Page 27 of Her Cowboy Santa
“You know she could come after you. Something tells me a judge won’t look favorably on a man who walked out on his baby.” From the five minutes in his presence, it’s obvious that there are only two things that Corey cares about—money and his next game.
“I never wanted it!”
He doesn’t even have the decency to call Danny by name, let alone to refer to him as a person. Rage floods through my veins, and I raise my fist, prepared to strike him.
He stumbles out of my reach. He throws up his hands, carefully guarding his bruised face. “Wait, wait, we can talk. Maybe I have a boat or something.”
He’s probably after the rings because he’s gathering every asset he can think of and preparing to sell them all. I doubt it will cover his debts. Guys like him always get in too deep.
I snarl, “She doesn’t need a damn dime from you. But when you get back to whatever pit you crawled out of, you’re going to call a lawyer and have the paperwork started to terminate your parental rights. The boy is mine. I claim the right to be his father.”
“You want him?” Surprise crosses his features, as if he couldn’t imagine someone wanting the bundle of joy who loves nothing more than waving at the toaster and tugging on Rudy’s ears, who gives me the sweetest smiles when I reach for him, and wraps his perfect fingers around my thumb when I’m giving him a bottle.
“How could I not? He’s perfect.” I’m already looking forward to all the things we’ll do together as he grows. I’ll teach him to build block towers and count to ten. I’ll show him how to fix tractors and talk softly to the heifers and feed the chickens. He’ll grow up with dirt under his nails and a Stetson on his head, just like his old man.
“OK, OK, we can do that,” Corey agrees and ducks into his car. He reverses so fast that he nearly spins out on the wet, icy patch.
When I can no longer see his car, I go back into the main house. I’m not sure what I expected to find when I came back in, but it definitely wasn’t Callie drying her tears. Her nose is red, and her eyes are still filled with tears.
I grab a paper towel and run it under warm water. Then I drop to my knees on the kitchen floor next to her chair. I use the paper towel to gently clean her face. “What’s wrong?”
She sniffs. “I worry about him and his future. I worry so much. What if he never learns to speak?”
I set the paper towel down on the table and give her hand a gentle squeeze. “Then I will be his voice.”
“What if he never learns to walk?”
“Then I will be his legs and feet.”
Her lower lip trembles. “What if he develops heart problems?”
“Then they can take the beating heart from my chest and give it to him. I don’t know what his future will hold. I don’t know what battles he might face, but I know this—he’ll never fight them alone. He has me in his corner.”
“What are we going to tell him?” She glances toward the highchair where Danny still is.
He’s taken to knocking things onto the floor and squealing in delight every time Rudy picks them up and puts them back on his tray. Rudy’s tail wags with every dropped item, like they’re both having the time of their lives, playing with these plastic utensils. They’re both completely oblivious to the morning’s conflict and turmoil, something I’m grateful for.
“What are we going to tell him?” I echo the question, not sure I understand this one.
“When he asks about his father,” her voice breaks on the last word.
“We tell him the truth. The only truth that matters. I am his father, and I love him.”
She gasps at my confession.
“Corey agreed to terminate his parental rights. I did some research last night. It will take time to go through the court system, but once it does, I can legally adopt Danny as my own.”
“You would do that for my boy?”
I nod and reach into my pocket, pulling out the ring. “I know I’m doing this backwards. I love Danny and want to be his father. I love you and want to be your husband. I want the three?—”
Rudy barks.
I smile at his gentle correction. “Four of us to be a family forever. Would you marry me, Callie? Say you’ll be mine. Say you’ll keep me forever, just like I want to keep you forever.”
She gasps and stares at the ring like she can’t believe this moment is real. “You want us?”
“So much. I’ve waited so long for a family. I thought—” I pause before I finally admit the fears I never voiced out loud. “I thought maybe I didn’t deserve one, and that’s why I never found you. But now, I see it. I was getting sent the best family because you and Danny are perfect. You’re more than I ever dared hope for.”
