Every man in the room heard the emotion in her voice. Steven wondered if she realized that she was slowly swaying, side to side, rocking the child as she stared at the doctors.
“Benjamin is fine. Aren’t you, Benjamin?” Dr. James said.
“Benny,” Benjamin said around his thumb.
“Benny, then,” Dr. James said. He ruffled Benny’s hair, but the boy had closed his eyes, seeming content for the moment just to snuggle into Kelsey.
“So now what happens now? To Benny?” Kelsey looked at each of them in turn. Steven felt his heart twist at the look of anxiety on her face.
“He needs to be watched for the next twenty-four hours,” Dr. Adam said. “And awakened every so often just to make sure the medication is wearing off.”
“But what—”
“I’ve called your mother, Adam,” Dr. James cut Kelsey off and looked at Adam Kendall.
Kelsey focused on Adam. “Why did he call your mother?”
“Mom’s the local magistrate,” Adam said.
“Oh. Of course. I guess there’ll have to be a court order. Children’s Services will have to get involved. Yes, of course.”
Steven heard the disappointment in Kelsey’s voice and wondered if she did, as well. He looked from Matthew to his cousin Adam. Matthew nodded, and Adam seemed to understand exactly what it was he and his brother wanted to happen next because Adam nodded, too.
“I’ll go see if she’s here yet,” Adam said.
“I want my mommy.”
“I know, sweetheart.” Kelsey continued to rock Benny, whose eyes began to close.
Matthew stepped forward and ran a hand down the little boy’s back. “I’m going to do my best to find her for you, Benny, okay?”
“Are you a police man?” Benny asked.
“I’m the deputy sheriff,” Matthew said. Then he used his thumb to indicate Steven. “That’s my brother. He’s a cowboy.”
“Really?” That news perked Benny right up. He straightened and took his thumb out of his mouth. “Do you have a horse? Is it here? Can I see it?”
Steven stepped forward. The wide-eyed tot tugged at his heartstrings. He gave him his best smile and kept his voice soft. “I have about twenty horses. Not here, I keep them at my ranch. We’ll see what we can do about letting you have a look at them.”
“Cool.” Then he laid his head back down on Kelsey’s shoulder and closed his eyes again. Steven let his gaze meet Kelsey’s, and the emotions he saw swirling there lifted his spirits and laid him bare all at the same moment.
* * * *
Kelsey hadn’t wanted to get involved, but the moment she’d realized this poor, precious baby had been drugged, she’d been helpless to resist him.
At the moment, Benny lay against her shoulder, his head finding that special place God gave mothers to cradle their sons. The weight of him in her arms as she held him and the warmth of his tiny body stirred more emotions in her than she felt capable of dealing with right now, but she didn’t matter.
Only this precious baby boy mattered.
The door to the examining room opened, and Sheriff Kendall stuck his head in. “The magistrate is here,” he said.
“Come on, honey,” Matthew said. He stood on one side of her, Steven on the other. Both men’s gazes had filled with sympathy, and she felt herself shudder.
Only this baby mattered. Kelsey shuddered again as the memories came, fast and furious. She pushed them away ruthlessly and let the men lead her out of the room.
Tall, with beautifully coiffed red hair and mesmerizing green eyes, Samantha Kendall was a striking woman. Kelsey recalled thinking that once before when she and her husbands had come into the restaurant. Kelsey felt her eyes widen when she recalled that Samantha had not two, but three husbands. Adam’s fathers, she’d learned just a few weeks ago, were triplets.
At the moment, Lusty’s magistrate took in the tiny boy Kelsey held, and her eyes softened.
“How is the little man?” she asked, stroking her hand down the boy’s back.
How interesting that she’s asking me. “The doctors say he’ll be fine. They think he was given just a bit of sleeping medication. He needs to be awakened every couple of hours for the rest of the night.”
“He seems very comfortable with you,” Samantha said.
“I think it’s because he was surrounded by so many big men when I went into the room.” Kelsey said.
“You’re probably right. I have one of my husbands, Preston, tucked away in the admin office here preparing…ah, there he is.”
Preston Kendall looked as if he stepped right off the cover of a men’s fashion magazine. Though he had to be in his sixties, he didn’t look a day over forty.