Rancher's Perfect Baby Rescue

“I’m afraid if I lie down I’ll fall sound asleep and Melody will never get fed. The chair, please.”

He eased her into his reading chair and fluffed the pillow at her back. “This going to be okay?”

“Fine, thanks. It’s really nice of you to offer your own room.”

The offer had been more of a shanghai. “Later … when you’ve rested some, we need to talk. My hospitality for your answers. Seems only fair.” He stood aside, wondering how fast he could disappear when the baby arrived.

“Fair? Yes, all right. Later.”

Maria arrived carrying the baby, and he backed out of his room at a world-record-setting pace. His mind was reeling not only with questions about these two lost souls, like where they came from and why they were running. But another question was why for the first time in nearly four years his libido was reacting to the mere sight and touch of a very attractive but totally unavailable woman.

Susannah opened her lids, pulling herself from a sound sleep, and for the second time today, she stared up into Nathan’s sky-blue eyes. “I must’ve fallen asleep.”

He nodded and sat opposite her on the edge of the bed. “Maria tells me after the baby was fed you had a bite to eat, too, and a little nap. She’s looking for something to use as a cradle so she can offer you the chance to clean up and take a shower.”

Leaning on his knees, he folded his hands between them and gazed over at her with questions in those terribly sexy eyes. “Feeling well enough for our talk now?”

“I guess.” Not really. She would much rather ask questions of her own, like whether or not anyone on the ranch was a Devotee and how far it was from here to the highway bus stop.

“I need to know who you’re running from.” He raised his eyebrows as if encouraging her to tell him everything.

When she didn’t answer, he volunteered a couple of possibilities of his own. “I guess you might be running from some kind of lawman. Did you bug out on the hospital maternity bill? Or maybe you’re running from the baby’s father? Maria tells me you’ve got a few cuts and scratches she’d like to tend. You get those from some bastard?”

She hesitated, trying to decide what to say.

“If it’s the law that’s chasing you, I have to know.” He looked so sincere and serious; she wanted to blurt out the whole story. “I’ll want to call the Cold Plains police chief. I’m sorry, but I can’t harbor any criminals on the ranch. This is a law-abiding place.”

She couldn’t let him call the Cold Plains police. That was the last thing she needed.

Deciding to go with a half-truth, she said, “The baby’s father got angry. He pushed me onto a bus heading east and said he never wanted to see us again. Then when the money almost ran out, the bus dropped us off. Melody and I got turned around, and we’ve been wandering in the woods looking for someone to help.”

Nathan bit his lip as if trying to decide about her story. “So you’re saying you walked into the forest on your own? No one chased you in?”

Well, it was half-true. “Yes. That’s right. And I kept getting scratched up by all the branches and dead tree limbs. But the baby is safe.”

“Uh-huh.” He didn’t look too convinced. “Okay, then. Where are you from? You have any other family we can contact for help?”

“We’re not from anywhere. We—the baby’s father and I—were just moving around the country. He … he’s a traveling salesman kind of guy.” This was pretty much all true.

“And there’s no one else?”

“No one.” If you took his question literally, she’d just lied. But in her mind and heart there was no one else—at least no one who would care to hear from her under any circumstances, especially not if she needed help.

Nathan stared down at the carpet, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. All she really wanted was a chance to rest the baby for a few hours and then get directions to the bus.

A knock sounded against the open door. “Nathan?” Maria stuck her head in the room. “Can I come in?”

Maria had told her she was the Pierce family housekeeper. But Susannah had been surprised by that and asked why Maria spoke to Nathan in a manner more like a mother or older sister than an employee. It seemed Maria had been with the family since Nathan’s mother died when he was only twelve. She thought of him and his brother as her family now.

“What’s up?” Nathan stood when Maria entered.

“I’ve rigged up a basket for the baby. I can bring the basket in here so Susannah can watch her and still take a nap and grab a shower while the baby naps, if that’s all right with you.”

“I need to go back to work this afternoon anyhow. Bring it on in.”

Maria nodded, then stopped to add something else. “Before you head out, will you make a stop at the front porch? A couple of men who say they’re from Cold Plains are waiting to talk to you.”

Susannah’s veins froze, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Oh, no. After all she’d been through, they were going to capture her and Melody now?

“Did they say what they wanted?” Nathan didn’t look particularly pleased.

Susannah had heard rumors amongst the Devotees that some of the locals hadn’t cared for them coming to their town and taking over. Maybe this was proof it was true.

Maria also wrinkled her face as if she’d tasted something sour. “You know I don’t talk to none of them Devotees unless I have to. They give me the creeps.” She turned and left the room.

Nathan followed Maria’s footsteps, also heading for the bedroom door. “You two have a nice rest this afternoon,” he said over his shoulder. “We’ll talk again.”

“Wait.” She had to say something to save Melody.

He swung back and stood waiting for her to speak.

“Don’t turn us in to the Devotees. Please, Nathan. I beg you for Melody’s sake.” The tears welled up, and the lump in her throat nearly choked the life right out of her.

Standing there staring at her, his jaw turned hard and his eyes went cold. “So there’s a different story you want to give me now?”

“Yes. Yes. Anything. Just please don’t tell them we’re here.”

Nathan stormed out of the room, madder than spit. He should’ve known—just another beautiful woman who lied. What the hell was the matter with him? Didn’t he ever learn?

He’d known her story sounded wrong, but those big hazel eyes had taken him in.

Susannah would have to wait. He had a lot to say to her. But in the meantime, he wanted those frigging Devotee devils the hell off his property.

He hit the front porch ready to go off on them like a rocket. “What do you want?”

The two men turned to his voice. Son of a bitch! One of these dudes was Jonathan Miller, who was absolutely the last man on earth he ever wanted to see again.

“Hello, Nathan.” Jonathan’s smile was greasy, which went perfectly with his hair. “Sorry to bother you. We were waiting to see your father. Is he in?”

Just the sound of his voice set Nathan’s nerves on edge. “No. He’s gone to Cheyenne to a breeders’ auction. I asked you what you want.”

If the Devotees thought they could get around him every time by going to his father, they were in for a big surprise.

“No sense being hostile.” Jonathan’s voice was smooth—too smooth. “The problems between us were over years ago. Things have changed. I’m the vice-mayor of Cold Plains now. We’re neighbors, Nathan. We want to be good neighbors and friends.”

He gritted his teeth and glared at the man. “What part of ‘what do you want?’ don’t you understand? I’m busy, Miller. Say whatever it is and get off our land.”

Miller threw a quick glance at the other man, and a chill went up Nathan’s spine. The guy had perfect hair, perfect clothes, a perfectly nonthreatening stance and glassy but eerily perfect crystal-blue eyes.