on the board and rose.
“I think it’s time I went to bed,” Abby said before Ivor could ask more questions. “This has been a busy day for me.” She walked over to Ed, bent and brushed her lips against his leathery cheek. “Good night,” she whispered. She managed a quick hug for Ivor.
“Want me to walk you to your room?” When he shook his head firmly she recognized that he didn’t want to be seen as a baby and it was too early for him to accept someone else doing what his mom had done. She nodded, then looked up at Cade. “Thank you again,” she murmured, keeping her voice low enough so the others wouldn’t hear. “Good night.”
His eyes held hers for a long moment. Finally he said good-night, but as she walked out of the room, Abby could feel three sets of eyes boring into her back and was grateful Mrs. Swanson had already shown her the way to her room. Abby scurried down the hall, grateful the house was ranch style with only one floor. She didn’t think she could manage stairs tonight. She was just too tired.
She was tucked up in bed when she heard the others go to their rooms. Cade’s calm, level voice penetrated as he wished Ivor good-night. She couldn’t decipher what he was saying to his dad but Ed’s cane made several loud thumps, which were soon silenced. Sometime later she heard Cade say “Good night, Dad.” Then a door clicked and the house settled down.
Abby lay on her big, wide bed and marveled at the lovely room. It was twice the size of the one she’d shared with Max. There were huge windows opposite the bed. Come morning she would probably have a view of the entire ranch, maybe even the horses. God had certainly taken care of her. For now.
But what was she going to do about getting a permanent home for the babies?
Abby smoothed her hand over her bulging stomach as she pressed down the rush of panic that threatened to overwhelm her.
“God will provide,” she whispered. A tiny unborn foot in the center of her midsection kicked her hand. She smiled. “For all of us,” she said. But how? That question haunted her. While the babies went through their nightly calisthenics routine, she picked up her Bible, flipped it open and began reading in the Book of Psalms.
God adopts us as His very own children.
Abby smiled to herself. Here was a promise she could cling to. God had adopted her. She was His. He’d used Cade to bring her here, to give her a home, even if it was temporary, and she had new friends in Mrs. Swanson, Ivor and Ed, not to mention Cade.
For a moment her thoughts got caught up in the strong, handsome rancher, in his gentleness to her, his protective attitude and the way he’d insisted on rescuing her. Poor Cade. He was trying to do the right thing here, too, but his father certainly didn’t make it easy on him.
An idea blossomed. Maybe that’s why she was here, to help the two of them mend their relationship. Despite Ed’s crankiness, Abby had seen a glint in his eyes when he’d surreptitiously watched Cade. She was certain father and son loved each other. They’d just gotten off track.
She could never repay Cade for all he’d done for her. Except, maybe she could help him find his way back to the man he clearly loved.
Show me, Father, please? she prayed.
Then she put her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. As usual, her fingers closed around the tiny locket she wore, the one precious thing she couldn’t bear to sell. She popped it open and stared into Max’s eyes. For the first time in months, tears didn’t well up. She traced his features with a forefinger.
“Your friend’s taking care of us,” she murmured. “We’re fine. And you’re at peace now. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more to help you. I’m sorry I failed you. But I promise I will not fail our babies. Cade will help us.”
But just how much help could she take from the handsome rancher with the deep blue eyes?
* * *
In all his years on the ranch, Cade had never had a more frustrating day. His two best bulls had broken through a fence last night and it had taken forever to round them up, get them back with the rest of the herd and fix the fence. It had to happen on the day he’d given Garnet Jones, his hand, the day off. The drifts were so deep he’d had to use the snowmobile. Ivor had seen him and rushed out, eager to try the machine.
Cade wanted the kid to feel at home, even to enjoy himself. Since he hadn’t had much luck interesting Ivor in anything else the past three days, he figured the snowmobile might act as a kind of bridge between them. That was before Ivor had raced the machine too close to the pond and broken through the ice on the edge.
“It could have been worse,” he told Ivor after he’d pulled the snowmobile out with his four-wheel drive.
“How?” Ivor glared at him.
“If you’d gone further, you’d have sunk in completely and taken a cold bath. And you’d have ruined my machine.” He studied his snowmobile and sighed. “Not that it won’t take a fair bit of work to dry it out and get it running now.”
“It’s really old. You should probably buy a new one,” was Ivor’s only comment before he wandered back to the house.
“Why didn’t I think of that?” Cade muttered as he towed the snowmobile into his machine shed, dismayed that his attempts to bond with the boy had gone so poorly.
Things got a little better after lunch when Abby insisted on seeing his horses. She crept up to the stall as if in fear for her life, but when Liberty, his favorite mare, stuck her head over the gate and whinnied, Abby seemed to forget her inhibitions. She reached up a hand and gently brushed it over Liberty’s golden-red mane. A moment later the two were holding a mutual admiration meeting. Abby’s green eyes grew huge with wonder when she looked at him.
“She’s beautiful,” she murmured.
“She’s a sucker for apples.” Cade handed her one of two he’d tucked into his pocket earlier.
“Does it have to be cut up—oh!” Abby blinked as the horse nipped the apple from her fingers and chewed the treat. She looked at her hand in wonder. “She didn’t even touch me.”
Cade laughed.
“Liberty’s an expert thief. Sometimes she searches my pockets for carrots when I’m cleaning her stall or feeding her and she always finds them.” A sudden rush of satisfaction filled him when Abby began to caress Liberty, which made Cade wonder why it seemed so important she was comfortable with his animals.
How at home do you want her to feel? He ignored the voice in his head.
“Liberty loves her treats almost as much as she loves being brushed,” he explained. “Want to try?”
Abby studied him for a few minutes, then slowly nodded. Cade went to the tack area, grabbed Liberty’s favorite brush and carried it to Abby. Carefully he opened the gate and positioned himself by Liberty’s side so he could show Abby how to brush. When his fingers covered hers, Cade’s heart rate giddyapped, just as it had right before he’d shot out of the chute on an ornery bronc when he competed at the Calgary Stampede.
As soon as Abby had the motion memorized, Cade let go and stepped back, trying to even out his erratic breathing. What was wrong with him today?
Liberty shifted and whinnied. Abby backed away with a frown. “Did I do it wrong?”
“No. You’re doing it right. That means she likes it.” Cade smiled. “She won’t hurt you, but she might not want you to stop,” he warned.
“Do all her noises have meanings?” Abby resumed her work.
“Not always, but you’ll know if she doesn’t like something. She’s not subtle.” He couldn’t tear his gaze away from Abby’s face and the pure joy that radiated from it as she curried the horse.
“I hear you had some trouble with Ivor this morning.” She gave him a quick sideways look.
“We