The Cowboy's Pride and Joy

She was his everything.

“How’s our girl doing?” he asked, walking into the room to squat down in front of the rocker.

“Rachel is almost finished with her dinner, aren’t you, sweet girl?”

He’d had his wish and spent nine months watching Cassie grow with their child and he’d loved every minute of it. Labor and delivery were tougher than he would have imagined, but he learned again just how strong his wife was. She was already talking about having another one, and Rachel was only three months old. That was fine with Jake, though. They both wanted a big family.

The baby gurgled, gave a milky smile, then reached out and grabbed hold of Jake’s finger, curling her tiny fingers around his. His heart squeezed painfully and as he dropped a kiss onto the baby’s forehead, he looked up at Cassie. Briefly he remembered his life before the chaos, when peace was all-important and silence ruled his days and nights. He couldn’t even understand the man he used to be. He was simply grateful that man was gone.

Looking into fog-gray eyes, he whispered, “Thank you for saving the loner on the mountain.”

“Merry Christmas, Jake.”