by Liz Isaacson
Simone turned to him and handed him baby Elaine before she went up to kneel in front of her mother’s grave too. Micah turned his attention back to the tiny infant in his arms. She was just over two months old now, and her skin was pearly pink, with that shock of dark hair sticking straight up all over her scalp. It was soft and feathery, and Micah loved her so very much. She wasn’t even his, but in some ways, she was.
She was part of Rhett, and Rhett was part of Micah. He sniffed before he realized he’d done it. He looked up and found Rhett and Liam looking at him. “You want one of those, don’t you?” Liam asked, smiling.
“I like babies,” Micah said, smiling. There was so much peace in the cemetery, and Micah hadn’t expected that. He hadn’t spent a whole lot of time in such a place, as he hadn’t been born before his grandparents on his momma’s side had passed away. They’d died really young, and only Rhett claimed to have any memories of them at all.
“I like babies too,” Rhett said. “But maybe try for less than three at the same time.” He yawned, and Liam nodded.
“We only had the one, but Denise was only three, and she was new for us too.”
Micah didn’t know what to say, because he had no experience with fatherhood whatsoever. You will soon, he told himself, and he smiled down at baby Elaine again.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Wyatt picked up his bag and lifted it over the tailgate of the truck before turning back to Marcy. She held Warren in her arms, and Wyatt loved the sight of them so, so much. He grinned at the little boy and took him from his mother. “You be a good boy while Daddy is gone, okay?”
Warren babbled something Wyatt couldn’t understand, though he’d be a year old next month. Wait. This month. July was just a couple of days old now, and Warren would be a year old at the end of the month.
He kissed Marcy, holding her tight for an extra moment. “You’re sure you’ll be okay here?” He hated leaving her for any length of time. She had no other family in town besides his, and they lived so far away from everyone. Now that he had more to concern him than his latest roping score and his back, Wyatt had learned that he was quite the worrier. He didn’t like Marcy flying nearly as much as she did, but she loved it with her whole heart, and it was her family business.
She’d told him a Payne should be there running it. She had hired another pilot and an office manager, and she only flew four hours a day now. She knew what she was doing in the cockpit, but Wyatt worried sometimes.
Accidents happen, he’d told her.
“I’m going to the ranch this afternoon,” she said. “Whitney and I are planning a big party because all y’all will be gone.” She smiled at him. “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”
He let his hand drift down to her belly. She wasn’t showing yet, but Wyatt had found out she was expecting again last week. “And the baby?”
“Wyatt.” She nudged his chest, and he fell back a step. She shook her head and laughed. “We’re fine. Go. You’re going to be late, and you don’t want to deal with Jeremiah when you’re late.”
“I can handle Jeremiah.” Wyatt kicked a grin in her direction, though she was right. He did not want to deal with the wrath of Jeremiah if he didn’t have to.
“Please don’t lift anything too heavy,” she said, sobering. “Really, Wyatt. Stand out if you have to.”
“I will, Marce.”
“I mean it,” she said, giving him one of her blue-eyed, piercing stares. “There are plenty of people to help. It’s not the Wyatt show.”
He laughed as he shook his head.
“We need you here,” she said, taking Warren from him. “Whole and well, and I—”
“I’m not going to lift anything too heavy,” he said, stepping up to her again. He kissed her, taking an extra moment with his lips against hers. “I love you. I’ll be safe.”
She nodded, and he kissed Warren quickly too. “Bye, baby. See you guys in a couple of days.” He headed to his truck then, got in, and backed out. How he’d left Marcy to go on tour before, he had no idea. He didn’t ever want to go anywhere without her, and this trip down to the Hill Country to get his grandparents out of their house there had brought him some anxiety.
He’d calmed by the time he arrived at Seven Sons, which was a good thing, because the intensity in the homestead would’ve put him over the top had he been harboring any of his own anxiety.
“What’s goin’ on here?” he asked Micah, who sat in the front office.
“Oh, Jeremiah found rot in some hay,” he said dryly. “And he’s in a bad mood and wouldn’t let the kids have juice for breakfast. So the kids are crying, and Whitney’s mad at him, because he snapped at them. Rhett’s going to be late, and Skyler doesn’t think Daddy should go at all.” He looked up from a notebook he’d been sketching in. “So you know, about normal around the Walker clan.”
Wyatt chuckled and looked down the hall toward the kitchen and living room. “You’re smart to hide out here.”
“I offered to help,” Micah said, a bit defensively. “But everything I said or did earned me a glare, and well, here I am.”
“So you’re saying don’t try.” Behind Wyatt, the front door opened, and he shifted out of the way as Momma and Daddy came in, immediately followed by Skyler.
“…that’s all I’m saying,” Skyler said.
“I’m going,” Daddy said. “They’re my parents, and I’m fine. I can ride in a car for a few hours.”
“It’s almost seven hours, Daddy,” Skyler said.
“Then we’ll make stops.” He marched past Wyatt without looking at him, and Skyler sighed as he paused in the foyer.
“What’s that about?” Wyatt asked. Since he and Marcy weren’t around the ranch much, they sometimes missed out on the nitty gritty gossip. Sure, he got the family texts, and that was good enough for him.
“He has some circulation problems,” Skyler said. “From the accident. His leg goes numb if he sits too long, but apparently, he can ride in a car for seven hours.” He frowned, his expression made of darkness.
“That’s a losing battle,” Micah said from the chair in the office. “Let him do what he wants.”
Down the hall, the crying stopped, and Wyatt thought it might be a good time to offer help. Instead, he said, “Well, I think I’m going with the twins and Rhett, so maybe I should head over to the Shining Star.”
“Make Jeremiah go with them,” Skyler said. “Then it can be us three and Daddy. I can keep an eye on him.”
“And we won’t have to deal with Jeremiah’s bad energy,” Micah muttered.
Wyatt grinned at his brothers. “I’ll go see what I can do.” He headed down the hall, ready to turn on the rodeo king charm if he had to. Whitney sat at the table with the kids and Momma. Daddy had taken up a spot on the couch, and Jeremiah scrubbed the kitchen sink like he needed to grind through the metal with his bare hands.
“Hey, so me, Micah, and Skyler are ready. You want to come with us, Daddy? We’ll hit the road and get down there.”
Jeremiah looked up, his expression filled with clouds. “I guess that leaves me with Rhett and the twins?”
“Is that okay?” Wyatt asked. “We’re ready to go, and it seems like y’all might need a few more minutes is all.”
“It’s fine,” Jeremiah said, and Wyatt stepped over to the couch to give his dad a hand up. Daddy took it, and he still had plenty of strong grip in his fingers.
Wyatt smiled at him and leaned closer, “Don’t worry, Daddy. I’ll keep Skyler from bugging you too much.”
“That would be a miracle,” Daddy grumbled. He paused next to the island where Jeremiah was now tucking cereal flaps back into place. “And Jeremiah, my son, it’s just rotting hay. Don’t let it ruin your life.”
Jeremiah looked up, and Wyatt thought for a moment someone was about to get hit. Then his entire demeanor collapsed, and Wyatt stared at him, stunned.
Jeremiah was literally the strongest, the toughest, the most feared cowboy Wyatt knew. And he�
�d known some real tough cowboys on the rodeo circuit. “I just feel like a giant failure,” he murmured.
“Do you remember coming to sit with me in the hospital?” Daddy asked.
Jeremiah looked at him and then Wyatt. “Yes.”
“I tried to tell you then, but I couldn’t talk. I could hear you though. You said you were tired, that the kids were hard, that you brought home ranch problems to Whitney.” Daddy lifted his hand and put it on Jeremiah’s shoulder. “And I kept telling you it was fine. That you were a good man and an excellent father.”
Wyatt watched his father with an intensity he didn’t understand. But when his dad spoke, Wyatt had learned to listen.
“I wanted to hug you so tight and tell you that you’re just human. We’re all human. Things happen. The dishes don’t get done. The rain pours when we need the sun to shine. The hay rots. It doesn’t matter.” He looked over to the table, where Momma and Whitney sat. “They’re what matters. So put down the washcloth and go kiss your wife. Put a smile on your face and tell your kids you love ‘em.”
Jeremiah stepped around the corner of the counter and embraced Daddy, closing his eyes as they hugged. “Thanks, Dad.” He released him and headed over to the table.
“Wow,” Wyatt said, guiding Daddy down the hall toward the front door. “I’ve only ever seen Momma and Whitney put Jeremiah in his place. That was incredible.”
“He’s a good man,” Daddy said. “Thinks he’s superhuman when he isn’t, and it’s a real let-down for a man like that.” He looked at Wyatt. “You were like that when you first started riding.”
“Was I?”
“Oh, yeah.” Daddy chuckled. “You were so good, everything came naturally to you. You hardly had to learn anything. You could stay on a horse or a bull almost without trying. So when something happened where you actually had to learn something—it wasn’t just a natural response—you got frustrated in about half a second.”
Wyatt held his head high as he nodded at Skyler and Micah that they were ready. “I don’t remember that at all.”
Daddy just laughed as they went outside and down the front steps to Skyler’s truck. “Y’all are just like me,” he said. “Stubborn to the core. I say I’ll be fine driving for seven hours, but my leg is going to hurt, and I’m going to complain and make you stop, and y’all would’ve been better off with Jeremiah.” He climbed up into the truck, using the door and the seat for support. “But you’re stuck with me now.” He grinned as Wyatt closed the door and stepped to the back.
“We can handle you,” Skyler said, turning the key to start the truck. “Everyone in?”
Wyatt closed his door and reached for his seatbelt. He might’ve ridden bulls and bucking broncos in the past but riding with Skyler behind the wheel could be a wild experience. “Yep,” he said, clicking the belt into place.
“It was sudden,” Micah explained as Wyatt drove him to the car rental. “I’m just going to stop off in Grape Seed Falls for a few hours. I’ll be right behind you.”
“But you’ll have to drive alone,” Wyatt said. They’d been down in the Hill Country for two days, packing and loading everything his grandparents owned. Wyatt had stuck true to his word to Marcy, and he’d only done what he could. No one asked him any questions, and he was a very good babysitter for Grandma and Grandpa when he couldn’t help.
They were not good at throwing things away, and Wyatt’s distractions had allowed the other brothers and Daddy and Uncle Jonas to get more into the dumpster than had been there when they arrived.
“I can’t make anyone wait,” Micah said. “I’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” Wyatt said, making a turn to get into the parking lot. “The birthday party is tomorrow. You’re not going to miss it, are you?”
“No,” Micah said. “I’m just meeting with him for a few minutes.”
“And who is this?”
“It’s Dwayne Carver,” Micah said. “He’s Squire Ackerman’s cousin. He’s got quite the operation down here, and he’s looking to redo the homestead and the generational house.”
“Wow, that’s a big project.”
“So maybe it’ll be more than a couple of minutes,” Micah said. “But it’s not going to be overnight. I won’t miss the party.”
“Okay, because Marcy, Whitney, and Ivory have been planning it for at least a month.”
“For two-year-olds,” Micah said dryly. “That seems a bit extreme, don’t you think?”
Wyatt couldn’t argue there, so he just laughed. “Warren is only one. Don’t you think your child’s very first birthday should be celebrated?”
“Did Marcy ask you that?”
“Yep,” Wyatt said. “Because we’re having this family party tomorrow, and Warren gets his own bash at our house on his actual birthday. Two birthday parties.”
“I was lucky if Momma called me the right name,” Micah said, and Wyatt burst out laughing, glad when Micah did too.
“Same, brother,” he said. “I got called Tripp so much, it’s not even funny.”
“Which makes no sense, because you’re not even one of the twins.”
“I think Momma lost her mind after the twins,” Wyatt said. “For real. Did you know she once left me at a restaurant?”
Micah snorted, a scoff following. “She did not.”
“She did,” Wyatt said. “Rhett told me the story. I was a baby, in a baby seat. She went to lunch with us all, which can you imagine? It’s a circus when Marcy and I go out, and we have one baby.” He shook his head, thinking of all the bags and wipes and things Marcy brought to keep Warren happy.
“Anyway, when it was time to go, she got up and herded the boys out. But I was a baby, and I couldn’t just go with. She left me there, in the booth. A waitress had to come running after her to say she’d left me behind.” Wyatt chuckled again. “She’s awesome, but yeah.”
“Sounds like you broke her, then,” Micah said, grinning. “Maybe she lost her mind after you.”
“Maybe,” Wyatt agreed. He loved spending time with his brothers, and he looked over at Micah. “You and Simone seem to be making the marriage work.”
“Yeah,” Micah said, dropping his chin to his chest as his face turned red. Wyatt knew that tactic, and he knew that look.
“You’re in love with her.”
“Yeah.” Micah never had beat around the bush with things.
“Does she love you?”
“Yeah,” he said, smiling again. “She does.” He looked at Wyatt. “Can you keep a secret?”
“I’m like a vault,” Wyatt said.
“She’s pregnant,” Micah said. “Soon enough, I’m not going to be able to leave the house without the circus too.”
A grin burst onto Wyatt’s face. “That’s great, Micah. Congratulations.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Micah reached up and adjusted his cowboy hat. “I’m nervous, but excited.”
“Marcy’s pregnant again too,” Wyatt said. “If we’re sharing secrets, though we’re going to announce it tomorrow at the birthday party. That’s why I wondered if you’d be there.”
“No way,” Micah said. “That’s great, Wyatt.”
“Yeah,” he said, smiling out the windshield like he could see his whole future in front of him. “Yeah, it is great.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Micah turned under the arch that said Grape Seed Ranch on it, the peaches on the end obviously well-kept and well-carved. The land spread before him, and Micah liked this ranch immediately. He’d liked Dwayne Carver too, who talked like a Texan and managed to infuse kindness into not many words.
Micah scanned the roads, the buildings he could see in the distance, the fields. Dwayne obviously ran a great operation, as the ranch was pristine and the people he could see to his right went about their business as if they knew what they were doing.
He continued down the road to the homestead, which looked like it had been built many decades in the past. There was nothing wrong with old homes. Micah wanted to make
sure Dwayne knew that. Not everything had to be the latest and greatest, by any means.
A man came out onto the porch as Micah eased his rental truck to a stop, and he lifted his hand in a wave. Micah got out of the truck and called, “You must be Dwayne.”
“Sure am.”
“Let me grab my stuff, and I’ll be right up.” Micah ducked back into the truck and gathered his briefcase. Simone had been the one to suggest he keep his contracts, his clipboard, his plans, and plenty of pens in a briefcase. He felt a bit foolish using it, but the bag did keep everything he needed and wanted nice and safe, clean, and organized. And Micah liked safe, clean, and organized.
A woman joined Dwayne as Micah reached the top step. “My wife, Felicity,” Dwayne said.
“Ma’am.” Micah tipped his hat at her. He looked around. “This place is pretty great, Dwayne. Good bones. Huge porch.” He looked back at the cowboy, who was several years older than him. At least. Maybe a decade.
“Yeah,” he said. “Squire just mentioned what you do, and Felicity and I have wanted to upgrade the homestead, as well as the generational house. My father just passed away, and it’s just my mother now. She’s going to go live in town with my sister, and it felt like a good time to do it.” He took a step toward the front door, and Micah went with him.
“Sorry about your father,” Micah said. He hadn’t lost his, but when he’d gotten the call about Daddy’s accident, Micah’s whole world had come to a stop right then and there.
“Thank you,” Dwayne said. He opened the door and they went inside. “So Felicity and I live here now, but we’ll move into the generational house at some point.”
“You have kids?”
“Two sons,” Felicity said, reaching for Dwayne’s hand. Micah sure liked both of them; they projected a really good air about them, and he looked back and forth between them.
“Okay,” he said. “Why don’t you walk me through the place and tell me what you’re thinking.” He put his briefcase on the couch. “Can I leave this here?”
