Page 71 of Cold Foot Croc

“Sure,” she said, excitement humming through her. “I would like that. I’m living in Darby, Montana now. I would love for you to meet Garret and Breah.” They weren’t mad at her. They weren’t mad. The prison must’ve thrown away their letters. God, they weren’t mad. “You guys can call me anytime.”

“I’m going to probably go have a good cry, and then call Mace,” Mom said emotionally.

“You’ve made her month,” Tim said from the background.

“My lifetime,” her mom corrected. “Ray?”

“Yeah, Mom?”

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for what you did. I’m happy, and I know I wouldn’t have ever been that if I kept going the way I was going. I wouldn’t even be here. I think you knew that, and I think you just didn’t know how else to fix it. You just wanted to save me.”

Raynah scooted closer to Garret and hugged Breah closer. Her heart just felt broken wide open in a good way. Momknew. She’d figured it out. She understood. She saw her. “You’re welcome.”

When they got off the phone, Garret was smiling so big. “Today is the best day.”

She giggled and rested her head against his shoulder. “It’s up there.”

He slid his arm over her shoulders and asked, “Are you ready to go? I have a surprise.”

He was humming with excitement, and she eased back to look up at him suspiciously. “What have you done?”

“Something I think you will like.”

“Something for Breah?”

“Something for you.”

He stood and grabbed the bag she’d packed full of baby supplies. “Come on, Lenace.”

She laughed at the nickname and followed him carefully down the stairs, cradling Breah.

He tossed her bag in the back of his truck and helped her up into the seat, then took the baby from her arms and buckled her into the new car seat he’d strapped into the back seat of his truck. She checked the other cabins as she always did when she left, to see who was still here, but most of the cars were gone. Everyone was probably working today.

She checked on Breah once…two times…three times. Her momma instincts were a lot bigger than she could’ve imagined they would be.

“And you were scared you would be a bad mom,” Garret said out of nowhere, as if he could read her thoughts.

“I wouldn’t ever let anything bad happen to her.”

“I know. Do you even realize how sexy that is?”

“Sexy?” she asked, baffled. Not her.

“You’re pretty, and smart, and strong,” he said, sliding his hand over her thigh. “And then you end up being a protective momma. The animal in me is just obsessed with you.”

“Even though the baby isn’t yours?” she had to ask. They hadn’t really had a chance to talk about it. Everything had happened so fast.

“That baby is mine,” he said. Truth. He absolutely saw her as that, and that conviction was what made Raynah feel safe to say the next words.

“I sure love you, Garret.”

He jerked his attention to her and looked so shocked, but hopeful. “Yeah?”

She nodded her head. “I knew it early, what this was. Why do you think I was so scared of it?”

A grin curved up the corners of his lips. He gripped the wheel tighter, buzzing with obvious joy. “Am I…am I going to Change? No. Yes? No.” He rolled down his window and leaned out. “She loves me!” he yelled into the woods.

A peal of laughter escaped her. “Garret Hoffman, you’ll make the baby fussy.”

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