“You saw Claire and not only thought I’d been with someone else, but that she could have been ours.”
I held her then, giving her the comfort she’d needed from me all those years ago. The summer breeze blew past us, the sound of it rustling the tall grass. What she’d endured and lost was so much greater than I’d imagined. I ached for the child we’d made and would never know. I remembered seeing Claire for the first time. Her bald little head, the tiny fingers. I’d thought I’d made her then. Only an hour later I’d learned the truth. I hadn’t cared. I couldn’t change that she’d become mine the instant I laid eyes on her.
But Sarah had carried the baby inside her. Loved it before she even knew what it was. Because we’d made it that night. Together.
“I wore a condom, but obviously that had failed. But I’m glad.”
“That the baby died?” she asked, tipping her head up to give me her confused eyes.
“That we made something that was a part of both of us. Our baby was loved, baby girl.”
Tears lodged in my throat. I’d had a child, and I hadn’t even known it. The loss was sinking in. I kissed her, wanting to be as close to her as possible. To let her feel me, know I was holding her. That we were meant to be, that I craved her. Not just her body but her heart. The child she’d carried for us. I, too, was grieving the loss of what could have been. The child we’d lost.
“I loved you,” I told her, dotting my lips across her brow. “Then. I love you now. Nothing can replace the baby we lost. Not Claire, not any baby we make. But I promise I’ll be with you from now on. Nothing will keep us apart.”
“I… I love you, too. I want to try again,” she admitted.
I’d thought Claire would be my only child. Being blessed with her was good enough for me, but getting Sarah back, making a family with her?
“You want to make a baby with me?”
She nodded. “I’m not sure about five though.”
I laughed then, wiped my eyes because they were filled with tears like hers. “We can ditch the condoms and work on it all you want. But I want a ring on your finger if we’re going to put a baby in your belly.”
She smiled then, brilliantly. Even with her cheeks splotchy and the weight of our loss heavy on my soul, this was one of the most perfect moments.
Sarah was mine, and she’d have my name. And give me our child.
17
SARAH
I sat in Huck’s arms for a while. Keeping me on his lap, he’d settled back against the rock. We talked. Whispered. Kissed. There was no ring, but we were engaged. There was no sex, so we hadn’t made a baby, but we would. We had our entire lives before us. Together.
Eventually we got up and made our way back to the stable hand in hand. Huck didn’t seem to want to let me go, and I was content with that. We peeked in on Maple and the puppies, but they were alone and nursing. We walked up to the main house, but it was quiet. Huck assumed Alice had gone into town with Thatcher and Claire.
Whenever I thought of the baby, I’d think of it as the one we’d lost. I wasn’t alone now. I would carry my own grief about it and so would Huck. But we had each other to lean on now.
And it wasn’t a secret any longer. The baby wasn’t mine to hide.
“Stay with me,” he said, tugging me so I was pulled into his arms again. His lips settled on the top of my head as he hugged me. “Stay here on the ranch.”
“What about Claire? And Alice?”
“I’m thirty-two years old. I’m not sixteen trying to sneak you in. Besides, Alice is the one who put me in the bachelor auction in the first place. It’s all her fault.”
I couldn’t help but laugh as I tipped my head back and looked up at him. “Her fault?”
“She’ll take the credit, I’m sure.”
“And Claire?”
“She’s little. She just wants you to be her mommy. You good with that?”
Have a five-year-old? I smiled. “I’m good with that. Then yes, I want to stay here with you.”
“Let’s go get a few of your things. We can figure out the rest.”
He held the door open for me as I climbed into the passenger seat of his police SUV, then leaned in and buckled my seat belt. Then kissed me.
I could do my own belt. Huck knew it, but I loved the gesture, saying without words that he’d always protect me. I certainly didn’t mind the kiss or the look in his eyes that promised more.
As we headed into town, I thought of Huck. Us. Claire. Everything. But I was happy. I’d always wanted this, to be with him. To have a family. We’d just taken a really big detour. Not all our problems were solved. My dad was going to be difficult.
“I forgot to tell you, your sister put in a police report that her car was stolen,” Huck said.
I flipped the visor down as we turned a corner and the sun was in my eyes. “The fire and now this. They’re having bad luck,” I said.
“Seems that way,” Huck added. “I think—”
A car coming our way veered into our lane and then slammed on the brakes, the back end fishtailing so it blocked our way. The front of that car almost faced where it had come from. Huck stopped the police car. My head whiplashed. His gaze narrowed as he looked out the front windshield as the driver’s door opened and a woman staggered out.
“Shit.” His head whipped around to look me over. “You okay?”
“Yes,” I murmured, my adrenaline pumping.
“Listen to me carefully. Climb out and shut your door. Stay on the ground behind
