A Family for the Rugged Rancher

Emily blinked back tears for the trio who bonded amid so much pain. In the absence of parents, Luke had been their father figure even if he’d only been a few years older. Seeing them through to adulthood must have been so difficult, but he had done what needed to be done. Emily hung back, watching Luke give his sisters a squeeze and then asking the difficult question: “How bad?”

Liz was sniffling and Cait had to answer. “He fell last night. Nothing is broken, but the doctor says…” Luke waited.

“He says it’s time for palliative care, Luke.”

Pain slashed across Luke’s face, but he stood strong. “We knew this day would come, Cait.”

“It doesn’t make it easier.”

“I know it. I want to talk to the doctor.”

Emily felt so very in the way. Luke didn’t need her. He had his sisters. This was a family problem and she wasn’t family. Still, there had to be something she could do to help. They all needed to be with their father. She stepped up and searc

hed Luke’s eyes, then Liz’s.

“I’m so sorry about your father. Is there anything I can do?”

Luke shook his head. “Thank you for asking, Emily.” He seemed to think for a minute, and then leaned over and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “You’ve already helped so much.”

Emily’s cheek burned where his lips had touched it, even if it had been an impersonal peck. She had a sudden idea and turned to Liz. “Why don’t you let me pick up the twins? Then you can stay as long as you need.”

Liz’s face relaxed and Emily felt Luke’s hand at her back, a gentle contact that told her she’d said the right thing.

“If you do, take them back to my house. Paul’s gone to Medicine Hat but he’ll be back later to take over. It would be a godsend, Emily.”

“You need to be with your father, Liz. You all do. I can take Alyssa, too. It’s no trouble. You just do what needs to be done.”

Liz gave her the house key and got the car seat out of her car while Luke wrote directions to Liz’s house on a slip of paper. When the baby was installed in the seat and buckled safely in, Luke stayed behind.

“Em, I don’t know how to thank you.” He braced a hand along the window of the open door of her car.

“It’s not necessary, Luke. I’m happy to do it. Otherwise I’d just feel helpless.”

“Helpless?”

How could she explain that Luke—and his family—had come to mean so much to her? That seeing him hurting caused her to have pain as well? They’d known each other such a short time. Her mother had always said she had a heart as big as all outdoors. It kept getting her into trouble. She felt things too deeply.

“You know, sitting around, waiting for news. At least this way I feel useful.” She looked up, discovered he was watching her with a curious expression and dropped her lashes again before she gave away too much. “You should go. See your dad and talk to the doctor. I’ll catch up with you later.”

“You’re right,” he replied, shutting the car door as she buckled her seatbelt.

She drove away, only looking in the rearview mirror once and saw Luke going through the doors with his sisters. She was glad she could help, but she would rather be with him, sitting by his side.

But he didn’t want that or else he would have asked. He hadn’t even wanted her to come along. As she turned down a quiet street, she blinked a few extra times to clear the stinging. She was glad now that she hadn’t gone downstairs last night.

She was falling in love with Luke Evans, and hearing him say he’d made a mistake would be more than she could take.

Paul and Liz returned just after seven-thirty. Emily had fed the kids and the twins were curled up with Sam on the sofa watching a movie—the girls in pink pajamas and Sam in the spare sweats and T-shirt that he’d carried in his backpack to camp. Alyssa was sweet-smelling from her bath and Emily nuzzled the baby’s neck lightly, inhaling the scent of baby lotion as she prepared an evening bottle. Caring for four had been busy, but fun. The laughter, the pandemonium—they were things that had been missing from Emily’s house, having had an only child. She had reconciled herself to knowing that the large family she’d wanted would never happen. Now she wondered if she might find a second chance someday. She had to get her life in order first, but she realized her heart was not as closed to the idea as it had once been. After her divorce, she’d been so determined never to go down that road again. Never to put Sam in the position of getting hurt. And yet here she was. And for a moment she wondered if rekindling those dreams meant she was putting her own wants ahead of the needs of her son. How did that make her any different from Rob, who had chosen his own dream ahead of his wife and son?

As she sat in a rocker and fed Alyssa, she banished the uncomfortable idea and turned her thoughts back to Luke. She couldn’t stop wondering about his father and what the doctor said. How was Luke holding up? She lifted the baby to her shoulder and began rubbing her back just as Liz and Paul drove into the yard. Em’s heart did a little rollover as they came in the back door. Liz looked so weary, even as she greeted Emily and smiled.

“Thank you, Emily, for watching the kids. It means so much that I could stay with Cait and Luke and Dad today.”

Emily’s lips curved wistfully when Alyssa put her chubby arms out for her mother and Paul went into the living room to check on the older kids. She missed the feeling of the baby’s weight on her arm, and her heart warmed when Alyssa tucked her head against her mother’s neck, utterly contented as she stuck two fingers in her mouth.

“It was no trouble. The kids had fun, I think. I just made spaghetti for supper. There are leftovers in the fridge for you and Paul if you’re hungry. I wasn’t sure if you’d have a chance to eat.”

Liz’s eyes filled with tears as her fingers stroked the baby’s hair. “Oh, Emily, you really are wonderful. I hope you don’t mind me saying… Cait and I both hope you’re here to stay more permanently.”