Chapter 10 Olivia
TEN
OLIVIA
Ford shifts restlessly beside me as we drive into town. The ranch isn’t far now that I know the way, which is both relieving and a little disappointing.
To think, we’d been close to one another for weeks without even realising. For all I know, we could have crossed paths. Ford could have seen his child on the street and never thought twice about him because he never knew to look.
My stomach turns with each mile we get closer to my apartment.
“You think he’ll like me?” Ford asks quietly, nervous as he toys with the edges of his cowboy hat. “Fuck.”
“What?” I ask, glancing at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Aren’t I meant to have a present for him?”
I sigh, turning down my street. “Ford, he’s a baby. He won’t know the difference between you giving him something or nothing at all. If he were a toddler, then it’d be a whole different conversation.”
My apartment complex appears ahead, making me tense. I spot Winnie’s car in my spot, where I told her to park, and by some miracle, I find a spare in the visitor lot nearby.
“I’m glad,” he murmurs without looking at me.
“Glad about what?” I ask, looking at him as I shut off the car.
He meets my eyes, nerves darkening his features. “I’m glad he’s still young. That I didn’t miss more of his life.”
My heart skips a beat before leaping into my throat. “You are?”
Ford nods once, fingers tightening around the brim of his hat. “Yeah, darlin’. I’m glad. I’m mad, too. Mad I wasn’t there, but I’m grateful you found me so I could make it up to him—and to you.”
Tears make a lump in my throat as I nod. “He won’t remember.”
“But you will,” he says softly. “I should have tried harder. Both times. You never should have been the one to find me. I was the one who needed to chase you. Not the other way around. And I’ll feel guilty about that until the day I die.”
My mouth goes dry, tears burning the corners of my eyes. I don’t know what to say, no words strong enough to explain how I feel. I’m not even sure I do know how I feel. All my emotions are a mess, coursing through me like a storm just waiting to hit.
Instead of responding, I get out of the car, and he follows me a moment later, cowboy hat on, hands curled into fists.
We walk in silence up to the second floor where my apartment sits. The entire building is quiet, like the residents and the structure itself are holding their breaths, waiting for Ford’s reaction to his son.
I knock twice to let Winnie know I’m here, and unlock the front door. The apartment itself is clean—probably cleaner than when I left it, which makes me sigh in relief, thankful for my sister’s new in-law.
The front of the apartment is a combined living, dining, and kitchen area, which is sparsely decorated and furnished because of the sudden move.
But Christopher’s playpen is set up in the centre, full of toys that look untouched.
The two bedrooms and single bathroom are in the back, which is where Winnie appears from.
My friend smiles when she sees me, and grins when she spots Ford. “Howdy.”
Ford offers her a half smile as he nods, tipping his head. “You must be Winnie.”
“That I am,” she says, moving towards us. “Uh, Chris should be due for a feed soon. He’s been napping the last hour, which gave me a chance to clean.”
“Thanks,” I murmur, sighing. “This is Ford, by the way.”
Winnie cocks a brow. “The Vegas husband?”
“And Christopher’s father,” Ford adds, clearing his throat. “He’s my son.”
My friend’s eyes widen in shock. “Oh.” Then she looks between us, lips parting. “Wow.”
I nod. “Yep. What are the chances?”
Winnie looks at me like she’s wondering whether she should answer, but a small cry comes from the baby monitor on the kitchen counter.
Relief shudders through me as I drop my bag by the door. “Let me get him,” I say to Ford, who stares in the direction of the bedroom. “Wait here.”
He doesn’t do anything but swallow. Leaving him with Winnie, I rush into the nursery. It’s the only space I’ve taken time to set up.
Christopher garbles and grins when I appear. Relief hits me hard at seeing him. “Two nights is too long,” I whisper, picking him up out of the crib. “There’s someone here to meet you.”
My boy makes another noise as I set him on the changing table, pull him out of his sleep sack and check his diaper. I smooth down his mussed hair as I set him on my hip and leave the nursery.
Still standing by the door, Ford releases a long, slow breath as he takes Christopher in. Tears brim his eyes, and they fall as soon as Christopher locks eyes on him.
“He’s beautiful,” Ford says, clearing his throat.
I move towards him, bouncing Christopher as I do. “He’s going to be a little grumpy from just waking up, but do you want to hold him?”
Ford tracks us, locked entirely on Christopher, and it’s only when we’re a few feet from him that he sucks in a breath. “Can I?”
I nod, heart skipping. “Yeah, of course. He’s your son.”
Ford takes a hesitant step towards us. “I don’t really know what—”
“Sit on the sofa and I’ll put him in your lap,” I offer.
The cowboy does exactly that, sitting almost excitedly and staring up at us with hope and love shining in his eyes. Behind me, I hear the door open and close as Winnie slips out, leaving us in the apartment alone.
Christopher clings to me for a moment before I set him down with Ford, but it’s instant, the moment he realises the man holding him is something more.
I don’t exactly know how to describe it, other than magical. Watching Chris look up at Ford with wide, almost scared eyes, then seeing the realisation spark in them like he’s always known the cowboy, has my heart cracking and reforming with something I never thought I’d feel towards anyone.
Love.
The only man I thought I’d ever love is Christopher. I’d do anything for my son. Would do anything to protect him.
But I feel my heart warm for my accidental husband, too. Because I love him, more than I ever thought possible.
Just as it’s instant for Chris, it’s as quick for Ford, too.
He wraps one arm around Chris’s back and with the other, gently pushes his mused hair back. “Hey, there, little man,” Ford murmurs, voice low. Christopher leans into that touch, already enamoured. “I’m your dad.”
My knees buckle, and I land on the sofa beside him, watching the two of them. It’s like they’ve both found their missing piece, and I don’t know whether to smile or cry.
“I’m sorry I missed so much of your life,” Ford continues. “I never meant to. Had I known…I would have been with you and your mom from the very beginning. I need you to know that. I’ve loved your mother since the start, and you…I love you so much.”
I blink hard, but I can’t stop the tears from falling.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Ford whispers, running the back of his fingers over Christopher’s red cheek.
“Never again. I’m your dad, no matter what.
Okay? And you’re my boy. And your mom…” He looks at me then, tears still spilling down his cheeks, a hopeful look glinting in his eyes. “Your mom is still my wife.”
“I am?” I ask, voice thick with emotion. “I mean, yes. But you don’t want the annulment?”
“Do you?”
I don’t even have to think about it. Immediately, I shake my head. “No. No, I don’t.”
He gives me a half smile before releasing a shaky breath.
“Good. Because I want to be a family, darlin’.
You, me, and our son. It doesn’t matter where.
When I said I’d quit the ranch, I meant it.
Let’s take Chris and move to Colorado so you can be closer to your sister.
Or we can stay here, and I can move in with you until we find a place that can be ours.
It doesn’t matter. We could move somewhere entirely new to us and start over.
But I’m not going anywhere, because I love you. I love both of you.”
Relief hits me like a tidal wave, washing away any regret, guilt, and uncertainty I had left. Finding Ford had never been about looking for a family. I’d been happy with just me and Christopher.
But I also can’t deny how damn good it feels to know my husband wants our son, wants to share a life with us.
“How does that sound?” I say, looking at Chris. “You think you can make some room here for your daddy?”
Our boy looks between us before babbling something and throwing himself into Ford’s chest, making us both laugh. “I want to take that as a yes,” Ford whispers. “Do you?”
I glance up and meet his stare. “I think that’s a yes.”