Arden settled the baby carefully into her arms. Charlie adjusted automatically, cradling the small weight against her chest.
He was so small. He had Frankie’s dark hair peeking out from under his beanie and Waylon’s nose. Charlie couldn’t help herself—she nuzzled his forehead.
“He smells incredible.”
“Right?” Frankie smiled from the armchair. She looked like she might cry, but in a good way.
“New person smell, just like new car smell,” Wren said. Both Charlie and Frankie laughed.
Charlie looked down at the baby. He blinked up at her with dark, unfocused eyes, completely unbothered. “Hello there, Danny.”
She felt something shift in her chest, quiet and enormous, like a door opening into a room she hadn't known was closed off.
She felt watched and looked up. Ben was mid-sentence, telling Lachlan, something about pre-Norman textile traditions, but his gaze was on her.
He went completely still.
Then he smiled—warm and wondering and completely unguarded.
Charlie felt her eyes go misty as she smiled back.
Wren leaned over and murmured, “That man is absolutely gone over you.”
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “I know.”
Charlie looked back down at Danny. “The feeling’s mutual.”
“Good!” Wren said. “Because we’re planning on keeping you.”
Charlie’s head shot up. “Keeping me?”
“Isn’t she already ours?” Frankie asked. “I mean, she is in the Guy Name Group. I think Steve would fight us if we didn’t keep her.”
“Who am I fighting?” Stephanie shouted from across the room.
“Nobody, Steve,” Frankie shouted back. “I’m just telling Charlie—I mean, Charles—that she’s one of the gals.”
“Goes without saying,” Stephanie shot back.
Charlie laughed as she handed Danny back to Frankie.
“What’s so funny?” Wren asked.
Charlie sat back. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been called one of the guys.” Charlie's smile softened. “And I can't think of a single time I've been one of the gals.” She grinned at Wren. “I like it. A lot.”
She was still smiling when she slipped out the front door onto the porch, needing just a moment of fresh air. Through the screen door, she could still hear Lachlan and Ben going at it, Gina's laughter threading through the debate. The mountains were behind the ranch, but she could still sense their presence the way she always could in Colorado.
She heard the door open behind her and turned. Arden stepped out, two glasses of wine in hand, and offered one without a word.
"Thank you." Charlie took it and turned back to the front garden.
They leaned against the porch railing together, not needing to fill the quiet. That was the thing about Arden—she never pushed. She just made space and waited to see what came into it. Charlie guessed that was what made her so good with her young clients on the ranch.
"Can I talk to you about something?" Charlie said.
"Of course." Arden gave her a gentle smile that warmed her silver-grey eyes.
"When I was holding Danny tonight, I thought about Joey." The name felt strange in her mouth, like a word in a language she used to speak fluently. "My youngest brother. After my mum left us, I raised him. Until he turned mean on me, just like our older brothers. I left home when I turned eighteen and didn't look back." She paused. "He left a voicemail for me at Watchdog a few weeks ago. Said he wanted to talk. I thought it was because our father put him up to it—wanted him to talk me into coming back and taking care of him." She exhaled slowly. "Turns out that's not the case. I think Joey just wants to reconnect. I haven't called him back."
