Accidental Homecoming
Page 22
“No,” she replied. “You and your brothers were very busy that day. I was there at your booth with a friend. That’s all. No big deal.”
Seeing Maeve was about to crawl off again, he picked her up and settled her in the crook of one arm before he thrust a hand out to the woman. “Well, I’m Tyler Abernathy and this little mover and shaker is my daughter, Maeve.”
The brunette barely touched her hand to his and Tyler wondered if she was always this shy or if something about him was putting her off.
“Nice to meet you,” she murmured. “I’m Callie Sheldrick.”
She turned her gaze on Maeve and, as if on cue, his daughter burst out crying.
The woman took a step back, as though her presence had brought on Maeve’s loud cries. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb the baby.”
Frowning, Tyler automatically bounced Maeve up and down in an effort to quiet her, while Callie continued to back farther away.
“Maeve’s crying has nothing to do with you, Callie.”
“Sorry,” she said and then, with a shake of her head, turned and hurried away.
Totally confused, Tyler glanced at Erica. Because Maeve had started to cry, Josie had become upset and crawled into her mother’s lap and was whimpering for attention. Great, he thought. As usual, his ineptness at fatherhood was causing a mess all around.
“What was that all about?” Tyler asked. “She looked like she thought Maeve was going to morph into a little monster.”
Erica batted one hand through the air. “Callie isn’t that experienced with babies. Little ones like ours make some people nervous. Why don’t you take Maeve over and get her some cake or punch?”
“And put her on a sugar high? I’ll never get her to sleep tonight.”
Laughing, Erica shook her head. “Tyler, you desperately need to lighten up on yourself and Maeve. A few sips of punch or a bite of cake isn’t going to send your daughter on a rampage. This is a party. Let her enjoy it.”
Lighten up. Enjoy. Have fun. These past few months, he’d heard those very same words from his parents and brothers. Deep down, he understood they were well-meaning and even right. But how was he supposed to feel joy while his mind and heart were riddled with guilt?
* * *
The time has come. Ever since Winona had sat her down and plied her with prophetic quips, Callie had wondered what they could possibly mean. Now, after meeting Tyler Abernathy, she’d figured out one of them. The time had come for her to make a big fool of herself.
Callie had always been on the shy side, but not enough to make her sound tongue-tied or loopy. Yet the moment she’d looked into Tyler’s blue eyes, something had gone haywire. Not one coherent thought had been able to form in her head. And then when his baby had taken one look at her and burst into tears, she’d felt so embarrassed she’d wanted to run and hide.
That had been ten minutes ago and she’d come to the conclusion that she wasn’t going to see this party to the end. Callie had driven Vanessa out here to the ranch, but she figured her roommate wouldn’t have any trouble catching a ride back into town with some of their other friends.
With that thought in mind, Callie stood on tiptoes and began searching the crowd for Vanessa.
“Lost something?”
The question came in the form of a male voice that sounded vaguely familiar. Callie’s heart thumped wildly as she slowly turned to see Tyler standing directly behind her. A faint smile was on his face, while the baby girl in his arms looked at Callie and let out a happy shriek.
Don’t make a fool of yourself again, Callie. Just keep your cool and don’t let him guess that something about him makes your pulse skyrocket.
“Not exactly. I was looking for my roommate,” she told him. “To tell her I was thinking of going home.”
“Oh. Looks like things here are still going strong,” he said. “You might miss something.”
Like seeing Melanie open more kitchen appliances or fancy linens to go on the bride and groom’s bed, Callie thought wryly. For some reason she couldn’t quite explain, the thought made her feel even more lonely and sad.
“Believe me, Mel will never miss me.”
He smiled and Callie could feel her heart make a weird lurch beneath her breast.
“She or Gabe wouldn’t miss me, either. But Erica insists I need to stay and enjoy myself.”
“Are you? Uh, going to stay longer?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Only for a few more minutes. I wanted to find you—to apologize for Maeve upsetting you with her crying.”
“Oh no. I should be apologizing to you for making her cry. Until I walked up, she appeared perfectly happy.”
He grunted with amusement. “Believe me, you didn’t cause all that bawling. She does that quite often and I never know what triggers it.”
“Really? I thought it was me. I’m glad it wasn’t.”
He smiled again and the expression made his features even more handsome.
“See, neither one of us has anything to apologize for,” he said.
She smiled back at him then glanced tentatively at the baby. The little girl was truly adorable with the few light brownish-blond curls covering the top of her head and wisps around her angelic face. Her blue eyes were like her father’s. So were the dimples denting both cheeks. But other than that, Callie didn’t see a lot of resemblance between the two.
“I guess not,” she said to him. Spotting Vanessa across the room, she added, “I see my friend. I’d better go catch up with her. Nice talking with you, Tyler.”
He inclined his head toward her. “Good night, Callie. Be sure and drive home safely.”
“Of course.”
As he turned and disappeared into the crowd, it dawned on Callie that his advice must have stemmed from the loss of his wife. Obviously, he was still grieving for the woman he’d loved, she thought sadly. And any woman who attempted to step into Tyler Abernathy’s life at this point would end up competing with a ghost.
One more reason Callie needed to forget the sexy rancher.
Copyright © 2021 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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ISBN-13: 9780369710147
Accidental Homecoming
Copyright © 2021 by Sabrina York
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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