Page 65 of The Soldier and the Cowboy

“We’ll see about that,” she said and, taking his hand, led him over to her family. “Mom, Dad, I think we’re going to take off. It’s been a long day and we’re exhausted. Thank you for being here. I love you so much.” She hugged them and turned to her sisters and her sister’s boyfriend. “Poppy, Jane, Blue. Much love, safe travels.” Cal said his goodbyes, shook hands all around, and then they were done.

“One of us seems like a cow being rushed to slaughter on a conveyer belt, and I’m not sure if it’s us or them,” Blue said as Bailey and Cal dashed away.

“Something’s got her dander up, but I can’t imagine what,” the Colonel said.

“Someone probably saidRamboTwo was better thanRamboOne and now Bailey has to beat them into submission,” Jane suggested.

“Jane, don’t joke about things like that,” the Colonel snapped, his eyes narrowed. “RamboOne was a masterpiece, never to be outdone.”

“You’re a man of many layers, sir,” Blue noted.

Meanwhile, Cal and Bailey reached the hayloft. “Hey,” Bailey called, pausing until Maggie and Ridge popped their heads up. She pointed to her eyes, then their eyes, then her eyes again and she and Cal left the barn.

“What was that about?” Maggie wondered.

“They’re onto us,” Cam said.

“You think they know I’m pregnant?”

“No. If they knew that, they’d probably go steal a five month old to make good and certain they got the first baby. They’re trying to beat us, but they have no idea we’ve already won,” he said, rubbing his hands together in triumph.

“I’m not sure this family can handle another military personality,” Maggie said.

“Too late now,” Cam replied.

“One of the four of us is going to have to be the voice of reason,” Maggie said. “My money’s on Cal.”

“What are we going to do about work?” Cam asked.

“We’re going to let me keep working for as long as I can, and then we’ll figure it out.”

“But…”

She pressed a finger to his lips. “Sweetheart, we can’t preplan every minute of our lives.”

“We can try.”

“Then we would miss out on the little surprises, like this pregnancy.”

“You’re good for me in all the ways,” he said, his hand smoothing the flyaway hairs from her face.

“You don’t get to pretend to be the lucky one in this scenario. I was sitting in my library eating a muffin when you plucked me out of obscurity and changed my world.”

“Best day ever,” he said. “Except all the ones that came after, up to and including this one.”

“When do you think we should tell Bailey and Cal their efforts to beat us to the punch are futile?” she asked.

“Let’s give them a couple of months of futility first. They’ll thank us later,” he said.

“Did I tell you I love you today?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Did I tell you twins run in my family?”

He froze. “No.”

“You’re thinking your brother would never be able to compete with twins, huh?” she asked.

“A little bit, yeah.”

“You have a sickness.”

“Lucky for me I also have the cure,” he said and pulled her close for a kiss.

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