Clay
The last few days have been wonderful. I have my wife back and I’m home. Work has been going well. We stay booked due to the heavy tourism that goes through the town. Blake is supposed to be home tonight, and we are going over to the ranch to have dinner with them. I can’t wait to see his face when he finds out he is a father. I pulled up to the front of our business and got the horses settled. Walking in I saw Jilly talking to a young couple about a tour, so I went to check our schedule. We were almost done for the day, so I was going to take the horses to the ranch and pick up my truck. Jillian would meet me at home, and we would ride back out to the ranch together. I had not talked to Hank the last couple of days, since Jillian and I had been in a honeymoon phase. I wondered how he and Connie were getting along. I guess we would say this evening.
Jilly handed the couple some brochures and waited as they left. I leaned down and kissed her neck making her giggle. She smiled up and me and pulled me down for a kiss. This is one of the things I missed. We enjoy working together, seeing each other off and on throughout the day. It sucked when we were separated, and she wouldn’t speak to me.
“Have you eaten lunch today baby?” I asked her, knowing she forgot to eat regularly. She blushed and held up half a sandwich and some carrot sticks, she had been working on.
“I ate half of this earlier and I was going to finish it now. I just can’t eat a lot at one time.” She said as she munched on a carrot. I sat down beside her. I didn’t have any more carriage tours today and she wasn’t doing any. We were letting the tour guides we hired take over mostly.
“You’re done for the day, right?” she nodded as she took a bite of her sandwich. “It’s only three-thirty, why don’t you head home and take a nap before we head over for dinner.”
“Sounds like a great idea. I’ll finish eating this on my way home.” Jilly said as she finished her sandwich and got up to get her purse. I turned out the lights and locked the shop before walking her to the car.
“I’ll be home shortly, just going to drop off the horses and the carriage.” I told her as I closed the door. She nodded and drove away.
Riding back to the ranch I let my mind wander a bit thinking about the baby. If it would be a boy or a girl and what they would look like. As I pulled into the barn area I got down and unhooked the horses. Taking them inside to feed them and brush them down. I heard murmuring and went to find Sadie in an empty stall with Teddy in her lap and some kittens playing.
“Hey kiddo, I see you have some kittens.” I said as she looked up smiling at me. Teddy was trying to pet one as it swiped at him.
“Yeah, apparently Ginger had her kittens, and they are just starting to crawl around more. I moved them all in here. Dad and Connie were talking so I brought the little guy to see the kitties.” Sadie said as she bounced Teddy on her knee. “I need to take him back inside for his nap before dinner.”
I reached down and picked up the baby while she stood up and then handed him back to her.
“I’ll see you later at dinner.” I said as she put the baby on her hip and started back to the house.
“Later Uncle Clay.” She hollered back at me. Hank was in so much trouble with her. She was all legs right now, but she looked a lot like her mother with a hint of her father and they were both good looking people. Shaking my head, I climbed in my truck to head home to freshen up for dinner and to get my girl.
Walking into our house quietly, I found her on the couch covered up with a blanket. There was a catalog on the coffee table with baby stuff in it. I sat on the end and flipped through it for a minute. I got up and went to run through the shower before waking her up to go. She needed her rest. Tonight was going to be interesting.
I got dressed and headed in the living room to wake up my girl. I turned to find her sitting cross legged on the couch flipping through a magazine. She looked up and smiled at me as I walked over to kiss her.
“Hey baby. Did you have a good nap?” I sat down beside her and pulled her into my lap. She laid her head against my chest and snuggled.
“Yes, it was nice. I didn’t realize how tired I was. I haven’t been sleeping since you’ve been at Hank’s.” she rubbed her head against my shoulder. “I know it was my fault, but I still missed you.”
“I know baby, I missed you too. I’m glad this nonsense is behind us.” I playfully nipped at her neck just to hear her giggle. “We need to head over to the ranch. It’s going to be quite interesting.”
Jillian climbed out of my lap and slipped her shoes back on. We headed over to Hawk’s place. Pulling up I didn’t see Blake’s truck; he must not be here yet. Going inside we spot Connie sitting on the couch playing with Teddy and Sadie close by. Hawk is in the kitchen working on dinner. I left Jillian in the living room with the girls and the baby while I went to talk to my brother.
“Hey bro, when is Blake supposed to be here?” I asked as I cracked a beer. “You didn’t give him any idea what it was about did you?”
“Hell no, and miss the look on his face when he sees his son?” Hawk barked out a laugh at that thought. We always pranked each other when we were kids but this time the joke was on Blake. “Dinner is ready, just leaving it in the oven to warm.”
We walked back in the living room in time to see Blake walk in the front door. He was all smiles until he noticed Connie stand up with little Theodore on her hip. He paled and looked around the room.
“Connie, what are you doing here?” he asked as he walked over and gave Jillian a hug. “How come you didn’t tell me you and Clay had a baby?”
Blake looked a little hurt as he walked over to take the baby from Connie. She just looked at him and held on to Teddy.
“Well, can I hold my baby cousin or not?” he asked looking irritated. Connie narrowed her eyes at him.
“No, but you can hold your son.” She said as he took the baby from her. To his credit, he sat down with the baby in his lap.
“What do you mean my son?” Blake asked as he stared at the baby who was patting his face and smiling. “That’s not possible, I haven’t been here in just over a year.”
“That’s right and Theodore is six months old.” Connie said as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I was on birth control, but it didn’t work.”
Hank walked up behind her and put his arm across her shoulder in support.
“Why don’t we watch the baby and you two can step outside and talk.” Jillian suggested as she took the baby from Blake as he watched Connie and Hawk.