Wesley nodded, his face and voice somber. “They’ll feel really bad if we give them bad names.”
Chase covered his mouth and his laugh. They’d been debating the best names for more than two weeks. He’d heard Nonna and Wesley already calling the kittens, Misty and Trixie. Both names Nichole had come up with after she’d won the first board game contest to determine naming rights. Chase guessed that now Nonna and Wesley simply enjoyed their game nights and joking with Nichole.
“Fine, but I want veto power too.” Nichole set her hands on her hips and looked at Chase. She missed Nonna and Wesley silently sharing a giggle. Nichole asked, “What’s next?”
The flour on Nichole’s chin distracted him. He reached over, rubbed her jaw and leaned in for a soft kiss.
She laughed and stepped away. “You’re supposed to be teaching me to bake. Stop diverting my attention.”
“We don’t really need cookies.” Chase adjusted his shoulder splint. But he had needed another kiss.
Nichole fended him off with her measuring cup. “I’m supposed to be learning to cook while you recover from surgery. So I can help out in the kitchen.”
She’d already helped him. She’d been with him every step of the way, from the time he went into pre-op to the moment he opened his eyes in recovery. She’d held his hand. Made him laugh. Brought him red licorice and kept her promise to always be beside him. Just as he would be for her.
The doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it.” Wesley jumped up from the table and shouted, “It’s the rest of the family!”
Chase curved his good arm around Nichole’s waist, tucked her into his side and kissed her. Voices and laughter vibrated through the house, extending into every corner and filling every part of Chase.
Elliot and Travis challenged Dan and Drew to a car race on the video game console in the family room. Ben and Wesley shouted advice and driving tips. Josie and Brooke each cradled a kitten on the sunporch. Theo, Josie’s boyfriend, shook his head at Chase and grinned at Josie after her suggestion that they adopt some kittens too.
The doorbell rang again. His mother and sisters swooped into the kitchen, carrying casseroles and dessert trays. More family and friends crowded into the house. More laughter and warmth surrounded him.
Nichole touched his cheek, drew his attention to her. She asked, “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
“There’s no place else I’d rather be.” He kissed her again, allowed their love to flow through him. “What about you?”
“You’re beside me and then there’s all this family.” She placed her hand over his heart. “I’m home and it’s better than any dream.”
Home. He lifted her hand, pressed his lips against her palm. He finally understood Nonna’s words.
The only home he ever wanted to run to was Nichole.
For more great romances in the City by the Bay miniseries from Cari Lynn Webb, visit www.Harlequin.com today!
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Cowboy’s Secret Baby by Leigh Riker.
WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK FROM
Wholesome stories of love, compassion and belonging.
Connect with uplifting stories where the bonds of friendship, family and community unite.
4 NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE EVERY MONTH!
The Cowboy’s Secret Baby
by Leigh Riker
CHAPTER ONE
HER CHILDREN WERE GONE.
“Bye, Mom!” nine-year-old Jordan, her oldest, had yelled on his way to his father’s car.
“Bye-bye, Mommy.” A worried look from Stella, almost eight. “Will you be okay?”
“Why aren’t you coming with us, Mama?” This last from six-year-old Seth, her shadow.
For the first time in nearly a decade, she’d be childless for the next few months, and the summer promised—threatened?—to be one lonely day after another, which would only give her space to obsess about the recent changes in her life. “What am I going to do until August?” Elizabeth Barnes asked her empty house. It was only mid-June. Her kids had left less than an hour ago, and already she missed them terribly.
Elizabeth blew her nose. She’d used half a box of tissues and her reddened eyelids must look puffy. She should have been dancing for joy at the very thought of being her own person for a while rather than everyone’s stay-at-home mom 24/7—but her initial euphoria when her ex-husband had offered to spend his summer with their kids had faded. Instead, she felt disconnected and a bit panicky.
A knock at her door predictably set her heart racing. Elizabeth, who’d been brought up on the belief that, above all, appearances mattered—Thanks, Mom—wasn’t ready to see anyone this morning. Maybe she wouldn’t answer. Today, in spite of her normally sunny outlook, she wanted to wallow in heartache—at least until tomorrow—before she finally went on with her life. The one she’d never wanted. The one that didn’t include Harry and their family being together. The divorce had been finalized a month ago, and she’d certainly observed that day with what she could only call mad desperation—she’d done a very foolish thing. But Harry was out of her life, as much as he ever would be as the father of their children, and it was Elizabeth who, from now on, would do most of the heavy lifting while raising them.
The knock sounded again, and her mouth went dry. For months a rap at the door had meant another prying person in the guise of concern, even a nosy reporter from the local paper. Harry had been the town mayor, and his infidelity had put her in the spotlight right along with him. You’d think people would have had enough by now of prying into her life, tearing apart the last shreds of her privacy, but in Barren, Kansas, there were those who still talked. Elizabeth was torn between her desire to hide and a need for human company in this house that now echoed with silence, and solitude nearly won.
Elizabeth hated attention. She knew there were those in town who’d always called her Ms. Perfect and hoped to see
