Montana Cowboy Daddy (Wyatt Brothers of Montana #3) - Jane Porter Page 0,15

could stay in the cabin. Melvin and his grandsons all had chores to do, and Erika came down to the kitchen in search of Beck, and found him asleep in Summer’s arms. Summer was seated at the kitchen table while the Wyatt men were lounging in various positions around the kitchen, discussing their strategy for the morning. Joe and Granddad would tend to the livestock. Billy and Tommy would snowplow the roads. The snow had fallen most of the night and it’d take all day to get the road down to the public highway snowplowed, and that was even with Joe later taking a turn at the wheel.

Conversation momentarily broke off when Erika entered the kitchen but after pointing her to the coffeepot, the third pot of the day, freshly brewed, discussion resumed. Erika sat down with her coffee at the table, whispering to Summer that she could take Beck.

Summer shook her head. “It’s nice to hold a baby again,” she said softly.

Erika’s chest felt warm and rather tender. Again, she thought how lucky Beck would be if this was his family, even as she worried that maybe she’d gotten it wrong. Maybe she’d gotten Summer’s hopes up, and created conflict that wasn’t necessary.

The men headed out shortly, and Erika spent the morning with Beck, feeding him when he woke up, then giving him a bath in the kitchen sink, before putting him in clean warm clothes.

Mrs. Wyatt invited Erika to join her in the den while she gave Beck an early lunch bottle. “The chairs are more comfortable,” Summer said, easing herself into her own recliner. “This is where we spend our evenings, but every now and then I like to come in here and just sit a bit. It’s warm in here, and quieter.”

Taking a seat on the leather covered couch, Erika nuzzled Beck’s warm sweet head. He smelled impossibly delicious—at least at this moment, after his bath, his small body in a fresh soft onesie, wrapped in an equally soft blanket. “It is nice in here,” she said, appreciating the old cast-iron wood stove in the corner, making the room toasty. “But if I’m not careful, I might fall asleep.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. I heard Beck kept you up most of the night.”

“Until Billy came and saved me.” Erika paused, trying to ignore the weird wobbly sensation in her middle that she felt every time she pictured Billy and Beck together. “That was nice of him.”

Summer Wyatt leveled her gaze at Erika. “You think Billy’s the baby’s father?”

Erika suddenly found herself struggling to answer. She’d been so sure when she’d made the trip here. But now… now… she was worried she’d possibly muddled things up.

Erika needed a moment, and then chose her words carefully. “I’d thought so when I drove here, and I still think he could be. The timing makes sense. April and Billy were together last February, and Beck was born in late November. So it works on paper, but without the DNA test…” Her voice faded and she held her breath a moment, hating the flood of anxiety washing through her.

“You’re not confident anymore?”

“Beck would be lucky to be a part of this family. You have a wonderful family.”

“Billy told me the baby’s momma died in a car accident.”

Erika nodded. “Beck was in the car, but he survived. He didn’t even have a scratch.”

“A miracle.”

Erika nodded again. “I think so, too.”

“You’ve had him how long?”

“Three and a half weeks. Almost a month.”

“What’s your plan for him?”

“Find Beck’s daddy and let his daddy take over.”

“You don’t want him?”

Erika exhaled hard. “I’m in no position to become a single mom. That is not the life I’d want for Beck. He deserves more than what I can give him.”

“If Billy’s not the father, what do you plan to do?”

“I’ll keep looking.”

“And if you can’t find him?”

Emotion closed Erika’s throat, knotting the words in her heart. Her heart wanted Beck to be with family, but her head questioned if she was the right family. Could she provide for a child when she sometimes struggled to provide for herself? Could she give Beck what he deserved in life? Growing up in her chaotic, alcohol-infused family she used to wish she had been adopted, wishing she had a more stable family to love her, and care for her.

Adoption wasn’t a punishment. Adoption didn’t mean Beck wasn’t loved. It meant the opposite, that he was so valuable that Erika wanted him to have a family where he’d be raised with patience,