Page 77 of The Life We Left Behind

Then he turned his proud smirk to me as he crossed his arms over his massive chest.

“She’s so cool!” Cade immediately dropped to his knees to fuss over Val, who immediately rolled onto her back so he could rub her tummy. It was times like this that you wouldn’t think she was a working dog on the ranch. Although maybe ‘working’ was a step too far. Either way, she was better trained than any dog I’d ever met before.

“Have you seen the horses?” Cade asked excitedly, pointing toward the paddock closest to the house.

“I have. You wanna go meet them?”

I looked over at Booker, who was leaning against the post of the porch with a soft smile on his face. He nodded toward the field and made no attempt to move. I knew he wanted to come with us. This whole place was his proudest achievement, and rightly so. What Booker was building here was incredible. But my brother was giving me time with my son, not wanting to intrude. As much as I wanted to tell him that he never could, I also needed this, even if just for a little while.

As I jogged down the steps, Delaney moved closer. It felt so natural to wrap one arm around her shoulders and draw her to my side. “You sure you don’t want to stay?” I asked, hoping she’d say she would.

Delaney shook her head. “No. I’ve got a few errands to run this morning, but I’ll be back for lunch.”

Shit. The funeral. The whole reason that she’d come here in the first place. I needed to stop focusing on myself and concentrate on supporting her through all of this.

My feet stalled as indecision filled me. “Do you need some help? Is there anything I can do?”

I didn’t want her to have to do this alone, but I didn’t want to disappoint Cade, either. He was clearly excited about being here and getting to explore the ranch.

Delaney was already shaking her head. “No, it’s fine. It’s just groceries, and I need to go to the bank and sort out some paperwork.”

“I got some stuff I could do at the bank,” Booker said as I heard his heavy boots descend the porch steps. “If you fancy some company.”

Delaney shook her head again, this time with a laugh. “I’d forgotten what it was like to have the Farrington boys looking out for you.” She smiled at us wryly. “It’s honestly quick and boring. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Booker looked about as convinced as I was, but I wouldn’t push her now. Not in front of Cade. It was a conversation for later. Because she was right, she had us now, and we might be down to just two Farringtons, but that wouldn’t make any difference. Delaney wasn’t going through this alone. Not when she had us.

“You sure you don’t want to come see the horses, Mom?” Cade asked.

Her shudder against me was enough to make me laugh. I’d forgotten how much Delaney hated horses.

“Not a chance,” she said vehemently. “You be good, monkey. Trace is in charge.” She squinted at me seriously. “Okay, maybe Booker is in charge. I remember the trouble Trace got me into when I was a kid.”

“Hey! I wasn’t the one who convinced us all to go cow tipping at the McKenna farm.”

“What’s cow tipping?” Cade asked innocently.

“See. Corrupted already,” she joked playfully.

Delaney stepped away from me, and I felt the loss instantly. She quickly kissed the top of Cade’s head and stepped backward, a soft look coming to her face as she looked at us all. “I’ll see you all in a couple of hours.” As she turned and walked back to the car, she called over her shoulder, “And no cow tipping.”

“No cows around here,” Booker replied gruffly. “I’ll keep the kids in line, Lanes.”

“Yeah, because you weren’t the one that taught us how to hot wire a tractor,” I muttered under my breath.

“What does hot wire mean?” Cade asked, and I could see the mischievous look in his eyes as my head snapped toward him.

“Stop trying to get me in trouble,” I gasped as he started to cackle with laughter.

This kid. He was exactly like his mother. And I loved every single thing about it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

TRACE

Cade sat on top of the fence, exactly how Booker had shown him. Happiness radiated from his pink, wind-kissed cheeks.

“Are you warm enough?”

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