Because of the Baby(60)

No words passed between them as they lay gasping for breath. As soon as they’d sufficiently recovered, Keaton shifted her into the perfect niche at his side and smoothed her sweat-damp hair off her face. Lark snuggled her nose into his neck and breathed his unique musk. Exhausted from her long day and their vigorous lovemaking, she resisted sleep. How many more nights would she have him like this?

“Go to sleep,” he murmured as if sensing her mind’s restlessness. “There’s nothing you can do about anything at the moment.”

She lifted her head for his kiss and smiled beneath his lips. Only a very foolish woman would push this man out of her life because she was too afraid to upset her family. And Lark was many things, but she’d never been called foolish.



Keaton neared the ruins of the town hall, his thoughts far from the task ahead. After a great deal of deliberation and consultation with the construction contractor, a plan had been created for recovering the city’s records. In the weeks leading up to today, much of the rubble had been cleared from the site. Today, the tarp that had been thrown over the records storage area was gone and heavy machinery stood at the ready to begin the delicate task of lifting the large chunks of concrete off the sturdy filing cabinets that held the town’s records.

“I guess we were lucky that someone had the foresight to move everything into fireproof cabinets,” Stella Daniels commented as Keaton approached. The acting mayor was no longer the nondescript town hall administrative assistant she once was. In the months since the tornado had landed Richard Vance, Royal’s major, in the hospital, she’d blossomed into a stunning woman who’d taken charge during the crisis and performed brilliantly. “Fireproofing means more than just heat resistant, you know.”

“When I first got started on this project, I did a little research,” Keaton admitted. “They’re waterproof and designed to survive short falls. As long as nothing too heavy landed on them, we should find the cabinets intact.”

Stella eyed him. “I just knew you were the right man to take on this job.”

“This town has given a lot to the Holt family,” he said, tugging on the brim of his cowboy hat. “I’m happy I can pitch in and help.”

Which was true. Although he participated in very few social activities around town, Keaton’s problem-solving abilities had been unanimously welcomed. He’d been surprised how quickly he was caught up in the community spirit. Helping where he could, he’d been involved with over a dozen repair or cleanup projects. But except for a few simple construction jobs like the Richardsons’ barn, he left the major rebuilding to the experts.

“I see the crews are assembled,” Stella said. “Shall we get started?”

The delicate process of removing concrete from the area where the records room had once been was tedious and slow. In addition to the large chunks of building material, there were several yards of pulverized debris that had once been walls and ceiling to sift through. It was late afternoon when there was enough cleared away to begin the removal of the files.

Moving carefully through the rubble, Keaton inspected each of the cabinets before they were hauled away and was pleased that despite the dents to the metal caused by the building’s collapse, the contents were intact and mostly undisturbed.

In addition to the modern files, there were several antique cabinets that no one had ever bothered to remove. These had not fared as well. Keaton thought there might have been four or five of them on the far side of the room. It was hard to tell an exact number, as they had mostly been reduced to kindling.

One cabinet had fared better than the others. Although one side had been crushed, the other had six drawers still intact. He pulled out one of the drawers, surprised that it rolled smoothly, and noted that it was empty. Keaton felt foolish as he investigated the other five drawers in the same way. Did he really expect to find some lost piece of paperwork that proved his family were the true owners of the two thousand acres of lakes and superb pasture now part of the Taylors’ ranch?

Stella, accompanied by her fiancé, Aaron Nichols, had stopped by to see how the work was going. They were picking their way toward Keaton.

“You’ve made amazing progress,” Stella said, stepping around a small pile of twisted metal that had once been a light and stopping beside Keaton. “How amazing that part of this cabinet looks unscathed while the rest of it is destroyed.”

“As are three or four others.” Keaton gestured at the other cabinets.

“Was there anything in it?” She pulled out a drawer the same way he had.