Jill Lynn - The Rancher's Unexpected Baby

I miss your dad, too, little guy. I wish I was more like him. But, I promise, I am going to find the right family for you.

Emma beat the eggs, then sent them careening into the pan. It whooshed as the mixture hit the heated surface.

When Hudson gave a disgruntled cry, Emma turned to him. “Oh, kiddo, you’re so out of your element. We need to unpack the rest of your toys this morning.” She opened a lower cupboard and retrieved a large metal mixing bowl, then a plastic serving spoon from the utensil drawer. Once she handed them to Hudson, he contentedly made a racket with the two items.

Gage leaned against the counter, facing Emma as she stirred the eggs in the pan. She didn’t look at him.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Nope. This is too easy to require assistance.” After finishing the eggs, she turned off the burner, carrying the pan over to Hudson’s high chair. She used the spatula to spread some of the scrambled eggs onto the tray and then blew across them. Once she returned the pan to the stove, she scooped Hudson up from the floor and transported him to the high chair.

“Do you want some eggs? Does that sound good?” She buckled him in, securing a bib around his neck. He fisted a handful of food and maneuvered it, not so gracefully, into his mouth.

Emma got a plate out of the cupboard next to Gage. “Hungry?” She nodded toward the pan. “I made enough for you.”

“And you?”

“No. I already ate.”

She moved to the utensil drawer, but Gage beat her to the spot, blocking her from opening it. “Emma, what were you doing around five this morning?”

“Sleeping.” Her answer came out fast, but it slipped up at the end, almost a question.

“So there’s no way it was your car I heard, right?”

Her profile stayed stoic for all of three seconds before cracking into something near embarrassment. “Before I left last night, I wanted to wait it out. Make sure there wasn’t an emergency or that you didn’t need me right away. And then I fell asleep in my car.”

“Are you serious?” His voice dialed up to a nine. She’d slept out there almost all night? In the cold?

“I promise it wasn’t planned. And I’m so sorry I woke you. If I hadn’t, Hudson might have kept sleeping.” She huffed. “It was stupid of me to let that happen.”

“It was stupid, but not because you woke me. I could care less about that. And I’m not worried about Hudson being up for a few minutes. He did great. But I am concerned about you. Emma, you can’t be doing stuff like that. You need to take care of yourself. Hudson and I will be fine. And I’ll call you if we’re not. Okay?”

Her mouth pursed to one side. “I just...needed to make sure the two of you were good. And it truly was an accident. Okay?” A grin tempered the cheeky mimicked addition, seasoning it sweet.

The brittle parts of him softened. It was hard to stay upset around Emma. She just sort of...diffused him.

“Next time you pull something like that, I’m going to put you in a time-out.”

Her laughter brightened the room as much as a strand of twinkling white Christmas lights.

What was he going to do with this woman? How could Emma be so considerate and selfless? It was starkly different from anything Gage had ever experienced with Nicole. After they’d married, his ex-wife had pretty much focused on herself. He had hoped that the tendency would change with age and maturity, but it hadn’t.

Nicole had put her needs above everyone else’s. She would never have watched out for Hudson—and him—the way Emma did.

When Gage had told Emma yesterday that he planned to pay her for watching the baby, she’d thrown a royal fit. He still would...somehow. But in her mind, she was just volunteering at this point. Before Hudson had come into his life, Gage had known that Emma and Nicole were nothing alike. That they couldn’t even be classified in the same category.

But the last few days had only highlighted their differences.

One was sunshine. Just her presence made breathing easier. The other was pneumonia—stealing his oxygen. Wreaking havoc like a storm that wouldn’t quit raging.

Turns out he was quite partial to bright blue skies and cloudless days.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.