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Chapter Nine
Ted held the bottle for Second Best, his thoughts as far from baby horses as they could be. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Emma, and when Ginger had texted him to say that she’d spoken to Emma and she was okay for now, Ted’s relief had been instant and hot.
It had cooled quickly, because he knew Emma was not okay. He’d worked with plenty of people like her in his six years practicing law, and while she was very, very good at hiding how she really felt, when it came out, it gushed from her.
He’d felt her fear, experienced her anxiety as his own, and seen her run away, her flight instinct the only thing driving her.
He wondered where she’d gone, and how long she’d be away from the ranch. Hope Eternal didn’t feel as hopeful or as peaceful without her there, and that made no sense to him. When he’d talked to Nate in private, his best friend had suggested that Ted’s hormones might be a little out of sorts, since he hadn’t really interacted with a beautiful woman in a very long time.
Ted had considered it; conceded it. That could be true. He’d said, “I still know she needs help, Nate. Who better to help her but me?”
He wanted to be helpful and useful. He had to be. Otherwise, what was the point of his life? Why had he experienced what he had? Gone through what he’d endured?
“Please, God,” he whispered, and Second Best finished up his milk. “Good boy, bud,” he said to the horse. He did love the horses, and the babies had a special spirit about them.
He didn’t mind the extra work, especially if it would help someone who desperately needed it. When he finished in the stable, he cleaned up the bottles so he’d leave them the way he found them, and he headed back to the Annex.
Chocolate scented the air as he crossed the deck, and he found Connor and Spencer in the kitchen, spreading frosting over a cake. “Oh, boy,” Ted said, shutting the door quickly to keep the hot evening air out. “What have we got going on here?”
They did not serve cake in prison, and Ted couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten it. Oh, wait, yes he could. That day at his office party. That cake had been disgusting, with that slimy shortening frosting they used at the grocery store.
The light brown frosting Connor had on his knife, his knuckles, and his face looked so much better. “Cake, Uncle Ted,” he said. “I made it with Daddy, but he had to go check on a sprinkler.”
“He did, huh?” Ted grinned at the little boy, who’d climbed right up onto the countertop to frost the cake. He glanced at Spencer. “Problems with the sprinkler?”
“It’s going to be the death of all of us,” Spencer said. “Thus, the cake.” He reached for Connor and picked him up. “Come on, bud. Let’s have a piece of cake and you need to get in the tub so you’re nice and clean when your daddy comes home.”
Just thinking of Nate as a dad made Ted think about his own desire to have a family. He did want a wife and kids; he just hadn’t thought the best years of his life for obtaining them would be spent in prison.
Spencer cut the cake and served them before walking over to the stairs and calling down, “Jack, Bill, there’s cake.”
“Comin’!” one of them called while Ted got forks out of the drawer. He handed one to Connor and helped him onto a barstool—a better place for a boy to eat his cake. The other cowboys came upstairs, and the noise level grew.
They talked about the Marvel movie they were watching, and Ted just listened. He hadn’t seen what they were talking about—and a lot of other stuff. Thankfully, they didn’t ask him what he’d thought of the movie or even if he’d seen it. They probably knew he hadn’t.
After all, he wasn’t the first prisoner they’d hosted at the ranch. He hoped he was the best, but he’d come after Nate, which meant he wouldn’t be the best.
“Come on,” Ted said to Connor the moment he finished his last bite of cake. “Time for a bath.”
“Can I have another piece of cake?” Connor asked.
“After you’re in your pajamas.” Ted lifted the boy into his arms and carried him into the bathroom. He said, “Get undressed. You want bubbles?”
“Yeah, the blueberry ones,” Connor said, fumbling with the button on his shorts. Ted got the water going, making sure not to make it too hot. He poured in some of the blueberry liquid, making a face at the light blue bubbles that immediately started to foam up.
“Thanks, Uncle Teddy,” Connor said, and his voice was so sweet and so angelic that Ted couldn’t help smiling at him. His tiny hand landed on Ted’s thigh as he steadied himself to step over the edge of the tub, and he giggled as he sat down in the bubbles.
“Be sure to wash behind those ears,” Ted said, wondering when he’d turned into his father. He’d spoken to his dad for a couple of minutes last night, and he and Shane were coordinating when they could come see Ted.
Nate would take him to visit them too, but it was hard to get away from the ranch. And taking two men from the ranch for a whole day wouldn’t make Ginger very happy.
“Shoot,” Ted said, his heart leaping into the back of his throat. “Ginger.” He pulled his phone from his back pocket and dialed her.
“Hey, Ted,” she said. “You’re waiting for me in the West Wing, aren’t you?” The wind blew across her receiver, telling Ted she was outside.
“I’m actually sitting in the bathroom with Connor while he takes his bath,” Ted said, though he could’ve let her think she was late. “I just now remembered we were supposed to meet tonight.”
“I’m exhausted,” she said. “Let’s do it in the morning, right after you finish with the foals.”
