“Your vitals are good today,” Uncle Cade’s homecare aide, Leon, said as he stuffed his stethoscope back into his bag.

Standing outside Cade’s bedroom door with her mom, Dani sighed in relief, catching Papa Daniel’s equally relieved gaze from where he sat at the foot of Cade’s bed.

Cade pulled his shirt over his head and stood to tuck it in. “Compared to the last few weeks, I feel like a million bucks.” He paused to sniff the air. “Is that French toast I smell?”

“Grilled cheese sandwiches,” Gabby said, “but if you feel up to eating, we can make some French toast.”

“I’m starving.”

“Are you sure?” Papa Daniel looked to Leon for approval.

“He can eat whatever he feels up to,” Leon confirmed, “but take it easy on the salt,” he warned Cade. “You’re still retaining a lot of fluids.”

“Yeah-yeah. Whatever.” Uncle Cade shooed him away on his way to the bathroom. “Maybe we can take a ride over to the ranch after breakfast. See how Grey’s doing on that guesthouse he’s building.”

Guesthouse? Dani looked to her mom for an explanation.

Gabby’s head fell forward on a sigh. “Your dad liked the guesthouse at Clay’s ranch so much, he’s decided to build one like it down by the creek, but only after he finishes the upstairs nursery,” she added in a higher pitch so Cade could hear her, but didn’t get a response. “Come on.” She tipped her head toward the kitchen. “Let’s make him some French toast.”

“Actually, Mrs. McLendon, can I speak to you for a moment?”

Dani’s heartbeat quickened when Leon motioned for her mom to join him and Papa Daniel in the bedroom. “I’ll start the toast,” she said, giving them some privacy, though everything inside her screamed to know what they were saying. Was there something wrong? Uncle Cade was feeling better. His blood pressure and heartrate were strong, and his appetite was back. Even if only temporary, that had to mean something good, right?

Her thoughts were as scrambled as the raw eggs she was whipping up when her brother and Chloe came through the front door carrying a large white box.

“What’s that?”

Jonah shrugged. “Matt told me to bring it over here to Mom,” he said as he handed it off to her. “Ooh! Are you making French toast?”

“It’s for Uncle Cade,” she said, setting the box on the kitchen table.

“He’s eating?” Chloe asked as she toed off her shoes.

Dani nodded absently, inspecting the address label on the box as she stirred the milk into the eggs. “He’s feeling better today,” she informed them, wondering what her mom had ordered.

“Oh! It came early!” Gabby yelped from the kitchen entrance and dashed to the table.

“What is it?”

With all the excitement of a little girl on Christmas morning, Gabby grabbed up the box, then snatched the mixing bowl from Dani’s hand and put it on the counter. “It’s your dress!” she said, tugging her into the living room.

Dazed, Dani stumbled along behind her. “What did Leon say? Is Uncle Cade okay?”

“He’s fine,” Gabby insisted with a dismissive tone. “Don’t give me that look,” she said when Dani frowned at the box in her hand. “If you don’t like it, I’ll send it back,” she promised, motioning for Dani to undress.

“Now?” Dani looked over her shoulder into the kitchen where her brother and Chloe stood watching. “Jonah’s right there!”

Gabby pointed at Jonah and he immediately turned around.

“We’ll make the French toast,” Chloe giggled, tugging Jonah away from the threshold into the kitchen.

“I’ll try it on when we go home,” Dani argued.

“Honey, please? Just a sneak peak, so I’ll know if I need to send it back.” She ripped the tape off the box and flipped open the lid. “I’ll go tell Cade, Daniel, and Leon to give us a minute so they don’t walk in on us.”

Dani stared after her mom as she disappeared down the hallway, wondering if she’d be disowned if she eloped to Vegas. An Elvis wedding wasn’t that awful, was it?

“Hey, Bridezilla. Stop being such a spoiled brat,” Jonah said from the kitchen doorway, snapping Dani from her mutinous thoughts. “You asked her to do this, remember?”

Dani gave him a hostile glare, contemplating a dozen ways to knock the smug look off her twin’s face.

Jonah paced into the living room, picked up the box, and held it out to her. “She’s worked her ass off to make this perfect for you, and all you’ve done is bitch and moan.” He shoved the box at her. “Try on the damn dress.”

Bitch and moan? Bridezilla? Dani glared up at her brother, ready to snap off a list of denials and insults until Chloe peeked in from the kitchen behind him, the truth in her uneasy smile.

Her agitation wilted like a thirsty flower, the breath she’d been holding whooshing out in one long sigh of defeat. “You’re right.” She’d been awful, not only to her mom, but to Clay, and pretty much everyone. “Okay,” she shrugged and took the box from Jonah. “Hello?” She snapped her fingers when he didn’t retreat to the kitchen. “Get out, so I can get undressed.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.” Jonah blinked out of his trance. “I was stunned there for a second. You’ve never agreed with me before, you know, about you being an asshat.”

She lunged and gave him a shove toward the kitchen. “Get out.”

“Don’t be a hater,” he chuckled. “There’s a first time for everything.” He ducked for cover when she picked up a book from the coffee table and threatened to hurl it at him. “Okay, I’m going!”

Dani narrowed her eyes at her pain-in-the-ass twin, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning. Her brief respite ended when she opened the box. The odds of the dress being the one had to be at least a-million-to-one. Her fingers trembled as she peeled away the layers of tissue paper on top, then paused, staring at the lump of fabric folded inside like it was going to jump out and bite her.

It’s just a dress, she chastised herself. How bad could it be? The box wasn’t big enough to hold one of those colossal dresses she hated, with miles of satin or hundreds of layers of frilly tulle.

She opened and closed her clammy hands, shaking them out before she pinched the white slinky fabric between her fingers and lifted the dress from the box, surprised at how light it was.

The hem fluttered to the floor, revealing a delicate, beaded trim that was both beautiful and simple. Curiously excited, she laid the dress over the arm of the sofa and peeled off her jeans and sweatshirt, cursing her trembling hands as she fumbled with the tiny zipper on the back of the dress. Why was she shaking?

She stepped into the dress and had just pulled the bodice over her bra when she heard a masculine grunt behind her. Startled, she turned to see Uncle Cade standing in the doorway.

“If that’s not the perfect dress, I don’t know what is,” he said as he leaned against the doorframe, his lips turned up into an awestruck grin.

Her mom rounded the corner and jerked to a stop, her hand flying to her mouth to contain her gasp.

Dani looked down at the dress. She ran her fingers over the sheer layer of muslin that covered the silky sheath beneath, loving the way it felt against her skin. Disbelief muted her surprise when she caught her reflection in the large glass panes in the china hutch across from her.

The simple design hugged her curves in all the right places but didn’t feel tight or heavy. The sleeveless bodice was covered with tiny crystal beads, something she hadn’t liked on other dresses, but it was breathtaking on this one, with the way they shimmered in the sunlight coming from the window. She fingered the beaded illusion neckline, a design she’d loved but had given up hope of finding one that wasn’t overdone, or that didn’t make her feel like she was being choked to death.

“It is,” she said in a stunned whisper, turning to meet her mother’s gaze. “It’s perfect.”

“Oh, honey.” Gabby’s eyes glistened with tears as she rushed across the room. She held Dani at arm’s length and looked over the dress, smiling when she met Dani’s gaze. “You’re so beautiful.” Her teary voice cracked as she pulled her into her arms. “I’m so glad you like it.”

“I love it.” Surprised at the lump in her own throat, Dani hugged her mom tight, grateful she hadn’t given up. She studied her reflection in the glass doors as Gabby zipped up the back, falling deeper in love with the dress with each passing second. She couldn’t wait for Clay to see it.

“We can have it altered if it’s too loose or too tight,” Gabby said as she fiddled with the fabric.

Dani shook her head, her smile so big her cheeks hurt. “I wouldn’t change a thing,” she said, capturing her mom’s roving hands. “Mom, I’m so sorry,” she said when Gabby met her gaze. “I know I’ve been difficult, but—”

“Pfft.” Gabby dismissed her with a flip of her wrist.

“No, Mom, I should have told you earlier. I’m so grateful for everything you’re doing. Thank you.”

Gabby’s excited smile relaxed into a motherly grin as she squeezed Dani’s hands. “Thank you for being my daughter. Ohh!” She squealed and pulled Dani into her arms again. “I love you so much, and I’m so happy for you!”

“You gals are gonna ruin that pretty dress with all those tears,” Uncle Cade said from behind them. When Dani glanced over her shoulder, she caught him wiping his eyes. “What?” He shrugged innocently. “I’m not crying. You’re crying,” he chuckled and disappeared into the kitchen, shouting for his French toast.

Lighthearted laughter filled the house as Gabby helped her out of the dress and folded it safely back inside the box before they joined Cade and the others at the breakfast table.

“I have to go to the bathroom, first,” Chloe said as she set the half gallon of milk on the table. “I swear, it’s like I have a bladder the size of a pea these days.”

Dani watched how Jonah watched her until she disappeared around the corner, noting how much he looked like Grey with his worried scowl.

“Leon seems cool,” he remarked when he turned around, then stuffed a piece of French toast into his mouth.

Cade scoffed. “Sure, if you’re into needles and daily nasal probes.”

Papa Daniel nudged his arm. “He’s just doing his job.”

“Yeah, well.” Uncle Cade shrugged. “I didn’t know sadism was a medical profession.”

Papa Daniel snorted as he reached for his glass of grapefruit juice. “You don’t like him because he doesn’t put up with your bullshit.”

Dani laughed when Cade glared at Papa Daniel. Nothing good could come from that much side-eye. Relieved to see him feeling so much better, she took a bite of her sandwich, having opted for the grilled cheese they’d made earlier.

A faint rumbling sound preceded a sudden vibration that radiated through Dani’s seat. She looked across the table and frowned when she saw the milk rippling against the glass.

“Does anyone else feel that?” Cade asked. “Or am I trippin’ on the shot of morphine Leon gave me earlier?”

“Is that…an earthquake?” Gabby asked.

“Sounds like it’s coming from the ranch,” Papa Daniel said, rising from his chair.

Dani followed him to the kitchen window that overlooked her parents’ house. “What in the world is that for?” she asked when she saw the ginormous backhoe Grey was driving down their driveway.

Gabby joined her at the window, then hung her head with a strangled moan. “What is he doing now?” she whined.

“Oh, cool. That’s like the ones I worked on up in Alaska.” Standing behind her, Jonah peered over her head as the tractor slowly moved down the slope toward the creek. “I overheard Matt and Mason talking about the guesthouse this morning.”

“Told you,” Cade winked at Gabby. “But why does he need an industrial-sized backhoe to build a one-room bunkhouse?”

“Maybe he’s digging a basement,” Papa Daniel suggested with a shrug. “Or a mote.”

“A mote would be awesome!” Jonah cheered.

“He promised,” Gabby mumbled, shaking her head in disbelief as she stared out the window.

“Promised what?” Jonah asked innocently.

“Not to start another project until he finishes the nursery.” Gabby paced to her purse hanging on a hook beside the front door and fished out her phone.

Jonah snickered as she punched impatiently at the screen. “He’s in trouble now.”

“It could be worse,” Uncle Cade said as he sat back down in front of his French toast. He cut off a large wedge and stuffed it into his mouth, his eyes closing on a sigh. “It’s a good thing he didn’t see you in that dress, Ace.” He chased his bite down with a couple gulps of milk before he cut off another piece, pointing his fork at her. “That would send him right over the edge and he’d be drivin’ in a crane crew to build a resort lodge.”

“Jonah!”

Chloe’s anguished scream froze everyone in their tracks.

“Jonah!”

Dani watched in horror as Jonah tore through the kitchen, tipping over chairs, his feet sliding out from under him as he raced down the hall to get to her.

Papa Daniel bumped into her, hot on Jonah’s heels, and knocked Dani from her shock. She followed everyone to the bathroom, where Chloe stood sobbing, her hands covered with the blood that was seeping through her yoga pants.

“Oh-shit-oh-shit-oh-shit! Baby, what’s happening?” Jonah knelt at her feet as he cupped his hands around her belly.

“I don’t know!” Chloe cried.

“Call an ambulance,” Papa Daniel ordered and squeezed through the doorway to get behind her, but Jonah scooped her up into his arms and took off.

“Jonah!” Gabby called after him.

“It’ll take the ambulance too long to get here!” Jonah opened the front door, flying down the steps and not stopping until he had her in the passenger seat of his truck. “Call Pryce!” he shouted as he rounded the front of his truck and jumped into the driver’s seat, the truck lurching forward the second the engine turned over.

Dani couldn’t move. Fear froze her in place as she watched the truck tear down the driveway and disappear on the hardtop road that led into town. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be real. Chloe’s baby had to be okay.