Page 38 of Disarming The Rancher

The image of Raleigh holding a newborn, correction, their newborn imprinted on his thoughts. He didn’t even want kids. Maybe some point way in the future. Way down the road. Not now. Not this soon.

He performed a mental head slap as they strolled into the kitchen, hand in hand.

A few eyebrows raised but conversation didn’t miss a beat.

The coffee pot was full and smelled fresh. He grabbed two mugs as she went for the carafe. They worked like a well-oiled machine and when their fingers grazed, her emerald eyes sparkled.

He tried not to think about how much it was going to hurt when the case was cleared and she walked out the door.

Raleigh introduced him to the guys at the table; Buck, Jake, Willie, and Tim. As she finished another pair came downstairs. They were Randy and Hardy. Kenny joined them last, looking just as cranky as he had last night.

“Good,” Raleigh said. “I’m glad everyone’s here.”

She walked over to the table and sat down.

“We need to have a conversation about Wade before he gets here later,” she said. “We’ll have a decision to make.”

A look passed between Tim and Randy that Brax noted.

Angel fussed, making the most adorable sounds.

“That’s our cue.” Adam and Prudence stood up.

“Don’t let us run you out of your own kitchen,” Raleigh said.

“Not a problem. This little one needs some playroom time,” Prudence said as she gently bounced. She really was a natural with Angel. Hadn’t Adam said something about her not seeing herself as parent material either.

Strange, Brax thought, because she stepped right in with Angel and had been amazing. If he didn’t know better, he’d say she was a natural.

Then again, meeting the right person seemed to change Adam in all kinds of positive ways. Brax wouldn’t have pinned his brother as father material. Heck, Adam would have said so himself. He’d committed to a single life after having his heart broken. Funny how much a day could make a difference in someone’s life.

There’d come a day very soon when Raleigh would leave. Brax had a feeling he’d remember that day for a long time to come.

“I can check on—”

“Why don’t you stick around?” Raleigh asked before Brax could finish his sentence.

“Since when is he part of the band?” Kenny shot off as he poured a cup of coffee.

“His lawyer is the reason I finally got the financial documents I’ve been requesting from Wade,” she quipped. “He’s also the reason Wade decided to show here. So, I’m inviting him to stick around.”

She glanced at the faces around the table.

“No one had a problem when Randy or Willie’s girlfriends came on the road with us,” she said. “They heard us write new songs.”

“I don’t have a problem,” Tim said. The others echoed the same sentiment.

Kenny stormed over and took a chair. “Then I guess I don’t either.”

“Good. It’s settled,” she said.

Brax stayed over by the coffee machine. He’d been sitting all night and his legs were sore.

“Will he be coming on the road with us?” Kenny asked. The rim of his mug seemed to become real interesting to him.

“If he wants to,” Raleigh fired back. She knew full well that wasn’t going to happen. Brax figured this was another way to tell Kenny nothing was going to happen between the two of them. Not now. Not in the future.

And if her words didn’t convince him, the look she gave next would.