Dammit.

Round and round his thoughts went as he strode across the field. The day had remained gray and misty, though no rain was falling. Not too far away, he could see the teenagers overseeing the goats, and for the briefest moment he experienced a surge of misplaced pride in the work Soleil did. Sure, she was a pie-eyed idealist, but she lived by her ideals every waking moment, and she did good work with the kids.

If he had more time during this leave, he’d love to hang out here and get his hands dirty. But that option didn’t seem likely considering the reason why West was on leave. His father had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease two months ago, and his mental state had deteriorated drastically in the past six months. Now he needed constant care, but he’d managed to drive away the first three caregivers West had hired, leaving him with no choice but to deal with the situation in person. It was a complicated mess made worse by his complex feelings for his father.

He arrived at the rear door of the farmhouse and knocked.

Soleil called out for him to come in.

As he opened the door, the scent of fresh-baked bread greeted him. He inhaled deeply-he was ravenous.

“Join us for lunch?” Soleil said, though her lack of a smile reminded him that she’d probably prefer he not.

“I will, thanks.”

Would she have been inviting him for lunch if she had any big, life-altering news to report?

“We’re having sandwiches and potato salad. Hope that’s okay.”

“Sounds great. Your fence is fixed, by the way.”

“Thank you so much. I meant to get out there this morning and totally forgot about it. I’ve been pretty forgetful lately-it’s a side effect of…” She trailed off, seeming to realize too late that she’d brought up something she didn’t want to discuss.

“Pregnancy?” he finished for her.

“Yeah.” She smiled weakly.

“You look great. Really glowing and healthy.”