Keeneston, Six weeks later . . .

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Reagan held the door open at the Blossom Café for Carter to walk through tentatively. She looked around the full café at dinnertime and spotted a table full of cousins and friends sitting at two neighboring tables as they talked up a storm.

“There’s my patient,” Layne grinned as Carter took a seat next to Sloane and across from Layne.

“How’s the rehab going?” Sloane asked as she kissed Carter’s cheek. Gabe and Sloane had been traveling the world for the summer, but they were back in Keeneston now that Sloane had started working at the high school.

“Layne has worked wonders. I got to ditch the crutches this afternoon. Next up are exercises that will get me up and moving with my full weight so that I’ll be walking Reagan down the aisle with no problem.” Carter leaned over and kissed his bride.

“That’s great news, man,” Wyatt said in his smooth and slow Southern accent that seemed more deep South than Kentucky. He’d not only inherited Grandpa Beauford’s farm, but his drawl as well.

Reagan turned to Piper, who sat next to her pushing ice around in her sweet tea with her straw. “Is everything okay, Piper? You’ve been so quiet these past couple of months,” Reagan asked quietly. She knew her cousin wouldn’t speak if everyone was listening in or making a big deal over her. Piper was embarrassed about being the center of attention.

“Fine. Just my experiment at work has taken a turn I wasn’t expecting. That’s all. How is the wedding planning going?” she asked, changing the subject. “Six weeks to go, right?”

“Right. Sydney is almost done with the dress, and we have everything set for the reception at the Barrel Creek Distillery.”

After six weeks as husband and wife in all ways, it still didn’t diminish her excitement to remarry Carter. Carter had been given the all-clear to resume sexual activity about two weeks before. He hadn’t even waited until they got home. Instead, he pulled over at the first field he found upon entering Keeneston, which happened to be a part of Ashton Farm. And just like when they were sneaking around, they found excitement in trying to find privacy in a public area. Carter had lain in the meadow of tall bluegrass rippling like waves in purple and pulled Reagan to him. In the middle of the day, under the fall sun, and with leaves beginning to think about turning colors around them, Reagan and Carter finally had their wedding afternoon. And night. And early morning.

“Mila, how is the diplomatic life treating you? You and Zain have been busy. We saw you in the news,” Carter said, talking to Zain and his wife at the other table.

“It’s going well. We’ve accomplished a lot of good things. But it’s wearing me out. I’m glad to be home for a little while. How is Miss Mambo? I swear, I may steal her from you,” Mila grinned.

Since being driven back to Keeneston and cleared by Wyatt to run free again, Miss Mambo had become a town favorite. Everyone stopped by to give Miss Mambo kisses and hugs. The mare loved everyone and had become incredibly spoiled by the town.

“She’s become a nanny horse for the little ones. She’s happy as she can be right outside the office so she gets lots of attention when we have visitors. Suzanne’s estate officially signed her over to us this week, so Miss Mambo will be staying in Keeneston forever,” Carter said, reaching under the table to take Reagan’s hand in his. They had traveled to Suzanne’s funeral, been cleared of any wrongdoing in the accident, and were now all on the road to recovery. Reagan had received the insurance check for her airplane and bought a new one, only this time she wouldn’t be flying it. She was growing Keeneston Air, but she couldn’t bring herself to fly a plane yet. Instead, she’d found great happiness in working at the farm with Carter and managing Keeneston Air. Reagan knew someday she’d fly again, but it would take some time.

She looked across the room to where her father and mother were having dinner with their friends and some family members and smiled happily. Her father had been there for her when she didn’t even know it. Reagan couldn’t get on the helicopter when it came time to transport Carter home. When she hesitated to board, her father touched her arm and pointed to the SUV he’d rented. She’d hugged him and then spent the next hours listening to all his wedding ideas.

The whole experience seemed to have changed her father. He was still grumbling at Carter and Matt, but he was all growl and no bite. Instead, she’d come home numerous times to find Carter and her father sitting out back, talking or watching a football game. Riley had told her the same was happening with Matt. Reagan looked over at her sister and saw her drinking water. Riley hadn’t confided in anyone about her attempts to get pregnant, and Reagan figured her sister would talk to her when she was ready. In the meantime, Reagan was placing monthly bets on the Blossom Café’s app.

Reagan felt Carter pull his hand from hers as he bunched her skirt up under the tablecloth. She shot her eyes at him and he innocently grinned. “I was a very good boy for four weeks.”

“That was two weeks ago,” Reagan laughed as she whispered back to her husband.

“I’m still making up for lost time. Want to sneak up to the apartment upstairs for old times’ sake?” Reagan was strongly considering it when his fingers teased further up her thigh.

“Wyatt!” Carter’s hand slipped from her leg as everyone turned to see Ahmed leap from the table. “Where’s your mother?”

“At a conference in Cincinnati, why?” Wyatt asked as the café went quiet.

All the color drained from Ahmed’s face. “Bridget just texted and my Spawn is in labor!”

“Oh, that’s great,” Wyatt said, sitting back down.

“Don’t just sit there! You have to protect my Spawn. Give her drugs so she won’t be in pain or a massage or something. Is there dog Lamaze?” Ahmed was shoving back his chair and rushing toward their table.

“Ahmed, Bridget knows I’m on call. She’ll call me if she needs me. She can deliver the puppies herself. She’s done it many times.”

Ahmed grabbed Wyatt by the arm and dragged him from his chair. “I love my wife, but no one but a doctor is going to deliver my puppies.”

“Ah, so that’s where Sydney and Deacon are,” Reagan grinned. She couldn’t wait to go visit the puppies. Carter and Reagan had bought a special bed for Robyn to lie on in the whelping box as a thank-you to their hero.

“I hope Sydney’s there. She hasn’t been feeling all that well this week,” Mila told them. “I went to visit her and she thought she was coming down with something. In fact, I think she gave it to me. I felt pretty poorly for a couple of days, but now I’m fine.”

“There’s no way she’ll miss this,” Reagan told her as everyone agreed.

“Puppies,” Nikki the queen Bi . . . Belle, said with a roll of her eyes. “Who needs puppies when I have the best dog in the world?” The puppy that Nikki had rescued had turned into a massive hound dog and was still growing. But the dog was one heck of a hunter . . . of single men. Nikki never went anywhere without her dog, Bella. “See!” Nikki grinned as she looked out the window to see Colton petting Bella whose head was hanging out the car window.

Reagan wanted to yell at Colton to run. Her firefighter cousin was quickly moving up the Bachelors of Keeneston list the Belles managed. Reagan was stopped from doing so as Ahmed dragged Wyatt from the table and out of the café.

“I could take you home and ravish you, but I am betting you’re wanting to see the puppies born,” Carter whispered into her ear as his fingers began to dance up her inner thigh again.

“You know me so well.” Reagan grinned at Carter as she stood up.

They called out a goodbye and hurried over to Bridget and Ahmed’s house. Sydney and Deacon had to leave in a couple days for Milan Fashion Week, so Bridget had offered to deliver the puppies and take care of them until Sydney and Deacon got back.

Reagan pulled the car to a stop next to Wyatt and Sydney’s and gently pushed open the front door. She didn’t want to knock and startle Robyn. They found them in the guest bedroom. Ahmed was pale and sweating. Robyn was panting hard.

“That’s right girl. Hehehe, hahaha,” Ahmed said, breathing in short pants.

Sydney looked ready to die from barely contained laughter and Deacon was biting his lip to keep from laughing out loud. Bridget, meanwhile, rolled her eyes. Wyatt looked down at Robyn and slapped on a pair of gloves.

“Okay, we’re ready.”

“You can do it, Spawn. Push,” Ahmed said, holding Robyn’s paw as Robyn lay on her side and grunted as the contraction rippled down her abdomen. A little dark brown sac appeared and Ahmed wobbled a bit as sweat dripped down his face.

“Are you all right, dear? You know you’re not the best during childbirth,” Bridget said, resting a hand on her husband’s shoulder.

“I’m fine. I’ll have you know I had no problem when Carter was shot. Or when I was shot. Or stabbed. I’m fi—, what’s that?”

“The puppy’s head,” Wyatt grinned as his hand moved to hold the puppy’s head as Robyn pushed again.

“Why is it slimy? And why can’t I really see it?” Ahmed, if possible, turned paler.

“Puppies are born in their sacs,” Wyatt informed him as the puppy the size of Reagan’s palm slid the rest of the way out. Wyatt tore the sac open, the fluid gushing onto the disposable bed pads lining the whelping box. At the same time, Ahmed landed face first into the whelping box.

“Well, he lasted longer than he did with Kale’s birth. Someone thought he was a hotshot for not looking during Abby’s birth and decided he could watch,” Bridget snickered. “Deacon, help me out here.” Deacon and Bridget grabbed a shoulder and pulled Ahmed out of the box and placed him on the carpet.

“What?” Ahmed mumbled as he was roused by the screaming cry of a puppy being thoroughly cleaned by her mother.

“Just stay down, dear. This is not a one-and-done situation. There are five more to come.”

“But I have to be there for Spawn. She needs me,” Ahmed said as he struggled to sit up. Robyn wagged her tail as she licked her first puppy.

“Now I understand why Ahmed is never around when the foals are born,” Carter whispered in Reagan’s ear. She felt the grin of his lips against her ear right before he gave her a quick kiss.

“Close your eyes, Ahmed,” Wyatt instructed calmly. “Here comes puppy number two.”

“I guess I should have taken that rescue Nikki found when she offered it,” Reagan said, smiling as a little boy puppy was born. The puppies’ eyes and ears were closed and their little legs were unable to hold them upright, but they were the cutest things she’d ever seen.

“Would you like to stay longer?” Carter asked as Robyn took a break to clean her new addition. Ahmed opened his eyes and praised his Spawn.

“No, let’s go home. Robyn could take another couple of hours and I want to celebrate you being able to get rid of your crutches.”

Carter raised an eyebrow. “And your father thinking you’re here all night has nothing to do with it?”

Reagan rolled her eyes. “He’s horrible. I’m going to scream if he comes over with one more wedding planning board. He strategizes our wedding as if it were a military assault. Why do I need the blueprints for an old distillery?”

She felt Carter laugh next to her. “But you have to give him props for getting us a reservation at Barrel Creek Distillery. After all, no one has been in it yet. It’s all Keeneston can talk about. I heard the owner is the daughter of some big shot distiller who passed away.”

Her father had told her the story. It was a sad one, but she was happy to support the new local business. “Yes, the owner is the twenty-three-year-old daughter of Michael Woodson. He died last year. When Miss Woodson graduated from college last year, she wanted to take his place at the major company where he was the master distiller. But, she had two big strikes against her. One, she was young. And two, she was a she. So, Miss Woodson decided to set up her own shop with her inheritance. She said her father taught her everything she knows and she’s ready to show the world some of the recipes the two of them had thought up.”

“I didn’t know she was up and running. I haven’t met her yet. Have you?” Carter asked.

“No. Not yet. My dad did and said she was very polite and extremely serious about her work. The banquet hall is renovated and that’s where we’re having the reception.”

Okay, so Reagan had to hand it to her father. They had been planning to get married at Ashton Farm, but her father had burst in, literally, to tell them he had the wedding and reception site. He had managed to reserve the most talked about Keeneston gossip that didn’t involve a marriage or a baby—Barrel Creek Distillery. The distillery was on the north side of the county, but the creek that ran through the distillery was the same one that ran through her grandparents’ farm, Desert Sun Farm, Ashton Farm, and several others. So far, Miss Woodson had been keeping too busy to come into town, but everyone was hoping to meet her at the wedding.

Father Ben was all lined up and the invitations were sent. While they had filed the marriage license already, no one in Keeneston counted that as a real wedding since very few were there when it was performed. It was along the lines of “if a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a noise”? If a resident gets married and the town isn’t there to see it, did they really get married? The answer is no.

Reagan slipped her hand into Carter’s and smiled at the dog that had helped save her life. “You keep up the good work, Robyn. We’ll see y’all later.”

“I’ll be over before I leave for Milan so you can try on your dress,” Sydney said, hugging her cousin.

“I can’t wait,” Reagan said as she hugged her and Deacon goodbye.

“It’s not every day a father of the bride designs a wedding dress,” Sydney said as she struggled not to laugh.

“I’m scared to know.” Reagan shook her head. “But I trust you not to make something hideous, so I’m going with it. It’s embarrassing the way my father has taken over all the wedding planning. He even insisted on going with us to taste the cakes. And he had a cake topper custom-made by some guy in Hollywood he used to work with in the props department.”

“It’s what any good father would do,” Ahmed said seriously as he stroked Robyn’s head.

Bridget rolled her eyes again. “You don’t even let your daughter go out on a date without the drone flying above her. And you think you could plan her wedding?”

“I could if she were to get married, which she’s not. So it’s a nonissue.”

Reagan covered her laughter with a cough. No wonder Abby had moved to Washington. To be fair to Ahmed, there was no information on Abby dating anyone since Nolan in high school, so Ahmed probably didn’t need to worry about a wedding anytime soon. But then again, you never know. Look at her and Carter.

Carter’s hand rested on the small of her back, and Reagan leaned back into his touch as he led her from Ahmed and Bridget’s house on Desert Sun Farm. As Reagan watched Carter drive to their house, she couldn’t help but think of how lucky she was. She’d fallen in love with her best friend.