Page 39 of His First Baby Rodeo

“No, I have to take this.” It was just too wild, Jeff calling her in this moment after the things he had said to her the last time they’d seen each other. It was as if he knew.

“Hey, El,” Jeff said when she’d answered the phone, hardly giving her time to greet him. “I’m about twenty minutes from you.”

“What?” She sat bolt upright in bed. “Why?”

“I need you to watch the kids today,” he said.

“You don’t have a babysitter near home?”

“Not on short notice. Besides, we’re driving right past you guys anyway. I’m looking at a new horse I might buy, and Marilyn wanted to come with me. She’s bringing the baby. But I need you to watch Brody and Phoebe for me.”

El scrambled up out of bed. “You couldn’t give me a little more notice, Jeff? I’m just getting out of bed.”

“I texted you an hour ago! I figured you’d be up to deal with ranch chores. It’s not exactly early, you know. It’s nine-thirty.”

“It is?” She held the phone away from her ear to look at the time, and her stomach turned over. He was right. She hadn’t even begun her chores. “Jeff, today’s not a great day for this—”

“El, We’re almost there. The kids are excited to see you.”

She sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. Itwouldbe good to see her niece and nephew, of course. She loved them. And it was always fun to spend a day on a ranch with kids — there were plenty of things they could help with, and it was fun to see the whole thing through young eyes. “All right,” she said. “Just… I have to hop in the shower.”

“No problem. Let Mac know we’re coming and I’ll drop the kids with him until you’re ready.”

“Right.”

“Thanks, El,” Jeff said. “I appreciate the help, you know.”

“Any time.” She hung up the phone and turned to Mac. “We’ve got trouble.”

He listened as she explained what was happening. “It’ll be all right,” he said. “A day with the kids is no problem. I’ll help you supervise them.”

But supervising Brody and Phoebe wasn’t the part that had El feeling worried.

She washed quickly but thoroughly in the shower, jumped out, wound her hair into a quick braid, and pulled on a worn-in pair of jeans and a tank top. By the time she’d finished getting ready, Mac was in the kitchen frying eggs and looking for all the world as if this was just another ordinary day. She had no idea how he did it.

She couldn’t help herself — she went to his side and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Thanks for handling this so well,” she murmured.

“Of course,” he said. “It’s not going to be a big deal, El. He’ll be in and out.”

So he was worried about the same thing she was worried about — Jeff’s reaction to seeing them together. Whether he would know what had happened since the last time he’d seen them.

There’s no way he could know.But the fact that Mac was worried about it too didn’t exactly put her mind at ease. It made her feel as if she was right to worry, as if there was genuinely something to be worried about.

Before she could say anything more to him on the subject, they were interrupted by the sound of a car driving over gravel — Jeff pulling up to the house.

They immediately stepped apart from one another, by unspoken agreement. El felt a pang of sorrow at the distance. She knew at once that they would have to maintain it throughout the day. Brody and Phoebe were young, and they wouldn’t suspect anything, but there was no way to be sure they wouldn’t say something to Jeff that hewouldknow how to interpret.

El took a deep breath and went to the door to greet her family.

Phoebe barreled through first and collided with her in a hug. El lifted her niece up in her arms. “Hey, you!” she said. For a moment, it was almost possible to forget her worries — it was always so good to see these kids. She loved them like they were her own.

“Hey, guys,” Jeff said, stepping through the door. “What smells good?”

“Eggs,” Mac said, holding up the pan. “Want some breakfast?”

“Nah,” Jeff said. “Marilyn’s waiting in the car. We’re already running late for our appointment with the horse breeder.” He frowned. “Since when do you know how to fry an egg, anyway?”

“Oh, El taught me,” Mac said. “I think she got tired of being the only one who knows how to do anything in the kitchen.”

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