“Wondering that is reasonable,” Adam said. “As is feeling unwilling to encounter him. We have a system,” Adam said. “We’ll likely know if he shows up in the area not long after he arrives. And if he does, we’ll have a conversation with him and find out what he wants.”
“And we’ll let you know.” Jake got to his feet.
“On the off chance that you encounter him? That he gets through us and gets to you?” Adam stood up. “Call Brandon or Trace. Or you can call me, too.”
“All right. Thank you.” She walked them to the door. After they left, she turned to face Brandon. “Do you think I should tell Libby about this?”
“It’s your decision,” Brandon said. “And whatever you decide, we’ll back you.”
“I hear a ‘but.’” These men would respect her wishes with regard to her daughter, and that was as it should be at this point. But she wanted their input. “Please tell me what you really think I should do.”
Even though she knew that, right now, she was the only one legally responsible for Libby, she didn’t feel alone.
“Baby, I’ve learned that, in every situation, knowledge is always power. You were honest with her about why her father left?”
“Not in so many words. I didn’t tell her that he didn’t want to have to be financially responsible for her illness. That he had no…no balls.” Rachel sighed. “I don’t think I had to. His choosing to leave was a rejection, a final one at that. The only thing I could tell her was that some people don’t want to be parents.”
“Do you think telling her this news will be a setback for her, emotionally?”
“No, I don’t.” Then she met Brandon’s gaze. “I’ve never trashed Buck to her, because, even though he wanted no part of her, he is her father. I…”
“You closed your own door but left hers open, for her to close or not as she chose, sometime in the future.”
“Yes. And talking about this with you has led me to the conclusion that I think she needs to know. I don’t want her in a position where she’s confronted with something that she didn’t have time to prepare for.”
“I think that’s a sound decision.” Brandon eased her into his arms. “So, it’s Friday night, and supper time is approaching. We brought some steaks to grill,” he said. “And tomorrow morning, three of us have to head over to Healing Rides. We might as well go together. How do you feel about Trace and I spending the night with you?”
“I only have a queen-sized bed. I have a better idea. Why don’t we go to your place for supper and stay over, there?” She knew there were three bedrooms other than the master, so there was plenty of room for Libby.
“That is a better idea.”
“You look surprised,” Rachel said.
“I am, a little. We only met Libby a week ago.”
“Mmhmm. And last Sunday, after you two left, she wanted to know why you hadn’t slept over. My daughter told me, during an unrelated discussion a couple of weeks ago, that she knows about sex.”
“She does? Do we have to speak to her? Or some handsy boy? I’ve got both a lethal knife and a handgun as standard issue, woman.”
“Oh, don’t you look fierce!” She stepped closer and put a hand on his cheek. “No, she likely knows because today’s fourteen is like the new eighteen.”
Brandon exhaled heavily. “There’s a lot to learn about parenting. Neither Trace nor I want to fuck this up.”
Rachel stretched up on her toes and kissed him. “I have faith you and Trace will learn what you need to know.” She might be getting ahead of her skis, a little. She didn’t necessarily want them to think she was casting these two men in the role of father.
Haven’t they already put themselves there on their own?
Maybe they had. Rachel wasn’t counting on a forever future with these two men. But for the first time, she was beginning to think that it might not be something to fear.
* * * *
Brandon stood at the grill, a beer in his hand and his dad, Robert, by his side. Just as they were leaving Rachel’s to come home, Robert had called. Mom, apparently, wanted to see the house, and him and Trace, and she wanted to meet Rachel in a social setting.
Brandon had grinned, because he understood his mother and that his dad had been using her exact words.
Of course, both his dads and his mom knew Rachel because, like they were for most people in town, the dads were her docs. And, of course, they knew Libby, as well and for the same reason.
But this was different, because now they understood that he and Trace were in love with her.
I never imagined my parents would know that I was in love before the woman I loved knew it.
Brandon had liked Robert and David the first time he’d met them, on Skype. That liking had turned to love, and sometime in the first year after they’d married his mother, he’d begun to think of both men as his dads.
He’d called them that for the first time just this past Thanksgiving, at his grandparents’ table. It had been the first time he’d said it, and the pleasure of the gift he’d given astounded him.
David and Trace joined them. David’s assessing gaze took in Brandon’s grilling skill, but his attention was never far from the women.
It’s kind of cool having the family here. Brandon met Trace’s gaze and grinned.
Next time, if they planned ahead, they could get his family here, too. But a phone call had yielded the information that his mom and brother were in Abilene, visiting his sister, Danielle.
Colleen giggled. Brandon smiled. He wasn’t the least bit surprised that once his nearly four-year-old sister, Colleen, had finished hugging him, she’d gravitated to Libby.
Libby happily sat with the little girl at one end
