Once In A Blue Moon

by Celia Stewart

  With a sigh, he grabbed the soap and built up a nice lather, wrapping his slippery fingers around his erection. With thoughts of Bettina running rampant in his head, it wouldn’t take long.

  Head lowered against the spray of hot water, he stroked himself. He should have dragged Bee to bed. All he could think about was being inside her, and how hot and sweet she’d been last night.

  “Need some help?”

  He paused mid-stroke, shocked and gasping for air, and stared at her. His lips trembled and his balls twitched and tightened from the unrelenting pressure. Lord knows Rhea’d caught him enough times and enjoyed teasing him about it too. Made it a point even.

  But judging from the expression on his wife’s face, she wasn’t in a mood for that kind of teasing. He shook his head, struggling for words. “You’ll get all wet.”

  Then they both chuckled at his accidental joke.

  “Gimme the soap.”

  Ty handed it to her. She propped one leg on the edge of the tub and soaped her hand.

  “C’mere.”

  His cock twitched. He stared into her smoky green eyes and moved closer. Her hand joined his, and he braced himself against the wall again, letting her take over.

  “Feel good?”

  “Yeah, baby.” His breath came in little short huffs as he massaged his sac, letting her do all the real work, fascinated at the sight of her long fingers wrapped around him.

  “I heard you.”

  His hips tightened, and he leaned into her skilled fingers as a long loud moan that slipped from between his lips. He’d locked the front door, and they were alone. He could be as damned loud as he wanted.

  “I heard you makin’ that noise.” Her hand never stopped.

  “What ... noise?” He looked up at her, his chest heaving, his climax only a hair’s-breath away.

  “That one. Come for me, Ty.” She licked her lips and nodded, her eyes never wavering.

  “Faster, Bee.” His hips arched further into her hand. His head rolled back as she sped up. He let it suck him under, not even trying to hold back the shout that ripped itself from his throat. With one final thrust in her hand, he collapsed against the shower wall, panting and weak-kneed.

  “Bee,” he groaned, his eyes on her face.

  Bettina’s curls hung in damp ringlets. Her lower lip was caught between her teeth and her sleepy eyes reignited the fire in the pit of his belly. Ty stumbled out of the shower on wobbly legs. Grabbing up fistfuls of curls, he pushed her backward until he had her pinned to the bathroom door and forced her mouth open under his.

  She clung to him, arms clamped around his shoulders. The kiss was similar to the one they’d shared last night after she’d felt the baby move. Raw, deep and earth shattering. He felt it in the furthest reaches of his chest. Deeper than his heart, even.

  He ground against her, his need still at a fever pitch. He wanted her. He wanted to fuck her. Taste her. Feel her come like she had when he went down on her.

  He wanted her body and soul. He wanted her heart.

  Ty froze mid-kiss and drew back to study her. Her green eyes were so dark they were nearly black. Her lips were red and puffy from his kiss. He leaned down and gently sipped at them, pausing to study her with each kiss. She had freckles and little laugh lines at the corner of her eyes. And the prettiest lips. He lightly traced each one with his tongue.

  He couldn’t say it. It was too soon, too fresh, and he was too scared, but he showed her right there in that hot steamy bathroom. He took her against the bathroom door and told her with his body what he couldn’t say--yet.

  * * * *

  Bee sat at the kitchen table, smiling at him. But Ty was tired, full of stew and still reeling from his earlier revelation. He wracked his brains. Why was she sitting there grinning like a Cheshire cat? Finally, he gave up. “What?”

  “The baby furniture came today. I hope you like it,” she added.

  The furniture she’d ordered before she told him about the baby. Aww, hell. “Let’s go take a look.” He stood on suddenly shaky legs.

  She dragged him by the hand through the house to the bedroom next to theirs. She’d outdone herself. No wonder she’d been so excited. The nursery was beautiful, and Ty’s heart melted all over again as he walked to the center of the room, taking it all in. The multi-colored walls, the curtains with little bunnies hopping all over them and the fancy crib that looked like a mini sleigh bed with all kinds of swirls and loops carved into it. The bedding was covered with more bunnies. Peter Rabbit registered somewhere in his head.

  “I had Tara order a matching cradle when she called, and asked them to ship it here instead of my house. It’s in our room.”

  “How did you manage to get all this together?”

  “It was easy. And Delaney helped. Look!” She held up a little stuffed rabbit wearing a blue jacket, her excited chatter barely slowing down.

  Peter himself. He even played music, after she wound his butt up. “But Cassi said I can’t buy anything else until after my baby shower.”

  Anything else? Ty eyed the dresser, changing table, crib and rocker, totally clueless as to how much they cost. He knew it had to be ‘an arm and an ass,’ as Tim would say. He slowly spun around again, taking it all in one more time. Beautiful, expensive furniture that was so far beyond his limited budget. A nursery any baby would love but...

  “How ... how the hell are we going to pay for all this, Bettina?” He choked out the words, struggling for air as a freight trail hurtled toward him.

  “I charged it.” She stared at him, the happiness fading from her face.

  “And the baby clothes ... last week?” His heart beat triple time. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly even as his palms became slick with sweat. Nerves.

  He checked himself, then shoved past her, not stopping until he stood on the back porch, sucking in air so cold it hurt. The panic attack had hit him like a kamikaze freight train. He had no idea in hell where he’d hidden the fucking Xanax and wouldn’t take ‘em in front of Bee anyway.

  He counted to ten and kept going until things began returning to normal. Noise finally penetrated the roaring in his ears. Adrenaline and cold had him shaking. But his tongue didn’t work.

  “Ty? Ty what happened?” Bee stood behind him, touching him, her hands on his back. Worried.

  Sweaty and shaking, he shook her off and moved, stumbled down the steps toward the chaise she’d left in the yard and collapsed in it, running his fingers through his hair.

  “Ty! What just happened?”

  It had been so long since he’d had an attack, he’d forgotten how fast they could overwhelm him. Still struggling for air, he propped his legs up and held out his arms. She immediately curled against him. God, he musta scared the living daylights out of her.

  With one heavy sigh, his heart settled back in his chest. “I freaked.”

  “Are you alright now?” she whispered, shivering against him. “Cause it’s damned cold out here, Tyrell.”

  He gave her another squeeze. “I will be.”

  She stood up and held out her hand. “Then let's go inside.”

  Back in the nursery he collapsed in the rocker.

  “Ty?” She leaned against the doorjamb, one eyebrow quirked, arms crossed. “Cassi used to have panic attacks, so I know one when I see one.”

  The stew he’d eaten for dinner solidified in his stomach.

  “How long have you been having them?”

  “A while.” He couldn’t stop shaking. A remnant of the excess adrenaline. “But I haven’t had one in weeks.”

  He watched her walk across the room, unable to read the expression on her face as she settled in his lap and draped her arms around his neck. “You scared the shit out of me. Have you seen a doctor?”

  He should just tell her the truth. But he didn’t. “She said they were temporary. That they’d stop. I’m sorry.”

  “We need to talk about money, don’t we?”

  It took a minute for the cha
nge of subject to register, then his stomach rolled over at the mention of money. At this rate he could kiss his dinner goodbye. Breathe. “Rhea and the lawyer wiped me out.” Dr. Ritter’s therapy had helped. “The house ... is in Dad’s name but the payments come out of my check.”

  “My ring?” she whispered.

  “The last of my savings...” he gave her a shaky smile, “--and worth every penny.”

  She kissed his forehead, whispering, “Well, I guess today is your lucky day, Ty honey, cause I’m far from wiped out.”

  “I didn’t realize cuttin’ hair was so lucrative,” he said chuckling softly. The shakes were slowing down, and if she didn’t stop playing with his hair, he’d fall asleep for sure. He always crashed after an attack.

  “It is when you own your own business.”

  That got his attention.

  “I ... think I missed something somewhere.” He shook his head, trying to kick his brain back into gear. “You own ... I thought Jeff...”

  “I own The Blue Moon, baby. Have since I was nineteen. Why in the world would you think Jeff did?”

  He was too shocked to be angry. “The way he treated you ... he called you honey. You own ... a business?”

  “I told you ... he’s almost family. As a matter of fact, when I expanded, Jeff designed The Blue Moon. He’s an architect.”

  And he was a broken-down cowboy who probably wouldn’t inherit the ranch until he had grandkids of his own. He shook his head, then rubbed his temples, trying to take it all in.

  “Well.” She stopped, clamping her lips shut.

  “Well what?”

  She sighed heavily. “I’ve never had to discuss finances or financial decisions with anyone, not even Angi. Hell, I’ve never had to discuss anything ... it’s always been just me. I’m sorry, Ty.”

  “I just realized the other night when you brought those clothes home. Babies are expensive.”

  She nodded and gave him a tiny smile. “I splurged too. She’s my first.”

  “She?”

  “Okay, so, I confess. I want a girl. I was afraid you’d be mad because I chose Beatrix Potter and didn’t ask you how you wanted to decorate the nursery.”

  “No, that’s fine. Whatever you want. It really is beautiful, I just...”

  “Freaked out,” she finished for him. “Long day?”

  “I fell in a creek,” he confessed with a laugh. This was different. This was his Bee. No wonder he loved her.

  * * * *

  Tuesday was another long day, but at least Ty managed to stay in the saddle this time. Dancer was as sure-footed as they came and the fall hadn’t been the gelding’s fault, but the rider’s. And the weather’s.

  Late in the afternoon Ty headed for the creek and the cottonwood, passing Handy and Pate, Dad’s two full time hands, with a wave. He gave Dancer his head, letting him stretch his legs, then walked the last half mile.

  He sat, watching the rushing water below him, his head filled to capacity. There was just too much to process, and he still hadn’t figured out how to tell Bee about Rhea. At least Rhea hadn’t shown up on his doorstep--but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t.

  With a sigh, he turned at the sound of hoofbeats. So much for sneaking off. “Daddy.”

  “Pate and Handy said you came out this way. Wanna talk about it?”

  “About what?” Great! He’d hoped after the to-do with Jessa his family would quit interfering. He slumped a bit in the saddle. Had Tim told his dad about the nightmares or the fight with Bettina? It was one thing to ask for advice, but all the interference had gotten plumb old.

  “Let’s take a walk.” Jerrod dismounted and Ty followed suit. Walking meant talking.

  Reins in hand, they walked the soggy creek bank. A stiff breeze blew up, ruffling the tall grass.

  “How are things with Betti?”

  Tim had a big mouth. Ty weighed his words out carefully. “She uh...” he shrugged, “--we had our first fight the other day, but everything’s fine. I ... uh, I still need to figure out how to tell her about Rhea.”

  Jerrod held him at arms length, and Ty fought the urge to squirm under his father’s penetrating gaze. “You haven’t told her? What about the nightmares and the ... attacks?”

  Even his dad couldn’t call ‘em what they were. He shook his head. “I’m workin’ on it. After Thanksgiving. I don’t wanna ruin our first holiday, Dad.”

  His dad nodded in understanding. “Taking your meds?”

  “I haven’t needed ‘em!” Ty backed into Dancer, who whinnied and pranced a bit.

  “You have got to tell her, Tyrell!” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair before continuing. “After everything we’ve gone through with Delaney, I guarantee you’ll save yourself a hell of a lot of heartache if you just come clean. You damn sure don’t want her finding out from someone else.”

  “Nobody outside the family knows.”

  “Rhea does.”

  And Rhea was a free woman.

  “After Thanksgiving. I swear.”

  * * * *

  Wednesday morning Ty nervously whipped through his chores until, with a laugh, his dad declared him useless and ran him off. He hadn’t been this excited since ... well ... forever. Being at St. Elizabeth’s on a Wednesday felt weird. Especially since Dr. Ritter’s office was located in the annex on the other side of the hospital.

  “Nervous?” he asked once they were in the elevator. Soon he’d get to hear his baby girl’s heartbeat. ‘Cause just like Bee, he wanted a daughter.

  “Anxious, but not really nervous.” She gave him a big grin. “I’m excited. We’ll get to see the baby.”

  “Me too.” He wrapped his arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. “I didn’t know midwives did sonograms?”

  “Her partner, Dr. Tombs, has a sonographer on staff,” she explained as they stepped out of the elevator.

  In the doctor’s office they signed in and waited, surrounded by other couples and women alone in various stages of pregnancy. Ty spent the time tapping his foot and trying not to stare at the woman seated across from them. Surely she couldn’t just be carrying one baby in there. He resisted the urge to wince as she shifted from hip to hip, obviously unsuccessful at finding a comfortable position.

  “Blanchard,” the tech called out fifteen nerve-wracking minutes later.

  Frowning at the sound of her maiden name, Ty stood up and led Bettina toward the young woman waiting at the door.

  “Blanchard?” she asked with a smile.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Bettina responded before he could, then introduced him to the tech who sported a smock with pink and blue pacifiers on it.

  They’d definitely have to fix the name problem, but for now, he kept quiet.

  “I’m Cindy and I’ll be doing your sonogram. Do we want to know the sex?” She led them down a short hall and into a dimly lit room with pink walls, a padded table and a huge machine.

  “Ty?” Bettina lightly squeezed his arm.

  “Huh?” He refocused on her.

  “We wanna know the sex, right?”

  “Yeah.” They wanted a girl.

  She gave him a tiny smile, then looked away. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear she’d been hit with a bout of shyness, but that wasn’t like Bettina at all.

  “Good,” the tech said. “It’s unanimous. Alrighty, Mama, kick your shoes off and get comfortable, and we’ll get started. Daddy, you can pull up that stool and sit on her other side.”

  Once they had Bettina ready, he propped his elbows on the edge of the table and silently watched as the tech turned on the huge machine; then squirted gel on her tummy.

  “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. We’ll take a look around, get some measurements, tape everything and try to determine the sex, but we don’t guarantee the sex, okay?”

  Ty chuckled and turned as he felt Bettina’s nails graze his arm. She wiggled her pink fingers and he slowly took her hand. Kissi
ng her fingers, he struggled against the sudden lump in his throat and slid toward her head so they could watch together.

  “Is that like the little Doppler they use to pick up the heartbeat?” Bettina whispered.

  “Exactly.” Cindy placed the instrument on Bettina’s belly and swirled it around, spreading the gel. “Let’s see what we have.” For the next few minutes she continued to roll while punching buttons on the machine. A swishing sound filled the room. “One hundred and thirty-nine beats per minute.”

  “Is that good?” he asked even as Bettina squeezed his fingers.

  “Very good, Mr. Boudreaux.”

  He frowned while Bettina snorted, trying to hold her laughter in. No one had ever called him Mr. Boudreaux before.

  “Here’s the heart ... and spine.”

  His mind went blank as he watched the gritty gray picture on the screen in amazement, the cursor flicking here and there, pointing out different body parts. He could see the heart beating, a tiny nose and eye sockets, a little arm and legs. He glanced at Bettina, who gave him a shaky smile, then back at the screen, blinking back his own tears. Ty eyed Bettina’s belly and the screen repeatedly, trying desperately to reconcile the image he was seeing with the heartbeat that filled the room. Their baby’s heartbeat.

  “Everything looks good, but I can’t tell the sex. Let’s wait a few minutes and see if he or she moves around.”

  For a few minutes, they sat quietly while Cindy moved the Doppler around.

  “It’s a girl.” Ty came up off his stool and pointed at the screen, leaning forward for a better look. “Is it a girl? It looks like a girl. I don’t see a...” he stammered, his face warming from embarrassment.

  “Stem on the apple,” Cindy prompted with a giggle.

  “Way to go, honey,” Bettina teased.

  He kissed her fingers and grinned down at her, releasing a huge sigh of relief. Another wave of emotion hit him and he ducked his head with her fingers still pressed to his lips before she noticed. They’d gotten their wish.

  Once Cindy finished up and left them alone Ty helped Bee up. At a loss for words, Ty kissed Bettina hard, then led her out of the room, the sonogram tape clutched in his hand.