Four days was an eternity to be stranded anywhere, but especially with Stevie O’Dell. Cody had known he’d broken her heart when he ended things between them. He hadn’t expected her to understand his commitment to following his dream of joining Doctors Without Borders. He wanted to give back to people who hadn’t had the good fortune that he’d had after the Ryans had taken him in as their foster son, and he couldn’t let a girl or his heart stand in the way.

Cody had thought he might have to spend the night in the tack room, and maybe part of Thursday, but if Stevie was right, they might be stuck here until the weekend. He sunk down on the end of the sofa.

“Haven’t seen you around since summer.” Cody broke the silence.

“Not since the parade and rodeo,” she answered. “No need to come out to the ranch unless I’m called to look after animals. Guess everything out there is healthy?”

“Might not be after this storm,” Cody said with a shrug.

“Never know,” she said as she used her shirttail for a potholder and gently poured the water back into the bottle. She added powder, shook it up, and offered it to the cria. At first, the little thing turned its head away, but then the cat raised up on its hind feet and licked the nipple a couple of times. When Stevie offered it again, the cria stood, popped its little tail straight up, and took to the bottle.

“God bless that cat,” Stevie said. “I’ll have to go out to the van and get diapers.”

“What’s that got to do with a cat?” Cody asked.

“Nothing. I need them for the cria. Unless you want to step in poop?” Stevie raised an eyebrow.

Cody got to his feet and pulled on his coat. “Dad never put diapers on his alpaca babies.”

“His crias have mamas to take care of wiping their babies’ butts. This little girl doesn’t have a mother, and I don’t see this cat taking care of her in that area, do you?” Stevie said.

“Where are they in the van?” Cody asked. “I’ll go get them for you.”

“They were on the right side, behind the passenger seat, but things got shifted when the tire went flat. Green box with a baby on the side,” she told him. “And thank you. I’ll take care of the feeding if you’ll change the diapers.”

“Oh, no!” Cody said. “I’ll get the diapers for you, but I’m not changing them. This is your baby, not mine.”

“Then you don’t get a vote on her name,” Stevie told him. “No responsibilities. No privileges.”