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“Did you used to help Daddy in your barns?” she asked, trying to focus on the animals and perhaps happier memories.
“He would let me stand on a stool and braid their manes,” Emma told her as she continued looking out the window. “Sometimes I would brush their hair and put bows on the ends of their manes and tails. Daddy also bought me this special paint and I got to paint the horses.”
“Paint?” Lucy asked.
Emma smiled up at her. “It was supercool. I drew rainbows on the side of Daisy. Then we just gave her a bath and it came right off.”
“I admit, I’ve never painted a horse before. That does sound supercool.”
Emma’s brows rose. “Can we paint your horses? Daddy can tell you what paint you need.”
Lucy smiled and tapped Emma’s cute little nose. “Of course we can. That sounds like a blast.”
Lucy kept her sidetracked by discussing what design they’d be painting and how soon she could get the paint. Finally, Noah stepped in the back door and wiped the rain from his face. He slid off his jacket and hung it by the door. That simple gesture was like a punch of reality.
Noah was so comfortable here and no other man had hung a coat at the back door other than Evan. But here was Noah and Emma, infiltrating her life, and Lucy had a feeling this was all the start of something much bigger than she’d ever anticipated.
“Everything okay?” he asked as he took off his hat and hung it over his jacket.
“Just talking about painting the horses,” Lucy stated, not wanting to bring up the bad memories for Emma again. She’d discuss that with Noah later. “We didn’t get the hot chocolate started yet.”
Noah waved a hand to dismiss the thought. “We can head home. You’ve hosted us long enough.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” she assured him, not ready for him to leave. “Since my nights have freed up from school for a while, I could use the company.”
Noah flashed her a smile. “We’d love to stay, then.”
“Let me get you guys some towels.”
Lucy sat Emma down and went to her bathroom. This was all so… Well, it was everything she’d dreamed of at one time. The family setting seemed all so real this evening. Lucy planned on making hot chocolate and perhaps they’d settle in to watch a movie and wait for the rain to pass.
When Lucy came out of the bathroom, Noah stepped into her bedroom. “Where’s Emma?”
“I put her in the spare bath to dry off,” he told her. “What happened when I was outside? Was it the rain?”
Clutching the towels to her chest, Lucy nodded. “She was worried you were still out there, but we talked and I steered the conversation elsewhere.”
Noah reached for a towel and started drying off his hair, his face, and his neck. “I didn’t think we’d have too much of a problem here. Storms in Texas are so common. That was another reason I moved away from that part of the country.”
Lucy pulled her hair over her shoulder and squeezed the water into her own hand towel. “Anytime you’re missing your ranch, you can come see the horses.”
Noah’s lips kicked up. He was so sexy with that stubble along his jawline and those dark eyes. The more time she spent with him, the more she realized she was falling headfirst in love with him.
Now what was she going to do? He wasn’t looking for a serious relationship, and neither was she. And she’d promised herself never to get involved with a man who had a risky career.
Why did this have to be the man she fell for? It was almost like she’d ignored every single red flag waving around in her head and pushed right on forward where Noah was concerned.
But she hadn’t just fallen for him. No, Lucy had gone and tumbled headfirst in love with a blue-eyed little girl with cockeyed pigtails.
Emma chose that moment to walk into the bedroom. “Can we still have hot chocolate?” she asked Lucy.
Lucy took the towel from Noah and tossed them both into the hamper just inside the bathroom door. “Of course we can. I say we snuggle up on the couch with hot chocolate, blankets, and whatever movie you want.”
Emma let out a scream of excitement and gave Lucy a fist bump. Then she turned and ran back down the hall.
“Are you sure you don’t mind us just bursting in here?”
Lucy turned her attention to Noah. “I want you both here. I love having you guys around and I’m more than ready for a relaxing evening.”
Noah took a step forward, reaching up to frame her face with his hands. “How did this happen?”
“I cracked that wall you had up.”
Noah nipped at her lips. “I can’t promise you anything.”
Lucy’s heart ached for the fear he clung to. She’d taken a huge risk and opened her heart to him. Now she only hoped he would take the leap of faith, as well.
“I’m not asking for promises,” she told him, taking hold of his wrists and looking into his eyes. “I’m asking for possibilities.”
“I’m doing what I can.”
Lucy took a step back. “That’s a great start.”
Leaving him in her room, Lucy headed down the hallway. As much as she wanted to explore this conversation even further, she wanted him to think for himself. She wanted—no, needed—Noah to realize that he could open himself up again. That if she was also taking a risk, maybe they should be taking it together…and perhaps happiness could be waiting for them both.
Over the next two weeks, the fall air turned colder. Noah still wasn’t used to this climate, but he was getting more used to the town. The people of Stonerock still considered him an outsider and a transplant, but they were welcoming and only mentioned his accent a few times a day now.
There was an opening on the day shift and he was hoping to slide into that if Captain St. John didn’t give someone with seniority the position. Going back on days would be so amazing with Emma, especially when she started school next fall. Hopefully in that year’s time, they’d fall into a more consistent pattern.
Of course, Lucy was almost done with schooling and in a few months she wouldn’t even be at the station house anymore. As excited as he was for her, he also hated not having her on the other end of his radio.
Each night since the heavy rains, he’d seen Lucy on a personal basis. They’d fallen into an easy pattern and he’d been at her house every evening. She and Emma worked on dinner and he tended to the horses. He’d be lying if he didn’t admit the horses weren’t the only reason he came by.
Lucy had gotten to him. She’d shown him how easy it was to let go and open up. He hadn’t realized just how easy it was to let someone else in, all while getting over such a tragic loss. Perhaps because Lucy got him. She didn’t try to tell him she was sorry for his loss; she didn’t try to dance around the topic. She forced him to talk about it, to keep his late wife’s memory alive.
The fact that she wasn’t jealous of his late wife, that she wasn’t trying to replace her, was quite possibly the greatest part of this whole process. Noah wanted to be happy again; he wanted to move on and not feel like he was making a mistake. And he truly didn’t believe Lucy was a mistake. He was falling for her. Each night when he left