Her Surprise Cowboy--A Clean Romance

by Claire McEwen

  “I wasn’t in good shape at that time. I had problems I had to work out. But, Trisha, I am interested. I’m... I’m blown away.” He paused, trying to pin his thoughts into words, but it was impossible. “I don’t really know what I am. But I am interested.”

  A baby. He was a father. He’d never even considered being a dad—it was something far off in the future, once he met someone, fell in love, got married. But it had happened, was already happening. He’d missed her pregnancy, and most of the baby’s first year. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

  “You’ve been here for two weeks. I had to make sure you were a somewhat-decent human being.”

  Liam stared at the water, questions flooding his mind. He wasn’t sure which to ask and which to keep to himself. “You’re doing well? Having a baby and all? He... Henry...is healthy?”

  She smiled then, as if the mention of Henry turned a light on inside her, creased her cheeks and crinkled her eyes. She was so beautiful, the mother of his child, the angel who, back in San Antonio had somehow made him realize it was time to get help.

  “Henry is a beautiful, chubby, happy baby. And I’m fine, too.” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and opened the photo app. And there he was. Liam’s son. Brown hair like his, but more curly, like Liam’s mom’s had been. The baby’s smile had a hint of Boone’s mischief. But the sweetness in his blue eyes was all from Trisha.

  He couldn’t stop staring at the photo. Their child. “I can’t believe we have a son together.”

  “Me neither, really.”

  A lump was growing in his throat. “Where is he?”

  “Back at the art fair.”

  He looked at her, startled that the baby was so close by. “With who?”

  “Maya. Her grandmother. Emily. Our book club friends. They’re like Henry’s extended family.”

  Family. Until now the word had meant his brothers. His parents. The ranch. Texas. Now he had a son just a few blocks away. Here in California. “Can I see him?”

  “You can meet him, yes. But there’s a lot to figure out, Liam. You have to realize, he’s my baby. Mine. I carried him. I’ve raised him until now. I don’t know what role I want you to play in his life.”

  He was still trying to take it all in. “I get it. I do. We both need to think about it.”

  She rose stiffly from the ground. “I’ll take you to him, if you want.”

  He stood, too, and Ranger, ever patient, followed suit. “Yes, I do. I want to.” His heart was racing and he had to force himself to take a deep breath. It was a lot to take in, almost too much to fathom.

  They started back toward the town square and what she’d just said sunk in. Vivian, Maya, Emily—they all helped her with Henry. “Your friends. Do they all know about me? Does Jace know?”

  “Jace doesn’t know, and neither does Caleb. I’d never told anyone who the father was, and my friends were kind enough not to pressure me.” She glanced his way briefly. “But last weekend, when you’d been here for a few days already, I did tell my book club. So Maya, Emily, Vivian and everyone else in The Book Biddies have known for a week.”

  “Ah.” It all made sense now. “That’s why they were asking me all those questions.”

  “I wanted to make sure you were a good guy. I mean, you showed up in town and shot a coyote.”

  Her words hit hard in the most insecure spot in his soul. He hadn’t been a good guy for a couple years after his injury. He’d done so much he was ashamed of. He should tell her right now. Just spit it all out and let her know the kind of man she’d gotten herself caught up with. But then she might change her mind about letting him see Henry. And he had to meet his son, even if it was only this once. So he took the lighter route. “I take it you don’t have a cat? Or at least not one named Henry?”

  She gave him an apologetic glance. “No cat. I’m sorry for the lie. I wasn’t ready to tell you, and once his name was mentioned, I had to think of something.”

  “I’m actually kind of relieved that you don’t bring your cat to book club meetings. It’s not really my business, but it did seem kind of odd.”

  “Why would you care?”

  “Because I like you.” There. He’d said it. Though now, whatever he’d felt for her before was buried in layers of complication. They had a child. A baby.

  She looked surprised at his words, but said nothing. They’d reached the edge of the art fair. She gestured for him to follow. “Come on.” She hurried forward as if determined to get this meeting over with.

  Liam and Ranger followed Trisha through the crowded fair, Liam’s pulse thrumming with anticipation and something else. Disbelief? It was almost dark now. White lights had been strung between trees and along paths and the booths for the art fair were all lit up. On a normal night it would be pretty, but the way his life had just changed in the course of a sentence lent a surreal quality to everything around him.

  He saw a circle of chairs behind the Shelter Creek Gallery booth. Jace was there, sitting with Vivian while the kids played behind them. Maya and Caleb were next to each other holding hands, and Liam recognized Annie Brooks, who’d come by Jace’s ranch the other day. And there was Emily, the vet, standing off to one side, cuddling a sleepy-looking baby wrapped in a blanket.

  Liam put a hand on Trisha’s arm. “Is that Henry?”

  “Yes.” She looked up at him. “Are you ready to meet your son?”

  “In front of all these people?”

  “These are Henry’s people. They only want what’s best for him.”

  She led him around the outside of the group to where Emily stood. The vet’s eyes widened when she saw Liam. Carefully she lifted the baby off her shoulder, handed him to Trisha and went to join the others.

  It was his son. Liam could only stand and stare as Henry shifted sleepily on Trisha’s shoulder and opened his mouth in a yawn as cute as a kitten’s.

  He didn’t know what to feel. New parents were supposed to fall in love, right? But he mostly felt disoriented. Disconnected. His body was here, staring at this baby, but his mind couldn’t connect the dots. How had his son been living, growing and learning in the world when Liam hadn’t even known he existed? If he hadn’t drawn the short straw in the barn that day, he might never have known.

  Panic jolted his senses. It was all so random, that he was here at all. He’d come so close to going through life never knowing about this baby. He took a step back.

  “Liam, are you okay?” Trisha was watching him carefully and he remembered that this was a huge moment for her, too. That she’d been forced to include him in the life she’d carved out for Henry all on her own.

  “It’s a lot to take in.”

  “Do you want to hold him?”

  “I haven’t had much practice.” He tied Ranger’s leash to a nearby light post. Then he reached awkwardly for Henry. He didn’t know where to put his hands. They looked so big next to the baby. He pulled them back. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

  “Here.” Trisha turned Henry carefully so he was on his back, cradled in her arms. “Hold your arms like mine.”

  Liam tried to imitate her position, bending his elbows, and she laid the baby in the crook of his arm. “Support him underneath with the other arm.” She kept her arms under Henry until she was sure Liam had him, then she stepped back and Liam was holding his son.

  The soft weight in his arms was unfamiliar but somehow an enormous comfort. Henry blinked at him with mildly curious eyes, like he was trying to decide whether this new person was worth waking up for. “Hey, Henry,” Liam whispered. “I’m your dad.” The sudden lump in his throat had him holding back any more words he might want to say. Not that there were words adequate for this moment anyway. Henry’s nose was tiny, his cheeks round. Liam had next to no experience with babies, but his son looked like a beautiful one to him.

  A big hand came
softly down on his shoulder. “You okay?” Jace’s gaze was full of concern. “Vivian just let me know what’s going on over here.”

  Liam nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

  “Okay. Let us know if you need anything.”

  “Thanks, Jace,” Liam managed. “I appreciate it.” He turned to Trisha. “What do we do now?”

  “I’ve got to take him home to bed. Want to walk us to my car?”

  “Yes. I’d like that.”

  She went over to one of the chairs in the circle and came back with a tote bag. “Good night, everyone,” she called out. “Thanks for all of your support tonight.” Everyone waved and called out good-night, but thankfully, no one said anything about what had just happened. That all in an instant, right before their eyes, he’d become a daddy.

  Trisha took Henry from Liam and the air was cool where the warmth of his son had been. “Will you carry the diaper bag?”

  “The what? Oh yes.” He grabbed the tote she’d set down and went to retrieve Ranger from the lamppost. Then he followed Trisha to her car, which was parked at the edge of the square.

  She loaded Henry into the car seat and put the bag on the floor. Then she turned to Liam. “I guess we should talk a little more about this another time.”

  “Yeah. I’d like that. Soon, I hope.”

  “Tomorrow is Sunday. Want to come by my house in the afternoon? Vivian has the address.”

  “Sure. Yeah.” The surreal feeling had returned and he had the sense that his life, which had seemed so simple just a few hours ago, had been broken up like the pieces of one of those giant jigsaw puzzles his brother Wyatt sometimes did. There must be some pattern, some way to put it all back together, but Liam couldn’t fathom it right now.

  “Great. I’ll see you then.”

  “Yeah. Good night, Trisha. Thank you.” Maybe that was a weird thing to say. But she could have found a way not to tell him. She could have said that Henry belonged to someone else.

  “Good night, Liam.” She got into her little hatchback and started the engine.

  Liam stood and watched until Trisha and his son had disappeared into the night. He walked back to the circle and sat down woodenly in the chair next to Jace.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “I became a father of three with one phone call,” Jace told him. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.”

  “Just tell me I’ll start to feel something other than total confusion, soon.”

  Jace’s laugh rang out, causing several people to look their way. “Oh, trust me, my friend. You will have more feelings than you’ve ever had before. Maybe just enjoy the daze while it’s here.”

  Liam slid down in his chair and tipped his head back so he could see the sky. The black silhouettes of redwoods rose impossibly high. Stars were coming out behind them. They were comforting. A reminder that no matter how overwhelming this news seemed, it was just a tiny blip in the cosmos. He had a son. And by some miracle, he’d met him tonight. He had a son. He had a son.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “LOOK AT HENRY, crawling so fast now.” Monique pinned up a section of Trisha’s hair. “Remember when he couldn’t figure out how to use his back legs?”

  “He’d scoot backward until he got stuck partway under the sofa, remember? I must have a million photos of him with his legs under there, looking totally confused.” Trisha grinned, watching Henry do laps around her kitchen table. His little diapered buns waggled back and forth with every crawling step. She’d put him in pants that had a bear face on the seat, so the bear waggled, too. It had to be the cutest thing ever. Or maybe that was yesterday, when he was cuddling the stuffed horse Annie had given him. Or the day before when Trisha and Henry had stopped by Maya’s ranch. Caleb had set Henry up on his placid horse Newt’s back, then ducked down behind so Trisha could take a photo. It almost looked like Henry was riding by himself, if you discounted Caleb’s big hands holding him securely in place.

  It was reassuring to remember all the good times. All the joyful moments since Henry had come into the world. Especially after last night, when everything changed forever.

  “How was it, telling Liam?” Monique must have read her mind while she snipped away with her scissors.

  Trisha watched her split ends fall to the floor. “Terrifying. Like I was throwing away the life I’ve built for Henry. I feel like I traded it in for the complete unknown.”

  “I can understand that.” Monique put gentle fingers under Trisha’s jaw to angle her head just so. “Sometimes the right thing is the hardest thing to do. At least Liam seemed to take it okay. I think it’s a good sign that he wanted to meet his son right away.”

  “He seemed like he was in a daze. Who wouldn’t be? One minute he was his usual carefree, Texas cowboy self, and the next, he was a father.”

  “He’s tough—he can handle it.” Monique gave a soft huff of laughter. “Isn’t that a bit what getting pregnant is like? One minute you’re just you, like you’ve always been, then you look at that stick and realize you’re going to be a mom.”

  “Yes, but we do get several months to prepare ourselves.”

  “True.” Monique came around to the front and started rearranging Trisha’s hair. Her makeup was perfect as always, and Trisha admired the neat lines painted around her eyes, the shadow blended just right. She’d never been great at makeup, and since having Henry she didn’t even bother. Monique had finally insisted on coming by today to trim her hair, since Trisha hadn’t found time for the salon since Henry was born.

  “I just hope he doesn’t get weird. I want him to be a good dad, but I don’t want him to try to change anything significant, you know?”

  “And what about the fact that he lives in Texas?”

  Trisha shuddered. “I can’t think about that. All I know is that Shelter Creek is Henry’s home.”

  Monique’s expression became fierce. “No way is Henry-bug going anywhere. As his favorite auntie, I decree it.” Monique was closer to great-auntie age, but she’d never acknowledge the “great” part. “Still,” she went on, “you did the right thing, telling him. Keeping that secret any longer would have been cruel. And I trust it’s going to work out well. It’s a miracle that Liam ended up here in Shelter Creek. That has to mean something.”

  “I hope so.” Trisha closed her eyes, trying to keep the confusion at bay. There was so much to think about. And worry about.

  “Let’s have faith. And if anything goes wrong, we’ll stand together and make it right.” Monique pulled Trisha’s hair up straight off the top of her head and snipped some strands. “I’m giving you a few more layers around your face. Trust me—you’ll love it. And it’s time to end this parted-in-the-middle-straight-hair look. You’re a confident young mama. You should be rocking some cool hair.”

  “Okay.” Trisha barely heard what Monique was saying. What if Liam was a terrible father?

  “Can I say something that’s probably way too personal and might make you mad at me?”

  Trisha glanced up to meet Monique’s kind gaze. “Isn’t that your specialty?”

  Monique laughed—a low rich sound. “I guess it is. Look, you have to find your own way through this. You and Liam both. I’ve watched you in the last couple years. You were very quiet around town until you got involved with us Book Biddies. It almost seemed like you were trying to disappear, you know? Like you were apologizing for being here at all.”

  Trisha winced. Was that how she’d come across? Sure, she’d been quiet, content with her work as a veterinary technician, spending her free time reading and taking walks. Or at least, that’s what she’d told herself.

  “You’ve been coming out of your shell since you got involved with us Biddies, and Maya and the wildlife center. And Henry has been great for you, too. I guess what I’m saying is that all of these things were changes that you couldn’t f
oresee, and yet they were all really good for you. Maybe having Liam in your life is another good change.”

  “Maybe. I hope so.” It was certainly possible. “So why do I feel so scared?”

  “Because it’s normal. When you found out you were pregnant, I imagine that must have been scary, too, right? But look at you now, with this beautiful baby. And you’ve been making it work as a single mother.”

  They both looked at Henry, who’d found his favorite cloth baby book. He’d opened it to the page with the mirror and was watching himself with a drooly smile on his face.

  “I mean, look at that baby. He’s thriving. You’ve built a loving community around him. Even if Liam isn’t the perfect father, Henry will be fine. And you will be fine, too.”

  “Thanks, Monique. You know you could change your salon to a therapist’s office and charge a lot more money.”

  Monique smiled as she tugged at the hair on either side of Trisha’s face, running it through her fingers to make certain it was even. “Hair is way more fun than therapy. And if the cut is good, the results last longer, too.” She ruffled Trisha’s hair and removed the black poncho she’d put over her shoulders. “Go look in the mirror.”

  “Keep an eye on Henry?”

  “Absolutely. I’ll make sure he doesn’t actually eat that book.”

  “He’s teething. If you look in the freezer, there’s one of those iced chewy things. Maybe he’d like it.” Trisha went to the bathroom, saw her reflection and froze. Monique had added layers from her jaw to the ends of her hair, which still fell well past her shoulders. Her normally stick-straight hair, which she usually kept back with a headband or ponytail, looked thicker. Flowing. More interesting.

  “What do you think?” Monique called. “Do you look like a sophisticated mama?”

  “I look like a grown-up,” Trisha marveled, turning her head to see the way she looked from the side.

  “It’s about time.” Monique’s dry humor meant no insult and Trisha didn’t take it that way. Monique called her salon Monique’s Miracles and she’d certainly worked one today.