by Lois Richer
“Molly, Penny and I would love to raise your baby as our own child.” Rick touched her shoulder tenderly, his voice soft. “Penny’s always wanted to be a mom and you’re making her dearest dream come true. Thank you hardly seems enough.”
“Uncle Rick an’ Penny an’ you an’ me an’ a baby. We’re getting our fam’ly wish,” Katie gloated from her hiding place behind a big urn.
“Yeah, we are,” Kyle agreed then ordered, “Shh! We’re not s’posed to listen to other people’s talk, Gramma said.”
“Come on, you two eavesdroppers,” Rick called with a laugh. “Might as well join us.”
The twins scampered out, dirty, disheveled but smiling with pure joy as they admired their new brother. Rick picked up the baby and laid him in Penny’s arms then gathered his family in his strong embrace.
Penny couldn’t stop smiling. A mom. She was going to be a mom.
Rick suddenly let go of them.
“There’s just one problem, Molly. Well, maybe two. First, we want, no we insist, that you be part of his world so this child will always know all his family and that you love him.”
“Really? I’d like that. But I promise I won’t interfere,” Molly whispered as she teared up.
“You’re always welcome in our home because now you are a part of our family. Now, about our second problem.” Rick grinned at Penny. “We’re wondering—could you possibly look after our new son until we return from our honeymoon?”
“I’d love to,” Molly began.
“Actually, there’s a third problem, Rick.” Penny grinned at him. “I was hoping Molly would agree to stay at my house since I won’t be needing it anymore because I have a new home. It’s a nice place,” she told Molly. “And the garden has lots of veggies just begging to be eaten. You’d really be doing me a favor.”
“God sure knows what He’s doing,” Molly blubbered. “Two answers in one day. Wow. Thank you.”
A group hug seemed appropriate but it couldn’t last long.
“Sweetheart, we’ve got to go,” Rick insisted. He kissed the baby’s brow, waited for Penny to do the same before he handed him back to Molly. Then he swept Penny off her feet and into his arms. “Check with Sophie for the key, Molly, and if you need help. She might need your help, too, since she’s agreed to watch the twins for us. And take good care of our boy. Katie, Kyle, we love you both very much and we’ll see you soon.” Then he strode toward his truck with Penny calling goodbye between giggles of pure happiness.
As they drove off Wranglers Ranch toward Phoenix Penny turned to look back. The twins stood on either side of Molly, waving madly. Her family. And her husband.
“The Lord will work out His plan for your life,” she repeated. “I wonder how many times and how many ways He’s done that for the many people who come to Wranglers Ranch?”
“I wonder, my dear wife, how many ways He’ll work out His plan for our future?” Rick said.
“I don’t know,” Penny said. She hugged his side and smiled. “He’s given me a husband, three children, wonderful friends and a job, all of which I love dearly. I can hardly wait to see what’s He’s included in the rest of His plan.”
“Me, neither.”
Side by side, with thankful hearts overflowing with love, the newlyweds rode into their future, one they would trust with their heavenly Father.
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this story, pick up the
other WRANGLERS RANCH books,
THE RANCHER’S FAMILY WISH
HER CHRISTMAS FAMILY WISH
THE COWBOY’S EASTER FAMILY WISH
and these other stories from Lois Richer:
A DAD FOR HER TWINS
RANCHER DADDY
GIFT-WRAPPED FAMILY
ACCIDENTAL DAD
Available now from Love Inspired!
Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com
Keep reading for an excerpt from DEPUTY DADDY by Patricia Johns.
Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!
Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards
http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010003
Dear Reader,
I’m so glad you’ve made a return visit to Wranglers Ranch. You’re always welcome here.
Penny longed to be a mom. What a time she went through to learn that God always has a plan and if we wait on Him, He will lead us. And how poor Rick struggled with his guilt. Guilt can sometimes correct our actions but it’s often something we needlessly carry. Katie and Kyle’s world was turned upside down and yet for them, too, God had a plan.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this last story in the Wranglers Ranch series. I hate to leave Tucson. It’s one of my favorite places. The beauty and wonder of the desert always amazes me. I’d love to hear from you in any of these ways: snail mail at Box 639, Nipawin, Sk. Canada S0E 1E0; email at [email protected], Facebook at loisricher/author or through my website at www.loisricher.com. I promise to answer as quickly as I can.
Until we meet again, may you rest in the confident knowledge that God has a plan for your life, too.
Blessings,
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired story.
You believe hearts can heal. Love Inspired stories show that faith, forgiveness and hope have the power to lift spirits and change lives—always.
Enjoy six new stories from Love Inspired every month!
Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
Join Harlequin My Rewards & Instantly earn a FREE ebook of your choice.
Earn points for every Harlequin print and ebook you buy, wherever & whenever you shop.
Turn your points into FREE BOOKS.
Don’t miss out. Reward the book lover in you!
Register Today & Earn a FREE BOOK*
*New members who join before December 31st, 2017 will receive 2000 points redeemable for eligible titles.
Click here to register
Or visit us online to register at
http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010001
Deputy Daddy
by Patricia Johns
Chapter One
“You’ll need to burp her after that bottle,” Police Chief Chance Morgan said, glancing over his shoulder on his way past Bryce Camden’s temporary desk.
Bryce looked down at the tiny baby in the crook of his arm. She barely seemed to weigh anything, her rump resting in the palm of his hand and her tiny hands opening and closing in the rhythm of her drinking. The small Colorado town of Comfort Creek was the remote location of his disciplinary action for having punched a fellow officer in the kisser. He’d arrived that morning with an angry simmer in the pit of his stomach that barely covered the sour taste of humiliation, and the police chief dropped a newborn in his lap.
He’d never burped a baby in his life.
“Is that an order, sir?” Bryce asked.
“Yes.” The chief shot him an amused look. “Consider this part of your sensitivity training.”
The baby had been abandoned at the station in the wee hours of the morning, an out-of-date car seat left on the doorstep. Whoever had left her had pounded on the door and slipped away. When Bryce clocked in for the start of this two-week debacle, they’d immediately put him on baby duty.
So far, sensitivity training looked a whole lot like babysitting, and he’d never been very comfortable around kids, something he had in common with his dad. Some things were hereditary, like the combination of black hair a
nd blue eyes. He was confident that his discomfort with kids came from the same genetic source. His father had been a lousy parent, and he had it on good authority—from his overworked and chronically frustrated mother—that he was just like his old man. And if anyone wanted confirmation on that, they could ask the officer with the split lip.
Christian cops weren’t supposed to go around venting their anger with their fists, no matter how good their reasons, and while he’d never been the preachy type, his faith was pretty common knowledge. On Sunday mornings when he was on shift, he’d stand in uniform at the back of his local church and listen to the sermon from there, his radio dialed down to a whisper. So there were certain expectations when it came to him. When anyone else on the force messed up, there was a well of commiseration. They were all human, and a badge and a gun didn’t change that. But when the Christian cop messed up, there was a little more judgment, a little more surprise. He’d let them all down.
For the last few hours, Bryce had been calling the baby “Piglet.” It just seemed to suit the little thing, and as she drank the last dregs of the bottle, he was forced to stand by the nickname. She released the nipple with a pop and he put the bottle onto the desk, then lifted her gingerly. He’d already been schooled on supporting the downy head, and when he tipped her forward onto his chest, she squirmed again and let out a little whimper of protest.
“Okay—” Bryce patted at the tiny back tentatively. “How do I do this exactly?”
The last few burpings and diaper changes had been taken over by some officers who had kids, so they knew the ropes when it came to infants. Now it was his turn, and no one seemed to pity him. He heard the front door open and close behind him as he attempted to position the baby on his shoulder.
A female voice said, “Where is the baby now?”
He heaved a sigh of relief. Reinforcements were here. That was probably the promised foster care provider. He patted the baby’s back gently, afraid of pummeling the infant too hard. In response, she let out a resounding burp.
“Nice one, Piglet,” he congratulated the infant, and he turned to see who would be relieving him of his duty when he stopped short.
She wasn’t the matronly type that he had anticipated. This woman was young with short-cropped blond hair that swept over her forehead and brought out her big blue eyes. She had a smattering of freckles over her nose, too, that struck him as sweet. A white sundress patterned with stemmed cherries swung around her knees, and she wore a pair of low sling-back heels that completed her feminine look.
“Just over here,” the police chief said. “This is Officer Bryce Camden. He’s here in Comfort Creek for a short time.”
There was a depth of meaning behind those words, and the young woman regarded him with one arched brow. Did she know what that meant—that he was here completing disciplinary action? He gave her a curt nod. “Nice to meet you.”
“You, too. I’m Lily Ellison—your temporary foster care.” Her eyes crinkled when she smiled, and her face was transformed from pretty to stunning. “Now, who do we have here?”
“No name provided,” the chief said with a shake of his head. “I suppose you could do the honors, Lily.”
Lily leaned closer to Bryce, a delicate fragrance of vanilla wafting around him momentarily as she slipped the infant out of his arms. Her skin was silky as it brushed against his when she took the baby, obviously more practiced than he was. She smiled down into the baby’s face. “Hi there, cutie. You need a name.”
Lily stood next to Bryce, so close that her skirt brushed his pant leg where he sat at the desk he’d been assigned for the next couple of weeks. A bottle, a cloth and a few diapers sat on the desktop next to him, and he wondered if he should gather them up for her, but he wasn’t sure where she’d even put them, so he left them where they were.
“What have you been calling her?” Lily asked, glanced down at Bryce.
“I’ve been calling her Piglet.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s awful.”
“Wait till you see her go to town on a bottle,” he retorted.
“How about Emily? If I ever have a little girl, I want to name her that, so I could share it, I suppose.” Lily looked down at the baby again. “Little Emily. Does that suit you?”
When the police chief headed off toward his office to grab the paperwork, Bryce eyed her speculatively.
“You look really young for this,” he said.
“For what?” she asked, brushing some hair out of her eyes.
“Foster care. Normally foster moms are—” he paused, uncertain how to say this delicately “—more mature.”
In his experience, foster moms were a tough lot of women—they had to be. Sometimes they had raised large families of their own, and they’d seen a lot, been through the wringer with the system more than once. They knew what troubled kids looked like, and their big hearts took thorough beatings.
“I’ve helped raise four younger brothers,” she said. “I’m qualified. Trust me.”
“Four.” He joked, “I’m sorry. That sounds painful.”
Her expression melted into a more relaxed smile. “You think you’re funny, but you haven’t met my brothers. So, you’re Bryce Camden?”
“That’s right.”
“You’re staying at my bed-and-breakfast.” She turned her attention back to the baby, although her words were meant for him. “Two weeks, paid in full. You’re my first guest, actually. I assume you’re arriving tonight after work?”
Bryce’s mind went back to the phone conversation he’d had with the owner of Comfort Creek B and B when he’d been irritably setting up his living arrangements for his stay. It had been a hurried discussion, but the B and B was pretty much the only place to stay in Comfort Creek, except for a dumpy-looking hotel that the department would have paid for, but the rebel in him wanted at least a small part of this on his own terms. He’d never imagined that the woman on the other end of that phone call was as pretty as this, or that he’d have to explain too much about his reasons for being here. “Yeah, I’ll be coming by after my shift is done.”
The police chief sauntered back to Bryce’s desk with a clipboard, and as he had Lily sign the necessary paperwork, Bryce looked at the baby once more. She had fallen asleep in Lily’s arms, her rosebud mouth still moving in a sucking motion. While he’d done his best not to bond with the infant, he had a feeling that he’d miss her.
“I’ll see you later,” Lily said, handing the clipboard back to the chief. She shot Bryce a smile. “I have your room ready. I think you’ll be very comfortable.”
There was no way to politely get out of this tonight. He’d just have to make the best of it. Right now, he was sincerely regretting having paid for the full two weeks up front. Staying with the town’s temporary foster care wasn’t a great idea.
“Thanks,” he said. “Do you need this stuff?”
“Please.”
Chief Morgan passed him a plastic bag, and Bryce gathered up the various baby accoutrements from his desk and put them inside. When he handed the bag to Lily, her hand lingered under his for a moment, and he met her clear gaze. Long lashes fringed her blue eyes, and for a moment he found all of his thoughts draining from his head.
“I’ll see you this evening,” she said. “For a nominal fee, I include dinners, too. Tonight would be chicken fettuccini.”
“That sounds great,” he said, which it did, but this still wasn’t a great plan. One night at the B and B with a decent dinner wouldn’t kill him, though. It would sure beat eating at that local burger joint that would effectively clog his arteries by the end of his time in Comfort Creek. It might be an acceptable risk, given the circumstances. “Oh, I should mention—she likes ‘America the Beautiful.’”
“Like, as a lullaby?”
“Yeah. I didn’t know what else to sing to her
, and it worked. So—” he shrugged “—heads up on that.”
“We’ll muddle through.” She cast him a smile, then turned toward the door. He’d just have to find a way out of the rest of the stay, because baby care wasn’t his strong suit, and Lily Ellison was too charming for his own good. He was here to do his time and get out. Period.
* * *
Lily peeked into the bassinet where little Emily lay in the corner of the spacious kitchen. Lily had been surprised when Chief Morgan called and asked if she could stand in as temporary foster care, and for a moment she’d considered turning him down. She had her first guest checking in today—a much-needed start to paying off some of this debt she’d accrued in renovating the old house. But she’d gotten her foster parent certification for a reason: she loved kids, and their town needed a backup to the one foster family it already had.
Growing up, her brothers had been like a tornado, and keeping up with their antics had been difficult. She’d gone from child to babysitter overnight, and she’d never had the luxury of messing up. The boys, however, ran roughshod over every rule or limit she put up for them. They’d eaten all the food in the house, devoured any treat their mother might have scrounged for the kids, occupied every spare inch that Lily might have been able to use for herself. And instead of terrorizing them back, she’d grudgingly let them have the bag of cookies, the TV time, the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom, their mother’s attention...because she loved them. And while foster care wouldn’t be easy, she had enough experience with rowdy, difficult kids that she felt like she had something to contribute. Every kid deserved love.
But when she started her business, she’d decided to put foster parenting on hold. She was finally fulfilling a lifelong dream of owning her own bed-and-breakfast, and that would require her whole attention. Then, of course, there was Aunt Clarisse’s wedding coming up—more family obligation—and her plate was officially full.
But hearing that the child was a newborn baby girl, her heart had melted. How much trouble could a tiny little girl be? The houseful of boys has been a noisy stampede, but she’d always wished for another girl in the family—someone to appreciate the feminine things with her. Her mother had been too busy with work and the boys for that. Lily was assured that this was a temporary arrangement, and she agreed. Her freedom would have to wait until Beverly Starchuck, the regular foster care provider, returned to Comfort Creek.