And Baby Makes Five (21 page)

“Loser, down, boy!” she exclaimed as Cort gave the truck gas. “Don’t you pet this dog?” she squealed, trying to get a handle on the excited pooch.

Cort only grunted and kept on driving. Well, she wasn’t thrilled to see him, either. Except she did have to ask him the guardian question.

He brought the truck to a halt beside the barn and wasted no time getting out. Lilly followed, allowing Loser to hop to the ground after her. When she rounded the end of the truck Cort was untying Samantha from the tailgate.

Lilly heard Joshua cry from the baby monitor. Time to get his bottle. “I’ll be right back and you can tell me what happened.”

Another grunt. Jogging to the house, Lilly grabbed a bottle from the fridge, placed it in the microwave, then dashed down the hall to get her baby.

When she exited the house a few minutes later with Joshua in her arms, happily smacking away on his bottle, she could hear Cort clanging around in the barn.

“What is that man doing?”

He was in fact busy fixing the wooden gate that used to work but had broken years ago. She hadn’t needed the barn to be closed off and yes, if the gate worked, then Samantha would be limited to exiting into the pasture versus the yard.

But Samantha
liked
being in the yard.

“I should have fixed this weeks ago,” he mumbled.

He was muttering again. Lilly hid a smile. He was so adorably cute when frustrated. An instant replay flashed through her memory of the first night in his barn when he’d been so mad at having lassoed a pregnant woman. That night standing in her cold barn, she’d wished for a man, any man. But God had sent her Cort. Not just any man, but the right man for her.

His blue eyes were screaming exasperation, flashing brilliantly in the clear February sunlight. She loved this man.

Yep, no mistaking it. She loved him.

“Do you have a hammer?”

She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and tell him how much he meant to her. She wanted to scare him to death if that was what it took to make him realize he was what she wanted.

“In fact, I do,” she said instead as a giggle bubbled out of her. “And hello to you, too.”

He looked up from the rusted hinge he was trying to pry loose from the gate and had the decency to look embarrassed by his rude behavior.

“Hello,” he said politely, his gaze darting to Joshua. “He’s growing.”

“Babies do have a tendency to do that. Quickly.”

He frowned, his eyes lingering on her baby before rising to her. Lilly’s pulse picked up.

“Yeah, they grow up fast. So I’m told.”

Lilly’s heart swelled with sympathy for him. He so wanted children. She knew he loved Joshua, but…
please, Father, let him love me, too.
“Follow me, and I’ll show you where the hammer is. Sorry I haven’t fixed the fence. What did she do this time?” She could barely keep her voice steady.

“Instead of breaking and entering, she entered and broke my kitchen.”

“Oh, no!” Lilly stopped and turned toward him. “I’m really sorry. I’ll come help clean everything up and then I’ll replace anything she broke.”

“It’s no big deal.”

Lilly started toward the tack room, sidestepping when Loser scrambled past her.
What in the world!
Looking over her shoulder, she saw the dog skid to a stop beside Samantha, who was leaning against the door watching everything with big wide eyes. Her long ears twitched and her fuzzy tail swished in a rhythmic motion that reminded Lilly of a cat about to pounce on an unsuspecting mouse.

The little stinker was not in the least repentant about her activities. Well, that was about to change, because Cort was fixing the gate and Bob was going to weld her another gate at the entrance to her drive. That should curb Samantha’s wanderings.

The small tack room was dark as Lilly stepped into it. “The light switch is that string there,” she said, lifting her chin upward, indicating where Cort should reach up and pull.

He followed her into the cramped space and grabbed the string just as Lilly heard a familiar sound.

The creaking of the tack-room door as it slammed, shutting them inside.

“What!” Cort spun around as the mellow light illuminated the four walls and the sturdy wooden door.

Lilly didn’t think much of it at first. The wind had blown it shut. But there was no wind.

Cort immediately twisted the handle and pushed, but it didn’t budge. He put his broad shoulder to the door and put all his strength into it. Still the door held fast.

“Has this happened before?”

“No.”

From beyond the door they could hear Loser barking, and then from just outside the door they heard the very familiar
Eee-haw
of Samantha.

“Samantha!”

T
hey coaxed, they begged, but nothing would budge the portly scalawag from her post in front of the door.

After Cort had pushed until there was no pushing left in him, Lilly handed Joshua over and peeked out the crack between the door and the wall. If she maneuvered herself just so, she could look over and see Samantha quietly lounging against the door munching on a piece of straw. Loser had settled down beside her with his chin resting on his crossed front paws.

“I’m telling you, it’s as if they’re at a sit-in, like protests people organize. You know, where the people sit down and won’t budge until their requirements are met, and they get what they want.” Lilly turned toward Cort, very aware of his nearness. Her heart clunked against her stomach at the picture he made as he ignored her every word. He was totally, beautifully lost in making faces at a contented Joshua.

So much for being desperate to escape, as he’d first acted.

Why, she’d have sworn he was terrified at the thought of being trapped in a small space with her.

After the first shock of their situation she was actually happy at the prospect.

Really, what could be better than being trapped with the two people she loved most in the world? Nothing. It was an answer to prayer—

Oh, my goodness!

She swallowed the yelp of happiness that almost escaped her and thanked the good Lord for this odd turn of events.

Cort’s hat was pushed back from his forehead and his black hair peeked out from beneath it in a messy fringe. He really needed a haircut, but what else was new? He’d needed a haircut for a month and she’d grown used to the longer length. She’d grown used to everything about him. The way he smiled at her when he first saw her and the way he stuck his fingertips into the front pockets of his jeans. The way he strode across a room or an expanse as if he were on a mission. The way he laughed…oh, the way he laughed. It never ceased to bless her heart to hear the sound of his deep gravelly chuckle.

“I guess we just sit and wait,” she said, ramming a hand through her hair. “Samantha has to move sometime. And if she doesn’t, Bob is supposed to be here any moment.”

Cort placed Joshua against his chest, letting the baby’s head rest on his shoulder. He’d become so comfortable with Joshua.

“Bob? Are you dating him?” Cort glanced up from Joshua inquisitively.

“No. Bob’s my friend. He’s coming to build a fence down at the road.”

“The two of you seemed to be close at the reception. I thought maybe—”

“We’re friends, Cort,” Lilly said firmly, then pushed away from the door and walked toward him. Her pulse pounded in her ears. Maybe the small space was the reason she thought she’d heard a hint of jealousy in his voice. She stopped just a step away from him.

“I was going to come and ask you again…I mean, we never did completely get the matter of your being Joshua’s guardian settled.”

“I told you I would. But nothing’s going to happen to you.”

“We don’t know that. God doesn’t promise us tomorrow. And as a good mother I have to look out for Joshua even in the event that I should be taken home to be with God.”

“Why do you want me? Just because I helped deliver Joshua doesn’t mean I’d be the best one to raise him.”

“Yes, you helped deliver him and that gives you a bond with him. And with me. But I know you would raise him to love the Lord and to put God first. To always strive to walk with God. Those are the most important reasons.” Lilly’s voice broke. She willed away the tears stinging the back of her eyes. She wanted to be strong. She didn’t want Cort’s pity.

“How do you know that I would do that?” The question was just a hoarse whisper. His blue eyes were bright with bridled emotions. Emotions, Lilly knew, he’d tried to bury. Hopes he’d tried to tame.

She couldn’t help herself—she touched his arm. The one wrapped around her sweet baby. So secure. So reassuring.

“Cort, you had something terrible happen to you. You had your dreams stripped away because of something completely out of your control.” She sniffed. “But you didn’t turn away from God. You held on to Him. Even in your pain.”

“But I was angry.”

“Anger is a normal reaction. God expects and understands anger. I read yesterday the passage where it says be angry and sin not. I respect so much that you came to a quiet place to be still and to know what God had in store for you. Even in your anger you did what you needed to do to be in God’s will.”

Please give me the right words, Lord.

A tear slipped down her cheek. “He led you to me.”

“Lilly, I can’t—”

She placed three fingers on his lips. She had to say this. “The other reasons I want you to be Joshua’s guardian are because you love him already and because you need him as much as he is going to need you. I’m—I’m not asking you to love me. I understand, in a weird way, that…” Her heart was breaking. Maybe she was reading God’s will wrong. Maybe Cort was here only to be by Joshua’s side. Maybe she was meant to be alone. Maybe the Tipps women had a destiny that was always going to stay the same. She hugged herself and stepped away from Cort.

Cort’s heart was tearing apart. The look of hope and love in Lilly’s expression wrapped around him, tearing at his resolve.

“Lilly, I can’t give you more children.” Didn’t she understand that? “In the terms of the grannies, I’m worthless.”

Lilly’s eyes flashed. “My grannies, except for Granny Bunches, let bitterness color their world. Over time bitterness can warp people’s thoughts, so much so that they can’t see straight. So that they choose their own fate. I see that very clearly now. I don’t want my life ruled by what the grannies told me. I want God’s truths to color my world. In His terms you are priceless. And you are priceless…to me.”

Cort took a step toward Lilly. He loved her. He’d been kidding himself. He couldn’t let Lilly go without a fight. She was more precious to him than jewels. And Joshua…looking into Joshua’s innocent face, Cort knew he wanted to be this child’s daddy. He wanted to be the one to teach Joshua to tie his shoes. He wanted to hold Joshua’s hand when they walked down to the pond to catch his first fish. He wanted to teach Joshua to ride a horse and he wanted Joshua to call him Dad. He wanted to be more than his guardian…. Lilly said he was priceless to God and to her. Could God have given him such a gift?

Looking into Lilly’s beautiful face, knowing how special her spirit was, he felt hope flare inside him. He wanted to be the one who came home to Lilly at night. He wanted to love her for all of his days.

His pulse was tap-dancing against his temple. “I can’t give you more children.” He had to warn her again. She deserved so much more.

“I only want the children God intends me to have.” Lilly took a step toward him. Her eyes were bright and steady. “I love you, Cort. Could you love me?”

The break in her voice and the sudden questions in her eyes broke all his defenses. Did she think she was unlovable?

No hesitations now—Cort saw why God had brought him here. “I love you, Lilly. I’ve loved you from the beginning.” He wrapped his free arm around her and pulled her close. She came willingly, and his world was right. As he held her and Joshua, his heart surged with emotion. “Lilly, I can’t give you more children, but I promise you that I’ll love you and Joshua with all my heart for as long as God will let me. And if you want to adopt more children, then we will.”

Tears glistened in Lilly’s eyes as Cort bent and touched his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he knew he was home. He was with the woman God had intended for him all along. He was blessed.

Thank You, God.

God had given him back his dream.

Lilly surrounded by children surfaced in his mind.

Trust me.

And he did. They were kissing when the tack-room door squeaked open. Cort and Lilly rested their foreheads together and turned to see Samantha with her big lips wrapped around the door handle like a kid with a lollipop stuck in its mouth. Loser sat on his haunches, his tail wiggling back and forth, his eyes expectant.

Cort kissed Lilly’s ear. “I think that donkey had this planned all along.”

Lilly touched Cort’s face, for the first time allowing the sensation to fill her fully. “I think you might be right.”

“Lilly, will you marry me?”

She kissed Joshua’s cheek, then kissed Cort soundly on the lips. “I thought you’d never ask. Yes. Yes. And yes.”

Samantha pawed the earth, drawing their attention as she lifted her chin, rolled back her lips, exposed her big pearly whites and let an earsplitting
Eee-haw
explode.

Loser yelped his agreement, nipped at Samantha’s knee, then took off running with Samantha trotting after him.

Cort and Lilly burst into laughter.

“You do know we have to give Loser a new name?” Lilly said, gazing up into Cort’s eyes.

Cort let her love wash over him, renewing him. “Oh, yeah. There are no losers around here anymore.”

And then he kissed her.