Lost Love (Cowboys and Angels #1)(73)

We stood there for a few minutes, simply holding each other. I was pretty sure Paxton was crying, but I knew they were happy tears. When she finally pulled back, our eyes locked. “You are the most amazing man I’ve ever met. This is so romantic, Steed.”

I wiggled my eyebrows. “Wait until you see the movie I picked out.”

She let out a chuckle. “Please tell me it’s not porn!”

Laughing, I bent down and picked up the picnic basket I had set down earlier. “No! Well, unless Trevor switched out the movies which I could totally see him doing.”

“So could I!” Paxton added with a shake of her head.

“Let’s eat,” I said as I guided her onto the blanket. I set everything out for dinner, making a mental note to check the DVD as soon as I got a chance to sneak over there.

Damn Trevor.





The moment I saw the picnic area set up, my breath caught in my chest and a warmth spread through my body. Steed had remembered how much I loved picnics. My cheeks heated thinking back to past picnics…

“Steed, this is all so amazing. I have to say though, with age comes better picnics!”

He laughed while taking out the plastic plates and silverware. My heart was beating faster simply from watching him. I loved how he took so much care planning this day. From shopping at a store I had been longing to go to, to setting up the perfect picnic. Right down to the movie later.

“Mom’s fried chicken. Your favorite.”

As if on cue, my stomach growled, and we both let out a chuckle.

“Fresh fruit. Yogurt dip, the kind Waylynn makes. I had to call her and ask for the recipe. Chloe helped make it last night for our ‘special date’ as she kept calling it.”

I smiled as my chest fluttered. “She’s so precious, Steed. You’ve done an amazing job raising her so far.”

He stopped what he was doing and focused on me. “She loves you, Paxton. When we were mixing up the dip last night, she told me her biggest hope was for you to be her mommy.”

My vision started to blur as happiness coursed through my body. “What…what did you say to her?”

“That I wanted that too. More than anything.”

His words overwhelmed me with joy. I couldn’t help but grin like a silly fool. “I want that too. I love her also, Steed, as if she was my own daughter.”

Steed wiped my tears away with his thumb. “Thank you for loving her, Pax. You’re an incredible woman, and I’m so thankful to know that you’re in Chloe’s life.”

Oh dear.

My heart was hammering in my chest. A mixture of excitement, happiness, and fear swirled together. I longed for the day when Chloe called me something other than Paxton. Or when she came to me for advice. It also scared the crap out of me.

Steed had made it very clear that Chloe’s mom was completely out of the picture. Would Chloe grow to resent me? Think I was the reason her mother gave her up?

“Stop overthinking whatever it is you’re overthinking, Pax.”

My head snapped up. “Huh?”

Steed poured a glass of champagne and handed it to me.

“You’re overthinking something. I can see it on your face.”

I gave him a weak grin. “You don’t think Chloe will ever resent me, do you?”

He pulled his head back in surprise. “What on earth for?”

With a half shrug, I replied, “I don’t know. Maybe she’ll think I’m the reason her mother gave her up?”

Steed reached for my hands. The way his thumb slid over the top of my hand made my skin feel on fire.

“Paxton, Kim never wanted Chloe, and it wasn’t hard for Chloe to figure out her mother didn’t love her as much as I did. First, she wanted me because she knew my heart belonged to someone else. Then she wanted money. Chloe was an accident she never wanted, but used as a pawn in her twisted game. She’s not going to resent you because she never truly knew what a loving mother was. We weren’t ever a family. We were a nightmare. I’m so …”

His voice cracked, and he had to clear it before going on. “I’m so glad Chloe is away from her.”

“Me too,” I murmured.

Steed shook his head and cleared his throat. “If I had only come back home sooner.”

“No more what ifs. We have to both stop doing that. It’s the past, and we need to focus on the future.”

He flashed me a brilliant grin that made me dizzy and had me forgetting what we were even talking about.

Steed and I were soon lost in conversation as we ate the fried chicken and fruit. He talked about the ranch, I talked about the kids at school. We laughed about Trevor and discussed Corina. It felt as if there wasn’t a ten-year void at all. We fit into each other’s worlds so perfectly. It was fate.