Tori crawled out from beneath the coat and tiptoed over.
“It’s okay. She’s already awake.”
Tori knelt on the floor and shivered. Travis crouched behind her to lend his warmth. Besides, he wanted another glimpse of the precious creature he’d delivered last night.
Rachel peeled back the duvet gently. Beth lay against her mother’s breast.
Tori wrinkled her nose. “She’s little. Can she play with me?”
Rachel laughed. “Not yet. She has to grow a bit first.”
Beth’s unfocused gaze took in her surroundings.
“She doesn’t look awake, Mommy. Can she see me?”
“Not too clearly, Tori. She was only born a few hours ago.”
The miracle of the experience still humbled Travis. It flat-out boggled his mind that he’d been part of that messy, spectacular event last night.
Tori knelt to kiss Beth’s forehead. Travis steadied her so she wouldn’t fall on the baby.
“She’s soft, Mommy.” Tori patted Beth’s forehead.
“Gentle, Tori, like we taught you with Ghost.”
The cat, still ensconced on the armchair, lifted her head. She jumped to the ground and ambled into the kitchen where she set up her morning, god-awful yowling.
In his arms, Tori startled. “What’s she want, Travis?”
“Breakfast.”
“Me, too.”
“Sure thing, missy. I’ll get right on it just so long as you don’t start any of that caterwauling yourself.”
Tori giggled.
Travis stood, picked her up and deposited her under the covers and sheepskin on the armchair. “Curl up there and stay warm while I figure out what we’ll have. We don’t have any power for cooking, but I’ve got some ideas that might work.”
He prodded the log in the fireplace, and the fire flared. “You ever been camping, Tori?”
“What’s camping?”
“I’ll take that as a no. We’re going to have us some camping fun. We’ll get to it in a minute. First things first, though.”
He stared down at Rachel and the baby. “How do I set up a bassinet? I don’t have anything like that.”
“Can we use one of your dresser drawers?”
“You can use anything you think might work. I’ll go get one.”
She called after him. “Bring whatever spare linens and blankets you might have.”
“Sure thing,” he said from halfway up the stairs he was taking two at a time.
The upstairs sure was frigid. Keeping the first floor warm would be a full-time job today. Good thing he’d prepared for the storm.
He dumped the contents out of one of his drawers and filled it with the sheets from the boys’ beds.
Back downstairs he dragged the afghan from the sofa.
“Let’s put her over here.” Setting the drawer by the end of the sofa nearest the fire, he doubled over the bed sheets innumerable times and used them to cover the pillow that fit into the bottom perfectly.
He crouched beside Rachel. “Hand her over.”
With great care, he set the baby onto the sheets. She let out a tiny squawk before Travis covered her with the folded afghan.
Behind him, Rachel stood. Travis spun around. “Should you be standing?”
“I’m good.” She peeked at Beth. “Hold on. I’ll set her up properly. Let’s get rid of the pillow and put the folded afghan on the bottom.”
Travis helped her.
“I need my suitcase,” she said.
He retrieved it for her. She took out a couple of small pink blankets and wrapped the baby in them snugly. She took out another blanket, knitted and thicker than the first two, and doubled it up, laying it on top of her.
“We’ll have to watch her to make sure she stays warm enough. She’s too young for pillows and afghans.”
Travis didn’t have a clue what she was talking about, but he’d watch her 24/7 if that’s what it took to keep Beth safe.
Rachel glanced around. “Um...where’s the...um...washroom? Did you keep the one off the kitchen?”
“Yep. It’s still there. It’ll be cold, though. Let’s get you and Tory dressed warmly. We can’t spend all day under the blankets.”
He stared at Rachel. She still looked tired. “Amendment. You can stay under the blankets.”
Her laugh belied the dark bags under her eyes. Did nothing keep this woman’s spirits down?
“How do you do it?” he asked.
“Do what?”
“Laugh. Enjoy life. Keep happy when there is so much going wrong for you.”
“Travis, I have my moments. I have times when I feel overwhelmed, but at this moment, I’m the most fortunate woman who ever lived. I have two wonderful, beautiful daughters.”
“She means me and Beth, Travis.”
“I understood that, Tori.” A laugh that started deep inside his soul burst out of him. This woman with her unbeatable optimism brought out the best in him.
Rachel smiled. “I like your laugh, Travis.”
Her smile warmed him from head to toe.
“Why don’t you and Tori put on as many layers of clothes as you can stand and I’ll rustle up breakfast?”
A few minutes later, they passed him in the kitchen on their way to the bathroom. A second later, Tori yelped.
“It’s too cold, Mommy. I can’t sit on it.”
“You have to.”
He heard Tori sob. He knocked on the bathroom door. “Can I come in?”
“Yes.” Rachel sounded frustrated.
He opened the door. She looked frustrated. Tori hopped around and clutched herself. Clearly the kid really had to go.
“Tori, will you go if I hold you over the toilet without touching the seat?”
“But I haves to take down my pants to go.”
“I know. I won’t look. See that painting of the colorful fishes?”
She nodded while she hopped.
“I’ll stare at that, okay?” He put his hands under her armpits and lifted. Rachel pulled down her pants and underwear, and Travis positioned her over the seat with her little butt hovering without touching. He held her there until her tinkling finished, all while staring at the abstract painting of fish left by the former resident.
He stood her on the floor and Rachel pulled up her pants.
“Better?” he asked.
“Thank you, Travis. Better.”
He glanced at Rachel. “You going to need help, too?”
“I’ll manage.” He heard laughter in her voice. “It’s going to be uncomfortable.”
“That’s putting it mildly. Come on, Tori. Let’s give your mom privacy. You can help me with breakfast.”
He closed the door behind him and Tori. In the kitchen he was just getting bacon out of the fridge when he heard a much bigger yelp than Tori’s tiny one.
“Oh my Lord, it’s like ice!” Even from a distance and behind a closed door, her voice carried.
Travis couldn’t help but laugh, but also thanked his lucky stars he could do his business standing up.
He carried Tori and the bacon into the living room.
“Tori, do you want me to try to make hot chocolate in the fireplace?”
Her jaw dropped open. “You gots hot chocolate?”
“Yep. I felt bad I didn’t have any when you were here decorating for Christmas. I went out and bought some for your next visit.”
“That’s today! Today is my next visit!”
“Right, but we have no power, so we’re going to try to make it using the fire.”
He snuggled her into the armchair under her blankets.
“Stay put. I need to get a few things from the basement.”
/> Snagging one of the lanterns, he hurried downstairs where he rummaged in a big old box of his camping equipment and came up with a kettle and a small pot. He also found a metal stand he used on campfires.
Back upstairs, he retrieved milk from the fridge and the tin of hot chocolate from the cupboard. He filled the kettle with water.
In the living room, he found Rachel already ensconced on the sofa beside her brand-spanking-new daughter.
“Can you drink normal coffee now? I don’t have decaf.”
“I don’t honestly feel like coffee. May I just have hot water?”
“Sounds kind of dull.”
“It will be warm. That’s all I want right now. What can I do to help?”
On his haunches in front of the fireplace, he swiveled to look at her. “That walk to the bathroom didn’t do you any good. You’re pale.”
“I just need a little more sleep. It was a long night.”
“Yeah, it was at that.” He smiled. “And much of it was spent working. If you need to go to the washroom again, I’ll carry you.”
“That isn’t necessary.” She craned her neck to look around him. “What are you doing?”
“This is my camping trivet. I’m putting a pot of milk on for Tori’s hot chocolate. It’ll scald quickly, though. I’ll have to watch it.”
He went to the pantry off the kitchen and returned with fondue forks. “Your neighbor’s British relatives left a lot of interesting old stuff in the house.”
“What are those?” Tori asked.
“Fondue forks.”
“What’s fondue?”
After he explained about fondue, he opened the bacon and wrapped a slice around the fork. When he held it over the flame the fire spit and hissed from dripping fat.
Once the slice was cooked, charred in some parts, he put the slice onto a plate and handed it to Tori.
“Mommy first!”
“Okay. Here you go, my lady, on your Lady Someone-or-Other china.”
“Lady Carlisle. Thank you.” She blew on it then bit into it. “Oh, that’s so good. Why is it that everything tastes better cooked over an open fire?”
“Don’t know, but it’s true.”
He handed Tori her cup of chocolate, but not before topping it up with a quarter cup of cold milk. “Should be cool enough for you, sprout.”
“What’s a sprout?”
“You ask a lot of questions, kid. Hold that with two hands.”
“Travis, could I change my order from hot water to hot milk?”
“Sure.”
“No, wait. Save the milk for Tori.”
“This is instant chocolate. It can be made with water, too. You need the milk right now more than she does.”
“True. Besides there’s milk at home in the fridge. Since I won’t be there opening and closing the door, it should stay fine for quite a while.”
Travis took the chocolate from Tori. “Travis, I’m not finished.”
“I know, but I’ll hold it while you eat this bacon.”
He handed her a strip of cooked bacon on a small saucer.
She chewed it and licked her fingers. “That’s yummy! Can I have more?”
“Tori, Travis has to eat, too,” Rachel admonished.
“She can have as much as she wants. I’ve got more in the fridge and the freezer. I stocked up.”
Rachel stared out of the front window where snow settled in huge drifts everywhere, and where the roads were still impassable.
He handed Tori another slice of bacon.
“What about your sister? Have you heard from her?”
“No. I can’t get through to her on her phone. Texts aren’t making it through. I’m worried, Rachel.”
He felt a touch on his shoulder. Rachel had stood to comfort him.
“I told you to stay seated,” he said gruffly, because the worry about Sammy and the boys coupled with last night’s experience and now Rachel’s proximity left him shaken and emotional.
“Sure.” She returned to the sofa and got her plate. “More, please.” She looked saucy and not the least repentant for disobeying him, but he understood what she was doing. She was trying to make him feel better, and he was grateful.
He dropped another slice of bacon onto her plate. The next slice went to Tori. Only then did he eat.
“You have a bunch of forks,” Rachel said. “Why don’t you put on more than one slice at a time?”
Travis shrugged. “We have nowhere to go and nothing to do. Without electricity, it’s going to be a long day. There’s no sense in rushing.”
“True.”
The baby started her pitiful thin little cry, and Rachel picked her up. “She needs a change.”
She moved to get her suitcase, but Travis stopped her. “What do you need?”
“A diaper and a wiping cloth.”
He brought them to her, and she changed the baby while Tori watched. “What’s that?”
“That’s where her belly button will be.”
“Mine doesn’t look like that.”
“No. Hers will look like yours eventually.”
“What are you doing now?”
“She’s hungry. I’m going to feed her.”
“Does she want bacon?”
“No. She can’t eat people food yet. Only breast milk.”
“I got milk in my hot chocolate. You can give her some.”
“That’s just for big girls like you. Beth needs to stick with breast milk for now.”
Behind him, Travis heard a long drawn out “ooooh” and peeked over his shoulder. Rachel had the little one to her breast, trying to get her to latch on. He spun about so he wouldn’t invade her privacy.
“She drinks from there?” Tori said.
“Yes, my breasts are full of milk.”
“Mommy, that’s silly. You aren’t a cow.” Tori sounded stern.
“All kinds of creatures produce milk to feed their babies, including humans.”
“Does Travis have milk, too?”
He choked on the slice of bacon he’d just put into his mouth.
“No,” Rachel answered. “Men don’t get milk. Only women do. I have it because I gave birth to Beth.”
“Does she like it?”
“Yes. Very much. You used to like it, too.”
“No, Mommy, I liked hot chocolate.”
“Eventually. Before that, you ate just like this.”
“I don’t think so.” Travis heard rustling and peeked over his shoulder. Rachel lay on her side facing away from him with the baby lying on the sofa, he presumed drinking from the other breast.
He couldn’t see anything, so he didn’t think he was invading her privacy as he helped Tori get snuggled back under her covers again. When she sat down, a cat’s indignant meow sounded.
Tori and Travis both laughed. Ghost had snuck in under the blankets and Tori had sat on her.
He made room for both of them. “I’m going to make toast. Those few slices of bacon weren’t enough food for any of us.”
“Toast! Yes, please.”
“What do you like on yours? Just butter? Peanut butter? Jam?”
“Melted butter.”
“Melted butter? Does she mean just normal buttering?” He directed the question to Rachel who spoke over her shoulder.
“Yes.”
He stuck a fork through the first slice and held it over the fire. Unfortunately, one side got burned. He scraped off the charred bits, but Tori looked down her nose at it.
“Travis, it’s burned.”
“I’ll eat it while I drink my warm milk.” Rachel put the baby back down in her drawer bed and covered herself up again.
“What do you take?
PB? Jam?”
“Usually marmalade, but I can live with jam.”
“You don’t have to. Hang tight.” He fetched an unopened jar from a cupboard in the kitchen, buttered the burned toast and spread it with marmalade.
After handing it to her on her plate, he made a less burned one for Tory.
Only then, again after making sure the two of them had enough, did Travis make toast for himself, plowing through a half-dozen slices of bread.
“Do you have a griddle in your camping stuff?” Rachel asked.
“I have one in the kitchen. Why?”
“For lunch we should try making crumpets on the fire.” She sounded drowsy. “Do you think we’ll still be here at lunchtime?”
“Oh, yeah. No doubt at all.”
No response.
He glanced over. Rachel was out like a light.
Travis tucked her in.
He found Tori nodding off with a chocolate mustache. He tucked her in, too.
After building up the fire again, he snagged his sheepskin, put it over himself and sat in front of the fire with his back against the end of the sofa.
How could all of this mundane, unexciting stuff leave him so happy?
Peace, love, happiness flooded all of the cavernous spaces that had lived in Travis since his empty childhood.
Chapter Twelve
Travis hadn’t known it, but he’d searched his entire life for this. For her. For Rachel.
All of the miles he’d traveled, all of the ranches he’d lived on, every cross he’d had to bear were all worth it, because all had led here, to Rachel.
He hadn’t known he’d been searching. He’d thought the emptiness that dogged him was just a part of life.
After years of being tied down with Sammy, he’d wanted nothing more than to avoid anything that hinted of responsibility. It was enough to keep himself fed, clothed and earn a living.
But take on others? No way.
As much as he’d loved Samantha from the day she was born, he’d also felt responsible for her. His parents had done the barest minimum. Everything else had fallen to him.
He would never tell her so, but there’d been moments, especially as a teenager who couldn’t play sports or date or hang out with friends, when he’d bitterly resented his role as mother, father and caregiver.
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