Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
“Six? Are you crazy? I was thinking maybe two. Are you forgetting how sick I’ve been carrying your child?” There’s that spark. A grin pulls at my lips. Truth be told, six is two too many. There were a lot of us in and out of the house. Mom and Dad may not have showed they were stretched thin, but I could see it at times. Mom would have dark circles under her eyes, Dad would come home, help Mom out, then he’d fall asleep in his chair.
“I’m willing to negotiate. A solid four wouldn’t be bad, would it?” My cock flexes inside of her. Damn thing is ready for round two while she’s ready to pass out.
“Maybe. I’m not agreeing or disagreeing. We’ll see how the next pregnancy is and go from there. I love our child, and I love you, but being sick for weeks when I didn’t take medicine about did me in.”
“Four it is with the option to renegotiate. Now, how about we take this inside, shower, and nap?” Juni isn’t much for naps since she’s been out of her first trimester. Today, though, it looks like I’ll get my way.
“A nap sounds good, so does a sandwich with watermelon.” When she realized lunch meat was out of the equation, she about cried until Mom offered to cook a ham or turkey once a week to satisfy her cravings. I keep the fridge well stocked with her favorite fruit, and all is well.
“You shower, I’ll make lunch, then we’ll crash for a couple of hours,” I suggest.
“What if I want you to join me in the shower?”
“Babe, you should know by now, your wish is my command.” She stays planted on my cock the entire time as I take the keys out of the ignition, then grab her purse and cup. Looks like I’ll be carrying her around for the foreseeable future. Though, it’s a damn good thing my brothers' houses aren’t anywhere near mine, or they’re liable to see a whole lot they shouldn’t.
TWENTY-ONE
JUNIPER
“Hey, Juni,” Birdie greets me as I look up from what I’m working on. It’s time to order supplies for the clinic. There’s been a lot more work lately with summer here. Between dehydration, cuts, and being kicked by an animal of some sort, my stock is dwindling faster than normal. It’s also hay season at the ranch, and that’s a whole other story with the injuries that come with it. These guys get the job done, even if it comes with broken fingers, a dislocated shoulder, or a jacked-up ankle. Still, they work and then don’t come in until their day is over. Lawson grumbles and tells the hands to get fucked and to go into town to be patched up. My glare is strong, and he knows I’ll push him out of my clinic if he keeps up with the drama of him not getting his way. Needless to say, the days are long and the evenings are longer. When Lawson suggested we take the afternoon off after my doctor’s appointment, I was more than ready for the break.
“Hi, Tully, Birdie. This is a pleasant surprise.” I push away from my desk to greet them. We’ve gotten closer since Lawson and I announced my pregnancy, and while they’ve tried to before, I tended to push them away or come up with an excuse anytime they’d ask for me to join them for book club night. That whole wall around my heart really was tall and thick. It’s a good thing they won’t take no for an answer now. They invite me over for girls’ night, where Catherine usually makes an appearance. We’ll joke about the guys and their overbearing ways. And while I may not read like Birdie and Tully do, they always make me feel welcome.
“You may not think that after our intervention,” Tully says. There’s a spiciness to her tone. Maybe this isn’t the type of conversation to have this early in the morning. I’m down to one caffeinated drink a day, and I’ve already finished my iced coffee. What I wouldn’t give for another one. I’d probably make it, too, if my earlier drink wasn’t as massive as my water cup.
“Something tells me I’m not awake enough for this.” I straighten my scrub top once I’m standing. The jeans I once wore are now in the back of my closet. Who knows if I’ll get back into them, but I figure instead of donating my full closet while pregnant, maybe a few pieces will work with my after-baby body. Though the way my hips are growing, I’m thinking any of the bottoms will be a hard pass. Needless to say, if it’s not stretchy, I’m not comfortable, and I’m not wearing it. Before I went shopping with Birdie, Tully, and Catherine, I put on a pair of leggings to wear to work, but Lawson was not having that. Apparently, too much of my body was showing, and he wasn’t going to be around as much. I wouldn’t budge. Lawson thinks he can run the show, but when I refused to change out of my black leggings and black tank top, he groaned and grumbled. Then he used his master negotiating tactic, stopping at his place on the way to work, where he put me in one of his flannels. I called it a win and then made plans to update my wardrobe with the Johnson women. Now I’m the owner of maternity scrubs in various colors. Today, however I’m wearing pink, and when Lawson saw me come out of the closet in them, I had to make a run for the front door. Of course, that set off another conversation where Lawson groaned about how pregnant women shouldn’t be running. One arch of my eyebrow had him shutting up. Riding horses was now out of the equation, as well as being too close to some of the younger, more rowdier horses. Yeah, he was not taking running away from me or I’d likely wring his neck.