The Rancher's Unexpected Baby

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“So there’s no way it was your car I heard, right?”

Her profile stayed stoic for all of three seconds before cracking into something near embarrassment. “Before I left last night, I wanted to wait it out. Make sure there wasn’t an emergency or that you didn’t need me right away. And then I fell asleep in my car.”

“Are you serious?” His voice dialed up to a nine. She’d slept out there almost all night? In the cold?

“I promise it wasn’t planned. And I’m so sorry I woke you. If I hadn’t, Hudson might have kept sleeping.” She huffed. “It was stupid of me to let that happen.”

“It was stupid, but not because you woke me. I could care less about that. And I’m not worried about Hudson being up for a few minutes. He did great. But I am concerned about you. Emma, you can’t be doing stuff like that. You need to take care of yourself. Hudson and I will be fine. And I’ll call you if we’re not. Okay?”

Her mouth pursed to one side. “I just...needed to make sure the two of you were good. And it truly was an accident. Okay?” A grin tempered the cheeky mimicked addition, seasoning it sweet.

The brittle parts of him softened. It was hard to stay upset around Emma. She just sort of...diffused him.

“Next time you pull something like that, I’m going to put you in a time-out.”

Her laughter brightened the room as much as a strand of twinkling white Christmas lights.

What was he going to do with this woman? How could Emma be so considerate and selfless? It was starkly different from anything Gage had ever experienced with Nicole. After they’d married, his ex-wife had pretty much focused on herself. He had hoped that the tendency would change with age and maturity, but it hadn’t.

Nicole had put her needs above everyone else’s. She would never have watched out for Hudson—and him—the way Emma did.

When Gage had told Emma yesterday that he planned to pay her for watching the baby, she’d thrown a royal fit. He still would...somehow. But in her mind, she was just volunteering at this point. Before Hudson had come into his life, Gage had known that Emma and Nicole were nothing alike. That they couldn’t even be classified in the same category.

But the last few days had only highlighted their differences.

One was sunshine. Just her presence made breathing easier. The other was pneumonia—stealing his oxygen. Wreaking havoc like a storm that wouldn’t quit raging.

Turns out he was quite partial to bright blue skies and cloudless days.

Chapter Four (#u77d83e5a-9684-5c63-b69a-c6cd6fbb7956)

The front door of the house opened, and Emma glanced up as Gage let himself in, stomping a light dusting of snow from his boots and brushing it from his hair.

“Look who’s here!” Emma spoke to Hudson, who was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table with her, a smattering of blocks, baby toys and a ball between them.

Hudson tilted forward, banging his hands against the cowhide rug. “La-la-la-ba-ba.” He blew bubbles as Gage took off his boots, finished hanging up his coat and joined them.

“Ba to you, too.” Gage created a human triangle and rolled the red plastic ball to Hudson. The boy tried shoving it in his mouth. Thankfully, the medium size allowed him to grip it easily but not insert it.

It had been six days since Hudson’s arrival, and Emma had spent copious amounts of time playing with him and holding him during the week. Anything to make the transition smoother.

“How come when you roll the ball to him, he doesn’t eat it?”

“He does a lot of the time.” Emma lifted the white burp cloth from the floor next to her. “I’ve been wiping off slobber when he wants to play again.”

Gage’s nose wrinkled. “Am I allowed to say yuck?”

“You’re only allotted two complaints of disgust in a day, so I’d suggest saving it for diaper-changing time.”

His cheeks curved. “True.”

The ball shot out of Hudson’s grip, and Emma returned it to him before he could complain. Back into his mouth it went. The boy had to be teething the way he chewed on everything around him. “How was your day? How are ranch-y things?”

Gage’s chuckle messed with her midsection. Like she’d overloaded on something delicious and her body couldn’t decide how to respond.

“You do realize you grew up on a ranch, right?”

“A guest ranch is different. We don’t even have cattle year-round, as you well know.” They only had them for the guests to move in the summer, and nothing like the size of Gage’s operation.

“Another one of the ranchers from church dropped by today to tell me—in the spirit of helpfulness, of course—that I’m crazy for changing things around here the way I have. They think I’m messing up everything my uncle did because I switched to summer calving. But it’s helped me cut down on everything—cowboys, supplemental feed. Plus, the profit will be better because they’re fattening up faster.”

“It’s really amazing to me that you’ve done so well with ranching.”

He waved off her compliment. “Ford is a great teacher. And he didn’t even balk after I researched summer calving and decided I wanted to try it. We could have always gone back to the way things were if it didn’t pan out. But so far it’s been great. And...there I go again, boring you with ranching details.”

“Actually, I like listening to you talk about it.” Emma wanted to hear just about anything Gage had to say, and it had nothing to do with the smooth timbre of his voice or the way his brow wrinkled in concentration when he spoke about something he was passionate about. Those were just lovely little side benefits.

“That’s because you’re way too nice.”

Hudson dropped the ball, then crawled over to Emma’s lap. She picked him up, nibbling on his cheeks. “There’s some leftover macaroni and cheese. I made homemade for lunch. You’re welcome to it.”

Those lake-blue eyes of his narrowed to slits. “Please tell me you didn’t bring over the ingredients to cook again.”

“I didn’t. I may have grocery shopped for here, but I put everything for your house on your tab at Len’s, just like you made me promise to do.” The contract he’d written up was on the fridge. And, yes, he’d made her sign it.

Gage had turned all serious, so Emma raised her right hand like she was taking an oath. “Promise.”

“Good girl.”

She stifled a groan. That was exactly how he thought of her, wasn’t it?

Emma put Hudson down, and he crawled into Gage’s lap. Gage picked him up, holding him against his chest. Their slightly awkward interactions were endearing. Each day Gage’s actions were smoother, less rehearsed. And Hudson was following his lead. Their relationship had been warming at Crock-Pot speeds.

Emma still wouldn’t mind that camera to see what happened around here in the evening, though. Gage didn’t complain, but it sounded like Hudson often woke at least once a night. What she wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall.

“So what are you two up to tonight?”

Gage placed Hudson back on the floor, then built a stack of blocks for him to knock down. “Pretty much this. It hasn’t even been a full week since Hudson arrived. I haven’t gotten used to adding anything else in yet.”

“So you don’t go anywhere at night after I leave?”

“Nope.” Gage rebuilt the tower when Hudson squawked. “How can I? I’m barely handling this.” He motioned between himself and Hudson.

“But you guys are doing so well together.”

“We’re doing okay, but I don’t want to rock the boat.”

Emma understood his reasoning; at the same time, if Gage never left the house with Hudson, never found any sense of normalcy in going out and doing regular, everyday things, then how would he ever come to the conclusion that he should keep the baby?

And Emma was already witnessing a difference in Gage. It might be slight, but the softening and refining had begun, thanks to Hudson.

If he got out more, maybe he’d see that he could have a life and keep Hudson, too.

“The two of you should come with me to the talent show at church tonight.”

Ruby was participating in the Wednesday night church club talent show, and she’d been practicing her selection for weeks. Emma had already heard her poem more times than she could count because every time Ruby said, “Aunt Emma, do you want to listen to my poem?” Emma answered in the affirmative. At this point she had the whole thing memorized, but she wouldn’t miss the final product for anything.

Gage’s mouth tugged to one side. “Of course I’d like to see Ruby do her thing, but I don’t want to mess up our rhythm.” He nodded toward Hudson, who had crawled under the coffee table and was trying to back himself out of the predicament. So far he wasn’t complaining, so Emma left him to figure it out on his own if he could.

“Hudson would enjoy it, too. The kids have been working hard. He’ll be totally entertained.” Maybe totally was a stretch.

“You think?”

“He loves Ruby.”

“That’s true. But who doesn’t?”

Emma laughed. “She is precious. You should come tonight. Try it. You can always head home if it doesn’t work.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Are you just saying that so that I’ll stop bugging you about it?”

“Maybe.”

She chuckled. “Fine. I’m done.”

Emma said goodbye to Hudson—who had extracted himself from the table, smart boy—with a smattering of kisses and a tight hug. She gathered her things and put on her coat and shoes, then paused with a hand on the front doorknob. “I’ll see you later tonight. It starts at six thirty.” She scooted outside and shut the door before Gage could reiterate that he wasn’t planning to come.

Getting him out of the house to prove that he could manage an extracurricular activity with Hudson in tow was worth a shot.

And of course it had everything to do with that and nothing to do with seeing him again.

* * *

Gage scooped another mound of pureed peas onto the baby spoon, then deposited the load into Hudson’s mouth. The boy shuddered, then swallowed.

“I don’t blame you for not liking them. They don’t smell—or look—very good.” On the next bite, Gage added a taste of applesauce like he’d seen Emma do. That was better received.

The Bluetooth speaker on the kitchen counter shuffle-played Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors songs, but the house was too quiet.

Like it always was after Emma took off in the evening.

“What should we do tonight? Another round of knocking down towers? Or maybe we’ll read some books.” One full box of Hudson’s things had been children’s books. Zeke must have read to him often, because the baby was surprisingly content to sit in Gage’s lap and listen. He studied the pictures and touched the pages and babbled in his own little language. Reading before bedtime had become their norm.

Crazy to think it had only been six days since he’d moved Hudson to the ranch. Life had become a whirlwind of diapers and stinted sleep. Gage’s mind had been in constant prayer mode. Please comfort Hudson. Don’t let me mess up his life in the time he’s here. Help me find the right home for him. And thank You for Emma.

No way would he or Hudson be surviving any of this without her. When she arrived in the mornings, Gage’s muscles relaxed like overcooked pasta noodles. Hudson greeted her with waving arms and megagrins.

Emma made everything better. She couldn’t help it. It was just the effect she had on the world.

That had to be why his house felt so empty when she left.

Gage finished feeding Hudson, wiped his face and hands, removed his bib and plucked him from the high chair. It was six o’clock. He’d been putting Hudson to bed around eight—at Emma’s suggestion—and the schedule had been working.

“Well?” Gage held Hudson, tapping a finger against his nose, which Hudson promptly caught and then attempted to eat. “What’s our plan? Do you want to get out of the house? Go to the talent show and see Ruby?” Hudson’s two bottom teeth pressed into the flesh of Gage’s finger, and he removed it from the baby’s grasp, wiping the slobber on his jeans.

Maybe Emma was right. Gage could use a night out. And Hudson lit up around Ruby. Surely a bunch of performing kids would hold his attention for a little bit.

Plus, Emma would be there, so Gage would have help with the baby. And her company. “One later night won’t hurt, will it?” He’d make sure they were home by eight thirty or nine at the latest.

Hudson crawled around Gage’s room while he laced up his leather boots and changed into a button-down checked shirt. The boy was dressed in a onesie that proclaimed he was “cute as a button”—true story—along with soft pants made of the same material. He wore socks that resembled tennis shoes, and since he couldn’t walk yet, Gage assumed shoes weren’t necessary.

The drive to the church was uneventful, and Gage’s lungs leaked with relief when they arrived unscathed. They’d managed step one. Now on to the next. Should he take the car seat in? Or unbuckle Hudson?

Questions like this shouldn’t be so hard, but he was a newbie. Gage decided to rescue Hudson from the car seat since the boy didn’t love being strapped into it. He tugged a winter hat on him and wrapped him in his blanket in lieu of a coat. The idea of wrestling the little monkey into a jacket didn’t appeal to him.

He and Hudson arrived in the sanctuary just as the children’s director was making announcements. They should probably sit in the back so he could escape at the first sign of trouble.

But then Emma waved at him from near the front. The skin around her eyes crinkled, her lips bowed and she looked like home. How could he resist? Gage hurried to their row, greeting Luc, Cate and Mackenzie as he scooted past all of them to the open seat next to Emma. Had she saved him a spot? Based on the packed pews, he’d say yes.

“I’d just about given up on you two.” Hudson lunged into her arms, and she removed his hat and smoothed the static from his hair. “Hey there, handsome.” She smooched Hudson’s cheek, creating a noise that made him giggle.

Emma had changed her clothes since she’d been at Gage’s. She wore black leggings and boots, a loose wrap with dotted shirtsleeves peeking out. Her hair was down, tempting him to explore the level of softness, and, to top it all off, the woman smelled like dessert. Sweet. Cinnamon.

Gage leaned in her direction as he took off his coat, skin tingling at the close proximity to her. “You changed clothes.”

That’s what came out of his mouth? He’d been aiming for more of a compliment than an observation.

“I had Hudson drool and a bit of plum on my shirt from today, so...” Her shoulders lifted.

“You look really nice.” There. That was better. Though pretty would have been a more fitting—albeit trouble-inducing—description.

Her chin jutted back slightly in surprise. “Thanks.” And then the lilting lips were back, mesmerizing him for a full three seconds. Emma had really great, full lips. She rarely wore anything on them, but tonight they were glossy and as distracting to him as earrings were to Hudson. The boy was currently going at Emma’s like a cat after a laser light.

She slipped them free from her ears. “Can you hold these?” She dropped the silver dangles into his hand. His fist closed around them as the first performer took the stage and Emma’s attention registered up front.

Gage tucked them into his front shirt pocket. How could something as simple as Emma removing her earrings without complaint intrigue him so much? She would do anything for Hudson—or really anyone—without a second thought. Emma loved big. She’d make a great mom one day. And an amazing wife. Surprising there wasn’t a line of men at her door waiting to ask her out.

Come to think of it, Gage didn’t hear much about her dating at all. Why not? Emma was a catch. For someone more fitting, of course. But he could observe, couldn’t he? As long as he didn’t get any crazy ideas that they were right for each other.

He could just imagine what Luc would have to say about that. No way would he consider Gage, with his messy past and cynical attitude about love, a match for sweet, innocent Emma.

The first couple of talents—a juggler, a tap dancer, a little girl who sang remarkably well and then one who sang precisely the opposite—all went by pretty quickly. Hudson got passed down the row, and Cate held him for a bit. When Ruby walked onstage, she sent the baby back their way so she could record the performance. Emma kept Hudson when he made it to her. She retrieved a teething ring from the diaper bag, and Hudson chewed on it.

Before Ruby started, she waved at Luc and Cate, then her aunts, as if greeting her fans before she could proceed. Cate laughed, whispering something in Luc’s ear. Man, what a change. The two of them had turned a one-eighty, completely renewing their relationship in a way that Gage hadn’t thought possible.