving my things in over the last month.
The moment I stepped into the kitchen, Trevor turned to face me. It was like he’d sensed I was there.
“Good morning, baby.”
I walked over to him and planted a kiss on his lips. “Good morning. You know, you’re going to spoil me with this bacon every morning.”
He grinned and every nerve ending tingled. We had come such a long way in a short amount of time. I still felt like I needed to pinch myself to believe this was all happening.
“I would have brought it up to you, but the smell must have woken you up.”
“Actually, it was your child pushing on my bladder that woke me up.”
Trevor beamed and placed his hand on my stomach. The look of pure happiness in his eyes was hard to miss.
“Gummy Bear causing trouble already, huh?”
“Yes! Apple doesn’t fall far.”
With a quick bend down, Trevor kissed me. It was soft and sweet, but still sent a zap of desire to my lower belly.
“I know what I want for Christmas,” I whispered against his lips.
“What’s that, baby?”
Placing my hands on his bare chest, I looked up into those beautiful blue eyes.
“You.”
The once-soft blue instantly turned darker, and before I knew it, Trevor was turning off the oven and I was in his arms. He headed back to our bedroom where he gave me the best Christmas gift a girl could want: three orgasms coupled with slow passionate love making.
Nothing would ever top this first Christmas together.
Presents laid in neat piles across the large family room. I watched as Mitchell attempted to get Merit to crawl toward him. Liberty was now crawling. I couldn’t help but laugh every time I watched her take off and Jonathon and Waylynn had to go after her.
Maebh and Cord were glued to each other like two peas in a pod. It was the cutest thing to watch them together. Maebh’s father Aedin was in town and completely lost in a conversation with Aunt Vi. There was something going on between the two of them, and I made a mental note to ask Trevor about it.
My eyes roamed the room and found Corina talking with her mom, Lori, and Melanie. Lori was now running the bed and breakfast for Corina and when I had decided to go work for Frio River Ranch, Lori hired a part-time girl to help out. She ended up being fantastic with the guests and the perfect fit. She freed up time for Lori to be with Corina and Merit. It was obvious how much Corina loved having her mother here.
Moving my attention around the room, I found Steed playing hide and seek with Gage, while Amelia, Wade, and Paxton played a board game with Chloe.
“Taking it all in?” Trevor whispered as he came up behind me.
Laughing, I nodded. “Everyone is scattered. It’s hard to keep up with all the bodies.”
Trevor pointed over to Maebh and Cord. “Except for those two love birds.”
“They’re probably talking wedding plans. It’s romantic that they’re getting married in Ireland.”
Sitting next to me, Trevor took my hand in his. “Do you think we’ll be able to go? With the baby being so young and all?”
I shrugged. “I guess we can talk to the pediatrician about it, but I don’t see why we wouldn’t be able to. Maebh tried to push it out knowing when I was due. Amelia and Wade are planning on going with their little one who is due three weeks before us.”
Trevor laced his fingers with mine. “Then I say we plan on going as well. We can do business-class on the flight over, so it will be more comfortable for the baby and us.”
Turning to face him, I smiled. “Who are you and what did you do with Trevor?”
Trevor laughed. “Well, the old Trevor realized what a stupid idiot he was after months of fighting the truth. He wised up and went after the woman he loved. Then when he found out said woman was carrying his baby, something else was set off inside of him.”
I raised a brow. “And what exactly was that?”
Placing his finger on my chin, he brushed his lips against mine and whispered, “A love so powerful it knocked me on my ass. A love so strong it woke me up and showed me what I truly longed for.”
Tears pricked at the back of my eyes. “Trevor Parker, you are truly the most romantic man in this room.”
A crooked smile formed on his beautiful face. “Don’t tell my brothers that. They’ll try to show me up.”
“We can’t have that,” I softly replied.
“No. We can’t.”
His lips pressed to mine, and I had to remind myself we were in a room full of his family.
“Gross! Uncle Trevor put his tongue in Aunt Scarlett’s mouth!”
We both laughed as we broke the kiss and sat back.
Trevor pulled Chloe to him and started covering her in kisses. She screamed in delight and laughed as Trevor tickled her. I couldn’t help being overwhelmed by emotions. Pushing it all down before I got too worked up, I smiled as I watched the man I loved more than anything playing with his niece. I pictured him playing with our little one and loved how that made my entire body warm.
“It’s time to open presents!” Melanie called out as cheers erupted in the room.
“I hate to break up the beauty of all of this,” Aunt Vi said as she walked into the room.
Everyone turned to her, the cheers dying out.
“Patches is currently in the kitchen. Eating all the food.”
I’d never seen so many people move so fast in my life. The only people who didn’t jump up and run were me, Harley, and Amelia. The three of us looked at each other and laughed.
“Ah, the joys of being pregnant,” Harley stated as she waddled out of the family room.
Amelia hooked her arm with mine as we walked calmly toward the chaos.
“Welcome to the Parker family, Scarlett,” she said with a smile.
I knew the moment she walked into the barn. It wasn’t because I smelled that sweet vanilla of her body lotion; it was the way my heart jumped a little in my chest. My body just knew when she was around.
Glancing over my shoulder, I tossed the hay bale up to Mitchell.
“Hey there, beautiful.”
Scarlett stood before me, her face lit up like she’d just walked into so
mething amazing.
“I felt the baby move.”
I stopped and stood, staring at her.
“Are you serious?” Mitchell said as he jumped down from the loft where we had been stacking the hay. “Feel like a little flutter?”
Scarlett nodded. “I’ve been feeling something, I just wasn’t sure if it was the baby or not.”
I felt myself smile, but I couldn’t move. She had felt the baby move. Mitchell slapped me on the back and laughed.
“Dude, snap out of it. You should be able to feel Gummy Bear move soon. It didn’t take very long before I could feel Merit moving around. Best damn thing ever.”
I rushed over to Scarlett, pulling off my work gloves as I moved.
“You felt the baby?” I asked, grinning like a fool.
“Yep! I know now what it feels like, so next time I’ll be ready. I don’t think you can feel it yet, but like Mitchell said, we’re getting close!”
I pulled her into my arms and hugged her before framing her face with my hands and kissing her.
“Hey, why don’t y’all saddle up a few horses and enjoy the afternoon,” Mitchell said. “I can get Wade to help me with the rest of this, Trevor.”
Turning to my brother, I asked, “You sure? I don’t want to leave you high and dry.”
“I’m sure. Wade won’t mind.”
“I heard my name.”
Wade walked into the barn, already wearing his work gloves. He must have been coming down to help out.
“You already finish up that project you were working on?” I asked, giving him an arched brow.
He grinned.
“I’ve got what I need from the land survey samples. Comparing the numbers, I have a better idea of the density of the livestock grazing in the southwest pasture. I think we can increase the number slightly and still not have to worry about a shortage of grazing area.”
“What does that even mean?” Scarlett asked with a giggle.
Tossing my gloves onto a bench, I replied, “It means Wade likes playing with grass and dirt and seeing how many cows can graze in a pasture based on what is grown there.”
I swore Wade stuck his chest out. I was ready for him to beat on it and declare himself master of all things dirt and shit.
Scarlett smiled at Wade. “Oh, sounds…interesting.”
“It is,” Wade stated at the same time Mitchell and I said, “It isn’t.”
Scarlett laughed.
“Come on, let’s get some horses ready to ride. You feeling okay today?”
“I am. It’s the first day in a while I haven’t had a back ache, or an upset stomach, or felt like I had to pee every five minutes.”
Wade groaned. “Enjoy it. It won’t last. Amelia started sleeping in the guest room because she’s afraid she’s going to wake me up with how much she gets up and uses the restroom.”
It was Scarlett’s turn to groan. Laughing, I took her hand in mine and led her down the barn.
“You want to ride Candy Cane today?”
I watched her face light up as she ran her hand down the side of the horse’s neck.
“Can we still ride her with her being pregnant and all?”
“Yep, once she gets to about three months before foaling, we won’t ride her. Harley said she is about six months pregnant. This will probably be her last ride, to be honest. I don’t want to risk anything with her.”
I ran my hands over the horse, causing her to toss her head up a bit, telling me she wanted some scratching.
“What is it with you and females, Trevor Parker? Even the girl animals love you.”
Laughing, I tugged Scarlett over. “The only female I care about is you.”
She smiled, and my knees felt weak. Damn, this woman had no idea the control she had over me.
“You’re sure the straps won’t hurt her, right?”
With a wink, I replied, “I promise you. If I thought it was unsafe for her or the foal, I’d let you know. Just keep your legs light, not because I think you’ll hurt her, I just don’t want her trotting with you on her.”
She grinned. “I’m pretty sure the four of us would be okay.”
I stopped moving and looked at her. “The four of y’all?”
“Me, Gummy Bear, Candy, and her foal.”
Walking over to her, I leaned down and kissed her. “Oh, that’s right. I love you, Scarlett.”
She grinned. “Wow, well, I love you too. What was that for?”
Shrugging, I replied, “I just wanted to tell you that.”
“Y’all going to stand there in Candy’s stall and stare at each other or actually go riding?” Mitchell called out.
A blush hit Scarlett’s cheeks, and she looked down at my bare chest.
“You are going to put your shirt on, right?”
Lifting a brow, I asked, “Why? Is this distracting?”
She nodded. “Yes. Very.”
“Then I’m keeping it off.”
After I got both horses ready to go, I helped Scarlett onto Candy Cane and jumped onto Rex. He was one of my favorite horses, and he loved to be ridden any chance he could.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Yep.”
We started off at a slow pace. There was no way I was going to risk anything with Scarlett up on that horse. I didn’t care that she was an experienced rider, or that Candy was a calm horse. That was my girl and baby on that giant, gentle beast.
Walking along the trail in silence, I closed my eyes and let the peaceful sounds of nature relax me. Rex instantly knew when I was relaxed because he slowed the pace down.
“Trevor? Is it okay if we stop for a bit?”
I brought Rex to a stop and jumped off. Draping the reins over his back, I let him walk around and graze while I helped Scarlett off her horse.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “Just wanted to take a little walk off of the horses, if that’s okay.”
“Of course, it is. Let me get the reins up on her so she can graze with Rex.”
Candy instantly made her way over to Rex. They rubbed their heads and softly spoke to one another.
“Did Candy mate with Rex?” Scarlett asked, watching the two horses interact.
“I’m not sure. She was out in the pasture with Rex and two other studs.”
Scarlett smiled and looked up at me. “Oh, yeah, those two are momma and daddy. Look at how he keeps nudging her and how close he is to her. Trevor! That’s so sweet!”
I shrugged. “Or he just knows she’s pregnant, and he thinks she’s horny and he wants a piece.”
Her hand punched my stomach, causing me to let out a sharp breath.
Laughing, I grabbed Scarlett’s hand, and we slowly walked in the open field.
“What’s on your mind, baby?”
She sighed. “Everything.”
“Want to talk about it?”
Her gaze dropped to the ground as we walked, and it took her a few moments before she finally looked up.
“I’m scared. I have this feeling and I can’t shake it. It’s like I’m waiting for the floor to fall out from under me. This all feels too…perfect.”
I frowned. “What feels too perfect?”
“This!” she said, stretching out her arms. Then pointing to me, she added. “You. For years I used to dream about that kiss, Trevor. The way you made me feel. When you asked me to the benefit dinner and we slept together, I was even more in love with you. Then all the crap we went through and…well…all of that.”
My chest ached knowing I had hurt her so many times.
“Scarlett, I’m not going to pretend I wasn’t a dick, because I was. I wasn’t sure how to handle the way I felt about you. It scared me. Sometimes it still does, but there is one thing I know for sure. I love you. I’ve loved you from the first moment I kissed you. You don’t think I’m terrified that I’m going to fuck this up and hurt you? Every damn day I wake up I worry I’m going to mess up somehow or someone is going to see you on the street and tell you how
she hooked up with me and how I’ll never change. That all scares the piss out of me.”
I took her hands and smiled. “When it hit me that I might be losing you, I decided then and there that that wasn’t going to be an option.”
She nodded. “I know, and I feel stupid for being insecure. I don’t know if it’s just my hormones or what.”
“I’m not with you because of the baby. I’m with you because you are the love of my life. Our baby is just a bonus. You are the very reason I take each breath. I know I pushed you to move in with me and work here on the ranch. Call me greedy. I want you with me every single day. I have time to make up for and I don’t wanna waste another day.”
Tears filled her eyes, causing her to blink rapidly in an attempt to keep them back.
“I used to have this crazy idea that I didn’t want to be with one woman. At least, not anytime soon. But when the right one came along—you—it scared the fuck out of me. I tried to stay away so that I didn’t hurt you and all I ended up doing was hurting you.”
“I should have told you about the baby right away.”
“None of that matters. What matters is this very moment. You and me. The baby. I’d give my last breath for the two of you, don’t ever forget that.”
A tear escaped her eye as she whispered my name. “Trevor.”
She took in a deep breath before focusing back on me when she spoke.
“God answered my prayers when he made this baby. I’ll never regret that night. I’ll never regret anything that brought the two of us together, no matter how winding the road was. We both ended up at the same stop exactly when we needed to be there.”
Brushing a stray piece of hair away from her face, I kissed her. Slow at first. Whispering against her lips how much I loved her.
“I love you with every beat of my heart. You’re my everything, Scarlett Littlefield.”
Her arms wrapped around my neck, and in a breathy voice, she replied, “I want to be Scarlett Parker.”
Heat surged through my body as I drew back and gazed into her gorgeous, chestnut brown eyes. The flutter in my chest quickened as I asked, “What did you say?”
Reckless Love Page 19