I Do! by Rachel Gibson Page B

pregnancy and compared horror stories until Vince burst into the cookhouse with his bride thrown over his shoulder. Everyone broke into applause and the twin brothers whooped and whistled.
    “Cryin’ all night! Put me down, Vincent.” When he did, Sadie smoothed her hair, then punched her husband in the arm. Stella laughed, and her stomach ached from the simple exertion. With a huge grin on his face, Vince bent his new wife over his arm and kissed her in front of the small, cheering crowd. Stella laughed so hard this time, her bladder squeezed past its limit and she felt warm liquid run down her legs. Horrified, she bent forward as far as possible and looked at the puddle between her jeweled sandals. “Beau!” She glanced over her shoulder and pulled on his sleeve.
    “What, honey?” With laughter still on his lips, he looked into her face. “Do you need to go to the bathroom again?”
    “I think I already went.” Her cheeks got hot and she squeezed her legs together to stop the flow. She was so embarrassed she wanted floor to open up so she could fall through. She wanted to hide behind her big husband or maybe she could fake like she’d spilled some water. “I think I peed myself.” This time she hadn’t even felt like she had to go, and she always felt like she had to go lately. “A lot.” More than she’d been able to urinate in quite a while, and this time no matter how hard she squeezed her legs, the puddle grew bigger. She grasped Beau’s hard forearm beneath his sleeve and her eyes rounded. Her belly got tighter and she sucked in a breath. “I don’t think it’s pee. I think my water broke.”
    THE SUN HAD turned into a flaming orange ball in the darkening sky by the time Becca packed her car and headed to the barn to grab the long, gauzy veil that Sadie had forgotten in the loft.
    The wedding had been elegant and beautiful, like Sadie herself. Everything had been working according to plan . . . until Stella’s water broke and all hell broke loose. Beau rushed with her from the cookhouse, practically running with Stella in his arms, her protests hanging in the air. Sadie hurried after them, issuing orders. “Everyone stay and have a good time. I’m going to the hospital. We’re having a baby.” Vince laughed at the sudden chaos, then followed his wife out the door. The wedding hadn’t exactly gone off as planned, but it was certainly memorable. Most of the guests had stayed for several hours, but now the ranch was quiet except for the LeClaires, who had settled in the main house with popcorn and Cars 2 .
    The soft nicker of horses filled the barn as the heels of Becca’s cowboy boots thumped on the wooden stairs. She climbed the steps to the loft and easily found the gossamer veil on a hay bale. The sound of a car driving toward the house, instead of away, drew her attention to the open hayloft doors.
    Headlights cut through the dusky shadows of night and she moved to the edge to look down at the red Cadillac with its white top up. The vehicle pulled to a stop beneath her and the engine died. She felt a little tug at the bottom of her heart as the door swung open and Nate Parrish stepped out. His bright white T-shirt shone in the deepening shadows of night like he’d smeared his chest and shoulders with glow-in-the-dark paint. She didn’t have to see him clearly to know a spiky belt held up his loose jeans. He glanced around as if he’d expected the party to be in full swing. She didn’t have to see his face or feel the touch of his hands on her waist or his mouth on hers to feel a shiver brush up her spine. Her body remembered whether she wanted to remember or not.
    Becca’s nerves had been jumping all day in anticipation of that long red car pulling up to the JH. In anticipation of seeing his handsome face and hearing his voice, not that she knew if he’d even talk to her.
    He pulled his cell phone from his front pocket and the lighted screen lit up his hand as he punched in several