His Easter Baby


 
 
 
 “Do you want to hold him?”
 Connor stretched out his arms and leaned toward Gage.
 Gage scooted his chair back. “I’ll try.”
 Connor babbled an unintelligible sound and kicked one leg against Skye’s hip while leaning farther out of her grasp. He wasn’t old enough to use words yet, but she understood his body language. She gently passed him to Gage.
 Skye avoided eye contact and moved past him to the kitchen, wishing there was a wall or a cabinet or anything to block her view of Gage, cautiously holding Connor like he was the most fragile thing in the world. A telltale flutter in her midsection made her deliberately turn away and take her sweet time rummaging in the pantry for a container of the puffed rice snacks Connor loved.
 That was the last thing she needed—succumbing to the image of this strong, competent man riding in like some fairy-tale hero to rescue the damsel in distress.
 She wasn’t in distress. Okay, maybe she had a little bit going on in her life, but she didn’t need him to rescue her.
 
 
 His Easter Baby
 Heidi McCahan&Lois Richer
 2 Uplifting StoriesTheir Baby Blessing and A Baby by Easter
 
 
 
 Table of Contents
 Their Baby Blessing by Heidi McCahan
 A Baby by Easter by Lois Richer
 Excerpt from His Alaskan Redemption by Heidi McCahan
 
 
 Their Baby Blessing
 Heidi McCahan
 
 
 Heidi McCahan is a Pacific Northwest girl at heart, but now resides in North Carolina with her husband and three boys. When she isn’t writing inspirational romance novels, Heidi can usually be found reading a book, enjoying a cup of coffee and avoiding the laundry pile. She’s also a huge fan of dark chocolate and her adorable goldendoodle, Finn. She enjoys connecting with readers, so please visit her website, heidimccahan.com.
 Books by Heidi McCahan
 Love Inspired
 Home to Hearts Bay
 An Alaskan Secret The Twins’ Alaskan Adventure
 The Firefighter’s TwinsTheir Baby BlessingAn Unexpected ArrangementThe Bull Rider’s Fresh Start
 Visit the Author Profile page at LoveInspired.com.
 
 
 Commit thy works unto the Lord,and thy thoughts shall be established.
 —Proverbs 16:3
 
 
 To my Colorado family:although we don’t see each other often,I’m thankful for the moments when our paths intersect. Much love to all of you.
 
 
 Contents
 Chapter One
 Chapter Two
 Chapter Three
 Chapter Four
 Chapter Five
 Chapter Six
 Chapter Seven
 Chapter Eight
 Chapter Nine
 Chapter Ten
 Chapter Eleven
 Chapter Twelve
 Chapter Thirteen
 Chapter Fourteen
 Chapter Fifteen
 Chapter Sixteen
 Epilogue
 
 
 Chapter One
 She shouldn’t have said yes.
 Seated at a table next to the window, Skye Tomlinson cupped both hands around her disposable coffee cup and scanned the parking lot outside Common Grounds for a man who might be Gage Westbrook. What was she thinking—meeting a total stranger for coffee? And after only a brief exchange of direct messages on social media, too. What if he’d fabricated his whole story? Maybe this was an elaborate scheme he’d plotted to—
 Relax. Not every man was out to manipulate women for their own personal gain.
 Skye took a sip of her skinny hazelnut latte, desperate for comfort as the painful memories of her ex-boyfriend threatened to resurface. He’d controlled her, mocking her need for independence. Then made her feel like nothing. Over and over. While his harsh words no longer played on an endless loop in her head, she still carefully guarded tender emotional wounds. And loathed her own foolishness at ever believing he genuinely loved her.
 Stop. You’re safe here. A quick glance around the newest coffee shop in Merritt’s Crossing revealed two of her mother’s friends sitting in the overstuffed chairs by the fireplace. More familiar faces lingered around tables, savoring the warm and inviting atmosphere on a blustery Sunday afternoon. She was confident any of these folks would come to her aid if she needed them.
 Although she’d snooped around Gage’s social media profile—or tried to anyway—he hadn’t made many details available to her prying eyes. His profile picture featured a submarine, and his cover photo was a sunset over the Florida coast. On the upside, she’d asked her brother who worked at the local sheriff’s department to run a quick check, and he’d come back squeaky-clean.
 Despite Gage’s spotless record, she was still apprehensive about meeting him. But he said he knew about baby Connor, and that he had sensitive information about the birth father. Maybe that meant he also knew more details about where Skye’s cousin McKenna might be, so Skye couldn’t afford not to hear what he had to say. Because as much as she adored the sweet eleven-month-old who’d been left in her care more than a month ago, it was time for McKenna to come back, step up and be Connor’s mom.
 While Skye hated the convoluted family feud that no doubt influenced her cousin’s dangerous and heartbreaking life choices—and wrestled with her own guilt over not doing enough to help resolve it—she couldn’t be Connor’s permanent legal guardian. If she was honest, she didn’t want to be his guardian. A temporary leave from her pharmaceutical sales position in Denver to come home to Merritt’s Crossing and help her widowed mother while she recovered from knee surgery was manageable. Keeping the family furniture store afloat proved daunting, but Skye could handle it until Mom was back on her feet. Literally.
 But motherhood? Though a noble endeavor, it wasn’t part of her carefully orchestrated plans. Kids were fine for her friends, and she’d love it if her brothers married and started families someday, but she wasn’t interested in raising Connor or having children. It wasn’t just the day-to-day tasks of meeting Connor’s needs and finding adequate child care, although juggling both responsibilities felt overwhelming. Caring for him threatened the self-reliance she’d worked so hard to gain. What was worse, with each passing day, Skye worried more and more that McKenna might not ever show up. The thought of parenting Connor on