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Mental warning bells sounded as one warm thought followed another. After his sorry marital experience, why was he even mulling over what made Laura Evans tick? Or thinking of her in a romantic way? Hadn’t he already decided there was no way a man could begin to understand women, let alone try to live with one? That it was better to look and admire but not touch? Nesting women could be dangerous to a man like him. He drew a deep breath and gazed around the room. “Interesting place you have here.”
Laura pulled the baby’s romper over the fresh diaper and snapped the crotch. Instead of handing the baby over to its father, she buried her nose in the baby’s neck and made bubbling noises. Not only because she couldn’t resist hearing A
Sam Harrison, bare feet, wet clothing and all, was the masculine type of man who rang her bell. The fact that he obviously loved his infant daughter and, although he knew zip about babies, was ready to raise her by himself made him more of a man than most in her eyes. That was the trouble. The last thing she needed in her life right now was a baby she couldn’t keep or a wandering man like Sam Harrison. A man who made her think of dreams best forgotten.
A baby had been her dream from the time a sympathetic foster mother had handed her her first doll. A hand-me-down doll with faded clothing and one eye missing, the doll had been her pride and joy. She’d built an imaginary family around Dolly Dimples and dreamed of a day when she would have her own children. A dream that had been shattered when, as a newly adopted thirteen-year-old, she’d been thrown from a horse and suffered internal injuries. Injuries that would prevent her from becoming a mother.
Laura closed her eyes, gave A
Jolted from his musings, Sam forced his thoughts from what made his reluctant hostess tick to his present problem. For sure he’d better get his act together and learn all he could about taking care of A
Her answering frown told him he was skating on thin ice. Maybe “tricks” hadn’t been the best description for baby care he could have used. The way Laura was looking at him told him he was on probation as a father. He hurried to change the topic.
“By the way, the car-rental agency told me it’s going take a few days before they can get me another car. Seems there’s some sort of local holiday going on.”
Laura nodded. “Miners’ Days celebration.”
“Right. From the sound of it, I’m afraid I might have to stick around here until they can bring an SUV from Denver.” Laura’s frown grew deeper, but this would give Sam the time to learn how to take care of A
Laura fought her pride and lost. She knew having Sam Harrison and little A
“I’d pla
She didn’t want to wind up caring about Sam Harrison. She knew all too well there was no future in it for either of them.
She finally nodded. “I’ll let you know what it will cost to replace the water tower and to mend the fence. As for your staying here, pay whatever you think is fair.”
Sam juggled A
“The care of A
He put the bill back into his wallet.
“There’s a lot more to taking care of a baby than you might realize, Mr. Harrison. Maybe you ought to consider taking your daughter back to her mother.”
Sam froze. “No way is my daughter going to be an unwanted child! Her mother put her in my SUV without my knowledge. As far as I’m concerned, that means A
Laura’s opinion of him went up another notch. A man who loved children had to be a decent man. Only, not the man for her.
She remembered all too well the early years of her own life when, as an unwanted child, she’d been shuffled from foster home to foster home. Until she was twelve, and Elsie and Jonah Evans had appeared out of nowhere to adopt her. She’d been grateful, had come to love them dearly and had cared for them until they’d passed on. Little A
“As for my learning how to take care of my daughter,” Sam continued, “I’m game. That is, if you’re still willing to teach me what I need to know.”
Willing to take care of A
But how was she going to handle A
A glance at miniscule lips sucking a tiny hand settled the problem. At least for the moment, Laura thought, grateful for the diversion. “Now that A
When Sam looked lost, she rummaged through the baby’s diaper bag. “Any formula in here, or was the baby being breast-fed?”
He shook his head. “Knowing Paige, I doubt it. She wasn’t around that much between flights. Actually her mother helped take care of the baby. As for any formula being in the bag, I haven’t the foggiest notion. I didn’t have time to look before you came to our rescue. Which reminds me,” he went on, “I forgot to thank you for taking us in.”
Laura sat back on her heels and regarded Sam with a raised eyebrow. “Just how old is A
“Five, maybe six months.”
“You’re not sure?”
He tried to look i
Laura went back to rummaging in the diaper bag. “There has to be baby cereal around here someplace, unless A
“Sorry, I’m afraid I don’t know that, either.”
He looked so lost Laura decided maybe she’d been too hard on him. “Not to worry. From A
She gathered A
“I’d be mighty grateful to get out of these wet clothes.” He gestured to his wet shirt and soaking jeans, and shrugged helplessly.
Laura’s gaze focused on a shirt so wet it was transparent. Under it, wide shoulders, a muscular chest and dark-brown curls were as visible as in an artist’s rendition. She didn’t dare look below his waist.
“No problem,” she said nonchalantly. “Go on upstairs and take the first room on the right. If you don’t have everything you need in your duffel bag, check the closet.”
Sam halted in midstride. “You’re married?”