“You want me to come to Texas with you because…?”
He dragged his hand down his face. “Serena had an emergency appendectomy today.”
“Serena is who?”
He sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled in a rush. “My nanny.”
Hannah took both a physical and a mental step backward. “Your nanny.”
“Yeah.”
“You haven’t mentioned children.”
“I know.”
Wow. Boone had talked about the wife he’d lost. He’d spoken of relatives galore and introduced her to dozens of them. He’d talked to her about a new puppy he was getting, but he’d never mentioned a child? What kind of man was he?
“Actually, I did mention him, but I led you to believe he was a dog. Remember? Up at Lover’s Leap, I talked to you about needing to pick out a name for my new pup? I was really trying to come up with a name for the baby I’m going to adopt. I decided on Trace. Trace Parker McBride. Parker for my dad. Trace is an old family name. You helped me figure it out.”
“You are adopting a baby.” Hannah walked into the kitchen and popped a pod into the coffeemaker as she attempted to process the information he’d just shared.
“Well, that’s the plan. I have history here if you recall, so it’s something I’m afraid to take for granted. Say you’ll come, Hannah. Please? I’ll make it worth your while. Pay you whatever you want. Please say you’ll help me.”
“You want me to be your nanny.”
“Just until Serena recovers from her surgery. I’m going to fly down to Fort Worth a little later today. We’ll return to Colorado as soon as I can make it happen. Hopefully by early next week. I’m going to buy a big, safe SUV in Fort Worth. You can make the drive in a day, but it’s a long day. I think that’s probably not doable with a baby.”
“How old is this child?”
“He’ll be three weeks old tomorrow.”
Boone McBride wanted her to care for a three-week-old child. Right. As if she could care for a baby when she could barely take care of herself. She was only now acclimating to being around little ones again. “Boone, I’m sorry. No. I can’t do it.”
“Why not? What are your objections? Allow me the opportunity to overcome them.” When she hesitated, he added, “You’re great with kids. You proved that with Haley.”
Hannah shut her eyes. This was just too much. Too hard. “And you don’t know what a big moment that was for me personally. It’s the first time I’ve interacted with a child since I lost Zoe and Sophia.”
He deflated like a bicycle tire pierced by a nail. “Oh.”
“I think being a child’s caretaker is a step too far for me at this point in my life.”
“Yeah. I can see that.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I should have realized it might be a problem for you.” In a lower tone, speaking more to himself than to her, he said, “Crap. I really, really, really don’t want to lay this on my mother.”
“Sit down, Boone. Let’s talk about the problem. Sometimes a second set of eyes can help reveal a solution.”
He nodded and took a seat on the stool at the bar separating the kitchen from the cabin’s main room. Without asking if he wanted it, Hannah set the cup of fresh coffee in front of him and set about making a second cup for herself.
“I don’t know where to begin,” he said.
“The beginning. How did this adoption come about?”
He told her about the phone call from a Fort Worth colleague, about his panic and soul-searching retreat in Texas, and his decision to take a leap of faith and make another run at fatherhood. “On the morning I met you, Celeste reminded me that family and friends are a Zippo in my pocket.”
“Come again? A Zippo?”
He smiled for the first time since his arrival. “Light. Friends and family are a source of light and shelter from life’s storms. She told me to be somebody’s light, and that’s what I’m trying to do. That’s how I’m going to earn my Angel’s Rest blazon.”
Hannah murmured beneath her breath, “Be somebody’s light.”
Boone traced the rim of his coffee cup with his index finger. “You were the first friend who popped into mind during my storm this morning, so that’s why I came running here for help.”
Be somebody’s light. “Why don’t you want to ask your mother for help?”
“She wants to be a grandmother more than just about anything in life. She was