Page 42 of Billionaire Lumberjack's Bargain

Not how dirty or wet he might get or how stained his clothes may end up.

Not when he sounds so damn happy.

Hot tears track down my cheeks, and I wipe them away on my forearm, my hands too dirty to do the job without leaving evidence across my face. And I do not want Davey or Dalton to see me come undone like this.

I’ve fought too hard to hold it together in front of Davey. To be strong for him so he doesn’t become a hollow shell of himself the way I sometimes feel. At least, when I’m alone.

It’s easier when Dalton’s around.

To see that hope.

To be something other than a miserable, hormonal mess.

Listening to him out there with Davey, how carefree they sound doing something as simple as playing in the rain, makes me even more thankful he’s come into our lives and for everything he’s brought with him.

His calm, reassuring presence.

His physical strength as well as the emotional support he’s given both of us when we had no one else to lean on.

And most of all, the glimmer of hope that’s always trailed along in his easy smile.

He found a way to draw something out of Davey I don’t think I could have today.

It’s incredible how resilient children are, how quickly they can bounce back from the kind of pain that should crush them, and how easily they can find joy in such simple things. To me, it still feels like my world is incomplete, like a part of me is missing and has been since the moment Dave died.

I force myself onto my feet and brush my hands off on my apron, annoyed I didn’t wear my gardening gloves today. Drawn to the sound of their laughter and indistinguishable words, I push open the greenhouse door and watch them from the protection of the jamb.

The sound of the pouring rain stampedes on the roof as it falls in an almost solid sheet only inches in front of me, just like it did the first time I saw Dalton.

Back then, he was barely eighteen, but watching him now, I can’t deny that he has become one of the strongest men I’ve ever met.

This life demands it.

And the role model he had in Pops ensured that his strength isn’t just physical but also of character, too.

He leaps, slamming his booted feet down into the massive puddle they stand in and sending water flying and splashing up over Davey, who just grins and tries to do the same to the man who has somehow become so important to us in such a short amount of time.

Dalton has truly become our friend.

He’s more than just our savior.

He’s somebody we look forward to seeing every day, spending time with, someone who can draw a smile from either of us, even at a time when I didn’t think that would ever be possible again.

I rest my hand across my belly as the renewed agony of knowing this baby is never going to meet his or her father washes over me.

Will Davey even remember him?

Dalton looks up from where they’re playing and grins, motioning for me to come over and join them, but I quickly shake my head. If I get anywhere near him, he’ll see what a wreck I am, how I’m completely falling apart over something so trivial as watching them play in the rain.

But all I can picture is Dave doing this with his son.

What should have been, if not for that freak accident…

Dalton’s brow furrows as he watches me, and he bends down and whispers something to Davey. Davey glances my way, then races over through the rain, slamming his feet through the smaller puddles forming across the property until he reaches me.

He stares up, drenched from head to foot, with the biggest grin I may have ever seen on his face, and grabs my hand. “Come on, Mama.”

I shake my head and squeeze his tiny fingers. “No, Bub. You go have fun with Dalton. I’m going to stay dry right here.”

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