Six months later...
“Come on, buckaroo,” Garrett crooned from the opposite side of the third-floor party room in the office building that now held both the Laramie Foundation offices and West Texas Warrior Assistance. Hunkered down affably, both hands outstretched toward their son, he encouraged cheerfully, “Walk to Daddy.”
Eager to share what she had seen just a few hours earlier, Hope helped her wildly grinning nine-month-old son balance on the soles of his feet. “Show him what a talented boy you are.” When Max seemed completely steady, she slowly and carefully released his hands.
Max let out a joyous whoop, swayed slightly and then shifted backward, landing squarely on his diapered bottom, as if that were the plan all along. He clapped his hands. And whooped again, Texas cowboy style.
His spirit was infectious. Hope and Garrett clapped and yee-hawed, too.
Max shifted quickly to his knees and crawled rapidly over to his daddy’s side. Garrett scooped him up in his arms. “Good job, little fella!”
Max threw back his head and chuckled again.
Hope joined in the family hug. Briefly, she leaned her head on Garrett’s chest. “I swear. Max was doing it earlier.”
Garrett put a squirming Max back down so he could explore again. Immediately, Max crawled to a window ledge and pulled himself up to a standing position. “I believe you.”
Hope put her hands on her hips, while Max thought about walking sideways using the wall for balance, as he had been doing for a good two months now. Then he changed his mind, sat down, flipped and began crawling again.
This was ridiculous.
Hope shook her head, laughing. She met the indulgent arch of Garrett’s brow. “No. You don’t.”
And probably with good reason. She was always jumping the gun and seeing progress that wasn’t quite there yet.
Sage breezed in with a tray of goodies for their first annual Day Before Thanksgiving party. “Have you met this man?” She peeled back the plastic wrap and offered Garrett a taste. He gave the cranberry, pecan and cream cheese appetizer quiches a thumbs-up. Hope nodded her approval, too. Grinning, Sage put the tray aside. “All he does is brag about you and Max.”
Darcy and Tank walked into the group meeting room. The usual circle of chairs had been pushed back to the walls to allow for maximum dining space. Winking, Darcy spread tablecloths over the double row of buffet tables in the center of the room. “I think Hope might have had a few kind words to say about her hubby, too.”
With good reason, Hope thought. No longer afraid to say what was on her mind, she swept her son up in her arms and walked over to buss Garrett’s jaw. “Sage’s big brother is a wonderful husband.”
Wyatt and Chance appeared in the doorway. A chorus of male groans sounded. “Tell me they’re not getting mushy again,” Wyatt complained, strolling in.
“Yeah, you-all have been married for three months now. Enough already!” Chance said with a mischievous wink. “The honeymoon is over.”
“It’ll never be over,” Garrett vowed.
Everyone groaned again—in humorous approval.
Lucille walked in, a horn of plenty in one hand, a big basket of fruit in the other.
She set both down on a buffet table and turned to her beloved grandson. “Want to show your nana how you can walk?” she said.
“Not quite there yet,” Garrett told her.
“Maybe it was an anomaly,” Hope reluctantly admitted.
Max pulled himself up on Garrett’s legs, turned around, balanced briefly on the balls of his feet and took off for his grandmother. One step, two. Everyone held their breaths. Then he swiveled and headed right back to Garrett and Hope.
Tears of joy pouring down their faces, they watched him toddle all the way to their sides. One arm wrapped around each of their knees, he chortled and looked up at them.
Everyone cheered.
Max pulled on their legs, his signal he wanted to be picked up. Garrett lifted their son in his arms. Hope kissed his cheek.
Puzzled, Max tracked the happy tears pouring down both their faces while smiles flashed all around. Then he tucked a fist in the shirts of each of his parents. “Mine,” he said fiercely.
“You bet we are,” Garrett said fiercely.
“No question,” Hope murmured, going in for a joyous group hug. “We have so much to be thankful for!”
* * * * *
Watch for the next story in Cathy Gillen Thacker’s TEXAS LEGACIES: THE LOCKHARTS miniseries, A TEXAS COWBOY’S CHRISTMAS, coming November 2016, only from Harlequin Western Romance!
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