Mollie Molay - The Baby In The Back Seat

The look in Laura’s eyes reminded him he was on probation as a father. Maybe as a man, too.

Considering the situation, he might be better off out of sight. At least until he’d cleaned up, rescued his boots and was able to take charge again.

The bedroom she’d directed him to appeared to be some kind of dormitory. A kid’s dormitory, judging from the size of the trio of bunk beds and the rest of the furniture. Footlockers under the beds took the place of dressers. One small chest of drawers was in a corner with a brass lamp on it. The beds were covered with handmade quilts, freshly starched green-and-white curtains hung on the windows, and a large hooked rug covered the floor. From the look of the room, Laura must be expecting the campers she’d mentioned.

The child-size bunk beds were definitely not intended for a six-foot-two-inch man. Unless he curled into a pretzel shape and let his legs hang over the edge. A bunk might be okay for Annie, if she didn’t turn over and topple off.

Between the too-short bunk bed and worrying about Annie, how in hell was he going to get any sleep tonight?

Through an open door, he caught a glimpse of a bathroom. Good, he thought as he shucked his damp clothing down to his shivering skin. A long hot shower was just the ticket. Cleaned up and with his boots on, he could face the lady rancher on equal terms.

In the bathroom an old-fashioned claw-foot tub greeted him. The sink was of the same vintage, maybe thirty years old or more. The shower was over the tub and enclosed by a plastic shower curtain. At least the tub was man-size, Sam mused gratefully as he stepped into the tub and let hot water run over him.

To his surprise, he found his boots, cleaned and shined, just inside the door when he came back into the bedroom. Room service? He let out a sigh of relief. Maybe his stay at the ranch was going to be more enjoyable than he’d thought.

He rummaged in his duffel for clean jeans and a fresh shirt. Once dressed, he took the stairs two at a time and headed for the sounds coming from the kitchen.

Annie was sitting on a stack of pillows. A large kitchen towel around her middle bound her firmly to the rungs of a kitchen chair. Her little hands were waving in the air, and milk dripped from her chin. Laura was laughing and waving a spoon to catch the baby’s attention. Sure enough, an enchanted Annie’s lips parted.

One swoop, another, then plop, the cereal went into Annie’s open mouth. Beside them, the alert mutt stood with his tongue hanging out, his tail wagging. From the expectant look in his eyes, Sam expected kindhearted Laura to give the dog his turn.

Sam stood silently, lost in thought. He’d usually been on the outside of life, photographing heartwarming scenes for others to enjoy. This one, with his own daughter in it, warmed his heart. Too bad his ex hadn’t hung around long enough to be a part of a scene like this.

Sam had thought he’d realized his dream of having a family of his own. Until Paige had told him he wasn’t a good husband, let alone father. Annie had been a mistake, she’d explained when she’d called him from Paris and told him she’d filed for divorce.

He gazed at little Annie. With her golden-brown hair, chocolate-brown eyes and a dimple in her chin, she was almost a mirror image of himself.

Annie, a mistake? No way. Annie was the best thing that had ever happened to him. She might have a mother who’d opted out of motherhood, but she sure had a father who wanted her.

The domestic scene in front of him was unsettling. He told himself he still had mountains to climb, roads to travel, photographs to take. That it was the wrong time and place to become maudlin over broken dreams.

He’d have to forget the attraction he was beginning to feel for Laura, both for her sake and for his. His first priority was to prove he could make it as a father—or bust a gut trying.

Laura Evans apparently had problems of her own, anyway. She didn’t need him to complicate her life.

There was only one thing left to do, he thought as he cleared his throat and made his presence known. As soon as the car-rental agency turned up with another vehicle, he’d take Annie, do Laura a favor and get out of her life.

Arm in midair, Laura looked up at Sam. In a clean, although wrinkled, white shirt and fresh khakis, he looked taller, more sure of himself. Maybe not as sexy as he’d looked when he was dripping wet, but definitely interesting.

“Hungry?” she asked. Annie banged her spoon on the table and babbled a welcome. The dog growled at the interruption.

“Sure,” Sam answered with a grin. “That is, if you have something more filling than baby cereal around.”

“Of course,” Laura answered. “Just give me a minute to finish feeding Annie.”

“How about letting me take over?” Sam suggested. “I may as well learn the drill.”

Laura regarded him thoughtfully before she stood and handed him the spoon. “Of course. Just don’t put too much on the spoon at one time or she’ll choke.”

Sam sensed her reluctance. He understood her dilemma all too well. He might be Annie’s father, but Laura was concerned he might not be able to do the right thing for the baby. “With you here to supervise, I’ll do fine,” he said bravely. “Just wait and see.”

“I wasn’t expecting company,” Laura answered. “Ham and eggs and hash browns for supper okay with you?”

Sam sat down and gingerly dipped the spoon into the cereal and aimed for Annie’s mouth. “Sure,” he answered. Happily Annie was hungry enough to cooperate. “By the way, thanks for cleaning my boots.”

“It wasn’t me,” Laura answered as she rummaged in an old refrigerator. “Hank took care of it. Said a man without his boots is like a fish out of water.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Sam answered, wiping excess cereal off Annie’s chin. “Who’s Hank? I’d like to thank him.”

“The ranch handyman,” Laura answered. “He’s been around here for more years than he can remember. Not that there’s a lot for him to do anymore,” she added as she sliced a shank of ham, “but he said that since the old sheep herder’s life has passed him by, he might as well hang around here.”

Sam nodded. From their surroundings, he sensed Hank remained at the ranch because he cared for the place and its present owner. It wasn’t difficult to understand, Sam thought as he watched Laura break eggs into a buttered frying pan. Judging from the way she took to caring for Annie, she was the nurturing type. And the nurturing didn’t stop with babies.

Laura slid a plate with scrambled eggs, ham and hash browns toward Sam. “Toast and coffee will be ready in a minute.”

Sam studied his daughter. She’d spit out the last two spoonfuls of cereal and was hanging over the towel babbling at the mutt. Sam heaved a sigh of relief. Annie was obviously full.

Laura joined him at the table with a plate of her own. “Room okay?”

“Sort of,” he answered, debating the wisdom of complaining about the size of the bunk beds. “But to tell you the truth, I’m a little worried about where Annie is going to sleep.”

Laura jumped up to turn off the coffeepot before it boiled over. “Not to worry,” she answered as she buttered wheat toast and placed it on a plate. “There’s always the dresser drawer.”

Sam felt himself blanch. “The dresser? How is she going to breathe in there?”

Laura smiled reassuringly and poured coffee. “You don’t have to worry. We’ll improvise. If you’re going to be traveling around with Annie, you’re going to have to find ways to make do, starting now. Although,” she added with a frown, “I don’t think traveling with an infant as young as Annie is a good idea.”

Sam shrugged. “Don’t have a choice. At least, not for now. I’ll try to find a more permanent place to stay later. Somewhere I can bring in a nanny while I work.”

Laura leaned over to make sure Annie was still securely fastened to the chair. “Sounds to me it’s not going to be easy.” She bit her lip, reached for her cup of coffee and met Sam’s gaze. “It’s okay to leave her here while you do your thing at the spa. That is, if you feel okay leaving her here with me.”

Sam was agreeable to leaving Annie here all right, but only as long as the photography assignment would take. “I’m game if you don’t mind,” he finally answered. “It’ll only take me a couple of days of shooting at the spa, and I’ll be back here at night.”

Laura was torn between offering him her ancient truck to get to the spa or withholding the offer to keep him from leaving. Until she noticed Annie’s drooping eyelids.

“Let’s go upstairs, and I’ll show you where Annie can spend the night.”

“Maybe I can help you clean up in here?”

“Later,” Laura answered. She untied the sleepy baby and cuddled her in her arms. “Let’s get Annie to bed first. The dishes can wait.”

Sam carried the diaper bag and trailed Laura up the stairs. Something told him the next lesson was going to be a zinger.

It was. After Laura cleaned up the sleepy baby, she rummaged in the diaper bag for nightclothes and came up with a yellow fleece sleepsuit. “Looks as if her mother thought of everything Annie would need for today at least,” she murmured. “Any more of the baby’s things in the SUV?”

“Don’t know. Frankly I didn’t take time to look around. All I could think of was getting Annie out of there before the deluge hit her.”

Laura nodded. “Good thinking. Now, why don’t you pull out the bottom drawer of that chest over there and I’ll make Annie’s bed.”

Puzzled, Sam pulled out the empty drawer, brought it over to the bunk bed and watched Laura stuff the drawer with linens. In minutes she had a sleeping Annie tucked into the drawer on her back. “Annie will be safe in here.”

Sam was lost in admiration at the makeshift crib.

He spent the rest of the evening and the night waiting for Annie to cry. And hoping that Laura wouldn’t come barreling in to rescue her. The last thing he wanted was to see Laura in a nightgown. He might have sworn off women for now, but he wasn’t a saint.

In the morning Sam had just polished off the last bit of French toast when he heard a car drive up to the back door of the house, skid to a stop, and a car door slam. To his surprise, Laura glanced out the window and reached for the rifle that hung on a wall.

“Hold on a minute!” Sam jumped to his feet and made for the door. “Take it easy before that thing goes off and you shoot someone.”

“You got it right, Sam. That’s the idea here.” Laura tried to stare him down. “Now get out of my way before the someone turns out to be you.”

Sam swallowed hard and took a firm grip of Laura’s shooting arm. With Annie asleep in a nest of blankets in the next room, he wasn’t about to let the rifle go off. “Not before you tell me what’s going on.”

“I intend to run an unwanted rat off my property, that’s what,” she answered with a hot glance over Sam’s shoulder. “Remove your hand and get out of the way.”

Sam froze. If it was going to be a question of who was the stronger of the two, he was—hands down. Even though the fire in Laura’s eyes told him she wasn’t going to give up easily, he didn’t intend to move.

A hard impatient knock sounded at the door.

Sam took a firmer grip on the rifle. “At least tell me who’s out there, what they want, and why you want to shoot him!”

“Harry Magraw, that’s who. And my land, that’s what,” she answered with a tug on the rifle. “This isn’t the first time Magraw has been here uninvited trying to persuade me to sell the ranch. I told him never to show up at the front door again, so this time he’s come around to the back door. The fool just doesn’t seem to understand the word no.”