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“Remember, Patti,” Nanny Clara said, touching her shoulder gently, “we’re all here for you.”
But even though she was surrounded by love, she felt desperately alone.
*
Trent walked outside the bounds of the ranch, the open country stretching out before him like an endless canvas of dry, bleak beauty. The dark night sky was a tapestry of stars, casting an almost magical glow over the landscape. Trent’s heart was way too heavy to appreciate it, though.
He needed space. Needed to be alone. Not just away from people, but away from the very buildings of the ranch. He needed to just be Trent.
As he walked, he wrestled with the turmoil inside him, feeling as though he had made a terrible mistake. Perhaps he shouldn’t have a relationship, ever. To be at his best, he needed to work alone, to be alone. To live alone.
Of course, being with Patti had felt good. It had felt like heaven.
He didn’t deserve it.
He deserved hard work. He deserved to be the servant to the animals he shared the ranch with. He deserved solitude and the lonely calm of his own thoughts.
What had possessed him to think that he could be a good Daddy to Patti? Look at what he was doing right now, this very instant!
She had needed him, maybe more than ever before, but he’d been selfish. He’d abandoned her. This wasn’t what a Daddy should be doing.
He sighed, his sad eyes scanning the pale, inky horizon.
A lone wolf. That’s what you are. Separate from your brothers. Separate from Patti. Separate from society.
Trent barely noticed the movement in the distance until it caught his eye—a wolf, or at least it looked like one. It was a silhouette against the pale purple sky.
A lone hunter, sleek and powerful under the starry sky. He paused in his tracks, watching the majestic creature with a mix of awe and envy. He couldn’t believe it. This was the universe sending him as clear of a message as anyone had ever been given.
But then, as if summoned by an unseen force, another wolf appeared, joining its companion. Trent’s breath caught in his throat as he watched the two shapes, snuggling up against each other, providing warmth and comfort in the cold night.
Both of them, alone, together.
The blood in his veins flowed, and something deep within Trent stirred, igniting a fierce determination.
He couldn’t give up; he had to support his Little.
With renewed purpose, Trent turned. He strode, each step larger and wider than the last. It wasn’t long before he was back at the ranch’s boundary, and then, he was approaching the Little House.
He pushed the nursery door open gently, and he saw her; his love, sleeping peacefully in Nanny Clara’s arms. Seeing her like this tugged at his heart, filling him with an overwhelming need to protect and care for her.
Clara smiled encouragingly as he stepped forward.
“Hey, Patti,” Trent whispered gently, reaching out to brush a stray hair from her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open, sleep still lingering in their depths.
“Daddy?” she murmured, slowly coming to her senses. “I missed you. I need you.”
“Sorry, babygirl,” Trent apologized, regret heavy in his voice. “I should’ve been here with you.”
“Sorry too, Daddy,” Patti said, her voice barely audible. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“Shh, it’s okay,” Trent reassured her, lifting her carefully from Clara’s embrace and cradling her in his arms. “We’ll get through this together.”
The kiss was solace, her arms were safety, their love was the only shield he’d ever need.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Sadly,Trenthadbeento more than his fair share of funerals.
