Made to Love Read Free Page A

myself. It wasn’t until she started telling stories of Ma trying to feed her eight times a day that I knew who she was.”
    “The purple hair is certainly a statement.”
    “Yeah, it screams save me from Barney.” Lex stopped at the steps to the house and extended her hand toward Aspen.
    “That’s funny. Mom sent a package for the baby and guess what was in there?”
    Lex groaned loudly. “Seriously?”
    “Uh-huh.” Aspen winked mischievously. “Wait until you see what she sent you.”
    “Why do I not like the sound of that?” Lex swung open the door and waited while Aspen navigated inside. “Speaking of purple, do you think the carpet matches the drapes?”
    “Really?” Aspen sighed in exasperation. “Only you would wonder something like that.”
    “It’s a great idea. I mean think about it. It would be like a big flashing neon sign that reads Nikki’s Flower Patch. Open all year round.”
    Aspen smiled uncomfortably. “And you just made it weird.”
    Lex watched her wife walk away, and she chuckled at her retreating figure. “ I made it weird?” Lex jogged to catch up with her, shaking her head and laughing at the woman who just locked herself inside the bunkhouse. She stopped outside Aspen’s studio and leaned on the doorjamb. “What are you working on now?”
    “Just a few pieces for the art show.” Aspen held up a sketch of a woman Lex presumed was her. It was a profile of a nude woman who was clearly pregnant. Her long hair danced around her face, and her hand rested on her stomach protectively. “You like it?”
    Lex pushed herself off the door and strode over to Aspen. She took the picture and held it out. “It’s beautiful. How did you get yourself from this angle?”
    “Funny you should ask.” Aspen took the picture and set it back on her easel. She picked up a piece of charcoal and began filling in the shadowed areas. She smudged the new lines with her pinky. “First of all, I can’t tell you how incredibly hard it is to move with a Cadillac strapped around my waist. I feel as if my hips might actually separate, and all of this will just fall out.”
    Lex snickered before the look on Aspen’s face straightened her up. “You’re the cutest vehicle transport truck I’ve ever seen.”
    Aspen glared at Lex. “Funny.”             
    Lex wrapped her arms around Aspen’s waist and kissed the back of her neck. “Anyway, you were saying .”
    “Oh, yes.” Aspen leaned into the embrace, and her stomach flip-flopped. She loved the feeling of being in her wife’s arms. She felt safe and loved and most of all she felt wanted. “I took the mirror in our room and moved it, so I could see the door.”
    “Wait.” Lex pulled away and looked at Aspen askance. “The full-length mirror? The one it took me and Nick to carry up the stairs? Babe.”
    Aspen spun around and caressed Lex’s cheek. “I’m fine. I just had to turn it a bit.”
    Lex took Aspen’s face in her hands and fixed her with a concerned gaze. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you. Don’t do anything…”
    “Stupid.” Aspen finished Lex’s sentence. She saw the worried look in Lex’s eyes, and she was immediately sorry that she caused her to worry. She pulled Lex’s hands away from her face and guided her palms to her protruding belly. “Here, feel this?”
    Lex started to shake her head no, but then she felt a subtle movement beneath her hands. Her face lit up excitedly. “She kicked.”
    “She or he kicked. Lex, I’m sorry I upset you. I promise you I would never do anything to hurt our baby.” Aspen’s mind flashed back, and she saw the pain in Lex’s eyes. The devastation of thinking she failed Aspen. Her heart ached momentarily for Lex, but the pain was quickly replaced by the knowledge that this time Lex wasn’t going anywhere, no matter what happened. “We’re both fine.”
    Lex smiled tremulously. “I know. I can’t help worrying.”
    “Well stop it, you nerd.”