The Baby In The Back Seat

The rider’s raised eyebrows suggested her disbelief, but he was beyond caring. It was beginning to look as if this mishap could wind up as a case of life or death. Or jail.

He was ready to admit that in his case truth was stranger than fiction. He might be innocent of kidnapping, but he sure hoped smashing a fence and a water tower weren’t shooting offenses around here.

Now that she’d cooled down, Laura had to bite her lip to smother a laugh. The man’s story was too ridiculous to be a fabrication, but it didn’t get him off the hook. The damage he’d caused couldn’t have come at a worse time. She silently surveyed the destruction. Repairing the fence and putting up a new water tower would set her back months if he didn’t have the funds to do the job. She saw hundreds of dollars, maybe thousands, in repairs facing her. Money she didn’t have and wasn’t likely to borrow in time to prevent the loss of her herd, small though it was.

As for the baby smiling at her from the infant seat, she definitely had her father’s coloring and, in any case, was too cute to ignore. From the way things looked, she was in need of some tender loving care.

Laura studied the baby’s father. She’d been around men long enough to sense he was a man’s man, even if he didn’t know how to drive. He was larger than life, handsome, tall and lithe. A brown-and-white shirt was stretched taut across his chest. Long legs were encased in stone-washed jeans and ended in brown leather boots. His clear chocolate-brown eyes, so like the baby’s, met hers in a way that made her all too aware of him. So what if his glance and the muscular chest showing under his wet shirt warmed her middle? She had more important things to think about than a sexy man.

Keeping her mind on saving the ranch from being sold from under her was her number-one priority, and he wasn’t helping.

She smothered a sigh. Whatever the outcome of his unexpected arrival, the stranger was someone she wouldn’t easily forget after he was gone. As for the baby…well, she couldn’t afford to dwell on her, either.

“Who are you, and where did you think you were going?”

“The name is Sam Harrison,” he answered. “I’m a photojournalist. Actually I was on my way to photograph the New Horizons Spa when I managed to get lost.” He gestured to the sodden road map lying in the mud at his feet. “According to the map the car-rental agency gave me, the spa should have been somewhere around here.”

It wasn’t the first time some tenderfoot had gotten lost on his way to the spa. She was used to strangers driving up to her door expecting a glamorous health spa instead of a run-down sheep ranch. But it was the first time anyone had managed to trash her property in the process. Frowning, she swallowed an angry retort and gazed at the unhappy culprit. “You took the wrong turn at the crossroads about two miles back.”

The baby cried again. Sam unbuckled the infant carrier, took the baby in his arms and tried to soothe her. To his chagrin, her bottom was damper than the tears that lingered in the corner of her eyes. He felt like a heel. No wonder the poor kid had been crying her heart out for attention. What kind of father did that make him?

“What do you intend to do now?” the rider asked.

“Beats me.” He glanced at the busted SUV and ran his fingers through the shock of hair that fell over his forehead. “Outside of calling the rental agency, I haven’t a clue.”

“Try.” She gestured to the fallen water tower, now a limp mass of corrugated tin, and the pieces of fencing scattered over the road. “And while you’re thinking, don’t forget to figure out how you’re going to pay for the damage you caused. Without a fence, my livestock can wander out onto the road. That is, if they don’t die of thirst first.”

That caught Sam’s attention. “Good Lord! You can’t possibly mean it’s as bad as all that!”

He looked horrified, but she didn’t take the time to explain. The sheep wouldn’t die of thirst, not after a spring storm that had left pockets of water standing in the meadow, but they would undoubtedly head for greener pastures if the fence wasn’t fixed soon. What she’d told him came too close to the truth for her own peace of mind.

She leaned on the pommel of the saddle. “Every word, Mr. Harrison. Hope you can afford it, because repairing the fence and replacing the water tower at double time are going to cost you a bundle.”

“Don’t worry. I told you I’ll take care of it.” He felt in his back pocket, then shrugged. “I’ll give you a check as soon as I get someplace dry.” He held the baby away from the damp spot on his shirt and mustered a weak grin. “I’ll have to find a motel where I can clean us up.”

Laura eyed him thoughtfully and relaxed her vigilance. The guy was a lousy driver, but she’d bet her last dollar he was honest. She would have sent him packing after he wrote her a check, but the SUV clearly wasn’t going anywhere. Besides, there was a baby to consider.

First things first. She gestured to the ranch house behind her. “I’m Laura Evans, and this my ranch, the Lazy E. As for a motel, there aren’t any. Not around here, anyway.”

Obviously dismayed, Sam eyed her. His grin faded. “You’ve got to be kidding! There are motels everywhere. Except maybe when you need them,” he added with a distracted look around. “I guess we can bunk in the SUV until help comes.”

Laura’s conscience stirred. The man needed help, and his infant daughter definitely looked as if she needed some attention. What could it hurt if she took them in for a few hours while he waited for a tow truck?

She gestured over her shoulder. “My place back there is the only building around for miles. If you like, you can follow me and get yourself and your daughter cleaned up before you move on.”

“Move on? I wish.” He gestured at the banged-up SUV sitting in the mud. To Laura it looked like a drowned duck with its nose stuck in the mud and its rear end in the air. “I don’t think I’ll be able to go anywhere for a while.” He sighed and gently rocked the baby. “But if it’s okay with you, I’d like to take you up on your offer. First I have to make a telephone call.”

“Local?”

“Don’t worry, I have a cell phone.”

Satisfied, Laura nodded. “Want to hand me the baby? You can follow me to the ranch house when you’re ready.”

He pointedly eyed the rifle and the dog poised at attention at her feet and shook his head. “No thanks. I’ll carry her.” As an afterthought, he added, gesturing to the rifle, “Had some trouble around here?”

Laura met his gaze. “You don’t have to worry. I’ve been bothered by a couple of unsavory characters lately and had to run them off. I wasn’t sure you weren’t more of the same. Or if you’d been sent to deliberately wreck the fence and the water tower to harass me.”

“Harass you? What for?”

“To get me to sell the ranch.”

Without taking his gaze off the rifle, he nodded warily. “You’re not planning on using that, are you?”

She leaned on the pommel of the saddle and looked him squarely in the eyes until he squirmed. “Should I be?”

Sam shuddered. “I told you the truth. I’m a photojournalist. I shoot with a camera, not with a gun. In fact, I’d feel a heck of a lot better about all this if you’d put that thing away.”

“No problem.” She slid the rife into the leather scabbard attached to the saddle. The dog poised at the horse’s feet relaxed, but to add to Sam’s discomfiture, continued to eye him warily. “So do I get the baby? Looks to me as if you have enough on your hands without her.”

“Her name is Annie,” he said. He tramped back to the SUV and reached inside for the diaper bag that had been sitting beside the car seat. Back on dry land, he handed the bag and the baby to Laura. “Whatever her mother had in mind when she stashed Annie in my car, I hope she remembered to provide the fixings for Annie’s care.” He managed a grin. “Too bad she didn’t take the time to explain what I need to do with them.”

Laura whistled at the watchful dog. “Don’t worry, your daughter is in good hands. I’ll take care of her for now. Make your call, and follow me when you’re ready.”

While he punched out the number of the car-rental agency in Grand Junction on his cell, Sam watched Laura Evans canter off with Annie in her arms. In spite of his dim view of women at the moment, he couldn’t help but feel attracted to the feisty rancher.

To his disgust, he was put on hold, but this time he didn’t get as steamed as he usually did. The wait gave him time to check out the way Laura Evans filled out her form-fitting jeans and cotton shirt. He actually admired the picture she made—until he thought about the reason she carried a rifle.

He glanced at the weathered buildings, the lack of any real activity that bespoke a successful ranch. If the lady’s property was a paying proposition, it would be a surprise to him.

It looked as if Laura Evans ought to make the best of the situation and sell out to the highest bidder, instead of threatening would-be buyers with a rifle.

Someone finally answered his telephone call. He swore under his breath at the reply and put the phone back in his pocket. He wasn’t going anywhere, at least no time soon.

Shivering, he reached into the SUV for his duffel bag. Considering his dripping shirt and jeans and muddy boots, Annie wasn’t the only one who needed changing.

He knew he had to find a way to move on once he and Annie were clean and dry. Maybe calling the spa and asking for transportation would work. Sure as hell, if someone was trying to harass Laura Evans or frighten her into selling her ranch, the last thing she needed was to have him and Annie around to add to her problems. And the last thing he needed was to become involved.

As far as he could tell, paying for the damage he’d caused wasn’t going to help Laura Evans, either. Considering the mess it sounded she was in, what the lady needed was a miracle.

Chapter Two

Sam locked the banged-up SUV and, with a last rueful glance at the broken fence, trudged through the mud and up the small rise to the ranch house. From what he could see, the only tall structure around had been the water tower. Just his luck.

Outside of a weathered barn and a few newly painted small cabins, the redwood-sided ranch house was the only building worth a damn, in his opinion. Judging from a recent coat of oil-based stain, someone must have paid some attention to putting the place in shape. A futile effort if ever there was one, but he had to admire the effort. A dozen sheep grazed in a distant meadow. If they were the extent of the Evans herd, no wonder she was in trouble.

He noticed newly planted rosebushes ringing the porch as he approached the house. Stones, painted white, lined the freshly raked walk. Alongside the house, two lawn swings sat under the shade of an oak tree. The only sign of life was an elderly cowhand busy assembling what appeared to be some kind of wooden jungle gym.

A jungle gym? Sam gazed around for a sign of kids. Outside of the cowboy and the dog now sprawled on the porch watching him closely, there wasn’t another soul in sight. He shrugged and continued squishing his way in his muddy boots to the ranch house.