Married In A Month

“I can do it.” Grabbing the bottle, she turned abruptly and sailed out of the kitchen.

Colt frowned, watching the sway of her long, dark hair as she scuttled down the hall like a frightened kitten. What was that all about?

He followed her back to the nursery where she sat in the rocker holding Evan.

“What were you doing in my room?” he asked as abruptly as she’d left the kitchen.

She blushed deeply, and the color bathed her pale skin in a downright appealing pink.

“Well, I wasn’t stealing the silver,” she replied stiffly. “Having only just arrived, I was trying to locate the nursery.”

Her rigid voice and stiff back said she was offended. He hadn’t accused her of anything, but she seemed to think he had. Was that the problem? She thought he was checking up on her? Well, he was, wasn’t he? For Evan’s sake.

Face averted, she turned her attention to the baby. A long strand of chestnut-colored hair fell over her shoulder onto the baby. Holding Evan with one hand while balancing the bottle with her chin, Kati used the free hand to gather the smooth, dark tresses into a ponytail which she then drew over her opposite shoulder.

Colt followed the action, thinking what beautiful hair she had. This afternoon she’d been groomed like a businesswoman with one of those sleek up-dos. Somewhere since he’d seen her last, she’d changed into jeans and a T-shirt and let down her long, glorious hair.

She wasn’t what he’d consider a particularly beautiful woman, but she exuded a kind of feminine grace he found uniquely alluring. She wore little makeup, but her skin was clear and soft looking, her lips full and gently curving. Thick black lashes framed a pair of large gray eyes and cast shadows against her cheeks.

But it was the long mane of hair that drew him most. If he took two steps he could touch it, feel the silky fullness on his skin. Maybe even press his nose into the clean fresh scent. One hand, as if acting on its own, started to reach out.

Hell’s bells! He snapped the offending hand down to his side. What had gotten into him? This woman was a temporary nanny—with the emphasis on temporary. It was bad enough he’d let her trick him into signing that confounded paper. He could easily have loaned her the money or been her cosigner instead of promising to marry her, but fatigue had kept him from seeing through her ridiculous plan. She was either crazy, desperate or a gold digger, and he must be completely out of his mind to think about touching her.

But he was okay. He could deal with the entire mess. As long as she took good care of Evan, and let him go on with his life, he’d be happy. Signing that paper meant nothing. She’d be out of here long before a month was up.

He glanced back at the woman, expecting deceit to be written on her like a neon sign. No such luck. Totally attuned to the infant in her arms, she looked like the Madonna.

Colt jerked at the notion. There he went again. Annoyed and frustrated, he muttered gruffly, “I’ve got work to do. Supper’s at six.” Then he stomped out of the room.

Supper proved to be a sumptuous feast. Kati, tense as a fiddle string, sat across from Colt watching him shovel in enough chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy to kill a horse, while Cookie shuffled about the kitchen, sweat glistening on his cornrowed brow.

Kati took a deep drink from a tall glass of iced tea, savoring the cool sweetness as she savored the image of her employer. Though he looked more rested now than he had earlier, and a sight more chipper, he was every bit as handsome and rugged. Her stomach did a double axle and a triple flip just looking at him. The attraction grew with every glance, an attraction she’d work hard to ignore given the circumstances. Men in general, especially hunks like Colt Garret, didn’t find her the least bit attractive. And even if they did, she wasn’t interested in any more temporary relationships in her life. Kati’s Angels would be permanent, would give her roots and stability, the three things she’d always wanted. She wasn’t about to stick her heart out on her sleeve for someone to rip to shreds. Still, looking at Colt wouldn’t be a problem, and tonight she wanted to look her fill.

“You get settled in all right?” he asked congenially, aiming his rich-chocolate gaze in her direction.

“Fine, thank you.” Her lips felt as stiff as new shoes. They’d gotten off to such a bad start that afternoon, she wasn’t sure what to expect.

“Baby asleep?”

“Oh, yes,” she answered around a bite of buttery mashed potatoes. In the past ten minutes, she’d stuffed herself like a Charles Dickens orphan. “A baby his age sleeps a lot.”

“Not when I was taking care of him,” Colt answered wryly.

His cute smile set off another chain of flips and somersaults that Kati battled by drowning them in cold tea. But his smile was a welcome change, considering what happened that afternoon in the nursery. Colt had clearly thought she was snooping. Well, she had been, hadn’t she? But only by accident. As a teenager, she’d once been falsely accused of stealing from a foster family. Though she’d eventually been cleared, the cloud of suspicion had hovered and she’d never quite forgotten the bitter humiliation of such an accusation. Colt already thought she was a lunatic; she couldn’t allow him to think she was a thief, as well.

Cookie appeared with a steaming apple pie and interrupted her anxious musings.

“Got some ice cream to go with this, too, Miss Kati.” He slid the pan onto a trivet close to Kati’s elbow, bringing the cinnamon scent right beneath her nose.

“Hey,” Colt said, pretending hurt, “what about me? Don’t I get some pie and ice cream?”

“Ladies first,” Cookie insisted, sliding a saucer of pie in Kati’s direction. “Ain’t every day we have a guest as perty and nice as this one, and I want to make sure you and your cranky attitude don’t run her off.”

“Cranky? I’m not cranky.” He turned to Kati, hands spread in teasing supplication. “Have I been cranky today?”

She laughed. “You? Never.” But he had been cranky. Frantic, funny and so sexy she could melt like a chocolate bar on the dashboard.

Cookie’s air-horn laugh blasted. “This one got your number in a hurry, boy. Better watch out.”

Suddenly the rotund cook froze and cast a wary eye toward the doorway. “Uh-oh.”

Following his gaze, Colt stiffened. Slowly he raised his fork and pointed. “What in blazes is that?”

Caesar, tail twitching, pranced regally into the dining room as if to say, “You started dinner without me?”

Kati grimaced. Great. Leave it to the recalcitrant cat to make a grand entrance the very first night. “Caesar. Come here, boy.” Kati patted the side of her leg, hoping against hope that for once in his life, he’d obey.

The cat ignored her, making a beeline for Colt instead. “You didn’t tell me you had a cat.” He sounded as though she had leprosy instead of a pet.

“Sorry. I never thought…”

“I’m not exactly a cat hater,” he said slowly. “But in my book cats were put on this earth for one purpose—alligator bait.”

Kati didn’t know if he was serious or kidding. “I’ll keep him in my room,” she said hurriedly. “He won’t bother you.”

Making a liar out of her, Caesar chose that moment to begin a slow, seductive weave through Colt’s legs. The cowboy glared down at him. “Cats belong in the barn.”

Caesar sat and raised a plaintive paw to Colt’s knee. Suspiciously the cowboy drew back. “What’s he doing?”

Why, oh, why had she spoiled her cat by feeding him from the table? Kati made a face and in a small voice said, “I think he wants a piece of your steak.”

“My steak! Not a chance.” After a second, more-insistent pat from Caesar’s paw, Colt ripped off a bite of the meat and jabbed it in the general direction of the cat, muttering, “Anything to make him go away. Blasted feline.”

As Cookie sounded his air-horn laugh once again, Caesar carefully, daintily took the offering between his teeth and retired to the corner to dine.

Between bites, Colt kept an anxious eye on the corner. Finally he frowned and said, “I hope that’s not a tomcat. They roam, you know, and caterwaul all hours of the night.”

“No, no. Don’t worry. He’s not a tomcat. Caesar’s been neutered.”

Cookie stopped dead in his tracks, turned and gazed at the cat. Colt swallowed hard and did the same. Then the two men looked at each other in horror.

“Poor guy,” Colt commiserated, casting a long sympathetic look toward the animal.

“Yeah,” Cookie breathed, then rushed back into the kitchen as though the same fate awaited him if he stuck around any longer.

“Well,” Colt twisted uncomfortably in his chair. “Since the poor critter doesn’t have much else to live for, I guess he can stay. But he’s confined to your room. Understand? I can’t abide a cat underfoot.”

“Absolutely. That’s fine. No problem. Thank you so much,” she gushed. Shut up, Kati. Stop gushing as though he’s handed you the winning lottery ticket. But her relief was genuine. She couldn’t let anything happen to good old Caesar. He was all the family she had.