The Barefoot Summer(86)

“In my position?” Kate put a thick chunk of roast on her plate and covered it with gravy. “What does that mean?”

“That you haven’t been around kids,” Amanda answered for Jamie. “And that you are a career woman, not a mothering type. But I got to say, if any woman could have it both ways, I believe you would be able to do it.”

“Do what?” Waylon poked his head in the door after a brief knock.

“Be a mother and run a business both,” Amanda said. “Come on in and see Lia Beth.”

Waylon removed his hat and laid it on the coffee table. “In my opinion, Kate could run a ranch, plus an oil company and a houseful of kids all at the same time.”

“Where’s my Supergirl cape?” Kate laughed. “Truth is that I’d trade it all if I could have a baby.”

“There’s other ways to get one than birthin’ her,” Amanda said. “There’s adoption.”

Kate shook her head. “That’s a possibility, I guess, but my age might be a hold up for adoption.”

“Forty is the new thirty.” Jamie chuckled. “Or you could buy a dozen.”

“Now that might be a possibility.” Kate laughed with her. “Except Waylon tells me that’s against the law.”

It was the perfect time to tell them all in one fell swoop that she was taking a year to sort things out. She had no idea what she’d do, other than keep working part-time at the ranch. But she wanted to hold the decision close to her heart for a few days, be selfish with it and wait until that perfect moment to tell them and Waylon. Tonight was all about Amanda and the new baby, and she didn’t want to steal their thunder.

Waylon held out his arms toward Hattie. “It’s my turn to do some rocking.”

“I’m an old woman,” she protested.

He wiggled his fingers. “I bet Victor hasn’t even gotten to hold her yet, has he?”

“No, I have not,” Victor called out from the kitchen. “But you go on. I can take her away from you easier than I can get her away from Hattie.”

“Oh, all right!” Hattie handed the baby to him. “You could have had a dozen of them if you hadn’t been so busy chasing bad guys.”

“Can’t do a recall on that decision. Besides, you met my ex-wives. Which one would you pick to be a mother?” Waylon asked.

Hattie shook her finger at him. “Neither one. They were both too self-centered to ever have children.”

“And there you have it.” Waylon sat down and stretched his long legs out in front of him.

“Here, you can come and sit beside me, Gracie.” Hattie patted the sofa. “Tell me what you think of your new sister.”

Gracie snuggled up next to Hattie. “I thought she’d be big enough to play Barbies with me when she got here, but Amanda says that first she has to learn to crawl and then walk and talk and that all takes time. I guess I like her, but about all she did all day long when we got her home from the hospital was eat and sleep.”

“You did that when you were a baby, too,” Hattie said.

“Mama told me that. It don’t sound very exciting, does it?”

Kate listened to them with one ear, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Waylon. There was something extremely sexy about a big, muscular man with a tiny newborn in his arms. His eyes sparkled when he stared down at her, and when she wrapped her little fist around his forefinger, he absolutely beamed.

“What?” He looked up and caught her staring.

“You look pretty good with a baby in your arms, too,” she answered.

“Every little girl needs an uncle to spoil her and teach her to ride horses,” he said.

“Yes, she does,” Amanda said. “We’ll be christening her at the church as soon as we can take her out of the house. I want you and Kate to be her godparents.”

“What about Jamie?” Kate stammered.

“I’ve talked to her about it. If something happens to me, she’d be glad to help you two out, but she has Gracie, and you two don’t have any children.”

“I’d be honored,” Waylon said.

“Me, too,” Kate said.

That solidified her decision right there. She was Lia’s godmother, and she needed to be close by to help Amanda with her upbringing. Plus, Waylon would spoil her too much, and Kate needed to keep an eye on him.

No one saw her swipe a tear out of her eye or knew the peace that settled around her like a warm blanket on a cold winter night when she finally came to grips with the decision she’d been fighting for days.





CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The job had consumed Waylon for more than twenty years. From beat cop to detective had been a journey that had cost him, but there was no use in looking back. Good memories linked him with three different partners in that busy room through those doors. He finally pushed into the room to the nods of his fellow detectives and smiles from his partner and the new woman who was officially taking his place at the end of the month.

“You can’t tell me you aren’t going to miss this.” Larry grinned.

“You could still work for another twenty years,” Christina said.

Waylon set three cups of coffee on the desk. “It’s time for me to go home, and I’m happy with the decision. So you think my phone call last week spooked the florist?”