Come Home, Cowboy. Cathy McDavid

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      “Are you okay?” Josh asked.

      She wasn’t sure and stumbled toward the couch. The cushions dipped as she sat. She’d forgotten how old and uncomfortable the couch was. Josh would probably have trouble sleeping on the pullout bed. She had.

      “I haven’t been around little children much...lately.” She wrung her hands nervously. Why wasn’t she leaving?

      Josh sat on the other end of the couch, balancing Nathan on his lap. “We’ll try to keep out of your way as much as possible.”

      “You don’t have to do that.” It was her problem to handle, not his.

      Nathan didn’t want to sit and scrambled off Josh’s lap. He walked over to his sleeping sister and set his sippy cup in the carrier at her feet.

      That made no sense. Then again, he wasn’t three years old yet.

      “Daddy, I hungry.”

      “The kid eats like nothing I’ve ever seen.” Josh got off the couch and headed to the kitchen. “Raquel put some hot dogs in the fridge.”

      “Hot dogs!” Nathan tumbled excitedly into the kitchen.

      The boy grabbed the counter edge as Josh removed a perfectly good hot dog from the package, arranged it on a paper plate and put it in the microwave. Ninety seconds later, the pair of them stared dejectedly at a deformed hot dog.

      “I guess I messed that up.” Josh shot the microwave a dirty look as if it were responsible.

      Nathan started to cry.

      Cara pushed to her feet, fully intending to leave. Except, she didn’t. Going into the kitchen, she automatically patted Nathan on the head before realizing her mistake. His hair was the texture of silk.

      “Hot dogs take thirty seconds to heat,” she said, examining her hand before brushing it on her jeans.

      Josh placed a second one on the paper plate. “I have a lot to learn.” He pressed buttons on the microwave. This time, when the buzzer sounded, the hot dog looked edible. He cut it into small pieces and then carried the plate to the table.

      “Did you bring a booster seat?” Cara assured herself that the baby slept peacefully in her carrier on the floor. It was as good a place as any.

      Josh shook his head. “I don’t know. My in-laws and Trista did most of the packing.”

      “Daddy. Hungry!” Nathan complained impatiently.

      “Wait.” Cara hurried to the hall closet. The extra pillows were there, just like before. Back at the table, she set the pillows on a chair, then instructed Nathan, “Sit here.”

      He eagerly clambered into the chair, situated himself and began stuffing pieces of hot dog into his mouth.

      Satisfied, she started for the door. “I’ll leave you to your dinner.”

      “Before you go.” Josh intercepted her. “I have a deal to propose.”

      Her suspicions flared. This must be about the horses. “What kind of deal?”

      “Clearly, I need help with my kids.”

      “I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

      He smiled. “I could use a teacher. I was thinking of you.”

      “No.” She jerked back so quickly, she bumped into the door.

      “Hear me out first.” Josh continued speaking, ignorant of, or indifferent to, her distress. “You show me the ropes, and I’ll help you with the sanctuary. Anything you need. And I won’t pressure you to give up the land.”

      Did he not realize how hard this would be for her?

      She glanced at Nathan, smashing the last bite of hot dog into his plate rather than eating it. Kimberly had started stirring and would whimper any second. Most babies her age cried when they woke from a nap.

      Cara wanted to run and not stop until she was a thousand miles away. She also wanted to hold Kimberly. The two longings waged a war inside her. Eventually, one prevailed.

      Going to the carrier, she undid the straps and lifted the baby into her arms. A splendid feeling washed over her. Cara cradled the baby close as tears filled her eyes. She wondered if they were tears of sorrow or joy.

      “All right,” she murmured and gently rocked the baby. “We have a deal.”

Chapter Four

      Nathan had decided to help Josh unpack. As a result, clothes and toys littered the bedroom floor. And now the boy was constructing diaper towers of varying heights.

      “Come on, buddy.” Josh tucked Kimberly in the crook of his arm. For once, she wasn’t crying. “Time to clean up this mess.”

      “I almost done, Daddy.”

      Josh should have been grateful. Mess aside, the diaper project had kept Nathan occupied and out of trouble for the past thirty minutes.

      Hold on. Making a mess was getting into trouble. Oh, well. It beat emptying the bottom cupboards, which was what Nathan had done when they first got up this morning at seven.

      That was late for Josh. Typically, he rose earlier. But he’d been exhausted last night, falling into bed—make that onto the pullout couch—and sleeping poorly. Taking care of two young children was hard work. Not that he hadn’t been alone with them for long stretches before now. But it had been a while ago, and he hadn’t been in the midst of moving. Also, Nathan had become considerably more rambunctious and Kimberly more demanding, if that was possible.

      Laying Kimberly on the changing table, he quickly nabbed the diaper at his feet. He was ready to put it on when he realized he had the wrong size. This was one of Nathan’s diapers and considerably larger than Kimberly’s.

      “Son, what did you do with your sister’s diapers?”

      Kimberly started crying again, probably because she was cold, what with her bottom half-undressed. Darn, but the apartment was chilly.

      “Here.” Nathan patted the top of a crooked diaper tower.

      “Can you bring me one, please?” Josh kept a hand pressed on Kimberly’s stomach. She’d started kicking her legs, and he was afraid she might roll over the railing and off the table. “Hurry.”

      Nathan took his time selecting the perfect diaper.

      “Any one of them will do, son.”

      Nathan handed him a diaper and Josh quickly put it on Kimberly. Aware that it sagged on one side, Josh nonetheless slipped his daughter into a pair of pink sweatpants and wrestled socks onto her feet. The kitten faces on the sock toes seemed to fascinate her. She stopped crying and lifted one foot for closer examination.

      Josh cringed. How could she twist herself like that and not СКАЧАТЬ