Friday afternoon Randy opened the back door to the shop, pausing in the hallway as he heard Hannah’s voice coming from the front.
“No, I’m not going to Erica’s wedding tomorrow. She had to keep her end of the guest list smaller than she wanted since it’s out of town. At least it saved me from having to fill out the plus-one box. No date for me...What? Oh, no, I’m not bringing anyone to Tess’s wedding. Come on, you know better than that.” Her tone was playful, but an edge of pain accompanied it.
Randy frowned. Before last week, he’d generally not thought about Hannah much. Hadn’t allowed himself to. But now he’d been thinking about her more and more. Every night after work the two of them had grabbed some takeout and headed to his house to paint. With her help, they’d finished painting all but three rooms.
It had been easy being with her.
He really should find a way to repay her for all she’d done this week.
“I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’ve been to seven weddings in the past two years. I’m more than familiar with the singles table. The great aunt, weird cousin, awkward coworker—I’ve dealt with them all...” Her throaty laugh made him chuckle under his breath. He began walking in her direction. Seven weddings? He shivered. Leave it to Hannah to make the best of an uncomfortable situation. “...if all the groomsmen are bringing dates, I told Tess to sit me with one of my brothers. I’ll be fine.”
One of her brothers? Not on his watch.
He could tell from the way her voice cracked at the end she wouldn’t be fine. And it bothered him.
It shouldn’t bother him, though. Wasn’t his place to care.
He emerged into the main store. Ned uncurled himself and came up to him, his tongue lolling in what appeared to be a smile. “Hey, there, buddy.”
“Oh, hey, gotta go...Yeah, see you soon.” Hannah hung up and turned to him, her cheeks rosy. “Didn’t hear you come in.”
“Just got here.” She’d sacrificed every waking minute this week to help him out and asked for nothing in return. Yeah, he was paying her by the hour, but she wasn’t helping him for the money. He should do something nice for her. But what?
Her eyelids lowered as she pointed to the counter. “Well, I took it upon myself to take care of all the invoices. They’re in the binder. And here’s the list of items getting low. You’ll have to order more soon.” She tore off the top page of a notepad and handed it to him.
He didn’t bother looking at it. “Do you have plans tonight?”
“No, why?” She narrowed her eyes.
“Want to come out to the ranch? I’ll grill some steaks. Ned will like it out there.” He glanced down at the dog, still glued to his side.
With a slight shrug, she smiled. “Okay. When?”
“How about now?” Thanks to her, he had no unfinished business to deal with in the store. It was as if she could run it with her hands tied behind her back. Humbled him, if he were being honest.
“Yeah, okay.” She called Ned’s name, and he went straight to her. After clipping on his leash, she gathered her purse and tote bag. “I guess I’ll see you over there.”
After locking up, he followed her out and drove behind her all the way to the ranch. The summer sky made the prairie pop to life. Purple coneflowers, green grass, sagebrush and tall grasses flowed past in a colorful blur. Soon, the plains would be dry and the colors would fade.
As much as he tried to forget it, Hannah’s phone conservation kept replaying in his mind.
Why wasn’t she dating anyone? Why had she attended seven—how was it even possible to be invited to seven?—weddings by herself? Hannah had always seemed like an open book to him—still did—but maybe she had a box full of disappointments locked inside her the way he did.
He turned down the long gravel lane leading to the farmhouse. Her Jeep pulled to a stop at the side of the house. Right next to Austin’s truck.
Randy’s pulse started to race.
Austin was back. Yes!
No more dealing with wayward calves, crabby cows or piles of manure. Although, he had to admit, working on the ranch all week reminded him of things he’d never thought he’d miss, like riding out with Dad and Austin, spending hours in the saddle with nothing to do but think.
No phone to scroll through. No orders to place. No customers interrupting him.
Still, he was glad Austin was back. But anxiety sped up his heartbeat, too. Whatever Austin’s emergency had been, it must have been big.
Hannah and Ned stood near the bottom of the porch, and he loped over to them. “Austin’s back.”
“We can do this another time.” She lightly bit the bottom corner of her lip as the front door opened. Austin stood in the doorway. A weird squeal came from inside the house.
“I’ve never been so happy to see you in my life.” In the shadows, Austin was leaning on something and waved for them to come in. “Hannah, I need your help.”
Hannah? Randy blinked. Why would he need Hannah? A flood of sensations overwhelmed him, and Ned began licking Randy’s hand. He gripped the porch rail to steady himself as a moment of dizziness came over him. Then he and Ned entered the house and continued down the hall to the kitchen where his feet screeched to a halt.
Hannah was lifting a baby out of a car seat.
A baby?
Randy looked at Austin, who was leaning on crutches and murmuring something to Hannah.
“Why are you on crutches? Why is there a baby here? What’s going on?” Randy heard the words come out of his mouth but had no concept he’d spoken them.
“Sit down.” Austin nodded to the kitchen table. “I’ll explain.”
“I think this little one needs a diaper change.” Hannah beamed at the baby she held up near her face. The sight of her holding the infant dropped the bottom out of Randy’s stomach. It was an image he knew he’d never be able to erase from his mind.
Hannah and babies went together.
“The diaper bag is right here. I’d do it but...” Austin’s face had grown tomato red.
“You can’t change the baby on crutches, silly.” She let out a tinkly laugh. “I’ll be right back with this cutie.”
“What. Is. Going. On?” Randy’s heart ramped to a jackhammer pace, and a wet feeling on his hand made him aware Ned was licking him again.
“Why don’t you sit down?”
Good idea.
He stalked over to the table, yanked out a chair and sat. Ned laid his head in his lap, and Randy stroked his soft fur as he slowly calmed down. Austin awkwardly lowered himself onto the chair opposite, setting the crutches next to him. They stared at each other for a long moment. Hannah, carrying the baby, bounced back into the room.
Her eyes grew round as she backed up a step. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
“Could you stay?” Austin asked. “Just for a while. I...I need help.”
Randy had never heard him sound this desperate. Asking for help? Not barking out orders?
“Of course,” she said quietly, taking a seat and cradling the baby in her arms.
“This is my son. Austin Junior—AJ.” His face turned a pale shade of green. “His mother died last week.”
“Wait—what?” Randy sorted through his memories. “You don’t even have a girlfriend. You haven’t left the ranch in months. How did you manage to fit in getting a girl pregnant?”
“I go to Texas twice a year.” Austin’s flat tone brought Randy back to reality. He’d forgotten about that. Austin had never told him why he was going. Just left on a Friday afternoon and came back on a Sunday night. Randy hadn’t realized it was for a girl.
He stared at Austin. Did he know his brother at all?
“Why didn’t you tell me you had a girlfriend? That she was pregnant? That you have a son?”
“I didn’t know!” All the fight seemed to fizzle from Austin.
“What’s her name? How long were you together?” Randy tried to piece the puzzle together and failed miserably.
“Her name was Camila Rodriguez. She was in the navy. An adventure junkie. Her job was disarming explosive devices.”
Hannah let out a whistling sound. Randy was tempted to do the same. Camila sounded way too exciting for by-the-book Austin. Maybe the saying opposites attract had some truth to it.
“Is that how she died?” she asked.
Austin shook his head, clenching his jaw. “No, she had a stroke. Routine deep diving exercises at sea. They couldn’t revive her.”
All three of them were silent for a few moments.
“Did you know about the baby?” Randy asked. He had to know. Had to make sense of the man and his secrets sitting across from him with the upright brother he’d lived his entire life with.
“I knew.” His face looked haggard.
“And you didn’t plan to be in his life?” He hated his judgmental tone, but he couldn’t stop it from coming out of his mouth.
“I’m not going into it right now, okay? All that matters is this is my son, I have sole custody, I sprained my ankle and I need help.”
Help? Randy knew what that meant, and his spirits plunged to the depths of the earth. “I’ve already been away from the store all week.” He shook his head, glancing at Hannah, who was watching them through wide eyes as the baby sucked on a pacifier. “And Hannah’s hands are tied with the new dog and the puppy arriving on Sunday. She’s already given up a lot of her time.”
Austin let out a frustrated sigh. “I know, but I can’t exactly do ranch chores on crutches. You’re going to have to keep managing it for me. I’ll be off them in a week. Two, at the most. It’s a light sprain, but if I mess it up now, I’ll be off my feet a lot longer than two weeks.”
Anger and irritation bubbled up Randy’s throat. “So what are you suggesting? Bo’s still in Alabama. Finn’s not coming back for another week. You want me to run the ranch. Who’s going to run the store? Who’s going to take care of the baby?”
The way his chest tightened warned him his blood pressure was soaring. Ned licked his arm. At least someone here seemed to sympathize with him.
“I’ll take care of the baby.” Hannah’s voice—barely a whisper—filled the room.
Randy stifled a groan. He wasn’t surprised. But he couldn’t let her do this.
He was supposed to be repaying her for her help, not roping her into even more work.
“No way.” Randy shook his head. “You are not taking care of the baby.”
“Why not?” Austin bellowed.
Hannah’s heart ached for these men she’d known her entire life. They were stuck in a strange, tough situation, and if her experience with two stubborn older brothers had taught her anything, life wouldn’t get normal for them for a good, long while. At least she could make sure the baby was getting the care he needed and deserved while they hashed it out.
She stared at AJ and her heart grew lighter. His lips formed an oval as he yawned, the pacifier almost falling out of his mouth. What a sweetheart. How she loved babies.
But what about the puppy? She was picking up the little guy in two days. Could she really handle Ned, a baby and a puppy?
Well, she did teach elementary school. If she could handle a classroom full of third graders, she could probably take on all this, too.
“Haven’t you heard a word I said?” Randy glared at his brother. “We’re already in her debt.”
Her debt? Hardly.
“It’s what friends do, Randy,” she said. “They help each other out. And it will only be until you guys can hire a nanny.” She started sorting through possible people in the area to hire to babysit AJ. None came to mind off the top of her head. “Austin, can you drive?”
“Yes. The sprain’s in my left ankle.” He actually looked sheepish.
So Austin could drive but couldn’t do ranch chores or take care of the baby. And Randy needed someone to take care of the store. She would watch the baby, but what about the rest?
The solution was so close. It was just out of her grasp.
Then everything fell into place.
She tightened her hold on the darling boy and looked at Austin. “You’ll run Randy’s store.”
Then she turned to Randy. “And you’re going to have to keep dealing with the ranch for the time being.” She addressed Austin again. “Two weeks?”
He grunted. “One, if I have anything to say about it.”
She arched her eyebrows and nodded. “So at least a week. And I’ll take care of the baby.”
“It’s not fair to you, Hannah,” Randy said. “You’ve got the puppy coming, and...”
“I’ll bring it with me. It’s good to get them used to new environments.” She beamed down at the baby. Surely, she could handle taking care of AJ and the puppy for a week. “And I know all the teenage girls in this area. Trust me, they’ll want to help out with babysitting. You two are going to need some help until you get used to having a baby around and can hire a nanny.”
Austin visibly relaxed. His head tipped back, and he let out a loud sigh. “Thank you, Hannah.”
AJ began to fuss. She assumed he was hungry.
“Why don’t I get a bottle ready?” She rose, walking over to Austin and setting the babe in his arms. His face softened as he stared at the child. It told her everything she needed to know. Whatever his reasons for not being involved in the baby’s life before this, he would be a great daddy.
Randy got up quickly and joined her as she went to the living room to get the diaper bag.
“It’s too much.” He blocked her path to the kitchen. “You already gave up all your free time and then some last week.”
“I wanted to.” She dug through the diaper bag for a bottle. “And I want to help you now. The poor baby lost his mother. His daddy is out of commission. AJ needs extra love. I’m happy to give it to him. And trust me, Mom will be coming over, too. You can’t keep her away when there’s an emergency or a baby.”
He seemed to chew on the thought. “What am I going to do, Hannah?”
“About what?” She found a bottle and a canister of formula.
“Austin can barely get around. And this baby—how old do you think he is?”
“I don’t know. Let’s ask.” She craned her neck around him. “Hey, Austin,” she called, “how old is AJ?”
“Thirteen weeks,” he yelled from the other room.
“Do babies this young sleep through the night?” Randy’s forehead resembled the Grand Canyon the grooves were so deep. She wanted to run her finger over them. Soothe his worries.
“Some do.” She pushed past him into the kitchen with him practically tripping over her as he followed.
“I’ve never changed a diaper. What if he cries? How much do they eat?”
She stopped in front of the sink and looked back at him. He looked positively ill. Ned zoomed over. The dog always seemed to come around when Randy was worked up. Maybe the dog was picking up on his anxiety cues the same way he’d sensed his previous owner’s health issues.
“Relax.” She spun to face him, placing her palms against his chest. His heartbeat was pounding, and his muscles twitched. She pulled her hands away, trying to ignore the way his strong muscles felt. “You’re going to be fine. I’ll show you how to change him and feed him.”
She turned back to the task at hand—getting a bottle ready—but touching Randy had set off those flutters in her stomach again.
They returned to the table, and she handed Austin the bottle. He thanked her and gave it to AJ, who let out a contented sigh and began to drink.
“Do you have anything for the baby besides the diaper bag?” She held her breath. What if Austin had no real supplies for AJ?
“The truck is full. I packed all his stuff and brought it with me. Had to take the crib and changing table apart to get them here, though. Thankfully, I got everything done before I twisted my ankle.”
“I’ll get started unloading it.” Randy left the room.
Hannah turned to go help him. First, though, she set her hand on Austin’s shoulder. “You’re going to be a great daddy. AJ’s a beautiful little boy.”
His muscles tensed, and he covered her hand with his own for a brief moment. Then she left the room.
Something told her these brothers were going to need a lot of support for the next couple of weeks. And she was glad to give it to them.
She’d just have to keep reminding herself this wasn’t her family. Wasn’t her baby. They’d get through it fine, and afterward, she’d be on her own again. Just her and the dogs.
How could his brother keep this from him?
A secret girlfriend. A secret baby.
Randy unlocked the truck’s bed cover and folded it back, revealing the boxes and furniture inside. Keep busy. Unload. Don’t think about it. All the emotions churning up threatened to spill over.
Regardless of how many arguments they’d gotten into over the years, Randy had always, always told Austin the truth.
Except about... That was different.
His secret was private. Personal.
He dragged out the first box and carried it to the porch. Where were they going to set up the baby’s room? The spare room, probably.
He couldn’t think about it, yet. He placed the box on the porch, went back to the truck, pulled some plastic contraption out and hauled it to the porch, too.
Hannah came outside with Ned, the screen door slamming behind her.
He was still blown away by her generosity. What woman offered all her free time like that?
A giving one. A kind one.
The image earlier of her holding AJ as if he were the most precious thing in the world came back.
The sort of woman who was meant to get married and have a bunch of her own babies.
His spirits dropped. In another life, he might have been first in line to be that guy. But it wouldn’t be fair to her or any kids he might have.
The heart condition that had killed his father would kill him, too.
He had no idea when. All he knew was he’d inherited hypertrophic cardiomyopathy from his dad.
Randy would never forget the day he’d walked into Dad’s bedroom and found him dead. Forty-eight years old. Young. Healthy. In shape.
Then gone.
Randy had lived with the trauma for years. And he would never put someone he loved through that. Never.
“What can I help with?” Hannah joined him at the tailgate.
“Can you ask Austin where he wants the baby’s stuff set up?” He couldn’t look at her. Couldn’t take the chance she’d somehow sense his heart was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode, taking him down for good.
“Sure. Be right back.”
Ned sat next to him, watching him. He looked down at the dog. “Why do I get the feeling you can read my thoughts and your owner can, too?”
The dog thumped his tail.
“You didn’t answer my question, Ned.” Randy grabbed another box and hefted it over to the porch, then pivoted to get a fresh load.
“He said the spare room.” Hannah bounded back down the steps. “Why don’t you take a break? Sit for a minute.”
“I’ve been sitting.” His veins were straining with the need to do something. Anything.
She took his hand, tugged on it gently and led him to the top step. They sat next to each other, neither speaking.
“It’s a lot to take in,” she said after a while. She still held his hand, squeezing it softly.
The gesture tore at him, made all the emotions he’d been stuffing deep inside yearn to come out.
“Are you going to be okay with this arrangement?” she asked. “I know you hate ranching.”
“I don’t hate it. But it’s not my passion. It was Austin’s and Dad’s.” That, at least, was a safe topic. He didn’t dare discuss the fact his world had just flipped upside down.
“I get it.”
He knew she’d understand. And he appreciated her changing the topic to something safer. “That and the fact I’m not as patient as Austin. I get frustrated when the cattle rebel.”
“The cattle rebel?” She chuckled. “Dad never mentioned rebellions when I rode out with him.”
His mood lightened a notch. Hannah had grown up on a ranch east of town. She was no stranger to cattle.
“Those stinkers get something in their head,” he said. “And it’s all you can do to move them in the right direction. And try to help one of the mama’s precious calves? You’re done for.”
“You’re a good man, Randy.” She nudged her elbow into his side.
A good man. Not really. But he wanted to be.
A good man would send Hannah on her way right now. She’d made his life as easy as a summer breeze this week. And she was volunteering to make a mountain of problems disappear in the next couple of weeks.
His heart condition would kill him. He didn’t know when. Could be tomorrow. Could be in forty years. But he’d never put a wife through the horror of finding him dead, and he wouldn’t take the chance of passing it on to a child, either.
He wasn’t the marrying kind. And Hannah was.
But what did he know? He thought his brother was the most upright, honest man he’d ever met. And he’d been wrong about him.
Maybe he didn’t know anyone, including Hannah.
And to be fair, she didn’t really know him, either.
“You’re really okay with taking care of AJ?” he asked.
“I am.” Her eyes crinkled in the corners as she smiled up at the sky. “Beats talking to Joe Schlock for hours every day.”
He couldn’t help it. He laughed. “Austin will be stuck with him.”
She touched his hand again. “It’s all going to be okay, you know. In a few weeks, everything will be back to normal.”
For her, maybe. Randy clenched his jaw. But not for him. A baby changed things.
“Why don’t we take a break from this and you can hold your nephew? You can get to know him.” She brushed off her legs as she stood, holding out her hand. He took it and rose. “You’re going to fall in love with that baby. Just wait and see.”
He hoped she was right. He was an uncle now. Whether he was ready or not.