Gage called the next morning while Emma was sitting on the floor with Josh. He’d chosen one of his favorite toys, multicolored stacking cups.

Sometimes he stacked them inside each other and other times he’d give her one to hold, periodically exchanging it for a different one. But mostly he banged them together and chortled in glee at all the noise he could make.

Her stomach fluttered as she answered the call. “Good morning.”

“Hi.”

One syllable in his deep baritone and warmth flooded her body. She took a breath. “What’s up?”

“I have info, but I hear a bunch of noise in the background. Is this a bad time?”

“It’s perfect. Josh is busy playing.”

“Okay, then. First off, I asked my dad about the birthday celebration. You should have seen his face. He just lit up.”

“Aw, that’s sweet. Would your sister and brothers like to be part of it, do you think?” She gave Josh the blue cup and took the yellow one he offered.

“Um, yes. And that’s the tip of the iceberg. My dad called Kendra, and—”

“Oh, right. She should be there.”

“She has five sons.”

“Teenagers? That could be fun.”

Josh took the yellow cup and give her a green one while murmuring da-da under his breath.

“Kendra’s boys are all around my age.”

“They are?” She exchanged another cup with Josh. “She doesn’t look old enough.”

“She had them very young. Two are married and the others are in relationships. What I’m trying to say is that this party is going to be—”

“Huge?” She gave Josh the cup she was holding and he used it to bang against another one and chant da-da in a singsong voice.

“Yes. What’s going on there, anyway?”

“Josh is practicing his act in hopes someone will launch a Toddlers Have Talent reality show.”

Gage chuckled. “Then be sure and get a video.”

“I have videos. Way too many videos.”

“From when he was younger?”

“I do.”

“Then maybe I could see them sometime.”

“Definitely.” Her chest tightened with guilt. Had she made a terrible mistake, not contacting him sooner? Nothing to be done about it, now, but his wistful tone as he’d asked about videos would haunt her.

“Anyway, the b-day party is turning into an extravaganza, but I hope you still want to, because they’re all super excited about it.”

“It sounds terrific, Gage. Thank you.”

“Believe me, once I said my son’s first birthday it was like throwing a whole bag of tortilla chips out to the birds. Everybody’s in. You might want to put together a list of gift suggestions. Lots of people want to know what to buy him.”

“Heavens, I don’t expect people to bring presents.”

“I guarantee they’ll all want to and if you don’t give them ideas, no telling what you’ll end up with. Not everybody in this group is savvy about babies, including me. And I want to get him something.”

“Okay. I’ll give it some thought.” Yesterday she’d arrived in Eagles Nest expecting that Gage would be the only person involved in this drama. Judging from the event he was describing, half the town wanted to celebrate Josh’s birthday.

“Anyway, that’s that. Since flag football’s at two and we’ll both need lunch beforehand, I was thinking I’d make some sandwiches and come by around noon, if that works for you.”

“It does and I appreciate it. I have Josh taken care of, but I hadn’t figured out what I’d do about eating.”

“I’m the one who asked you to stay, so let me worry about that. Which reminds me. I can take you shopping after the game. Whatever you need—food for Josh, extra clothes, diapers—we can pick it up today.”

“That would be helpful.”

“One last thing. Kendra wondered if you’d be willing to come to the ranch for dinner tonight. She has a high chair and other baby stuff. She said it would just be you, me, Josh, my dad and her.”

“That’s a lovely gesture. Do you want to go?”

“I want to do what makes sense to you.”

“Well, if I’m reading this situation right, Kendra is taking on the role of Josh’s grandma.”

“I’m pretty sure she is. With enthusiasm.”

“Then I can’t imagine denying Josh the experience of having her as a grandma.”

“I can’t, either. What do you want on your sandwich?”

“Whatever you have. I’m not picky.”

“Then it looks like it’ll be P, B and J.”

“Okay.”

He laughed. “I can do better than that. How does turkey, cheese, lettuce and tomato sound?”

“Delicious.”

“Mayo? Mustard?”

“Mustard.”

“Yep, me, too. See you at noon.”

“See you then.” She disconnected and looked at Josh. “Hey, my little friend. I think you’re about to become a local celebrity.”

Giggling, he bounced and used his stacking cups like cymbals.

“Oh, you’ll be a hit without even trying very hard. The big question is how I’ll go over with this crowd since I kept you a secret for so long. Can I ride on your coattails?”

Josh gave her his heart-melting gaze. “Da-da.”

“Right. His coattails, too.”

The rest of her morning zipped by. She checked email and responded to several clients, fed Josh an early lunch, gave him a bath and put him in his crib with some toys so she could take a quick shower.

Gone were the days when she could experiment with makeup and try on several outfits before she chose one. She wore her second pair of jeans and the only top that Gage hadn’t seen yet. Splashed with green and gold, it was more dramatic than the other two.

By some miracle she’d brought gym shoes and she’d put those on in case she had a chance to play. She’d caught her hair up in a ponytail.

The hoop earrings she used to love were tucked away in a jewelry box at home because shiny, dangling things were irresistible to her curious son. Eventually she’d wear them again, but it wasn’t worth the potential hazard.

She stuffed the baby backpack with everything she could possibly need at the park. She put sunscreen on her and Josh. She laid his floppy hat on top of the backpack so she’d remember to put it on him. Wearing it ramped up his cuteness factor by at least a thousand percent.

By the time Gage rapped softly on her door at noon on the dot, she was reasonably well-organized. And nervous. Dealing with her folks had been difficult, but at least she’d told them about Josh the day she’d had the pregnancy confirmed.

She’d kept the Sawyer clan out of the loop until now, though. She’d been focused on how the news would affect Gage but hadn’t factored in the grandparent and nephew angle. Gage had mentioned how excited they all were, but would anyone be upset because they were just finding out?

Then Gage walked through the door and she lost track of everything but his sexy self in a snug white t-shirt and navy sweats. He had a backpack slung over one broad shoulder. She stared at the transformation from cowboy to jock. “You’re wearing a ball cap! And sneakers!”

“Athletic shoes.” He grinned. “You can’t play flag football in jeans and boots. Doesn’t work.”

“That lets me out.” She glanced down at her jeans. “But I see your point. These don’t have enough give to them.”

“Kendra anticipated the problem.” He lowered the backpack to the floor, unzipped it and pulled out a pair of gray sweats and a white t-shirt. “After meeting you last night she decided you might fit into her clothes.”

Touched by the gesture, she smiled as she took them. “Here I’ve been obsessing over whether anyone would be upset because I waited so long to tell you about Josh. Instead they’re offering me clothes so I can play flag football with them.”

“That’s how it is in Eagles Nest. It took me a while to get used to it, too.” He glanced down as Josh crawled over and grabbed a fistful of his pants leg.

But tugging on the soft material didn’t give him the leverage he needed. He plopped down on his bottom and held up his arms. “Da-da!”

“Hey, buddy.” Warmth flowed through his voice as he reached down and hoisted Josh into his arms. “Who’s your daddy, huh? Who’s your daddy-o?”

“Da-da.” He patted Gage’s cheeks.

“Right on, big guy. Right on.” He looked over at Emma and winked. “I’m choosing to believe.”

“Go right ahead.” She was becoming a believer, herself. “If you’ll take charge of him for a minute, I’ll duck into the bathroom and change.”

“Sure thing. I like that blouse, by the way,” he called after her. “Looks great on you.”

“Thanks.” And now she wouldn’t have to worry about it getting messed up playing football. She’d had a hunch her jeans wouldn’t work, either, but they were all she had.

After closing the bathroom door, she nudged off her shoes and pulled her blouse over her head. Clacking noises and laughter from both Josh and Gage indicated they were on the floor playing with the stacking cups.

Gage’s voice filtered through the door. “Let’s try rolling one, okay, buddy? Here it comes. Catch it!”

Josh squealed in delight.

“Sending over the blue one, now. Ready?

“Ba-ba!”

“Right! The blue one! Wait for it. Rolling…rolling…and there you go! Great catch!”

More squeals and baby laughter.

“Hey, Emma, everything okay in there? If that stuff doesn’t fit, maybe we can—”

“They’re fine! Be right out.” And they probably would be fine if she took the time to put them on instead of standing there riveted by the sounds of Gage playing with Josh. Ignoring what was going on beyond the door, she quickly peeled off her jeans and put on the sweats and the women’s cut t-shirt. They both fit perfectly—not too tight and not too baggy.

She picked up her clothes and shoes and opened the door just as Gage rolled another cup over to Josh. Her son snatched it up with a cry of triumph.

“Great job!” Gage had turned his hat around rally-cap style, making him look even more like an athlete. He glanced at her and smiled. “Nice.”

“Thanks. I guess Kendra’s right that we wear about the same size.” His casual compliments gave her spirits a boost. Male appreciation had flowed in a steady stream during her bartending days. Although she wasn’t hooked on that kind of thing, it was nice when it happened.

But now that she was a mom and worked at home, it didn’t happen very often. Coming from Gage made it even nicer. She wasn’t ready to examine why that might be. Not yet.