Wyatt's Ready-Made Family

Wyatt couldn’t help but smile at the thought of both the daughter and the mother. So maybe he had charmed his way back into the house. He frowned. Maybe that shouldn’t get him so excited.

Maura tried not to make too much of the invitation, reminding herself she was just following through with her agreement. After all, fixing the man a few meals was a great trade for a month’s free rent.

There was a knock at the back door and she looked up to find Wyatt standing on the porch. Right on time. Even a little rumpled from sleep, he was a gorgeous man. Tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Seeing him yesterday without a shirt, she knew he didn’t have an ounce of fat on his body. It was all muscle. Her gaze moved upward to his face to catch his grin. Another blush warmed her cheeks.

“Wyatt, come in,” she said.

“Thank you, ma’am.” He opened the screen door and walked in, then winked at Kelly as he hung his hat on the peg by the door.

“Have a seat.” Maura turned back to the stove and the pancakes. This was one thing she could make without fail. “Kelly, go get your brother.”

The little girl scurried off, leaving them alone. Maura took a deep breath and released it, then picked up the plate of pancakes and carried them to the table. “Help yourself.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” He stabbed into the stack, taking four.

She slid into the chair across from him. “I want to apologize for last night.”

Wyatt stopped pouring syrup. “There’s nothing to apologize for. I overstepped my bounds.”

“You have every right to ask questions. You’re letting us stay here.”

He shook his head. “Listen, everyone is entitled to their secrets.”

Maura didn’t want to talk about her past. She wanted to move on. But she also needed to make Wyatt understand.

“My husband, Darren…we didn’t…the divorce was hard on all of us, especially Jeff. With the move from Dallas to San Angelo, he’s having difficulty adjusting.”

Wyatt knew that Maura was leaving out a lot. Just the look on her face when she talked about her ex told him she was terrified of the man. That only meant one thing—the man had abused her. He felt himself tense. In his book there was nothing lower than a man who used his fists on a woman.

“Maura, I have only one question, then I’ll drop the subject altogether. Is there a chance that your ex-husband will come here and bother you?”

“No! He doesn’t know where we are,” she admitted, terror in her voice. Wyatt wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and assure her that he would take care of her.

“And as long as you and the kids are under this roof,” he said, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Maura started to speak when Kelly came running into the room, crying. Soon to follow was her pleased-looking older brother.

“Mommy, Mommy, Jeff said my freckles were ugly spots.”

The little girl ran to her mother. She sobbed as if her heart were broken.

Wyatt glared at the boy, who looked satisfied that he caused chaos. “You’re not ugly, Kelly. You’re the prettiest little girl that I know.”

The girl wiped her eyes. “Really?”

“Do you know what your freckles mean?”

She shook her head causing her ponytail to swing back and forth.

“You’ve been kissed by the sun.”

A bright smile appeared as she looked at her brother. “See, I’ve been kissed.”

Jeff started to speak, but thought twice when he saw Wyatt’s challenging look. He turned to his mother. “Mom, I want some pancakes, too.”

“Please,” Wyatt added.

The boy remained silent for a few seconds, then added, “Please.”

Maura dished up two large cakes, then directed Kelly to her chair and put one on her plate and began to cut it up. “No, I want Wyatt to do it.” Kelly smiled. “Please.”

This was a new experience for him. He had never cut up a child’s food. Maura nodded as she sat down. He picked up a fork and began cutting the cake into bite-size pieces.

“There you go, princess. Want some syrup?”

She smiled at him sweetly, then looked at her brother. “Wyatt called me princess.”

Jeff mumbled something under his breath, then continued eating his breakfast.

Maura finished her own pancakes and carried her plate to the sink. She hustled her daughter along, then upstairs to brush her teeth. Handing her son his lunch, she sent him off to find his backpack.

When she returned, she discovered Wyatt running water into the sink basin. The man didn’t give up. “I told you, you don’t have to do those.”

“House rules,” he said. “You cooked breakfast, I do the dishes.”

Maura started to argue but he looked at her with those seductive blue eyes. A warm tingle pulsed through her, settling deep in her stomach and she forgot all about everything. It wasn’t until the school bus honked that she realized she was staring. She rushed off to get Jeff out the door.

Wyatt watched as Maura scurried from the room. Seemed the pretty blonde was in constant motion. He couldn’t help but appreciate the soft curves of her backside.

Whoa, just rein in those thoughts, buddy. She’s off-limits.

Just then little Kelly came into the kitchen. She dropped her backpack on the table. “I go to school, too. But I don’t hafta leave yet.” She dragged a chair over to the sink. “So can I help you?”

Definitely off-limits. “That would be nice, but I don’t want you to get wet.”

“I can wear Mama’s apron.” She darted to the drawer and pulled out a colorful floral apron and tried to put in on. She went to him. “I can’t do bows yet.”

Wyatt dried off his hands and after only two attempts, he managed to tie the too-big apron on the child. He handed her a towel and she started drying the flatware, and placing each piece carefully on the counter.

“I help Mommy a lot,” the child began. “She lets me dust.”

“That’s very nice of you to help your mother. And you’re only three years old.”

Her head bobbed up and down in agreement. “I’m going to be four on Thanksgiving. Mommy says I’m not a baby anymore. That I’m growin’ up.” She eyed him. “Do you have any little girls?”

Wyatt shook his head, wondering when the questions were going to stop. “No. No kids.”

“You all by yourself?”