Page 54 of The Cowboy and the Baby

I smiled at the sincere eagerness in the question. “Of course. She would love that.”

By the time I finished, he’d already pulled her free and cooed at her. My stomach turned over itself.

Cade settled Lily into his arms as he sat at the head of the table, keeping her safe in the crook of his arms, as he had every day. Wyatt and Cody immediately spoke in lower voices when Lily showed up. I set the last of the forks on the table, along with the pot of coffee, and all three of them stood. I knew better than to protest as I sat, and they followed suit.

Cade sent a nod to Wyatt, who spoke a quick prayer, and I dished up. The moment Cade gave another nod, Wyatt and Cody dove into biscuits, gravy, and bacon. I motioned for Lily with grabby hand motions, but Cade waved me off.

“Got her. You eat, and enjoy it. I want to warm up with coffee first. Cody, pour me some?”

Cody complied, and Cade sipped it black and hot, the way he liked it. I kept my smile schooled as I settled into my meal, listening to them arguing about Wyatt’s lack of preparation for a bull riding competition coming up in the spring. It was lovely to sit and eat with both arms available. After a few minutes, when I finished my meal and shoved the plate away, Cade stood up, transferred Lily to my arms.

It was so easy, this teamwork.

As if . . .

I forced the thought to trail away. No, this wasn’t our baby, just like this wasn’t real life. Transition, I reminded myself. This was just a transition until I had Lily’s paperwork in my hand and full permission to raise her how I wanted, where I wanted.

The idea of doing it without Cade, however, frightened me a little more every day.

“Cody had a good idea last night,” Cade said. He dribbled gravy over an opened biscuit, but he flicked a quick glance to me.

Wyatt gasped.

“You don’t say, hoss!”

Cody kicked him under the table, and Wyatt’s laugh turned to a groan.

“Enough,” Cade growled at both of them, then returned his stare to me. “He suggested that we fight the problem with the paternal grandparents by doing what they least expect.”

Blinking, I quickly breezed by the fact that Cade had been thinking about this—and even talked to Cody about it, which I didn’t mind—in the short hours between now and my outburst. There was a we in the phrase that caught me by surprise. Technically, this wasn’t Cade or Cody’s problem, but they had picked it up readily, the way Cade promised last night. I couldn’t believe it, yet it was inevitable.

“What idea is that?” I asked.

Cade gestured to Cody with his fork. Cody said, “Listen, nobody understands custody battles better than me and Wyatt.”

Wyatt nodded gravely, mouth full of biscuit. “When one parent wasn’t drunk or half dead, the other was, and I got passed between them and a few foster families until they died, and Cade finally got a hold of me.”

My heart broke.

Cody spoke before I could. “Mom and I battled Dad all the time. The best thing you can do? Make it impossible for them to speak badly about you. Show them what you’ve got.”

Understanding crept up slowly.

“You mean . . . bring them here?”

“Why not? It’s a big house, plenty of heat, lots of support.” Cody shrugged. “What’s not to love about Iron Creek Ranch? I might sleep in a room off the barn, but it’s heaven to me.”

Wyatt snorted, then forked another bite of biscuit dripping with gravy and dropped his gaze. Apparently, he didn’t agree.

Cade ignored him.

Squirrels in the walls, for one, I thought. Mountains of hoarded stuff in the basement that may or may not host tens of animals, spiders, or worse. Snow that cuts off access to resources, and no legal tie to this land.

Which didn’t consider the hazard of nails, screws, and tools strewn around once Lily became mobile. We didn’t have that fear yet, but we wouldn’t have long before it came around.

If I were still here.

The walls of my anxiety were built more from ifs than anything real. The idea of bringing Sarah Miller here made my throat tighten, while it simultaneously cast relief. Not hiding would be a boon, but . . . here? Despite how things appeared, this place had slowly come to feel safe.