Page 12 of Surly Sheriff
Bella groaned. “This pregnancy” — she rubbed her hands over the enormous belly— “has turned my brain to mush. Nothing about this made sense two hours ago.” She cocked her head. “Are you in accounting?”
Rae shook her head. “I write code.”
“Code?” Bella frowned. “Like the computer gobbledygook?”
She laughed out loud. “Yes.”
Then surged up when Bella groaned and folded over, gripping the edge of the wooden workstation. The woman huffed and puffed, her face contorting into a grimace. “What’s wrong?” All Rae needed was for Bella to pop out the babies while Beau and Nate were away loading up even more stuff for the shop.
She had never been around a pregnant woman before and did not know what to expect. After another agonizing groan, panic set in, and Rae reached for the telephone she had found earlier under a pile of paper. “I’m calling 911.”
But Bella inhaled and straightened. “I’m okay,” she said, rubbing her hands over the protruding mound. “But sometimesthey find a spot …” She pulled in another deep breath and slowly released it. “And it hurts so bad.”
“That’s all? You sure?” Rae eyed the giant beach ball masquerading as a pregnant belly with distrust.
“I’m sure.”
But as she watched with wary eyes, it moved! Likeheavedfrom one side of Bella’s body to the other.Holy cow. She took another step back, half expecting the babies to eruptAlien-style. A more horrific thought struck her. “You’re supposed to pushthatthrough your vagina?” She couldn’t even begin to imagine the agony ahead of Bella. Poor woman.
Bella blinked. “Your f-face …” she managed to wrangle out before starting to laugh.
A deep, from-the-gut laugh, and Rae had no choice but to join.
They were still sporadically giggling when the men returned.
Nate paused in the doorway, looking from her to Bella.
And walked straight to her and gave her a hard kiss. Right on the lips. “That’s for making my wife laugh. It’s been weeks.” And for good measure, he dropped another one on her cheek.
Beau growled.
Nate straightened and flashed a grin at Beau. “Cool it, brother. Just showing my appreciation.”
Rae looked at Beau. His brow was set in a deep frown, his stare intense.
And possessive.
Heat flooded Rae’s neck and face, and she pushed to her feet. “I need to get going,” she mumbled. “Find a hotel for the night.”
“A hotel?” Bella called out. “Oh, no. That will never do. You can stay with us. We’ve got a guest room. Beau can sleep in his old room.”
“I couldn’t,” Rae objected. “You don’t know me from Adam.”
Bella lumbered upright and faced her, hand on her hips. “So? You didn’t know Beau from Adam, but you stopped and gave him a ride.”
“It was because of the dog,” Rae added.
Bella swung her gaze to Nate. “Help me here, babe.”
Nate smiled. “It would make my wife very happy if you stayed with us tonight.”
“No, really. I just …” She trailed off and turned to Beau. “I really can’t.”
“As Nate said, it would make Bella happy.” His lips spread into a quick but very compelling grin. “And you’ll be on hand for an update on Kismet tomorrow morning.”
Rae glared at Beau, her defenses weakening. “That was dirty.”
The blasted man shrugged, grinning again.
