Page 47

“I know,” she responded, and she did know that. It was a gift in and of itself, and some piece of the many pieces that made up what she liked about him. She gave a little wave, then turned around in the lane and headed off the Tyler ranch and toward Mile High Adventures.

When she arrived at the pretty wood cabin that made up the main offices, she was about ten minutes later than she’d planned. Punctuality was one of those things Lilly was always getting on her over, and it was one of the things she had a hard time managing.

On a little sigh, Cora got out of the car and headed for the office. Before she even opened the door she heard the wailing of two babies. She could barely remember Micah’s being a baby, those sounds, and all the work that went with quelling them. She’d just been a tired heap of nerves, hoping she could find some way to make Stephen love her and take care of them.

She much preferred the present. She opened the office door to find the kind of chaos that had her pressing her lips together. Hayley and Sam were helplessly handing a screaming Aiden back and forth, while Tori awkwardly held Grace, and Skeet desperately jangled a rattle at her.

“Well. This is quite the picture.”

They all glanced at Cora, and, as if they were all of one mind, their expressions went from embarrassed to relieved in a New York minute.

“You know what to do with these things,” Tori said, moving toward her quickly. “Take it.”

“Tori,” Cora admonished, dropping her bag and taking the screaming bundle into her arms. Cora snuggled Grace close. “What’s a matter, baby? And who on earth left you with these people?”

“Lilly had some appointment, and Brandon and Will were supposed to be back before she had to go, but there was more damage to the trail than they thought, and they’re still out there clearing debris,” Sam explained, grimacing at the wailing baby in his arms.

“Then that madwoman left them with us,” Tori added.

“Grace is just hungry. Did Lilly leave bottles?”

“Yeah, but she said not till ten.”

Cora waved that away with one arm. “I’d wager Aiden needs a diaper change. Which one of you is going to take that?”

“I’ll get the bottles,” Hayley blurted, already rushing for the kitchenette.

Cora rolled her eyes. “Can’t believe you all are scared of a diaper change.” She marched over to Skeet and handed Grace off to him. He held the baby with an ease that surprised Cora, but he still looked extremely uncomfortable with her continued screaming.

Cora focused on the other crying baby and marched over to where Lilly had a little box of baby supplies. She set out everything she’d need before gesturing for Sam to give her Aiden.

With more care than necessary for thin glass let alone a child, Sam transferred the baby. It was sweet, all in all, and Cora couldn’t help but wonder if Lilly had orchestrated this whole thing so everyone would stop being so darn afraid of their new additions.

Cora expertly changed the diaper and talked Hayley through preparing the bottle. She made Sam take Aiden back, and, while he was still fussy, Cora instructed Sam to walk around the room while holding Aiden, and that calmed the baby down considerably.

Then, she ordered Skeet to hand Grace over to Tori, who sat on the couch. Cora talked her through feeding Grace her bottle.

“Thank God,” Hayley breathed, once both babies were happy. “I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

“Survived,” Cora said. “Just as Lilly intended.” But it felt good to be needed, to be useful. To be reminded therewerethings she was good at. Things were on the right track. Things were good.

Andshecould make them even better.

* * *

“How come you can’t teach them to shit in a box like a cat?” Micah asked, wiping his sweaty forehead with the back of his arm. Kid needed a haircut before the summer heat kicked in and—

And that was none of Shane’s business. It was getting a little hard to draw that line, because it felt like falling back into old habits. Having a younger kid around to worry about. No different than his siblings, because the kid had a mother who could take care of him fine and well just like his siblings had, but Shane felt a certain amount of responsibility, of stake in his good care.

Micah wiped his forehead again. They currently weren’t shoveling shit, so Shane didn’t know where the question had come from. Instead, they were fixing a warped part of the fence, a good primer in ranch maintenance.

The ranch didn’t particularly need another ranch hand, but having a kid around to do the grunt work was still a help for all of them. If Micah got good at it, learned some responsibility and horsemanship, he could work his way up to ranch hand in his teens.

That was probably thinking too far in advance, all in all, but Shane liked plans. He liked having a say in the future of this ranch.

What he did not like was the fact that he was going to have to take today as an opportunity to talk to Ben. Mom had driven down to Denver to go shopping with Lindsay and she wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. It assured Shane the kind of privacy he preferred.

Shane heaved a sigh, glanced at his watch. “Well, it’s three. Why don’t you run over to the stables and see if Molly’s ready for your lesson while I finish up here.”