She guffawed.“Am not.”
He turned away from the stove and faced her, serious now.“But I want you to be.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Carefully, Sarah heldnewborn Cannon in her arms.She exclaimed over his soft skin, his delicious baby scent.“Oh, Becca,” she said to her sister-in-law.“He’s so adorable.So—so incredibly sweet.”
After breakfast, she and Ben had left his condo and driven directly to Rio and Becca’s home.Now holding the baby, she grinned like an idiot, but it didn’t matter.She was an aunt now, and she was going to be the very best aunt on the entire planet.
“They’re good babies,” Becca said, gently rocking her twin son, Brock.Her hair, sleek and dark, framed her pretty face.“Unfortunately, I’m not making enough milk for them both.So we have to trade off every feeding.One gets me, and the other gets a bottle from Rio.The next feeding, we switch them.”
“That would be tiring,” Sarah said.“I want to help you,” she whispered, leaning in, “buttheywon’t let me.”She cut her eyes to Rio and Ben exchanging man talk in the kitchen, where Rio had brewed a pot of morning coffee and they drank leaning against the counter.
Becca sighed.“Rio told me you offered.And thank you.But they know what they’re doing, keeping you close to Ben.And they’ll catch that guy threatening you, don’t worry.In the meantime, just follow Ben’s orders, okay?We want you safe so these little boys can grow up loving their auntie.”
“I want to visit a lot,” Sarah said, “and please come up to the ranch often.We’ll take them horseback riding and for rides on the John Deere.Boys love that.”
Becca laughed.“Aren’t we getting a little ahead of ourselves?They’ll be infants for a while, you know.”She loosened her top.I need to nurse Brock now.”Placing a receiving blanket over Brock’s head, she kept her modesty preserved.
In the kitchen, Sarah heard a bottle warming timer ding, and Rio came in to casually hand her a bottle and then go back to the kitchen.
Thrilled she would get to feed the baby, she tested the temperature of the formula, found it acceptable, and gently teased the nipple past Cannon’s lips.“Oh!Look at his little rosebud mouth.”
Holding the helpless child, giving him sustenance so he could grow strong and healthy, Sarah felt an inner peace, a rightness in the world which she hadn’t experienced in a long time.A new baby represented the future in all its bright wonder and possibility.Her eyes grew misty and she cuddled him.
A deep yearning grew in her belly.One day, would she be able to hold a child of her own?Would she ever be so lucky to become a parent?
She looked up and found Ben in the doorway, his attention focused on her.
Rio was behind him, on the other side of the kitchen, rinsing the coffee mugs.
“You look good holding a baby,” Ben said.His voice was deep, slow, and intense.In the depths of his hazel eyes, living green flames caught fire, came to life.
Sarah swore she could feel their warmth on her skin.She met his gaze with a direct one of her own.
He moved to sit close beside her on the sofa.His thigh touched hers, and his chest pressed into her arm.Leaning in, he studied the infant’s face, and surprising her, he smiled.
