AS USUAL, WHEN Cara arrived at Wes’s house with the kids, he met them at her car. The rush of pleasure that always followed her first sight of him now hit with triple intensity.
As Wes opened the passenger door to get Tracey, Cara leaned into the back seat to help Mark with his seat belt.
“We’re almost done with the cleaning at the store,” she reported. “Andi’s getting a team together for a painting party this weekend.”
“With all those grandsons Jed’s got married into his family, she’ll have plenty of free labor.” Wes laughed. “That’s probably the reason he went into the matchmaking business to begin with.”
She gathered up the diaper bag and some of Mark’s papers. Wes came around to her side of the car with the baby. Cara stared up at him. “You don’t think he just wanted his granddaughters to be happy?”
“Maybe. But marriage doesn’t always guarantee happiness. Free labor’s a surer thing.”
“That’s kind of cynical, isn’t it?”
“Sometimes the truth hurts.”
And sometimes love hurts. Especially when it was one-sided. She should have learned her lesson the first time around.
Wes had shared some things with her about Patty, but his comments now stirred her curiosity about his relationship with his wife. He was such a good father, she couldn’t imagine him not being a good husband. How happy had his marriage been?
She thought again of Mo’s idea that she could be what he needed. Yes, Cara now knew she could be exactly that. Unfortunately, her firsthand knowledge of Wes’s needs didn’t match Mo’s ideas, and she would have to be realistic about the difference.
Or make a difference in his life.
He jiggled Tracey and tickled her under her chin.
“You’d better watch that little one,” Cara warned, laughing. “Someone was a little cranky on the ride home.”
“No nap?”
“Not a wink.”
He gave an exaggerated sigh. “Going to be another one of those rough nights.”
On their way to the house, she attempted to say casually, “I saw Patty’s friend Marianne this afternoon. She’s seems very...interested in you and the kids.” Territorial, Andi had called it. The perfect description.
“Is that so?” He took more time than necessary straightening Tracey’s shirt. At the back porch steps, he halted. After noting through the window Mark was coloring at the table inside, Wes said, “I don’t want to say this in front of Mark. Ever since Patty died, Marianne’s had her wires crossed. I don’t know what the woman’s thinking.”
Evidently, that she could take Patty’s place. “It sounds like she wants to stay friends.”
“We were never friends to begin with. And considering how she zeroed in on me like a homing pigeon as soon as Patty passed, I’m not sure how good a friend she was to my wife.”
“I think Marianne genuinely misses her.”
“That may be. It doesn’t give us a connection or her a reason to hang around me every time we run across each other at the sitter’s or anywhere else. To tell you the truth, I don’t like that she sees so much of the kids at Rhea’s.
“You saw how ready Mark was to accept you as his mother. That’s all I would need is for him to get the same idea about her.”
A vision of Mark asking Marianne Are you my new mommy? made Cara’s breath catch.
She’d come to care so much about Mark and Tracey. Maybe too much? Did her dismay at seeing that image mean she wanted something more?
“There’s not much I can do about the kids being around Marianne,” Wes continued. “I wouldn’t pull them from their sitter’s. Mark and Tracey have known Rhea since they were born. For some reason, though, Mark’s never taken to Marianne. And I’m glad for that.”
Cara had always known Mark was a smart little boy. “From what I’ve seen of him at Rhea’s, you don’t need to worry about him attaching himself to her.”
“Good to know. It’s not something I can sit Mark down to discuss. As for Marianne homing in on me, I already set her straight. I have no interest in a relationship with her or anyone. My kids are still getting over losing their mother, and I can’t risk them getting hurt.” He paused with his hand on the doorknob. “It’s different having you around the kids. Marianne’s not going anywhere. You’re here short-term.”
He didn’t say the words again, but she heard the Good to know in his satisfied tone. Would he be that happy to see her leave?
When they entered the kitchen, Wes went to put Tracey into her high chair.
Cara left the drawings and the diaper bag in their assigned spots. “I’m going to work for a while.”
“Okay. You know where to find us.”
She hurried from the room and up the stairs. The closer she came to the office, the slower her feet moved.
Once she finished her inventory and she and Andi transferred all Patty’s crafts to the store, her job here would be done. She planned to continue bringing the kids home to Wes every day but would have no excuse to stay around. Or to hang around, like Marianne.
How could she give up the dinners with Wes and his family and miss their evening story time?
How could she make a difference in Wes’s life when he didn’t care that she planned to go out of it?
AFTER DINNER, MARK carried a pile of books into the living room. “Read these ones tonight.”
Cara took her place on the couch. “Okay. What one first?” She knew which book he would hand her. He chose the same one first every night.
Mark settled on one side of her to turn the pages of the storybook. Tracey, more restless than usual, sat back against the couch with her thumb in her mouth.
Cara finished the first book and the second and the third. Once in a while, she exchanged a glance with Wes. Sometimes, when one of the kids laughed or shouted over the story, they shared a smile.
He always sat across from them in the overstuffed chair with an open magazine resting on his knees. Cara had noticed lately, though, that he didn’t very often remember to turn a page.
When she closed the cover on the fourth book, Wes looked across at Mark. “That’s enough reading for tonight.”
He said that every night, and she loved those words, choosing to believe they implied that after tonight there would be a tomorrow.
“Time to go get your pajamas ready for your bath,” he told Mark. “I’ll be upstairs as soon as I walk Miss Cara to the door.”
Mark gave her a hug, then ran across the living room to the stairs.
“Let me take her,” Wes said when Cara reached to pick up Tracey. “I can tell she’s not ready for pajamas yet.”
In the kitchen, he set Tracey in her high chair, adding a couple toys to the tray for her to play with. Then, as he also did every night, he left the kitchen door half-open while they went out onto the back porch to say their goodbyes.
It was cooler than usual outside tonight, and Cara shivered.
“You’ll be needing to bring a coat with you one of these days,” he said.
She wanted to believe one would lead to many. The thought made her shiver again, this time in pleasure. He reached out as if to wrap his arm around her to warm her, then dropped his hand. She felt his touch all the same.
No, she imagined she did. And she couldn’t stand here making up fantasies. Couldn’t spend her nights making wishes that would never be granted.
“In case you don’t check Mark’s backpack tonight,” she said, “there’s a reminder notice about the recital tomorrow at the day care.”
“Yeah.” Wes rubbed his forehead as if trying to wipe away a headache.
He worked so hard all day. It wouldn’t hurt for her to take more of the load off his shoulders. “Rhea told me the recital isn’t really a big deal.”
“It’s not. The kids all say the alphabet and a nursery rhyme or two, sing a song, then try to stand still for pictures. And that’s about it.”
Cara smiled. “It sounds very cute, but short and sweet. I’ll be in town all day. If you don’t want to take time off to make the trip, I’m happy to go in your place and lend the kids some moral support.”
“No.” The flat reply made her blink. As if he realized how abruptly he’d answered, he went on, “I need to show up. It may not be a big deal overall, but it is to Mark.”
“Of course, it is.” The recital was set for late morning. “I assume you’ll leave the kids at Rhea’s and come back to the ranch. I’ll pick them up at the end of the day and bring them...here, as usual.”
He nodded.
She would bring them home. Just what she said and did every day.
And every day, no matter how many warnings she gave herself about wishes and fantasies, this house felt more like home to her, too.
AS THE GARLAND FAMILY and their guests drifted out of the Hitching Post’s dining room the next morning, Cara stayed behind with Andi.
Before breakfast, Andi had said she wanted to get organized for this weekend’s painting party. She pulled a notepad and pen from her shoulder bag. “I made up a list last night—with a little help from a couple of the husbands around here.”
“You don’t think we could have figured out on our own what we needed to buy?”
“Of course we could have.” Andi laughed. “But part of convincing them we need their help is letting them see how much they’re needed. Which reminds me, I need you here, too. I’m beginning to think I won’t have a clue what I’ll do when you leave.”
Cara hoped someday Wes would feel the same. “I see exactly what you’re up to,” Cara said, forcing a teasing tone. “You’re trying to convince me to stay. And why not? I’m your unpaid errand girl.” And Wes’s unpaid help. “I’ll volunteer to pick up the paint supplies on my way to the store today.” Andi opened her mouth but Cara held up a hand. “No, don’t thank me. We may as well leave everything at the store, anyway. And it only makes sense for me to pick it up, since I’m going into town. Plus, that will save you a trip.”
Hadn’t she said the same thing to Wes earlier this week, when she had offered to bring his kids home from day care? And look where that had gotten her. To a place she had never thought she would find, a place that made her feel comfortable and happy and needed.
Yes, she was needed...
She wanted to be here for Wes and Mark and Tracey. For Andi and her kids. For Lizzie. For herself. Ever since her arrival in Cowboy Creek, she had reinforced her goal to go home. Now her goal had changed. She wanted to stay.
Cara looked up to find Andi staring at her. “What?”
“My question exactly. What? What are you smiling about?”
“Nothing.”
Andi shook her head. “That’s not going to work. I know what’s got you so happy. I’m just waiting for you to fess up, as Grandpa says.”
Cara wanted to confess, to talk about exactly what had made her smile. But when feelings were this new, this unexpected and unbelievable, how did you share them with anyone else when you still didn’t know if you could trust them yourself?
“Cara...”
She couldn’t keep from admitting to what she was sure her best friend had already guessed. “It’s Wes.”
“I knew it,” Andi said. “Grandpa was right again. And here you were, mad at us because you thought we were up to something.”
“You were.”
“Yes, we were.” Andi laughed. “And aren’t you happy about that now!”
“Either way, it doesn’t make a difference. Wes told me he’s not interested in a relationship with anyone right now.”
“And...?”
She sighed. Andi knew her so well. “Okay, I’ll admit it. Yes, I’m happy you and Jed got us together. But considering what Wes said, I should have more sense than to act like a teenager with her first crush.”
“Or first real love.”
“I don’t know. As real as it feels, how can I believe in it—after Brad?”
Andi sighed. “I probably should have said this a long time ago, but when it came to him, it always seemed like you were in love with the idea of love. You wanted a relationship. A family. You always have. And when you went looking, Brad happened to be there.”
“But we went out for months before I started feeling anything like I feel for Wes.”
“I fell for Mitch at first sight. Things didn’t work out for us the first time around, but still... When you know, you know.”
And you know what the one means, right? Lizzie had asked. You just know you’re a perfect fit. A forever fit.
Cara could envision a forever with Wes.
Could he ever feel the same about her?
AT THE STORE, Cara had just set her laptop on the table in the kitchen area when she heard the front door open. She found Lizzie in the display room. “Perfect timing. I only got here a minute ago myself.”
“I know,” Lizzie said. “I was waiting across the street.”
Waiting? Cara’s stomach clenched. Lizzie didn’t elaborate and suddenly wouldn’t meet her eyes, adding to Cara’s unease. Knowing better than to push the issue, Cara dropped her shoulder bag onto a display case. “I’ve got to bring in some boxes from the car.”
“I can help.”
“Well, thanks. But you’re not scheduled to work today, you know.” As she had hoped, that got a laugh from Lizzie. Not a very natural-sounding one, but still a laugh.
“Don’t worry—I won’t send Andi a time card.”
Outside, Lizzie looked into the overflowing trunk of Cara’s car. “What’s all this?”
“Painting supplies. We’re going to have a painting party here on Sunday.”
“Sounds like fun. I wish I could help, but I’m scheduled to work at the Dipper.”
“That’s okay.” And maybe a good thing, if Lizzie turned out to be pregnant, after all. “I know you’d be here if you could.”
Lizzie took two cans of paint from the trunk.
Cara grabbed the box with the brushes and other supplies. As they set everything on the floor inside the store, Cara said casually, “You’re around early. No school this morning?”
“I’m skipping my prep hour. Cara...” Lizzie paused, then blurted, “I took a test.”
For a second, Cara misunderstood. Or gave in to wishful thinking. But one look at Lizzie’s anguished expression assured her the teen wasn’t talking about a school exam.
“A pregnancy test,” Lizzie said. “I went to Flagman’s Folly last night and bought it there so I wouldn’t see anyone I knew. And I took the test this morning after my dad went to work and my mom went out. And...and...it was positive.” Her voice broke. As if her legs couldn’t hold her upright, the teen slumped against a display case. “It could be wrong, couldn’t it?”
Or it could be right.
Cara had done a home pregnancy test, too, and had been overjoyed to see the positive result. She had hoped for the news. Had been more than ready to become a mom...
That wasn’t true for Lizzie. And judging by her wide eyes and the breaths she was gulping, the girl was in shock and fighting tears.
“There’s a possibility it could be wrong,” Cara said slowly, not sure how much Lizzie could take in all at once. Or if she was up to taking in anything at all right now. “Those home tests have good track records, but even so, they’re not a hundred-percent accurate. Some of the same things that make our periods late can cause false positives.” Lizzie seemed to hang on her every word. “The next step would be confirming it with a test at the doctor’s office. If you don’t want to go alone but aren’t ready to tell your mother, do you have someone else you can ask?”
“I don’t know. I’ll think about it.” Lizzie didn’t sound convinced or convincing. She pushed herself away from the display case and stood upright. “I have to get back to school.”
“Lizzie—” From the depths of her shoulder bag on top of the case, Cara’s cell phone rang. Ignoring it, she said, “I’d be happy to go with you. Or can you ask your boyfriend? Or a close friend?”
“I’ll think about it,” Lizzie said again. She handed the bag to Cara. “Your phone’s ringing. And I have to go to class.”
“Lizzie, wait—”
Instead the teen almost ran from the store, leaving the door to swing shut behind her. And the phone continued to ring.
With her gaze on Lizzie rushing across the sidewalk, Cara pulled the phone from her bag. “Hello?”
“Cara? Wes. You sound distracted.”
“I’m okay. You sound stressed.”
“Yeah, stress about covers it. I’m fine, but I’ve got an emergency here with a mare, and the vet’s running late. I’m not going to get into town for the show at Rhea’s. And Mark’s not going to handle it well when she tells him. She’ll have enough stress of her own trying to calm all the kids’ nerves.” He paused, then added, “You’re in town now, right?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t like to ask, but if you’ve got a few minutes, could you run by there and help Rhea explain to Mark that I can’t make it?”
“Of course. I’ll head over now.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
The sincerity in his voice told her how much he meant it. The thread of tension told her how hard he was taking not being on hand to support his son.
And her suddenly soaring pulse at this admission he needed her confirmed everything she already knew.
Despite all the warning signs, all the questions without answers, all the worry over trusting her own feelings...she had fallen in love with Wes.