Free Tina Leonard - Triplets' Rodeo Man by Tina Leonard

time, I’ll be here for the big event. Two,” she said, with a proud smile at Laura, who looked as though she might give birth any day.
    This could not be happening. Jack inhaled deep breaths to brace himself. “I’m going to be a father?”
    Everyone laughed. Cricket smiled at him for the first time since she’d entered the room.
    â€œYes,” she said softly, “to triplets, actually.”
    Jack couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak. Never had his life rushed so fast, not even the eight seconds he rode to the buzzer. This was different.
    This was a crazy ride.
    His brothers congratulated him, pounded him on the back, shook his hand. One of his brothers mentioned something about “nice shooting, bro,” and general guffaws broke out. Gisella kissed Cricket on the cheek, and Sara smiled.
    â€œJosiah’s going to have such a gift when he comesout of surgery,” Sara said. “He’ll be so excited he’ll probably recover twice as fast.”
    Jack tried to say that he was excited, too, but all that came out of his mouth was a rusty croak no one heard over all the sudden hugging and kissing of Cricket. Jack knew he needed to say something to her, act pleased, brag like an expectant father—but all he could do was try to keep his knees from knocking together and suck air into his lungs.
    He’d never been so scared.
    How could he—a man who spends all his time on the rodeo circuit—be a father? To triplets?
    He had no home. He basically lived out of his truck. The rodeo circuit was his family. He had no steady employment, no way of caring for a wife and three children.
    The obvious smote him—he was going to have to live on the damn ranch, prey to his father’s manipulations, in order to earn the million dollars Josiah had set out as bribe money. It was fast dough, and he’d need it pronto if he meant to be something other than a loser father and shiftless husband. He stared at Cricket, realizing his whole life was changing, and he’d have to change with it.
    â€œI’m thrilled,” he said. “This is great.”
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    C RICKET KNEW J ACK was anything but “thrilled.” He looked pale, maybe even sick. It was a lot for him to take in on the day his father was having surgery. She wondered if he’d known Gisella was coming home anddecided he had enough to bear without finding out he was a father. She forgave him for his lack of real enthusiasm, remembering that she’d had a few moments of shocked doubt before genuine happiness washed over her.
    Still, she wished she and Jack knew each other well enough to be truly excited about being parents together. She wouldn’t have come today had Josiah not called her, asking her to be there before he was taken into surgery. As it was, she’d missed him leaving and felt bad about that.
    She’d known her secret might be out when Jack saw her, and tried to camouflage her pregnancy with a dress. He might not have figured it out had her good friends Laura, Suzy and Priscilla not given him a broad hint even Jack couldn’t miss. She would have preferred to tell him herself, when they weren’t surrounded by people, and when Jack wasn’t worried about his father.
    But now he knew.
    â€œA wedding,” Gisella said with delight. “Josiah didn’t tell me the good news. When’s the date?”
    Cricket glanced at Jack, stricken. She didn’t know what to say. She understood why Gisella might have misunderstood that there was to be a wedding, but—
    â€œAs soon as Pop’s well,” Jack said, shocking Cricket. “I imagine he’ll be on his feet fairly quickly, don’t you? He’s a fighter.”
    â€œIndeed,” Cricket said as Jack walked over and planted a kiss on her lips. “Can I talk to you a moment—outside?” she asked as everyone in the room was celebrating the idea of another Morgan