The Cowboy SEAL's Christmas Baby by Laura Marie Altom

Author:Laura Marie Altom
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-11-23T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

The next morning, Gideon tugged open the barn door, leading Jane and the baby inside. He wasn’t going to lie; despite her delicious French toast breakfast, her headache and the sliver of her memory returning had him on edge. He’d slept about five minutes and felt like shit, but that didn’t give him a pass on caring for his livestock.

“This is the infamous Jelly Bean.” He forced an upbeat tone.

“You caused us a lot of trouble.” Jane stroked the horse’s nose. “But it’s okay. I’m sure you were scared by the storm.”

“No excuses,” he said. “The whole reason she’s here is to get her not to spook.” He saw a parallel between the mare and Jane. They’d both been through trauma. He had no doubt he could one day make the horse whole, but with Jane he may be in over his head.

“Don’t listen to Mr. Cranky Pants,” Jane cooed. She looked pretty in her new jeans and red sweater. A couple years earlier, Mrs. Gentry had crocheted him a red-and-white-striped beanie cap. It looked way cuter on Jane than it had him. She also wore the matching mittens.

Chip was decked out in an adorable red snowsuit that made him look like a mini Santa.

“If you’d feed the chickens and donkey, I’ll work with Jelly Bean.”

“Um, I’m happy to help, but will need guidance. What does everyone eat and how much? Where is the food—those kinds of things.”

He got Jane lined up, filled a feed trough with hay to set the baby in, then worked with Jelly Bean. The horse was skittish in the paddock. The storm had set them back in terms of trust. She seemed fine in her stall, but didn’t like the open space.

Once Jane had fed the donkey, Gideon led the docile creature into the paddock. The plan was to show Jelly Bean she had nothing to fear by example. This was a waiting game. Gideon stood in the paddock’s center, softly chattering about nonsense, because that was what the horse had enjoyed when Angela had been alive. While Jelly Bean snorted and charged, Fred the donkey contentedly munched a handful of hay.

“Chickens are—Shouldn’t you get out of there?” Jane had rounded the corner from the barn and held the baby in her arms. She stood at the fence, wide-eyed with concern. “That looks dangerous.”

“I’m fine. Trying to teach her that I’m safe. Being outside is safe. Ironically, when she first got here she was afraid of the barn. Now it’s the other way around. Once she calms, I have a few more exercises to lead her through, then we’ll look for the Christmas tree.”

“I’m not in a hurry,” Jane said.

I am. With her watching, he felt as nervous as the horse. He’d worked a year in physical therapy to walk without a limp, but every so often it happened. Would she notice? Would she care? Why did he care what she thought? Why couldn’t he shake the feeling that without her and the baby, his life might never be the same? And that was a bad thing.

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