Page 66 of A Surprise Wedding for the Cowboy

“How’s Mom taking this?”

“She’s not doing really well. It’s an emotional roller coaster around here. Add this to her menopausal hormones, and I’m sure I don’t have to spell out the details for you.”

Dad didn’t have a lot of patience for any emotional displays. It wasn’t much of a relief that his displeasure extended to his wife as well as his daughter. Which meant Mom really did need Stephanie there to act as a buffer between them. How had that gotten to be her job, anyway?

“Okay, Dad. I’ll talk to Tate.” She tapped to end the call and set the phone on the table. It chimed seconds later with the address she’d need.

Was there any chance Tate would stay behind with her? To support her while she supported her mother? She doubted it. He wouldn’t flout Walter’s orders like that.

So… he wasn’t going to be happy with her. She’d need a sitter for Jamie tomorrow afternoon — maybe Sage? Or Harper?

She’d have to figure out how to make it up to Tate later. Of course, if Mom really did have cancer, he’d totally understand. But if it turned out to be a false alarm — wouldn’t that be amazing? — he might think she just didn’t want to accompany him and had grasped at any excuse.

He wouldn’t. Would he?

* * *

Tate stood in front of the windows overlooking Lake Michigan and adjusted his crimson necktie. The penthouse and its view were as gorgeous as ever, but this weekend, it seemed like a hotel room. Grandfather’s assistant, Tammy, had arranged everything as he’d asked, so there was a crib and a pile of baby essentials in his workout room. The fridge and cupboards had been stocked with kid-friendly snacks and quick meals. Great, because he didn’t feel like going out by himself.

What had happened to him?

Stephanie. She’d made that little duplex on the ranch into a real home. Everyone he loved most was there. It was a short list. Stephanie. Jamie.

Maybe he’d let the condo go. But not until he’d talked with Grandfather about long-term plans.

Did he really want to make his permanent home on the ranch? Not in the duplex. Maybe he and Stephanie could build something more suitable for a growing family. There was a nice spot at the corner of Hummingbird Lane, where they’d still be close to the center of everything.

Man, he wished she and Jamie were here. He’d tried to change his flight, but with the Fourth of July in just a few days, that hadn’t been possible. He could have insisted Dad fly down and pick him up, but Dad was in Milwaukee overseeing repairs on one of the Sullivan hotels that had been damaged by a fire.

The world didn’t revolve around Tate Thomas Sullivan and his random desires. Even though it was totally natural to want to spend more time with his wife instead of jaunting off to the city for a week without her.

Her texts and calls had been brief over the weekend. Her mom was overwrought and panicking while they waited for the surgery. Only after the tumor had been analyzed would they know if it were cancerous and what the next rounds of treatment would look like.

She should be there with her parents. He believed that. But how he wished she were here with him instead. Or… that he was there. Either would work.

His phone buzzed. The limo waited below. Well, off to represent Sullivan at this shindig. Then wrap-up meetings with Justin Casselman over the next couple of days, and he could go home to his wife. He never wanted to spend a week apart from her again.

Twenty minutes later, he stood outside the venue, straightened his jacket, put on a smile, and headed inside. Camera flashes met him, with a slew of reporters asking specifically about where he’d been over the past months, and was it true that Sullivan was now in the dude ranch business.

Tate answered as briefly and politely as possible, then excused himself. He turned, only to bump right into someone. His hands grasped the woman’s arms as he tried to keep them both from tumbling to the marble floor.

“Tate? Is that you?” Dahlia Casselman looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Sure is. Nice to see you.” He smiled and stepped back as she grabbed both his hands.

“Seems like ages. We need to dance!”

Why were there flashes? He disengaged his hands. “You may not have heard, but I’m married now.”

“You’re what?” Dahlia made a show of looking behind him. “Where is she?”

“Back in Montana. There was a—”

“Too bad for her! She should be here to protect her property.” Dahlia tucked her hand around his arm.

Property? Tate removed her hand. Again. “Please respect that I’m very, very taken.”

The woman managed a pout that matched Jamie’s best. It was all Tate could do not to laugh.

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