The front door opened even as Cody was pulling open the passenger door on the truck.
Devon saw what appeared to be a slightly older version of Cody run down the three steps that led from the porch.
“Hi,” he said, flashing what looked like an identical smile at her. “Welcome to the house. I’m Cole.”
“Hi, Cole,” she said, returning his greeting. “I’m...dizzy. Wow.”
Devon blew out a breath, suddenly feeling a wave of weakness washing over her. It took her completely by surprise because, over the course of the day, she’d felt she was getting stronger. In her opinion, this was a definite setback.
It occurred just as she was stepping out of the vehicle on the passenger side. The second her foot touched the ground, her leg buckled right from under her, sending her straight into Cody’s arms. Luckily he’d had the presence of mind to position himself right in front of her, just in case.
Devon flushed, embarrassed. She wasn’t supposed to feel like a limp rag doll. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“For what? Being human? Not necessary,” Cody told her. He was holding her to him and did his best to search her face from that angle. “Do you want to go back to the clinic?”
“Oh Lord, no,” Devon cried emphatically. “Not that everyone wasn’t nice to me there—they were.” Especially when she considered the fact that she had no ties to the town or anyone there. “But I’ve got to keep moving forward.”
“Well, for now, we’re putting that ‘moving forward’ exercise on hold.” The next second, rather than putting her back into the truck, he easily lifted her in his arms. “If you don’t want to go back to the clinic, okay, but you’re going straight to bed,”
She couldn’t put him out like this, nor could she allow herself to depend on him. The man was no one to her and owed her nothing. In contrast, she and Jack had planned forever together and that hadn’t stopped him from leaving.
“Put me down. I can take care of myself,” she protested with feeling.
“That’s debatable,” Cody answered, making no effort to set her down.
Devon tried again. “My baby,” she protested, reaching out to the infant still in the backseat.
“Got her covered. Cole,” he called out to his brother, “bring the baby.”
For his part, Cole looked a little perplexed. “How do I get her out of this contraption?” he asked, referring to the car seat.
“Bring the whole thing,” Cody said. “Just open up the straps tethering the car seat to the truck,” he told his older brother.
“If you say so,” Cole murmured, trying to get the seat loose.
Cody debated taking Devon inside and putting her in the guest bedroom before coming back out to lend Cole a hand. That would have been the simplest way to go, but he sensed that it would also cause Devon more than a little stress and concern.
“I’m going to set you down for a minute,” he told Devon, returning her to her seat. “Okay?”
The world insisted on spinning, even though she was doing her very best to focus on keeping it still.
“Do what you have to do to get her untangled,” Devon urged, trying not to let Cody see just how weak she suddenly felt. The last thing she wanted was to divert his attention away from Layla.
Despite Cole’s consternation, it took very little effort to untangle the straps that had constrained Layla’s car seat.
“Now you can take her into the guest bedroom,” Cody told his brother, turning his attention back to Devon.
This time, she allowed Cody to pick her up without complaint. She had to admit that having his strong arms around her made her feel safe.
The next moment, she was silently upbraiding herself for feeling that way.
Safe?
What’s wrong with you? When are you going to learn? No one is going to be your crutch. You’re the only one you can depend on, not some good-looking, sexy deputy sheriff.
She was doing her very best to rein in her feelings while also holding them at arm’s length, but she was failing at both. There was this hunger within her to allow someone in, someone who would help her banish the incredible loneliness that had hollowed out her insides.
Cody was aware of her tightening her arms around his neck. Despite the warm feeling being generated within him, he told himself that she was doing it just because she was afraid of being dropped.
Don’t make anything of this that it isn’t, he warned himself.
“Not too much longer,” he promised out loud.
Devon didn’t loosen her hold.
Cody carried her into the house and then made a sharp turn to his left. There was a bedroom just off the main living area, its window looking out on what amounted to the front yard.
“This is your room for now,” Cody told her, then quickly corrected himself. “I mean it’s your room for however long you need it.” He didn’t want her to feel as if her presence here created any sort of an inconvenience for him or his family.
“Why?” she asked him unexpectedly as he deposited her on the bed.
He wasn’t sure what Devon was asking him. “Why what?”
Just then, Cole came in with the baby. He set the car seat on the floor right next to the bed, then backed off, getting the impression that his older brother wanted to have a few words in private with the woman he had brought to the ranch.
“Why are you doing all this? Why are you taking me in, giving me a place to stay without any strings or deadlines attached?”
He didn’t see what the big deal was. In his world, you helped people out, no questions asked. “Because you look like you need it,” he told her simply.
“And that’s it?”
He looked at her, seeing the suspicious expression in her eyes. Again he caught himself wishing he could get his hands on the man who had run out on her, who had stolen her sense of well-being, not to mention her possessions.
“What more should there be?” he asked her.
“Well, for starters,” she said, pointing out the obvious, “I’m nobody to you.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” he told her. “I mean, I did deliver your baby.”
She still couldn’t really make any sense out of his behavior. She and Jack had made plans, shared dreams—or so she had thought—and none of that had stopped him from ultimately running out on her.
Not just running out, but taking all her money with him, leaving her stranded and on her own without so much as a backward glance or a note of apology. He hadn’t even wasted crocodile tears on her and here was this stranger, someone she hadn’t even known three days ago, taking her in and behaving as if he was her newly appointed guardian angel.
“I know,” she said to Cody. “But that doesn’t obligate you to stick by me.”
In a way, she reminded him of Flint. When he’d first come across the stallion, the colt had been extremely skittish and it had taken him a great deal of patience to get Flint to trust him.
He viewed Devon the same way.
“I’d say that we’ve got a difference of opinion there,” he told her mildly. “Now, why don’t you get some rest?” he suggested. “Cassidy and Cole will look in on you periodically, make sure that everything’s okay.”
“Where will you be?” That didn’t come out right, Devon realized. She didn’t want Cody thinking that she was being clingy because she wasn’t. She was just trying to get her bearings and the lay of the land. “I mean—”
“I know what you mean,” he told her gently. “I’ve got to get back to work before they figure out how dispensable I actually am.”
Before he could say anything, Cassidy walked in, carrying what appeared to be a drawer. “Where do you want this?” she asked.
“Put it over there.” He pointed to the side of the bed. “That way,” he added
, addressing Devon, “it’ll be within reach, but still give you plenty of space to get up.”
“What are you doing?” Devon asked, watching him as he arranged the drawer. From her vantage point, she could see that the drawer wasn’t empty as she had assumed. It was lined with what appeared to be two blankets, one on top of another.
“Well, it’s been a long time since there were any babies in this house, so there are no cribs stored in the attic. But Layla has to sleep somewhere, so until we can get a crib for her, this is going to have to do.”
“A bureau drawer?” she questioned incredulously.
“Sure. As long as no one decides to close it, it should be just what she needs.” Taking the remaining safety belts off the infant, he lifted her out of the car seat and placed her inside the drawer. “Perfect,” he declared.
Even as he made the pronouncement, he saw the infant’s eyes flutter shut. “I guess she thinks so, too, because she’s falling asleep. I suggest that you do the same,” he told Devon.
He started to leave the room when she called him back. “Cody?”
Cody retraced the few steps back to her bed. Devon raised herself up as far as she could and then beckoned him in a little closer. When he bent down, expecting her to share some whispered secret with him, he was surprised to feel the fleeting pass of her lips against his cheek.
He could have sworn he felt a glow spreading out through him in its wake.
Moving back a little, Cody looked at the woman in confusion.
“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice brimming with emotion.
And then, the next moment, before he could tell her that she had nothing to thank him for, he saw that Devon had fallen asleep, just like her daughter.
Cody lingered there for a moment, just watching her sleep.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered to the sleeping pair, “I’ll take care of you.”
He felt the lighter-than-air imprint of Devon’s lips on his skin throughout the drive back to the sheriff’s office.
* * *
“FEELING BETTER?” CODY ASKED. His shift over, he’d lost no time in hurrying back to the ranch.
Once there, his first order of business was to look in on Devon. There’d been no phone call from either Cassidy or Cole, so he could only assume that everything was going along peacefully.
Devon was up, out of bed and sitting in the rocking chair where Cody’s mother had once sat, rocking each one of them to sleep when they were infants. Layla was in her arms. It struck Cody that, somehow, things seemed to have come full circle.
“Yes, much,” she answered with a welcoming smile. “Looks like a little angel, doesn’t she?” she whispered, still very much in awe that she had given birth to this miracle.
He came around to her side and peered at the tiny, sleeping face.
“She looks like her mother,” he told Devon.
The comparison surprised her. “You really think so?”
There was no question about it in Cody’s mind. “I do.”
Devon looked down at the baby in her arms and then shook her head. “I don’t see it,” she confessed.
If anything, she thought she could see traces of Jack in the baby and that bothered her a little. She didn’t want to be reminded of all the heartache and humiliation that were involved with Jack’s memory.
“Well, she does,” Cody said simply. “Have you had anything to eat?” he asked.
“Cassidy brought me something earlier, but I don’t have much of an appetite,” Devon confessed.
“You need to force yourself,” he told her. “You’re still eating for two, you know. You’ve got to build up your strength. You don’t want to be bedridden forever.”
“I’m not going to be bedridden forever,” she protested.
“Good.” Opening the bag he’d brought with him, he set out a covered dish on the makeshift tray Cassidy had dug up for her. “This is for you.”
Devon raised an eyebrow at the sight of the foil-covered offering.
“Miss Joan had Angel prepare this for you,” Cody told her. “She told me that if I didn’t make you eat this, she was going to hunt me down and find a way to make me pay for it.”
“No, she didn’t.” Devon dismissed the threat with a laugh.
“Oh yes, she did,” he told her in no uncertain terms. “Miss Joan doesn’t accept any excuses. She expects results. In your case, that result is in the form of fattening you up.”
Cody sat down beside the tray. She allowed him to remove the foil. She had to admit that the scent of the tri-tip sirloin had her mouth watering, which surprised her. She was at the point where she’d assumed no meal would be appealing to her.
Devon had to ask. “Why would she or you care if I eat or not?”
“Why’s the sky blue?”
Devon wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly. “What?”
“The point is,” he clarified, “some things just are—we don’t waste time questioning them. Now, start eating so I don’t have to try to lie to Miss Joan tomorrow.”
“Try to lie?” she repeated. “I’d imagine you’re probably very good at it.”
He didn’t rise to the bait. “Well, I don’t lie,” he told her simply. “And even if I did, I’d never attempt to lie to Miss Joan. The woman is a human lie detector machine.”
“Okay, now I know you’re kidding.”
“Nope,” Cody deadpanned. “That woman has a way of looking at you that makes even a hardened criminal start to confess to things.”
Devon was fairly certain he was putting her on, but the sandwich Miss Joan had sent her was far too delicious for her to reject—so she didn’t even try.
Chapter Ten
The scent of fresh brewing coffee had the allure of a siren’s song for Cody as he came down the stairs the following morning.
As a rule, Cody, his brothers and sister took turns making breakfast for the others, although between oversleeping and running late, that breakfast more often than not consisted of something simple and basic, like orange juice and dry cereal.
This morning, if he recalled correctly, it was Connor’s turn to prepare breakfast. Connor, he knew, favored oatmeal, something the rest of them preferred to pass on.
“Guess you decided to go all out this morning, Connor,” Cody commented as he walked into the kitchen.
He stopped dead when he saw that Conner was sitting at the table instead of standing at the stove, preparing four breakfasts. Layla was in her car seat on the table right in front of him, occupying all of his attention.
“Not me,” Connor replied, nodding his head at their houseguest.
Devon was standing in front of the stove, her hair clipped back, and it was her, not Connor, who was busy preparing breakfast for the family. She looked like a vision, Cody couldn’t help thinking.
“What’s going on?” Cody asked his older brother.
“Hey, don’t look at me,” Connor protested. He was gently rocking the baby’s car seat. “When I came in, Devon was already busy getting breakfast ready. Wait until you try her coffee,” he told his brother. It was obvious that the brew had gotten his vote.
“And you let her?” Cody questioned. That wasn’t like Connor. His brother normally liked being in control of every situation.
Connor exchanged glances with Devon before answering his brother, “Hey, I learned a long time ago not to get in between a woman and her spatula.”
Trying not to look annoyed, Cody crossed over to Devon. “You are supposed to be in bed,” he told her sternly.
Devon gave him a wide smile as she kept an eye on two frying pans at the same time. “I’m feeling much better now.”
Frustrated, Cody looked at the woman. He couldn’t order her around, but he really wished she’d listen to reason.
He doubted if she understood how close she had come to dying.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Cody demanded helplessly.
She spared him another quick glance. “Paying you back in some small way,” she told him. “Really, I’m much better,” she said, and then, because he didn’t look convinced, she added another emphatic “really.”
Cody blew out a breath. Talk about being stubborn. “You know, there’s no need for you to do this,” he insisted.
“Yes, there is,” she countered. “I told you yesterday, I am not a charity case.”
“Nobody here thinks of you as a charity case,” Cody assured her. “Tell her, Connor,” he said, enlisting his older brother’s help.
“Nobody here thinks of you as a charity case,” Connor parroted.
“Then don’t make me feel like one.” Devon’s words were directed at Cody.
After sliding what amounted to a giant omelet onto a plate, Devon cut it into four sections and a sliver. She distributed them onto five plates and added several strips of bacon from the other frying pan to each one.
“Let me do this,” she requested as she placed a plate before him and then one in front of Connor. “I promise I won’t poison you.”
Cody had to admit that the omelet not only looked tempting, but smelled it, as well. He gave up trying to resist.
“I’m not worried about that. If we can survive Connor’s cooking, we can survive anything you come up with,” he told her. “And if this tastes even half as good as it smells, you will have turned us all into true believers.”
“Hey, what is that great smell?” Cole asked, coming into the kitchen. “Did Connor suddenly get some cooking lessons?”
Connor looked up from his plate. “What’s wrong with my cooking?” he asked.
Devon had met Connor only fleetingly yesterday when Cody had brought her to the house. She didn’t want the man to think she was trying to upstage him. After all, Connor was head of the household, even though, according to Cody, the house actually belonged to all four of them and they shared equally in all the duties that were involved in running it.
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