The True Cowboy of Sunset Ridge (Gold Valley #14)(44)

But the disappointment about the coffee was forgotten quickly enough, because it was nice and strong, and it wasn’t bitter. And then there were eggs, bacon and biscuits. With lots of butter. She filled her plate up, and so did he, but he didn’t sit down. He basically ate standing up, halfway out the door. “I’ll be back midafternoon. Thanks again.”

“Sure. What exactly are you going to... What are you going to tell your family?”

“I’ll figure it out. I haven’t exactly made the decision yet.”

“No. Understandable.”

“So just... Don’t tell Iris. Don’t tell Griffin. This has to stay between you and me.”

“I probably won’t talk to them today. I might... I might drive her up to the cabin. But only if you feel okay with that. My driving skills on the road are just fine now.”

“If you’re feeling comfortable with it, I’m fine with it.”

“Okay. I just have a few more things I want to do up there, and it might be easier if I just bring her with me.”

“All right. Well, I’ll bring something back for dinner.”

“Sounds good.”

And then he was gone, leaving her with Lily.

“Okay, little one,” she said. “We’ve got some stuff to do today.”

If she kept moving, then she wouldn’t linger on the domesticity of the morning. Of the situation. But as she looked at the tiny, sleeping baby, she was overcome by the realization that it was going to be easier said than done to remember exactly what was happening here. To remember that Lily was temporary, and this wasn’t going to be anything more than...

“Your glorified nanny,” she said. “Not even glorified.”

Though he had cooked her bacon and eggs. So there was that.

But seriously, if her emotions could be bought with eggs, she needed therapy a lot more than she needed anything else.

COLT URGED HIS horse forward, bringing him to a gallop. He was absolutely avoiding having the conversation with his brother that he should have. The one about Lily.

Eventually, he was going to have to talk to his family about the situation, but honestly... He thought that maybe it was going to end up being exactly like it had been with Mallory, and he didn’t want to have the argument again. She had come around to his way of seeing things in...

Just then, he looked back over his shoulder to see Jake and Cal bringing up the rear. Both on horseback, both grinning from ear to ear.

And he realized that Cal would be his ally. He didn’t know how he knew it, only that he did.

“You guys are slowpokes,” he said.

“We were just too busy flirting,” Callie said, grinning.

“Great. Glad you’re happy.”

But he found he meant it. He kept coming back to that night that he and Jake had talked. When they had finally spoken about their parents. And about the things that Jake knew about their father. That their father hadn’t been a man planning to stay with his family. And that made the conviction and Colt’s gut burn all the harder.

“I’ve got something to tell you,” Colt said.

“What?”

“Callie,” Colt said. “I feel like you’re going to understand what I have to say.”

“What’s going on?” Jake asked. “It sounds serious.”

“It kind of is. You know Trent.”

“Yeah,” Jake said. “I know Trent.”

“Did you know his girlfriend was pregnant?”

“Yeah. Hell. It really is awful.”

“Well... Cheyenne showed up at my place yesterday.”

“She did?” Callie asked.

“Yeah. And she... She left the baby. With me.”

“What?” That question was followed by a slew of profanity from both of them.

“I know,” Colt said. “Look, Trent had asked me to be the godfather to the baby before he died. He was...he was scared, after he found out Cheyenne was pregnant. He didn’t have good parents, he didn’t know how to be a father and he...he looked up to me. Poor idiot.” He let out a painful breath. “And Cheyenne just said that she needed me to take care of her for a while. She’s in a really awful space. Mallory... Mallory is a midwife, right? And Mallory said that it was postpartum depression. She tried to catch Cheyenne and talk to her, but she was unable to. But I got everything I needed to take care of the baby... And... I’m taking care of the baby.”

“I don’t know, Colt, it sounds to me like you should call somebody,” Jake said.

“No. Cheyenne called someone. She called me, more or less. I’m the person that has to fix this. I’m the person that has to... I need to be here for this kid.”

And it was Callie who nodded. “You have to do what you have to do.”

“If this is more of your survivor’s guilt...”

“Don’t,” Colt said. “Don’t you dare throw our lives back in my face. The shit I have to live with. It’s not for us to talk about, Jake. There’s a reason we spent that many years not talking. So don’t ruin it. Not now.”

“Fine,” Jake said. “I won’t.”

“Anyway. I might need you to explain it to... Everybody. But I need Pansy to keep out of it.”