Page 52 of The Cowboy and the Baby
I snapped, “What?” with deepening exasperation. The last thing I wanted to deal with was a string of inquiries. My body was starting to feel the hard labor from the last few hours, and the lateness. I’d regret this with morning chores.
“Is Noelle safe?”
I met his inquiring stare and sighed. “Yes, she’s fine. She has . . . a situation . . . with her family. There’s a remote chance that Lily’s paternal grandparents might show up and try to take the baby from Noelle.”
“That’s why you mentioned the car?”
“Yeah.”
But, as I said it aloud, I felt like an idiot. Would they really storm out here to kidnap a baby? Noelle said she had temporary guardianship, which must mean an attorney and paperwork. She was next-of-kin to her sister . . .
I needed the full picture. All I understood was what she told me from a place of fear. Surely, there were more details. But even that piece of rationality came too late. Heck, I couldn’t remember the last time I felt like this.
Or . . . ever . . . feeling like this.
One perceived threat against Noelle and Lily and I’d almost lost my damn mind. I muttered to myself again. I’d have to put twenty dollars in the curse jar by the time I ended this angry tirade.
“Look, hoss,” Cody said diplomatically, “I know custody battles. Mom and I ran from my dad for years so he didn’t beat the shiiii—” He cut short, catching my warning, and finished with, “—iitake mushrooms out of me. If there’s a custody battle, it’s better not to run or hide.”
I frowned.
Both his hands shot in the air.
“Not saying Noelle did anything wrong by coming here! Just saying . . . openness is better. As long as the law is on her side, and you’re okay with it, why not set the playing field?”
Dumbfounded, I asked, “What are you talking about?” and mentally set a reminder to ask him about his father later. Cody had a history—he wouldn’t be living here if he didn’t—but he hadn’t mentioned his old man’s abuse since he arrived and met me for the first time.
Cody smiled.
“Bring the grandparents here, hoss. Let them see Lily, hold her, play with her. Don’t let it be a secret. As long as Noelle hasn’t actually kidnapped her, seeing the baby, the home, and us here with Lily will make her look less cagey, at any rate.”
“It might give them ammunition.”
He shrugged. “Going on the run might, too. There are no guarantees in any of this, but it shows willingness to talk it out. Maybe that’ll matter, depending on the judge.”
Was it the late hour, my weary muscles, or straight confusion . . . but did Cody actually make sense?
“That’s . . . not a bad idea?”
His grin widened. “Every now and then, hoss, I got great ideas.” His mirth dropped. “You know what else is a great idea? Go to bed. You’re keeping me up with all this racket, too, and my super-demanding boss is going to make me wake up stupid early to work on his bathroom.”
18
NOELLE
A low-level headache plagued me the next morning, and my swollen eyes occasionally felt like sandpaper scraping my eyeballs. I avoided all mirrors. I didn’t need to see the puffiness and wild ponytail. It wouldn’t help my already disheveled life.
Darkness continued when Lily awoke at six in the morning, ravenous, her cry echoing from her room. No sign of Cade on the couch, so I shuffled quietly around the kitchen, wondering where he’d gone. Did he head to chores early?
Or not go to bed?
Lily lightly fussed while I warmed her formula. As soon as I sank into the rocking chair and let her eat, she groped hungrily for the nipple, soothing as soon as she began to suck. I closed my eyes, tilted my head back.
My thoughts flew too quickly to worry about falling back to sleep. They skimmed over my emotional outburst with Cade last night, reminding me just how ridiculous I had been. Panicking over a squirrel, then completely melting down.
I groaned.
He’d responded with absolute perfection, because the man was perfection. What else could he have done, though? After an outburst like that, no normal human would kick me out. Did he think I fell apart to ensure he wouldn’t?
