Jill Limber - The 15 Lb. Matchmaker

What was he doing, checking the dark house to see if there was anyone else there he might have forgotten?

Jolie took a deep breath and reached for her courage, determined to pin him down. “Mr. Price, I have some questions I need answered now.”

His expression became shuttered so quickly she blinked at the change in him.

He shifted his glance away from her face. “Okay. I’m listening.” He picked a towel up off the counter to dry his hands.

Jolie put a protective hand up to cradle the sleeping child’s head, as if contact with the baby could keep her focused on what she planned to say to him. “You left without telling me the baby’s name or anything about him.”

“His name is Riley.” Griff seemed to be searching his mind for something else to say. “He’s ten months old.”

She watched him focus on something behind her again, and his shoulders slumped in a defeated movement as he leaned his hips against the cabinet. “You’re leaving.”

Jolie glanced over her shoulder and saw that he stared at her suitcase. “Oh, no. I’m staying. My suitcase is there because you didn’t bother to tell me which room is mine.”

She couldn’t leave.

Not just because she didn’t have any money.

Griff Price needed her, whether he realized it or not. And for a lot more than changing his son’s diapers. His expression told her how badly he thought he needed her, and he didn’t know the half of it.

No one had ever needed Jolie before, not like this.

She would stay, not for him, but for the precious little boy asleep in her arms. She hadn’t missed the fact he hadn’t taken even a moment to ask after his child.

“We need to talk.” She suspected before long he would regret he hadn’t taken her back to town tonight.

Griff let out a sigh as he watched the stubborn set of Jolie Carleton’s sweet little chin. Still fighting his headache, he thought sourly, was there a phrase he hated more than we need to talk?

He eyed the beautiful, frazzled-looking woman standing there holding his nephew. In the few hours since he had met her he had tried to forget what a fine-looking woman she was.

Griff eyed the set of her jaw and knew before the words were out of his mouth he would regret asking. “About what?”

Her lovely mouth dropped open as if he had asked an astounding question. She caught herself gaping at him and closed her jaw with a snap of perfect white teeth.

Taking a deep breath, she glanced down at Riley, then hissed at Griff. “About your responsibilities, Mr. Price.”

Well, he had a million of those, that was for sure. “What responsibilities would those be?”

Her pale fine skin flushed. “This baby!”

She was no longer trying to keep her voice down. Riley jerked awake, his head coming off her shoulder.

Griff didn’t want to talk about his nephew. Not tonight. If she had just kept her voice down, Riley would still be asleep.

He skewered her with a look designed to intimidate. “Wrong, Ms. Carleton. I hired you to take care of Riley. He’s your responsibility.”

Griff turned away from the dumbfounded look on her face, crossed through the house to the stairs and picked up her bag.

He didn’t want to explain anything. Talking about the baby would lead to talking about his wife and his brother. That was a subject he didn’t plan to cover, especially with a stranger.

He needed some aspirin and a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow would be another too-full day. He’d still be out on the range tonight if the moon hadn’t set.

As he got to the top of the stairs he heard her determined footsteps just behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and held back another sigh as he watched her march up the stairs.

She looked like a woman with a mission. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she hadn’t liked his answer.

That scowl he had used on her downstairs worked on his hired hands but didn’t seem to phase Jolie Carleton.

Save me from crusading females, Griff thought as he put her suitcase just inside the door of the bedroom next to the baby’s room. He straightened up and braced himself for another round.

She sailed past him without a word, stepped into Riley’s room and closed the door firmly behind her.

Surprised to find, in spite of his headache, he was a little disappointed she hadn’t faced him down again, he stood and stared at the closed door.

He had no intention of telling her about Deirdre or Jake, but he had enjoyed the flush on her cheeks and the flash of anger that ruffled her composed exterior.

In the diner she had come across as cool and collected. With all that temper simmering below the surface, she might prove to be more passionate than he had first supposed.

Standing out in the hall, he heard her walking back and forth across the bare wood floor, murmuring to Riley.

Griff continued to stare at the closed door as he wondered what it would be like to peel the fragile silk of her blouse off and see all that fine pale skin turn rosy with arousal. His body reacted to the thought, and he smiled.

This just might turn out to be an interesting couple of weeks.

He could hear her through the door, still muttering to the baby. Griff rubbed his hand over the tired muscles of his neck. He was pretty sure the discussion regarding his responsibilities wasn’t over.

When a woman said she wanted to talk to a man, it meant she talked until she got the man to agree.

Tired as he was, he found himself looking forward to tomorrow night.

After spending less than twenty-four hours with Riley, Jolie was concerned about the little guy. Maybe he was coming down with something, but he was too quiet.

She needed to talk to Griff tonight. It was already well past dark and Griff Price had not returned to the house. He had left before she’d awakened this morning. Now Riley was almost ready for bed, so that meant a whole day with no contact between father and son.

She suspected Griff was staying away so he wouldn’t have to talk to her.

It was her fault. She should have stayed calm last night instead of closing the door in his face, but she had been so angry she would have said things he wasn’t ready to hear.

He thought the baby was her responsibility. His announcement had told her a lot. Could he actually think he didn’t need to have contact with his son at this point in the child’s life? That a temporary baby-sitter could take the place of both parents?

Into a bowl she put fresh greens from the garden outside the mudroom and glanced down at Riley, who sat quietly on an old towel in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Although Riley watched her all the time, he didn’t make sounds or smile. Jolie knew his eyesight and hearing were okay, she had given him some basic tests and he had responded by following her movements and turning to sounds.

She put the greens aside and took two wooden spoons out of a crock by the stove, placing them on the towel beside the baby.

“Pick them up, Riley. They’re for you. It’s okay to touch them.” She smiled at him, encouraging him with a nod of her head.

Riley looked at the spoons, then back up at her. He didn’t reach for the utensils, just continued to watch her.

She waited for a few moments, and when he didn’t move, she found a set of metal measuring spoons in a drawer, gave them a shake so they all clanked together, then laid them beside the other spoons.

“Don’t they make a fun noise?” she cooed, and bent over him, giving them another shake. “Take them.”

As she dangled the spoons, his gaze lingered for a moment longer on them, then returned to her face. This time she noticed his fingers opened and closed, but he still didn’t reach out.