In the hallway a middle-aged blonde woman appeared from around the corner, a smile on her face. Bettina introduced her as Marilyn Carstairs, the midwife and they stopped in her office long enough to discuss the sonogram, the marriage and how Bettina was feeling.
On their way out, he made sure the name on her file was changed to Boudreaux.
Today was definitely a good day. So why was Bee so quiet?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Pride and joy
We spent lunch discussing the sonogram and the baby while I plowed through two plates of fruit, chicken fried rice and Hunan beef. I just couldn’t seem to shake my craving for Chinese food. Or how overwhelmed I’d felt during the sonogram.
Out in the parking lot I shoved the car keys into Ty’s hand. “Would you drive?”
“Sure. You okay?” He pulled me close and I sagged against him.
“I’m just tired,” I whispered, tears appearing from nowhere, not caring that I had repeatedly broken all my rules in regard to Ty. Everything finally caught up with me. I tossed Number Eight’s “Not Clinging” rule out the window.
She was a healthy baby girl. I was about to become a mother. It wasn’t like I hadn’t had any practice, but this was completely different. What if I flubbed it? My own sister--who I had raised--wouldn’t speak to me. If I couldn’t raise her right, what made me think I could do better by my own child? “I’m sorry, Ty.”
He held me and rubbed my back, then with one last squeeze, he led me to the Mustang and helped me in. “It’s okay, baby. Lets get you home and tucked in for a nap.”
“I have to make those damn pies,” I sniffled, snapping on my seat belt.
“Want some help?”
“If you want.” I looked up at him, shielding my eyes from the sharp winter sun.
“I want.”
* * * *
We rode in silence for a while before he spoke again. “This drives nice.”
“I know and I’ll miss it.”
“Miss it?”
“I think we need something bigger with a baby. I could barely get all the groceries in here on Saturday. Hey, you could drive this and we could trade your truck in on an SUV.”
“And where exactly would I load the feed or hay?” he asked with a grin.
I giggled. “Sorry. Wasn’t thinking. In that case I can probably get a Tahoe or a 4-Runner for what the payments on this run me.”
“Do I even want to know?”
“Not while you’re driving,” I teased.
“So, looks like all that Peter Rabbit stuff has to go back?” He chuckled and visibly relaxed against the seat, taking my hand with his free one. I liked holding hands with him.
“Peter had sisters and a mom and Miss Moppet, the cat.”
He snorted, slowing to turn into the ranch.
“Are you really not upset over it being a girl?” I asked softly.
“Not a bit.” He turned, but instead of speeding up, stopped the car and unhooked his seat belt. “C’mere.”
With a sigh, I leaned over, meeting him halfway for the lightest gentlest kiss. Damn pies.
A horn blew, scaring the daylights out of both of us. We eased back into our seats, watching a little blue BMW Z4 convertible fly past.
“Zander?”
Ty nodded slowly, a scowl on his face, and drove the rest of the short distance home.
“I didn’t know the FBI paid so well,” I joked.
“What do you mean?” His voice had a distinctly flat quality to it.
“A BMW?” This was not good. A muscle in Ty’s jaw tightened and relaxed.
“What about a BMW?” he snapped, pulling into our driveway. His tone said, “What’s the fucking big deal about a car?”
“That’s damn near forty-thousand dollars sitting in Tim’s driveway.”
“Please, God, let it rain,” he muttered, climbing out.
“What, baby?” I asked, barely able to keep from laughing.
“Nothing. Just thinking how much we needed rain.”
“Liar.” With a grin, I eyed him over the roof of my car. “Ty Boudreaux, you just want it to rain in your brother’s fancy-schmancy sports car. You’re jealous.”
“I am not,” he insisted. For a minute, he looked mortally offended.
“The hell you ain’t, baby.”
Over at Tim’s I could see a lot of backslapping going on. Maggie was headed across the road, a plateful of some treat in her hands and Zack, Jessa and Travis came from the other direction.
“Ty,” I said, eyebrow raised. He came around the side of the car and took my arm, leading me up the walk.
“This is his second trip home in nine years.” His expression was grim, his lips barely visible beneath his goatee.
“And you’re mad because?”
“He hasn’t been home in two years. Not since he came back to Texas from Georgia, and now, here he is.” Inside, he almost slammed the door. “The world just stops because the prodigal son has returned. Slaughter the calf.” Frowning down at me, he softly added, “I sound jealous, don’t I?”
“A little, yeah.” I hung up my coat and kicked off my shoes, grinning at the pile I’d created by the front door. “What do you plan on doing about it?” I asked just as softly.
“I guess I need to go over there and be sociable, huh?”
I could easily understand his anger, but wasn’t quite sure what to say. “Or you could stay here and help me make pies.”
“And we could watch our first home movie.”
* * * *
I changed; then made the two cheesecakes while Ty watched the sonogram. He really tickled me. After a while, he wandered in and started washing the dishes for me, and once the cheesecakes were in the oven, I brewed us a pot of tea.
“These aren’t bad.” He held up a biscotti, then looked at me. “I thought you were making pie?”
“Cheesecake ... pie, same difference. They look like pie but they taste like cheesecake,” I said with a wink.
Chuckling, he nodded his head. “You wanna go watch the sonogram again?”
As if he needed to ask twice. With a laugh, I stood and picked up my mug of tea. “You’ll wear that tape out and we won't have anything to show her first boyfriend.”
“Oh God.” He winced. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“I won’t mention it again for at least ten or so years.” I planted a soft kiss on his forehead, resisting the urge to melt against him at the feel of a hand squeezing my hip.
We headed into the living room, ready to watch the sonogram one ... or two ... more times when our front door flew open.
“Zander’s home.” Zack slammed the door behind him with window-jarring force. As if he lived here.
Enough was enough!
“Zachary Boudreaux!”
“Yes ma’am.” He gave me his best smile, but it wasn’t working.
“Young man, don’t you ever again walk in my house without knocking. Do you understand me?” One fist on my hip, I waited. Ty slid a hand up my back and gently squeezed my neck.
Zack sheepishly watched us standing there with our mugs of hot tea in our hands.
So, what? Weren’t we allowed to be domestic?
“You heard the lady.”
I smirked and raised my chin a notch, causing Zack to laugh and give me a little bow.
“Yes, ma’am, it won’t happen again. You coming over?”
“Later.” Ty gave me another little squeeze. “We want to watch the sonogram again.”
Take a hint, please.
“Oh man, I forgot. How’d it go?”
I smiled up at Ty. “You want to give him the good news?”
“She’s a girl.” The proud grin on his face was priceless.
“Aww that’s great. Well then, I’ll leave you two alone to celebrate.” He gave me another gallant little bow, then finally made himself scarce.
Ty locked the door after him, then we snuggled up on the couch together and watched the video.
His lips thinned in what I now knew was anger. At Zander. “Shhh, this is my favorite part. Where’s the popcorn?”
I giggled, enjoying this new side of my husband. “Fine.”
We watched the sonogram twice, oohing and ahhing and pointing out new stuff to each other and pausing and rewinding our favorite parts again and again.
“What was that about me wearing the tape out?” Ty teased.
“But you got to watch it one more time than me.” I curled up against his side, resting my head on his shoulder. I felt nauseatingly happy and scared all at the same time. Surely, the gods wouldn’t snatch my happiness from me.
As he leaned over to kiss me there was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it,” I groaned, slipping out of his arms.
I opened the door to find Tim, Zack and Zander on my porch. Our quiet afternoon was over.
Zack and Zander looked remarkably alike with their red hair and freckles, except Zander’s eyes were a deep blue like Delaney’s and he had the slender build of a runner, or swimmer, the exact opposite of stocky, barrel-chested Zack.
In unison the trio chimed, “Can Ty come out to play?”
I managed to squeeze a frown at Zack past the grin on my face. He winked. Despite the teasing tone, Zander didn’t seem near as warm or easy-going as his brothers.
“Just a minute.” I closed the door halfway and in my best dramatic stage whisper said, “Baby, your friends are here and they want to know if you can play. What should I tell them?”
I bit my lip at the snickers coming from outside the door.
“Tell them only for an hour.” Ty grabbed his coat off the rack.
Looked like I’d just have to be a good girl and share, as much as I resented the hell out of it.
I yanked the door back open. “Only for an hour, then he has to come home.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Tim saluted me. I wanted to slug him.
Ty’s kiss earned us more snickers from the brothers who ended up with the door slammed in their face. “Will you be okay?” he murmured against my lips.
“Certainly. Maybe I’ll walk over and see how Delaney’s doing. Or stay here and do laundry.”
“I won't be gone long.”
“What time should we bring him home?” Zander yelled.
Ty rolled his eyes and I grinned. “He’s a big boy. He can bring himself home when he’s ready.” I wiggled my fingers at him and shooed him out the door with one last kiss, then headed for the kitchen to check on my pies.
According to the timer, they had about ten minutes or so to go. I sighed and stared at the oven. I already missed him.
On impulse, I picked up the phone and dialed Angi’s number, wanting to tell her about the sonogram. Okay, so she probably wouldn’t care, but it was a good excuse to call her. Since I wouldn’t see her tomorrow. I still couldn’t get over that one.
“Yo!”
“Ang?” I settled in at the table, resisting the urge to shout over the music in the background.
“Yeah?”
“What are you doin’?”
“Getting ready to go to my dad’s, why?”
“Angelina?!” I shouted. No I did not hear her right! How could she?
“Shit! Bettina.” Then a muffled, “Turn down the music!”
My whole body went numb and the bottom fell out of my heart.
“I didn’t think you’d care, seeing as how you had plans.”
“That you were going to Daddy’s?” I swiped at the tears that appeared from nowhere and rolled down my cheeks, nearly choking on my words. “You told me...”
To hell with her. “That’s fine, Angelina.”
After getting the pies out of the oven, I shut off the phone, tired of the constant ringing.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Real man
A few hours and a few beers later Ty headed home, a few sheets to the wind. He chuckled in the dark. For as much time as he spent at the dancehall, he had the alcohol tolerance of a kid.
It was bad, very bad. Zander was still an arrogant ass.
At first Ty had thought he was the only one who’d noticed. He’d wanted to reach out and clear the smirk from Zander’s face more than once. Instead, he’d quietly puffed on his cigar.
Even his good news about the baby being a girl and Daddy’s cigars hadn’t helped. And then there was Jessa, who you could always count on for brash honesty. She’d given Zander a once over and called him a troublemaker. Never mind that he was a good foot taller than her.
But after Zander finished insulting everyone and called it a night, Ty had learned otherwise. Only his father’s plea to keep the peace for their mother’s sake kept Ty, Tim and Zack in check. That and Jessa’s comment about how bloodthirsty they were.
He shrugged out of his coat and hung it up, then locked the front door behind him. The house was warm and dark and smelled like pumpkin and spices. She must have finished the pies. He shouldn’t have stayed gone so long. Maybe she’s still awake.
She wasn’t. But a few minutes later he was snuggling against her warm backside.
What an armful.
Bettina murmured in her sleep and rolled over, sprawling across his chest and pinning one of his legs beneath hers. He studied her face in the dim light from the bathroom. Her lips rolled slightly, making them look pouty even in sleep and her eyes were tilted upward at the corners.
His fingers gently tangled themselves in her hair. He loved the feel of her soft curls and chuckled as he lay there playing with them.
“Having a good time?” she murmured, stretching against him.
His chuckles only increased as he stretched out a long spiral and released it, watching it spring back into place. “Yeah.”
“And just how many beers did you have?”
“Not too many?” He pulled on another and tickled her nose with it.
She raised up on one elbow and pinned him to the pillow with her sexy, sleep-filled eyes. “How many is not too many?”
“Not too many to keep me from doing this.” Ty rolled her over and pinned her beneath him, his tongue slipping between her parted lips for a blood-warming kiss that made him ache. “I want you, Bee,” he hissed.
“I can tell.” They kissed again, this time a slow deep exploration that caused a chain reaction he felt low in his groin. He was already hard for her.
Ty slipped off her panties, then sat back and eyed her. Something wasn’t right. But what? She didn’t seem like her usual playful self. He sat her up and slid her nightshirt--one of his old T-shirts--over her head, smiling as her nipples puckered in the cool air.
“I want you,” he murmured against her skin, his face nearly level with her breasts. He didn’t just want her, he wanted to possess her, soothe her. To erase the sadness in her eyes.
He eased back and tried to focus on more than her, naked and spread out under him. She was tense. He could see it in the set of her shoulders. Feel the hum that echoed off her body. He didn’t like seeing her unhappy. “Bee.”
Her eyes flew open and focused on him.
“Do you really want me ... this?”
“More than you know,” she sobbed softly. “Make love to me ... please.”
“What’s wrong?” Ty leaned over her and gently smoothed back the hair at her temples.
“Just make love to me... I need you.” Her voice was hoarse. Had she been crying?
She closed her eyes and did as he asked, her lower lip caught between her teeth. He hovered above her, kissing her damp eyelids, her face. She cried and sighed and kneaded his shoulders, slowly relaxing, but his destination was much lower. His fingers skimmed across her body, caressing her with his lips, lightly teasing each nipple, barely touching her skin. He spread her legs and leisurely wandered across her belly as her fingers stroked his back or lightly ruffled his hair.
He wanted to taste her again.
Ty nev
er took his eyes off her face as he settled between her thighs, parting her damp, swollen lips and gently stroking her. She was so wet. Her lower lip caught between her teeth, she moaned long and low in the back of her throat. She hadn’t lied, and he moaned too, in anticipation.
Her thighs shook as he brushed his lips across her tender skin, enjoying her reaction, her scent. Her hips shimmied while her fingers fisted his hair, squealing when he flicked his tongue across her clitoris.
Perfect. Ty dipped his head and caught the swollen nub between his lips, suckling gently. Bettina’s hips bucked beneath him as her nails dug into Ty’s shoulders.
Her need pushed him. Her excitement aroused him.
The fact that he was the cause of it nearly drove him over the edge. He wanted her. His cock throbbed with it. His balls were heavy with it.
He nibbled and sucked and stroked and licked, wanting to feel her come like she had last night. They found a rhythm as he fucked her with his mouth and fingers.
Above him, she made little hiccuping sounds while her hips undulated against his mouth. She was so close. He sensed it, like a storm on the horizon. He dug deeper, pushed harder, forced her higher until she screamed his name. The sense of triumph was almost enough to make him come and his sac drew up tight in anticipation.
Ty hovered over her, careful not to rest his weight on her, and teased her tight puckered nipples, nibbling and rolling them between his lips. He loved the feel of them in his mouth, against his tongue.
“Ty, please!”
He released the nipple he’d been playing with and looked at her. Would she? He swallowed and licked his lips, unable to hold back a sudden attack of nerves he felt low in his belly. “Would you get on your knees?”
“Anything you want,” she murmured, rolling over and doing as he’d requested.
If anything, he grew harder at the sight of her spread out in front of him. Ty positioned himself behind her as she rested her head on the pillows, her eyes closed in anticipation.
He slid home with a long low groan and a shiver ran up his spine. She fit him like a glove. Custom made. He watched their hips move in sync, watched himself repeatedly sink deep inside her, thankful he’d left the bathroom light on.
Once In A Blue Moon Page 21