Page 96 of Rocky Mountain Devil

“Soap. Right. And water.” Matt was wide-eyed and breathing fast.

“Water is a great idea,” Rafe agreed, failing to keep his amusement hidden. He looked forward to teasing Matt about this for years to come.

Laurel glanced between them, her nose wrinkling. “And Rafe’s going to give you his shirt.”

“My shirt?” Oh hell. Rafe hadn’t even noticed. Matt had come straight from the barn, and there was straw in his hair and other not-so-fresh things on his clothes. “Yes. My shirt,andmy pants,” Rafe offered.

Matt was ready to strip right there in the hallway, but between him and Laurel, they got Matt into the oversized bathroom with the door closed and Laurel safely on the outside before anyone got naked.

A whole lot of imaginative cussing escaped Matt’s lips, and by the time he was clean and dressed in Rafe’s clothes, his cousin had reached his utter limit and was spoiling for a fight.

“I want to see my wifenow,” he demanded as he burst into the hallway.

“Right here.” Laurel stood halfway down the hall, and she pushed open the door beside her. Matt took off at a dead sprint, skidding around the corner and into the wall before he vanished.

“Good luck,” Rafe called, stopping outside the door to give them some privacy. Laurel hung back as well, the two of them exchanging huge grins.

“Well,thatwas exciting.” Laurel tucked her fingers around his arm, guiding him back toward the elevator.

“For a second there, I thought I was going to be delivering the kid, right there in the middle of the library,” Rafe said. “Grabbing Matt was a whole lot better.”

“You would have done fine if you were needed.” She sniffed, glancing at him and shaking her head as she backed away as far as she could. “Nowyoustink.”

“Think Hope will appreciate Matt not smelling like a cow’s backside?”

“I think so.” Laurel laughed with him. “I need to get back to work. Becky said she’d call when there’s news.”

Rafe kissed her goodbye in the parking lot, watching her go.

It seemed he’d barely made it back to Angel land when his phone vibrated and an email came through. Sent to the entire list of Colemans—Becky was using Hope’s phone, and she still hadn’t figured out the concept of BCC, adding one name one after another.

Hope and Matt are pleased to announce the arrival of Colton Coleman. Eight pounds, fifteen ounces, twenty-three inches. Everyone is healthy. Matt says Colt will be at Traders, dancing and breaking hearts by this coming Friday. Hope just rolled her eyes.

He’s beautiful!

Love from Becky.

p.s. Someone has to tell me what “Got ya, Blake” means.

The attached picture showed a bundle of quilted fabric around a crinkled little face, the baby’s eyes open, but not focused on anything. Typical kid—he looked like a tiny, wrinkled gnome.

Newborn animals were far prettier, but maybe if it were his own kid, Rafe might feel differently. Maybe if it were a baby girl with ice-blue eyes and fair hair like her mama…

The thought kicked his butt for a long time as he tried to decide what to do with it.

Back at the start of summer it had seemed so simple. Even in September, but now? Now there was a whole lot more history to their story, andfriends plus moremight not be enough.

Might not be nearly enough.

Not a week after the excitement of Colton’s arrival, Troy Thompson called Laurel out of the blue. “Need your help. Since you’re Nic’s best friend, and all, I figured you’d like to get in on this.”

“What are we doing, surprise party? You know it’s not her birthday, right?”

“We’re getting married,”

“Seriously? She never said a word—”

“She doesn’t know yet,” Troy said with a laugh. “Here’s the deal…”