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Page 45 of Huckleberry Hill (Saddles & Spurs #1)

Chapter Forty-Four

Town

Silas reluctantly pulled himself away from Tempest and we said goodbye.

“Nice family,” Declan said.

“Very nice,” I agreed. “Cute kids, too.”

“Our kids are going to be that cute,” Declan said as he chucked the foil from the meat pie into a garbage can.

His words, spoken so easily, warmed my insides. I took his hand, and we continued to amble. I admired trinkets I had no use for and said hello to several people I knew.

“Can we stop at Sweet Teeth?” I asked. “I want to say hi to Gracie.”

“Sure thing. We have to get in line though. And are you sure your dad and Muddy are here? We haven’t seen them yet.”

“We’ll probably bump into them.”

The line to Sweet Teeth snaked out the door, but it was only ten-people deep. As we were waiting, I saw Dr. Swanson—Jane—walking hand-in-hand with my father.

“Well, look at that,” I said, nudging Declan and gesturing with my chin. “I think they’ve reconciled.”

“If you love your father, you won’t give him shit about it.”

“It’s because I love him that I will give him shit,” I said with a grin. “But not in front of Jane.”

Dad saw me and waved. “Hi.”

“Hi.” I looked at Jane. “How are you?”

“Good,” she said. “I hear congratulations are in order.”

“Uh, thanks. Dad told you?” I frowned at him. “He said he wasn’t going to say anything until I was ready to tell people.”

“I didn’t tell her,” Dad stated in confusion. “I kept your confidence about the news.”

“Then how does she know?” I demanded.

“Lucy,” Jane said.

“How does Lucy know?” I looked at Declan. “Did you tell her?”

“No. I didn’t tell her.”

Wade approached, holding hands with Chelsea. “It was your ex,” Wade said, clearly having overheard the conversation.

“How do you know that?” I asked.

“Before he drove out of town, he stopped into General Merc. Lucy plied him with questions, what with him being a stranger and all busted up. He dumped all over her and then stormed out of the store.”

“What, were you there too?” I asked.

“Yeah, actually, I was.” Wade looked sheepish. “Congratulations, you guys.”

“Thanks,” I muttered. “Jane? When did you hear about my news?”

“Yesterday,” she admitted. “I was at the diner when Lucy was gabbing with Eloise.”

“Who’s Eloise?” Declan asked. “I haven’t met an Eloise.”

“Eloise owns Poofant—the only hair salon in town,” I said with a pained expression. “Eloise also can’t keep her mouth shut.”

“Which means . . .” Wade trailed off.

“Which means?” Chelsea repeated.

“Half the town already knows I’m knocked up with your baby,” I said, looking up at Declan.

Dad made a noise of distress. Jane put a hand to his chest. “Easy there.”

“I should’ve killed Gianni when I had the chance,” Dad said, his overprotective streak coming out.

“Yeah, you should’ve,” Declan agreed.

“Hey.” Dad glared at him. “My daughter wouldn’t be in this position if you’d kept the stallion in the barn.”

Muddy strode up to us, enjoying an ice cream cone. “It’s a party. What did I miss?”

“Hadley’s ex-fiancé told Lucy about Hadley being pregnant with Declan’s baby. And Lucy told Eloise,” Chelsea said. “Right? I got all that right?”

“You got all that right,” Jane said. “And Connor and Declan are getting into it because Connor blames Declan for Hadley’s situation.”

“It’s not a situation ,” I muttered. “It’s a baby. And we’re all happy about it.”

“Hey, Hadley!” Mr. Jenkins called out as he was walking by. “Congratulations on the baby!”

“Fuck,” Declan muttered.

“Thank you!” I called back. To Declan, I said, “Have you met Mr. Jenkins?”

“No.”

“He owns Dusty’s,” I explained. “And likes to gossip with his customers behind the meat counter.”

“Why is it called Dusty’s if his name is Jenkins?” Declan asked.

Everyone was quiet as they looked to each other for an explanation.

“No idea,” Muddy finally said. “Well, the cat’s out of the bag now. There’s no keeping this under wraps anymore.”

Tempest bleated at Muddy. Muddy looked down at her. “No, you’re not getting any of my ice cream.”

“Will you hold the leash?” I asked, handing it to Muddy. “The line into the bakery is about to move.”

“Got her,” Muddy said.

“Can I get anybody anything?” I asked.

They shook their heads.

“We’re going to keep exploring,” Wade said. “See you guys later.”

Chelsea and Wade walked off just as the line moved inside. Gracie and her husband Cole were behind the counter. Her in-laws came out from the kitchen with trays of fresh baked goods.

“Hey guys,” Gracie greeted with a bright smile. “Congratulations!”

I held in an internal sigh. “Who told you? Lucy or Eloise?”

“Neither. Amber Winston told me. She was a little snide, though.”

“Who’s Amber Winston?” Declan asked.

“The resident mean girl of our graduating class,” Cole explained. “Congrats, dude.”

Declan shook Cole’s hand. “Thanks, man.”

“We still need to have dinner,” Gracie said. “Cole’s parents will babysit Bella.”

“Their one-year-old,” I clarified. “Where is she?”

“Abby’s younger sister is babysitting,” Cole explained.

I ordered a chocolate milk, much to Declan’s amusement, and a couple of pastries to go.

We got our orders and stepped outside the bakery and rejoined the group that was waiting for us.

“I’ve had enough of the festival,” Muddy said, handing the leash to Declan. “I think I’m headed home. I’m that way.”

“We’ll walk with you,” Dad said. “We haven’t seen those booths yet.”

We said goodbye and then Declan and I ambled the opposite direction. We stopped off in front of the jam band. Declan scooped Tempest into his arms and brought us both to his chest. Even though the song wasn’t a slow one, it didn’t matter.

With Tempest sandwiched between us, we danced together. He wrapped an arm around me and I pressed my cheek to his chest. I sighed and closed my eyes, breathing in the moment with this gorgeous man that had completely stolen my heart.

When the song ended, he reluctantly let me go and set Tempest down.

“There’s a barn dance in the fall,” I said, looking up at him. “You wanna go with me?”

“Trying to lock me down months in advance?” Declan teased. “Hell yeah, I’ll go with you.”

We wandered toward the end of the street and saw the Mountain Mutt Rescue booth with dogs up for adoption.

“Come on!” I squealed.

“Hang on,” Declan said with a laugh, tightening his grip on Tempest’s leash.

“Hi there,” the volunteer greeted with a wide smile. Her blonde ponytail was nearly on top of her head and the name on her blue T-shirt with the rescue’s name read Pam.

“Hi,” I replied.

“It’s been crazy!” Pam said. “We started the day with fifteen dogs. We only have four fur babies left. Let me know if you want to spend any time with them.”

“We’re just looking,” Declan said. “We already have our hands full.”

Pam looked at Tempest. “May I?”

“Sure thing,” Declan offered.

Pam crouched down to pet Tempest.

I wandered through the tent. The four remaining puppies wagged their tails when they saw me approach. “So sweet,” I murmured, wanting to give them all the love in the world.

“They’re from the same litter,” Pam explained.

“Two boys and two girls. Nine-week-old Border Collie Aussie mixes. They need a lot of room to run and they’ll do best with folks who understand that they’re working dogs.

They’ll get depressed if they don’t have room to roam and things to herd.

Two of their siblings and their mama were already adopted. ”

“Perfect ranch dogs,” I said.

“Yes, exactly,” Pam agreed.

“Hadley . . .” Declan warned.

Tempest maneuvered around the crouched volunteer and went to investigate the puppies. Four waggly, furry butts signaled that Tempest wasn’t a threat to them. One of the puppies rolled over onto its back and showed Tempest its belly.

“I’ll take them,” I blurted out.

“Great!” the volunteer said as she stood up. “Which one?”

“No, I mean I’ll take all of them ,” I said again. I looked at Declan who cracked a smile and stared at me.

She frowned. “I’m not sure?—”

“I’m Hadley Powell,” I explained. “Connor Powell’s daughter. We own Elk Ridge. It’s a thousand acres of cattle ranch nestled in the mountains just north of here.”

Her expression cleared. “Oh, you’re Hadley! Congratulations on the baby!”

I paused. “Oh. Uh . . . thanks. So, the puppies?”

“Absolutely. Let me just start the paperwork . . .”

I looked at Declan and grinned. “You might want to go get the truck.”

“Yes, dear. Am I taking Tempest with me?”

“Please.” I leaned up to kiss his cheek and whispered, “Leave your credit card.”

He sighed again. “Yes, dear.”