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Glancing down at the baby, B.J. was surprised to see his lids flutter drowsily.
“See, there he goes,” Jo Ellen added. She set a hand on B.J.’s shoulder. “I’m going to take those cinnamon rolls off the pan and put them on a plate. Call if you need anything.”
B.J. nodded but didn’t bother to look up. She barely even heard the quiet pad of Jo Ellen’s feet as she exited the room; she was too busy studying the features of the baby’s perfect little face. Experimentally, she reached out and twined one of his blond curly locks around her finger. The fine hair had to be the softest she’d ever touched.
Still in a state of petrified shock, she felt herself grin. She’d visited Buck’s house a few times after his daughter had been born. But on all those occasions, his baby had done nothing but wail. It was startling to see they were sometimes quiet too. Hell, she might be able to put up with the crying if she had some of these precious, cuddly moments.
Suddenly it didn’t matter what the Rawlings took away from her and did to her family—no way on earth could she give up her baby. She wanted a child, her own child, to look up at her with big, curious eyes just like Tanner Gerhardt was.
Sensing someone in the doorway, B.J. lifted her head. “I think he’s asleep,” she said. But it wasn’t Jo Ellen returning. Instead, it was Cooper, Jo Ellen’s husband. He leaned in the doorway, munching on a cinnamon roll, watching her coo at his son with a raised eyebrow.
“Hey, Coop,” she whispered as she sent him a smile in greeting. “I hope you don’t mind. I’m going to practice on your kid until mine comes along.”
Cooper slipped into the room and neared the rocking chair to look down at his sleeping son. “Just don’t break him,” he said quietly, obviously having already talked to Jo Ellen.
B.J. flipped him off but quickly lowered her hand and glanced down to make sure the baby was still sleeping and hadn’t seen the gesture. Cooper chuckled softly and crouched to his haunches so he could lay a soft kiss on his son’s hair. B.J. watched Cooper lovingly nuzzle his nose against the infant’s cheek.
“Remember when we fooled around once?” she said, suddenly recalling a long-ago event she hadn’t even thought of in years.
Cooper choked on the cinnamon roll in his mouth and tripped in his haste to stand upright.
“Jesus, B.J.!” he yelped, jerking a few steps away. “What the hell?”
“Shh,”
she hissed. “Don’t wake the baby.”
“Well, what in God’s name are you doing mentioning that?” he hissed back. “It happened a long time ago. And my wife is in the other room, for God’s sake.”
She nodded. “I know. I just wanted to say I’m glad we didn’t do anything more. . .you know. That’s all.”
Coop nodded as well and stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “Okay,” he answered. “I’m glad too.”
B.J. smiled. “I really like Jo Ellen. And I’d hate to feel awkward around her for some mistake we’d made twenty centuries ago.”
Coop couldn’t respond this time. He just nodded, unable to make eye contact.
“She’s the one, isn’t she?” she pressed.
“What?” he asked, looking confused and then glancing anxiously toward the door.
“The woman you were all depressed about that night. It was Jo Ellen, wasn’t it?”
“Oh. Ah. . .yeah. It was her.”
“Well, I’m glad everything worked out for you two,” B.J. said. “You got a sweet wife and a really good kid here.”
“Thanks,” Coop replied, “. . .I think. Just don’t go mentioning that night again, okay?”
B.J. winked, and Coop suddenly seemed like he was in a hurry to leave.
But when he reached the doorway, he stopped and glanced back. Cocking his head to the side, he studied her thoughtfully.
“What?” she demanded. “Am I doing something wrong?” She looked down at the baby in worry.
Cooper smiled as he shook his head. “No. Tanner’s fine. I just realized. . . You’re actually a soft touch, aren’t you?”
She frowned. “Excuse me?”
