Page 10 of Sudden Summer

I cleared my throat. “I take my role as an aunt very seriously. She’ll always be able to come to me. I promise.”

Something flickered across his face, but I couldn’t quite understand why it looked like disappointment.

Whatever it was, it made me want to slide back down under the blanket and roll away from him. And that’s just what I did.

Until warm arms wrapped around me, and I couldn’t resist turning back in toward his heart.

The rays from the early morning sunrise hit my face and brought me back to reality. Stretching before my eyes even opened, I let out a gasp as pain flared in my side.

Damn, I forgot about that.

I felt the bed dip at my hip. “Are you okay?” Beau whispered as I finally got my sleepy eyes open. His hand swept away the hair covering my face. My eyes focused on him, and the shadows on his face told me he hadn’t slept at all. As if to confirm my suspicions, he bounced a sleeping baby in his other arm.

“Fine,” I whispered back, not wanting to wake the baby if he’d just gotten her back to sleep. “Did you put her down at all last night?”

Beau shook his head as I sat up against the headboard. “She woke up whimpering about an hour after we put her in there, and I just couldn’t do it again. I don’t like that playpen, it doesn’t seem like a good spot for her to be. There’s so much space, and she’s so tiny. We spent a lot of the night downstairs, just getting to know each other.”

God, this man. “That’s really sweet, but the playpen is a safe place for her to sleep. And you need rest, too.”

“Tonight. Right now, I need a plan. I’ve tried to think of what the hell I need to do next, but every time I look at her, I’m so lost. I should have had time to wrap my mind around this. I should have had time to get things ready for her.”

My hand reached up to rub across his back. “You should have, you’re right.”

“She had my full name, Chickadee. She could have found me.” The sorrow that filled his face made my eyes sting with tears.

“I know.”

“Why didn’t she find me?”

“I don’t know. It seems like it was just her and Juniper, so maybe she felt scared. Maybe she didn’t want anyone trying to take her daughter away from her.”

He nodded, his face dropping to the baby’s. “Maybe.”

“We can’t focus on what we don’t know or don’t understand. Juniper needs us all to rally together right now. We will, and not just me—your whole family will be here for you both.”

“Shit,” he winced, “I need to tell them. Mom and Dad are going to freak out.”

“You’re thirty-six.” I chuckled. “I’m sure your parents will handle this just fine. And if they don’t, well, isn’t that just the karma coming back to kiss ya for how you reacted to Jessie and Violet’s announcements?” I pushed my hand against his hip playfully, hoping he’d get the hint to move so that I could go to the bathroom. My mouth felt dryer than the fields in August, and I desperately didn’t want to breathe my morning breath all over him and the baby.

“Sorry,” he muttered as he stood up, swaying back and forth to keep Juniper asleep. “And you’re probably right. But just so we’re clear, you’re the only one who can call me on my shit like that. If one of my brothers tries to⁠—”

“You’ll listen to what they have to say, and you’ll apologize again if you have to. It’s nothing you can’t get over. For your daughter’s sake.” Mentioning Juniper had him swallowing hard. “Give me five minutes to wake up. I’ll make breakfast and we can come up with a plan to tell your family, and to get you set up here with everything she needs. Okay?”

“Okay. I need to call Denver and let him know he’s in charge of things today. Fuck—uh, fudge—they’re gonna have a long day riding down the fence lines.”

“I’m sure they’ll be fine with it. Tell him about Juniper. You know Kip and him will chatter up a storm about it all day long to each other.”

“Oh, so I get to be the source of their gossip for once?”

I laughed. “I highly doubt this is the first time they’ll be all up in your business. But you’re going to need to lean on them more, and it’s okay to tell them why. Let them have their fun; those guys have good hearts.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” His hand rested on my shoulder, and he shocked the hell out of me as he stilled, leaning in to press a kiss into my hair. “Thank you.”

“That’s what best friends are for,” I whispered, begging the butterflies in my stomach to quiet down.

By the time I’d brushed my teeth and checked on my side—which was now sporting a large, dark purple and blue bruise—Beau and Juniper had made their way downstairs. Ten minutes later and after some light running around, the kitchen was filled with the smell of fresh brewed coffee and crisp, hot bacon. Beau was running on empty, that was easy to see. He needed a good breakfast to get him through this morning.

Beau sighed as he set his phone down on the table. “My family is in full panic mode, but everyone is gonna meet us over at Lach’s.”