She could hear Chance talking to the baby, soft words of love. Her heart melted. God, he loved both of them so much. They were so lucky to have him.
Of course, he would say he was lucky to havethem.
They were both right, which was why their unusual little family was absolutely perfect.
epilogue
Chance stared his father down,trying to tell if he was lying.
“You took all your meds?” he asked.
“Of course.” Holden was offended. “They watch me while I do it.”
Since the staff was all Bucklands, they probably got a kick out of that, forcing meds down the throat of a Kessal like he was a misbehaving dog. However, despite the abundance of Bucklands, Chance had to admit that Shady Oaks was very nice. Holden had a room to himself, a view of the backyard with lots of shade trees, and three square meals a day of pretty decent food.
They also had bingo on Thursday nights, and it turned out Holden was a bingo fiend. He’d already gone through two whole paint daubers.
“All right,” Chance said. “What about your exercises?”
“Done. Ask Tom.”
Tom was one of the smugger Bucklands, so Chance wouldn’t be doing that. “Fine then.” He opened his phone and started playing the latest video of Madeleine. “Here you go.”
Holden smiled from ear to ear as he watched Madeleine doing tummy time. “She’s so strong.”
“She’s incredibly strong.” The pride shone out of Chance’s voice. “And she’s growing like a weed. We’ll bring her by this weekend for a visit. Oh, and Bowie’s coming in a week.”
“Good, good.” Holden handed the phone back. “You tell Madeleine I’m proud of her. Did the lawyer talk to you yesterday?”
Chance tucked the phone in his back pocket. “Yeah, he did. We’re on track to set up the trust for the ranch.”
Holden had decided that with his heart attack, it was time for him to settle who would get what when he died. Strange thing was, he didn’t seem ready to die anymore. No, Holden was more alert and active than he’d been since Mom had passed. Moving to the Shady Oaks had been good for him.
But he still wanted to take care of things. So, the ranch was being put into a trust in which the entire family had ownership. Chance hadn’t wanted anything special, so Madeleine was getting a college fund instead. Rye was getting the bunkhouse, Ruby was getting her student loans paid off, and Bowie was getting a plot of land next to Chance’s house.
“Have you gotten a hold of Lane yet?” Holden asked.
Chance shook his head. “Going to try again this afternoon.”
Holden ran a hand down his face. “All right.”
There wasn’t much Chance could say. All four of them, Bowie included, had been trying to contact Lane since Holden’s heart attack. But Lane hadn’t answered.
It would be a lie to say Chance thought Lane would call eventually or that Lane might even come home. But Chance would keep trying.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Chance told Holden. “You let me know if these Bucklands mistreat you.”
“They’re all right,” Holden said. “For Bucklands.”
Once Chance was in his truck and back on the road home, he dialed Lane’s number. He wasn’t expecting an answer like the last dozen times he’d called.
“Hello?”
“Lane?” Chance was so shocked to hear his brother’s voice he almost crossed the center line. “You answered.”
“Look.” Lane sounded tired. Older than he was. “I’m not coming back. I don’t care if he’s sick. He’s been sick. What’s different now?”
Chance might have said the same before Holden’s emergency. “He had a heart attack. He almost died.”
