Page 60 of Nine Month Contract
She pulls away and moves on to greet her uncles. I gaze longingly at her outfit. It’s an elegant blue jumpsuit that manages to look expensive and laid-back at the same time. Everly has one of those bodies that can wear whatever she wants, and it’ll look great on her, whereas I am constantly dressing to accentuate my curves because if I wear a shapeless dress, I look like a potato.
I tug nervously on my floral wrap dress. It cinches at the waist and makes me feel womanly, a step up from my standard jeans and baggy T-shirts. Though admittedly, I’ve been wearing some of my more revealing tank tops lately because I like how it makes Wyatt act all weird and twitchy. He’s normally so stoic, but one day, I had a dash of abdomen showing, and he was suddenly very interested in the color of the sky.
This means when I came out in my dress and saw his reaction, I felt like a million bucks. All three of the Fletcher brothers did a double take. Probably because this dress is giving more titty than it did prior to me getting knocked up, but it’s still graduation-appropriate cleavage.
“Nice to see you guys dressed up for the occasion,” Wyatt’s brother Max chastises as he joins our little group. Max dons a perfectly tailored gray suit, and his tie even matches his daughter’s jumpsuit. He turns and offers me a kind smile. “Trista, you are excused from that dig. You look lovely.”
“Oh…thanks.” I glance at the guys and curse myself for not telling them to wear something other than jeans. Clearly, they need some womanly guidance on that mountain.
“Max, be nice to your brothers,” a dark, curvy brunette says, coming over to greet us. She’s dressed a bit more casually but equally as cute as Everly. See, why can I look at this plus-sized female and see that she looks amazing, but my intrusive thoughts have to be such a dick to me? God, being a woman is such a bitch sometimes.
“Trista, I am so excited to finally meet you,” she says, reaching out to shake my hand. “I’m Cozy, Wyatt’s sister-in-law. I’m married to the bossy brother.”
“Nice to meet you.” I laugh as Max rolls his eyes. If Max is the bossy one, what the hell does that make Wyatt?
“How are you feeling?” she asks as her gaze flashes to my stomach.
“Great, thanks.” I fight the urge to cover myself. It’s strange how pregnancy sort of makes your body a part of casual conversation. Like is there anything else that happens to a human body that makes it normal for people to ask,“How are your innards, Trista?”
“I heard you had some bad morning sickness.” Cozy’s eyes move to Wyatt. “I had that with my youngest, Ethan. It’s awful.”
I frown over at my mountain man, wondering if there’s a family newsletter or a group chat he sends out to update everyone on me. I know it’s his baby inside me, but I sincerely hope the ranch cups and Tylenol syringes didn’t make any headlines.
“I feel amazing now,” I reply with a polite smile. “No issues eating these days.”
“Oh God, I remember that. Once you get past that horrible morning sickness, your body wants to make up for lost time and eat everything in sight.”
“That’s exactly how it feels.” I laugh and feel oddly comforted by hearing another woman relate to this experience. It’s not a support group, but it feels pretty good. “My vet friend says it’s normal to be on full feed after the first trimester, but admittedly, his pregnancy knowledge doesn’t extend much beyond farm animals.”
Cozy laughs, and I open my mouth to continue chatting with her,but Wyatt steps between us, causing our eyes to look up at him. “Let’s get you some food.”
My brows furrow as I try to wave him off. “The full-feed thing was a joke, Wyatt…kind of.”
“Come on,” he commands and puts his hand on my lower back, swiftly ushering me away from everyone.
I offer a polite smile to Wyatt’s family, who are all staring at us in rapt fascination. Once we’re out of earshot, I shake his hand off my back. “I don’t need to be led to the trough like a farm animal,” I snipe, turning to shoot daggers at him. “I said the Avery comment was a joke.”
“I don’t like that guy.”
“You met him for two seconds.”
“Two seconds too long,” he murmurs, his eyes narrowing and fixating on me. “What did you tell him about me? He obviously knows about our situation.”
“Of course he knows. He’s my friend. Plus, I was getting sick at some of our house calls together.”
Wyatt’s nostrils flare. “Did you tell him you were sick before me?”
My head jerks back. “He’s my friend.”
“I know, but that’s my baby inside you, so I have a right to know before him.” He licks his lips and glowers at my lips. “Before anybody, for that matter.”
My eyes flash with barely concealed rage because it’s all making a lot more sense now. It’s not the mini horse bothering him or the pig or the rabbit. It’s Avery. And the fact that Avery has a penis.
Mountain Man is…jealous.
The thrill that shoots through me over that realization is almost as messed up as his behavior. It’s certainly as messed up as the warmth that spreads to the area between my legs over the thought of him claiming me in some strange way. I shouldn’t like these thoughts. I should hate that he’s trying to mark his territory because I have literally shot his sperm up into my vagina and am carrying his genetic child. What more does this crazy man need?
I close my eyes before I let myself finish those thoughts.
