Page 7 of Piece Of Me

Millie looked confused.

“It’s a PG event. No nighties allowed.”

With a grin he herded the girls out to his truck and pointed it toward home. Millie was right. The woman seemed pricklier than a porcupine. He doubted Scarlett Bridgestone would show up…

But damn, he thought, the party would be interesting if she did.

CHAPTER 3

It was early Sunday morning and the light coming in her bedroom window promised another beautiful day. Scarlett laid still for a few moments, enjoying the quiet for as long as she could until, restless, she finally rolled out of bed.

She was anxious. Jittery. Or something. It felt like something big was headed her way and she didn’t like it. Not one bit. Shaking it off, she padded over to the window and peeked outside. In the distance she spied Dallas Henhawk, the ranch foreman, with a couple of the cowhands, and heading toward them was Bent. They were near one of the paddocks; she was guessing they were up to horse business. They’d had a new stallion come a few days earlier and she knew he was going to be a big part of their breeding program.

Either way, it would be an early day for Benton, being Sunday and all. Since his accident in the fall, their brother Cal had stayed in Montana and was helping out with the day to day running of the ranch. He’d moved in with the love of his life, Millie Sue, got married, got pregnant—and not in that order. Scarlett smiled slowly. It was kind of weird, having the biggest country music star on the planet home with them. He was still doing the music thing, was in the process of building some fancy recording studio out near the river on the north end of the ranch where his new home was being built. But he was back here at the Triple B.

And so was she.

Her family, once scattered, had come together again—except for Vivian, who was somewhere in the wilds of Alaska, doing whatever the heck it was she did up there. They got the odd email, a note to let them know she was alive, but that was about it.

But more importantly, the boys had made peace with their father, who now resided up at the Founder’s Cabin and for that she was grateful. She was a daddy’s girl through and through in spite of Manley Bridgestone’s shortcomings—of which there were plenty. But where the boys had seen a nasty dark streak, she’d seen pain.

A small noise had her turning toward the crib tucked away in the corner of her childhood room. Hank. She leaned over and, as always, the sight of him made her heart melt. Carefully she brushed away a lock of dark hair from his forehead and simply watched him. She couldn’t help herself. Sometimes, she stared so long her legs cramped. But seriously, was there another more perfect baby on the planet?

Hell no. Not in this corner of the world anyway. She watched him a few moments longer, then grabbed the baby monitor before heading into the shower.

Two hours later she was in the kitchen, Hank strapped into his highchair gnawing on a biscuit, when her sister-in-law Millie Sue walked in, followed by her older brother Benton’s daughter, Nora, who’d had a sleepover the night before. The little girl whizzed past, and Scarlett turned to Millie with a questioning look.

“She needs her purple dress and pink tutu for the party.”

“Party?” Scarlett asked.

“Birthday party.”

“Well, she sure needs the darn thing in a hurry.”

Millie Sue laughed. “With Nora, everything happens yesterday and she’s running to catch up. I find it exhausting sometimes.” She plopped herself on a chair and rubbed her belly. “How did you make it to nine months?”

Scarlett shrugged. “You just do.” She grabbed up a cloth and began to clean Hank’s mess as the baby mumbled a bunch of nonsense and continued to make progress on the biscuit in his chubby hands. “You dropping Nora at the party and coming back here?”

“Nope.” Millie took a bite of a pear and munched happily. “We’re all going.”

“All?” Scarlett paused. “Even Benton?”

Millie nodded. “It’s a family affair. My friend’s twins.” She paused. “You can come if you like.”

“Do I know your friend?”

“Not really. Not officially anyway.”

“Now why would I go to a party for someone I don’t know?”

“Oh, you two have met,” Millie replied with a mysterious grin.

“We have?” Scarlett asked, scooping up another clean cloth to wipe excess food from Hank’s face.

“Yes.”

Intrigued, Scarlett took a moment and then frowned, dabbing his adorable cheek. “You going to fill me in? Who is this mysterious friend I don’t officially know.”

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