“And you love every minute of it,” Tanna said.
Celia smiled and rubbed her hand over her belly. “It’s absolute bliss. I do miss workin’ cattle. And I miss riding my horses, but Kyle makes sure I don’t lose my riding skills entirely.”
“More than I needed to know.”
“Oh, pooh. You and I used to talk about sex nonstop. Okay, you talked, I listened and took notes.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Which Kyle is very thankful for, by the way.”
The screen door opened and Lainie stepped onto the covered porch, her dark-haired baby boy perched on her hip. “Pay no attention to Celia. She’s in that ‘me so horny’ stage of pregnancy.”
“That’s a real stage?”
“Yep.”
“I learn something new every day.”
The boy squirmed to get down.
Celia said, “I got it,” and started to get up.
“Stay put,” Lainie warned. She passed the squirmy kid to Tanna. “Hold Jason for a sec while I get the gate up.”
Tanna hadn’t spent much time around kids. Tiny babies fascinated her, but scared the crap out of her. Kiddos this age, well, they were fun because they’d started to do tricks. She balanced the boy on her hip. Talk about solid. He was a Hank replica, from his near-black hair to his thoughtful expression.
“All right, the baby jail is in place so he can’t escape.” Lainie plucked the boy from Tanna’s arms and sat him down.
“It won’t be much longer and the baby jail won’t hold him,” Celia remarked.
“Bite your tongue,” Lainie shot back. “He walked early, which was bad enough. And he wants to do everything Brianna does.”
Jason ran to the baby gate stretched across the porch supports, blocking access to the steps. He grabbed the top of the gate and jerked on it, testing whether he could break it down.
“Oh, shit,” Lainie said and ran back into the house.
Tanna looked at Celia. “Was it something I said?”
“No. Something she smelled, most likely. She’s pregnant.”
“Again?” Tanna said. “Jason is what? A year old?”
“Fourteen months. I doubt you’re really surprised because Hank and Lainie want a houseful of ranch hands—I mean kids.”
Tanna walked to the opposite end of the porch, resting her hips against the railing. She gazed across the rolling landscape. No cattle within view, but they grazed in different fields in the summertime. The Lawsons and the Gilchrists had roots here that would carry through another generation.
There’d been a time when Tanna figured her life would play out the same way. She’d meet a ranching cowboy during her on-the-road travels, fall in love, take him back to the family ranch and set up housekeeping.
Now she realized her dream had been vague. She hadn’t made a plan for how she’d earn a living beyond barrel racing. Her mystery husband . . . she’d never imagined him having his own life and connections; she’d just expected him to be with her and make her happy.
For all of her supposed love of the family ranch, she’d never considered what her part would be in it. How that piece of dirt would support three families. She’d created a dream life that had as much basis in reality as Brianna twirling through the field, chasing butterflies and playing princess.
“Tanna? Are you all right?”
She spun around. “I’m fine. Just thinking about how quiet it is here.”
Then Jason shrieked at the top of his lungs.
“So much for that.” Celia patted the chair beside her. “Come sit. Lainie made iced tea and she even remembered to bring sugar for you.”
She wandered over, watching Jason dig through a box of toys after abandoning all hope of escape.
“How’re things goin’ at the Split Rock?”
“Good. The place does a steady business. Except Sundays are quiet. The clothing store is closed and we rarely have to staff the bar.”
“What do you do on Sundays?”
Laze in bed with Fletch as long as possible. “Depends. Why?”
“Just curious how often you’re goin’ to Eli’s.”
“If I go, it’s during the week. He keeps Sundays as a day off for him and Summer.”
“What’s she like?”
Damaged. Like me. Tanna spooned sugar in the bottom of her glass and poured in tea. “Why’re you asking me? Aren’t you and Eli tight?”
“We were. Then Kyle and I got married. Since Summer’s come into Eli’s life, the way he’s always wanted her to, he’s been around everyone a lot less.”
Tanna shrugged. “I guess it happens when you find the one.”
“Is that why we haven’t seen you? Because you’re with Fletch and he’s the one?”
The screen door opened and Lainie strolled out, hand on her stomach. “I guess I won’t be eating yogurt again for a while. Bleh.”
Brianna skipped up the sidewalk and climbed over the baby gate. “Mama, can I—”
“Bri, sweetie, don’t do that. I don’t want Jason trying it.”
Brianna’s face was damp with sweat, making her freckles more pronounced. Her pink unicorn shirt bore the imprint of two muddy handprints. She had bug bites on her skinny legs and she wore only one sock. Her deep blue eyes lit up when she spied her little brother smashing plastic trucks together beneath the porch swing. She immediately joined him and dumped the remaining toys out of the box.