Page 27 of The Cowboy's Miracle Baby

“Oh, how right you are.”

They ended up at the Java Café, sitting at the bar by the front window, nursing a couple of cappuccinos. The café wasn’t crowded yet. That would happen later when church let out. But the barista behind the counter was busy on her phone and not paying attention to them at all.

“So, tell me what you learned about Lolly’s mom.”

She described the details she’d learned from Hannah and from the man at the Salvation Army bucket. “The downside is, neither of them seemed to actually know her or has seen her around lately. Or could even point me in a direction to begin looking. But if they had encounters with her, others must have as well.”

“You say she’s a teenager? That’s a place to start. That means she must have been in school somewhere at some point, probably here. And possibly saw a doctor during her pregnancy or delivery? There can’t be that many teenaged girls with the name Tara, I would guess.”

“If,” Cami said, “she was actually from here. But if not, how would she know me? If she’s somewhere between sixteen and eighteen, she’d be too old to have been a student in my third-grade classes. I haven’t been teaching for that long. And besides, I don’t recall a student with her name. Ever.”

“Fair enough. But if she attended school here, there must be a record.”

“Ryan has a yearbook. Maybe I can find her in there. Maybe we can circle in on a last name, maybe even find an address for her from the school.”

“What if,” he said, “she doesn’t want to be found? My guess is, there are… extenuating circumstances with her family.”

She nodded. “Like no support. Clearly that must be or—”

“None of this would have happened.”

“Right. So, we’ll have to be careful.”

He grinned at her use of the wordweand took a long sip of his cappuccino.

Cami grimaced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to include you in all this drama.”

“I’m kind of flattered that you would.”

She considered him for a long moment with surprise. “You are?”

He turned to look out the window. “Aside from pulling calves and inoculating every four-legged ranch animal within in a thirty-mile radius of this town, I’ve been pretty single-mindedly focused on keeping my head down and taking care of Ella. I actually welcome the distraction.”

A flicker of disappointment wafted through her, though she could hardly say why. Maybe she’d hoped for something more personal than being a mere distraction from his job? But who was she to quibble? She took a gulp of coffee.

He rubbed his forehead. “Yeah, that… that didn’t come out exactly as it had sounded in my head,” he said, looking apologetic. “Wh-what I meant to say was… uh—” He broke off, looking lost.

She raised her eyebrows in anticipation.

“I meant to say that it’s been a long time,” he continued, “since I simply shared a coffee with a woman who wasn’t paying me to treat her colicky horse or diagnose her steer’s gimpy leg. It’s mostly me, lying covered in muck on a half-frozen field, trying to make sure Ella gets picked up from school on time. This is more than a distraction. I… enjoy your company.”

Touched, she felt her cheeks go hot. “You, Dr. Claymore,” she said with a chuckle, “need to get out more. But I’m happy to fill that apparent void in your life this morning, if only to introduce a little Hardesty chaos into it.”

He looked relieved that she’d teased him about it. “Chaos, particularly Hardesty chaos, is always welcome.”

Lolly began to fuss, and she stood and rocked her. “I think she’s hungry and I should be getting back anyway. But I think we’re going to decorate that tree we bought yesterday and a couple others, if you and Ella would like to come and help. Luke is welcome, too, of course. Which comes, by the way, with an invitation to stay for the big family dinner tradition that follows. My mom is already smoking a big roast in the smoker. And I think there will be cookies.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude on a family—”

“No intrusion. I mean, welcome to the chaos. I’m fairly certain you and Ella and Luke will not be the only non-Hardestys there, as it’s also a tradition to bring friends.”

“How can I refuse an offer like that?”

“You cannot. See you all around four?”

“Thanks. Yes. See you then.”

*

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