Page 41 of Caught By A Cowboy

“How can they be negative, you’re giving them a grandbaby?” I laugh to myself, then feel a tug of sorrow when I think about how much my mom would have loved to have been around for this.

“Well, it wasn’t part of their plan.” Maddison tries to put on a brave face when she laughs to herself. I think about the MacKenzies, and how they’ll react when they eventually meetme. I’m nothing like that preppy, asswipe they lined up to marry their daughter, I’m the kind of man who can actually take care of her. Yeah, they’re her parents and, of course, I want them to like me. I’ll be nice, I’ll show them respect but I won’t have ‘em upset her.

“Are you going to tell your uncle now?” She turns the pressure on me, and just thinking about how he’s gonna react to this makes me angry. He’s already accused me of being too distracted, and I know this is gonna add fuel to his fire.

“Of course, I’m gonna tell him.” I frown at her and when she looks back down at the picture that sweet, little smile settles on her face again.

We stop in town to pick up a few things on the way home. I pull up outside the grocery store, and when Maddison slides the photo of our baby into her purse, I hold out my hand for her to hand it over.

“What do you want it for?” She looks dubious about giving it up.

“I’ve kept this secret from my best friend for long enough, I wanna show Sawyer what we did.”

“Fine, but only Sawyer.” She lets me have it. “We need to tell my parents and your uncle before the rest of this town finds out.” I nod back at her then lean across the console to kiss her, and once I’m done she waits in her seat while I get out the truck and open her door for her.

“If only there was somewhere closer to town where we could have these appointments. I’m already getting anxious about going into labor and not making it to the hospital in time,” she tells me under her breath as she steps out onto the sidewalk.

“Don’t worry, first babies usually take their time coming, we’ll make it,” I assure her, I ain’t about to admit that I’ve had the same concerns. She’s not supposed to be worrying about anything.

“When did you become an expert?” She laughs as we walk closer to the bar.

“Since you and little JJ became the only thing in this world that matters to me,” I admit, fully aware of how corny I sound and not giving a shit.

“That is not his name.” Maddison shakes her head and starts moving on.

“So, we are in agreement that he’s a he?” Following after her with a grin on my face, I rush to get ahead of her so I can get the door.

As expected for 11 am on a Wednesday, the place is empty. Sawyer is sitting at the end of the bar, smoking a cigarette and reading the Daily News.

“I got something to tell ya.” I irritate the fuck outta him when I take the cigarette from his mouth and crush it out in the ashtray. Then I watch his anger turn to confusion when I place the photo of our baby on top of the paper he’s reading.

“What the fuck is that?” He picks it up so he can take a closer look.

“What do ya mean, what the fuck is that? That’s my kid.” I snatch it back off him and point at the black bean-shaped sack he’s growing in.

“There’s his head, that's his spine, and these are legs.” I show him, feeling ten feet tall.

“And all of this is inside of you?” Sawyer looks toward Maddison as if he’s learning biology for the first fuckin’ time.

“Well, it ain’t inside Daphne Pritchard.” I shake my head and smile at Maddison.

“You really allowed this asshat to knock you up?” Sawyer checks with her, and when she confirms with a nod of her head and a bright smile, he rushes off his stool and lifts her in the air.

“Whoa, put her down, she’s fragile,” I warn him. “I don’t want you crushing my baby with one of your clumsy bear hugs.”

“Jace Sullivan, a father.” Sawyer shakes his head and pats me on the back at the same time. “How long do I have to wait before I meet the little guy?” He looks back at Mads.

“Or girl,” she corrects him.

“You better pray you're cooking a boy in there, ain’t no way this guy could handle a daughter. I’ve seen him knoc–”

“Scan says she’s thirteen weeks, so we got a six-month wait,” I interrupt him.

“Thirteen weeks? Hell, she must have barely been out of that wedding dress before ya socked it to her.” He’s laughing loudly when the door opens and Sheriff Hale steps inside, instantly turning him silent.

“Sheriff.” I raise my hat to her while Sawyer looks to the ground.

“Mr Sullivan.” Riley nods at me politely before she looks at my girl. “Maddison, right?” she checks.

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