Boone

by Emily March

  Rachel’s eyes grew misty and her voice thick as she added, “I remember lying in that hospital bed thinking that if someday he had children, they would be the luckiest kids on earth.”

  Boone had a lump in his throat, and damn if he wasn’t fighting back the tears. Rachel looked like she was about to cry. Hannah, bless her heart, saved them by lightening the mood. “I met his family last weekend when his cousin Jackson got married. I liked them very much.”

  “I heard about that wedding,” the teen replied. She looked at Boone. “It’s why you didn’t come to Fort Worth as soon as they called you about the baby.” Then, turning back to Hannah, she asked, “Is Jackson McBride as hot in person as he is in his pictures?”

  Hannah’s lips twitched. “Honestly, he’s hotter.”

  “Whoa!” Rachel said.

  A teasing glint entering her eyes, Hannah added, “And Jackson doesn’t have anything on his cousin Tucker.” She fanned her face with her hand. Both women’s eyes turned toward Boone.

  “I am not begging for compliments.” He folded his arms and scowled. “Tucker wears his hair too short, and I swear Jackson’s hairline is receding.”

  “It is not,” Hannah objected, giving her eyes an exaggerated roll.

  The McBride cousin discussion succeeded in breaking up the overly emotional moment. Rachel continued her story with a steadier voice. “I googled you. Found out you’d moved to Colorado, that you didn’t already have a houseful of kids. Found out you hadn’t remarried. So I figured I’d explore the possibility of giving you the baby, but I wanted to do it on the down low. I wanted to be sure about you. So we came up with a plan.”

  “We?”

  “Better for everyone if I don’t go there.”

  If Boone had to guess, she had help from Lisa and likely Sarah Winston too. Probably an attorney also, someone that he knew. But Rachel was right. No sense rattling a cage and mucking up the deal she’d gone to extraordinary effort to pull off. “So the Safe Haven story—I take it you didn’t surrender her at a fire station?”

  “Technically yes, but it was all part of the plan. I wanted—I needed—to be sure that you really truly wanted her. I needed you to jump through a few hoops.”

  “You figured out some good ones. I’ll give you that.” Boone spied an acorn on the ground. He bent, scooped it up, and threw it. “One thing I can’t figure out. Why did you have them tell me she was a boy?”

  “Because one time, you told me how much you wanted a son. I thought you’d find it easier to say no to a girl. Plus, I heard what you said to the social worker after you read my note about what Ralph did to me.”

  “I don’t remember. What did I say?”

  “That you hoped you’d never have a daughter, that you’d be too afraid to have a daughter.”

  He didn’t remember saying that, but her claim didn’t surprise him. The thought of being a father to a daughter did terrify him. His own father always said the same thing about being a dad to the twins.

  “I did what I did because I needed to be sure that you wanted my little girl.” Rachel gave Boone a warm and wistful smile. “You didn’t hesitate, so I knew that I was doing the right thing.”

  Boone was overwhelmed. So much had happened in a short amount of time, and he was having trouble processing everything. He was glad when Hannah asked a question he hadn’t thought to ask. She said, “Tonight after you watched him meet your daughter, you left. You didn’t plan on telling him all this?”

  “No. I didn’t. Not now. I thought maybe I’d write you a letter someday. I’ve signed all the paperwork already. The lawyer assured me you’ll be able to take the baby home to Colorado within the week.”

  “Man.” Boone rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. “I’ll be honest, Rachel. My mind is spinning, and I’m not sure that doing it this way is right for you.”

  Rachel’s spine snapped straight, and she fired an accusatory question. “You don’t want her now?”

  “Of course I want her. It would break my heart to give her up. I’m talking about you. We could do this like an open adoption and—”

  “No!” Rachel cut in. “I can’t do that, Boone. I thought it through. I thought about it a lot. It’s too hard. I need this to be a clean break.”

  He accepted her decision with a nod. “I get it. But if you ever change your mind, the door is always open.”

  “Thank you.” Rachel shoved her hands in her back pant pockets and rocked on her heels. “Look, I need to be going. I have to be at the airport early tomorrow. Lisa and I are going on a girls’ trip. It’s my graduation gift.”

  “That’s nice,” Hannah said. “Somewhere cooler than this, I hope?”

  “Definitely. We are going to Scotland. After binge-watching Outlander, we decided we wanted to see if we can’t find some legit guys wearing kilts.”

  “What is it about those things? Men in skirts, that’s all it is.” Boone’s scowl was mostly put on. Mostly. He faced his old friend. “Rach, before you go, I need to tell you that you always were and still are one of the strongest people I have ever met. This gift you are giving me, I want you to know, I will treasure her. I will protect her. I will love her with all my heart from now until the day I die. I give you my word, and I won’t let you down.” His voice tight, he added, “Not again. Never again.”

  At that, Rachel threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. “I know. That’s why she’s yours now. I know you’ll love her, and you’ll love her for me too.”

  She went up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek, then released him and turned away, walking off quickly. But there was something Boone still needed to know. “Rach? Is there something, in particular, you want me to give her?”

  The girl stopped. “A family. Give her a family. A mother and a brother and a sister.”

  “Okay. I’ll do my best to do that.”

  “And maybe a puppy too.”

  “Consider that done.”

  “Good.” She gave him a wave and started off again. Boone knew then that he had one last question. “Rachel, what is her name?”

  She went still. Boone held his breath. The moment drew out, and he thought she wasn’t going to answer. Finally, in a thin voice, she said, “You’re her father. You get to name her.”

  “What is her name, Rachel? What is our baby’s name?”

  She started running. “Damn it,” Boone muttered, tears filling his eyes. Hannah rose and stood beside him. She slipped her hand into his.

  Just before Rachel topped a hill and disappeared, she turned around. “Bree,” she called. “Brianna Claire.”

  Then she was gone.

  Boone rubbed the back of his neck. Hannah murmured, “Brianna Claire McBride. A beautiful name for a beautiful little girl.”

  The tears overflowed but damn if Boone cared. “I’ll do it, Hannah,” he swore. “I’ll be the best daddy in the universe. I won’t let Rachel down again. I won’t let Bree down.”

  “I have no doubt.” Hannah opened her handbag and removed a clean tissue. Handing to Boone, she said, “You are going to be that little girl’s light.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Tired as she was, Hannah had trouble falling asleep that night. Her mind bounced between reliving the events of the day and reliving events of her past. When a glance at the bedside clock revealed 1:37 in glowing red numerals, she groaned aloud and pulled the feather pillow over her head.

  When she’d agreed to accompany Boone to Texas, she’d recognized that it would test her emotional stability. She hadn’t cared for an infant since Zoe was born. The fact that the baby was a boy had made the mountain seem less hard to climb.

  Now Trace was Brianna Claire, and cradling the infant girl in her arms had catapulted Hannah back to pre-nightmare time. She wasn’t at all sure that she had the heart for this.

  Maybe in the morning, she should tell Boone he needed to look for someone else for this job. She had told him her daughters had died. He would understand that being a nanny for
a baby girl might be a bridge too far for her.

  She tossed and turned throughout the night and awoke to Boone’s knock at her door feeling lethargic. He relayed the news that breakfast had arrived. She wanted to tell him she would skip the meal, but the notion of hot coffee was a powerful lure.

  “I’ll be there in five,” she called to him and then dragged herself from the bed. A quick shower helped, but she needed coffee bad. Boone, on the other hand, appeared rested and relaxed, and his mood was annoyingly chipper.

  “I did some thinking overnight,” he told her as she poured her second cup of coffee.

  Me too. Little of it was good.

  “After talking to Rachel, and knowing the people involved, I’m much more confident that this adoption will actually happen. If we don’t run into any hiccups at the attorney’s office, how would you feel about taking a detour on the way back to Eternity Springs?”

  Warily, she asked, “What sort of detour?”

  “Not far. To my family’s ranch. I think it’ll be safe to introduce Bree to my parents. I have no doubt that my mom will volunteer to fill in as my babysitter until the nanny recovers from her surgery.”

  “Oh. That would be great,” Hannah said, relief flowing through her. “Really great.”

  “Not that I’m trying to kick you out of a job or anything. I promise it’s cooler out on the ranch than it is here in town. Plus, my folks have excellent air-conditioning.”

  “No! It’s good. I’m totally on board with that.” She walked toward the window and stared out at downtown Fort Worth before adding, “I’ll be honest. Jumping from blue to pink territory has me a bit freaked out.”

  His silver-gray eyes focused on her intently. “I was afraid of that. I have a confession to make. After I heard you cry out last night, I looked in on you. You were obviously in the throes of a nightmare. I didn’t know whether it was best to try to wake you up or not. You settled down before I could make up my mind, so I went back to bed. I wasn’t being a peeper, but I do apologize for invading your privacy.”

  Hannah had two thoughts. The damned nightmare again, and she’d probably looked like a nightmare when he’d peeked in. Great. “I’m sorry I woke you.”

  “I wasn’t really asleep. I tossed and turned all night.”

  “Me too.” Then, because she had tired-brain, she added, “We could have tossed and turned together, I guess.”

  “Now, that is definitely something I could get on board with,” he said, his grin a wicked slash of white teeth.

  Hannah held up her hand palm out. “Wait. That came out wrong.”

  “Sounds pretty right to me.”

  “Boone,” she protested.

  “Okay. Okay. I’ll quit teasing. Just let me say one thing, all kidding aside. I’m up for tossing and turning with you anytime.”

  “Grrr … I’m going to go get ready.” His laughter followed her into her bedroom.

  Four days of meetings, shopping, eating at Boone’s favorite restaurants, and more shopping followed. They met the convalescing nanny and spent time with Bree and her foster parents each day. She was a beautiful baby, born earlier than Boone had been led to believe, a little over a month old. Her hair was definitely red.

  Boone had changed diapers and dealt with spit-up like a trooper. Hannah had avoided holding the little sweetie as much as possible. If the foster parents or the social workers or attorneys had noticed, no one commented on it.

  Through it all, Boone was a combination of the Energizer Bunny and a five-year-old boy waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve. The one instance when he was less than enthused was the afternoon of the second day in town after Hannah had done as she’d promised and spoken to Boone about Ashleigh Hart. “I don’t want to hear her explanation. I don’t care about any explanation she thinks she wants to roll out. The woman is dead to me.”

  “Obviously not,” Hannah pointed out. “If you still get this worked up at the thought of speaking to her, she still has a hold on you. Let me offer you a word of advice if I may. I know firsthand what it’s like to live with a grudge that has outlasted a life. Living with regrets you cannot change can ding your psyche pretty bad, Boone. My advice is to avoid it if you possibly can.”

  He tilted his head and studied her. “Am I correct in assuming that regret has something to do with your late husband?”

  “Got it in one.”

  “You never talk about him.”

  “Maybe one day you can tell me your soap opera story, and I’ll tell you mine.”

  “You already know most of mine.”

  “And you know what really matters about mine.” Hannah shrugged. “Look, I have no skin in this game, so how you choose to deal with Ashleigh Hart doesn’t matter to me. I just thought I’d share insight on regrets because if I had to do it over again, I would.”

  Boone thought a moment, and sighed heavily. “You’re right. I have some of those where my wife was concerned. Maybe I’ll call Ashleigh and let her say what she wants to say after all the adoption legalities are done. I don’t trust her not to screw this up for me too.”

  He frowned, gave a little shudder, then quickly changed the subject. “So do you want to come with me to buy a car, or would you rather hang by the pool? Personally, I get a charge out of haggling with car dealers, but I know not everyone thinks it’s fun.”

  “Root canals are more fun, in my opinion,” Hannah said. She chose pool time.

  Finally, five days after arriving in Fort Worth, all the paperwork was officially signed and filed, and Boone took custody of his daughter. His stunning smile when his gaze met Hannah’s caused her heart to do a little flip-flop. She took photos of the moment because she knew his family would want to see them.

  Acting with all caution and a share of superstition, Boone had waited to call his parents with his news. He’d actually dodged three calls from his mother during the past two days. Still, since the message she’d left asking him to return the call indicated no emergency, he hadn’t phoned home. He didn’t want to lie to her or spoil the surprise he had planned.

  “I figure I’ll wait until I’m ten minutes out. Then I’ll call and tell her that I have some news to share and am dropping by,” Boone told Hannah as he exited the courthouse carrying his new daughter. “That’ll be just enough time for Mom to get all worked up imagining what the surprise is, but not so much time that it’ll stress her out.”

  “Sounds good, but Boone? You’re about to run into a parking meter. I suggest you look up from Bree’s face and watch where you’re going.”

  He looked up and veered, saying, “Yikes. It’s just hard not to look at her. She’s so pretty. Isn’t she pretty?”

  “She’s beautiful.” And you are too cute.

  Boone had used the remote to start the engine and get the air conditioner running in his new Mercedes SUV. The car seat base was strapped into the middle of the back seat, so getting Bree all set for the trip took little effort. Hannah sat in the back seat with her, and within minutes, they were on the highway headed west. The baby drifted to sleep.

  “Maybe I should go ahead and call my folks,” Boone said after they’d passed the city limit sign. “Now that I think about it, giving an hour’s notice is probably a good thing. It’d be just my luck that they’d choose today to go into town for supplies.”

  “You’re looking for excuses,” Hannah pointed out. “You can’t wait to call them.”

  “I’ll cop to that. I’m excited. And scared. I think I need my mommy to reassure me that I can handle this.”

  “I can’t imagine anything that would be beyond your ability to handle. You are the most capable person I’ve ever met.”

  “I’ll admit that ordinarily, I’m squared away. Tackling new projects and experiences doesn’t intimidate me. This is different.”

  “You’ll do fine, Boone. You know why I know that? It’s because you want this. You want to be a great dad, and you’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen. Your actions since the first day we me
t have proved that to me.”

  “Thank you, Hannah. I appreciate that.”

  “Now call your mother. Make her day.”

  His silver eyes gleamed with excitement when his gaze met hers in the rearview mirror. “I’ll do that. Now, while Bree is still asleep.”

  Utilizing the Mercedes’s hands-free dialing, he placed the call. After two rings, Quetta McBride’s scolding voice emerged from the speakers. “Well, it’s about time you returned my calls.”

  “Hi, Mom. Sorry. I’ve been tied up with something.”

  Hannah could see his profile well enough to note the broad grin. His eagerness to share his news with his parents was so appealing. So charming. So much about this man was fascinating.

  She could fall for him so easily. If she still fell. If she wasn’t not in the market to fall.

  “Well, I’ll try not to take it personally that you ignored my calls. I don’t know that I’ll succeed.”

  “Mo-om. I didn’t ignore you. I’m calling you now, aren’t I?”

  “It’s a good thing you aren’t twenty minutes later, or you’d have missed your chance.”

  “Oh, yeah? How come? Was I so slow that you decided to block my calls? I promise you, Mom, I had a good reason, a great reason, and you’ll be so happy when you find out what it was.”

  She sniffed audibly. “Unless you pulled a Tucker and eloped, I’m not impressed.”

  “You know about that? How did you find out?”

  “The good, attentive family member answered my call.”

  Boone laughed. “Okay, Mom. I get the hint. I apologize. Forgive me?”

  “Of course. All I wanted was the apology.”

  “So were you calling to chat or for something specific?”

  “I have news! Big news.”

  “Oh, yeah? Me too.” His gaze flicked up and met Hannah’s in the rearview mirror. He grinned as he said to his mother, “You first.”

  “Dad surprised me with a trip. For our anniversary! It’s a cruise!”