“I’m happy to do it.” He’d never before felt that the chance to give someone a ride was a prize, but he sure felt that way right now.
“Great. As long as you don’t get any ideas about what this means. We’re just in need of a ride. That’s it.”
Cole fought the sigh that wanted to leave his lips. “Don’t worry. You’ll get no ideas from me.”
“Good. Thank you. I appreciate it. Let me get their boosters.” Dani headed over to the minivan, where Elena was a step ahead, pulling out the boys’ car seats. Dani waved goodbye to Elena, who drove off a moment later.
“What do you boys want to see first?” Cole asked.
“Horses!” Cameron didn’t hesitate with his answer.
“How about you, Colin?” Cole asked.
“That sounds fun. As long as it’s okay with you.”
Cole arched his eyebrows at Dani and put on his sunglasses. “Horses it is.”
The boys tore off, Cameron leading the way down to the stables.
“I noticed you can tell the boys apart.” Dani was right at his side as they strolled along.
“It’s more from the way they talk than their appearance. Colin hangs back a little bit. Cameron’s more outgoing.”
“Ever the detective, huh? Always observing.”
“I couldn’t stop if I wanted to.” What he really wanted to say was that Colin looked and acted a lot like him—same faint freckles, same need to observe before speaking. But again, he had to wonder if his mind was playing tricks on him, if this was all just projection because a part of him wanted a connection to Dani. Even if they couldn’t be together as a couple, perhaps they could be close again. As intense and passionate as their relationship had once been, they’d always been great friends. He’d have been lying if he’d said he didn’t want at least that much again.
When they got to the barn, Cole quietly let Colin and Cameron know what was in store. “Boys, we have a brand-new foal in the barn. A baby horse. She was just born this morning, so we have to be real quiet around her. We don’t want to spook her or her mama, okay?”
“Can you do that?” Dani asked.
Mouths zipped tight, both boys nodded in agreement, their eyes wide as saucers. Cole adored their sweet innocence. It was such a wonderful change of pace from the usual things he dealt with—grueling ranch work and chasing evil men.
“Okay, then. Let’s go.” Cole led them over to the far end of the barn. One of the ranch hands was watching closely, arms resting on the gate to the stall. Cole realized then that they’d have to pick up the boys for them to see. He wanted to give Peanut and her new baby all the privacy they deserved.
Dani scooped up Cameron, and with a nod, let Cole know it was okay for him to do the same with Colin. Cole held on tight to the boy, struggling a bit with how to best hold him. He didn’t want to drop him. Dani demonstrated, putting Cameron on her hip. Cole followed her lead, and that made things much better. They crept toward the stall and there was the mama horse, eating away while the foal suckled. The boys were both completely still and silent, just watching. Peanut pulled away from her food and let out a blow, probably curious about her visitors. The foal unlatched from the teat and took a few unsteady steps around the stall, shaking and hobbling. Cole watched in awe, just as he had a hundred times before. This was one of Cole’s favorite parts of being a rancher—new life. He loved it when the animals gave birth and there were babies around to care for.
“Wow,” Colin whispered right into Cole’s ear. “She can walk already?”
Cole grinned. “She can.”
Dani and Cole put the boys back down on the ground and led them out of the barn. As soon as they were out of earshot of Peanut, the boys were full of questions.
“Why was the baby sucking on the mama’s belly?” Cameron asked.
“That’s where she gets the milk,” Cole answered.
“I don’t understand how a horse can walk right after being born. Doesn’t she need to learn how to do that?” Colin asked.
Cole was ready to give him the nickname of Mr. Professor. “They’re just born knowing how to do it. Pretty cool, huh?”
“I’ve seen pictures of us when we were first born, and we were very small and wrapped up in blankets. I don’t think we were able to do much more than cry,” Colin said.
Cole swallowed hard as that picture popped up in his head. If these were his boys, he’d missed out on a lot. First steps, first words and—certainly from Colin—first questions. At some point, he was going to have to just come out and ask Dani the hard question, but not in front of the boys. It wasn’t right. And if he was being honest with himself, the answer scared him. If she’d kept this from him, she’d had her reasons. Dani didn’t do anything without good cause.
“Would you boys like to get up on a horse? Go for a ride around the pen?” Cole asked.
“Yes, please,” Cameron said.
