Page 98 of The Cowboy and the Baby

“I can’t help you right now, but my sister might be able to. Please call Cora. I believe you already have her number. When I return with the baby, I’ll give you a call and make arrangements then. I’ll just . . . I’ll have to entrust Mom to your care for now. A child’s life depends on me here.”

I swallowed a rising lump in my throat, promising myself that I wasn’t abandoning my mother. I was choosing someone closer. Someone who needed me more than she did. I had made a solemn vow to Lily that I’d never let wolves come through the door for her, and I would keep that promise tonight.

For the first time in so many years, maybe all of my life, I willingly turned my responsibility for Mom over to someone else who could help and serve her.

I had to let her go.

Because I wouldn’t abandon Lily and Noelle at this moment. Not for a woman who left us years ago. All this time holding onto Mom had served its purpose, but it was time to release and grip something better.

Lily and Noelle were the reasons I could move forward, while I let someone take responsibility for others, for a while.

“Happy to help, Cade.”

“Thank you, Pastor Mike. I’m going to rely on you to keep an eye on Mom for now, send me text message updates whenever you want, or contact Cora.”

“You got it,” Pastor Mike said quickly. “I’ll be praying for you, your mother, and that little girl. God speed.”

I closed the phone, shoved it in my pocket, and looked at Wyatt.

“Let’s go get our girl!” I shouted.

Wyatt whooped his cowboy yell, spun his arm in a circle overhead, and the sound of twin engines roaring to life followed.

32

NOELLE

Hernandez returned to the house right after Cade and Wyatt sped away. He approached me with a solemn, but not hopeless, expression.

“Noelle, I’ve contacted the deputies in your parents’ county, and they also have an active BOLO for your parents and the Jeep you described. State troopers, deputies, and officers are alert and watching. If they find the Jeep, they’ll check to see if your parents provided a car seat, and ask them more questions. If they’re out on the highways or interstates, I’m pretty confident we’ll find them.”

Relieved that something was in motion, particularly if it kept Lily safe during transport, I said, “Thank you, Hernandez. That means so much.”

“I’ll stay in touch as soon as I hear anything, and I’ll be close to the radio until my shift ends at midnight. Cade has my number already. Do you need it?”

Nodding, I reached for my phone, then programmed his number inside, sending him a text message so he had mine.

“Thank you again.”

With a nod, he waved to Cora and Hawk and departed. Wind howled by the big window, and a winter storm warning alert pinged on my cell phone. I tried to ignore it. Loads of snow hadn’t fallen yet, and I hoped the weather would take a turn for the better.

Two trucks rumbled up the driveway shortly after Hernandez’s taillights faded. Cody appeared near the garage, leaping into the dually truck Cade often drove. Two of his best friends had come over; they planned to canvas the local roads and routes themselves, and let Hernandez know if they saw the Jeep.

A warm hand pressed into my upper arm, pulling me close. Cora put her arm around me, and the bracing side hug was a grounding, steadying gift. My heart didn’t feel so flighty or afraid.

“Do you think Cade is right?” I asked. “To follow a two-track road, of all things . . . my dad . . .”

Cora sighed. “Yes, I do think he’s right.”

“But—”

“It doesn’t make sense, I know. But my brother has instincts deeper than the Grand Canyon and a heart about as wide. He just . . . he knows things that make no sense. It happened when we were kids. He had some kind of sixth sense for when Mom was going to take a turn for the worse. He seemed to know when Child Protective Services might show up.” She squeezed me again before letting me go.

“If there’s anyone who could find Lily, it’s him.”

Cora sipped her tea. The smell of lemon drifted out of the cup, tinged slightly sweet. When my stomach growled, I realized I hadn’t served dinner. The boys hadn’t eaten before heading out, either. Despite great hunger, they jumped right to Lily’s rescue without question. Tears threatened at the realization.

This little family of mine loved us more than I had ever experienced before. I’d returned to my safe haven to find the circle of my grandparents’ love and safety continued. If my parents were unpredictable enough to take Lily with Cade, Wyatt, and Cody so close, they would have done it twice as quickly if I were alone. Had I been staying with Marsha, I couldn’t even say that she could have shielded me from them.