Lone Star Baby. Cathy Thacker Gillen

aware he was enjoying spending time with her more than he had enjoyed anything in a long time. “For what? Kissing me back?”

      Violet shook her head as if that would get her back on track and locked eyes with him. “No. For doing whatever it was I did to lead you on.”

       Ah. So this is the way she’s going to play it.

      She straightened, her face still flushed with desire, and scooted her hips to the foot of the bed.

      “You didn’t lead me on,” he said, testing her, too.

      She glanced back at him, her tousled hair enticingly spilling over her shoulders.

      Resisting the urge to run his hands through the silky strands, he concentrated on the just-kissed softness of her lips before returning his attention to her eyes. “You’ve always made it clear you’re still in love with Sterling.”

      There was a long, thoughtful pause that seemed to indicate he had guessed wrong about that.

      Finally, she tilted her head. “Then you do understand.”

      He had the distinct impression they were talking about two different things.

      “Frankly, I’m envious.” Gavin was prodding, trying to figure out what exactly was holding her back if not her love for her late fiancé. “He was a lucky guy.”

      Violet slid off the edge of the bed. “Until he died when he was twenty-five.”

      Gavin swore silently. He had a habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time in these kinds of situations. He stood, too. “You know what I mean.”

      “I just don’t like it when people tell me how great we had it. Or how lucky we were to have found each other. Because nothing about it feels lucky, Gavin.” She paused, her lower lip quivering.

      “I’m sorry,” he said, quietly pulling her into his arms and giving her the hug she seemed to need.

      For an instant she sank into him. When she pulled back, there were tears shimmering in her eyes. “Forget all the books and movies, Gavin,” she whispered. “There’s nothing romantic about having a terminal illness. For the patient, or his or her loved ones.” She swallowed, pressing a palm to her forehead. “It just...”

      “Sucks. I know. And I am sorry. For wanting to understand and not being able to because I haven’t walked a mile in your shoes.”

      Again their eyes met. This time she accepted his acknowledgment of her pain.

      After a moment her expression changed and she took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Moving on...” She brushed past him, to the narrow aisle he had created. “I still forgot to get pens!” This time when she reached down between the mattress and nightstand, there was just enough room. She bounded back up, plastic box filled with writing utensils clasped in hand. “Now, on to what we should be doing. Filling out those questionnaires...”

      * * *

      “WHY NOT ADMIT you made a mistake with this whole glamping thing and move in with me temporarily,” Violet’s oldest sister, Poppy, said the next day when she arrived to assess Violet’s storage needs. Fiercely independent, and the only single-birthed daughter of Jackson and Lacey McCabe—who also boasted a set of twins and triplet daughters—Poppy was an interior designer, known for her practicality, efficiency and style.

      “I just need a neat and inexpensive way to organize my clothes so I’m not tripping over them or rooting through boxes and suitcases for the next few months.”

      And, Violet thought, still getting hot and bothered whenever she thought about it, she especially didn’t need to be rolling around on her bed kissing Gavin Monroe! Not that she was obsessing over their hot, sexy clinch or anything.

      Poppy walked around the large space, measuring, thinking, making notes. She swung back around. “I have plenty of room in my bungalow, you know.”

      Violet looked at the gray clouds on the horizon. “Thanks, sis, but I’d rather be here.”

      Poppy frowned. “Aren’t you lonely?”

      She sure hadn’t been last night. Gavin had stayed another hour and a half, as they’d taken their time with the questionnaires, debating each fine point, wondering what would be best for their tiny charge.

      But at least he hadn’t tried to kiss her again when he left—

      The sound of a big tractor-trailer roaring up the lane jerked Violet from her reverie.

      She and Poppy moved to the open screen door. They looked out to see the arrival of the big steel Dumpster for the construction debris, and another six pickup trucks carrying the workers.

      “I mean, it’s so quiet out here in off-hours. And it looks like it’s going to be really noisy during work hours.”

      “I can handle that.” Violet pointed to her headphones. “As for the rest of the time, I like my solitude.”

      Her sister’s gaze narrowed. “Too much sometimes?”

      Everyone had thought that, after Sterling died. What they hadn’t understood was how much the alone time had helped Violet to process her loss and work through not only her grief but the many mistakes she had made, the countless ways she had let Sterling down.

      Now, finally, she was ready to move on.

      She just wasn’t sure to where or to what.

      All she knew for sure was that she felt stuck. And the only way to get out of her rut was to seek change. Big, life-altering change. In the meantime, though...

      “I have the transformation of McCabe House to keep me occupied.” She glanced at her watch. “And I have to get to the hospital, too.”

      “To check on the baby you and Gavin are temporary guardians for?”

      Violet nodded, aware that with the exception of the four phone calls she’d made to the nurses’ station in the Special Care Nursery, she had sort of been delaying going back there in person. For reasons she didn’t really understand.

      “I don’t suppose there’s any chance the baby could go to a couple who isn’t married?”

      Violet knew that Poppy and her best friend, the currently deployed Lieutenant Trace Caulder, were trying to adopt—without getting married.

      “The mother’s wishes were clear. She wanted her baby to have a mother and a father who are in a committed relationship, if possible.” She continued walking around with her older sister, showing her the space. “So Gavin and I talked it over and decided it would be best if Ava went to a married couple with an established family unit.”

      Poppy stopped to measure a length of windowless wall. “Which would put me and Trace out of the running, since the good lieutenant isn’t due back in the United States for a visit for another ten months or so.” She sighed wistfully.

      Violet held one end of the tape measure for her. “Ava needs new parents as soon as possible. Luckily, Mitzy is expediting the process. So it all should happen fairly quickly.”

      “It’s a good thing that, unlike me, you don’t fall completely in love with every infant you see.”

      Violet bit her lip. Truth was, the pang of longing she’d felt deep inside when she’d gotten her first glimpse of little Ava had caught her completely off guard. And she hadn’t even held her in her arms yet!

      But, for obvious reasons, she wasn’t about to admit that to her sister.

      Poppy jotted down a final set of numbers. She looked back up, a fleeting sadness in her eyes as the two of them strolled toward the door. “Anyway, back to your current storage problem... I’ll pull a solution together for you and then let you know what we’re going to need.”

      “Thanks, Poppy.” Violet gave her big sister a hug and watched as she drove off. She signed off