Cowboy Baby Daddy

“You promise?” Emma asked, her expression still cloudy.

“I promise,” Nana said solemnly.

“You pinky promise?” Emma asked.

Helen dutifully linked pinkies with the girl, winking over at me as she did so. That broke the spell of unhappiness, and Emma slid off her chair and came over to me, hugging my leg tightly. Helen slowly made her way over as well.

“So, I presume that you are the lovely Ms. Sable,” she said, taking Olivia's hand between her own. She gave me a look, clearly wondering what Olivia was doing there with me. I felt embarrassed, knowing what this might look like to her. Of course, I had told her that one of my patient's family members and I were going out to dinner to discuss treatment options, but I hadn't told her that I was having dinner with an attractive young woman. She probably thought 'discuss treatment options' was just an excuse.

Olivia blushed. “It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Beal,” she said.

“Daddy, I ate all my vegetables and Nana let me have ice cream,” Emma announced proudly, heedless of whatever was going on in the shared looks between her elders.

“Emma,” Helen scolded playfully. “That was supposed to be our little secret!”

Emma popped a finger in her mouth and then grinned toothily up at me. “Oops,” she said.

I rolled my eyes with mock exasperation. “What am I going to

do with the two of you?” I said. I picked Emma up and balanced her on my hip, then leaned in and kissed Helen on the cheek. “Have a good night,” I told her. “I need to get Olivia home.”

“Is it past her bedtime, too?” Emma asked, and we all laughed.

“It was nice meeting you,” Olivia said to Helen.

“You too, dear,” Helen said. “We'll have to have you over for dinner sometime. To show you how much we appreciate you taking the little rascal off our hands every day!”

Olivia laughed. “It's my pleasure,” she said.

“Right now, I think it's time to get the little rascal home to bed,” I said, but I lingered for another moment, wondering at the picture we made. Almost like a family.

But I was getting ahead of myself. Olivia and I weren't even dating, and we weren't going to date. I needed to stop thinking of this in relationship terms. She was just the daughter of one of my patients; I was sure she didn't see me as anything other than a doctor.

I suppressed a sigh and headed out to the car, resolving to get her home quickly so that I could quit thinking about the not-quite-date that we'd been on that night.

Chapter Six

Olivia

I wasn't sure why Eric wanted me to meet his mother-in-law, but it was sweet, seeing the three of them interact as a family. It cemented the idea in my mind that Emma really was a good kid. Looking for attention, certainly, but all her brattiness made sense in that context. I'd just have to work harder to show that I was paying attention, even when she wasn't having one of her temper tantrums.

The whole evening had been sweet. I knew that I shouldn't be thinking of things that way, but I couldn't help it. I could only imagine what it would be like to date the man.

Eric was silent on the drive from Helen's house back to my place, and I would have given anything to know what he was thinking. But I didn't dare ask, not with Emma in the back seat. She might be falling asleep back there, but I didn't need her to overhear us talking about my mother's cancer or whatever else might be weighing on Eric's mind.

It wasn't my place to ask, anyway.

I turned toward him as we reached my front door. I couldn't help the smile that crept across my face. “You didn't have to walk me to the door, you know,” I told him softly.

Eric reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. Then, he shook himself, looking embarrassed. He glanced toward the car. “I think Emma's already out,” he said.

I hummed an agreement, trying again to figure out what he was thinking.

“I'm sorry I upset you earlier,” he finally said.

I shook my head. “I'm glad to know that you care about my mom,” I told him. “And thank you for being so kind to me. Sorry I went to pieces on you like that.”

Eric waved away my apology. “Talk to your mom,” he finally urged, his voice gentle but earnest. “Soon.”