by Liz Isaacson
“You’re moving?” Soren asked, eyeing Micah’s truck with all the boxes in the back.
“Just down the road,” Simone said, her chest quivering a little. “See, uh, Micah and I got married in a freaky sort of ceremony, and I’m moving into his house.”
Both Anita’s and Soren’s eyebrows darted upward, and they looked to the tall cowboy next to Simone. “Wow,” Soren said, always the more bold of the two. “Well, congratulations?”
“Yeah,” Anita said, giving Soren a look. “Congratulations.” She hugged Simone, adding, “We need another girls’ night,” in a whisper.
Simone nodded as her friend pulled back, and she said, “Anita,” to Micah. “And that’s Soren. They live right next door.”
“Nice to meet you ladies,” Micah said, extending his hand for them to shake. He was right proper with his manners, that was for sure. Simone made a mental note to tell Penny.
With the introductions done, Simone said, “Well, we have to get going.”
“Yeah, we’re headed out to the well this afternoon,” Soren said. “We’ll call you later, Simone.”
“Okay.” She went around to the passenger side and got in the truck. Micah unloaded everything while Simone started unboxing inside the house. A couple of hours later, it was done. She’d moved. She was living with her husband.
Not sleeping with him, she told herself as she looked around the bedroom on the other side of the house from Micah’s master suite. He’d offered the suite to her, but Simone thought that was entirely too much work.
She had no idea if he’d bought the bed in the past two days or if it had been there before, as she’d had no reason to explore all the bedrooms in their entirety. The room had curtains, a rug on the floor, and a puffy comforter on the bed. And it was a big bed—bigger than hers. Simone sat down on it, wondering what alternate reality she’d entered.
She wondered if Rhett and Evelyn had shared a bedroom when they’d gotten married. Or what Callie and Liam had done. Pure foolishness hit her, and she didn’t know what to do. She pulled out her phone and went to her texting app, finding the one with Callie and Evelyn in it.
I don’t need details, she typed out. But I moved in with Micah, and I feel like an idiot sleeping in a different bedroom. Is this normal?
Of course, Simone wasn’t born yesterday, and she knew none of this was normal. Absolutely none of it.
I didn’t, Evelyn said. I slept upstairs in the homestead, with three of his brothers there.
Horror filled Simone. That was much worse than her situation.
We went straight to Hawaii, Callie said. I was in love with him already.
Simone didn’t need more explanation than that. What she needed to figure out was whether or not she was in love with Micah Walker.
The next morning, Simone woke to a text from her father. I asked Belinda to marry me, and she said yes. We’d love to have you all for dinner. Evvy, I know you might not be able to make it. Tonight?
He’d sent it before six a.m. Simone shook her head and started tapping out a response. I can make it tonight, she sent.
So can I, Callie said. Congrats Daddy!
Evelyn hadn’t answered, even after Simone had showered and gotten ready for the day. She went out into the kitchen, where Micah sat on the couch, holding a bowl of cereal as he watched TV.
“Morning,” he said with a smile. “How was the bed?”
“It’s really great,” she said, returning the smile. “My dad got engaged and wants me to go to dinner tonight.”
“Am I coming?”
Simone hadn’t even thought about that. “Let me find out.”
She quickly tapped out the question, and Daddy said, Of course. Spouses and families welcome.
I need to check with Rhett, Evelyn said a moment later. He got really sick yesterday.
“Yes,” she said. “Me and you.”
“Okay,” Micah said. “I’m a little scared of your father.”
Simone scoffed, almost laughing. “Why?”
“If it were my daughter, and I hadn’t been included in the marriage or wedding or anything…I’d be upset. I took that from him.”
“So did Evelyn.”
“And I’m pretty sure she apologized for it,” Micah said. “And so did Rhett.”
“It’s an unusual circumstance.”
“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt his feelings.” Micah stood up. “I’ll talk to him tonight.”
“Micah.” She watched him take his dishes into the kitchen and put them in the sink.
Before he could answer, someone knocked on the door. Surprise darted through Simone, and she turned toward the front of the house. “Who’s that?”
“I don’t know,” Micah said. “It’s fairly early.” He crossed through the house and opened the door. “Oh, Momma. Hey.” He leaned down and enveloped her in a hug. “C’mon in.”
His mother entered the house, and she wore a timid smile on her face. That was a sight to see, because Simone found her to be a Texan powerhouse of a woman.
“Ma’am,” she said, stepping over and kissing her lightly on the cheek. Micah offered his hand, and Simone grabbed onto it.
“Oh, you don’t need to call me ma’am,” Penny said with a smile. “I’d hoped it wasn’t too early, and it looks like you’re up and ready.”
“I have chores on the ranch this morning,” Micah said.
Simone just watched her fiddle with her hands. “What’s wrong, Penny?” she asked.
“I don’t know if it’s my place to say,” she said. “But your father invited me and Gideon over for a little party yesterday afternoon while y’all were moving, and I went. Gideon wasn’t feeling well. Anyway, I….” She looked at Micah and swallowed. “Simone, dear.”
She reached out both hands and took Simone’s in hers. Worry crept her through. “It’s Gran, isn’t it?” she whispered.
“She’s not well, dear,” Penny said. “I don’t know how I know. I just do, and I don’t think she has much time left with us.” She sniffled, released one of Simone’s hands and wiped her eyes. “I thought you should know. You and Callie and Evelyn should go visit her.”
Simone nodded, her own emotions too volatile to speak. She cleared her throat and tried, but the words got stuck behind a ball of pain. Penny took her into a hug then, and said, “Just cry, baby. It’s okay.”
And though Simone was almost forty years old, she hadn’t been hugged by a mother in a very, very long time. And she did allow herself to cry as Micah’s petite mother held her tight. Micah put his hand on her back, and that was all she needed.
Several long seconds later, she stepped back and swiped at her eyes. “We’re going tonight,” she said. “Daddy’s having a dinner for us to celebrate the engagement.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Penny said. She smiled and stepped back. “Okay, will you tell the other girls?”
“I’ll tell them,” Simone said. “Thanks so much, Penny.”
“And you and I should go to lunch,” she said, more of a glint in her eyes now. “I’d love to get to know you better.” She looked at Micah. “I love you already, because Micah loves you, but yeah. There’s always time for a good lunch, right?”
“Always,” Simone agreed.
“Marcy and I go every week,” she said. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you tagged along.”
Simone didn’t know about that, and she said, “I’ll ask her.”
“Or I can.”
“Okay.” Simone watched Micah hug his mother and walk her to the front door. He turned back to her, pure compassion on his face.
“Sweetheart,” he said, and Simone practically ran to him. He held her the same way Penny had, and Simone cried again, this time wetting his T-shirt with her tears.
“What will I do without her?” she asked. “She and Daddy are all I have left.”
“Not true,” he said, wiping her tears for her. “You have me now, and my whole, huge, crazy family.”
Simone
nodded, realizing in that moment that he was right. He was absolutely right. She wasn’t alone anymore, and she touched her lips to his in a sweet kiss, falling a little bit more in love with him in that moment.
That night, Simone pulled up to the perfect white house on Quail Creek Road and went up the steps. Through the closed door, she heard Conrad crying, and she didn’t bother to knock. Evelyn wouldn’t hear her anyway.
“Evvy,” she said, finding her sitting on the couch in Rhett’s office in the front of the house.
“He knows I can’t get up and chase him,” Evelyn said crossly. “So he hates sitting here.” She gave her son a stern look. “Don’t you dare move, Conrad.”
The boy wailed again from the tiny chair Evelyn had set next to the desk. But he did not move.
“Rhett’s too ill to stay with Conrad,” Evelyn said. “And I can’t handle him.”
“I’ll take him,” Simone said, stepping toward him. “Can I?”
“Give him to me,” Evelyn said, and Simone bent to pick up the little boy. She handed him to his mother, who perched him on her very pregnant belly.
“Conrad,” she said. “Look at momma.”
Sniffling, the little boy looked up through his long lashes.
“If ,omma says you can’t have the grahams, you can’t have them.”
“Okay, Momma,” he said, his voice straight from heaven. “I sorry, Momma.” He burst into tears again and buried his face into Evelyn’s neck. How could she stay cross at him when Conrad was so contrite?
“Gramps is feeding us,” Evelyn said as she stroked his hair. She didn’t explain further, probably because she knew Conrad didn’t get why he couldn’t eat crackers just before dinner. “Now, go with Aunt Simone. She’s going to take care of you tonight for Momma. Okay?”
Conrad sat up and reached for Simone, who took him. She smoothed back his hair and kissed his cheek. “Good boy, Conrad,” she murmured. She set him on his feet and said, “Go find your shoes for me, okay?” He scampered off to do that, and Simone extended her hand toward Evelyn to help her off the couch.
Simone wasn’t surprised when Evelyn started crying, but Simone couldn’t get her arms around her sister. “I’m fine,” Evelyn said. “I am. It’s just I’m so big, I can’t do anything. Everything hurts. I’m so ready to have these babies, but I’m also scared out of my mind.”
She shook her head, and Simone didn’t know how to help her. “Evvy,” she said. “You’ll be okay. The babies will come, and you’ll have help. You won’t have to do it yourself.”
She nodded, and Simone put on Conrad’s shoes and got them all out to the SUV. At Daddy’s, they found Callie and Liam already there with their girls, and Conrad went straight over to his grandfather and gave him a hug.
Daddy loved the grandchildren, and Simone checked her phone for a message from Micah.
“Where’s Micah?” Daddy asked after scooping Conrad into his arms.
“He’s running late,” she said. “Micah is. He had a meeting with someone today they turned into a phone call. He’s almost here.”
Daddy nodded and introduced Conrad to Belinda, who grinned at him like he was her grandson. Simone did really like Belinda, as she seemed to have lit a fire inside Daddy that had been out for a long, long time.
She was bright, and kind, and full of energy, and Simone stepped over to her and gave her a hug. “How’s married life?” Belinda asked.
“New,” Simone said, giving her a smile. A knock on the door saved her from saying anything else, and she went to get Micah from the front porch.
“Sorry,” he said, and he didn’t seem to be in a good mood.
“How’d it go with Bear?”
“Not great,” he said. “I’ll tell you about it later.” He looked past her and into the house. “Did Rhett come?”
Simone shook her head, and Micah nodded just once. In the family room, Simone found Evelyn hugging Gran as they both stood up. Callie wept, and Liam steadied her with one hand while holding Ginger in the other.
Evelyn stepped back, and Simone felt like she’d missed something powerful. She glanced at Daddy, who stood in the kitchen with Belinda and Conrad still. “Dinner’s ready,” he said.
Micah tapped Simone on the shoulder and stepped away from her. She heard him say something to her dad, and they both nodded. Daddy said something to Belinda, and then he and Micah went out into the garage.
“What’s going on?” Callie asked, turning to Simone.
“We feel bad we got married without Daddy there,” Simone said. “It really was an accident. It wasn’t something we did on purpose.” She rounded the couch and took Gran’s hand. “It wasn’t, Gran.”
“I know that,” she said, her voice definitely rusty and old. “I called Pastor Daniels, and he explained everything.”
Surprise moved through Simone. “I explained everything, Gran. Did you think I was lying?”
“Yes,” Belinda said. “She thought you were lying.”
“Oh, you,” Gran said, but Belinda just smiled. “And Jerome is okay. He’s used to you girls doing what you want.”
“Is that so?” Callie asked, her eyebrows as high as Simone’s.
“I told him he should be proud of such independent, successful women,” Belinda said, placing a pot of soup on a wooden trivet and looked up. “He realized he shouldn’t be upset, and instead, be glad y’all have found someone who makes you happy.” She grinned brightly and moved to help Gran to the table. “But she still called.”
“Just for confirmation,” Gran said.
Daddy and Micah came back inside, and Simone watched her father first, then her husband. “All right,” Daddy said, clapping his hands together. “We’re so glad you could all come tonight. Too bad Rhett is so sick.”
“He feels really bad,” Evelyn said.
“Tell him we love him,” Daddy said, his voice choking on the last word in a rare show of his emotion. Simone’s own emotions welled up for at least the umpteenth time that day, and she leaned into the man next to her. Her rock. Her anchor. Her husband. Micah.
“All right,” Belinda said. “Let’s eat.”
Simone stepped over to her. “Thank you, Belinda,” she said. “I’m just so happy for you and Daddy.” She hugged the woman, who showed some surprise for the first time. She released her and hugged her father, who held her tight and whispered, “I love you, girly.”
He hadn’t called her by that childhood nickname for so long, and Simone sobbed into his shoulder. It seemed everyone had cried a little bit by the end of the evening, and as Simone held her grandmother one last time before she left, she hoped it wouldn’t be the last time ever.
Chapter Fifteen
Rhett heard Evelyn groan from the other room, and he abandoned his case in the office. He knew everything forward and backward, but he liked to lay everything out in the days before court so he could see the timeline from beginning to end. Sometimes he even practiced his testimony so he could deliver his findings with a factual face and not an emotional one.
“Evvy,” he said entering the hallway that led back into the main part of the house. She’d been taking a nap every afternoon with Conrad for the past few weeks, having narrowly fought off the sickness that had prevented him from going to her father’s to celebrate his engagement.
She’d gone back to sit with her grandmother and share lunch with her several times since then, as Momma had told Evelyn that Gran didn’t have much time left.
Momma, ran through his mind. His parents had gone to the Hill Country to assess the situation with Grandma Lucy and Grandpa Jerry, and Rhett needed them when Evelyn had the babies. But they’re not due for another three weeks.
He entered the living room, hoping to just find his wife had groaned in her sleep, perhaps from trying to roll over. Instead, he knew in an instant that the groan was much more serious than that. She was in the process of trying to push herself up, and Rhett hurried to her side to help her.
“I think it was a contra
ction,” she said, her eyes wide and afraid. She’d cried every day for the past couple of weeks too, and Rhett knew it wasn’t all from the stress of her grandmother’s illness. He understood the type of panic and fear he saw on his wife’s face. He’d barely known what to do with one baby, and they were about to have three at the same time.
“I’m going to call Liam,” Rhett said.
“No,” Evelyn said. “Call Simone. The girls are sick, and I can’t bring three babies back to an older brother who’s infected.”
“Okay.” Rhett got up and jogged back to the office for his phone. He dialed Simone and hurried back into the living room while the line connected. “The bag is in the truck, baby. Let’s go.” Of course, Evelyn couldn’t just jump to her feet and go. Rhett frowned as he realized the line hadn’t connected to Simone, and he couldn’t hold his phone and help his wife at the same time.
His heart sprinted in his chest, and he hated this out-of-control feeling. The last time he’d been this panicked had been when Tripp had called and said Daddy had been in an accident and to call everyone and get them to pray. There hadn’t been much time for explanations then either.
“Okay,” he said, taking a deep breath. Wife first. Conrad would be okay here—or even at the hospital—until Simone could come. He set the phone on the back of the couch and helped Evelyn to her feet. “One step at a time, sweetheart.”
She actually turned toward him and gave him a smile, though it shook in the corners of her mouth. “They’re coming early.”
“The doctor said they might, remember?” He nodded to get her to keep moving, and they made it all the way outside and into the truck. “Stay here. I’m going to go grab my phone.” He ran back inside the house, where Penny sat at the mouth of the hall. “Can you watch over Conrad for us?” he asked the dog, though of course she couldn’t.
He also didn’t want his son to wake up here alone. After swiping his phone back to his ear he saw that he’d missed Simone’s call. Strange. He hadn’t heard his phone ring. He tapped to return her call anyway, detouring down the hall to Conrad’s room to check on the boy.