Inside the living room of the Triple C’s main house, Emily toed off her heels and propped bare feet on the leather ottoman. She was tired. Already today, she’d attended a Chamber of Commerce luncheon sandwiched in between work and plans for the town’s summer festival, which included a rodeo at the Triple C, a softball tournament, and her new sister-in-law’s petting farm.

All that effort meant Emily was overwhelmed. Toss in the problem with Levi and Mason, and she was fried.

At the moment, she had less than an hour to relax before her next appointment.

Last night, she’d barely slept. When she had, her dreams had been of Levi driving away, Mason waving from the back window, and a horse trailer filled with Jessica’s clothes hooked behind the pick-up truck. Though the dream was distorted, she wondered if it was also prophetic.

“I’ve set myself up for heartache, Connie.” She moaned as she accepted a glass of sweet tea from her surrogate mother. “How could I be so dumb? I knew better. I even tried not to get involved.”

Try didn’t cut it when it came to Jessica’s baby and the baby’s uncle. They’d woven themselves around her heart until she was captured.

“You talk of Levi and Mason. No?” Connie’s question held not a bit of surprise.

Emily nodded, miserable and confused.

Connie’s dark fingers smoothed the top of Emily’s hair, comforting as she’d always done. “This was my concern for you from the beginning. Your heart is tender and big, always open. You love so well.”

Emily tilted her head to look into the other woman’s loving face, grateful Connie hadn’t said, “I told you so.”

“But I promised not to let him affect me this time.”

“Love does not listen to our directions, mija.” Connie took the chair across from Emily and set her glass on the dark walnut coffee table with a soft click. “And you love him, si?”

“Oh, Connie. I do. In a different way than before and in a different way than I loved Dennis, but I do. The thought of losing him again is unbearable. He needs me, and so does Mason. And I need him. We’re good together.”

“You have told him this?”

“Not in so many words, but surely he knows I wouldn’t be there if I didn’t care.” She certainly wouldn’t have involved herself in a romantic relationship.

“And you believe Levi has no feelings of love for you?”

“I think he does, but he holds back.” If his incredible tenderness and desperate kisses were any indication, the man was crazy about her. “He’s blinded by so much bitterness against his father that he can’t see all the goodness right in front of his eyes. Even if he loves me, he won’t let himself believe it. He certainly won’t say it.”

“And why is this, you think?”

Regret. Shame. Emily had never told another soul about that day, and she wouldn’t now. Levi had suffered enough because of it. So had she.

Pretending ignorance, she hitched her shoulders and sipped her sweet drink.

“Then I will tell you, mija. Levi endured a harsh, crushing childhood. To keep Slim Donley from destroying his very soul, Levi buried his emotions deep. In here.” Connie patted the flat of her hand against her chest. “Now he can’t get them out.”

“I agree, but at some point, he needs to get over all that. It’s the past. His father is long dead.” She hooked a lock of hair over one ear and sighed, frustrated. “He’ll never be content anywhere until he does, but I don’t know what to do to make him see that.”

“When he first arrived, I feared for this, to see my Emily sad again because of this boy. But I watch him. Your brothers, they watch, too. People at church talk. Everyone sees how hard that man tries with Mason and the endless effort he has put into the ranch. Most of all, we see that Levi Donley is in love with our Emily, even if he doesn’t know it.” Connie sat on the couch and took Emily’s hand in her warm, brown one. “We will pray about this. God and patience will make the difference.”

Clinging to the hope that Connie was right, Emily closed her eyes and prayed. Patience had to happen fast, or Levi would already be gone.

---

Two days.

Two whole days and nights since he’d seen Emily. Two days since her orange SUV had whipped into the driveway and made him glad all over. He missed her.

But being apart was good. It was right. It was for the best. They should not see each other. Not after the way he’d kissed her, the way she’d kissed him back. Not after the way she’d looked at him like a woman in love, demanding that he love her too.

He did. He always had.

But being apart was the most loving thing he could do for her. Not only because he couldn’t go on loving her without saying something and making things worse. Last night had convinced him. He’d had the rotten dream about his father, only this time, Emily was trapped in the barn, and the old man blocked the doorway, laughing gleefully.

Only it hadn’t been a dream. Not completely. Some ghosts wouldn’t stay buried.

Levi had awakened with the awful sense of shame and humiliation and the knowledge that Texas was the best place for him and Mason. Anywhere away from Emily.

For all her bravado and insistence that they “discuss” the past, the truth was too hurtful. Every moment he was in her company reminded her of that day. Every moment they were together hurt her. Even if she denied it, Levi was convinced it was true. The sooner he was gone, the sooner she could forget him and his father. Again.

But today wasn’t about him and his regrets. Today, Mason needed her.

What was he supposed to do about that?

Levi paced the hardwood floor and bounced Mason against his shoulder. Mason wailed. Face red and distorted with crying, the baby had been unhappy all day. Levi had tried everything he knew. The problem was, he knew so little.

Emily would know what was wrong. She could make it better.

He paced into the living room and stared up at his brother’s photo. “What do I do, bro?”

You know what to do. Pray. Call Emily. Forgive.

The voice in his head had been talking a lot lately. Aunt Ruby said it was the Holy Spirit, Who knew all things.

“If you really know everything, I wish you’d let me in on the big picture.”

If I did, you’d freak out. A little light’s all you need.

Levi snorted. Did God use terms like freak out?

Holding the baby to him with one hand, he whispered a short prayer. Nothing magic happened, so he reached for his cell phone.

He shot off a text to Emily.

Ten minutes later, she still hadn’t replied, so he shot off another. This time he told the truth. Something’s wrong with Mason. He hated to do that to her, but otherwise, she would go on ignoring him.

His cell phone rang. If Mason hadn’t been screaming in his ear, he would have grinned.

He answered. “Hello.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Mason won’t stop crying.”

“Is he hungry? Wet? Sleepy?”

Levi frowned and answered the rapid-fire questions in the order they were asked. “He wouldn’t take his bottle. He has a dry diaper. And he won’t go to sleep. He just screams in my ear.”

“Does he have fever?”

Fever? Why hadn’t he thought of that? “I don’t know.”

Mason quieted momentarily, and Levi sagged against the wall. Ah, the sweet sound of silence.

It was short-lived, apparently only a nanosecond for the baby to catch his breath and crank into overdrive.

“The thermometer is in the nursery in the top drawer.”

He knew that. He started up the stairs. “Will you come over?”

She hesitated. He could feel it, hear it in the soft indrawn breath. She didn’t want to see him. Levi thought his heart would crack like the Liberty Bell.

Stupid reaction. He didn’t want her to want to see him. Right?

“Mason’s better when you rock him. I think he misses you. Come. Please.” Mason missed her. Levi missed her. He’d be lying to say different.

“I’m in Rock Springs. The drive will take at least forty-five minutes.”

Rock Springs? That was a world away. Why was she there?

And why was he being so unfair?

“We’ll wait.” Stupid thing to say. What else was he going to do?

“Put the phone up to his ear.”

“What? Why?”

“Just do it, Levi. Or put me on speaker.”

Speaker. He could do that and bounce a crying baby at the same time.

He pushed the proper button, balanced the phone on the windowsill, and stared out at the green pasture below the nursery. Mason had been fussy all day, so Levi had not done a single bit of ranch work. None. He’d barely fed Butter who, even now, trotted into the nursery behind him, golden canine eyes looking from Levi to Mason with worry.

Yes, he’d let the dog inside. It was that or listen to him whine and scratch at the door because his baby was crying.

Emily’s voice came through the speaker. Soft, sweet, pure. She was singing.

Levi’s insides squeezed. He melted like a Hershey bar on the dashboard in mid-July. Grabbing the phone, he carried it and the baby to the padded rocker where he leaned his head back against the cushions and closed his eyes.

Emily’s warm soprano wafted over him. His shoulders relaxed. He took a deep breath, and let it go, slow and easy.

Mason’s crying eased the slightest bit. He paused as if listening. But then, he cranked right up again. Had the baby recognized Emily’s voice? Had he bonded to her?

Of course, he had. And now, Levi would separate them forever, the way his father had separated him from his mother.

But Emily wasn’t Mason’s mother.

Tell that to Mason.

God, I don’t know what you want me to do.

Give it to me. Let me carry it.

Give you what?

Emily changed songs. The baby’s wails slowed to an occasional outburst and finally to fussy whimpers.

The little man shuddered a long sigh. Levi let out one of his own. Relief, even if only for a few minutes.

The magic of Emily.

---

Emily drove at the top of the speed limit, singing a mix of Spanish and English lullabies and hymns for forty-five minutes over her car’s Bluetooth speaker. When she finally pulled up to Levi’s ranch, all was quiet on the other end of the phone. After parking the car, she sat for a couple of minutes, considering whether to enter the house or not. The baby wasn’t crying. Levi wasn’t speaking. They must be mercifully asleep. Maybe she should turn around and go home.

Patience, Connie had said. Patience and prayer. She’d done a lot of praying since that day by the creek.

She started the car and pulled the gear into drive.

The front door opened, and Levi stepped out in sock feet, his hair sticking up and a day’s worth of scruff on his face.

Emily turned to mush.

She killed the engine and got out. What else could she do when the man looked this wrecked?

“Rough day?” she teased as she joined him on the porch.

“And night.” He scrubbed at the top of his head. “Thanks for singing. That’s the longest he’s been anywhere close to calm all day. He’s asleep now.”

“Poor baby.” She patted Levi’s shoulder. “You and him both. But if his temperature is normal and he’s not crying, it looks like my job here is done. I’ll head home.”

She turned to leave.

Strong fingers clasped her upper arm. “No. Don’t go. Not yet.”

Emily turned back and gave him a long, cool look. She should leave. Get away while she still had a brain cell left.

Levi winced. “He might wake up.”

“You could call me again, and I’ll sing to him.”

His shoulders drooped. He scrubbed the top of his head again and blew out a breath. Brown eyes begged her.

“Stay. Please.”

“Admit you want me to stay for you, not just for Mason, and I’ll think about it.”

“You know I do.”

She started to push harder, to ask him to admit he loved her, but Connie’s word of the week flashed in her head. Patience.

“For a little while, then. I have paperwork to do.”

“You always have paperwork.”

True, she did, but she needed the excuse to leave if her emotions became overwhelmed.

“You can do it here. I won’t bother you. I’ll flop on the couch, hope and pray Mason stays asleep, and watch you work.”

“You really are desperate.”

“You have no idea.”

She gave him a cryptic smile. This kind of desperate was good for him. “Yes, I do.”

He led the way into the house, and like always, she was struck by Jessica’s presence—in the furnishings, the colors, the photos on the wall. Would Levi leave all these things behind? Or take them with him to Texas?

“Want some coffee?”

“No, thanks. It’s nearly dinnertime. I’m getting hungry. What have you eaten today?”

He screwed his face up really cute. “I don’t remember.”

“What’s in the fridge to cook?”

“Some burger meat, smoked sausage, bacon, eggs. Are you fixing supper?”

She pointed toward the couch. “Go. Nap. I’ll look in on the baby and figure out something for us to eat.”

He didn’t argue. He flopped onto the couch with the loudest sigh she’d ever heard, crossed his arms over his chest, and closed his eyes.

Emily tiptoed up the stairs and found Butter sprawled next to the baby crib, his nose on his paws. Big golden eyes watched her enter. The tail swished back and forth on the area rug in welcome.

She dragged a hand over the yellow head and peered over the crib railing. Mason lay sprawled with all four limbs flopped outward in exhaustion. Emily touched a hand to his forehead. Still no fever. Must have been colic or an upset tummy or a dozen other reasons babies don’t feel well but can’t talk about it. She whispered a prayer that the worst was over.

When he didn’t stir or cry out, she tiptoed back to the kitchen and found the ingredients for spaghetti and meatballs. There wasn’t a green leafy vegetable anywhere to be found, so she opened a can of green beans and put three slices of bread in the toaster. Buttered and sprinkled with garlic powder, the toast should pass for garlic bread.

When the simple meal was ready, she went into the living room to wake the cowboy. Like his exhausted nephew, he was totally out. One arm hung over the couch and touched the floor. His brown lashes swept his cheekbones, and his lips were slightly parted.

Unable, or unwilling, to resist, Emily leaned down and kissed him.

Instantly, Levi’s eyes popped open. His mouth curved. “Supper ready?”

“Unless you want to sleep longer.”

He reached for her hands and tugged her down to sit on the edge of the couch next to him. “Do that again.”

“What? This?” She leaned in and kissed him.

He gave a happy, humming sigh. “Oh, yeah. Best wake-up ever. But I’m not quite alert yet. Better do it again.”

Emily snickered at his playfulness but smacked his lips with hers, quick and loud, before starting to move away.

His arm looped around her shoulders and held her close to his chest. “Don’t go.”

“The toast is getting cold.”

“It’s only bread. I’d rather live on love.”

The word love startled her, froze her in place. Maybe it shocked him too because he quieted, his gaze holding hers.

“Love is a gift from God, Levi.”

He swallowed but said nothing. His eyes were soft and yearning, but he couldn’t get the words out.

So she did it for him. “I love you.”

He let his arm fall to the side. “Don’t.”

“Too late.”

He sighed and glanced away. “I’m sorry.”

Emily leaned back but stayed close, a hand on his chest.

Drawing on Connie’s insight that Levi’s childhood had pushed his emotions down deep, she persisted. “I think you love me, too, but you’re too scared or stubborn or stupid to admit it.”

“All the above.” He dropped his feet to the floor and sat up, pinning her with a beseeching gaze. “I’m not good for you, Em. You deserve better. You were always a cut above the Donleys. Still are.”

The broken boy had become a broken man. And rescuer Emily wanted to help him heal.

She touched his jaw, caressing the whiskery skin, feeling tender and every bit as scared as he was, but if he left without knowing how much she cared, she’d always wonder what might have been. And he’d never let go of the past and heal.

“Would you let me decide what I do or don’t deserve? And for once in your life, let someone love you without feeling guilty or responsible or whatever issue you’re having. Can’t we just be Emily and Levi and forget the rest?”

He was quiet for another moment while Emily summoned all her patience and hope and prayed for God to touch the place in Levi that needed Him so desperately.

She needed him too. For too long, her emotions had been on hold. Now she understood what she’d been waiting for.

Levi sighed. Then he cupped the back of her head and pulled her close. As he kissed her, he murmured, “Is this dessert or the main course? I’m really hungry.”

Emily jerked away. “Levi!” She whacked his shoulder and stood. “Can’t you be serious?”

“I’m teasing you, Em.” Levi followed her up and reeled her back in. As he rocked her against his cowboy body, all the levity disappeared. “You’ve always had my heart. Always.”

And for now, that was enough for Emily.