Cole realized how crazy this was going to sound. “Have you noticed how much they look like me? Especially Colin.”
“I’ve only seen them for a few minutes the day you had them over to swim in the pool. But yes, it did make me wonder. She hasn’t told you who their father is?”
“No. And I haven’t asked. She’s a single mom. It’s incredibly insensitive.”
“Of course. There’s no good way to bring it up.”
“Exactly.” At least Sam seemed to understand how he was feeling. “But there’s this feeling in my gut that says they’re my boys. I have to know. I just need to know if I’m off base.”
“Will that change the way you feel about Dani? Could you forgive a woman for keeping your children a secret for that long?”
Cole ran his hands through his hair and looked his brother square in the eye. “I don’t want to waste any more time in my life, Sam. I have to forgive her. My heart won’t survive it if we can’t find a way to make it work. One half of that job is mine, which means I have to forgive.”
“And how will you feel if they aren’t yours?”
Cole shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t know if it would make a lick of difference. I’d still adore them. I’d still want to be in their lives.”
Sam grinned sideways. “You know, I watched you that day in the pool with the boys. You were having so much fun. And I’ve seen you with Dani, It’s like you didn’t skip a beat. If ever there was a family just waiting to be put together, it’s the four of you.”
Cole smiled and nodded slowly, looking out the window of his room. Another beautiful, sunny day in Royal—clear blue sky and a few fluffy clouds. It was the perfect day for turning life around. And now that he’d had the chance to talk out his feelings with Sam, he felt all the more ready to do the same with Dani. Everything else he’d have to put in her hands.
Cole changed into his regular clothes while Sam went outside to make a phone call. Once the paperwork was complete and Cole got the all clear, Sam insisted on driving him straight out to the ranch. “I don’t feel great about you driving yet. We can get your truck from Dani’s later,” he’d said. As soon as he dropped Cole off at the main house, he left. “I need to check on some things in the barn. I’ll see you later.”
Cole headed straight upstairs and immediately climbed into the shower to wash off that hospital smell and hopefully start to feel a bit more human. With a clean pair of jeans and T-shirt, and his mind mostly straight, he knew he had to reach out to Dani. Maybe she could come over tonight so they could talk. It might take hours, but they had to arrive at some understanding. He hoped like hell that at the end of all of it, they concluded that they should be together. He wasn’t sure he could handle the heartbreak of the alternative.
He bounded downstairs in search of his cell phone, which he’d left on the kitchen counter. As soon as he pressed Dani’s number, he could’ve sworn he heard laughter, and not just any laughter. Kids.The boys.He walked into the living room with the phone pressed to his ear. The call was still ringing as he opened the front door. The boys made a beeline for his front steps. He hadn’t imagined this. This was real.
“Hello?” Dani said into the phone, a tentative grin on her face as she climbed out of the minivan. “I was hoping we could talk.”
“Good. Me, too,” he answered.
“I’ll hang up now.” She closed the driver’s side door and started heading for him, but he couldn’t get a handle on what she was thinking. There was part of him that still worried she was here to tell him she just couldn’t get past everything he’d kept from her. “How are you feeling?”
“A lot better now that you’re here.” Cole was slow to tuck his phone into his pocket, even after she’d hung up. He didn’t want to risk wasting a second of their conversation, even when the boys were now hanging on him, tugging on his shirt and begging to go see Gentry.
Dani arrived at the base of the staircase. The late-afternoon sun lit up the side of her face, making her somehow even more beautiful than usual. “Do you have some time for me?”
“Always.” Out of the corner of his eye, Cole saw Sam walking out of the stable and heading for the house. Cole crouched down. “Hey, Colin and Cameron, your mom and I have something to talk about. Do you want to spend some time with Sam and see how the new foal is doing? She still doesn’t have a name yet. I was hoping you two could think of one.”
The boys turned and saw Sam, then tore off down the stairs. Cole followed them. “I’ll be right back,” he said to Dani, then caught up with his brother. “Do you mind taking the boys to see the foal? I was thinking that they might be able to give her a name.”
Sam swiped his sunglasses from his face. “Time to straighten things out with their mom?”
“You know it. This could take a while. I’ve got a lot to apologize for.”
Sam clapped his brother on the back. “You need to stop being so hard on yourself.”
“A man messes up, he needs to take responsibility.”
“True. You did mess up.” Sam glanced behind him. The boys were waiting patiently at the stable doors. “I’d better go catch up with those two.”
“Thank you.” Cole watched as his brother sidled down to Cameron and Colin. He felt a tug on his heart just looking at those boys. They were his. He knew it. But he sure as heck wanted to hear Dani say it.
He turned back to the house and there Dani was, sitting on the top step of the porch. The breeze blew her glossy dark hair from her shoulders, and the sun was now lighting up the other side of her beautiful face. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t want this to be his entire life—Dani and the boys, on the ranch. It was all he wanted.
Dani stood when she spotted him heading back. She spoke as soon as he was within spitting distance. “I don’t care what you’re facing, Cole. I don’t care what’s going on. I’m here for you.”
He climbed the stairs, stopping on the step below her. “I appreciate that. A lot.” Even though that made him feel a bit better, his heart was still pounding in his chest.
