Chapter 21
Joelle
“I’ll take you,” Wade murmurs, touching the small of my back. “We’ll bring your boy home today.”
That single sentence steals the strength from my knees.
My boy. My baby. I’ve missed him so much it has doubled me over during private moments when Wade and Caleb were away from the ranch house.
Wade insists on driving, not framing it like an order in the clipped, practical voice he uses when he’s assigning chores, calling out instructions across the pasture or telling me what to do in the bedroom, but in that quiet, caring way he has, like the decision was made long before I finished my coffee.
I tuck my anxiety beneath a thin layer of hope before we head outside.
Wade opens the truck door for me, and when I climb in, my hands are shaking so badly that I can’t settle them in my lap.
He notices immediately. Of course he does.
He shuts the door gently, rounds the hood, and slides into the driver’s seat with a slow exhale like he’s bracing himself to shoulder the weight I’m carrying.
“You’re wound up like a barn cat in a storm,” he says, glancing at me with a grin meant to soothe. “There’s no need for that, pretty girl. We’re gonna get your baby boy, and we’re all comin’ home together.”
I try to smile, but it barely forms before dissolving. He sees that, too, and cups the back of my head, pulling me into a long, deep kiss that I melt into, letting it smooth through me as my big gruff cowboy reveals his dedication again and again, in all the ways that count.
When we pull away, Wade taps the wheel lightly, glancing over at me. “You wanna hear somethin’ stupid Rick did yesterday?”
I sniff, trying to breathe normally, already smiling at his efforts to distract me from my anxiousness. “Sure.”
“He tried hopping a fence instead of going around it. Boot caught the wire. Went face-first into a pile of horseshit.”
A startled laugh slips out of me, the image so vivid that I’m immediately sorry for poor Rick.
“And it wasn’t the kind that’s been out in the sun for a day or two, dried out to crisp. It was the fresh, steaming kind that sticks like glue.”
I cover my face, equal parts mortified and disgusted.
Wade grins. “Eli laughed so hard he almost fell over. Which is funny considering what happened to him the day before.”
“I don’t know if I can handle hearing more.”
“He got too close to a cow’s back end, and she pissed into his new boots.”
“Jesus,” I gasp. “Remind me never to leave the ranch house.”
“Oh, we’ll get you out into the fresh air. Get you riding horses and raising chickens. Maybe even planting a garden, if you think you’d enjoy it?”
“Yeah,” I say, loving the sound of his plans. After what Caleb said yesterday, it’s getting harder for me to deny that these men genuinely want me to stick around long term.
Wade keeps talking, telling me small, ridiculous stories about ranch life, stories he probably wouldn’t bother retelling under any other circumstance. But he shares them with me to keep my mind off the distance that’s still between me and my child.
It’s only when we cross into my old neighborhood, we both fall quiet.
The houses are small and tired-looking, with thin yards and peeling fences.
My heart twists in my chest. I’m closer to my son than I’ve been in days, and somehow the fear only intensifies.
Will he remember me? Will he come to me? Will he resent my absence?
Wade stops at the curb in front of Janey’s house and turns toward me fully. My eyes blur instantly and I grab for the door handle, biting down on a sob as I climb out of the truck.
Janey’s curtains twitch, and then the door swings open before I even knock.
And there he is, riding high on Janey’s hip. My baby. My little Caleb.
His arms reach out, his face bright and flushed with excitement, a joyful cry of “Ma-ma!” bursting from him in that wild, high screech that shakes something loose inside my chest.
My knees almost buckle with relief as I reach out for him, arms closing around his small, warm body as the tears come fast and unrestrained, pouring down my face while I bury him against my neck.
I’ve imagined this moment a hundred times since I left him here, but the reality breaks me open.
I breathe him in—his soft hair, his warm cheek, the faint scent of milk and baby—and the pressure I’ve been ignoring for days releases in one sweeping burst of emotion.
Wade stands behind me, the steady warmth of him like a shield at my back. He observes everything in his usual, reserved way. Janey smiles at the scene, wiping her hands on her jeans.
“You Wade or Caleb?” she asks, holding her hand out as she gives him a thorough and unembarrassed once-over.
“Wade, ma’am,” he replies, offering his hand. “Thank you for taking care of the boy while Joelle came to find us.”
“I can see why she wanted to,” Janey says with a grin.
Despite the shadow of his hat, his reddening cheeks are clear as day.
She turns to me, wickedness brewing in her blue eyes. “Girl… you’re glowing.”
I let out a watery laugh, sure it isn’t true, adjusting Caleb on my hip. “It’s just relief,” I say. “I’ve missed Caleb so much.”
Wade moves up beside me, resting a hand on my lower back. “Let’s get your things packed up,” he says quietly. “We’ll have you back at the ranch before sundown.”
“Efficient, too.” Janey shoots me a wink. “Looks like that drive into the unknown was worth the gas and the risk of heartbreak.”
“You have no idea,” Wade says gruffly, surprising us all.
Packing doesn’t take long. Wade carries every bag, every box, every stuffed animal to the truck without complaint.
He moves through the house politely, careful with everything he touches, but with a sense of determined purpose, like getting our things into the truck is the most important job on earth.
Janey watches him carry out the final box.
“Alright,” she whispers near my ear, “you gonna tell me what’s really going on?”
Heat crawls up my cheeks. “It’s… complicated.”
“Well,” she says, giving me a quick hug, “complicated looks good on you for once. And that man handles you like you’re made of something he values more than his own damned life.”
My throat tightens again. “I’ll explain soon. I… can’t yet.”
She nods, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “You take care of that boy, and yourself. And I’ll come visit. Try to figure out this whole ranch romance you’ve gotten yourself tangled in.”
Wade appears in the doorway, his arms finally empty. “We good?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I whisper, shifting Caleb on my hip, looking back at the home Janey opened to me when I needed it most. I’ll miss living with my friend, but she’s ready for some space to live a single life.
I hook a hand around her neck and pull her into me.
“Thank you, Janey. For everything. I’ll never forget your kindness or your generosity. ”
Her breath hitches and we both pull away, wiping tears and laughing with emotion.
Wade opens the truck door for me and Caleb, his posture straight and proud, and my chest throbs. I buckle my son into his car seat, then climb into the cab. Wade settles behind the wheel, reaching behind to adjust Caleb’s blanket and blue rabbit, and my tears come again.
This time they’re happy.
As we pull away from Janey’s house, waving like crazy, and head back to Grayswood, I close my eyes and press my cheek to my son's soft curls. Wade glances over his shoulder, his warm gaze flicking between us.
“Rest now,” he says quietly. “We’ll be home before you know it.”