Harlequin Heartwarming March 21 Box Set

by Claire McEwen

  “I came really close to not even going on the walk,” she admitted.

  “Thank goodness you did,” Julia said, then glanced at Seth sitting beside her. “So, you’re getting set up to foster him?”

  “For a couple of months. At least he can have a break from that life for a while.”

  “That’s a huge commitment, especially to a young child. I mean, I love it, but are you sure you can do it with everything going on in your life?”

  Seth sat back, ignoring his coffee. “I’m not sure about anything, except I want to try. I’m here with Sarge for at least that long, and you know, Seattle isn’t where I want to be now. They don’t need me, not with Owen at the helm. So, I can be here for both Sarge and Tripp.”

  “At least for now, you’re cleared for it,” Julia said.

  He shook his head slightly. “I’m cleared until February. But it’s my business. I started it and it’s mine.”

  “What are you getting at?” Julia asked, and Quinn wanted to know, too.

  “I don’t know. I really don’t.” He looked dead serious.

  “You’re thinking of not doing that with Tripp?” Quinn asked.

  “Oh, no, that’s a done deal, but I think I’m not going far enough. Two months. That’s going to go by in a blur, then Tripp will go back to the system. Sarge told me once that Maggie wanted to keep all the boys that came through here, and when they left, it broke her heart every time.”

  “I can imagine,” Julia said.

  He stood, hesitated, then looked from Julia to Quinn. “I need to talk to Owen,” he said. “I’ll be in the office.”

  He left and Julia looked at Quinn. “What was that all about?”

  Quinn knew some of it. He didn’t want Tripp back in the system, but there was no way for him take on Tripp on a permanent basis and still work in Seattle and care for Sarge here. “He’s made a connection with Tripp. When it comes time for him to go, it’s going to break his heart.”

  Seth surprised both women when he came back into the great room. He sat down and said, “I’ve decided to try to do long-term fostering with Tripp. He won’t have to go back to his old life.”

  Quinn was thrilled, but how would he do it? “You mean that?”

  “I sure do. I talked to Owen and told him that I’m not going back to the company.”

  “What?” Quinn asked, shocked.

  “You’re just walking away?” Julia asked.

  “It’s not that simple. Lots of paperwork and getting things realigned, but I can do anything they need from here. It’s all on Owen now, and I’d go silent on all things business. I think it’s been coming since Sarge’s accident, but it’s gathered momentum lately. I belong here, not in Seattle.”

  Julia smiled. “Sarge will be thrilled if you aren’t heading back to the city all the time.”

  Quinn sat in stunned silence, hearing Seth’s words but unable to deal with them. He was letting Owen Karr take over, the man who didn’t have time to even listen to her presentation for Michael’s Shield. If she could have, she would’ve stood and excused herself. But she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her at the moment.

  It couldn’t be over just like that. It couldn’t be. She’d gotten so close. She just needed more time, but if Seth was out of the loop, she didn’t know what to do. She closed her eyes for a moment to process that. It hurt to be so close to a possible win for Michael, but she couldn’t just give up.

  “Quinn?”

  Seth startled her, pulling her from her thoughts. Then she felt a touch on her arm and Julia was speaking to her. “Are you okay? You look pale.”

  Things had changed so abruptly. She was surprised that the world wasn’t spinning out of control. “I’m…okay. I think it just hit me that… I…almost didn’t go down to the hay barn. What would’ve happened if I hadn’t?”

  Seth had come around the table and crouched by her chair. “But you did. That’s what counts. You went and you found Tripp. Now he’s safe.”

  When Seth said those words, something settled in her. Tripp is safe. “Yes. Yes, he is,” she whispered.

  “Everything’s the way it should be,” he said, his hazel eyes holding hers.

  “You believe that?” she asked as Julia watched the two of them.

  Seth touched her hand. “Yes, I do.” He covered her hand with his, gently squeezed it, then let go and stood.

  “I’ll be in the office calling MacFarland to tell him I want full vetting for fostering without a time limit. Max might be able to reach him again.” He looked down at Quinn. “How about another ride in the morning? I can show you the campsites.”

  “Yes, that would be great.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  AN HOUR BEFORE NOON, Seth was alone in his office. He’d showered and changed into a fresh gray thermal and jeans after coming back from his ride with Quinn. She’d been excited to find snow upon meeting him in the entry that morning. She’d motioned to the side window by the door. “Sarge said it was going to snow, and bingo! Snow. Real snow!” He smiled now thinking of it—though he hoped the snow wouldn’t cause cloud cover during the Wishing Moon.

  The day had been good so far. Their ride had been low-key, just wandering up into the foothills so he could show her where three of the campsites would be come spring. She seemed intrigued by everything, including the snow, and he felt more and more settled that he might be doing this right this time. But he still had that unease that maybe this was more his doing than reality.

  Her approval meant a lot to him, more than it should, and he felt uneasy about that. He knew he had growing feelings for her, feelings that were only strengthened by her interaction with Tripp. Now he was thinking about being here permanently as soon as he could figure out the legal ramifications of stepping back from the company. It would take time, but meanwhile, he’d be here most of the time with Tripp and Sarge. Quinn would be here, too.

  When a soft knock sounded, he swiveled around to face the door. “Come on in.”

  Quinn was there and crossed to hand him a slip of paper. “Julia asked me to give this to you for when you go into town the next time. She said there’s no rush.”

  He glanced at the list, then back at Quinn. “Tell Julia I’ll go now,” he said. “I want to check in with Burr to see what he managed to find out from the county about the blind curve.”

  “Okay. Thanks again for the ride. I love what you’re going to do with the campsites.”

  “Thanks for your input,” he said. “Next time I’ll show you the bunkhouse and the mess hall.”

  “That would be great. Have you heard anything about Tripp?”

  “Max left a message that McFarland expedited background checks for the quick placement. So his stay at the office might be more like four or five days.” He was pleased about that. But the full-time fostering would be a lot more difficult to put in place. “You know, I’ve never been impressed with my money. It’s always been a byproduct that happened to come from me doing what I love. I never used it to step to the head of the line for anything. But with Tripp, he had parents who literally signed him away.”

  He grimaced with disgust at what they’d done to their son. “Then his last foster parents didn’t want to take him back. He’s had no serious inquiries for adoption, and unless something is done, he’s lost. I’m not above making it easier for him if I can. Money’s just money, but this is his life.”

  “Maybe you should call and see if you can talk to Tripp, so he knows you haven’t forgotten about him?”

  He remembered a time when he was small, and no one seemed to remember him. Four or five days back then would’ve felt like forever. “I will.”

  “Tell him hi from me, okay?”

  “Don’t go yet,” he said and made a call on his cell. “Hey, Max, I was wondering if you have a number I can call to talk to Tripp?”

  “T
his is your lucky day. Hold on,” the sheriff said.

  There was a pause, then Seth heard the boy’s voice over the phone. “Hello?”

  Seth smiled at Quinn and pulled the phone back to put it on Speaker. “Tripp, it’s Seth. What are you doing with the sheriff?”

  “He came and got me to go for a ride in the police car and he let me put on the siren,” he said. “It’s really, really loud.”

  “Wow, that sounds great,” Seth said.

  “Max is going to get me a badge, so I’ll be like his deputy, too. When I get big, he said I could work with him if I wanted to.”

  Seth watched Quinn listening to the boy. She was smiling, and he was glad she was there. “You’d better not arrest me when you see me,” Seth said.

  He’d made a joke, but it obviously wasn’t funny to Tripp, who said quickly, “No, no, no, I wouldn’t. I never would. I promise. I really promise.”

  He cut in. “Hey, Tripp, I know you wouldn’t. That was a joke.”

  There was silence for a moment, then Tripp asked, “When are you coming to get me?”

  “As soon as Mr. McFarland tells me I can. But soon.”

  “Can Quinn come, too, please?”

  “Why don’t you ask her? She’s right here.”

  He nodded at Quinn, and she said, “Hi, there. It’s Quinn. Is that you, Tripp?”

  “Yes, me, Tripp Allan Martin. You remember me, huh?”

  “I’ll never forget you.”

  “Max came and got me out of the office.”

  “Good, that’s so nice of him.”

  “You’ll…you’ll come to get me, too?”

  She closed her eyes. “Yes, I’ll be there with Seth as soon as Mr. McFarland says you can come back here. I promise.”

  There was silence on the phone, and Quinn opened her eyes to look at Seth.

  “Hey, Tripp. Are you okay?” Seth asked, his eyes holding Quinn’s as he spoke to the boy.

  “Yeah, but I… I just…” There was another long pause, then Tripp said quickly, “You still want me, right?”

  “I sure do,” Seth said. “Where are you now?”

  “Where Max lives. His place is real huge, and he’s got a black horse called Thunder and all kinds of rodeo stuff.”

  “Have you ever ridden a horse?” Seth asked.

  “No.”

  “Would you like to?”

  “I don’t know how,” the boy said in a small voice.

  “When you get here, we can see about teaching you, okay?”

  “Are you lyin’?”

  Seth closed his eyes. “Tripp, let’s get something settled right now. I will not lie to you, ever. I promise you that.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said in a small unsteady voice.

  “Hey, I’m not mad. I just want you to understand that what I tell you, it’s always going to be the truth. Got that?”

  “I got that,” he said a bit more firmly.

  “Now, you go and see Max’s place and have a great time.”

  “He says he’s got a donkey called Morris. That’s a real weird name, huh?”

  Seth chuckled and looked back at Quinn, who was smiling a bit herself. “Very weird. I’ll call you tomorrow, I promise. Okay?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Let me speak to Max again.”

  Max came back on the Speaker. “He’s one happy kid.”

  Seth was so pleased Max was helping with Tripp. “Riding along with you as shotgun has to be great.”

  “No, I mean about you taking him.”

  “I just couldn’t let him go back, Max. Thanks for what you’re doing for him.”

  “I’m happy to do it,” Max said. “Maybe I’ll even get to be Uncle Max someday. I gotta go.”

  Seth ended the call. “He’s having fun with Max,” he said, then stood. “I forgot how tough it can be for a boy like Tripp to trust anyone.” He looked at Quinn. For a moment, he hadn’t trusted her over a single lie. He really was the product of the boy he’d been. Trusting anyone had been a rare thing in his life, but now, with Quinn, he thought he might be getting better at it. He wasn’t all the way there, but listening to her talking to Tripp about cars while he stood just outside in the hallway, and her reading to Sarge looking happy to be doing it, had shifted so many things for him. Maybe he could actually outgrow his past. He hoped so.

  He watched Quinn lower her eyes to stare at her hands in her lap. Then she asked in a low voice, “When did Sarge win your trust?”

  That made him pause. “I don’t know. Somehow, I just knew it, that I could trust him. But there was no major moment that I remember. He was just there, and he always kept his word.”

  “You’ll make that happen with Tripp,” she said meeting his eyes again.

  “I hope so,” he said. “I’m going into town, but I’m thinking I should get things for Tripp for when he arrives. I don’t even know what I need to fix up the bedroom upstairs for him. Then there’s clothes, books, games and a computer.”

  He exhaled, then knew what he did need. “I’d really appreciate it if you could come and help me figure out the basics. You’re used to kids around his age and you’d know more about what they’d like than I do.”

  * * *

  QUINN WANTED TO go with Seth so badly after talking to Tripp, but she hesitated. During the night she’d made a huge decision to stay at the ranch until she saw Tripp safely settled with Seth. She couldn’t approach Seth about Michael’s work, not now. But when Tripp was home, she knew that was when she’d leave for Denver. Seth never had to know why she’d shown up that day at the blind curve. “I don’t know.”

  “It would be a huge help for me. I’ll have to pick up what Julia wants at Farley’s, and he carries all the clothing a kid on a ranch would need. What size do you think he’d wear?”

  She sure didn’t want to face Farley again, not with him knowing she’d lied to Seth. But she could do one thing. “Can I call Max?”

  He didn’t ask any questions but handed her his phone. She hit redial and Max came on. She explained what she needed, then hung up. “He’s going to find out Tripp’s clothing and shoe sizes, then text the information to you.”

  “That’s great.” He hesitated, then said, “You will come, won’t you? Julia mentioned there’s a specialty store on the southern edge of town that caters to the dude ranch crowd. It has everything you’d need to make a Western bedroom for a kid.”

  “Okay. I’ll come, and while you go to Farley’s I’ll find the boutique and see what they have,” she said.

  He studied her. “Oh, I understand. I never told Farley anything about how you got here. He did all the talking that day.”

  She almost felt dizzy with relief. “Okay. When do you want to leave?”

  He flashed that crooked grin. “Ten minutes ago?”

  The drive into town was easy, talking about colors for everything and old and new toys. Max sent the clothing sizes and the measurements for Tripp’s feet. Quinn found out Seth only remembered having one toy when he’d been small, a set of plain wooden blocks he’d taken with him from foster home to foster home. They’d disappeared somewhere along the way.

  Three hours later, they were on their way back to the ranch with Julia’s order and everything else needed to transform the almost bare bedroom upstairs. There were clothes for Tripp, a heavy denim jacket and a pair of Western boots along with running shoes. Even a kid-size hat that was a lot like the one Seth was wearing. When they pulled up to the log house, they unloaded the truck and took everything upstairs.

  Quinn unpacked the bedding with cowboys on it, and Seth wanted to make up the double spindle bed right then. One thing led to another until the room was transformed. Quinn stood back to study the results of what she and Seth had done together, and she sighed with satisfaction. The room was full of everything horses and
cowboys, and a large dose of cars, too. From the comforter to the pillows and the pictures above the headboard, the West was alive and well in that room. The lamps on the small nightstands had bases with rearing horses and the leather shades had branding patterns on them.

  A high dresser against the log wall at the front was full of clothing, and a wooden chest at the foot of the bed held extra blankets and pillows. The shoes were sitting on the floor alongside the bed. A shelving unit that had been original to the room held books and another lamp. On the two lower shelves, she’d set up the plain wooden building blocks she’d found and several model cars she’d hoped Tripp would like.

  As she and Seth stood there, he touched her shoulder. “You did a great job. He’s going to love all of this. The cars are terrific, and the blocks, they’re just like the ones I had.”

  She smiled at him and admitted, “I actually got them for you, but maybe you can get Tripp to share.”

  He was quiet, and when she looked at him, he said in a low voice, “Thank you.”

  “I saw them and thought you should have them,” she said. “Maybe Tripp will end up in construction and he can practice building things with you. Make a town and use the cars. Maybe we can get an old red pickup truck.”

  Seth chuckled. “I’m no builder, but ask me to run AutoCAD programs or do coding, I’m a whiz.”

  “We all have our gifts,” she murmured, then glanced at the shoes by the bed. “His feet are pretty small, aren’t they?”

  “I hope he likes those boots.”

  “He’s going to love those boots.” She was so grateful she’d been able to contribute in some way to help Tripp and Seth in their new lives. “Best of all, he’ll love being here with you.”

  She felt him come closer to her, and his voice was low. “Thank you for all you’ve done for Tripp and for me. Julia was right, you know.”

  “About what?” she asked as she turned toward him and felt her breath catch.

  His hazel eyes held hers, and he was so close she could feel his breath brush her face. Then his gaze dropped to her lips. “She told me we make a good team,” he whispered as he bent toward her and kissed her. The contact was gentle and lingered as she closed her eyes. She felt overwhelmed by a feeling she hadn’t known could exist in her life anymore. She thought she’d lost it forever. But it was there—a sense of connection with a man, a connection she wanted. Seth gently cupped her chin.