Page 60 of Travis

“My favorite? Her marinated ribs?”

She wraps her arms around my neck, filling my heart. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

After eating the delicious ribs, I insist that Becky take the night off. We throw in a movie and snuggle on the couch. My arms are around her and her head is on my chest, and I couldn’t be happier if I just won a million dollars, and that’s the truth. My lips keep touching her head. I can’t believe I’m here. It’s the best birthday Christmas miracle ever. Becky cuddles into me further. “Are you purring, darlin’?” I tease.

“This is nice.” She murmurs against my chest. Then she lifts her head and kisses my lips. “We won’t be able to do this for a whole lot longer, once my belly gets bigger.”

“We’ll figure out another way to cuddle, darlin’.”

“I know.” She leans her chin on her hand, as it rests on my chest. Her eyes are on mine. The fireplace is glowing on her face, making her look luminous. “I just keep thinking about all the things that are going to change, you know, with me being pregnant.”

I search her eyes. “But you couldn’t be happier.”

She’s smiling with her eyes now, too. “I don’t know, Travis. I just think that God wanted us to go through a little something to get to where we are. I can’t figure out why, but I’m glad that he blessed us with a baby finally, after all these years.”

I kiss her lips. “I’m done trying to figure it out, darlin’. The Lord works in strange ways, you know.”

“That he does.”

“You look tired, Beck.” I say, pushing a piece of hair off her face. “Why don’t you go on to bed, hm? I’ll put the dishes away and tidy up and be up shortly. I know you said you’ve got an early morning.”

“Yeah. I do.” She admits. The truth is, I’ve got an early morning, too. In fact, every morning is early on a ranch. “I just don’t want to move from here.” She chuckles.

“We can cuddle in bed, too, darlin’.” I kiss her forehead. “You go on. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

“Okay.” She says reluctantly, making me snuffle a soft laugh. She’s so sweet and she doesn’t even know it. Five minutes later, I head to the bedroom. She’s standing there, by the dresser, in a silk nightgown. It goes to her ankles, but there are slits on either side that extend to her upper thigh. The spaghetti straps are criss-crossed in the back, with her flesh open, and the front plunges into a v, just between her breasts. She couldn’t be more beautiful if she tried.

“God, Becky.” I breathe. “Where did you get that?”

She grins. “It was actually your birthday present from Ron. It was supposed to be a joke but look who’s laughing now.”

I smile. “You opened my present?” I’m impressed.

“Sara told me to. Ron let the cat out of the bag and told her what it was. I heard the slap over the phone. So glad you didn’t open it in front of everyone. That would have been humiliating.”

“Remind me to punch him in the face, and shake his hand, next time I see him.” I look her up and down. Her breasts are definitely swollen with the pregnancy. They lay on her chest, perked up perfectly. I take a step towards her, and place my hand on her belly. “It feels hard.”

“I was hoping I’d be the one saying that.” She says, but she can’t keep a straight face, and we both end up laughing. I kneel, so I can touch her belly with my hands, palm down.

“It does feel hard, Beck. You feel that?” I ask her softly.

“I didn’t notice until today. I guess I’ve been so busy, I wasn’t paying attention to the changes in my body.”

I kiss her belly, and then I rub my nose on it. “Hi, baby.” I whisper. “I can’t believe you’re finally here. You’re gonna love us. We’ve wanted a baby for so long. You’ll be spoiled before you’re even born.”

Becky giggles. “That’s for sure. This kid will need for nothing.”

I kiss her belly again. “I think if it’s a girl, we should name her Hope.” I look up at her. “Because if it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t be together, and I don’t know about you, Becky, but I sure felt hopeless not being with you.”

Becky swallows, and I see that her eyes are glossy with tears. “I think that’s a fine name, Travis.”

“What if it’s a boy?”

“Depends how he comes out.” She comments with a playful grunt.

I snuffle a laugh into her belly and give it a final kiss, before coming to meet her eyes. My voice is soft. “You better take those jammies off before I put you down on that bed and make sweet love to you, darlin’.”

Her eyes have fire in them. “I was hoping that’s exactly what you would say.” She lifts her arms over her head, grabbing an end with one hand, and she peels the garment off in one fell swoop. Before me, I have the most beautiful woman in the world, and she’s all mine. I bite my lip, drinking her in, feeling the effect that she’s having on me below the belt. My zipper is tighter against my body, so I unzip it and undo the button, while Becky pulls my shirt over my head. I’ve never wanted her so badly before in my life. My pants and briefs are off in seconds.

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