Page 64 of Waiting in Wyoming

His first thought was for his baby girl. As he watched the driver of that pickup pull his little boy and girl closer. He understood. He finally understood what mattered most.

That man could have died tonight. What would have happened to his kids then? Those kids could have watched theirdad die right in front of them. Sonny could have died tonight, too.

“She’s fine. We’ll get your statement quickly, I promise. Dylan has already asked the dining room to keep you a cheeseburger and fries warm. And she’s going to take care of Katie until you can get to her.”

He hadn’t had Katie with him. Thank God he hadn’t had Katie. He’d have dropped her, or she’d have been hit or hurt, or—Sonny fought puking. If he’d had Katie…

“Can you tell me what happened? I can’t interview Ben—” She pointed to the jogger. “He’s my brother-in-law and everything. So, we’ll get your statement out of the way. Were you hurt?”

She pulled out her phone and hit record.

“No. I jumped out of the way in time.” But what if he hadn’t? Sonny’s heart pounded as he thought about it. “What if he had hit me and I’d died? What would people here have done with my baby?”

She just blinked at him for a moment. “She would have been sent home to your family. We would have made certain she was taken care of.”

Sonny was already shaking his head. “That would be a disaster. The last thing I ever want for my baby is for her to go back to my mom. My mom is horrible. She’s abusive. I never want Katie with her. Ever. I got a sister-in-law though. My sister-in-law is a real good mom and everything. Maybe she’d take Katie. Up here. My sister-in-law lives here in Wyoming. I’d want her to have Katie.”

He pulled in a deep breath. He had some thinking to do. “I’m sorry. I’m still figuring out the single dad thing.”

“I know it’s hard. My brother is raising two alone himself. Let’s get you back to Katie, okay?”

As he did what he had to do, Sonny couldn’t help thinking about Katie. If he died, what would happen to her?

54

Life got backtonormalfast. She worked the next day, and then the next. Now, she was clocked out for two days. She was back on her regular schedule—without much disruption. Miranda had been there for the week, and she’d covered for Meyra where Dylan couldn’t. It had all worked out just fine.

Meyra had spent her first day off with Brandt.

It had been a good day. Fun. She thought he’d needed it. They had spent the afternoon with Maggie Tyler Gunderson and her babies. Maggie was feeling a little sick right now—she was pregnant again, with their third. She’d taken a nap while Brandt and Meyra had watched baby Barratt and Violet. The kids adored Brandt. Meyra had enjoyed being with him, the kids, and pretending a little.

It had helped her figure out one thing—Brandt was the man she wanted to be with. Forever.

Now they were going to go back to the inn and eat dinner. Then…there was a vintage movie theater in the next town south. He had told her he wanted to take her there, so they could neck in the back row.

“What are you thinking about so quietly?” he asked when they were a few miles north of town. Maggie and her family lived forty miles or so north of Masterson, on a road that was almost the county boundary. She shivered. It had been out there that Marin and Brandt had almost died before.

“The past. And what I want for the future.” She was always going to be honest with him. It was easier that way. “I’m a little scared. Relationships can be complicated. What if we make mistakes?”

“I’m sure we will. We’re human. But I promise to always listen. To always love you.”

He said it so easily. That made it easy for her, too. “I am sometimes going to misunderstand you.”

“And I will misunderstand you. All that matters is that we promise to try, babe. To work together. Like my parents always have. Like your dad and Rhea do.”

“I want kids. But what if they have autism, too?” It was definitely possible—there was a genetic component. “They may have it more severely than I do. That’s something we’ll need to consider.”

“Then we deal with that if or when it happens. I can guarantee we’ll love our children, completely. No matter what the future holds. It won’t be simple, but it’ll be something we do together.”

He pulled the truck off into an empty parking lot. Then turned to her. “I love you, Meyra Talley. Don’t ever forget that.”

He leaned closer, then cupped her cheek. She loved it when he did that, when she could feel him, smell him, so close. “I won’t.”

“We’ve waited long enough,” he said. Then he kissed her. Just the way she liked.

Meyra could kiss him every day for the rest of her life. She hoped it would always feel just like this.Thiswas what Nikki andDusty and Sage told her itshouldfeel like. This was why Maggie looked at Clint the way she did.

Meyra just knew it.