Trish Milburn - Having the Cowboy's Baby

Elissa just smiled, stuffed another nacho in her mouth and mmmed her taste buds’ appreciation.

Skyler didn’t know whether she wanted to throw something at Elissa or give in and eat a heaping nacho herself.

After the waitress took their orders, Skyler turned her attention to India before Elissa had the chance to start bugging the living daylights out of her again.

“So how are the final plans for the wedding going? Is there anything else you need me to do?”

India’s eyes lit up at the mention of her upcoming nuptials, causing Skyler’s heart to warm. After everything she’d been through, India deserved to be happy.

“I don’t think so. You’ve done so much already, both of you.”

“It’s not every day your best friend gets married to the hottest guy in town,” Elissa said.

On that point, Elissa and Skyler could agree.

“I wish it was tomorrow,” India said.

Skyler smiled. “That anxious to make an honest man out of Liam?”

India laughed. “If there was more to do between now and then, I’d be fine. But the waiting might kill me. You know what would really help?”

“What?”

“Another project.”

India and Elissa exchanged a look that made Skyler nervous. “Why do I feel like I’ve missed something really important?”

“Your thirtieth birthday is two days away and we haven’t planned what we’re going to do,” India said. “That would keep my mind occupied.”

“It doesn’t take that long to look up movie times in Austin,” Skyler said.

India raised an eyebrow. “I think the occasion calls for more than a movie.”

“I happen to quite like watching Jeremy Renner and his awesome arms.”

“Well, I can’t argue with you there,” Elissa said. “But India’s right. We can do a movie anytime. I was thinking of something more exciting.”

“Of course you were.”

Elissa sighed and leaned back in her chair. She glanced at India. “I told you she wouldn’t be up for anything interesting.”

The sudden overwhelming urge to prove her friend wrong rose up in Skyler. “Fine. You know what? You all can plan whatever you want, and I’ll do it.”

Elissa barked out a disbelieving laugh. “Yeah, right.”

“Really. I’ll let you plan the whole thing.” The moment the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to call them back and pretend they were never uttered. But if she backed out now, she would never, ever hear the end of it. Blast Elissa for causing her emotions to override her common sense.

The smile that spread across Elissa’s face told Skyler she’d just made perhaps the biggest mistake of her life.

“Is it Christmas?” Elissa asked. “Because it feels like Christmas.”

“Don’t gloat,” India said, but she looked like she was having a hard time keeping from smiling, too.

Skyler really knew she was in trouble when their food arrived and Elissa didn’t immediately attack her quesadillas. Instead, she was scrolling through something on her phone.

Skyler picked up her fork and stirred the contents of her taco salad. “You know it’s rude to have your face buried in your phone when you’re with other people, right?”

“This is important business.”

“A mulch emergency?”

“I’ll have you know I’m doing research, with a little help from Verona.”

Skyler stopped with her fork halfway to her mouth, warning bells clanging in her head. “Verona?”

“Yes, you know, my aunt.”

Skyler narrowed her eyes. “I don’t trust you or your aunt.”

“Why not? You have to admit she got it right with India and Liam.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I want her anywhere near my personal life.”

“Verona does more than matchmake, you know.”

“What, she’s giving you tourist suggestions? I’ve lived in Texas my whole life. Pretty sure there aren’t that many places of interest I’ve not been to.”

Elissa waved off her concern. “Hush. Eat your salad.”

Knowing that short of snatching Elissa’s phone from her there was nothing she could do, Skyler refocused her attention on her meal. Her stomach growled in response. She’d been so busy during the day that she hadn’t taken time for a real lunch, nothing beyond the bag of apple slices she’d snagged from her fridge on the way out of her apartment that morning.

Sure, since her apartment was located at the inn, she could have gone to get something else to eat or ordered something from the kitchen, but a staff meeting had led to several phone calls, which had flowed into going over a contract for fresh produce. The next thing she knew, it was time to leave to meet her friends for dinner.

When Elissa set down her phone, the satisfied smile on her face didn’t bode well for Skyler.

“What do you have up your sleeve?”

“Who, me?”

Skyler slowly rested her fork on top of what was left of her salad. “You shouldn’t try to sound innocent. You’re not very good at it.”

Elissa shrugged. “Who wants to be innocent anyway when there’s so much fun to be had?”

“I’m afraid to ask what kind of ‘fun’ you have in mind.”

“I wouldn’t tell you, anyway.”

“Um, it’s my birthday.”

Elissa finally looked up after she took a bite of her dinner and swallowed. “And birthdays include surprises.”

“You know I’m not a fan of surprises.” They’d rarely turned out well in her experience.

Surprise! Your dad’s gone to Alaska to fish.

Surprise! He’s back again with no warning and who knows for how long.

Surprise! Your mom had a heart attack and died.

“You’ll like this one.”

Skyler doubted that and considered booking a last-minute vacation for one to the Caribbean.

“And no, we’re not letting you weasel out of this, so stop trying to concoct a way to do just that.” Elissa gestured toward Skyler’s head as if she knew exactly what she was thinking. She probably did.

“Sometimes it’s highly annoying that you know me so well.”

As Elissa and India laughed, Skyler felt like kicking herself all the way to El Paso and back for giving them just enough rope to hang her with.

* * *

SKYLER WAS ON the verge of asking Elissa again where the devil they were going when she spotted a sign on the side of the road just as Elissa started to slow down. Hill Country Adventure Sports.

“Please tell me this isn’t our final destination, that you’re delivering plants or something.”

Elissa glanced at her from the driver’s seat of the SUV. “Nope, this is the place.”

Skyler turned halfway to look at India and Verona in the back. “Tell me she’s kidding.”

India shook her head. “It’ll be fun.”

Skyler looked from one friend to the other, wondering if they’d been body snatched. Because the Elissa and India she knew wouldn’t go this far. “Are you smoking crack? There is no way I’m jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.”

“Yes, you are,” Elissa said as if Skyler was being silly. “You only live once.”

“Yeah, and I’d like to live beyond today, thank you very much.”

“They’re not going to push you out without a parachute, dear,” Verona said.

“It’s tandem diving,” India added. “You jump with an experienced diver who is trained.”

Elissa took her hand off the steering wheel long enough to wave away Skyler’s concern. “They’ve done this a million times.”

“All it takes is one time when it doesn’t go as planned.”

Elissa shook her head as she parked next to a long building that contained an office and several hangar bays for small planes. “I knew you were a compulsive planner, but I didn’t know you were a chicken.”

“I’m not. I’m sane.”