Page 71 of In Plain Sight

Now in my third trimester, that child still needed a name. He or she was a stubborn one, for sure. It had taken three ultrasounds before Doc had successfully determined our child’s sex. We had joked that at this point we might as well be surprised, but my sisters rallied together, determined to throw us a big gender reveal party. Lily and Doc were the only two people who knew what we were having.

Everyone was in town for the party and I nervously lay in bed the night before still debating over names. Since Bran and I couldn’t seem to agree on anything, we had decided that if it was a girl, he would get to name her, and if it was a boy, I could choose. The problem was, I had no idea and no name to give if it turned out we were having a boy.

“Go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow, mama,” Bran said.

“I can’t sleep.”

“Excited?”

“Nervous!”

“What? Why would you be nervous?” he asked.

“I haven’t named our child yet,” I confessed.

“Really? You were adamant you wanted the boy’s name.”

“I know, but I’m worried you’ll think it’s stupid, and I can’t come up with anything else.”

Truth was, I’d been wracking my brain for weeks and only one boy’s name ever stuck out to me.

“It’s going to be a girl anyway, so don’t worry about it,” he said, like there was no doubt in his mind.

“Why do you insist it’s a girl?” I asked for the millionth time.

“I don’t know. Wishful thinking, I guess.”

“You want a daughter?”

“I can’t imagine anything greater than a little mini-you.”

“You’re just trying to be sweet. I bet you don’t even have a name picked yet, either.”

“Actually, I do.”

“Do not,” I insisted.

“Yes I do, and no you aren’t going to coax me into telling you before the reveal tomorrow. These were your rules, remember?”

“Oh God, it’s Jordan isn’t it?”

“Jordan is a great little cowgirl name, but no, you made it painfully clear how much you hate that name. I just hope you don’t hate this one.”

“Better tell me just in case,” I tried, but he wasn’t budging.

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “Go to sleep, Ruby.”

I tossed and turned until dawn, frustrated that Bran had no trouble sleeping whatsoever. When the sun started peeking out, I slid out of bed and took a quick shower. I was used to restless nights as my protruding belly was making it harder to get comfortable more and more each day. I knew it wasn’t because of that, though. This time was just sheer nerves.

After my shower I dressed and grabbed a granola bar. Bran was still fast asleep. I walked down to the dairy and found Clay already hard at work. I swore he was an even bigger workaholic than I had ever been. I was proud of him, though, as he was thriving in his new position, and I was surprised to find I didn’t feel put out by the work he was doing. There really was room for the both of us and we were making it work.

“Hey Ruby Red,” he hollered out, and waved when he saw me. “So today’s the big day, right?”

I nodded. “Yup. I’m kind of nervous. Lily wouldn’t tell me anything about the party.”

“My understanding is she kept it to family only, and the Six Pack, because we are family.”

I nudged him with my shoulder. “You are family,” I confirmed.

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