Kathie DeNosky - Cassie's Cowboy Daddy

Logan shook his head. “Nope.”

Suddenly Cassie walked around the opposite end of the table and placed her daughter against his wide chest.

The baby squirmed, and Logan automatically shifted her to sit on his left forearm, while he splayed his right hand on her tiny back for support. He wasn’t sure, but it must have been what she wanted, because she flashed him a grin. He couldn’t help himself. He smiled right back. As far as babies went, Cassie’s kids were the cutest he’d ever seen. And the one he held certainly seemed happy enough.

“For a man who’s never been around babies, you’re a natural. I bet you’ll be a great father someday,” Cassie said. “Babies sense whom they can trust and whom they can’t. If Chelsea didn’t trust you completely, she’d be fussing instead of snuggling against you.”

Logan suddenly felt the need to run like hell. If Cassie thought she’d charm him into accepting the situation by having him hold a baby and flashing her killer dimples, she’d better think again.

What did he know about babies? Absolutely nothing. He most definitely was not father material. Not by a long shot. And that’s just the way he intended it to stay. The way it had to stay…

www.millsandboon.co.uk

lives in deep southern Illinois with her husband and three children. After reading and enjoying Silhouette books for many years, she is ecstatic about being able to share her stories with others as a Silhouette Desire author, and writes highly sensual stories with a generous amount of humor. Kathie’s books have appeared on the Waldenbooks bestseller list. She enjoys going to rodeos, traveling through the southern and southwestern states, and listening to country music. She often starts her day at 2:00 a.m., so she can write without interruption, before the rest of the family is up and about. You may write to Kathie at P.O. Box 2064, Herrin, Il 62948-5264.

Special thanks to Melissa Henke for sharing her knowledge and answering my endless questions about Wyoming and the Laramie Mountains. Thanks, Lissa!

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Epilogue

Cassie Wellington explored the upper level of the large two-story Victorian, her enthusiasm increasing with each new discovery. The Lazy Ace ranch house was perfect, and all she’d ever dreamed of for herself and the girls.

The bedrooms were spacious, with beautifully detailed cherry woodwork, wainscoting and built-in window seats. But the most attractive thing about it was the fact that half of it belonged to her.

Everything from the molding on the ceiling to the hardwood floor needed a good dusting, and there was enough clutter downstairs to warrant the use of a shovel, but that could be excused. Her business partner was at least eighty years old and obviously no longer capable of simple household tasks. She’d whip this place into shape, and in no time she’d make a comfortable home for all of them. Then once everything had undergone a thorough cleaning, she’d start redecorating.

Preoccupied with ideas for window dressings, color combinations and where she intended to place each piece of furniture, she wandered into the hall bathroom and stumbled over something in the middle of the floor. She glanced down at a pile of boots, jeans and briefs at her feet, then to the long bare leg dangling over the side of the old-fashioned, claw-footed bathtub. The small space was filled to overflowing with an impressively big, undeniably masculine body.

Her gaze followed the limb into the water.

Clear water.

She clapped her hand over her mouth to hold back her startled gasp and quickly averted her eyes to the safer territory of the man’s torso.

Safer?

She’d never seen so many well-defined muscles on one body in her entire life. Covered by a thin coating of dark hair, his ridged stomach looked as hard as a rock and his corded shoulders seemed to span the entire width of the bathtub.

Her gaze traveled to his face and a shiver ran the length of her spine and made goose bumps pop up on her arms. Even in sleep, the man was dangerously handsome.

Thick black hair fell across his forehead much like that of a naughty little boy’s, but the dark growth of beard shadowing his lean cheeks and the mustache framing his mouth were undoubtedly those of a man in his prime. The tiny lines fanning from the corners of his closed eyes attested to the fact that he spent the majority of his time working outside. Instead of detracting from his looks, they added a ruggedness to his overall appeal that Cassie found absolutely fascinating.

But when she looked more closely, her heart lurched, then started hammering at her vocal cords for an immediate response. Intense blue eyes gazed back at her from beneath thick black lashes.

“Go ahead and look your fill, sugar,” the man offered. His sexy grin made her heart skip a beat. “I’m agreeable, even though we haven’t been properly introduced.”

“Oh, I’m so…I mean, you’re…” Cassie clapped a hand over her mouth again to keep from making matters worse and started backing from the room.

“No need to leave, sugar.” He pulled his leg back into the tub and sat up. His bluer-than-sin eyes twinkled and he had the audacity to wink at her. “You’re just in time to help wash my back.”

She took another step backward, but her foot came down on top of a boot. To her horror, she lost her balance and sat down hard on top of the pile of clothes.

“Are you all right?” the man asked, concern replacing his teasing grin. He braced his hands on the sides of the bathtub as if he intended to stand.

Cassie scrambled to her feet. In her haste to put as much distance as possible between herself and the man getting out of the tub, she stumbled over the other boot. This time she managed to stay upright, but just barely.

“Please don’t get up. I’m fine. Really.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Now, what kind of a gentleman would I be if I didn’t stand when a lady enters the room? Just let me get out of here and…”

Logan saw it coming just as surely as a bubble rises to the surface of a boiling pot. But there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop the pretty young woman from looking him square in the eyes and screaming bloody murder, before she spun around and ran for the stairs.

He’d been aware of her presence the moment she’d stepped into the room and, like any good poker player, he’d tried to size up the situation before showing his hand. But he couldn’t think of one single reason this little filly would be wandering around his home. He laughed, realizing, in this particular situation, he’d been revealing a hell of a lot more than just his hand.

“Damn,” he muttered when he tried to get out of the tub.

The stiff muscles in his back protested his every move and his leg had gone numb from hanging over the side of the tub. Every time he attempted to stand, he slid back into a sitting position. Ignoring the pins-and-needles sensation in his leg, he finally managed to get the limb to support him and splashed out of the water with a muttered curse.

Knotting a towel around his hips, Logan took off in the direction the woman had fled. He chuckled as he limped down the stairs. He hadn’t meant to scare her, but he’d bet a steak dinner the little lady thought twice before she wandered into another house unannounced.