A Colorado Family

by Patricia Thayer

  “Please tell me you’re coming back.” He looked at her, his face pale. “We have a contract.”

  She stole a glance at the precious bundle in his arms, already aching to hold her. “A baby wasn’t included in the agreement.”

  “Then we’ll renegotiate. You name the price.”

  She gripped the doorknob, fighting tears. “It’s not always about the money, Austin.” She paused, her resolve weakening. “I have to think about it.” She walked out, the soft sounds of the baby starting to fuss tugging on her heart.

  * * *

  AUSTIN LOOKED DOWN at his daughter. She blinked at him, then opened her startling blue eyes. Her chubby cheeks were rosy. Her hair was a hue of gold and soft as down. Suddenly her tiny rosebud mouth formed a pucker as if she were going to say something, but only bubbles came out.

  A tightness spread in his chest, making it hard to breathe. In an instant, he’d fallen in love with Lilly Katherine.

  Tears filled his eyes. “Hey, baby girl.”

  This time she made a cooing sound, and she gripped his heart even tighter. “I’m your daddy.” The words were foreign to him. Wow. He wasn’t this frightened when he had to face a twenty-thousand-pound bull. This precious ten-pound bundle scared the living daylights out of him.

  What was he going to do? He didn’t know anything about babies. He closed his eyes a moment and threw up a prayer. “Please, Erin, you have to come back to us.”

  A knock sounded at the door, and little Lilly jumped and looked frightened.

  Cullen peered inside and began to complain. “You better have a good reason why you dragged us here so late...” Spotting the baby in his brother’s arms, his eyes widened. “What the hell?”

  Little Lilly didn’t like the angry words and scrunched up her face, then began to cry.

  Shelby rushed in behind her husband, and Ryan quickly followed behind. “Oh, my, a baby.” She went to her brother-in-law and took the now-screaming infant. She began to rock her as she walked around. “It’s okay, sweetheart.” She looked at Austin. “Whose baby?”

  Just then Trent and Brooke with their eighteen-month-old, Christopher, came through the door. “She’s my daughter,” Austin called out.

  Shelby smiled as Brooke came closer and looked the baby over. “Well, she’s definitely a Brannigan.”

  Over the next five minutes Austin’s living room was chaotic while Lilly continued to scream at the top of her lungs. Shelby was rocking his infant daughter while Brooke heated a bottle. Ryan just covered his ears. Toddler Christopher was interested in the baby’s toys. Once Brooke returned from the kitchen with a warmed bottle and put it into Lilly’s mouth, the room was silent again.

  “Wow, she makes a lot of noise,” Ryan said.

  “Yes, she does,” Cullen began. “Now, we need to know why there’s a hungry baby in Uncle Austin’s house.”

  “I told you. She’s my daughter, Lilly.”

  Cullen sat down across from his twin. “I’m sure there’s more to this story, like where is the mother?”

  Austin had trouble with this part. “Lilly’s mother is, or was, Megan Lynch.” He went on to explain about his long relationship with Megan over the years, and how she lost her battle with leukemia.

  Shelby put the baby against her shoulder and began to pat her back. “I’m so sorry, Austin. Oh, this poor baby.”

  Cullen said to his brother, “Are you sure she’s yours?”

  Shelby sent her husband an unbelieving look. “Are you kidding me?” She studied the baby in her arms. “She’s got Brannigan stamped all over her. You and your brother’s eyes and that dimple in her chin.” Shelby got a dreamy look. “Oh, Cullen, she’s adorable.” Her gaze met her husband’s. “Maybe we should rethink our decision to wait.”

  Cullen raised his hand. “One thing at a time. Austin will need help with Lilly.” He nodded to his brother’s bad leg. “How can you take care of a baby when you can barely take care of yourself?”

  “I’ll get my new cast from the doctor next week. So I can ditch the walker.” Austin wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell his plans. “And I’m hoping Erin can help me out.”

  He only wished that she were here so he could explain everything to her, too. He prayed that he would get the chance tomorrow. Problem was, he wasn’t sure she would be back, and he couldn’t blame her.

  * * *

  ERIN’S NIGHT ONLY got worse. As if the patients at the center knew of her troubles, they added to them. Everyone seemed to need her attention, which normally she enjoyed. She was good with people and most of the time could handle about anything that came up. She’d sat with Hattie, but nothing she did calmed her. Finally they had to medicate the eighty-eight-year-old so the woman could sleep.

  Erin went into the break room and got a sandwich out of her locker. She tried to eat, but couldn’t block the sight of Austin holding his baby out of her head.

  She couldn’t deny she was jealous. She’d do anything to have a child in her life, and he had one just dropped on his doorstep. And he wanted her to help to care for his daughter. Could she do it? Could she fall in love with someone else’s child, then get pushed out of her life when she wasn’t needed any longer?

  She shook her head. Why did Austin need her, anyway? He had a family, brothers and sisters-in-law who would be willing to help out until he got on his feet.

  His therapy. That was her one and only job. She was paid to go back and help him. And now that could include having a baby in the house. How could she just ignore a child? She couldn’t.

  Shirley walked into the room. “Hey, Erin. I hear you’ve had a pretty rough night.”

  “Yeah, but it’s quieted down.”

  Her supervisor sat down across from her. “I’m glad.”

  “Shirley, is there any chance I could cut two of my shifts from the schedule?”

  The older woman frowned. “I thought you wanted all the hours you could get?”

  “I do, or I did. My therapist job is taking on more hours, and I kind of want to see it through until the end.”

  Shirley nodded. “Well, Linda might be willing to take on more hours. I’ll check the schedule, but I could probably cut you back to three days a week, ten-hour shifts.”

  Erin nodded. “Hold off until I talk with my client to make sure he still needs me.”

  Was she crazy to do this? To get more involved with Austin than she already was? All she knew was that sweet innocent baby needed her, and she couldn’t walk away. So much for not getting personal with a client. Austin had stolen her heart; add in an adorable baby, and she didn’t have a chance.

  Chapter Seven

  Early the next morning, Austin stirred from his spot on the sofa when he heard the key in the lock. Erin. Please, let it be Erin.

  The door opened and the petite redhead walked in. She turned and gasped at seeing him on the sofa and the small crib next to him. He put his finger to his lips to keep her from speaking. He tossed back the blanket and managed to get up. At the end of the sofa, he grabbed his walker, checked his sleeping daughter and followed Erin into the kitchen.

  She leaned against the counter. “I see you managed to survive the night.”

  “Yeah, Brooke and Shelby helped organize things. There are bottles and enough formula for all day. I also found a list of instructions about Lilly’s care from...Megan. She wanted me to know about my daughter.”

  Erin’s gaze met his. “I shouldn’t have run out on you last night. I apologize for that.”

  He shrugged, keeping his voice low so as to not wake the baby. “Everything you ever thought about me came true, huh?”

  She couldn’t even look at him, and that hurt.

  “Shocked is more like it,” she admitted. “You have a child now.”

  “Hey, I don’t blame you for t
hinking the worst of me. I already think it of myself.” He raised a defensive hand. “You didn’t sign up for this. Whether you did or didn’t, how do we move forward, or do we?”

  She stared at him as if he came from another planet.

  “I have a daughter now.” The words were still strange to him. “Now that Lilly is here, I wouldn’t trade her for anything.”

  “Of course not.”

  “Good. Now that we see eye to eye on that, I want you to know that I knew Lilly’s mother for years. Megan Lynch wasn’t just a random hookup. She worked with her father supplying the stock for the rodeos. She was sweet and caring.”

  Erin raised her hand. “You don’t need to explain.”

  “Hell, I know I don’t, but I want to,” he said, hoping she’d see a better side of him. “Yes, Megan was younger, but she was a lot older than her years. I could talk to her about anything. I swear, we only had a friendship over those years, until last fall. It changed everything for me, but she never returned my calls, so I figured it was for the best. She was back in college, and I was headed for NFR. Now I have to live with the fact that because of me Megan died.” His gaze met hers. “She had leukemia, but because she was pregnant, she refused any treatment until after Lilly was born.”

  “Look, Austin. I’m a nurse. I see tragedy on a daily basis. What Megan did was what a lot of mothers would do for their child. You can’t blame yourself, because you weren’t there.”

  His eyes filled with tears.

  “Megan wants you to take over as Lilly’s parent.”

  With his nod, Erin glanced away. She wanted to believe Austin could step up. Believe that he wasn’t so shallow that he couldn’t care about someone else besides himself. Now that he had a daughter, and with the mother gone, he didn’t have any options. But she did and found she wanted to stay, at least to follow through with his therapy. She only had to figure a way to do it and not fall for both the dad and the baby.

  She hesitated, then asked, “So now what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to raise her,” he told her. “She’s my child, Erin. But I’ll need help, and I can’t disrupt my family’s busy lives. I can hire a stranger, but I trust you. I know this isn’t in your job description, but I’ll pay you well. Any hours you want to give me, at least until next week when I get the cast switched so I can walk on my own.” He rubbed his hand over his whiskered jaw, looking tired. “I’m a fast learner.”

  “Just because your cast comes off doesn’t mean you don’t have to keep up with your therapy,” she reminded him.

  “I know, and that’s even more important now because of Lilly.”

  Was he still thinking about returning to the circuit? “What about your dream of going back to the rodeo?”

  “That’s on hold. Right now, I’m only thinking about getting back on my feet for my child. I’ll revisit that later. I still want you to keep working me hard. I need to be able to walk now more than ever.”

  “That’ll be my pleasure.” She leaned against the counter. “I talked to my supervisor this morning. She said she’d cut me back to three shifts a week, so I’ll be able to stay here on my days off. I also have some vacation time, so until your doctor gets the other cast on, after tonight’s shift, I can stay here for the rest of this week,” she said, all the time thinking she was crazy for doing this.

  His eyes brightened. “Oh, dear Lord, I could kiss you.”

  Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, but quickly recovered. “No need to get crazy, cowboy.”

  He raised a hand. “Sorry—I meant, I didn’t know how I was going to pull this off.”

  She hesitated, then said, “Before you agree, there’s something else I want you to know. It might cause you to change your mind.”

  He didn’t even hesitate. “Just name it, and if I can help, I’ll do my part.”

  She was taking a big chance, but she was tired of putting off her own dream. “I want to have a baby.”

  * * *

  AUSTIN SANK INTO the chair at the table. This wasn’t what he’d expected to hear. “Say again.”

  Erin held his gaze with those big emerald eyes that had him thinking about giving her what she wanted.

  “I’m thirty-six, and time is running out for me to have a child.”

  “Thirty-six isn’t old,” he argued, thinking she looked ten years younger. “You could find someone and get married again.”

  She shook her head. “No. No marriage. I only want a child. It was mostly my problem that my husband and I couldn’t conceive. I’d planned to go through IVF treatment when Jared came home, but then he got wounded...” She paused and blinked several times. “I had to concentrate on his recovery...” She drew a shaky breath. “Then when he died, I couldn’t move ahead.”

  Now he understood her reaction to the baby yesterday. “I’m sorry, Erin. Seeing me holding Lilly must have hurt.”

  “Not in the way you think, Austin. I’m happy for you. But I’ve dreamed of a family for so long. Unlike you, I have no other blood relatives. My parents are both gone, and there aren’t any siblings.” She managed a half smile. “I took your case because you paid so well, and that would help me afford the procedure and be able to take extra time off after my child’s birth. That is, if I’m blessed with a child.”

  Austin felt his chest constrict. If anyone deserved a baby, it was Erin. His thoughts turned to the baby’s father. Who would he be, some random sperm donor? He knew it wasn’t his business, but there was no denying he cared about Erin.

  He started to tell her that when a sound came from the other room. A discussion would have to be tabled until later.

  Another soft cry filled the silence. “You ready to meet the newest member of the Brannigan family?”

  Erin nodded. “Do you want me to go and get her?” she asked, looking hopeful.

  “I haven’t mastered carrying her and using a walker. So, yes, please go get her.”

  Erin hurried out of the kitchen, and he leaned back in his chair. What had he gotten himself into? Twenty-four hours ago, he had one focus: getting back on his feet. Now he was a father. Suddenly he had a lifetime commitment to another person. That scared the hell out of him.

  Erin walked into the kitchen carrying the bundled baby in her arms. She had a loving smile on her face as she talked to Lilly. Austin found himself mesmerized by the sight of the two of them together. There was a slight tug on his heart.

  “I wouldn’t try denying this one, cowboy. She looks just like you.” She handed the baby to him and he saw the sudden brightness in her eyes.

  “My sister-in-law said the same thing. I don’t see it.”

  “Here, keep her entertained until I heat a bottle.”

  Austin cuddled his daughter in his arms as Erin went to the sink and washed her hands, then went to the refrigerator and took out one of the bottles Brooke had prepared the previous night. She seemed so natural at falling into the routine.

  “Oh, yeah, she does,” she told him as she heated a pan of water on the stove. “I hope you know how lucky you are.”

  “I do. At the same time, I’m scared to death. She’s so little, so fragile. What if I’m too rough with her?” Lilly grasped his finger and tried to stick it into her mouth. “And look, she wants to eat my finger. That can’t be healthy.”

  “That’s what babies do. They put everything in their mouths.” Erin smiled. “Don’t panic. They need to build up their immune system. Just keep all dangerous things out of reach, especially toxic cleaners and sharp objects. But you have a few months before she starts crawling around.”

  After a couple of minutes, Erin took the bottle out of the hot water and shook out a few drips on the inside of her wrist. “That should be about right.”

  She handed him the bottle. “Have you fed her yet?”

  “Ye
s—last night.” He slipped the nipple into Lilly’s eager mouth. She latched on and began to suck.

  Erin sat down next to him. “Lilly’s mother, Megan? Do you know if she breast-fed her daughter at all?”

  Austin thought back to the letter he’d read and reread several times through the night. How Megan refused any lifesaving drugs during her pregnancy because she didn’t want to harm her baby. How she got to spend those precious few weeks with her child. Although he was still angry that she didn’t contact him.

  “Her letter stated she did the first few days, but then since she’d refused chemo during her pregnancy, they wanted her to begin treatment immediately. But it was already too late.” His watery gaze met hers. “She made so many sacrifices for our daughter. And I wasn’t even there to help her.”

  Erin reached over and touched his arm. “If the dates are correct, I believe you were in the hospital at the same time, too. Besides, you’re here now, Dad.” She brushed her hand over Lilly’s head. “And this little one needs you.”

  “And I’m going to try to be here for her,” he told her. “And I mean that, Erin. I’m not asking you to raise my daughter. I’m asking you to help me until I’m standing firmly on both feet.”

  She nodded, looking down at the baby. “Let’s do this week to week. Starting first with the doctor’s visit in four days, then see where to go to from there.”

  Austin studied her, suddenly remembering what she’d been talking about. “It seems Lilly interrupted us earlier. Do you mind telling me about this IVF treatment?”

  She glanced away, but he saw the sadness in her green eyes. “I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

  “I’m glad you did. Will this procedure help you have a baby?”

  She shrugged. “There’s no guarantees, but for those who have trouble conceiving, it’s hope. The biggest problem is, it’s expensive.”