ONCE IN A BLUE MOON (BLUEBONNET, TEXAS Book 2) by Amie Stuart

you’re having his baby. That must count for something. I’m not talking marriage, Bet, but he has a right to know about his kid."
    "And his brother told him it was a hook-up."
    "A hook-up?"
    "Yeah."
    "How y’all made that baby doesn’t matter!" Scowling, she reached out and poked me with the toe of her shoe for emphasis.
    "I want to, but he’s only been divorced a few months—" Talk about a souvenir. This had to be some sort of cosmic payback for popping Rhea in the grocery store. I honestly wasn’t sure how he’d react to the news of a baby after our last confrontation.
    "This is the Sixth Grade guy, isn’t it?" she asked, eyes wide.
    I nodded, drying the last of my tears. "You know what’s weird? I think he’s been cutting my grass."
    Cassi’s snort of laughter got my attention. "Your grass?!"
    "Someone has been cutting my grass, Cassi! And Ty has been seen in the neighborhood." I slumped in my chair with a sigh. "Maybe it was leprechauns. At least I have an excuse to go see him."
    "How long’s it been since your grass was cut?" she asked, arching one dark brow.
    I looked at her and she looked at me, and we both ended up with a pants-wetting case of the giggles.
    "Not since August," I finally worked out, my face sore from laughing. "Do you know, last night I cried at a stupid-ass Campbell’s commercial?"
    That set Cassi to howling again, but not me. "You’re definitely pregnant, girl."
    "Well, I figured you’d be an expert on that," I quipped back, poking her with my toe this time.
     
    * * *
     
    Early the next morning the clinic confirmed my pregnancy, and after consulting with Cassi and a bevy of experts—in other words, moms—I’d decided to be brave and go the natural route. Two weeks later, I walked in the office of my new midwife, Marilyn Carstairs.
    Just my luck, I saw Ty’s sister-in-law, Jessa of the Cher-hair, coming and going. As I sat in the waiting room filling out paperwork, I crossed my fingers, hoping she didn’t recognize me three months after the fact.
    After having my blood drawn, my blood pressure taken and peeing in a cup, Marilyn jotted down notes in my file. Pausing, she looked at me expectantly over her half-glasses. "You don’t have a partner?"
    "Not right now." I cringed with guilt—the completely self-inflicted kind. "I...I haven’t told him yet."
    "I see. A healthy diet and exercise are important for a successful pregnancy, Bettina, but so is support of your loved ones," she gently scolded. "Lie back, and relax. Let’s see what we have here."
    Loved ones. That was a joke. I still hadn’t worked up the nerve to set foot on the Boudreaux’s ranch and share my good news with Ty. Feeling chastised by the motherly old blonde, I laid back on the table, promising myself I’d go see him ASAP.
    Raising my shirt, she tucked my pants down to my pubic bone. "I’m going to palpitate your abdomen, Bettina."
    "What’s that?"
    "I’m checking the size of your uterus." She chuckled as her fingers probed my belly, and she measured me. "Relax, by the time we’re done you’ll feel like a pro. I’ll also give you a list of recommended reading material before you leave." She chuckled again and continued, "This’ll feel cold."
    I looked down and saw her squirt goo on my abdomen. "Ew."
    "This is a Doppler." She held up what looked like a portable miniature microphone. "We’re going to use it to hear the baby’s heartbeat."
    I held my breath, waiting until she found a swoosh-swooshing tattoo that was the baby.
    "One-hundred-forty beats per minute." She beamed.
    "Oh my God." I stared at the ceiling, laughing while tears pricked my eyes. There was a real little life in there, not just some intangible thing . "Put it back, put it back!" I hollered as she lifted the little microphone off my belly. "Is that good?"
    "That’s perfect, Bettina," she reassured me, placing the Doppler back on my belly.

Chapter Six
    LOVE STRUCK BABY
    Every Wednesday at ten o’clock Ty spent fifty minutes