Page 12 of The Cowboy and the Baby

“Not at all.”

Tears bubbled to the surface, but I swallowed them back. Potential replies populated with untold strength. This place is overrun by savage dust monsters. Archaic comes to mind. My eyes lingered on a corner across the room. The flooring peeled up, hiding something dark beneath. Swallowing my disgust, I turned my shoulder to it.

“It’s a . . . it’s . . .”

“That bad?”

“Did you know?”

“I had an inkling.”

Astonishment held me in her rabid grip. Had I been delirious last night? Groggy from sleeping on the plane, or just ridiculously excited to be dropped in the middle of nowhere?

“You know, there’s a considerable amount of land that comes with it,” she said with a little breath, and it hitched at the end. “The house itself may need some repairs, but the land is really valuable. It may need a little love, but it’ll be worth it.”

“Some repairs?” I echoed. “Marsha, this place is halfway to condemnable.”

She huffed.

“That seems a bit dramatic.”

It was. It was a bit dramatic, but true to the agitation in my chest. The work here felt big. Impassable. Monstrous. I had no words for what choked me when I looked at the ranch house through my memories. Nostalgia. Deep affection. Safety.

Then facing its current state, overwhelm. The need for rescue. Lily already kept me occupied in working as a savior, thanks. I didn’t need this place to ask more of me. I pondered whether we should doze the whole thing and start new. Another strip of wallpaper threatened to peel off the nearest wall. Was that mold growing behind it?

Lily coughed, so I lifted her, removed the bottle, and gently tapped her back. When she settled, grasping for the nipple again, I eased her into my left arm instead.

“Don’t worry too much about the house yet, Noey,” Marsha said with a little coo. “The reading of the will is today, yes?”

“In a few hours.”

“Good. Keep us updated on what you hear. We’re about to leave for a little catamaran trip with our friends on the Gulf, but I’ll see your messages when I return. At most, we’d like an idea of what the investment looks like. If the house is salvageable, we need to know at what price tag. We’ll expect to price the house, the land, and all the animals together.”

My throat tightened. While I felt no glory in this old place, I certainly didn’t want it flicked away to the highest bidder. It felt cold. Cunning. Ruthless. The worst tribute to Grandpa’s memory. Not that they honored him much, anyway.

“At this point,” I said carefully, “I think the house is less of an asset than a disaster.”

Marsha laughed with a little trill that made it clear she was speaking to someone else. Though I spent a fair amount of time with Marsha and Bart over the last several years, I couldn’t articulate exactly what Bart did for a living. Like my parents, they had a lot of money, and spent most of it on leisure vacations and networking parties. Whatever that meant.

“Well, darling, let us know what you find out,” she trilled with the voice that meant she’d switched into entertaining hostess and wouldn’t return to doting-but-delirious-auntie. “We’ll be in touch soon, I’m sure. Love and kisses to you and the baby!”

The phone clicked off.

Lily shoved the bottle out of her mouth with her tongue, so I set it on the table, lifted her to my shoulder, and positioned her to burp. Her head lolled a bit as she settled. I stood, taking in the room, the cobwebs, the stained floor.

“Well, Lily. I think we’ve found somewhere to hide. One look at this place, and your paternal grandparents would run away and never come back. That removes one worry off my shoulders, and adds several more. Doesn’t it?”

5

CADE

Kinoshi, the only attorney in small town Pineville, Wyoming, smiled at Lily.

His eyes crinkled at the edges as Noelle set the baby into her car seat and covered her with a fluffy blanket. We had no swing or bassinet to hold her yet, and Lily was moments away from a nap. She squirmed with clicking, grunting sounds that turned my heart over.

Noelle lowered onto a chair near my side, and set her hands on her lap. She didn’t look as exhausted this morning, though weariness permeated her. The rumpled look at the airport gave way under clean clothes, a shower, and the smell of soft shampoo.

“It’s wonderful to finally meet you, Kinoshi,” Noelle said warmly. “Marsha and Bart have had nothing but good things to say about you.”