meant that to sound like…"
She shook her head and placed a gentle hand on her sister's
well rounded stomach. "It's fine. I can't even imagine how excited he must
have been about this little one on the way."
They all sat in silence, looking at one another but not saying
anything. They didn't need to - they were sisters and there were things that
were best left unsaid rather than dredging up painful memories of what could
have been - and they were all thinking the same thing. That he'd never meet his
granddad.
"So what's it like actually taking a day off?"
Amanda asked Charley, changing the subject.
"I should be out helping Blake, but it is kind of nice
just chilling for once."
"You deserve a break," Maddison said, pointing her finger and doing her best big sister, bossy voice.
"And…"
Her sister clutched her stomach and both Amanda and Charley
jumped up.
"What's wrong?"
Maddie just laughed. "Sorry, he starting kicking so hard I
lost my breath. Like he was doing acrobatics in there, the
little monkey."
Amanda exchanged a relieved look with Charlotte and they
both sat back down.
"So are you seeing Scott again?" Charley asked.
She wanted to tell them, but at the same time she didn't. "Ah, maybe."
Maddison nudged her with her toes. "Spill. If you don't tell us, we'll tattle to Blake."
"Playing dirty, huh?" she laughed. "Just for
the record, I'm not scared of big bad brother. But yes, if you have to know I am seeing him again. Tonight."
Their smiles were contagious, and she had to try hard not
to let on how much she was looking forward to it, or how into Scott she was.
"It's just dinner between two friends. Nothing
more," she said.
Charlotte grinned. "The way Scott looks at you has
nothing to do with friendship."
Amanda put her sunglasses back on and shut her eyes. For her
own sake, she hoped her sister was right. She had plenty of friends, but what
she wanted to do with Scott wasn't something she'd ever thought about doing
with any of them before. She only hoped that she hadn't misread his signals,
because her toes were already curling in anticipation of what might happen.
"Can I join you girls?"
Amanda pushed her sunglasses down her nose when she heard
her brother approach. She was still angry at him for the way he'd spoken to her
over Scott, but she couldn't stay mad with him for long. He was like a younger
version of their dad - tall and dark to look at and with a heart of gold - the
only difference being that nothing had ever rattled their father. Blake? He was
the one to get overly protective, especially where his sisters were concerned.
"We're trying not to feel guilty," Charlotte told
him as he dropped down into a chair.
"No, you're trying not to feel guilty. We're just
basking in the sun," Amanda chimed in.
"Well it looks like a damned good way to spend the
afternoon," Blake said. "Anyone else want another soda? I'm joining
you."
Ranching work could wait, and so could her thoughts about
Scott. Family was the most important thing to all of them, no matter how long
some of them had spent away from the ranch at different stages of their lives.
And truth be told, she was terrified of Blake finding out about her date with
Scott. He was her big brother and she loved him, but she also knew she needed
to make her own decisions without him looking over her shoulder. And the one
thing that Blake didn't know was that there was no way Scott could break her
heart, not now, because all she was looking for was a little fun. A way to blow off some sexual steam and forget about the real world
for a little while.
"Hey, tell mom to come join us," Maddison called out to Blake as he walked toward the house.
"And bring more food!"
CHAPTER SEVEN
SHE knew it was crazy, because they were just going out for
a low key dinner, but Amanda had been getting ready for over an hour. She had
clothes strewn all over her bed, and she was standing in her underwear staring
at what she'd already tried on. If she hadn't been trying to
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