Cowboy Baby Daddy

That's not the only reason you're excited to see him, my subconscious reminded me. I blushed a little, just thinking about him. Mom had mentioned he was handsome, but I hadn't expected to agree with her. And once I'd seen exactly how handsome he was, I'd expected him to have an ego like no other. But instead, he was surprisingly charming. I could tell he loved Emma, just in the short interaction I'd seen between the two of them. Despite the fact that she'd kicked him in the nether regions.

I grinned a little, remembering that. I'd expected the doctor to get angry with her. I'd expected him to scold her, maybe threaten her with a later punishment. But instead, he'd acted as though it was his fault for getting in her way.

Of course, maybe that hesitance, the fact that he didn't want to scold her when she was obviously out of line, was exactly the reason she had been such a menace all day. Mom had also mentioned that the girl's mother had died, and although I knew that things couldn't have been easy for little Miss Emma, letting her get away with murder wouldn't do anyone any good.

I put those thoughts out of my head as Dr. Jones finally arrived. He was frowning, and I wondered whether I'd had it all wrong about his relationship with Emma. Maybe he just hadn't wanted to scold her this morning because he didn't think it would make a good first impression, but now that he was taking her home, it was time to lecture her.

But when he spoke, I realized his frown was caused by something entirely different.

“Good afternoon, Olivia,” the man said.

Emma ran over to him and flung herself at his leg, clinging tightly. “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!” she cried.

A small smile cracked the stern expression on the doctor's face. “Hey, Emma,” he said, scooping her up into his arms and kissing her nose. “I want to talk to Miss Olivia for a minute. Why don't you help put away all your toys? Remember, Nana has a surprise for you when you get home, but only if you've been a good girl today.”

Emma nodded solemnly and ran off to start putting things away. I breathed out a noisy sigh of relief.

Dr. Jones winced. “Don't tell me: she was horrible all day, wasn't she?”

“She was fine,” I lied, shaking my head. I cracked a smile. “Like you said, Dr. Jones, it's my fault for wishing for a kid with a little more energy.”

The man frowned. “Please, call me Eric,” he said. “I'm off the clock.” Then, his look darkened again. “Or at least, I'm almost off the clock. Listen, your mother's test results came in this morning. I've set up an appointment with her tomorrow evening, but I was hoping that you could come along as well. I'd like to talk to both of you about the results.”

I felt my heart sink. I had moved to Tamlin to be closer to Mom because I knew that things had to be worse than she had let on, but to have that suspicion confirmed by Dr. Jones—Eric—was hard, especially after such a long day. I nodded my head, though, trying not to let my fear show. I knew that Mom had cancer, but she kept insisting that she'd get over it in no time. Now, I had to wonder.

“Tomorrow evening should be fine,” I said, my voice sounding faint even to my own ears. “For me, anyway, but I assume you already spoke to Mom about it. Should we meet you at your office?” I glanced toward Emma, suddenly reminded of her presence by the sound of blocks crashing into a plastic bucket.

“Nana can watch Emma for an hour or so,” Eric said, answering my unspoken question. “Jeannie, your mom, invited me over for dinner. She said to be at

her house at 7, if that works for you.”

“Seven is fine,” I said, nodding stupidly.

“Don't worry,” Eric said gently. “Your mother is a very strong woman, and we've caught the cancer early enough that her chances of pulling through are still high.”

I shook my head. “Her chances of pulling through,” I echoed bitterly. “That doesn't sound good at all.”

Something flickered across the doctor's face, but it was gone before I could identify it. “We'll talk more about it tomorrow evening,” he promised. “For now, I should take Emma off your hands and let you get some rest.”

“I'll see you tomorrow,” I said, reaching out to shake his hand. I wasn't sure why I did it, why I craved that contact with him, and his answering surprise made me blush. But his hand was warm against mine, and even that brief moment of human contact settled something inside of me. I managed a shaky smile.

“See you in the morning,” Eric confirmed. Then, he turned and called to Emma, who bounded back over to him and led the way out to their car, chattering noisily about all the fun she'd had that day and proudly showing him the scribbled drawing that she'd done that afternoon.

I shook my head, already thinking up ways to keep the girl entertained the following day. Slowly, I started to pick up the things that Emma had missed.

This house was a lot larger than the apartment that I'd had in Chicago. And not nearly as expensive, I thought wryly. I honestly didn't know what to do with all the space. I didn't have nearly enough furniture or wall art to make the place seem lived in or comfortable. And now, without the presence of the two kids, it seemed so quiet. Empty.

The daycare wasn't exactly what I was used to, either. The one that I'd worked at in Chicago had been busy, with two dozen noisy kids and several other employees. But Tamlin was such a small town that I was lucky even to have the two kids there.

All the silence gave me too much time to think about Mom. To worry about Mom. From Eric's grim face, I had to assume that things weren't looking good for her. I didn't know what he expected of me following our meeting. He'd called my mother strong, but I knew that what he meant was strong-willed. Mom didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with her. I didn't know how to convince her otherwise. She had tried to convince me not to move out of Chicago, even.

I wanted to be there in Tamlin, though. Just in case she needed me.

I paused as I was wiping down the table and pulled out my phone. I couldn't put this conversation off for any longer. “Hey, Mom,” I said when she picked up.

“Hey, girlie,” she said, sounding just as cheery as she ever had. “How'd the daycare go today? Did Dr. Jones stop by with Emma?”

“He did,” I confirmed. “Mom, he said he wants to have an appointment with both of us tomorrow.”