Page 43 of Blue Norther
His whispered words were loud enough for Jessie to overhear, and I watched as a smile spread across her face.
“Violet is pregnant with my baby. We’rebothgoing to be parents.”
Beau stood up. His chair scraped loudly against the wood floor, and Colt’s hand tightened around mine.
“What are you doing?” Birdie hissed. “Sit down.”
“No.” Beau wasn’t answering her. I knew, because he was looking right into my eyes. He turned, storming through the kitchen. No one moved or made a sound as the back door slammed shut.
“Is there ever going to be a day in this family where everyone reacts normally to a pregnancy announcement?” Jessie mumbled, and I watched Danny’s face fall. There had to be a story there I wasn’t aware of.
“That’s why you asked me about being called ‘Grammy’?” Dolly asked. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize…”
“When were you back in town? You only saw Colt?” Jessie asked over her mother.
“No. I haven’t been back in years,” I admitted.
Colt cleared his throat. “Violet and I, when we went through IVF…There was an embryo left. Just one.”
“And at the time,” I continued, “after that last miscarriage, I was too heartbroken to keep trying. I was scared, and hurt, and I ran away from everyone and everything. I’m very sorry for that.”
Colt turned, his hand squeezing mine again in reassurance. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
I nodded, feeling the painful sting of tears hit the back of my eyes. “In the divorce, Colt signed over custody of the embryo to me. And I kept paying for the clinic to store it, all these years.”
My finger brushed at the tear tracking down my cheek. I didn’t want any part of this beautiful miracle to feel embarrassing. But with nearly every member of the Ford family looking at me in disbelief, I couldn’t help but feel that way.
“And this year, turning forty, I just knew I had to give it one more go.”
“But Colt didn’t know.” It wasn’t a question from Hayes.
“No. I didn’t tell him. I didn’t tell anyone. I couldn’t.” My voice got stuck in my throat. It took everything in me not to let the anxiety that was constantly humming through the back of my mind come out. A deep breath and a moment of staring down at the floor—or trying to, while really just weirdly eyeing my belly—seemed to help.
“Honey, you don’t have to explain a single thing to us. We’re welcoming a new member into our family, and we’re getting an old one back. I’m thrilled.” Dolly stood from her chair and wrapped me in her arms. “I know it must have been so scary to go through these last months by yourself. But you’ve got us now.”
Colt
My boots crunched across the gravel as I walked to the barn, where I knew my brother would be stewing. The disappointed look on Violet’s face had faded as my family wrapped us up in words of support and congratulations, but the sadness in her eyes never left. All because my brother was going to hold onto a grudge that wasn’t even his to have.
I marched straight through the open door of the barn. Beau was busy mucking out a stall, his back turned to me.
“What thefuckis your problem?”
His back straightened, and the rake fell from his hand as he turned towards me.
“Myproblem? When the fuck are you going to stop letting your fucking broken heart lead you around by the balls, man? Violet left. She’s been gone for almost ten fucking years. And you can pretend now that those ten years weren’t hell. You can forget those years as fast as you fucking want. But I won’t. I won’t forget how scared we were that it wasn’t just Vi we were losing. How we listened to Mom cry, and Dad try to reassure her that you would be okay. I won’t forget how it was me, Lachlan, Jess, and Hayes who had to set up a rotation to check in on you when you were so depressed you stopped functioning.”
“I never stopped?—”
“You were a zombie for those first few years, Colt. We marched our asses to your house every fucking day to make sure you didn’t do something stupid to take away the pain. She just left! She only cared about herself. And you’re just going to let her lie like that? You’re going to accept her back after she fucked someone else and left them behind, just like she left you? Did he realize she was a selfish bitch, and that’s why he wants nothing to do with the kid?” Beau spit on the ground as my hands clenched. “Did she come crawling back to town to lick her wounds and then decide to hook you back in to play daddy? You’re a fucking idiot.”
My fist connected with his jaw in one smooth motion.
Fuck. The bones in my hand cracked and electric pain—hot and sharp—radiated up my arm. But the blood my brother spit onto the barn floor filled me with such fucking relief that I almost fell over.
“I see how it is,” Beau laughed, his hand coming up to wipe away the blood dripping down his face.
“No, you fucking don’t. Because Vi is pregnant withmy baby.Mine. Not some other man’s. She was never with anyone else.”
