Page 65 of Forbidden Cowboy

“She’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, but she’s dusty. She likes to roll around in the fields. Do you wanna groom her with me?”

“Of course,” I said, “but I can hardly remember from my old days. You’ll have to teach me what to do again.”

Anna nodded excitedly, and went to get the basket of brushes and combs we would be using on the patient mare in front of us. I didn’t fail to notice the groom that suddenly chose to clean one of the stables near to us—probably to make sure we weren’t doing the poor horse any damage. I didn’t blame the young man, in fact, I was glad to know the animals on the ranch were so well treated that they always had someone looking out for them.

Anna handed me a purple brush with two concentric rings of rubber teeth.

“You have to go in circles,” she said proudly, “like this.”

She showed me how she groomed Melisandre, and looked very pleased when I stepped forward and did exactly as she said. I had been lying a little when I said she needed to teach me how to use the brushes. I’d held a curry comb plenty of times before, and used one frequently when I was younger. It made her so happy to teach me, though, that I wanted her to enjoy that. I wanted her to enjoy spending time with me.

We continued brushing Melisandre, and the sensation was soothing. It was methodical work, and seeing the dust that the comb pulled loose made me happy. I had to take a break every few minutes and sit back in my chair. It had been a month and a half of glorious days with Anna and nights curled up with Wyatt, but I was still incredibly pregnant and very large.

I texted Nadia updates about my pregnancy frequently, and she asked if I would have known I was pregnant once I was as big as I had reached by seven months. I only ever told her I wasn’t as blind as she made me out to be. I had done my best to stay in contact with her, and by proxy, the Larks, since returning to Gunnison. I had forgotten those girls once—I couldn’t let it happen again when they had been my family for my six years of isolation.

I wanted to rub my swollen feet but couldn’t reach them. One of the triplets, probably Baby C (he was the most active), kicked me.

“Yeah, yeah,” I groaned.

As usual, Baby A followed suit, and I felt a sharp jab to my ribcage that made me gasp.

“Is it the babies?” Anna asked, walking over to me.

I nodded, wincing as Baby C punched outward.

“Can I feel?”

I nodded again, and guided Anna’s hand to the place where Baby C was apparently trying to escape my womb like a hatching chick, if his fists were anything to go by.

“Tell me who they are again,” she begged, eyes bright with wonder.

“That’s Baby C,” I said. “He’s all mischief. Likes to kick his mom in the middle of the night.”

I moved her hand closer to my ribcage.

“Baby A sits here,” I continued. “She’s not as much of a bully, but she’s always trying to copy Baby C.”

I pulled her hand down and to the middle of my massive stomach.

“This is where Baby B sits. He’s much quieter than his siblings but I know he’s there. He likes to move when Daddy is speaking.”

“They’re like little people,” she gasped.

“They are little people,” I said.

The familiar feeling of a Braxton-Hicks contraction washed over me, and I winced, breathing sharply.

“Are they coming now?” Anna asked like she had every time I groaned in pain since the first Braxton-Hicks.

“No, Anna, they’re just trying to make sure I’ll be ready when they decide to make their grand entrance.”

“Okay, well, I’m excited to meet you, babies! Try and convince your mom that Elsa is a really cool name! Or Kristoff! Then we just need one more boy name!”

She walked away from me and back to Melisandre, who had been watching us with curious eyes. Anna pulled out a brush with bristles on it, and started brushing away the dust we had both stirred up on her coat. I caught the eyes of the groom who was still watching us, and smiled at him. He gave a nervous smile back, and his eyes flicked down to my belly like he was worried.

Another Braxton-Hicks contraction hit, and I scrunched my face up. That one was harder, and left me a little breathless.

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