Page 46 of Before You Can Blink (Rust Canyon #4)

“If that were true, then why does he fight me at every turn?”

She hummed on a sigh. “Because you treat your dynamic within the business like a dictatorship, not a democracy. You’re stubborn and set in your ways—thinking you know best because you’ve been doing this longer—so you get hot under the collar when he makes a suggestion meant to streamline your operation.

He worries that you don’t trust him enough to hand over the reins. ”

“He tell you that?”

Lips pressed together, Daisy nodded. “You don’t make it easy on him, Jett. You have to know that.”

I tugged on the back of my neck as her words hit home.

My relationship with Tripp was very different from the one I shared with Aspen.

But between my son’s attachment first to his mama as a baby, and then to Penny as he grew, there hadn’t been much of a chance to develop a bond.

And then the all-consuming need to mold him into a tough enough man to withstand the rigors of ranch ownership took over, and I couldn’t be soft on him. He got enough of that from Daisy.

Settling herself onto my lap, my wife commanded all my attention.

“Tripp, and now Penny as his bride, are the future of Sullivan Ranch. You need to find a way to not only accept that but embrace it. I know it’s hard because you’ve been carrying the weight of responsibility for so long, but it’s time to share the burden.

Our boy’s strong enough that he won’t buckle, not when it means making his family proud. ”

Her hands cradled my face. “That’s all he wants, Jett, to make you proud. But you haven’t given him the freedom to try and do that.”

My arms banded around her waist, pulling her closer until my face was buried in her chest.

“You’ll be working against nearly thirty years of history, so I don’t expect it to be easy. But I’ll be happy so long as you put in an effort.”

“I’ll try.” The promise was muffled against her breast.

Seemingly pleased, she raked her fingers through my hair. “Good. ”

As always, Daisy brought calm to my soul. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that a storm was coming.

June

The soft ding of a text message on Daisy’s phone had my heart rate spiking.

Rushing into the kitchen, I panted out, “That Aspen?” We were waiting on an update from her latest doctor’s appointment.

My wife shook her head. “No, it was Rose. Wanted to know if I could help her and Bex set up the carnival games for the summer solstice event.”

“Oh, right. Forgot about that.” I rubbed against the tight ache in my chest that seemed to intensify as the days drew nearer to Aspen’s due date.

Enough time had passed that I’d been able to shove the trauma from Tripp’s birth into a box at the back of my mind. But with our daughter so close to delivering her first baby, all those memories came rushing back.

I couldn’t begin to count the number of times I’d woken up in a cold sweat these past few weeks. Every time I closed my eyes, I was back in that damn barn, paralyzed with fear while Daisy’s screams echoed in my ears.

We’d been so damn lucky there hadn’t been a complication with no help. I didn’t want to tempt fate twice.

Daisy’s eyes tracked the frantic movements I made over my flannel. “You okay?”

Flushing hot, it felt like my heart might explode. With the corners of my vision darkening, I could only manage a weak shake of my head.

Jumping into action, my wife guided me to a kitchen chair, kneeling between my open thighs. “Breathe, baby.”

If only it were that easy .

“Come on,” she coaxed, her hands sliding up the sides of my neck to cradle my face. “You’re gonna take some deep breaths for me, and then we’re gonna talk this out. Just like we always do.”

How did she always stay so damn calm?

Her soft touch and soothing words finally got me to a place where my lungs could fill with air, and I sagged in the chair, the panic attack having zapped all my energy.

Brushing the hair back from my forehead, she placed a kiss right in the center of it. “I’m going to get you a glass of water. I’ll be right back.”

I let out a shuddering exhale, scrubbing both hands over my face. I was fifty-five years old. Shouldn’t I have outgrown this shit by now?

A cool glass was pressed into my palm, and when I didn’t move to drink from it, Daisy maneuvered my limbs like I was a child until the rim reached my lips before tilting it enough that water flowed into my mouth.

Swallowing greedily, I drained the contents quickly, and Daisy set the glass aside.

“That better?”

“Not gonna be better until that baby’s here and I know both she and Aspen have come out the other side of it safe,” I confessed .

“Ah.” Daisy nodded in understanding. “So, that’s what this is about.”

She took my hand in hers, stroking a thumb over my knuckles.

“It can’t happen again,” I whispered weakly.

“Honey, it’s going to be fine.”

I shot out of my seat, shouting, “You can’t know that!” Tugging on my hair, I paced the kitchen. “We thought that too when—when—” I couldn’t even finish that sentence; I was so worked up again.

“Okay, okay.” My wife approached me slowly. “You’re right. We don’t know what the future holds. But what we do know is that Mac’s a trained EMT. He’s equipped to handle emergency situations, and believe it or not, has delivered more babies than you.”

Grunting, I muttered, “One was one too many.”

Light laughter sounded as she closed the distance between us, looping her arms around my waist. “On that, we can agree.” Face pressed to my chest, she said, “I’m sorry you’re struggling with all of this.

Especially when I can hardly remember what went down that day.

There’s a gap in my memory between when my water broke and when Tripp was placed in my arms. It’s like my brain blocked out all the hard parts in the middle. ”

My fingers tangled in her hair. “You’re better off for it.”

“Maybe,” she mused. “But the important thing to remember is that everything turned out just fine in the end.”

Before I could remark that we’d been insanely fortunate, her phone sounded from where it had been left discarded on the counter, and every muscle in my body tensed in unison.

Daisy stepped out of my arms. “I bet that’s Aspen now.”

Retrieving her phone, she returned to where I stood while scanning the message.

A smile curved on her lips as she turned the screen around to show me the ultrasound picture attached to a message from our daughter saying our granddaughter was nice and snug and showing no signs of coming early, making sure to note that news was much to her annoyance.

Like everything else, I could recall with crystal clarity how miserable Daisy had been, heavily pregnant in the heat of the summer.

While I felt sympathy for Aspen, she had the luxury of air conditioning—something we didn’t thirty years ago—so I sent up a silent prayer that that baby took after her mama, and they had to practically smoke her out .

July

“Where’s my baby girl?”

I pushed into the room—located inside a hospital, thank fucking God—shoving the privacy curtain aside, eyes searching.

Mac’s back was to us, but he spun around at the sound of my voice. A wide grin split his face as he dipped his chin toward the bundled infant held in his arms. “I’ve got her right here.”

Stepping forward, I gave his shoulder a squeeze on my way to where Aspen lay in the hospital bed.

Looking a little too pale for my liking, she gave me a tired smile. “Hi, Daddy.”

I bent at the waist to place a kiss on her forehead. Eyes sliding shut, I let the relief of seeing her safe wash over me before pulling back.

Voice gone thick, I asked, “Did you have a rough go of it?”

“Not sure it’s ever easy,” she teased weakly.

Humming my agreement, I conceded, “You might be right about that.”

“Um, hello? I made something crazy cute, and you blew right past her.” Mac’s pout was audible from behind me.

“Go.” Aspen jerked her head in the direction of her husband. “He’s about to wilt like a flower without water if he doesn’t get some attention soon.”

Leaning in closer, I said low, “Today’s not about him.”

“Don’t go tellin’ him that. He’s pretty damn proud he contributed to the creation of something so perfect.”

A corner of my lips turned up. “Perfect, you say? Guess I’d better get a look for myself, then. ”

Squeezing my daughter’s hand, I turned around to face Mac. “Sorry, bud. I had to check on my girl first.” My gaze dipped toward the baby he held. “I’m sure you’ll understand that soon enough.”

His brown eyes bulged. “Oh, hell no! No man is getting anywhere near my precious princess for at least thirty years.” Shaking his head, he corrected, “Make that forty.”

I wasn’t about to burst the man’s bubble on one of the happiest days of his life, so I let it drop.

Daisy extended her arms toward our granddaughter. “May I?”

Mac pulled the baby closer to his chest, and for a second, it almost looked as if he would deny my wife’s request to hold her. Heaving a heavy sigh, he let out a weary, “All right.”

When he carefully transferred the bundle containing our granddaughter to Daisy, a serene smile crossed her beautiful face as she swayed from side to side, her gaze firmly fixed on the infant in her arms.

“What’s her name?” I could hear the emotions welling up within her.

Extending a hand to stroke the tuft of dark hair at the top of the baby’s head, Mac announced, “Reagan Lily Blaze.”

Blue eyes filled with unshed tears lifted. “A beautiful name for a beautiful little girl.”

I stepped to my wife’s side, peeking down at the miracle she held.

Face slightly bruised from her trip down the birth canal, she had her eyes closed, and her pink lips were pursed.

Even with the dark hair, she looked exactly like her mama had when she was born.

They had the same button nose, and I wondered if she, too, would develop freckles over the bridge of it.

Heart swelling with love and a heavy dose of nostalgia, I dusted a kiss over the top of the baby girl’s head. “Hello, Reagan. We’ve been waiting for you. ”

Life had come full circle, and I’d never been more glad to have lived long enough to see it.