Where Does My Heart Beat Now- Chapter 23

Chapter 23

December arrived with a light snowfall in the bayous of Jefferson. A white blanket already covered the ground, making a glittery wonderland. To add to the fun of the new snow, Kate was outside with her husband riding their horses, Bo and Buster, through the snow-covered cypress trees. Kate was well into her seventh month of her pregnancy, nearing the start of her eighth, and her belly resembled a watermelon. It made her seem like she was carrying more than one baby since she was a slender woman.

“Sean’s probably buried under a mountain of blankets, right now,” Gabriel commented as he pushed Bo into a canter with Kate following his lead.

“Does he not like snow?” She replied.

Her husband laughed, “Hell, no! He’s a summer boy… and that’s why we’re going over to his house.”

Kate cocked her head to the side as if she didn’t understand, “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see.”

After arriving at Sean’s house just on the outskirts of town, Gabriel helped his wife down, and the two of them made their way up to the porch, but not before Gabriel scooped up a handful of snow and formed it into a ball. He knocked on the oak door and waited for his best friend to answer with Kate standing beside him, her feather down coat wrapped tightly around her.

It wasn’t long before the door slowly opened and Sean’s head appeared. His hair was tousled, and he rubbed his eyes to clear his vision, “Gabriel?”

The other male responded by pulling the snowball out from behind his back and hurling it right at Sean’s face. The next second he was running down the porch steps onto the front lawn with Sean chasing after him.

“I’m going to rip your nuts off and grind them up in a cheese grater!” He yelled while running after Gabriel.

Gabriel cackled like a hyena before pelting Sean with another snowball, “You’ll have to catch me first!”

Kate shook her head, and then smiled when Ava showed up at the door wiping her hands on a towel. She grinned at the sight of Sean tackling Gabriel into a mound of snow before inviting Kate into the house. After shutting the door to keep out the cold, she took the other woman’s coat and hung it up on the coat rack by the door.

“Boys…” Ava shook her head in wonder, and then laid her hand on Kate’s belly, “Look at how big you are, Kate. You might not make it to your due date.”

“I hope I do. We still haven’t gotten the baby’s room finished,” Kate sat down on the couch and was joined by Ava after she brought in two mugs of hot chocolate, “The baby’s moving around a lot more. Not to mention, my back’s starting to hurt from all of this weight I’m carrying.”

 “Well, come the end of January or first of February you’ll have an adorable bundle of joy to keep you busy… and waking you up in the middle of the night wanting to be fed or changed.”

Kate took a sip of the hot chocolate and replied, “Gabe and I have already agreed that he’ll be the one getting up with the baby at night, and he’ll bring it to me to be nursed.”

“At least he’ll learn how much fun changing diapers can be.”

“Yeah, but it’s worth it. I can’t wait to see how Gabriel will act when he’s around the baby. He’s always feeling my belly.”

“He’ll be a great daddy,” Ava winked.

 The front door flew open followed by Gabriel running in with Sean right behind him, his arms outstretched and ready to strangle Gabriel. Eventually he called a truce after realizing there was no use in continuing the horseplay.

“There’s my beautiful wife,” Gabriel leaned over the back of the couch and tenderly placed his hands on her swollen belly, savoring the feeling of it. He could feel tiny movements against his fingertips, making him smile. I can’t wait to meet you, little one, “So, what are you ladies talking about?”

His wife squeezed his hand, and then offered her mug of hot chocolate to him, “Here, drink some of this to help you warm up. You look like you could use something to put some warmth back in you.”

“You’re all the warmth I need, Kate. You and our baby,” he bent over to kiss her cheek, “and I can’t wait to spend our first Christmas together.”

“That reminds me… What would you like for Christmas?”

“Nothing. This baby’s the best gift you could ever give me. You have no idea how happy I was when you told me that you were pregnant,” Gabriel walked around the couch and sat down beside Kate, “After Susan died I thought my world had crashed down around me and I would never find love again, but then I met you. I don’t know if it was fate or if God led me to you, but whatever the reason, I’m so blessed to have you as my wife, and to be creating our family with you. Remember, I give you my heart.”

She had to wipe away a tear after hearing what he had said. This man truly loves me. Thank you so much, God, for bringing him into my life. I want to spend every moment with him and our child, “And I have it.”

The four of them sat around in Sean’s living room talking about the holiday season, the baby, and upcoming reenactments. They mainly focused on the next reenactment that was scheduled for February.

“Why would they choose that month to have a reenactment? It’ll be cold, then,” Kate questioned.

“They try to have them when they really happened,” Gabriel set his mug of hot chocolate down on the coffee table, “Don’t worry, you’ll stay warm in your clothes.”

“Where is it?”

“Yale, Oklahoma.”

It wasn’t long before Kate realized something significant about February, “But Gabe… the baby’s due around the end of January into February. What are we going to do about the reenactment?”

Gabriel froze. What are we going to do? “I don’t know, baby. We’ll just have to handle it when that day comes. I highly doubt you’ll have the baby while we’re there.”

“I hope you’re right,” she snuggled against his warm body, thinking of how soon it would be, “Now, what are we doing for Christmas? Are we getting a real tree, or what? I’ve got an itching to do some holiday decorating.”

“Well, then. I guess I’ll unleash you on our house,” he stood up and walked over to a closed door, where he leaned against the wall with a sly grin on his face. He opened the door to reveal a whole closet of Civil War related statues and decorations, “There’s no one in Marion County, or Texas, for that matter that can beat the Dawson’s and Howitzer’s at Christmas decorating.”

Kate’s eyebrows rose, “Why do you guys have a giant statue of Stonewall Jackson that looks like he’s doing some kind of strange twerking?”

“He sits on Little Sorrel, which is in there, somewhere,” he pointed toward the closet, “Every year, Sean and I set up a line of Confederates between our houses.”

“Weird.”

“Shall we get started?”