Page 97 of Sudden Summer

“I’m sorry you weren’t able to do that with her. But I think deep down, she knew that you were a good man. And that’s why she put your name down. Even if she couldn’t pick up the phone to call you. Even if she couldn’t let you be a part of their lives before. She knew if something happened, you’d be there for Juniper. And you are. You’re the best dad, Beau.”

“I want it all with you, Birdie. Everything. I can’t wait to watch your belly grow big with our baby. Fuck. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I found that test.”

“Really?”

I nodded. “I’m scared that you don’t understand how much I love you, Bernadette Ford.”

She tipped her head up, pressing her lips against mine. “As much as I love how your name sounds with mine, I’m not a Ford.”

“Yes, you fucking are. It may not be on any legal document yet, but you are. You have been a part of this family for thirty years, and you’ve been my inevitable destiny for just as long. It was always us, beautiful. The Cowboy and his Chickadee. Always.”

“So if I told you I was sad the test was negative?”

His finger lifted my chin. “You were?”

“Maybe…”

“I’m sorry.” I pressed my forehead against hers.

“I’m ready to try,” she whispered. “I don’t know if you’re there yet, but we’re both getting older. It might take some time. And Juniper is still so little, I didn’t know if you would feel too overwhelmed if we had a baby really close to her.”

Her eyes went wide with panic and she gasped, reaching out to cover my heart with her hand. “I don’t want you to think that I am trying to have a biological child because I don’t love her just as much as I’d love a child I carried. I love her with my whole heart, Beau.”

“God, I know you do, sweetheart. I heard you singing to her the first day I went back to ranch duties. I heard what you told her. There has never been a doubt in my mind, but even if there was, the way you talked to her in that moment would have cleared my mind of them. The love in this household would just multiply. It will multiply when we give Juniper a sibling.” I studied her face, making sure my words sunk in.

“Can we start trying?”

Fuck, I could feel how much worry and hope was wrapped up in that question for her. “You don’t want a ring on your finger before we do?”

Birdie shrugged her shoulders. “We’re already family, aren’t we?”

“We absolutely are.”

“That’s all I need.” She smiled. “I want to try.”

I kissed her temple, then her shoulder, pushing my body down in our bed until my face hovered above her belly. And when I pressed a kiss there, I heard her breath halt in her chest. Birdie went completely still beneath my touch.

“Can’t wait to see you, carrying my baby.” I smiled. “But I feel like we are going to need lots of practice before we get it right. Probably should get started, shouldn’t we?”

Her body shook with laughter. “Practice sounds like an awful lot of fun, Cowboy.”

Birdie

My feet moved cautiously through the tall grass of the fields just down from our house. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about Alexis. Her baby was just a few weeks old when she was taken away from her. If things had gone differently that day, I would have been the one to help her come into the world. I wouldn’t have been there when Juniper first came home. But maybe there was something else I could have offered her. A different resource. A different path. I should have followed up. I should have done more.

My stomach cramped. The thought of going back to work at the hospital scared me. Even when the investigation completed and my privileges were back in place, I wasn’t sure I wanted to. That doubt had been there even before, with the pull to be with Beau and Juniper as much as possible, undeniable.

I couldn’t quit, though. There was still so much need in the community, but my heart hurt over the way the hospital was treating me, the lack of resources available to the patients who needed us the most. There was a glaring gap in our county, and I knew that if I just put my mind to it, I could figure out how to help.

Beau left before the sun was even kissing the horizon. And as much as I tried to listen to his order for me to go back to sleep after I made him breakfast, I couldn’t.

So I waited for Juniper to get up, and I got the both of us dressed. We’d been walking along the trail that looped behind our house, up to the barn and main house, then down to the well house across the street. We didn’t need any water, but there was the cutest little spigot on the side of the building that I could crack open and we could dip our toes in it. With the heat already climbing with the rising sun, it would be good to let her cool down a bit before we walked back to the house.

Just as the well house came into view, a sleek, silver car pulled into the parking lot beside the building. I smiled as I watched Nate step out of the car.

“Hey, Nate.” I raised my hand to wave at him as I got closer.

“Hey, Birdie! Have you met my girlfriend before?”