Twins for the Rebel Cowboy (The Boones of Texas 2)

Cody cocked his head, staring at the grand old house for a second. “Not sure,” he said, dumping his box of colors onto the table. “This?” He picked up a yellow. “Your f-favor-ite.”

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

Cody sat it down, moving colors around until he found a pretty lilac blue. “This?”

Annabeth held it up to the window, looking at the color, then the house. “I like it, Cody. A lot.”

He smiled up at her. “Is J-Josie c-coming over?”

She nodded.

“Eli, too?” he asked, smiling when Tom stirred long enough to roll onto his back.

“I don’t know.” Eli was Josie’s stepson. He was a little older than Cody and a great kid. “How’d you like to go make cookies with Ms. Lola and Carl over at the bakery tonight?” she asked.

“Do I get to eat ’em?” he asked, grinning.

“Some of them,” she relented.

“Sure.” He nodded, picking up a green.

She stared at the picture her son was creating. It was a tree house, a wonderful, whimsical tree house with a ladder that wrapped around the wide trunk of the tree. “Is that an elevator?” she asked, pointing to a rope with something tied to it.

“For Tom.”

She smiled, ruffling Cody’s hair. She reached forward, stroking the kitten’s head and ears until the purrs reverberated off the kitchen walls.

“He’s h-h-happy.” Cody giggled. There wasn’t a sweeter sound in her world.

“What’s not to be happy about? He’s got you and me, kiddo. He’s one lucky kitten.”

Tom mewed faintly, making them both smile.

“Think that means he agrees?” she asked Cody.

“Yep.” Cody nodded.

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She pressed a kiss to his head, breathing in his sweet scent, his soft hair tickling her nose. Cody was her boy, the reason she worked so hard each and every day. He was thoughtful and considerate, funny and kind. She was proud of him.

“Here.” Cody handed her a green crayon and pointed at the base of the tree. “Some grass?”

She started to color, a companionable silence filling the small kitchen. She loved these quiet times, just the two of them. Tom mewed, making her smile. Fine, three of us... But starting over again terrified her.

Cody was made from solid love. When she’d found out she was expecting Cody, she’d thought Greg would be there to help out. Greg had been so excited about a baby, even more so when he found out they were having a son. There’d been the promise of a family, happy and whole.

Cody’s smile was Greg’s. So were the kinks in his little toes. She couldn’t help but think of Greg each and every time she saw Cody barefoot. It used to tear her up inside, but now it made her smile. Greg was a good man, a good husband. Even though he never met his son, Annabeth knew he’d left the best parts of himself here in Cody.

This baby... Ryder’s baby. She drew in a deep breath. Poor little thing was made in a truck, clumsy and hurried and, honestly, a mistake. It wasn’t the beginning she would have imagined for her child, if she’d imagined having another child—which she hadn’t.

She’d had a hard time imagining sex, let alone the possible consequences. Greg was the only man she’d slept with. So sex, without Greg, was a foreign concept. It hadn’t always been perfect, but they’d had the time to learn each other’s bodies, to give each other real pleasure. The exact opposite of what happened with Ryder. They’d had no time, no experience and no hesitation. And yet somehow it had been one of the most intense experiences of her life.

“Nice,” Cody said, smiling up at her. “You can make some f-flowers if you want.”

She should be enjoying time with Cody, not thinking about her love life. Or, more accurately, her lack of a love life. This baby was coming. There was no way to make this okay, but there had to be a way to make it less of a mess than it was.

There was a knock on the door. “Hello?” Josie called out.