Josh’s first time on a horse had gone well, thank God. Gage had been determined it would, but nothing was guaranteed in this world, was it? After he’d made one successful circuit of the pasture, his dad had excused himself to go work in his studio and Kendra had headed home to do chores.

But Uncle Pete had been eager to assume his new role. He’d wanted to show Emma and Josh around the place and introduce them to his horse Clifford and Wes’s horse Fudge. Then he’d helped Gage improvise a high chair so Emma could feed Josh the lunch she’d brought.

They’d stacked cushions on a straight-backed chair, used one of Gage’s belts to secure the baby, and pushed him up to the kitchen table. Worked like a charm. After Josh finished his early lunch, Emma had given them a lesson in diaper changing. They’d cheerfully pitched in, to her apparent surprise.

In the end, he’d run out of time to show her the photo album his dad had unearthed. They’d had to leave for their tour of Raptors Rise. No worries. Emma would be back the following weekend for Josh’s birthday party. That would be the perfect time to share it with her.

On the way out the door, she suggested that he ride with her, which made sense. He strapped Josh in his car seat, climbed in the passenger side, and off they went.

Another first. He’d never ridden in a vehicle with her. The intimacy of it struck him. He glanced over to see whether she was the least bit agitated by it.

Didn’t seem to be. Her cheeks were their usual creamy color. With her hair swept back in a ponytail, he could admire the soft curve of her neck where he’d placed several kisses the previous evening. And would place even more tonight barring something unexpected. His groin tightened.

When they were with other people, he managed to ignore the glittering prospect of having her to himself. But in the confines of this car, he was almost alone with her, and—

“You and Pete handled that diaper change with a refreshing lack of drama.”

Now there was a subject guaranteed to deflate his enthusiasm along with a significant body part. “We muck out stalls for a living. Squeamish wranglers don’t last long.”

“I hadn’t factored that in. I guess your job requires you to be indifferent to the earthier aspects of life.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Meaning?”

“Some of the earthier aspects are meant to be enjoyed. I would hate to become indifferent to those.”

Sunglasses covered her eyes but her pink cheeks gave her away. “Gage…”

“Come on, Emma, you have to be thinking about it.”

“Well, I am, but overlaying that is the reality of leaving my son overnight for the first time ever.”

“It’s a big step. I probably don’t even understand how big since I haven’t been taking care of him for almost a year.”

“But I couldn’t ask for two better people to leave him with. My rational side knows that he’ll be fine, but my emotional side is—”

“See, that’s where I come in.” Time to shift the topic to something a little juicier.

“You mean by distracting me.”

“Exactly. And we might want to consider changing the dinner plan.”

“The singalong at the Guzzling Grizzly? You don’t want to do that?”

“I’d be happy to do that, but I can’t guarantee you’ll be sufficiently distracted.”

“Yeah, maybe not. Singing along with Nicole could remind me of singing to Josh in the car and I’ll be toast.”

“On the other hand, I know one sure-fire way I can take your mind off Josh.” He paused to let that sink in. “But it would get us thrown out of the restaurant.”

She didn’t say a word. She didn’t have to. Her blush and her quick gulp communicated her state of mind perfectly.

“So I’m thinking instead of going out, we should pick up some food and go back to the B&B. I’m fairly certain that if we do that, I should be able to—”

“Stop talking about it.” Her words were rushed and she squirmed in her seat.

“Why?” He gave her a slow smile. “Am I getting you hot?”

“Never mind. We’ll decide on dinner later. We’re here.” She swung the SUV into the empty parking area. Gripping the wheel, she drew in a shaky breath.

“You might want to shut off the motor.”

“Right.” She switched off the engine.

“Did I take your mind off Josh?”

“Yes, you did.” She took another deep breath. “Now I have to get my mind off you.”

“Just testing.” Reaching over, he cupped her chin and turned her toward him. Then he gently pulled off her sunglasses. His pulse rate spiked at the heat in her gaze. “What a shame if we get to the moment of truth and discover we can’t blot out the world like we did before.”

She swallowed. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

“Good.” Leaning over, he brushed his lips over hers. “Now let’s show that little guy some eagles.” Handing her back her glasses, he climbed out of the car and went to free Josh from his car seat.

Emma wanted him as much as ever. Hallelujah for that. The intensity of the moment in the car eased as he picked up the baby and walked with Emma into the facility, but he remained in a state of heightened awareness. Judging from the way she kept sneaking looks at him, she was in the same condition.

The lobby was empty. With no one in there, she’d have an unobstructed view of his dad’s artwork and he was eager for her to see it. She couldn’t miss it since it dominated one wall.

When she spotted it, she gasped. “That’s your dad’s?”

“Sure is.” How great to be able to say that, to be the son of Quinn Sawyer. The life-sized image of a family of bald eagles in a massive tree-top nest gave him a shiver of pride no matter how many times he saw it. His dad had named it Home, Sweet Home.

“That’s amazing. You told me the name of the technique before. What was it?”

“It’s called scratchboard.” Josh wiggled with excitement and chanted ba-ba as he carried him a little closer to get a better look. “Dad can explain it better than I can, but he starts with a dry surface coated with black ink. Then he scratches the image into it to create…this.”

“Incredible. And what a perfect choice of subject for a town called Eagles Nest. I’m sure that was no accident.”

“Actually, it was. Wildlife is his passion and he was intrigued by the challenge of an intricate nest and getting the feathers just right on a life-sized piece. But as he worked on it, he realized he couldn’t sell it to an individual. It belonged on permanent display somewhere in town. This was the logical place.”

“Lucky me, that he decided to donate it to us.” Zane walked into the lobby from a nearby corridor. “Hey, Emma and Gage. Glad you could bring Josh over.”

Emma turned. “Thanks for letting us come before you open. Once I heard about this place I couldn’t wait to see it. And Josh is fascinated with birds.”

Zane smiled. “Takes after his dad?”

Gage returned the smile. “Maybe. In any case, seeing those eagles should be epic for him.”

“Hope so. How did his first ride go?”

Emma looked surprised. “You knew about that?”

“Yes, ma’am. I was over at the ranch early this morning helping Mom feed the horses. She couldn’t talk about anything else. She said you’re letting her babysit tonight and she’s so excited.”

“It’ll be my first time leaving him overnight, so I’m a little nervous.”

“Understandable. So, ready to get this show on the road?”

Emma nodded. “Absolutely.”

“I recommend we do it a little differently than I normally would because this one’s for Josh. We need to go for the gee-whiz stuff outside instead of the indoor facilities.”

“I agree,” Gage said. “He’ll be mainly interested in the birds out in the enclosures.”

“That’s what I figured. Anyway, we don’t have any birds in the infirmary right now, thank goodness, and the nursery is empty this time of year. We’ll go straight outside.”

Emma walked along with him. “You have a nursery?”

“Yes, ma’am. Spring and summer, for orphaned raptors. You should come back then so you can see it in action.”

“I’d love to.”

Zane led them down a paved path to the screened-in shelters for injured birds of prey. Each was as large as Zane’s budget would permit and shaded by trees to give the birds the privacy to heal. Gage had taken the full tour soon after arriving in town and had been back several times since.

“Now that we have more space,” Zane said, “we’ve divided the birds into groups – hawks, eagles and owls. Which do you want Josh to see first?”

“Eagles,” Emma said. “I think he’ll be blown away. I can’t wait for his reaction.”

“I’ll take the pictures this time.” Gage walked over to her. “That way you can share the experience with him.”

“But you and Josh are the bird lovers. I’ll have fun watching you two communing with them. You take him and I’ll handle pictures.”

“Alrighty, then.” He glanced at Zane. “I guess we’re ready to do this thing.”

He nodded. “Follow me.”

Gage repositioned Josh in his arms and adjusted the fit of his floppy canvas hat. “All set, buddy?”

Josh reached up and patted his cheek. “Da-da.”

“You bet I am, buddy. We’re gonna go see some eagles, now.” As he followed Zane and Emma, he lowered his voice to a soft murmur. “They’ve been hurt and they shouldn’t be agitated. I need you to be very, very quiet. Can you do that for me?”

Josh gazed up at him, his brown eyes solemn. His voice was like the whisper of the wind through the pines over their heads. “Da-da.”

His chest tightened. This little kid, not even a year old, appeared to understand his request. He’d bet his black hat that Josh wasn’t going to disturb those birds.

And he didn’t. Gage brought him within inches of the wire mesh separating him from a magnificent bald eagle with a badly injured foot. As Emma pointed her phone in their direction, Josh and the eagle stared at each other, neither moving, neither making a sound, simply exchanging mutual respect.

The pattern was repeated with each of the large birds. Josh regarded them quietly and they returned the favor. Same with the hawks and the owls. The pygmy owl could have stirred him up since it was about the size of his plush bluebird. But other than softly mouthing ba-ba, he gave the tiny owl the same consideration as its larger cousins.

When they returned to the lobby, Zane glanced at Josh. “I’ve seen quite a few kids go through here and none of them have been that quiet and respectful.”

Gage smiled at his son. “We had an agreement, didn’t we, sport?”

Josh grinned, showing off all four teeth.