Page 108 of Sudden Summer

“You’ll do right by her,” I said, feeling the smile grow on my face as Beau looked at me. “I have a good sense of outcomes when fatherhood is dropped on someone’s lap. You’ll be just fine.”

Rory’s eyes went wide for a second before he smiled back at me. “Thank you.”

As Rory left the room, I felt the weight of everyone’s glare resting back on me. “Jeepers, guys. I’m really not that interesting.”

“No,” Hawk smirked, “but that envelope in your hands is.”

“Hawk!” Jessie’s hand landed sharply on his arm. “That’s their business, not ours.”

“It’s fine. I’m curious to see what it says, too.” I slipped my finger under the glued edge, popping open the flap before several pieces of paper came out and laid in front of me.

I wasn’t a lawyer, and some of the words on the first page were confusing, but when my eyes landed on a dollar sign with several zeros after it, I couldn’t hold in my shock.

“What does it say?” Jessie gasped as I dropped my head and closed my eyes.

“They’re going to cover all of my medical expenses.”

“As they should,” Beau grumbled.

“And…”

“And?” His eyes met mine the instant I found the strength to open them.

“And, they’ve offered me a settlement if I agree to not seek further damages.”

“How much?” Jessie asked.

“Thirty-five million dollars,” I whispered.

“What?” Beau choked as he grabbed the papers from my hand. “Oh my God. Holy shit. That doesn’t seem real.”

“It’s got to be. The Buchanan Group is the sole owner of Whispering Winds Ranch in Goldfinch Falls. They’re worth billions. I knew that last name sounded familiar.” Hawk slipped his hand over Jessie’s.

“We’ve driven by that ranch a bunch when we go up to visit Nash and Lacy.” Jessie’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit, Birdie. What are you going to do?”

Lord, help me. “I’m going to work on getting discharged, and back home to Juniper. I’m going to figure out what the hell life is supposed to look like now that I never want to step foot inside a hospital again. And I’m going to try to find a way to honor Alexis, too. Because no matter what anyone says, there was more I could have done for her. This offer doesn’t change any of that.”

Beau

Three months later…

I slipped Juniper’s chunky leg into the bottom of her sleep sac. Jessie had been right—at eight months, our berry girl had gone through some sort of sleep regression that was taking its toll on all of us. But Birdie found these little sleeping bag contraptions where Juniper could have her arms out and still feel snug—I don’t know. All I knew was our girl loved them, and she was back to sleeping through the night.

“Shall we go downstairs? It’s the perfect night to rock on the porch.”

Summer was here. I was back to managing things on the ranch, although Denver was happy to take on more responsibilities—and more pay—when he became the lead hand at the Silver Ridge Ranch. I was fucking thrilled to spend less time with the cattle. In fact, I’d given Birdie a desk right next to mine in the office, and more often than not, found myself wandering from my ranch duties to help figure out something with starting up her non-profit.

She was still recovering. Some days wore her out more than others, but I kept a close eye on her. And I wouldn’t fucking apologize for it, even when someone in my family tried to tease me for it. Almost losing her like that…fuck. No. Never again.

The intense summer heat smacked me right in the chest as I opened the front door. We learned that Juniper loved to fall asleep while she was nice and toasty, but slept better when her room was ice cold. She had two fans going, and we had the AC set just for her.

Birdie smiled as we walked out, setting her beer on the porch railing before reaching out for Juniper. “Bring her over here. I’m ready to enjoy this sunset as a family.”

“She’s ready for you.”

“Hey, berry girl. Come give your mama some kisses.”

I set Juniper down in Birdie’s arm, watching as she swirled the bottle of formula in her hand before bringing it to Juniper’s lips. My head lowered, pressing a kiss to Juniper’s foot through the sleep sack before my lips made their way to Birdie’s raised scar.