IT HAD BEEN three days since Hazel’s surgery, and when Deacon pulled up outside of Loretta’s house after finishing work and going home to clean up, Hazel was outside kicking a soccer ball and laughing when Otis tried to steal the ball away from her.

He put the truck in park and grinned. There was nothing like the amazing resilience of kids.

They’d taken her home the night after her surgery. She’d slept off the anesthesia, and the next morning had asked for pancakes for breakfast. Though she’d been a little sore, she’d seemed fine. The nausea was gone, and so was her stomach pain. Every day since then she’d gotten better and better. He’d made sure to stick close and check on her daily.

Obviously, she was more than fine now.

“Hey, Hazel,” he said as he walked toward her and Otis.

Hazel kicked the ball to Deacon, who stopped it with the ball of his foot. Otis lumbered over, his tail thumping like a wind machine.

“Otis, sit.”

The dog plopped his butt to the ground.

“Good boy.” He scratched Otis behind the ears and waited for Hazel to make her way to him.

“Hi, Deacon. Did you see me kick the ball?”

“I did. How are you feeling?”

“I feel a-mazing. My stomach doesn’t hurt at all.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Mama said I can spend the night over at Tabby’s house this weekend.”

“Really? That’s good.”

“I know. We’re gonna go to the rec center and play basketball and maybe go swimming if my doctor says I can. I have a checkup on Friday.”

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed on the swimming.”

“Thanks. Mama’s in the house changing clothes because we’re going to Reid and Sam’s new house thing tonight. You’re coming with us, right?”

“I am. Are you coming, or are you staying home by yourself?”

She giggled. “Deacon. I can’t stay home alone. I’m too young.”

“Oh. I thought maybe since you’d had your big bad surgery, you were all tough and a big girl now and maybe you’d throw a party of your own while your mom was away.”

“You’re funny. But no. I’m going with you. Tabby’s going to be there.”

“And Ryan, too, right?”

“Maybe.”

“Like maybe you like him?”

She nudged Deacon. “Not like that. He’s annoying.”

“Uh-huh.”

He knew Hazel had a crush on Ryan. They teased each other, and at this age, Ryan would look at Hazel like his little sister’s pesky best friend. But Hazel was beautiful and athletic and smart. And in about six or seven years, Ryan would see Hazel in a different light entirely.

For now, though, the teasing was fun.

The front door opened, and Loretta stepped out looking gorgeous in a white and red flowery sundress.

“Hazel, it’s time to— Oh, hi, Deacon. Why don’t you both come in? I’m almost ready. Hazel, you need to change.”

“Okay, Mama. Come on, Otis.”

Deacon followed Hazel and the dog inside. Hazel went down the hall to her room, and Deacon watched her until her door closed. Then he drew Loretta into his arms and planted a long, hot kiss on her.

When she pulled back, she blinked. “Wow. That was nice.”

“It’s been a while.”

“It has.”

“Also, you look beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you. It’s so hot out I’m going with the minimal amount of clothing possible for mixed company.”

She looked amazing. The dress hit her at the knees, so decent enough, but it clung to her torso and fanned out, and she had great legs and beautiful arms and—who was he kidding? He couldn’t care less about the dress she wore. All he really wanted to do was take it off of her. With everything that had been going on with Hazel both before and after her surgery, and then him having to dive back into work at the building and Loretta needing to catch up at the bookstore, they’d had no time to be alone.

Which was fine. Life got in the way of romance sometimes. That was their reality. But he sure had missed the feel of her skin and the taste of her mouth.

Now, though, he smoothed his hands up her arms and took in the way her breathing deepened.

“Barring any further medical or other catastrophes, Hazel’s spending the night with Tabitha on Friday.”

Deacon nodded. “She told me. She wants to go swimming.”

“Yes. She has a follow-up appointment with the surgeon Friday afternoon, and hopefully she’ll get the go-ahead to resume normal activities, including swimming.”

Deacon took a quick glance down the hall. “I’m no doctor, but judging from the way she was booting the soccer ball when I got here, it looks like normal activities have already resumed.”

Loretta’s lips lifted. “Hard to get that kid to tone it down, you know?”

“Yeah. She looks good, though.”

Loretta took a step back and went to grab her purse. “Every day she’s gaining back more and more of her strength. She seems normal already.”

“Not surprising. You know surgeries like that are much easier on kids than on adults.”

“No kidding. If it were me I’d be on the sofa with a pillow on my stomach. Not her, though.”

“She’s tough. And so are you. You’d be back at work already carting books around as if it was nothing.”

“I don’t know about that. I’m not as tough as a nine-year-old.”

Said nine-year-old threw her door open, backpack in hand and dog following behind her. “I’m ready.”

Deacon looked to Loretta, who smiled.

“Let’s go.”

LORETTA TOOK IN every kitchen cabinet, every bathroom tile, and every wall fixture as Sam gave her the tour of their new home.

“Is there anything better than new-home smell?” Loretta asked.

Sam nearly vibrated with delight. “There probably is, but over the past week I’ve walked through this house over and over again, unable to believe it’s finally finished and we’ve moved in.”

“It’s beautiful, Sam. You’re going to make some wonderful memories here.”

“Thank you. We’re so happy. Not My Dog loves it here, too. He has his own space in the master bedroom. And the yard is finally finished, and he’s happy as he can be running around back there.”

They stepped outside where a group of the guys were gathered around the backyard kitchen, which had turned out amazing. There was also a fire pit, which would be so fun to sit around come fall, though the thought of it in this July heat was not at all appealing.

The landscape was gorgeous, with trees and bushes offering up plenty of shady spots and tons of green grass for Not My Dog to run around in.

“Ugh. Too hot out here,” Sam said. “I don’t know how the guys can stand it.”

She led Loretta inside and into the spacious living room. With its vaulted ceiling, it made the already good-sized room seem even larger. And, of course, Sam had filled the room with fresh flowers, her florist touch seen across the entire house with vibrant plants and beautiful flowerpots that filled the home with cheer.

Hazel had run off to play in the media room with Tabitha and Ryan, so she didn’t have to worry about her daughter. She poured herself a glass of wine and took a seat next to Jane and Chelsea.

“So, how are you two doing?” she asked.

Chelsea rubbed her hand over her now-visible baby bump. “I feel pretty darn good. Though it’s hot outside and my ankles are already swelling. What’s up with that? I’m barely into my second trimester.”

“It happens when you’re pregnant. Hopefully once fall gets here it’ll subside.”

“I’m still nauseous,” Jane said. “All the time. Crackers are my best friend, and they go everywhere with me.”

“I’m sorry, Jane,” Loretta said. Though it had been years, she remembered the nausea all too well.

“Thanks. It’ll pass soon enough. Hopefully.”

“Molly and I are not pregnant or nauseous,” Megan said as they came into the room and plopped down on one of the love seats. “So we’re doing all the drinking. And eating.”

Jillian came in with a glass of wine in her hand. “Isn’t it so great that there’s more wine for us? I mean, there has to be some advantage to not having a gorgeous man who adores us and a sweet baby in our bellies.” She kissed Chelsea on the cheek and winked at Megan and Sam.

“Hate you,” Chelsea said.

Megan grinned at Chelsea. “You’re welcome.”

Then Emma and Des arrived with the babies. Loretta loved babies, and Michael and Ben were simply adorable, with their pudgy little faces and fat baby fingers.

Loretta couldn’t wait to hold one of them, though she had to wait her turn as all the women fussed over them.

“This is probably like a little baby vacation time for you,” she said to Des when Chelsea took Ben as soon as Des pulled him out of his carrier.

Des laughed. “It’s like this at home, too. Martha takes him from me every chance she gets. And as soon as Logan is done on the ranch for the day, he’s in his daddy’s arms for the night. I’m lucky to be breastfeeding him, or I might never get to hold him.”

Loretta smiled. “He’s a well-loved baby.”

“Definitely.”

Loretta finally got a chance to cuddle Ben in her arms. There was nothing like holding a baby. Their sweet, innocent faces, the way their lips moved, the way they smelled like a sweet slice of heaven—everything about them was absolutely perfect.

“All right,” Jillian said. “Hand him over.”

Loretta frowned. “Fifty bucks.”

Jillian laughed. “Not a chance.”

“Fine.” She gently transferred him to Jillian, but it wasn’t long before Emma passed Michael to her.

“You two should charge us all for letting us hold your babies.”

Emma looked over at Des. “Now that’s a thought. We could probably pay for our sons’ college educations that way.”

Des offered up a cocky grin. “There’s an idea.”

“I noticed there haven’t been paparazzi shots of Ben in any of the magazines,” Chelsea said.

“Nor will there ever be. I know how to keep my child well hidden from the press. They’re wily, but I’ve gotten advice from several veterans in the industry who’ve played that game with photographers. If you don’t want your baby photographed, there are plenty of ways to keep it from happening.”

“I don’t know why anyone would want a picture of a baby anyway,” Jane said. “I mean, I get that you’re an actress and people like to see pictures of you, Des. But your baby? What business is it of theirs?”

Des shrugged. “No idea. But I control what photos are put up of my family. I posted a wedding picture on my social media sites. And I put up one photo of Logan and me and Ben together not too long after he was born. Anything other than that is no one’s business. But the press? They think if we take a walk outside of our house, it’s news.”

Molly wrinkled her nose. “That’s not news. Sorry.”

Des laughed. “No, you’re right. Nothing newsworthy about it. Unfortunately, I’m about to start work on a new movie within the next few months, and that means Ben will be traveling with me. Security will have to be doubly tight to keep photos from getting out.”

“Oh, it’ll be hard for Logan to be separated from Ben while you’re on location, won’t it?” Loretta asked.

Des nodded. “We’ve already started working out a schedule. Fortunately, the movie shoot will be in Montana, so not too far away. I’ll be able to spend weekends at home, and Logan will occasionally fly up to be with Ben and me.”

“Perfect,” Megan said.

“Yes, it is. But he’s gotten so used to having his time with Ben every day that I know there’ll be an adjustment period. We’ll all have to adjust. Martha will miss him, too. She’s already talking about quitting her job as the house manager and coming along as nanny to Ben.”

“Actually,” Emma said, “I can’t think of anyone better suited to be Ben’s nanny, can you?”

“We’re seriously contemplating the idea, though all the ranch hands are horrified at the thought. They’re wondering who would cook for them if she left.”

“I sense a ranch revolt in the making,” Sam said.

Des’s lips lifted. “Yes, the next month or so should be interesting while we wrangle all the details.”

They all chatted about the babies and work for a while. Loretta got up and went upstairs to check on Hazel, who was comfortably stretched out on one of the spacious leather reclining chairs doing battle with Tabitha and Ryan on a video game. Since she seemed to be fine, she wandered back downstairs and ran into Deacon in the kitchen.

“Hey,” he said as he put a platter on the drying rack. “I was just washing off this plate. Ribs are on the grill. What are you up to?”

“I was checking on Hazel.”

“Is she doing all right?”

“She’s fine. Upstairs in the media room battling it out on some robot-something-or-other death match thing.”

His lips ticked up. “Sounds fun. Did you get the house tour from Sam?”

“I did. How about you?”

“Some of it, but then the doorbell rang, so Reid had to take care of that.”

She looped her arm in his. “Well, come on. We’ll walk around together.”

His lips curved. “I like that idea. Maybe we’ll find a dark closet somewhere and we can make out.”

“I like the way you think, Deacon.”

They wandered through the house, taking in the master bedroom downstairs. It was huge, and had an amazing bathroom with a giant tub and an equally immense and spacious shower.

“I’m going to have that someday,” he said.

“What? A big soaker tub?”

“I meant the huge shower, but the tub’s not a bad idea. Sometimes I feel beat-up at the end of a long day. I wouldn’t mind a good, hot soak.”

“I can see that.” They wandered back out. “I love that the master opens up onto the back patio. I can imagine breaking out a wall in my master so I could do the same.”

“That would be easy enough to do at your place. Put in some French doors and add a patio space. End your day with a glass of wine and a look at the stars.”

Her lips lifted. “Yes. Someday, maybe. Have to do the deck first.”

“We could amend those plans that Reid’s drawing up for you. Have the deck extended around the side of the house.”

“Hmm. Something to think about. I’ll let you know.”

He ran his hand down her back. “I’ll mention it to him. And you don’t have to do it all at once. The addition off the master can always be added later, and it’s much easier if it’s already in the plans.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

They wandered down the hall, then up the stairs, checking again on the kids, who were totally oblivious to them as they argued with each other over some mystical world. There was also an office on the second floor, along with two other bedrooms.

“How many bedrooms in your imaginary house you’ve yet to build?” she asked.

“Four, at least. Plenty for kids, plus an office.”

She stopped and turned to him. “Why haven’t you bought or built a house yet?”

He shrugged. “I thought I’d wait until I get married. I figure the woman I marry will want some say-so in how things are done.”

She thought about that for a minute, about the fact that Deacon might have been married when she got back to town. He could have built an entire life for himself, with a wife and a child or two. He might have had a house just like this one that he’d constructed with love, taking into consideration his wife’s desires.

The thought caused a violent twinge of jealousy that had no business being there.

She was the one who had walked away, and Deacon had had every right to move on with his life.

Only he hadn’t.

“So why didn’t you?” she asked as they lingered on the stairs.

“Why didn’t I what?”

“Ever get married?”

He shrugged. “Never found the right woman to settle down with, I guess. I was busy building my business, and that seemed to be a priority.”

“I understand that. And I’m glad you don’t have a wife and three kids.”

He laughed. “You are, huh?”

She took his hand as they made their way downstairs. “Yes. Very happy about that.”

“Hey, Deacon,” Hazel said, running down the hall to launch herself at him.

“Hey, tough girl.” He caught her and hauled her into his arms. “How did the battle royal go up there?”

“I won three games. Tabitha won three games, too. Ryan won four. We say he cheated.”

Deacon laughed. “Oh, he did, did he? Let’s go challenge him and see.”

Deacon looked over his shoulder at her. “Be right back. Gotta go kick some butt.”

Loretta laughed. “Okay. You go do that.”

She loved that he was so comfortable around her daughter. Around all the kids. He had never made it all about her, but instead had always included Hazel.

Someday that man was going to make a great father.

She felt another twinge in her stomach at that thought, but cast it aside. Those were deep thoughts, and she was already three glasses of wine into the evening, so that was as far as she was going to allow wine thoughts to go.

Instead, she hung out and ate and drank and enjoyed her friends for the rest of the evening, until it was time to leave. They headed back to the farm. Hazel took Otis outside to run off some of his pent-up energy.

Loretta had already had enough to drink earlier in the evening, so she decided on ice water.

“What would you like?” she asked Deacon.

“Water’s good for me, too.”

Hazel came back inside. “Hey, Deacon. You wanna have a movie and popcorn night?”

“Isn’t it a little late for you, miss?” her mother asked.

“Aww, just a short movie, Mama?”

“Yeah, how about just a short movie?” Deacon gave her a tilt of his head.

“Fine. I’ll make the popcorn.”

They ended up watching a comedy. Hazel and Deacon both laughed, tossing popcorn at each other, and Loretta enjoyed watching them more than the movie. After it was over, Loretta sent Hazel to get ready for bed, and she went into the kitchen to put the dishes in the sink.

Deacon went with her.

“Thanks for hanging out with us,” Loretta said.

He came up behind her and nuzzled her neck, putting his arms around her. “Like I’d want to be anywhere else.”

She turned around to face him, and he kissed her, a kiss that quickly turned passionate.

“I’m ready for bed, Mama.”

They broke apart, and Deacon said, “I should go.”

Loretta nodded. “I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.” He walked toward the door, but stopped and went over to Hazel, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Night, sweet girl.”

“G’night, Deacon.”

Loretta went with Hazel into her room and got her tucked into bed.

“Mama?”

“Yes?”

“You like Deacon, right?”

Uh-oh. “Yes, I do.”

“I like him, too. But you like him like him, don’t you?”

She cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Like a boyfriend?”

“I guess. Is that okay?”

“It’s really okay. He’s nice to you. And to me. And he shows up when he says he’s going to. And when he says he’s going to do something, he does it.”

Loretta’s heart squeezed. She realized that Hazel had been so often disappointed by her father that Deacon was something of a revelation to her. She felt both sad and happy about that. Tom had let Hazel down so much, and she felt so bad about that. But at least Deacon had been there for her.

“Yes, he’s a great guy, isn’t he?”

“Super great. You should marry him. Then he wouldn’t have to keep leaving at night.”

Her eyes widened. “Uh, I don’t think we’re there yet, honey.”

Hazel rolled over on her side. “Well, if you get there, I’d be okay with it.”

Life was so simple when you were a kid. “Good to know. I love you, Hazel.”

“I love you, too, Mama.”

She turned out the light and closed the door to Hazel’s room, a little shocked from the conversation she’d just had.

She wasn’t certain Hazel had been aware of what was going on with Deacon. She’d been careful not to date after the divorce. It had been confusing enough uprooting Hazel and moving her, though she’d taken it all in stride. And with Tom being so wishy-washy about seeing her, that had been tough.

Plus, dating had been the last thing on her mind after the divorce. She’d been fed up with men, and all she’d wanted to do was carve out a life for Hazel and herself. That had been satisfying enough.

But then Deacon had come into their lives, and she hadn’t been sure how that would affect Hazel. She’d tried to keep their relationship on the down low. Kids, after all, tended to live in their own bubble with their own activities and interests and didn’t pay much attention to what adults had going on.

Apparently her daughter was quite observant and knew exactly what had been happening between Deacon and her.

Of course she would. It wasn’t like some guy would start coming around on a regular basis and her child wouldn’t notice that. Loretta wasn’t hiding her affection for Deacon, nor was he hiding his for her. So it was kind of ridiculous for her to pretend the relationship didn’t exist.

But what if things between Deacon and her didn’t work out? Hazel would be hurt by that. How was she supposed to handle her relationship with Deacon now that Hazel knew about it?

Parenting. This was hard business.

She had to do some thinking about the future.