Page 47 of The Cowboy's Miracle Baby

A muscle jumped in his jaw and his eyes burned.

“Do you remember the day Ella was born?” she said, sitting up and scooting closer to him. “How happy we were? And how she was watching us through that plastic incubator, her eyes all blue and bright and locked in on us both? As if, out of all those people in the room, she knew exactly who we were?”

He nodded. He would never forget that moment.

“Well, that’s because she did. She chose us. You and me. But now, you’re all she has left. Except for Luke. And, well, now the dog.”

Of course, she knew about the dog. “I think she asked Santa for one.”

“Didshe?”

He frowned a little as Lissa laughed softly, then leaned close, close enough that he thought he could catch the sweet fragrance of her. A scent that he’d nearly forgotten except for the few clothes of hers he’d saved and never washed. The ones she was wearing in fact.

“If I could still give her what she needs, you know I would. But that’s all on you now. I wish things were different…”

“I know that.” He rubbed his forehead hard. “She misses you. So much.”

“Children are so resilient, aren’t they? She can love again. Fully and without regret. As can you, my darling.”

She got up and walked to the back of the couch, brushing her fingers along the back of his neck, like a whisper.

“That’s easy for you to say. I’m on my own here with—”

But when he turned to reach for her hand, she was gone. As if she’d never been there.

And he glanced at the louvered window and saw that morning was just beginning to break.

Chapter Ten

He asked Camito lunch the next day with Eloise and Luke and they found a small window to take Eloise ice-skating on Miracle Lake, which only revealed how long it had been since Gus had been ice-skating. Still, Eloise had laughed and laughed, and watching her and Luke—who had played ice hockey as a kid—playing together was a joy. Luke held her arm the first few times around, then somehow, she ended up with Gus, while Eloise skated circles around them both.

“I thought you said she didn’t know how to skate,” Cami said, watching Ella with envy.

“I had no idea,” he admitted. “Her babysitter’s apparently been bringing her here now and then when I’m working late in the afternoons. I guess there’s a lot I need to catch up on.”

Cami sighed. “It’s a truth universally acknowledged that childrenwillfind a way to make their parents feel inadequate. That goes for teachers, too, by the way.”

“You’re just trying to make me feel better.”

“I am.” She grinned. “But we grown-ups better have each other’s backs or, frankly, we’re doomed.”

“If you put it that way,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her toward him on the ice. She collided with him, and he held her firmly against him. For a long moment, he looked like he might kiss her again. But as Eloise and Luke spun by, he pushed off, tugging her along with him. Eventually, she found her balance and they spent the next hour gliding along the rink together alongside his brother and daughter, talking about Lolly and Christmas and the puppy he was soon to pick up for Eloise that he would keep at Doc Anders’s house until Christmas Eve. Cami wished she could see Eloise’s face when he gave it to her.

Aside from thinking about all the things she’d never get to do with Gus and Eloise after they left, it was a dreamy afternoon when she had a million other things she needed to do. She didn’t care. She wanted to be in the moment with him and with Eloise. Especially when Eloise grabbed her hand and stole her away from Gus for a skate around the small lake.

Miracle Lake had gotten its name a long, long time ago for being responsible for themiracleof a child saved from drowning. But for her, today, this lake had ushered up its own little miracle after years of her imagining she’d never meet someone like Gus who could just hold her like she really mattered. Someone whose heart just clicked with hers. Someone she could fall in love with. She wanted to remember today, without regret, but not just because she was having more fun than she’d had in a long time, but because she could sense an ending coming.

*

It was lateafternoon on Thursday when Cami found Sarah standing in the kitchen with every cabinet open as Cami rushed to get out the door for the pageant that evening. She was holding Lolly, who was wide awake and seemed happy to be held. Cami dipped her nose against the baby’s little head and sniffed. There had to be something pheromonal about that baby smell, that instantly made her feel calm and happy. Someone should bottle that fragrance.

Bent over, searching the pantry cupboard, Sarah was muttering to herself and jumped when Cami said, “If it’s Liam you’re looking for, Mom, you should probably try his house.”

“Very funny. I am not looking for your brother.”

Taking in the open cupboards, Cami poured herself some afternoon coffee from the carafe into a to-go stainless mug. “I heard the muttering and I assumed…” She swayed with Lolly on her left hip.

“Ha-ha. No, I’m looking for the loaf of bread I picked up yesterday at the store. I put it right here on the counter and now it’s gone.”

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