Page 106 of The Cowboy and the Baby
Tears flowed from my eyes in rivers. I held her close, bouncing, whispering, kissing the top of her head. All the fear and terror of the past hours melted into a viscous, surreal disbelief.
He did it.
He found her.
Cade shut the door behind Cody and Mom as they shuffled inside. Mom stood against the wall, eyes downcast, shivering.
“Where’s Wyatt?” Cody asked. “Did something happen?”
“Oh, he’s coming,” Cade drawled. He knocked snow off of his boots, sat on the recliner, and bent over to take them off.
“But—”
“Let’s just say he’s enjoying himself.”
The cryptic comment made no sense, but I didn’t care. I gently swung Lily, soaking up her warmth. Cora watched me, eyes brimming with tears. Hawk stood behind her, an arm around her waist as she leaned into him. Cody slid around my mom and into the kitchen, seeming relieved to escape.
Unable to avoid it, I turned to my mom. My voice barely made a noise when I asked, “Why?”
Mom broke into a whimper, a half sob. “He told me . . . I had to. He spoke with Thomas and Sarah . . .”
“The Millers?”
“We were going to take her to them until you agreed to return to your job. They want her, and they thought . . .”
She broke down.
Cade lifted an eyebrow in Mom’s direction. Red splotched his face. His hair was askew and wild from when he’d taken the helmet off. Snow melted along his temple as he pulled a boot free.
Mom didn’t say another word, just cried to herself.
“I told her we’d take them to a hotel as soon as Wyatt returns with Richard,” Cade said with a sniffle. He was calm, almost bored with Mom. “After they speak to Hernandez, they will leave and never come back.”
Hawk piped up with a dark tone. “Channing has been in contact with me every half hour. Your attorney will be very interested in these developments.”
I shuddered.
Mom curled farther into herself.
Cade set his boots aside. Cora picked them up, tugged Hawk into the kitchen with her, probably to set them by the fire. Lily gave a tired shudder. She would sleep better in her own crib, but I couldn’t fathom letting her go. She’d sleep with me until I recovered from the trauma of finding her crib empty, the window unlocked.
It riled me up again, the rage.
Another headlight appeared from the driveway, racing fast. It skidded to a stop, nearly flipping over, before Wyatt countered with his weight. His signature whoop and laughter cut through the blizzard and into the house.
I couldn’t be sure, but it appeared that Dad almost went flying off the back.
Mom continued to cry quietly against the wall, unable to look at me. I didn’t want to see my father, so I stole quietly into my bedroom while Dad tromped up the stairs with Wyatt, who was crowing about something, and gesturing at the snow bank that stopped them from tipping over.
Wyatt burst into the room, declared, “Eight times, Cade! I knocked him off the back eight times. Wooeee! Can you believe it? Like riding a bull. I’m ready for nationals now. Whaddaya think, Richard?”
My bedroom door closed, ensconcing me in the safety of warmth and darkness. The feeling here was welcoming, friendly, and safe. Almost like Grandma and Naomi reached down, swirled up a little love, and made it so. I felt the heat of Grandma’s hand on my shoulder as I put Lily to my chest, heart to heart, and rocked back and forth.
“Safe,” I whispered against her downy hair. “You are safe, my baby girl.”
Thirty minutes passed while I rocked Lily, unwinding my muscles one at a time. A deep breath, and a relaxation. Another deep breath, and another one. My fingertips swirled along her back, her steady breaths reassuring me that she was safe. Forever, if Cade had anything to say.
The murmur of Hawk speaking on the phone to Channing, Cora updating Noah, unfolded in the house while I remained tucked out of sight. Cody left with my parents. He was taking them into town, and they were on their own to get the Jeep, explain what happened to it to the rental company, and, hopefully, speak to Hernandez. I thought I heard Cade murmuring to him on the phone.
