The Baby In The Back Seat

In the bathroom an old-fashioned claw-foot tub greeted him. The sink was of the same vintage, maybe thirty years old or more. The shower was over the tub and enclosed by a plastic shower curtain. At least the tub was man-size, Sam mused gratefully as he stepped into the tub and let hot water run over him.

To his surprise, he found his boots, cleaned and shined, just inside the door when he came back into the bedroom. Room service? He let out a sigh of relief. Maybe his stay at the ranch was going to be more enjoyable than he’d thought.

He rummaged in his duffel for clean jeans and a fresh shirt. Once dressed, he took the stairs two at a time and headed for the sounds coming from the kitchen.

Annie was sitting on a stack of pillows. A large kitchen towel around her middle bound her firmly to the rungs of a kitchen chair. Her little hands were waving in the air, and milk dripped from her chin. Laura was laughing and waving a spoon to catch the baby’s attention. Sure enough, an enchanted Annie’s lips parted.

One swoop, another, then plop, the cereal went into Annie’s open mouth. Beside them, the alert mutt stood with his tongue hanging out, his tail wagging. From the expectant look in his eyes, Sam expected kindhearted Laura to give the dog his turn.

Sam stood silently, lost in thought. He’d usually been on the outside of life, photographing heartwarming scenes for others to enjoy. This one, with his own daughter in it, warmed his heart. Too bad his ex hadn’t hung around long enough to be a part of a scene like this.

Sam had thought he’d realized his dream of having a family of his own. Until Paige had told him he wasn’t a good husband, let alone father. Annie had been a mistake, she’d explained when she’d called him from Paris and told him she’d filed for divorce.

He gazed at little Annie. With her golden-brown hair, chocolate-brown eyes and a dimple in her chin, she was almost a mirror image of himself.

Annie, a mistake? No way. Annie was the best thing that had ever happened to him. She might have a mother who’d opted out of motherhood, but she sure had a father who wanted her.

The domestic scene in front of him was unsettling. He told himself he still had mountains to climb, roads to travel, photographs to take. That it was the wrong time and place to become maudlin over broken dreams.

He’d have to forget the attraction he was beginning to feel for Laura, both for her sake and for his. His first priority was to prove he could make it as a father—or bust a gut trying.

Laura Evans apparently had problems of her own, anyway. She didn’t need him to complicate her life.

There was only one thing left to do, he thought as he cleared his throat and made his presence known. As soon as the car-rental agency turned up with another vehicle, he’d take Annie, do Laura a favor and get out of her life.

Arm in midair, Laura looked up at Sam. In a clean, although wrinkled, white shirt and fresh khakis, he looked taller, more sure of himself. Maybe not as sexy as he’d looked when he was dripping wet, but definitely interesting.

“Hungry?” she asked. Annie banged her spoon on the table and babbled a welcome. The dog growled at the interruption.

“Sure,” Sam answered with a grin. “That is, if you have something more filling than baby cereal around.”

“Of course,” Laura answered. “Just give me a minute to finish feeding Annie.”

“How about letting me take over?” Sam suggested. “I may as well learn the drill.”

Laura regarded him thoughtfully before she stood and handed him the spoon. “Of course. Just don’t put too much on the spoon at one time or she’ll choke.”

Sam sensed her reluctance. He understood her dilemma all too well. He might be Annie’s father, but Laura was concerned he might not be able to do the right thing for the baby. “With you here to supervise, I’ll do fine,” he said bravely. “Just wait and see.”

“I wasn’t expecting company,” Laura answered. “Ham and eggs and hash browns for supper okay with you?”

Sam sat down and gingerly dipped the spoon into the cereal and aimed for Annie’s mouth. “Sure,” he answered. Happily Annie was hungry enough to cooperate. “By the way, thanks for cleaning my boots.”

“It wasn’t me,” Laura answered as she rummaged in an old refrigerator. “Hank took care of it. Said a man without his boots is like a fish out of water.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Sam answered, wiping excess cereal off Annie’s chin. “Who’s Hank? I’d like to thank him.”

“The ranch handyman,” Laura answered. “He’s been around here for more years than he can remember. Not that there’s a lot for him to do anymore,” she added as she sliced a shank of ham, “but he said that since the old sheep herder’s life has passed him by, he might as well hang around here.”

Sam nodded. From their surroundings, he sensed Hank remained at the ranch because he cared for the place and its present owner. It wasn’t difficult to understand, Sam thought as he watched Laura break eggs into a buttered frying pan. Judging from the way she took to caring for Annie, she was the nurturing type. And the nurturing didn’t stop with babies.

Laura slid a plate with scrambled eggs, ham and hash browns toward Sam. “Toast and coffee will be ready in a minute.”

Sam studied his daughter. She’d spit out the last two spoonfuls of cereal and was hanging over the towel babbling at the mutt. Sam heaved a sigh of relief. Annie was obviously full.

Laura joined him at the table with a plate of her own. “Room okay?”

“Sort of,” he answered, debating the wisdom of complaining about the size of the bunk beds. “But to tell you the truth, I’m a little worried about where Annie is going to sleep.”

Laura jumped up to turn off the coffeepot before it boiled over. “Not to worry,” she answered as she buttered wheat toast and placed it on a plate. “There’s always the dresser drawer.”

Sam felt himself blanch. “The dresser? How is she going to breathe in there?”

Laura smiled reassuringly and poured coffee. “You don’t have to worry. We’ll improvise. If you’re going to be traveling around with Annie, you’re going to have to find ways to make do, starting now. Although,” she added with a frown, “I don’t think traveling with an infant as young as Annie is a good idea.”

Sam shrugged. “Don’t have a choice. At least, not for now. I’ll try to find a more permanent place to stay later. Somewhere I can bring in a nanny while I work.”

Laura leaned over to make sure Annie was still securely fastened to the chair. “Sounds to me it’s not going to be easy.” She bit her lip, reached for her cup of coffee and met Sam’s gaze. “It’s okay to leave her here while you do your thing at the spa. That is, if you feel okay leaving her here with me.”

Sam was agreeable to leaving Annie here all right, but only as long as the photography assignment would take. “I’m game if you don’t mind,” he finally answered. “It’ll only take me a couple of days of shooting at the spa, and I’ll be back here at night.”

Laura was torn between offering him her ancient truck to get to the spa or withholding the offer to keep him from leaving. Until she noticed Annie’s drooping eyelids.

“Let’s go upstairs, and I’ll show you where Annie can spend the night.”

“Maybe I can help you clean up in here?”

“Later,” Laura answered. She untied the sleepy baby and cuddled her in her arms. “Let’s get Annie to bed first. The dishes can wait.”

Sam carried the diaper bag and trailed Laura up the stairs. Something told him the next lesson was going to be a zinger.

It was. After Laura cleaned up the sleepy baby, she rummaged in the diaper bag for nightclothes and came up with a yellow fleece sleepsuit. “Looks as if her mother thought of everything Annie would need for today at least,” she murmured. “Any more of the baby’s things in the SUV?”

“Don’t know. Frankly I didn’t take time to look around. All I could think of was getting Annie out of there before the deluge hit her.”

Laura nodded. “Good thinking. Now, why don’t you pull out the bottom drawer of that chest over there and I’ll make Annie’s bed.”

Puzzled, Sam pulled out the empty drawer, brought it over to the bunk bed and watched Laura stuff the drawer with linens. In minutes she had a sleeping Annie tucked into the drawer on her back. “Annie will be safe in here.”

Sam was lost in admiration at the makeshift crib.

He spent the rest of the evening and the night waiting for Annie to cry. And hoping that Laura wouldn’t come barreling in to rescue her. The last thing he wanted was to see Laura in a nightgown. He might have sworn off women for now, but he wasn’t a saint.

Chapter Three

In the morning Sam had just polished off the last bit of French toast when he heard a car drive up to the back door of the house, skid to a stop, and a car door slam. To his surprise, Laura glanced out the window and reached for the rifle that hung on a wall.

“Hold on a minute!” Sam jumped to his feet and made for the door. “Take it easy before that thing goes off and you shoot someone.”

“You got it right, Sam. That’s the idea here.” Laura tried to stare him down. “Now get out of my way before the someone turns out to be you.”

Sam swallowed hard and took a firm grip of Laura’s shooting arm. With Annie asleep in a nest of blankets in the next room, he wasn’t about to let the rifle go off. “Not before you tell me what’s going on.”

“I intend to run an unwanted rat off my property, that’s what,” she answered with a hot glance over Sam’s shoulder. “Remove your hand and get out of the way.”

Sam froze. If it was going to be a question of who was the stronger of the two, he was—hands down. Even though the fire in Laura’s eyes told him she wasn’t going to give up easily, he didn’t intend to move.

A hard impatient knock sounded at the door.

Sam took a firmer grip on the rifle. “At least tell me who’s out there, what they want, and why you want to shoot him!”

“Harry Magraw, that’s who. And my land, that’s what,” she answered with a tug on the rifle. “This isn’t the first time Magraw has been here uninvited trying to persuade me to sell the ranch. I told him never to show up at the front door again, so this time he’s come around to the back door. The fool just doesn’t seem to understand the word no.”

Sam recalled his first impression of the ranch—bare land, a few sheep and no sign of any real activity. The ranch didn’t appear productive, let alone valuable. A losing proposition, sure, although he hadn’t noticed a FOR SALE sign. “Buy your ranch? Why, is it for sale?”

“No, it’s not,” she answered. “Even if it were, the last person I would sell it to was someone who wants to turn it into a waste-dump site! My folks loved this ranch, every inch of it, and so do I. Now let go!”

“Okay, but promise me you won’t shoot anyone.” At her reluctant nod, Sam let go of her arm. “Go ahead, open the door. I’ll be right behind you in case there’s a problem.”

Laura snorted. “Nothing I can’t handle.” She flung the door open and stepped out onto the porch.

When he spotted Laura’s rifle, the short rotund man dressed in an ill-fitting white linen suit took a step backward. “Now see here, Ms. Evans, take it easy. I came here to up my previous offer. No need for a weapon.”

Laura glowered at Magraw. “I told you before my ranch isn’t for sale. Not under any circumstances, and especially not to you. What part of no don’t you understand?”

Magraw held up a pudgy hand. “Now see here, Ms. Evans. You and I know you don’t have the money to hire hands to maintain this property, even if you do manage to hold on to it. You can’t take care of the livestock, either.”

Laura shifted the rifle. “I’m warning you. Get off my property!”

Magraw eyed the rifle warily but held his ground. “Do yourself a favor and accept my client’s latest offer. With that kind of money, you’d be able to go off and live like a queen anywhere you like.”

Laura snorted. “My finances are none of your business, Mr. Magraw. As for living like a queen, I’m doing it right here without your help. You’re trespassing. I’m warning you for the last time, get off my property, and don’t come back!”

To Sam’s surprise, Magraw kept talking. “From what I hear, you’re going to lose the property one way or another. Think about it. If you don’t accept my client’s offer, you won’t come out of this with a cent to call your own.”

Before Laura could raise the rifle, Sam stepped in front of her. “You heard Ms. Evans. Why don’t you leave before someone gets hurt?”

“Who are you?” Magraw demanded with a scowl. “Ain’t seen you around these parts.”

“No one you need to know,” Sam answered. He reached behind him, grasped the handle of the rifle praying it wouldn’t go off and shoot him in the foot. Just to make sure, he held the muzzle away from him. “Now, do yourself a favor and leave quietly.”

Magraw thrust out his jaw. “Seems to me you don’t have a say in what happens to the ranch. Unless—” he smirked “—you and the lady are some kind of kissin’ kin.”

Laura gasped and tried to push her way in front of Sam. Out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw Hank coming around the house and starting for the porch. Sam caught his eye and shook his head. The last thing he wanted was an all-out free-for-all, let alone a shooting. He wasn’t that anxious to die. “I think you’ve said enough. Get out of here. Now!”

When Magraw hesitated, Sam shifted the rifle and raised a questioning eyebrow. With a final look at the weapon, Magraw cursed and took off for his car.

Sam waited until the car disappeared down the road before he waved off Hank, turned and led the way into the kitchen.

“Somehow I don’t think you’ve seen the last of Magraw.” Sam gingerly put the gun down on the table, stood back and eyed it warily. “Sounds to me as if someone wants to get their hands on your ranch pretty bad. I don’t think they’ll stop with Magraw.”

Laura stomped her way into the kitchen. “I can take care of them, too.”

Sam shuddered at the thought of Laura defending her territory with the rifle. “Maybe, maybe not. Now unload that damn thing and put it back where it came from.”

“It’s not loaded,” Laura said with an icy look. “You didn’t think I’d keep a loaded rifle around, did you? It’s not safe.”

“You could have fooled me,” Sam answered with an anxious glance at the rifle. “Loaded or not, get rid of it, please.”

Laura picked up the gun and stored it in the broom closet. “You act as if you’ve never handled a weapon before.”

Sam reached for his cold cup of coffee, took a deep swallow and grimaced. “Never before, and never again,” he said fervently. He strode to the door leading to the living room to check on Annie. The baby was fast asleep on a nest of blankets on the floor. The dog lay stretched out beside her, his nose between his paws, his unblinking eyes watching Sam.

Sam muttered a prayer of thanks at the way Laura’s pet had bonded with the baby. He turned back to the kitchen and to Laura. “Now please sit down and give me the details while my heart slows down to normal.”

“What details?”

The way Laura asked the question told Sam she thought it was none of his business. Except now that he’d seen the lengths Laura intended to go, he was making it his business. “Magraw said you’re on the verge of losing the ranch. True?”

Normally a private person used to taking care of herself, Laura considered the question. Sam Harrison may be a man she’d only met yesterday, yet there was something about him that made her feel she could trust him.

“Here, let me warm that coffee for you. But first have some of this.” Laura reached into the refrigerator, took out the remains of a chocolate cake and set it on the table. “Hank tells me chocolate cake always gives him a shot in the arm. You look like you need it.”

Sam regarded the three-tiered chocolate cake and enviously thought of the way the old ranch hand must enjoy Laura’s tender loving care. “You bake cakes for the help?”

“Hank’s more than help,” she said simply. “He’s family.”

Sam was ready to believe it. From the way she’d taken to Annie, it was too bad she didn’t have children of her own. He owed her. “Anything I can do around here while I wait for the replacement car?”

“No, thanks.” She poured Sam a fresh cup of black coffee and another for herself. “I’m used to making do on my own.”

Sam glanced at the broom closet. “Without the gun, I hope. So, how about telling me what the problem is. Money?”

Laura shrugged helplessly. “Magraw was right. I don’t have enough funds to increase the herd or to hire men to take care of the small amount of stock I do have. Hank does the best he can, but that’s not the only problem. There’s…” Her voice trailed off as she moved to gaze out the window.

Sam rose and went to stand beside her. The sadness in her voice, the anxious look in her eyes troubled him. As far as he could tell, she was alone in the fight to keep her heritage.

He knew from being alone. It was a cold place no one, especially a caring woman like Laura, should have to experience. She needed a sympathetic ear, and he was ready and willing to listen. It was the least he could do for her in exchange for all she’d done for Annie and for him. “There’s what?”

“Taxes,” she said succinctly. “I’m about to open a camp for young children in order to make enough money to pay the next installment, due next month.”

Sam nodded. “Do you really think boarding six kids for the summer is going to be enough to keep the ranch going?”

“It’s a start. If all goes well, we’ll advertise for more campers.”

“Who’s we?”

“Katy O’Donnell. Katy’s been a friend of mine since we worked at the hospital. She’s planning on coming here to help out.”

Now Sam was really interested. Instead of the camp being a pipe dream, the idea was sounding better by the minute. “Another nurse?” Laura nodded. “Seems to me you’re right. The camp is a good place to start. Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?”

Laura shook her head. “No, thanks. You have your own life to take care of. I need to take care of mine. Not that I don’t appreciate your offer,” she hurried to add, “but this is something I have to do myself.”

Sam glanced out the window to where Hank was entering the barn. “How does Hank enter the picture?”

“Like I said, he’s family.”

Lucky Hank. Lucky Annie. Lucky him, Sam mused. Lucky to have found a woman as strong and big-hearted as Laura Evans. After the way he’d trashed her ranch, any other woman would have sent him packing. “Where are you going to find the campers?”

“I advertised in a parents magazine. So far I have five positive replies and one maybe.”

“Are five kids enough to make the difference?”

“Not really,” she replied with a wry smile. “I’m taking one day at a time.”

Sam looked back at the chocolate cake. “If word gets out about what a great cook you are, you’ll probably have more campers than you can handle.”

“I wish.” She laughed. “Are ham and eggs and chocolate cake enough to impress you?”

“You bet. Some people, myself included, can’t boil water.” He went back, sat down at the kitchen table and dug into the cake. “You can cook for me anytime.”

She laughed again and cut him another piece of cake.

Sam liked the sound of Laura’s laugh. He liked a lot more about her, too, and not only her cooking. The way a dimple danced across her cheek when she smiled. The way she smiled at him. Her open heart, her courage when faced with a situation that would have sent most women running.

Laura felt herself blush when she saw admiration shining in Sam’s eyes. It was a good thing he was leaving in a few days, she thought. She couldn’t take being around him without thinking the impossible. Sam and his infant daughter reminded her of her dream of a family of her own. An unlikely dream at best.

She was saved from her thoughts by a knock on the front door.

“Laura? Laura, are you in there?”

Relieved, Laura made for the front door with Sam hard on her heels. “It’s Pete Dolan, the county sheriff,” she said over her shoulder, and opened the door. “Hi, Pete. Come on in. What’s up?”

Pete opened the screen door, came into the living room and eyed Sam. “Heard you had company.”

“News travels fast around here, but not that fast.” Her eyes narrowed. “Who have you been talking to—Magraw?”

“Yep. He stopped in the office and told me your friend here threatened him with a rifle.”

“I was the one who threatened him with the rifle, but it wasn’t loaded,” she answered heatedly. “I don’t even own any ammunition. It was dad’s old hunting rifle, and you know full well it’s not operable.”

Pete raised an eyebrow. “So your friend here had nothing to do with the confrontation?”

“Not really,” she said. “Well, maybe. If Magraw wasn’t such a jerk, he’d have noticed that when Sam took hold of the gun, he had the muzzle pointed at the floor.”

Sam stepped forward and held out his hand. “The name’s Sam Harrison. I’m not exactly a friend of Ms. Evans’s. The truth is, I ran off the road yesterday and banged up my car.”

Pete nodded as he shook Sam’s hand. “Noticed the busted fence and the remains of the water tower as I drove in. You responsible?”

“Sorry to say, I am.” Sam managed a grin, but he wasn’t too happy about the grim look on the sheriff’s face. With the accident and the rifle business, he sensed he already had two strikes against him. It wouldn’t take much to reach three. “Ms. Evans was kind enough to offer me a place to stay until the rental agency in Grand Junction sends down a replacement vehicle. Seems there’s a holiday getting in the way.”

Annie began to cry.

Dolan looked over at the baby and back at Sam. “Yours?”

“Mine.” Sam strode over to pick up the baby, then held her to his shoulder and patted her on her back to comfort her. The mutt took a stand at his feet.

“Is there a Mrs. Harrison around here?”

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