And Baby Makes Five (15 page)

A few minutes passed and Cort hadn’t said any platitudes. When she looked back at him, he was watching her. He stopped in the middle of the road and turned toward her.

“He was a fool,” he said, meeting her eyes dead-on.

Lilly’s heart picked up its pace. “I think so. I’d take Joshua over his daddy any day. Truth be told, it took me a few months to move on, but I’m fine now.” And she was. “Jeff’s the loser in all of this. I’m really trying to trust God and move forward.” She’d been thinking the past few days about how she wasn’t going to be like her grannies. True, she’d spouted off some granny euphemisms about how men were not good for much, but she didn’t believe that. God had created her especially for someone. And unlike Granny Bunches, she hoped to find him someday.

She wasn’t telling anyone that she was looking, though. The way this town had gone matchmaking crazy, she didn’t want anybody getting ideas about fixing her up. When the right man came along God would be leading the way, and He wouldn’t need any help in the matchmaking business. That’s what had happened with Lacy and Clint. Their marriage was coming up in February and God had done a great job bringing Lacy cross-country to plow their cars into each other—and to fall in love.

God was the ultimate matchmaker. And she was going to trust Him.

Looking at Cort and feeling the way her heart was thundering, she wondered if she dared imagine he was already here. That he was the one.

Cort reached out and lifted her chin. “I know he was a fool for leaving Joshua,” he said. “But I wasn’t talking about the baby. He was a fool for leaving you.”

The cold air wrapped around them, and Lilly didn’t think she ever wanted to move away from the inviting warmth that radiated from Cort. His eyes searched her face like a caress and his touch against her skin was like a dream. No one had ever looked at her the way Cort did. She blinked back a tear and Cort stepped closer, wiping the tear from her cheek.

“Why are you crying, Lilly?”

She couldn’t help it. Why was she crying? Was it because she was tired? Or was it because Cort was giving her a glimpse of what she’d been missing all this time? When he took her in his arms, she thought she would break.

“All men aren’t fools.” His breath was warm against her ear as he pulled Lilly deeper into his arms. “I know you’ve had a hard go of things, being on your own all this time. But the grannies were wrong. You were meant to be loved.”

Lilly lifted her face to his, her heart pounding in her chest. Could it be?

“Lilly.” He set her away from him. “The right man is out there for you, and I believe God’s going to send him to you, and you’re going to have more little Joshuas to love.”

Lilly blinked. She’d thought for a moment he… Lilly sucked in a deep chilling breath of air and wiped the last tear from her eyes. She’d almost made a fool of herself. He’d said they were friends.
Friends?
Of course, comforted friends.

She gave him a smile. It certainly wouldn’t do for him to think she’d almost told him she loved him.

Where had that come from anyway? Sure, she’d had thoughts. Infatuations. Who wouldn’t toward the man who’d come to her rescue? Who held her baby with tears in his eyes?

“I’m cold,” she said, turning back toward the fellowship hall. “It’s time to go in.” Past time.

“You have a beautiful son, Lilly.”

Lilly looked at Cort. They had come back inside and had made the rounds chatting with several tables of folks who had settled in for domino challenges. It hadn’t taken long for them to end up back at the playpen watching a tuckered-out Joshua sleep. Norma Sue said that everyone had held him and played with him until he’d closed his little eyes and conked out on them.

Studying Cort, Lilly couldn’t help but feel a surge of sadness. She’d started out the day totally worn out, wanting to hole up at her house and not go to church and dinner. But she’d had about the nicest day she could remember in ages. She now had a second wind and it was due in large part to Cort. He was a nice guy, but just a friend. Cort was not that much older than her. The most important thing was that he really liked Joshua.

She’d let her thoughts go crazy outside, but now everything was fine. She tucked all the displaced bits of infatuation away and chalked them up to weary emotions. The sadness was probably due to hormones, she thought. That was it. She’d heard they could act crazy after the birth of a baby. He liked her son. And that was all that counted.

Joshua chose that moment to open his eyes and let out a wail. Lilly stood and reached for him. “Whoa, baby!” she exclaimed. “Somebody needs a new diaper. Looks like duty calls.”

“I’ll go get us a plate of dessert while you take care of that.” Cort made a face when he got a whiff of Joshua. “Whew! Son, you have been a busy boy.” Reaching over, he ran two fingers over Joshua’s cheek, laughing when Joshua smiled and tried to grab the moving fingers sliding past his mouth. “Looks like he’s hungry, too.”

“He’s always hungry.” Lilly watched Cort walk off. Her crazy thoughts were churning again. He was a sweet guy. He made her want to talk, which was nice. She really hadn’t had anyone to talk to in a long time, other than Samantha and Joshua. She looked around the room. Lacy, Clint and Hank were laughing at something Esther Mae had said over at the table where the two couples were hard at a game of chicken-foot dominoes. Adela and Sam were chatting with Sherri and J.P. while they all played the game at a table together. Looking farther across the room, she saw many women she’d become friends with, many people with whom she could drive into town and hold a conversation, but the thing was, she was more apt to immerse herself in her books and hide away at home.

She had been forcing herself to get out more in the past three months. And for Joshua’s sake she would continue to try to let herself be more outgoing. It was true—she’d been hidden out there at the end of Morning Glory Road all her life. But having a conversation with just anyone wasn’t easy for her, never had been. Until she’d met Cort Wells in the middle of his cold barn.

There hadn’t been one moment that she’d had a hard time talking with him.

It hit her then that actually she looked forward to having conversations with her neighbor.

That was why her emotions were so crazy. He was her friend.

Her friend who liked her son and thought her ex-husband was a fool.

Her friend who thought she’d find love.

Just not with him.

A
fter lunch Norma Sue produced a volleyball and instructed a group of guys on setting up the netting. It was a pretty exciting moment for the church to realize they were actually having a church social
and
volleyball. Even if it was forty-five degrees outside.

“Why,” Esther Mae huffed, “it’s almost like the old days when we had children running wild around here and Norma Sue yelling for everyone to line up so she could divide up the teams. Y’all better watch out, ’cause when she comes out of the bathroom wearing those pedal pushers that touch the rim of her boots it’s gonna be an all-out war. You might not know it, but that little ball of butter used to be a volleyball-playing machine.”

Lilly and Cort were almost rolling on the floor laughing with the others when Norma Sue walked out in a pair of blue capris and flat-soled roping boots! She was grinning from ear to ear when she came to a halt in front of all of them, slammed her hands onto her rounded hips and shot a dour look at Esther.

“I know you all’ve been laughin’ about me ’cause of something Esther Mae spouted off. That’s okay, ’cause I’ll meet you outside—” she jerked her head to the side toward the net “—and teach you that this old lady can still serve a volleyball up with a mean overhand.”

“That’s more than I can do,” one of the young cowboys mumbled. “I’ve never played this game in my life.”

“You’re on my team, then.” Reaching down, Norma grabbed his arm and tugged him up. “You, too, Cort Wells.”

Cort frowned, and Lilly thought if he could have dug a hole and crawled into it he would have. He started shaking his head, but Norma was having none of it. She had one stunned cowboy standing beside her and it was obvious she planned on having another.

The funniest thing of all was that most of the guys were wearing jeans and boots. Many of them had changed into old blue jeans and T-shirts, but there were a few like Cort who still wore their good boots, starched jeans, long-sleeved Western dress shirts—and their belts and big buckles. They were definitely not dressed for volleyball.

Did Norma care? Not one bit.

Before it was all said and done, Lilly watched her, looking like an army sergeant, directing a failing squad trying to go AOL…no, that wasn’t it.

AMUCK? Nope, that wasn’t it either.

AWOL? Maybe that was it.

What were those initials they used in the military? Her declining brain couldn’t come up with the correct letters, but she knew whatever they were they meant AWAY.

The guys were trying to get
away
very quickly from playing out in the cold.

But in the end Norma had them all having a great time. Even dressed in their Sunday-go-to-meetin’ clothes, as Applegate Thornton put it.

You could bet he wasn’t out there getting red faced and stirred up.

Then again, Lilly didn’t care. She was watching Cort and trying to reestablish boundaries that she’d almost let her heart cross. She was glad to have him as her friend.

And for now that was good enough.

“That doesn’t sound right,” Cort said. They were getting ready to leave the church and head home. It had been an unusual day.

Walking over to the window of Lilly’s truck, he listened to the engine grind as she tried to start it.

He’d helped her load everything into the ancient truck, said a reluctant goodbye, then stepped back and waited for her to start the cold engine. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun. Between enjoying being around Lilly and being goaded into behaving like a teenager by Norma Sue, he’d relaxed and found himself thanking the good Lord for leading him to Mule Hollow.

Of course, he wasn’t allowing himself to have any misguided feelings along the lines of pushing past a growing friendship with his incredible neighbor. He’d had to rein in his runaway feelings when he’d held her in his arms. Her tears had had him crazy with feelings of protection. But he reminded himself that enjoying a woman’s company didn’t mean he was thinking about getting married. No matter how strong the feelings of wanting to protect and care for her were.

He couldn’t help smiling as Lilly, wrinkled nose and all, leaned her head to one side, her sparkling eyes on him. Eyes that were far too weary.

“I’m too tired to think about this,” she said with a sigh.

Cort knew it was true. For a while during the day she’d seemed to get a second wind with all the laughing and kidding that had gone on during the volleyball game. But he could tell she was worn out. The full-time care of having a new baby was showing. That was where the tears had come from when they’d taken their walk. He couldn’t let himself think anything other than that. He reached for the door handle and opened the truck. “Come on. Out of the truck. I’m taking you and Joshua home.”

“But what about the truck?” she protested even as he was taking her arm and helping her down from the tall seat.

“I’ll come back and take care of it in the morning.”

“But—”

“No buts, Lilly. It has been a long a day and nobody is going to hurt that truck tonight. The most important thing is you need some rest.”

Looking up at him, she stood still for a second, then reached for Joshua. “You’re right and I really need to get home. I’ve got a lot to take care of before the night rolls in.”

Cort took her by the arms, turned her toward his truck and gave her a gentle push. “You go there, and I’ll bring Joshua and the diaper bag. And I’ll do your chores.” He was taken by surprise when she turned around and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Thank you,” she said, giving him a quick squeeze then hurrying to his truck.

Cort couldn’t move. He stood watching as she opened the door and climbed into the front seat. His heart was banging against his chest, and his senses were reeling from the soft scent of her. When she looked back at him with a quizzical expression, he realized he hadn’t moved from where she’d left him stunned and silent. He’d almost crossed the line of friendship earlier when she’d started to cry. It had taken everything he had to focus on what was best for Lilly.

And it had taken a simple hug of gratitude to undo all his hard work.

It was six o’clock when they pulled into Lilly’s driveway. She’d rested her head against the seat and immediately fallen asleep. She’d even slept through the bumps in the dirt road. As he brought his truck to a halt next to the tidy house, he couldn’t help the feeling of longing that swept over him when he glanced at mother and child sleeping contentedly.

He hated to wake her. “Lilly,” he said softly, gently touching her shoulder. Her soft curls had fallen in her face. He pushed them away from her eyes and tucked them behind her ear. “Hey, sleepyhead, it’s time to wake up.”

She was opening her eyes when he heard the noise. Lilly heard it, too. Her eyes widened and they both jerked their doors open at the same time.

Samantha was in trouble.

The squealing sound wasn’t like the awful sound she’d made the first night of their acquaintance. It was more of a whimper. A raspy, honking whimper.

Cort rounded the corner of the barn first, halting when he saw Samantha’s head rammed through a spot in the stall gate that had no room for a head the size of Samantha’s. How she had accomplished the impossible, Cort would never know. Lilly gasped as she stopped beside him. Her hand came to rest on his arm. Instinctively he covered it with his hand in a comforting and calming effort. They didn’t need to overexcite Samantha. Cort had seen horses break their necks in less dire situations.

“Samantha, what have you done?” Lilly said. Her voice was soothingly calm and caused Samantha to focus on her.

Cort let Lilly take a step toward Samantha. He could tell that Lilly understood calm was needed. Reaching out to the burro, Lilly placed her hand on Samantha’s head and gently ran a hand down her face. Samantha blinked up at her and tried to nibble at her sleeve.

“We’re going to get you out of there, sweet potato. You just need to listen to me and not get excited.” Cort watched Lilly and Samantha; it was obvious they had a connection that had come from years of friendship. Cort knew horses, and he knew there was a level of trust that a rider and a horse had to have in order for them to work well together. Cort saw that trust flood into Samantha’s eyes when Lilly spoke. He’d known that voice of hers was like magic the first time he’d heard it—now he knew for certain it was. Samantha closed her eyes and stood calmly as he and Lilly wiggled and twisted and pushed her big hairy head all different ways trying to free her from the metal bars.

Working close beside Lilly had Cort wishing he could stand in the barn all night with her. Of course, this wouldn’t do, because they had a baby waiting patiently in the truck.

Each of them took turns checking on Joshua during the hour that they worked with Samantha. “I know if she got her head in, then there’s a way to get it out.” He pushed his hat back on his head and rubbed his chin while he studied the situation. Samantha watched him with steady eyes and pawed her foot. “She’s never done this before?”

Lilly rubbed the burro’s ear. “She’s done a lot of things, but never this. She got stuck in the storeroom once when the door closed behind her
after
she broke in. She had her tail hung in the tailgate of my truck. Oh, and had her topknot of mane caught in the slats of the hay bin.” Lilly tousled the wiry patch of long hair that hung down between Samantha’s eyes. Samantha rolled her eyes up and looked longingly at Lilly, then spread her lips and showed her big pearly whites.

Cort chuckled. “I really do think this donkey is human. And for some reason, I think she knows exactly what she’s doing.”

Lilly glanced up at him. “She might. She’s a con artist. Aren’t you, Samantha?”

Looking down at Lilly and the smile she flashed at him, he had to corral the overriding need to draw her near.

“Alfalfa!” she exclaimed, sounding as if she’d just sneezed. Slapping him on the shoulder, she said, “We need alfalfa.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Give me a second.”

She trotted down to the closet door at the back of the barn, then reached up and released the latch that was almost at the top of the door. It wasn’t hard to understand why it was up so high. He was going to have to raise his latches higher to keep pesky Samantha out.

A few seconds later Lilly emerged with a bucket of cubes.

Samantha’s ears immediately stood at attention. She slapped her tail from side to side and eyed the bucket as Lilly came to a halt in front of her.

“I bet she can get out of there if she wants to.”

Cort nodded his head. “Yup, I think you’re right. At first I didn’t want to startle her, because I thought she would hurt herself. But she’s smarter than any horse I’ve ever known.”

Lilly took a cube and held it out to Samantha. She tried to take it in her mouth, but Lilly moved away. Samantha’s eyeballs rolled toward Lilly, then back to the alfalfa cube, shot over to Cort then back to Lilly. She wiggled like a puppy getting a T-bone steak. Cort chuckled. The burro did love her alfalfa.

“Set that bucket down right there,” Cort said. Turning away, he walked over to Lilly and took her hand. “Let’s go out and see what happens.”

“Exactly what I was thinking.” Lilly left the bucket on the ground and let him lead the way out of the barn. Once they were out of Samantha’s sight, they raced like a couple of kids to the opposite end of the barn and peeked around the corner. Samantha still had her eyes on the bucket, and as they watched she stretched her neck out so that the top of her head sank into her neck—and she slid her head right out from between the bars.

Lilly had already unlatched the gate, so Samantha just gave it a nudge with her nose, then trotted right over to bury her head in the bucket.

“Why, the little sneaky piglet,” Lilly gasped.

“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it,” Cort said in a loud whisper against Lilly’s ear. He’d almost missed Samantha’s great escape because he’d been too busy studying Lilly’s profile. He did a hasty step away from her when she turned her head toward him. It was that step back that saved him. Another second and he’d have placed a kiss on the tip of her perfectly upturned, cute-as-a-button nose. It was getting hard to stop actions that seemed natural. He decided right then and there that when he got home he was going to have a powwow with the good Lord. There were some things that a man couldn’t handle on his own and it was time to hit his knees and pray for discernment.

Cort moved around Lilly’s kitchen like a man with a mission. After being tricked by Samantha, Lilly had insisted on fixing Cort dinner. But he wouldn’t hear of it and instead had talked her into allowing him to prepare her dinner. She had never before had a man cook for her. She stifled a yawn and hoped she would get to enjoy the masterpiece he was concocting and didn’t wind up falling asleep with her face in the plate. It had been a long day, but one of the best in her life. She’d been daydreaming about sleep ever since Joshua’s birth, but right now she wanted to do nothing except sit there and enjoy watching Cort. She prayed that the yawns would go away and God would give her a second, no, make that a third wind. Maybe He would allow her to have a moment with this wonderful man. Cort’s sweetness was emerging, and she was enamored with it.