Page 76 of Blue Norther
“Come on, Vi. There’s no room for worry right now. Today is about celebrating you and the baby.”
“And you,” I added. His eyes went wide. “You’re the reason he and I have a family. You’re the reason this place, this life, this love that we share, has always felt like home. I love you.We love you.”
Colt turned and slipped out of the truck. The soft clatter of the door shutting had my heart tumbling. He’d been so clear about wanting the baby and me, but was I expecting too much to have him say those words back to me?
My door opened, and Colt’s strong and steady hands were there, all but lifting me out of the seat before closing the door. He pressed into me, sliding us to the passenger door. The fire in his eyes, the way his leg pressed between mine, had my breath rushing in and out of my lungs.
“I thought you were mad at me,” I whispered as his lips slid against my neck, sucking first before letting his teeth rake over my flushed skin.
“No, baby. I just couldn’t say it back without kissing you. Without my arms wrapped around you. Not without our baby between us. I love you so fucking much, Violet Ford. You’ve always been mine. You’ll always be mine.”
His breath was hot on my ear, and yet, the rest of my body shivered as my skin pebbled under his touch.
“Say it again,” he growled. “I want to hear you say it as I taste you.”
“I love you.”
His lips crashed against mine. It was more than a kiss to close the decade we’d been apart from each other. It was all the love that spanned from the first part of our lives, over the void, into now. It was the forgiveness we held in our hearts for each other. The love that waited quietly in those darkest, loneliest moments. The tears that fell to the Earth when it felt like everything had shattered, helping to grow stronger roots in our foundation.
“I love you,” Colt whispered as he pulled away, not trying to hide the way his eyes shimmered full of tears. He stepped back, his hands bracketing my belly before he gave our son a kiss. “I love you both so much.”
My fingers ran through his hair as he came back and kissed me again. I giggled, the realization that this was happening where his family could see making my body flush red hot with embarrassment.
“Alright, lovebirds,” Beau called from the porch. I jumped, hiding my face in Colt’s shoulder. “As much as the girls are swooning in here at your little display, it’s time to get the show on the road.”
Colt flipped his brother off, Beau laughing loudly as he walked back inside.
“I’m never going to hear the end of that.” He smiled, slipping his hand behind my back and helping me get my footing as we walked away from the truck.
“I think it was worth it.”
He stopped, his eyes dropping to my lips and then back up to my eyes. “One thousand percent. Top five memory for us, Vi. Top five.”
I laughed. “What other memories are in there for you?”
“Number five? Definitely the first time we went skinny dipping together at the springs.”
“That was a fun night. I remember thinking you had a really cute butt.”
“Hey,” he grumbled. “I told you not to look.”
“Sometimes a girl just can’t help herself. Number four?” I egged him on as we climbed the stairs.
“Our wedding day.”
I nodded. “Number three?”
Colt sighed, running his hand along the back of his neck before shrugging his shoulders. “The rest are all tied. Because I can’t possibly rank the first time I saw you back and realized you were pregnant against the moment you told me I was going to be a dad. And you can absolutely forget about asking me to rank those two against the moment the love of my life, when the woman I’ve been obsessed with for almost thirty years, uttered the words in my truck on the way to our baby shower that I prayed to hear again every damn day while watching the sun rise alone in the house we turned into a home together.”
“Oh.” My chin quivered, and I bit down on the inside of my lip to help push down my emotions.
“Say it one more time before we go inside? Give me something to brag to my boneheaded brothers about while I’m stuck showing them how a real man uses a grill.”
“I love you, Colton Daniel Ford. I’ve always loved you. And for as long as I live, for every minute there is air in my lungs, there will be love that is only meant for you in my heart.”
“I absolutely cannot wait to have you over for book club!” Lily, Jessie’s friend who was married to one of the guys who ran Montgomery Defense, smiled as she held out a pretty blue drink in a glass to me. My baby shower was in full swing, and although it was small, with Jessie, Dolly, Birdie, Mae, Lily, and their other friend, Sloane, in attendance, it made me feel so cherished and special. Especially for these other women to attend just because they loved Jessie and she loved me.
“We’re a small group, but it’s lots of fun! Jessie and our other friend Lacy usually lead up the shenanigans, but Lacy and her husband Nash are up in Montana for the next two months,” Mae shared.
