Christyne Butler - Fortune's Secret Baby

“Don’t get dressed on my account.”

Kelsey looked up.

No clean shirt, no baby. Just one hundred percent, mouth-watering—cowboy.

“Cooper.”

He crossed the room in a heartbeat, swore softly under his breath before his mouth captured hers in a searing kiss.

Kelsey wound her hands around his neck, meeting his kiss head-on, pressing her curves to the hard planes of his chest. His hands brushed her sweat jacket from her shoulders. He broke free of her mouth, his lips moving along her jaw until he nipped at her ear.

“I wasn’t going to do this,” he whispered hotly, “but you said my name …”

Dear Reader,

As a fan of the many sagas of the Fortune family over the years, I was thrilled when, as a relatively new author, I was asked to be part of the LOST … AND FOUND continuity. When I read the outline for my book, my first thought was “Oh, a baby changes everything” and little Anthony certainly does that for Cooper Fortune.

There’s a saying that goes something like “Becoming a parent is a decision to forever have your heart go walking around outside your body.” Something this wandering cowboy—who suddenly finds himself a father—never experienced before his son came into his life. Add a chance meeting with a pretty horse trainer and Cooper’s world is about to be changed in ways he never dreamed of.

It was such fun to be with Cooper and Kelsey as they found their way to each other and their happily ever after. I hope you enjoy their journey!

Happy reading!

Christyne

CHRISTYNE BUTLERfell in love with romance novels while serving in the United States Navy and started writing her own stories six years ago. She considers selling to Cherish™ a dream come true and enjoys writing contemporary romances full of life, love, a hint of laughter and perhaps a dash of danger, too. And there has to be a happily-ever-after or she’s just not satisfied.

She lives with her family in central Massachusetts and loves to hear from her readers at chris@christynebutler.com. Or visit her website at www.christynebutler.com.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To the terrific writers I worked with on this continuity:

Allison Leigh, Judy Duarte, Susan Crosby, Marie

Ferrarella and Victoria Pade,

and Susan Litman …

the editor who brought us all together!

Thirteen steps.

The length of the baby’s room, from the crib near the bay window to the doorway at the opposite corner, could be covered in thirteen steps.

Cooper Fortune had been counting, repeatedly, for the last interminably long twenty minutes while the squirming five-month-old in his arms wailed loud enough to wake the dead.

Anthony, middle name still unknown, Fortune. His son. A child he’d only known existed for the last week and a half.

Probability of paternity = 99.99%.

That’s what the laboratory had told him when they’d called with the results and in the blink of an eye, Cooper Fortune—wandering cowboy—had a child.

“Looks like you lost the parent lottery.” Cooper spoke above the baby’s cries as he paced the small room, cradling the flailing infant against his chest. “Welcome to the club, buddy. My folks were lousy, too.”

He had no memory of his father, and Cooper’s mother, Cindy Fortune, a former showgirl and wannabe socialite, easily held the number-one spot on the list of worst mothers in the history of the world.

“Of course, we still don’t know what happened to your mama,” Cooper continued, noticing the decibel level of the baby’s cries, not to mention the wiggle factor, had lessened as soon as he started talking. “But your Uncle Ross is on the case and I’m sure he’ll find her soon. I wish I knew why she left you and how the hel—heck you ended up here in Red Rock.”

And why Lulu never bothered to tell him she was pregnant.

He’d met Lulu Carlton at a local bar about a year and a half ago while working on a ranch in Rock Country, Minnesota. They dated for about six months, but when Cooper’s job ended, so had the relationship. Anthony’s estimated birth date was around the middle of December, which meant the child was conceived just before Cooper hightailed it out of Minnesota early last year.

And didn’t that make him feel like a loser?

As he stared down at the little bundle looking up at him with a curious gaze from familiar dark brown eyes, Cooper had no idea what to do next.

“This isn’t working out too well, huh, partner? We haven’t exactly had much one-on-one time, until tonight. And usually you’re a bit quieter.”

Cooper watched the baby rub at his eyes with tiny fists. The crying lowered to a soft whimpering for a moment. Could the pacing and talking actually be working?

He slowly headed for the crib. Maybe he could get back downstairs before the end of the Red Sox/Rangers game he’d been watching in between reading a book that promised to tell him everything he needed to know about dealing with a baby. He leaned over the railing, making sure to support Anthony’s head like he’d seen Kirsten do numerous times, but the moment the kid went horizontal, the screams returned.

“Okay, so you’re not ready to concede.” Cooper gathered the baby to his chest and started walking again, patting Anthony gently on his back. “Boy, you got some lungs on you. I don’t recollect you putting up this much of a fuss before.”

Cooper had slept in the spare bedroom downstairs for three nights before he’d heard a peep out of the kid after bedtime. At first he hadn’t known what the noise was. Heck, it sounded a bit like a baby calf bellowing for its mama.

“But by the time I hightailed it up here, Miss Kirsten already had things taken care of, huh? Not tonight, though. Tonight, it’s just you and me—”

“What’s going on? Is he okay?”

He turned toward the feminine voice. His cousin’s fiancée, Kirsten Allen, stood at the doorway. When Anthony let loose another howl, she crossed the room in a heartbeat and reached for the baby.

And Cooper let her take him.

His first instinct had been to keep hold of his son, but Anthony had stuck out his little arms for the petite brunette as soon as he saw her.

“Oh, sweetie, what’s all this crying about?” Kirsten cooed as she held the child close. “It’s okay now, I’ve got you.”

Cooper crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring the pang in his heart at her words.

“He’s been bawling like that for close to a half hour now,” he said when she looked at him. “He calmed down some, but I guess that was just a rest before he revved up again.”

“Is he wet? Did you check his diaper?”

Diaper?

Damn! Cooper let his silence answer her.

Kirsten walked to the changing table and laid Anthony down on the padded cushion. “What about a bottle?” she asked, her tone softer, matching Anthony’s now-quiet fussing while making quick work of changing the baby. “It’s been a few hours since he last ate. Did you make up a bottle for him from the formula we left on the kitchen counter?”

Strike two. The thought of a bottle never crossed his mind. “I’ll go get one now.”

She paused in closing up a fresh diaper on the baby to look at him. “Cooper, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound so—”