“She snuck out without Ozzie and tried to operate the swing on her own.” His gaze met mine, fierce and soft all at once. “She’s fine. I swear she’s fine. I was with her at the doctor’s while she had the cast put on, and Ozzie and Dad took her for ice cream after.”
“Dammit.” I exhaled softly, my chest tightening with guilt. I should’ve been there, holding Ivy’s hand, steadying her when the world hurt. Instead, I’d been in a cell with blood still hot in my veins.
But Matty had been there. He’d stayed strong for her, for us. That thought steadied me.
“Thank you,” I whispered, rougher than I meant. “For being there when I wasn’t.”
Matty’s grip on my shoulder tightened. “Always.”
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Let’s go home. She must’ve been so scared. I want her to know her daddy’s here now.”
He gave me the smallest smile, enough to pull me forward, and together we climbed into the truck, the road home waiting for us.
38
MATTY
“…you scared everyone half to death, you know.”
I paused in the doorway, unseen for the moment, Hudson’s voice carrying soft and low as he worked the arm of Ivy’s pajama top around the cast.
Her little voice piped back, pouty and small. “Wanted to do it myself. I’m sorry, Daddee.”
Hudson sighed, but there was no heat in it. “And what happened when you tried?”
“I felled.”
“Exactly, you fell.” He kissed the top of her curls. “So what lesson did we learn?”
“Ivy’s not a big girl.” She mumbled it, barely audible.
Hudson chuckled. “No, you’re Daddy’s little Bug. Don’t try to grow up too fast, yeah? And you need to listen to Ozzie’s instructions and always let a grown-up know where you are and what you are doing. Do you know why?”
“To keep me safe?”
“Exactly.” He tipped her chin with one calloused finger. “I love you, Ivy. You know that, right?”
She nodded, solemn as a preacher. Ivy glanced up, spotted me, and her whole face lit up. “Daddee!” She lifted her good arm and patted the space on her other side. “Sit here!”
Hudson glanced back, catching me in the doorway, and for a second, the emotions in his eyes made my chest go tight—tiredness, relief, but it was the intensity of his love that nearly undid me.
I crossed the room and lowered myself onto the mattress on the other side of Ivy. I brushed my fingers lightly over her hair and whispered, “And I love you too, Ivy. More than all the horses on this ranch.”
Her eyes rounded. “That’s alot.”
“Exactly.” I smiled. “That’s how much.”
Hudson huffed a soft laugh, and Ivy squirmed happily between us, tucked safe with her two dads. Hudson picked up the book on the nightstand.
Ivy’s eyes went straight to the engagement ring on Hudson’s finger. “Pretty.” She gingerly touched it. “Can I have it, Daddy, pretty puh-leeze?”
Hudson chuckled, shaking his head. “Not this one, baby girl. Daddy Matt gave me this ring.”
Her lower lip jutted out. “I don’t gots a ring.”
“This is a special ring that means Daddy Matty loves me very much.”
“So Daddy Matt doesn’t love me?”
