"Uh, since you're raising my niece alone, does that mean I get to help you pick out a name for her?"
A pang of sadness stabbed her heart again. Luke wouldn't even get the tiny joy of naming his own daughter. "I'll take any and all suggestions. Honestly, I haven't even thought about it yet, so I'm not partial to any particular name."
He winked at her. "How about Horatio?"
Sarah just stared at him. "How is that a name for a little girl?"
"Because she's yours. We can call her Horror for short and be accurate."
She shoved him in jest. "Get out of my house. Take those rolls to Mom before they get hard."
He laughed on his way out the door. "My name stands. Nothing you pick will be more fitting."
She rubbed her belly after he left. "Don't you worry, sweetheart. Mommy isn't going to let Uncle Drake name you Horatio, although I'm pretty sure the nickname is already going to stick." She smiled as she felt the baby kick. "And he's not wrong. You're going to give me a run for my money."
At dinner time, she had composed herself and lost all the red, blotchy spots on her face from crying. A young woman with deep blue eyes and long dark hair sat at the dining room table with Colton and Ellie, and Drake came in carrying a pitcher of lemonade. Sarah's other brothers, Tyson and Elliott came in right behind her.
"Hey, Sarah," Drake said as he poured the lemonade into glasses. "This is Wren Kolbeck. She'll be a guest here for the next couple weeks, and from what I heard while she was talking to Ma, she loves to bake."
Sarah's ears perked up. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sarah." She extended her hand.
Wren took it timidly. "Same." Her voice was quiet and meek.
Oh, Lord. I'm going to have to break her of that habit. Find your spine, girl."What do you like you to bake?" she asked out loud.
"Anything. I'm pretty good with sweets, like cakes and pies." She gave a sad smile. "I haven't really had much of a chance to bake as much as I'd like, so I told your mother that if it's okay, I'd like to practice in my cabin and bring the finished products over here."
Vinia came in carrying a tray of carved ham. "I told her that was just fine. We may not have many other guests right now, but we have plenty of hungry mouths with you and your brothers around."
"If you want to come over to my cabin where I have a little bakery set up, you're more than welcome," Sarah offered. "I could actually use the help." She patted her belly. "But only if you want to, of course. I'm not trying to make you work on your vacation."
Wren thanked her. "It's not exactly a vacation. More like a mental health break."
"I understand that," Sarah assured her. She already liked the woman just in the few minutes they'd been together.
All through dinner, Wren chatted politely with everyone, but Sarah noticed that she kept any personal details out of the conversation. She was vague about where she lived or what she did for a living. They could only assume that she didn't have a spouse or significant other, but she was quick to say that she didn't have any children. Wren stared at Sarah's belly with a longing that was clearly evident, but she didn't say anything.
"Are you and the baby's father excited that you only have a couple months left?"
Wren's question blindsided Sarah, and she instantly teared up at the mention of Luke. "We're... we're not..." Sarah tried to answer.
Drake saved her. "They're not together, but Sarah is going to be the best single mom ever."
Sarah was shocked when Colton spoke up. "Except she won't really be single as in alone. The little one will have more aunts and uncles than she knows what to do with."
"And a grandma will always be around," Vinia added.
The crack in Sarah's heart healed just a bit at her family's support. Even though she knew they were disappointed that she wouldn't reveal Luke, they still had her back.
"I'm so sorry," Wren hurriedly replied. "That was much too personal of me to ask."
"You're fine," Sarah reassured her. "It was a normal question. I just have a somewhat unique situation."
There was something about Wren that Sarah couldn't put her finger on. It didn't really bother her because she didn't sense a red flag, but usually when she got that niggle in the back of her mind, she needed to pay attention to find out what she was missing.
"Is there a horse here that I can use?"
Sarah smiled at Wren's obvious change of subjects. Colton went on to explain all of the amenities at the ranch that were available to guests, and Tyson named off all of the horses she had to choose from.
