Blowing out a breath, I caught sight of Taylor. She was talking to Grams and Gramps. They had to have been the nicest people I’d ever met. Both still so sharp, especially Gramps for being in his late nineties.
Taylor leaned over and kissed Grams on the cheek and made her way over to me. Smiling, she stopped in front of me and said, “So, has anyone scared you off yet?”
Pulling her into my arms, I gently kissed her lips then whispered, “Never.”
“You’ve never said, do you have a big family?”
“No not really. My father’s parents died years before Liza and I were born. His brother, Mike, died in the military when my father was young and Mike’s daughter Kate got married a few years back and lives in Phoenix with her husband. We don’t get to see her very often which sucks. But her mom, Jen, still lives in Llano. My mother’s mom and dad live in New York. They used to come to Texas a lot to visit, but have slowed it down some the older they have gotten. They’ll be here this summer though.”
Taylor softly smiled. “I’d love to meet them,” she said before glancing over her shoulder. “They’ve already done the whole happy birthday thing. We’re just waiting on one more announcement and then we can leave if you want.”
Pushing a piece of hair behind her ear, I nodded. “I’m in no rush, sweetness. It’s whenever you want to leave.”
Colt called out to get everyone’s attention as Taylor took my hand and pulled me closer to everyone. “This is it!” she said with excitement in her voice.
“First. I’d like to wish my grams a very happy birthday again. You’re rocking it at ninety-five, Grams!”
Everyone clapped as cheers rang out. Colt motioned for Alex to stand next to him as well as Lauren and Will.
“Alex and Will, as well as Lauren and I, have an announcement to make.”
Colt turned to Alex who smiled and wiped a tear from her cheek. “You first,” she said.
With his arm wrapped around Lauren’s waist, Colt beamed with pride and happiness. “Lauren and I will be welcoming our first child July 7.”
Cheers erupted as everyone rushed up and started hugging both Lauren and Colt. Ellie was crying as she pulled Lauren to her and held her for the longest time.
When things finally died down, all attention was on Alex and Will. Alex cleared her throat and said, “We didn’t want to ruin this day for Colt and Lauren, but once Colt found out he insisted we make our announcement as well.”
Ellie’s hands went to her mouth as she started crying . . . again. “Will and I are expecting our second child . . .” Alex turned to face Colt and started laughing. “On July 6!”
Taylor jumped as she rushed over to Alex and hugged her. I couldn’t ignore the pit in the middle of my stomach. Taylor hadn’t mentioned anything and I knew she had to have missed her period. We’d been together for just over a month now.
As much as I dreamed of marrying her and having kids, I really wanted to get my life settled. That meant building a house, setting up roots and settling in with Walker on running the ranch. Not to mention the change to taking everything organic. Walker invested a lot of time in the horseracing side of the ranch while I focused more on the cattle. It was a good arrangement and I liked it. It meant long hours though and if I threw a baby into the mix, it meant I would hardly see him or her.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, I pushed my hand through my hair and did what I have been doing for the last few weeks. Ignored it.
Once everything settled down, Alex got everyone’s attention. “So . . . I’m not really sure if she is ready to say anything or not . . . but I really wish she would so we can really turn this into an even bigger party. Grace?”
All eyes turned to Grace. She looked around with a shocked look on her face before turning back to Alex. She blew out a quick breath and walked up next to her. “Well. I guess we might as well tell y’all. We’re going to be needing to hire some help at the flower shop.”
“That’s wonderful, sweetheart!” Ellie called out. “Means your business is thriving.”
Grace pinched her face up and said, “Well . . . yes it is but obviously there is something in the water here in Mason. Noah and I are expecting our second child in . . . you guessed it. July. July 24 to be exact.”
“Three new babies! July is going to be busy!” Jeff called out as he wrapped his daughter up in his arms while Ari started crying.
Taylor turned to me and laughed. “Jesus, what in the hell is in the water here?” I asked as she laughed. “I’m not sure, but I’ve got a ton of baby shower planning to do!”
It wasn’t lost on me how much Taylor was ignoring our potential problem just like I was.
Taylor sat nervously on the end of the table, swinging her legs and wringing her hands. “You know you didn’t have to come.”
“I wanted to.”
When Taylor told me she was coming in to talk about getting on birth control and to take a pregnancy test, there was no way I was going to let her come alone.