Blame It on the Rodeo. Amanda Renee

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      Chapter Two

      “Surprise!”

      “Oh, good Lord!” Miranda wobbled backward, her hands protectively on her round belly. “Don’t you people know never to startle a pregnant woman?”

      “Now I told you to surprise her, not surprise the young’uns out of her.” Mable’s mocha cheeks flared with a hint of red. “We don’t need a repeat of last year, but Tess, honey, ready the shower curtain liner, just in case.” Originally, Double Trouble’s house manager, Mable became a surrogate mother of sorts when Miranda moved to town and purchased the ranch. Never having had children of her own, Mable doted on Miranda as if she were her own daughter. Since Miranda’s drunk of a mother had died a few years ago, Mable easily filled the void in her life.

      Lexi doubted anyone would soon forget the day Vicki Slater went into labor shortly after her own baby shower ended. Miranda was right there to catch the bundle of joy in the middle of her living room. So indebted to her friend, Vicki named her daughter Randi Lynn, after Miranda.

      Randi Lynn had celebrated her first birthday a few days ago and Miranda had a few weeks before she and Jesse welcomed twins. Once their honeymoon started, they immediately went to work in the baby-making department. But they weren’t the only children with a birthday this time of year. One was missing. Lexi tried to push the thought from her mind.

      Lexi had liked Miranda from the day she pulled into town, determined to start a new life. She’d been down that road herself and anyone with the courage to make that kind of move had her vote. Jesse couldn’t have chosen a better bride—they were perfectly matched in their fire and passion.

      Inside Cole and his wife Tess’s newly renovated cottage, Ramblewood’s women gathered, showering the latest mommy-to-be with gifts. And Jesse, the only male in the room, seemed to relish the attention. Tess and Cole’s adopted daughter, Ever, helped hand Miranda her presents, although Lexi sensed she wanted to tear into each one of them herself.

      “I just thought of something,” Miranda said, straightening her back to rub it. “I didn’t see any cars when we pulled up. Where did you all park?”

      Everyone laughed.

      “That was an adventure of its own,” Mazie, Lexi’s younger sister, giggled.

      “That son of mine almost lost a few of your guests along the way,” Kay said. “We had everyone park at the winery and Shane chauffeured them here in that blasted Jeep of his. Poor Bridgett almost flew out of it.”

      On a quarter-of-a-million-acre ranch, it was a cinch to hide a few cars. Besides being Dance of Hope’s CEO, Kay oversaw the small ranch winery, and since it wasn’t open on Saturdays, it was the last place Miranda would venture.

      Feeling wistful, Lexi looked around the cottage at the people she considered her extended family. Lexi’s parents had grown up with both Tess and Vicki’s parents, and then all their kids grew up together. Now a new generation had begun and the cycle would repeat. Minus one.

      Everyone had been surprised when Shane offered to renovate the house for Cole as a peace offering for trying to block the Dance of Hope hippotherapy facility last year. When Shane and Chase battled Cole and Jesse for control of the ranch’s finances, Kay had been relegated to watching her family tear itself apart. Looking around now, Lexi admired the extensive attention to detail Shane had given the remodel.

      Recently her friends’ lives had changed drastically. They were married and creating families of their own. She’d wanted the same for herself thirteen years ago, if Shane hadn’t cheated on her. Lexi tried not to dwell on the what-ifs, but the past still tormented her every day. Especially now that she and Shane were testing the waters again, even though she’d made it clear she wasn’t sure where it would lead.

      “Honey, did you see Ever’s bedroom?”

      “Mom...” Lexi shushed her mother. “Are you snooping?”

      “No, I’m not snooping,” Judy said. “I merely observed the room across the hall when I came out of the bathroom. It’s adorable with purple ponies in tiaras painted on the walls. And did you see the mini hitching post out front for Ever’s horse? She’s one lucky little girl.”

      Lexi watched the five-year-old across the room. She was sitting on Tess’s lap in a lilac party dress, her legs encased in braces up to her knees. Ever had a mild form of cerebral palsy, but physical therapy and daily hippotherapy sessions had increased her strength and ability to the point where she didn’t rely on her crutches much anymore. Surrounded by horses her entire life, Lexi was still in awe of the therapy that utilized the animals’ movements to treat people with injuries and physical disabilities.

      “She certainly is,” Lexi agreed. “Cole told me the day may come when she won’t need the braces.”

      “Isn’t Cole such a darling with her?” Judy asked. “All the Langtry men are angels except that Shane. He can’t keep it in his pants long enough to—”

      “Mom, please.” Lexi held up her hand. “Let’s not go down this road again. Enjoy the party and stop trying to fight my battles from years ago.”

      “Who’s talking years? I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. And just the other day, Charlotte Hargrove told me—”

      Not wanting to hear any more, Lexi left her mother and walked down the hallway to the bathroom, allowing herself a glance in Ever’s room. Cutely decorated with its feminine frills, she remembered the animated way Shane had described the low wall-length banquette he’d built under the window so Ever could easily sit on it without assistance.

      Inside the bathroom, she locked the door and rested against it. Light cornflower-blue paint decorated the upper half of the wall over white wainscoting. A tiny walker stood near the white pedestal sink. Grip bars of various heights lined the wall next to the tub so she could lift herself out without relying on someone to help her. Shane had thought of everything.

      She had to hand it to him. And in his care for his little niece, Lexi knew Shane still missed Dylan, even though he refused to speak his name.

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