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“He’s precious,” Pops said, smiling over at her.
“Well, he will have plenty of littles to play with.” Tate chuckled. “Katie, Henry, the bigger kids. You will always have playdates, just say the word. We all know how much a little one can take out of you.”
“Thank you. I really do appreciate that. He’s why I came back home. I had to admit defeat. School, work, daycare…I was drowning.”
“It’s not defeat, sweetheart,” Mrs. McCall said, her eyes locked on her daughter and grandson.
“Defeat isn’t always bad, Mama. I came home where I knew we would be safe. A fresh start. Vet school won’t be going anywhere.”
“I’m glad you came back. I missed you.” She turned to face me. “You left me with Paul and Jamison. Do you know how much of a pain in the butt they are?”
“You forget I know you all, and it’s an equal dose of pain…” She laughed when I poked her side. I wasn’t thinking, and it disturbed the baby. I took him from her, loving that he curled in against my chest, quieting down with the slight rocking.
“Whoa, are you magic?” She turned in the spot, staring at me.
My lips tipped up, and I shrugged my shoulder. The one that wasn’t currently screaming at me. What had I done to it? I looked from her to the baby in my arms, the bottle back to his mouth.
“He’s the baby whisperer in this family. He could always do the same with Abbie. Used to tick me off that as soon as he got her, she would settle down,” Tate said, a fond smile on his face. “All of the babies are like that now. Even Jon’s little one, Henry, who only ever wants his mama.”
I closed my eyes and relaxed back on the couch. Everyone was talking babies, and I just wanted to push them out of here so I could have Keisha all to myself. When my eyes opened again, they locked on her beautiful face.
“He’s asleep; I can take him to his crib.”
“No, he’s fine, really.” I took her hand in mine, ignoring the fact that my knuckles were on fire. Damn Easton and his brick-hard face.
“We’re going back out to finish our business. Daniel, good riding and fighting out there. You, young man, are all right.”
I chuckled. “Thank you, sir.”
“We’ll get the horses loaded up. Give us about twenty, then we’ll head back to the ranch, son.” Pops stood, cracking his back.
“Sure thing, Pops.”
When the room was cleared, I tugged her to my side, loving the warmth she brought to me. I’d apparently closed my eyes again because the next thing I knew, Tate was shaking my leg.
“Hey, Danny, wake up, bud. You gotta give the little one back to his mama so we can head home. Ma has supper waiting.”
“I’m up. Dang.” I looked from him to a smiling Keisha. “You and Atticus should come over for supper.” I winced, trying to shift myself off the couch. I’d gotten stiff as a board.
“No, I couldn’t—”
“You should. It would be good for him and the rest of us. Babies make everything much easier. Trust me, Ma will take one look at his face and lose her mind. Having you and the baby there may help us all from getting skinned because her precious baby boy got into a fight.” Tate let out a booming laugh.
“Ass. It’s not that bad. Jesus. I’m not a baby.”
“Bud, you will always be her baby. No matter how old you get. Just like the rest of us.”
“Let me check with my parents. Make sure they don’t have plans tonight.”
“Sure thing.” She took Atticus from me, and I felt a loss of his warmth.
“You sure you want to go inside and join in the Cannon chaos?”
“Yeah, it’s not like this is my first time meeting them or something. I’ve literally known you guys my entire life.” Her smile grew as she reached up to cup my cheek. “I won’t let them eat you alive. Promise.”
“They’ll know by now what happened.” My anger started to boil again. I just needed five more minutes with Easton. Fucking prick.
Her hand dropped as did her eyes. I watched as she took in a breath and let it out, shifting Atticus in her arms. “I know, it’s okay. I can’t run from the past. I won’t anymore. It’s made me who I am right now. It gave me my son who I love so much.”
