Jill Lynn - The Rancher's Unexpected Baby

“Your dad was my closest friend in law school.” Like a rusty engine, Hudson’s cry stuttered. “He was the kind of guy who would do anything for you.”

Somehow, he’d gained the baby’s rapt attention. And he wasn’t about to lose it and have him start crying again, so Gage kept talking. “When things went bad with Nicole, he was there for me. I’m not sure I was as there for him when your mom—” Gage swallowed. “When she went to heaven. I tried, but I just...didn’t know what I was doing.”

If only Zeke hadn’t attempted to outfly that storm, he’d be holding his son right now instead of an inept Gage.

Zeke had been rushing to get back from a meeting in Aspen. He’d had his pilot’s license for years and was meticulous about following protocol. That’s why the accident had come as such a shock. But he’d hurried through his preflight check in order to beat the weather and then encountered mechanical issues that could have been avoided.

Moisture coated Gage’s eyes, and he blinked to clear it away. If Hudson went to another home, would they keep Zeke’s memory alive for the boy?

He’d never thought about that before.

Hudson’s face contorted, and he howled again, adding some kicks of frustration. Gage understood the sentiment.

“There was this one time in school...”

Once again, Hudson paused to listen. Perhaps he was searching, hoping to hear his dad’s voice. Either way, Gage kept talking. He told Hudson about his dad. He started with their first year of law school, and by the time he was three stories in, the boy was asleep.

Long lashes rested against his plump cheeks, body limp in Gage’s arms. Sweet boy. Zeke and Leila had sure made a cute kid.

Gently, Gage eased the recliner footrest up. He didn’t want to move and wake Hudson, so he’d close his eyes and rest here for a minute.

And maybe when he woke up, his life would make sense again.

Why was her nose so cold? Had it frozen off her face?

Emma’s hand snaked up, rubbing the extremity. Like a sleeping limb, it buzzed, attempting to return from the land of glaciers. Had the heat kicked off in the cabin during the night?

She scrounged for her blankets, recognition of her whereabouts quickly registering when she latched onto her car’s steering wheel instead. A painful new kink in her neck made its presence known when she moved her seat to an upright position.

Emma scrambled for her phone. No messages or calls, so Gage and Hudson must be okay. And it was five in the morning.

Oops. The car was freezing, and so was she. She rubbed her arms through the sleeves of her down jacket. How could she have slept so long in such poor conditions?

“Birdie, I need you to start up nice and quiet now.” Emma tapped the dash of her Mini Cooper. When she’d purchased it, an I See Birds sticker had adorned the bumper. She’d since removed it, but the birding phrase had prompted her to choose the name.

The car’s engine, usually a gentle purr, roared. “Shh. Did you turn into a lion overnight? That’s enough noise out of you.” She kept her headlights off as she slowly eased down Gage’s drive. Emma had no desire to wake anyone up or notify Gage that she’d slept in front of his house for the last few hours.

When she got back to the cabin, Emma snuck inside quietly, attempting not to disturb her sister, Mackenzie, who slept in the other bedroom.

She climbed into bed, the warmth a comfort, but couldn’t shake the chill from her body. After about an hour of hoping sleep would come, she gave up and readied for the day. A hot shower and a cup of tea did wonders for bringing her back to normal temps. She dressed in a black T-shirt—Best Aunt Ever scrawled across it in white print—along with skinny jeans and a long, comfortable cardigan.

She was sitting at the small kitchen table, nursing a second cup of tea, eating toast and reading her morning devotions when Mackenzie came out of her room in pajama bottoms and an old T-shirt sporting their high school mascot—a mustang. Even groggy and half-awake, Mackenzie was long and willowy and strong and feminine all at the same time.

Emma had gotten used to their sister roles long ago. She was of the plain and simple variety and liked reading, tea and binging on chick flicks. Mackenzie was far more adventurous, always needing to conquer the next thing. She could be found white-water rafting or taking bull riding lessons. Actually, she hadn’t tried that last thing. Yet.

“Hey, you’re up early.” Mackenzie shuffled to the coffeepot and gazed longingly at it as if sheer desire might make the necessary contents jump inside.

“Didn’t sleep great this morning. I’m about to head back over to Gage’s. See if he and Hudson survived the night.”

“That’s right.” Mackenzie removed the coffee from the freezer and filled the reusable filter with grounds, then added water from the pitcher in the fridge. The girl liked her coffee a certain way, so Emma never attempted to make it for her. “I’m sure they were fine. Gage will do great with him,” she added with a dismissive wave.

Her sister didn’t have the same concern over Gage and the baby that Emma did. But then, she hadn’t been the one to encourage Gage to keep Hudson in the first place when he’d wanted to find someone else right away.

He’d tried, though. Right now there weren’t any other options. So Emma really hadn’t pushed him into a decision he wouldn’t have come to on his own.

“Still, I should get over there. You know how hard taking care of a baby can be.”

Mackenzie got out a mug with the new Wilder Ranch logo that Cate had recently designed. None of the mugs in their cupboard matched, and Emma liked it that way. Each morning she picked out one that best fit her day. Her mood. Today hers was one she’d made in ceramics class back in high school. Just the right size but a little off-kilter.

Her sister covered a yawn. “Not really.”

True. Mackenzie didn’t involve herself much with the Kids’ Club that Emma ran. And when they’d been younger, Emma had babysat a ton while Mackenzie had given riding lessons to earn spending money.

The two of them were night-and-day different but managed to get along. For that, Emma was thankful.

She cleared her dishes and said goodbye to her sister, then hopped back into her car, which still held a bit of the warmth from when she’d driven it home early this morning.

When she arrived at Gage’s, the time on her dash read seven thirty. It was crazy early in the morning to arrive at someone’s house, but she doubted Gage would complain.

Emma grabbed her purse and her to-go mug of steeping tea. Three cups was more than her norm, but she needed the extra—albeit small—boost of caffeine it would offer.

She stood on the step of Gage’s sprawling ranch house and knocked lightly. It had been his uncle’s ranch until a few years ago. Kip Frasier. A quiet but sweet man who always kept candy in his pocket at church and would dole it out to kids. He’d never married or had children of his own. When he’d passed away, he’d left the ranch to Gage. People really liked to leave things to the man. Land. House. Baby.

Gage had lived here only a little over two years.

The door swung open. Gage’s hair was damp as if he’d recently showered, and he wore a plaid shirt unbuttoned over a white T-shirt with jeans and leather slippers.

Gage Frasier, you are one attractive man.

One who, unfortunately, didn’t see her as anything more than a neighbor or his friend’s little sister. Emma wasn’t even on his datable radar.

The only good part about Gage not being interested in her in that way—besides the fact that she’d never be able to give up on the dream of having children—was that she wouldn’t have to admit to him that she had something in common with his ex-wife.