Page 117 of Ridin' True

The one thing I knew for sure was that my nausea hadn’t started that morning.

“I’m with Bella. Drink up,” teased Winnie.

“Here, here,” laughed Jenna.

I reached for the Gatorade and took a healthy swig. When it seemed to go down okay, I took another one. And another, until half the bottle was gone.

It wasn’t long until I had to pee.

I closed myself into the bathroom and did what I had to do, setting aside the stick as I washed my hands and waited. I paced back and forth in the small space. I couldn’t handle everyone in the other room staring at me in anticipation when I, too, was waiting anxiously.

“Everything okay in there?” asked mami with a knock.

“Yup. I’ll be out in a sec,” I called back, absentmindedly grazing my thumb across the ink on my wrist.

No sooner had I spoken the words than the little plus sign appeared.

“Oh, my gosh,” I breathed.

I looked down and pressed a palm against my stomach. It took a moment for reality to settle. If I hadn’t thrown up twice already, I’m not sure one test would have convinced me—but Ihadthrown up twice, and I couldn’t explain why. At least, not until that little pink plus sign.

A year ago, I never would have thought a man like Jed Barker might enter my orbit. Menacingly huge and covered in tattoos. Incredibly hot, with that hair, his eyes, and that ‘stache. A dad and Wild Stallion rolled into one. But when he did, he completely changed the trajectory of my life.

For a long time, the fact that he wanted me felt too good to be true.

Now, he’d officially made it possible for all my dreams to come true.

Without pausing to think about it, I grabbed the test and bolted from the bathroom.

“I’ll be back,” I announced.

“Wait, where are you going?” asked Bella.

“To see Jed.”

“No! It’s bad luck!”

With a wave of my hand, I repeated, “I’ll be back.”

I couldhearthe smile on her face when Jenna murmured, “She’stotallypregnant.”

As I sped up toward the groom’s quarters, I found I couldn’t help but to smile myself.

I got a little turned around on my way to where the men were, but I eventually found the right door. Rather than barge inside, I decided maybe Bella wasn’t all wrong. It was tradition to wait for us to see each other until I walked down the aisle. I wanted to tell him our news, but I didn’t necessarily have to say it to his face.

His face…

I hoped our little one inherited his tiny little freckles, like Marlowe had.

My excitement on the brink of bursting out of me, I rapped my knuckles repeatedly against the door and called out, “Jed! It’s me. Are you in there?”

I waited with bated breath for his reply. The guys had music playing, and I wondered if I could be heard over the sound. When the door handle began to turn, I grabbed hold of my end to stop it.

“Jed, is that you?”

“Yeah, darlin’. Everything okay?”

“Yes. I just wanted to tell you something. Or, rather, show you something—but we’re not supposed to see each other yet, so I’m going to open the door a crack and slip it to you, okay?”