With her work done, she sat back in the saddle, taking in the view.
How different would her life be if she had told Cooper about the baby? Would he be here with her now?
From this part of the family land, she had a clear view of their dirt road. A dust cloud rose at the end nearest town. Was the vehicle a neighbor approaching, or maybe the FedEx man—feeding Lynette’s catalog addiction?
Millie began the short ride back to the barn, keeping an eye on the vehicle as it approached, glad for the distraction of getting her mind off Cooper and her sense of loss. She hadn’t realized how much she’d appreciated his compliments about her cooking or appearance. Then there were those sexy, slow grins. He wasn’t just handsome, but kind—not only to her, but her kids.
From her vantage, still a good half mile from the house, it looked as if the vehicle on the road had turned into their drive.
Once the dust settled, a black Ford truck that looked an awful lot like Cooper’s sat parked in his usual spot.
Her chest tightened. Was she seeing a mirage?
Though the doctor told her riding should be safe as long as she didn’t try anything fancy, Millie quickened Sassy’s pace not quite to a gallop, but at least faster than her casual mosey.
Could it really be him?
If so, why? Had he forgotten something?
The ten-minute ride seemed to take forever, but when she finally reached the barn, she was gifted by an incredible sight.
There stood Cooper in all his glory—faded jeans, black T-shirt and his beat-up straw hat, which, to his credit, he removed when she approached.
“Hey,” he said, taking Sassy’s reins.
Millie gingerly climbed off her ride. “Hey, yourself. Forget something?”
He took a step forward, and then another until before Millie had time to process what was happening, Cooper cupped her cheek and kissed her. “Hell, yeah, I forgot something—you. I love you. And before you go and throw out some excuse why we shouldn’t be together, I want to tell you why we should. You’re beautiful and you and J.J. and Lee make me so happy. I said I didn’t want kids, but I lied. I want dozens—but only if they’re yours and mine—
ours.
”
Was this really happening? Millie’s eyes welled and the tension that had caused a constant knot in her stomach vanished. “You love me?”
“Yes.” He took a step back, adopting a defensive posture. Hands out, as if welcoming a fight, he said, “Come on, I’m sure you have an argument all loaded up to shoot, but I’m not having it. We’re going to get married and that’s that. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
Millie’s emotions had gotten the best of her, and all she felt capable of doing was crying.
“Well? What do you have to say?”
So much.
But nothing seemed to matter other than kissing him again. Even though she hadn’t gone anywhere, pressing her lips against him felt akin to coming home. In only a few short months, he’d come to mean the world to her, but then hadn’t he always in one way or another? For as long as she could remember, they’d always been friends. Now, they’d just change their status to friends with benefits and kids.
“That was nice,” he said when they paused for air, “but you still haven’t answered my question.”
She bowed her head. “First, there’s something you need to know. For weeks, I’ve tried finding the right way to say this, but I kept flubbing it up. Anyway...” After forcing a deep breath, she blurted, “I’m pregnant.”
For a second he looked pale, but then his color returned along with a broad smile. “For real?”
She nodded. “Is that okay?” Such a stupid question. Even if it wasn’t—okay—there wasn’t a whole lot they could do about it now.
“Oh, sugar, it’s way more than okay...” Dropping Sassy’s reins, Cooper hugged her, lifting her feet off the ground to spin her in a slow circle, all the while kissing her till she wasn’t sure how she’d ever lived without this man’s love. After setting her to her feet, he tossed his hat high and let out a whoop. “I’m gonna be a daddy!”
Hands pressed to her flushed cheeks, Millie wasn’t sure whether to laugh, cry or both. “I was so afraid to tell you. The last thing I wanted was for you to feel trapped. You’ve got your career back in Virginia. What’re you going to do?”
“I’ve put about twelve hours of thought into that and I want to run something past you. That cattle auction I scheduled should bring in a pretty penny, but not enough to get the ranch totally out of the red. Plus, we’ll have some lean years while we rebuild the herd. What would you think if I retire from the Navy so we can open a sideline business?”
“What were you thinking? Teaching riding lessons?”
“Bigger.” He grinned. “You know how I’ve been helping Zane and some of our other friends work off their beer bellies?”
She nodded.
“Okay, picture this—we’ll build a bunkhouse, and an obstacle course, and then run weekend retreats for guys—and gals—who want to push themselves hard enough to see if they have what it takes to be a SEAL. What do you think?”
“I think most anything you do sounds great to me.”
He drew her into another kiss so hot she was surprised the ground didn’t have scorch marks beneath her boots. “I love you, Millie Hansen.”
“Mmm...” They kissed again. “I love you, Cooper Hansen.”
“When we get married,” he teased, “are you gonna keep your last name?”
She feigned deep thought. “Being a modern girl, I might go with a hyphen.”
“Anyone ever told you you’re a sassy little thing?”
The horse heard her name and neighed.
“Uh-oh.” Millie laughed. “Looks like I have competition for your affections.”
Cooper waved off her concern. “I’m man enough for both of you. So where are the kids? I want to tell them our news.”
She gasped. “Oh, no! I totally forgot. Remember Lee’s detention? They’re both still at school.”
After a quick run inside to tell Clint their news, Millie was all too happy to sit alongside Cooper while he broke a few speed laws to get them to Wagon Wheel Elementary in time.
At school, Cooper took Millie’s hand, giving her a light squeeze. “Ready?”
“Absolutely. They’re going to be so excited.”
Since the detention kids still had five more minutes, they found J.J. in the library.
He caught sight of his uncle and rocketed in his direction, colliding into him. “You came back!”
“I love you and your mom and sister too much to stay away.” Cooper lifted the boy into his arms for a hug. “I’m sorry I left you for even one night.”
“It’s okay.” J.J. rested his head on his uncle’s shoulder. When he closed his teary eyes, his smile was so serene that Millie had to grab a few tissues from the librarian’s desk to blot her own eyes.
The happy trio went to find LeeAnn in the cafeteria.
“Uncle Cooper?” She had the same reaction as her little brother, running to hug him.
“I missed you,” Cooper said. “Have any pretty dresses?”
“A few. Why?”
Millie couldn’t contain her own excitement. “We’ll have to get you a new one. That is, if you’ll agree to be my maid of honor.”
“Wait—are you two getting married?” LeeAnn looked to her mom, then her uncle. “But would that make Uncle Cooper our dad?”
“Your stepdad,” he said. “Your real dad should come first in your heart, but I hope you’ll save a little room for me.”
“Well, yeah, but...” She stopped to cross her arms. “Does this mean you’re always going to be around to see if I’m with boys?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She groaned. “Mom, is it too late to call the wedding off?”
“Afraid so.” Millie slipped her arm around her daughter’s shoulders and laced her fingers with Cooper’s. The happiness inside her was indescribable. She’d never dreamed of getting a second chance at love, but here it was, all shiny and new and hers for the taking. All she had to do was get her cowboy SEAL to a preacher. And she planned on accomplishing that pretty darned fast. “I’ve got my heart set on becoming a June bride.”
“Cool!” On their walk to the truck, J.J. took Cooper’s hat and set it on his own head. “Can we have wedding cake?”
“You bet,” Cooper said.
“And punch?”
He kissed her son’s freckled cheek. “All you want.”
“Wait a minute,” Millie interjected. “Don’t drink so much that you get sick. I’m not sure about having to take a sick little boy along on our honeymoon.”
“How about if J.J. promises to drink just enough punch that he doesn’t get sick, then we all go on a
familymoon?
”
LeeAnn wrinkled her nose. “What’s that?”
Cooper opened the back door of the truck. “A
familymoon
will be our very own invention. To celebrate our wedding, I think we should all go somewhere fun.”
“The zoo?” J.J. suggested.
“Mount Vesuvius?” LeeAnn tossed out.
“How about Disney World?” Cooper said.
By unanimous decision, the Magic Kingdom was deemed the perfect spot to begin their magical new lives.
Epilogue
To celebrate her and Cooper’s first wedding anniversary, Millie had wanted to throw an elegant dinner party in the front yard. She’d dreamed of stringing romantic white lights in the trees and having hundreds of flickering candles.
What she got was a seat on a hard rodeo arena stand, sitting alongside a very pregnant Lynette.
J.J. and LeeAnn were off playing with friends, and Millie jiggled Cooper Junior on her knee. He was already a handful, but just like his father, he was so cute, she didn’t much mind.
Cooper’s business venture had gone better than even he’d imagined, and his SEAL strength-building and self-protection retreats were already booked into the next year.
“Think they’ll win?” Lynette asked when Cooper and Zane were in their respective chutes.
“I don’t know,” Millie said, “but they sure look good in those red shirts.”
While professional team calf ropers got the job done in as little as 3.5 seconds, it took their guys 6.7.
“Sorry we couldn’t pull out the win for you.” Cooper took his son, sweeping him high in the air.
Millie was next in line for his attention with a leisurely kiss. As handsome as he was, Cooper was a fan favorite on their local rodeo circuit, but Millie was proud to be the only recipient of his kisses.
Clint strode up to shake both men’s hands. He’d made a full recovery and had as much fun at rodeos as his son. “Fine ride, boys. You made me proud. You’ll pull out a win next time.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Cooper shifted the baby to his other arm. “Would you mind watching this guy for a minute?”
“Is it time?” Clint asked with an exaggerated wink.
“Time for what?” Millie asked.
“Thanks for keeping a secret, Dad.”
Clint grinned while jiggling his grandson. “We didn’t tell your momma a thing, did we?”
Cooper drew Millie off into the shadows. “Damn, you look hot.”
“Thanks, cowboy.” She gave him a kiss. “You’re looking mighty fine yourself.”
“I appreciate that, ma’am, but tonight, being our first anniversary, I wanted you to know how much I love you, and how this has pretty much been the best year of my life.”
“Aw...” Her husband’s sweet talk never failed to make her heart sing. “Thank you, honey. I love you, too.”
“Okay, so you know how we pretty much had a budget wedding?”
“I thought our day was beautiful. Marrying you under your mom’s rose trellis was the only place I’d have wanted it to be.”
“I’m glad,” he said, acting all fidgety, “but now that we’ve finally got a little extra money, I want you to have this. It’s high time you had something to really show you’re mine.”
From his shirt pocket, he withdrew a small, mangled paper sack, and handed it to her.
Hoping she was doing a good job of masking her confusion, she smiled. “Thanks?”
“Go ahead. Open it.” He grinned like a kid on Christmas morning.
She unrolled the paper to find a lopsided Oreo. “You got me a cookie?”
His smile only grew. “Eat it.”
“Okay?” She started to bite into it, then he drew her hand down. “Not like that. You’ve got to twist it apart, then lick the icing—only, be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Honey, you’re acting strange. Are you sure you didn’t get hurt during your run?”
Sighing, he said, “Would you go ahead and lick the damn cookie?”
She laughed. “Sorry. You don’t have to get all huffy.”
“Then lick, and I won’t have to.”
Finally doing his bidding, she twisted the top off her favorite treat then gasped. It wouldn’t even take one lick to see Cooper had hidden a diamond ring in the icing.
Squealing, she kissed him, licked the ring, gobbled part of the cookie, then kissed him again. “Put it on for me?”
He did. In the process, kissing her hand, then lips.
“This is beyond gorgeous,” she said, gazing at the square-cut diamond. “You shouldn’t have.”
“Want me to take it back?” he teased.
“Just try, and see what happens.”
“There you go again with that sass.” He drew her tight against him, bowing his head to kiss her good and thorough beneath his wide hat brim.
“Eeew!” J.J. came tearing around the corner with his friend Cayden in tow. “You guys are gross!”
LeeAnn and Kara followed.
LeeAnn asked, “Did you give Mom her ring and the trip?”
He conked his head. “I forgot the trip.”
Both kids laughed.
J.J. started jumping. “Show her! Show her!”
From his back pocket, he produced with a flourish a slip of paper. “Since our honeymoon got hijacked, and you’re always talking about how much you’d like to see the world, how about a second honeymoon to Machu Picchu?”
“You mean the ruins? In Peru?”
Grinning, he said, “Those would be the ones.”
That earned him another kiss!
Millie asked, “Did everyone know I was getting all of this, but me?”
“Pretty much.” Her daughter and friend laughed while admiring her bauble.
“Thank you,” she said to her husband once the kids had run off again. “Not just for the ring and trip, but for coming home—for staying home.”
“Mill...” He cupped her face with his hands. “Haven’t you figured it out? You and the kids are my home. You’re my everything.”
Millie rested her head on her husband’s shoulder while they sauntered hand in hand back into the crowd. What a great night. What a great life. Spying a shooting star, she thanked Jim for sending her his brother—her very own cowboy SEAL.
*
Keep reading for an excerpt from THE TEXAN'S SURPRISE SON by Cathy McDavid