Page 48 of A Baby for the Billionaire Cowboy

“Um. I thought Daisy might be here with you. I’ll check the office.” He turned.

“She took Avery to the doctor,” Mama said.

Xander whipped around.

“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just the usual baby wellness visit.”

His shoulders dropped. “Okay. Good. I’ll see her when she gets back then.”

“She might be a little longer than usual today.” Rhonda glanced at her watch. “I’d better get over there.”

Xander wasn’t surprised that Daisy’s aunt would accompany her to the doctor’s office, but if Daisy and Avery were at the doctor’s office now, why was Rhonda here? Maybe they were going to lunch or something after.

“Why?” he asked. “I mean, why might she be longer?” His face heated under Rhonda’s stern look. “Not that it’s any of my business, but I’d like to talk to her as soon as possible.”

“You might have to wait a while.” Rhonda tapped the side of her nose. “It’s a big day for my girl. Before long, she’ll be having an emotional reunion.”

Xander grabbed the edge of the archway for support. “Not William?”

Rhonda snorted. “Certainly not! She’s better off without him. But Daisy’s mother wants to reconcile and see the baby. I knew my idiot sister would come to her senses eventually. She won’t want to miss out on her grandson, even if she disapproves of Daisy being unmarried.”

“Daisy didn’t say anything about seeing her mama,” Mama said.

“She doesn’t know.” Rhonda grinned. “Daisy won’t take her mother’s calls, so Beverly asked me to set this up. I’ll head to town and meet Bev, and we’ll grab Daisy when she’s done at the doctor. I figured a neutral place like the café would be better than bringing Beverly here.”

Xander’s head pounded. He didn’t like to think of Daisy being surprised like that. If she chose not to see her mother, Rhonda shouldn’t force it.

Mama frowned. “I know you mean well, but Daisy’s had a lot on her mind lately. I’m not sure she’ll appreciate the surprise.”

Rhonda stood. “I’ll be there to mediate. If Beverly doesn’t apologize for trying to force Daisy to marry William, I’ll whisk Daisy away. Don’t worry. I have her best interests at heart.” She headed for the door.

When the door closed behind Rhonda, Xander shifted his gaze to Mama. She looked as troubled as he felt.

“I hope Rhonda knows what she’s doing,” Mama said.

“I don’t like it.” Xander tried to sort through his anxiety. Rhonda made him nervous, but she cared deeply for Daisy and Avery. Was he merely reacting due to his own feelings about Rhonda? And if Daisy’s mother was ready to apologize and accept Daisy’s choices, maybe a reunion would make her happy. This could be a good thing.

As long as Daisy didn’t decide to move back home.

But that wasn’t fair. He should support whatever choices made her happy. He couldn’t let his own fear of losing her get in the way. Daisy had said they could work out the problem of her being his employee. They could work out the distance too, if they had to. Xander didn’t want to leave the ranch, but he’d do it for Daisy.

But behind all of those thoughts, alarm bells were still going off. Maybe it was simply because so much had happened in the last twenty-four hours. First William had showed up and tried to drag Daisy away...

Daisy’s mother thought Daisy should have married William. She might still think so.

“I don’t like the timing of this. Not after yesterday.” Xander paced. “I’m going to town. If everything seems to be going well, I won’t interfere. But I’ll be there if Daisy needs me.”

Mama nodded and stood. “I’ll go with you.”

They hurried out. Xander wanted Daisy to need him, or at least desire him. But he didn’t want her to need him because she was in trouble.

Chapter Twenty

Daisy left thedoctor’s office smiling. Avery was in good health. Despite the chaos of Daisy’s life, Avery was perfect. Well, perfectly normal, in the doctor’s words, but she’d interpret that how she wanted. A tiny bit of jaundice, but that should clear up on its own, and if it didn’t, they’d use a special lamp. Avery had cooed and gurgled at the doctor, acting like an angel. Now he was dozing in his stroller, and it was hard to imagine this little sweetie waking her up in the middle of the night with his cries and latching on to her nipples so hard she sometimes yelped at the pain.

Now to get him back to the ranch before his next feeding. Would Xander be waiting for her? She understood that he needed time to process things. That was fine. But she’d been glad she had a reason to leave, so she wasn’t pacing anxiously, waiting for his response.

What would she do if Ava was wrong, and Xander wasn’t interested in Daisy romantically, and he was waiting to tell her that the kiss truly was a mistake, and he was only being polite by not pushing her away once she started it...

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