The Cowboy's Unexpected Baby, page 11
The watch on her wrist buzzed and she thought she might cry. It was time to feed Garrett’s baby goat who, as the runt of the litter of triplets, was improbably named Hercules and was currently in her guest bathroom because he couldn’t keep his body temp up.
Any other time, she’d be thrilled to feed a baby goat. He was the size of a toy poodle and adorable. But her feet were so tired, she couldn’t feel them anymore. Three infants plus goat were no joke.
Not to mention, the antibiotics she was on after her dip into the floodwaters were making her sick to her stomach. Super fun.
“Time to feed the goat.” She hauled herself to her feet. The other two newborn kids were in one stall in the barn with their mother. The rest of the goats were in stall number two. Lacey and Garrett were on their way with a couple of horses to stay in stalls number three and four. The rest of the animals had either been moved to pasture on higher ground or were staying with other people.
The rattle of a horse trailer on the gravel driveway alerted her to Garrett’s arrival. She peeked out the window as he parked in the lit area of the yard and slid out of the farm truck. In his cowboy hat and jeans, Garrett fully looked the part of a rancher today.
Jules stopped at the window beside her and hummed appreciatively. “I love a good cowboy hat.”
Abby laughed. “Get out of here and back to your children. It looks like reinforcements have arrived.”
“If you’re sure, I’ll grab Micah and head home. The other kids are going to be hungry and as good as my oldest is with the kids, he is a terrible cook.” Jules slung a diaper bag over her shoulder and reached into the play area for Micah, stopping on her way to the door to give Abby a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. Thanks for letting me hang out with you today.”
“I couldn’t have managed without you.” Abby heard a thin bleat from the bathroom. “And I better get in there before he wakes up the human babies. See you tomorrow.”
When Abby opened the door to the bathroom, Hercules bounded out. She scooped him up into her arms. He was black and white and fluffy and nuzzled her face with his nose. “Poor Hercules, you have no idea where you are, do you?”
As she talked, his little tail was going ninety miles an hour. He was pretty new in general, so bottle feeding wasn’t second nature for him yet. She eased down onto the floor of the bathroom and pulled a towel over her lap. With the fingers of one hand, she opened his mouth and when she stuck the bottle in, he grabbed hold. “That’s the way, bud. You got it. Oh, you’re hungry, aren’t you?”
He stopped for a little breather, bumping her face with his forehead.
She laughed and repositioned the bottle for him. “It’s over here.”
By the time she finished giving him the bottle, nearly nodding off herself, she was pretty convinced that she had as much milk on her as he had in his tummy. He was calm and sleepy, so she took a moment to enjoy a little snuggle before tucking him into his box.
Finally. All the babies were in bed.
She reached up for the counter to haul herself off the floor and nearly screamed as she grabbed a firm hand instead.
Garrett grinned as he pulled her to her feet. “I’m impressed. All the kids are fed and asleep and I met the pizza delivery guy outside which makes me so incredibly happy. Lacey’s already stuffing her face.”
“I heard that, Garrett.” Lacey appeared in the door to the hall with a piece of supreme pizza in her hand. Her dark hair was in a messy bun on top of her head and she had a streak of mud on her cheek. “Also, it’s true. It’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my entire life.”
Garrett leaned over and scratched the goat’s tiny head. “Hercules seems to be holding his own. Tomorrow we’ll put him in with the others so he can learn to be a goat. How are you holding up?”
“No problems.” She wavered on her feet, contradicting her own statement. “Yeah, wow, I’m tired.”
“Come get some pizza. I’m feeling better by the minute.” Lacey waved Abby into the kitchen. “You’ve had a busy day. The twins are a handful by themselves. No wonder you’re tired.”
“Sit.” Garrett shoved Abby into a chair at the kitchen table as she protested.
“You guys have been working all day, too. And I had help. Tell me what’s going on now.” Despite her protest, she took a bite of the pepperoni pizza Garrett put in front of her. A few seconds later, he set a fizzing cola by the plate.
“We sandbagged a couple of areas that we thought might flood.” Lacey took another bite of pizza. “Garrett, Devin and Tanner moved most of the animals, except for the two we just put in the barn. We were working them pretty hard. The other horses are in the pasture at Red Hill Farm. Jordan’s going to board them with her horses.”
“The cows are on high ground. The pigs are with Mr. Haney on his farm, but let me tell you, those pigs were not happy.” Garrett finished his first piece of pizza and refilled his cup from a can of soda. “The animals will be safe. We may have some work—a lot of work—to do to rebuild the lower pasture areas, but I don’t think the water’s going to get up to the house or barn.”
“Hey, guys.” Devin opened the back door and stood in the opening while he toed off his muddy boots. “Is that pizza? I’m starving.”
Abby frowned. “Where’s Tanner?”
“Staying at the house. He won’t leave. We didn’t even try to argue.” Garrett reached for another piece.
“Garrett, what about the kittens?”
“No worries. We put them inside in one of the upstairs bathrooms. They’ll be safely out of harm’s way.” He cut his eyes at her. “Unless you want me to bring them over here?”
“Uh, no. We have enough babies in this house, thank you very much. Tanner can take care of the kittens.”
“Tanner might want to run away by the time the mama cat stops her caterwauling.” Devin grinned. “Get it, caterwauling?”
“Ugh. That was terrible.” Garrett shook his head. “I’m just thankful the puppy incident is behind us.”
“The puppy incident?” Abby asked with a mouthful of pizza.
“You haven’t heard about that?” With a piece of pizza in one hand, his soda in the other and a wide grin on his face, Devin sat back. “Someone left a litter of barely weaned, starving puppies in the alleyway behind the main street shops. Garrett the Noble took them home and fed them every couple of hours for two weeks. He hauled those puppies everywhere, trying to fatten them up.”
“Oh my goodness, the poor little things. Did they make it?” Abby’s face was stricken.
Garrett laughed and put his arm around her shoulders, the unconscious gesture making her feel like she was a part of their group. “They’re fine.”
Devin scoffed. “Of course they made it. Those were the fattest puppies you’ve ever seen.”
“Hang on, I’ve got a pic.” Lacey was flipping through her phone. “Here it is.”
Garrett was seated on the ground with nine pudgy black and white puppies crawling all over him. His head was thrown back in a laugh.
“They’re precious. What happened to them?”
Lacey rolled her eyes. “We begged and pleaded and called in all the favors from everyone we knew until finally they were all adopted.”
“You saved their little lives, Garrett.”
He slung his arm around her chair and thumped his chest with his fist. “Yep. Heart of gold.”
Puppies. Baby. Special stroller for a little boy who needed one. Not to mention how he looked in jeans and a cowboy hat. Was it any wonder she was head over heels for him?
Wait—was she falling for him?
That didn’t seem like something she would do.
But Garrett wasn’t like anyone else she’d ever met. Oh, boy, she had a feeling that, floodwaters or no floodwaters, she was about to be in over her head.
* * *
Heart of gold? Garrett wasn’t even sure where that came from except that it sounded ridiculous. He was definitely more tired than he thought he was.
“Hang on.” Devin raised a cynical eyebrow. “You haven’t heard the best part, Abby. Word got around about what Garrett did for the puppies and people started dropping all kinds of animals off at the end of our lane. Kittens and puppies galore. One person even tied a donkey to the fence and drove off.”
“What? That’s not cool.”
Garrett finished off his pizza and brushed the crumbs off his fingers. “Well, he is a pretty great donkey.”
“He is, that’s true. We named him Sheriff and put him in the field with the cows. And now he’s a watchdog. Watch-donkey?” Lacey laughed. “I have no idea. But I know I’m exhausted and this is pathetic, but the babies will be up in a couple of hours for a bottle and I’ve got to take a shower and get at least a few hours’ sleep before we’re back at it tomorrow.”
“Good idea.” Devin picked up the paper plates on the table, reached for his cane with the other hand and limped to the trash can. “I’m going to my Narcotics Anonymous meeting and then I’ll be back to hit the sack myself. I have a feeling we’re going to have more long days in the future before things get back to normal at the ranch.”
“Yeah, we all need to hit the hay early.” Garrett gathered up the pizza boxes and drink cups that were scattered on the table. “I’ll be right back.”
Garrett walked outside and dumped the trash in the big trash can. When he turned around, he was facing the pasture behind Abby’s rental house. The grass glowed with a blue-green hue and the moon coming up on the horizon was spectacular. The storms had passed and he could see every star in the Milky Way. He stuck his head in the back door. “Hey, Abs, come here for a minute.”
She joined him at the porch rail and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, his arm slid around her back. “Look at that moon.”
With a sigh, she gazed at the huge golden orb slowly rising from the horizon. “It’s incredible.”
Maybe it was silly and a huge mistake to pull her closer. After all, he didn’t know what the next few months would bring for her...or him, for that matter. What he did know was that he felt good when he was with her. With other people, he often felt that he had to always be on. Always meet the expectations of other people. With Abby, he just felt...accepted. And after watching her with that little girl yesterday, he thought the ability to convey caring without judgment might just be her superpower.
He looked down at her. “We couldn’t have made it through these last couple of days without you. I couldn’t have made it through last month without you.”
“This may seem a little out-there, but I feel like God put me in just the right place at the right time. I’m just glad I could help.”
“It’s not out-there at all. I feel that way, too.” He tilted her chin up and kissed her gently, just a soft brush of his lips against hers before he turned back to the moon.
“I’m...not sure where we’re going with this, Garrett.” Her eyes stayed on the moon, but the question was in her voice.
“I have a habit of bouncing from one thing to another as the spirit moves me. I enjoy my life. Even when I’m suddenly making gruel for nine scrawny puppies at all hours of the night. It’s the adventure of it all, I guess.” He looked down into her eyes, which looked huge and dark in the shadows of her back porch. “But I like where I am, right at this exact moment.”
“Me, too.” Her watch buzzed. She stopped the alarm and looked up. “Time to feed Hercules.”
“I’ll feed him. You get some sleep.”
“I am tired,” she admitted.
The back door opened and a bleary-eyed Lacey stood there in her pajamas and robe, damp hair curling down her back, Charlotte in her arms. “Your baby’s hungry, Garrett.”
Abby smiled, her face softening as she reached for Charlotte. “I’ll get the baby, you get the goat?”
“Sounds like a bad country song.” He hummed a few bars as he followed her into the house to fix the bottles, her laughter wrapping around him.
And he smiled because despite all the crazy stuff going on, this at least was right.
* * *
Three days after the night spent waiting out the flood at Abby’s house, Garrett turned Reggie toward the barn, keeping pace with Devin, who was up on Icarus. Reggie was Devin’s horse, but the unvarnished truth was that if Garrett was going to help with the livestock, he needed Reggie. The horse had the talent. Garrett was just along for the ride.
The pond had turned into a lake and the back fields were either underwater or too muddy to use. It was a mess, but the house and barn had survived. They’d survive, too, but it was going to set them back at a time when they were just getting on their feet.
He sighed.
Devin glanced over at him as they kept the horses to a slow walk. “How’s Charlotte doing in day care?”
“Oh, she’s doing fine. I, on the other hand, am a wreck after I drop her off.” In all the hubbub, Garrett had almost forgotten that six weeks was the magic age and, if he forfeited Charlotte’s spot, she’d be on the waiting list at least another month, maybe more. So, with no other alternative, she’d started on Monday and he’d had a lump in his throat all the way to the office. “Abby asked if she could pick her up a little bit early and bring her home for me.”
Devin rolled his eyes toward the finally blue sky. “You two are pitiful.”
Garrett made a derisive snort. “As if you’re not wrapped around the itty-bitty fingers of your twins.”
“No doubt.” Devin shook his head. “I never dreamed I’d settle down and be a family man, especially here. But I love it. Wouldn’t change a thing.”
Garrett knew his brother deserved the contentment he was feeling now. Devin had run from their past for a long time. But Garrett would be lying if he didn’t admit, at least to himself, that he envied his brother that domestic bliss.
He rode in silence for a few beats, then perked up as he remembered his favorite moment of the day. “Hey, did you see me and Reggie catch that calf this afternoon? It was epic.”
Devin laughed. “Yeah, I saw it, but you’re gonna feel it. It’s been a long time since Mom packed us a lunch and we rode horses all day every day. You’re gonna be sore tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Garrett snorted. “I’m gonna need help to get into the house today.”
As the horses approached the barn, he saw Abby step out the door in her sock feet with Charlotte in her arms. Her cheerful yellow rain boots were covered in mud and sitting by the mat.
He’d barely seen Abby since the night they’d stayed at her house. They’d crossed paths in the office, but she was busy seeing clients and he, for the most part, had been working from dawn to dusk with his brothers to salvage what they could of the rain-soaked crops in the low areas of their farm.
Garrett guided Reggie closer to the house so he could speak to her. “Hello, ladies.”
“Hi. You guys are looking good on horseback. Thanks for letting me pick Charlotte up. I missed her. Hey, Devin,” she said.
“Abby.” Devin tipped his hat at her and she grinned. Garrett rolled his eyes. His brother, the former rodeo heartthrob.
Abby laughed. “Looks like y’all have had a busy day.”
“It’s been an interesting week, to say the least. Garrett, I’m gonna get Icarus put away.”
As Devin turned away, Reggie pranced sideways toward the barn, wanting to follow, but the big horse was much too much of a gentleman to really press the point. Garrett patted his neck and he settled down. “How was your day?”
“Long.” She shrugged a little. “Word’s gotten out that I’m seeing people and I’m getting referrals right and left.”
“You need anything?”
A small head shake. “I’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep. No worries.”
“Staying for dinner?” Reggie’s ear flicked back and Garrett would’ve sworn he’d heard the word dinner.
“I’m not sure. I’m exhausted. I just needed some Charlotte snuggles for a few minutes.” Her hair wafted in the breeze as she looked down at Charlotte. The last of the afternoon sunlight speared through the trees, bathing her and the baby in rose gold.
Garrett blinked.
“I’m going to head home soon.”
Reggie was restless, dancing in place. Garrett took him in a tight circle and stopped him again in front of Abby. “If you can keep Charlotte a little while longer, I’ll get Reggie settled and then I’ll be on dad time.”
“Of course.”
He wanted to slide off and walk Reggie into the barn, but he wasn’t sure his legs would hold him, which would be humiliating. So, he waited until he was in the barn and Devin could hold Reggie’s head before he tried to get off. He managed to do it without whimpering, so that was something.
“You good?”
Garrett let his head drop against the saddle. “Oh, yeah. Good.”
“Your voice is, like, two octaves higher than usual. You need to borrow my cane?”
“Maybe.” Garrett laughed. “What I need to do is ride more often. This is embarrassing.”
“You can ride anytime.” Devin took Reggie’s bridle off and gave him a good scratch. “At some point, you’re gonna ask Abby out, like on a real date, right? It’s getting a little embarrassing, the way you guys look at each other when you think no one is watching.”
Garrett unbuckled the girth and lifted the saddle off of Reggie’s back, suppressing the groan as his legs protested the movement. He called back to Devin from the tack room. “When exactly am I going to have time to take Abby on a date?”
“How about tomorrow?” Devin hung up the bridle and picked up Reggie’s soft halter before sliding it into place.
