BILLY AND THE KID

by Kristine Rolofson

  Which meant she wasn't going to get to peek at the second floor. "Meaning the upstairs is off-limits?"

  He flashed her a wry smile. "I hate to admit it, honey, but there's nothing about my bedroom that would interest you."

  Daisy hid a sigh. Now she knew that Will Wilson was a liar.

  * * *

  She didn't like the bed. Daisy watched as Spring tried to lift her head and scream her displeasure at her new surroundings. Will's double-sized mattress lay against the opposite wall and, because Daisy had insisted, was covered neatly with clean sheets and a faded patchwork quilt. An armload of pillows, worn flat from years of use, was piled against the wall beside the makeshift bed.

  Daisy peered over the side of the crib and patted the baby's back. "I guess pink rosebuds don't agree with her."

  "She has a temper, all right," Will agreed. "It runs in the family."

  "I haven't noticed your temper," she said. "What do you do? Throw things? Yell? Swear?"

  "I slam doors. And I'm not Spring's father," Will said, looking down at her with those dark eyes of his. "But I guess it would be easier if everyone figured I was, so think what you want, Daisy. You've got me labeled as a man who gets laid and then leaves town—and I've got to tell you, that's really starting to get under my skin."

  "You've gone to a lot of trouble for a child whose not yours. Why?"

  "Joe told me that this place wasn't fit for a kid, so I figured I'd better get busy and make it right."

  "And what happens if—when—Spring's mom comes back? Will you make that right, too?" The baby relaxed and put her head down, but her eyes were open as if she was trying to figure out where she was. Daisy kept patting her back.

  "I figure her mother left her here, on the Triple T, for a reason. And here she's going to stay until I can find out what's going on."

  "She belongs with her family," Daisy said, lifting her chin a little, while at the same time ignoring the inner voice that said "Mind your own business."

  "Why are you letting everyone think she's yours?"

  "You mean like when you told people my wife ran off?" His smile was brief. "I have my own reasons."

  And she'd never find out what they were unless he told her. If Spring wasn't his child, then she belonged to someone he cared about. Someone he loved. Someone with a Wilson temper. "You said you didn't have any family left."

  Will's lips thinned. "I said there was no one to help with Spring."

  She stopped patting the baby and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "So you do have family. Someone who would have left a baby on your porch? Someone you want to protect?"

  "That's enough," he said. "I might start slamming doors any minute now."

  "You don't look angry."

  "That's because I'm thinking about kissing you again." He took her hands and unfolded her arms from across her chest. "You might help a little," he muttered, lifting her hands to his shoulders.

  "I should be getting back to work," she said, unmoving. His skin was warm through the soft flannel shirt. She moved her fingertips the tiniest bit across the material. "And I've helped you enough for one day."

  "I need a lot more," he said, dipping his head to brush her lips with his own. "I'm a truly pathetic man."

  "Hah," was all she could manage before his mouth touched hers again. And then there was no breath, no words, no thoughts. Just the wonderful sensation of his mouth on hers. And heat, the kind of passion that exploded without warning when she stepped closer and her body touched his. His hands were on her waist, as if to make certain she wouldn't move. He tilted his head to gain deeper access to her mouth and, with deliberate and tantalizing motions, kissed her until she forgot who he was. What he was. All Daisy knew was that her blood ran heavy and hot, settling between her legs where she leaned against Will's denim-covered thigh.

  It would be so easy, she thought, letting Will move her backward, toward the mattress on the floor. So easy to satisfy this bursting need with a few tugs of his zipper and hers. Her body was already ready for him, and the bulge that grazed her abdomen proved he was as ready as she was. He'd managed to slide those wonderfully warm hands underneath her shirt and along the bare skin of her back as he'd kissed her, had searched and found the clasp of her bra.

  The baby's cry brought Daisy to her senses just as she tumbled to the mattress. "No," she panted, scrambling off the bed. "I can't do this."

  "She'll go to sleep," Will said, but he didn't sound convincing. They both knew that Spring slept when she wanted, which wasn't as often as anyone else would have wished.

  "I can't do this, anyway," Daisy said, adjusting her clothes. "Sex always gets me in trouble."

  Will climbed to his feet and grimaced as he adjusted his jeans. "You want to explain that, just in case we ever get this close again?"

  "I marry the wrong men."

  "Because of sex?"

  "Because of great sex."

  He grinned down at her. "You think it would be great, too, huh?"

  Daisy brushed past him and looked around for her jacket. That nice heavy coat would protect her from all those lovely sensual reactions to his touch. "It doesn't matter, because I'm not going to let it happen. Especially not with a man who has a baby and a bad reputation. I'm not an idiot."

  "No one thinks you're an idiot," Will said, hurrying after her as she headed to the kitchen. "I think you're one hell of a sexy woman."

  "That's the trouble," Daisy said, lifting her suede jacket off the back of a broken chair. "I like sex and I like men and I like babies and I'd like to get married to someone who isn't humping every female who walks past his pickup truck." She picked up her purse. "Would you take me and my pizza oven home now? Please?"

  "Sarah is my sister," he said, putting those strong hands on her shoulders again.

  "Yeah, right," Daisy said, brushing past him. "I'll get Spring ready for the trip to town."

  "It's true," he insisted. "Stay here and I'll tell you all about it."

  "Before we have sex or after?"

  "During, if you want."

  Daisy shook her head. "Nice try, cowboy, but I'm going home now." He would never know how much willpower it took to keep her clothes on.

  * * *

  "I called the café this morning and guess what? Barlow told me that Daisy went to town with Will to buy a crib."

  "And you're happy about that because...?" Joe struggled to get pajamas on his particularly wiggly son while Jane leaned in the doorway of the boys' bedroom.

  "Because they're doing things together, that's why."

  "Only because he needs a woman's advice and you're not available."

  "Liar."

  Joe grinned. "Hey, it was worth a try."

  "Daisy's gorgeous and single and so is Will. If ever two people were made for each other..." Her voice trailed off as the baby kicked her rib cage.

  "What? Are you in labor?"

  "No such luck, pal." She patted her bulging belly. "Your daughter is going to be a gymnast."

  "No way. Barrel racer." He set Josh free to scramble across the floor and into the bathroom. "Why are we putting them to bed so early? It's barely six."

  "I'm tired," she admitted. "They can read for a while."

  "How about a back rub?"

  "Think it would induce labor?"

  "Maybe after a long walk?"

  "I went up and down the stairs twenty times today, hoping something would happen."

  He stood up and went over to wrap his arms around her. "What can I do?"

  "Humor me," she said, closing her eyes and leaning against him. "I like matchmaking and I think Daisy could be a good friend. Like Will is to you. Why did he leave town and never come back?"

  "That's a long story." She felt him sigh against her cheek

  "What else do I have to do?"

  Joe led her over to the couch and helped her sit down, then he sat next to her and tucked her against him. "His mother moved in with her parents after her husband died. Will was about twelve,
his sister—half sister, I think—was a few years younger. It wasn't a happy situation."

  "I didn't know he had a sister," she said. "Does she live around here?"

  "Not that I know of. Will's been trying to find her for years. One time he even hired a private investigator."

  "Good heavens. Do you think she's dead?"

  "Will doesn't think so."

  Aha. "And would her name be Sarah?"

  He sighed. "Why did I marry such a smart woman?"

  "Poor guy. It hasn't made your life any easier," Jane agreed, snuggling against him. "I'm so glad there isn't a formerly pregnant former girlfriend in Will's life. That makes things so much better."

  "Better for who?"

  "For Daisy, of course. She can like him now."

  "She likes him already."

  "Mmm." Jane decided against explaining the facts of life to the poor man. Tomorrow when the boys were in play school, she and Daisy would have a talk about Will Rogers Wilson and his dysfunctional family.

  And maybe, if she was very lucky, she'd go into labor immediately afterward.

  "I'm going to put the boys to bed," Joe said, kissing the top of her head before he slid off the couch. "Promise me you'll stay out of this. Will and Daisy can manage just fine on their own. Besides, that cowboy has enough to deal with right now."

  "Exactly," Jane said, agreeing to the fact that Will was overwhelmed. If Joe thought that she was agreeing to mind her own business, then her husband just didn't know her very well. "Your father has a lot to learn," she told her belly. "But he means well."

  * * *

  Chapter 8

  «^»

  His sister. Sarah was his sister? During the time Daisy and Barlow cleared a spot on the counter for the pizza oven and put away the food supplies, Daisy had little time to think about Will's words.

  And Will's kisses.

  There'd been nothing said between her and Will on the way back to town, mostly because Spring kept fussing and Daisy tried to keep her mind on baby-sitting instead of wondering what Will would feel like inside her. From the smoldering looks the man had given her, she had the feeling he was wondering the same thing.

  By the time she closed up the quiet restaurant and crawled into her cold and lonely bed at nine o'clock that evening, Daisy refused to think that Will might have a sister who had a baby who was left on Will's doorstep last Sunday morning.

  It made him entirely too appealing. And too available. "Sexy, appealing, charming and available" was a combination that Daisy knew she should avoid, if she wanted to keep her clothes on and her pride intact

  The best thing would be to stay away from him. The next time what's-his-name, Leroy, came into the café for lunch, Daisy would be nice to him. Hint that she was available. And turn her thoughts and her body to dating the kind of man who knew who his kids belonged to, and whose cupboards held enough ingredients to make a decent meal.

  * * *

  "I've got to hand it to you," Joe said, setting his end of Will's oak bed frame onto the living-room floor. "This place is starting to look pretty damn good."

  "It's not bad," Will said, thinking of Daisy. He would have liked to have finished what they'd started on the mattress yesterday. He'd like to drive to town and haul her back to his bed.

  "Well, once we get the bed set up..." Joe's words trailed off. "Are you listening to me?"

  "Yeah. The bed." Was it possible to become addicted to the scent of a woman's skin?

  "Once we get this bed set up," Joe repeated, "it will look like you're starting to make this place your home."

  "Yeah, right," Will snorted, bending down to attach the rails. "Now that really would be a miracle."

  "It's never too late," his friend said, surveying the room. He smiled at the baby. "No word from Sarah?"

  "Nothing. I keep thinking she'll call, but she hasn't. Not even a wrong number on the answering machine. I don't understand how someone can just vanish like that."

  Joe looked like he felt just as bad about Sarah as Will did. "I've put feelers out around some other counties and I've checked the hospitals, but I haven't come up with a thing."

  "She wants to stay gone, I guess."

  "Or she's afraid to come home."

  "Afraid of me? Why?"

  Joe shrugged. "Maybe she thinks you'll be mad at her."

  "I put an ad in the personals," he said, picking up one end of the mattress. "I told her it was okay."

  "Yeah," Joe said, lifting his end of the mattress and helping Will position it onto the frame. "It's all going to work out just fine. Most things do. In time."

  Will didn't agree, but he kept his mouth shut. Joe was only trying to make him feel better. "I should talk to a real-estate agent. Is your uncle still in the business?"

  "Don't do anything right away," Joe urged. "If you sell out, Sarah won't know where to find you."

  "Meaning I'm stuck on the Triple T again."

  "It's not such a bad place. Lots of folks would give their eyeteeth for a spread like this one, with or without the house."

  "They're welcome to it." Will looked across the room at the sleeping child. "As soon as Sarah comes back for Spring."

  * * *

  "There's enough chili here to feed all of Montana and half of the Dakotas, too," Barlow insisted, waving his wooden spoon toward the walk-in cooler. "Plus, people are bringing their own for the contest. You're worrying about nothing."

  Daisy was worried about everything. She wasn't sure she had enough bowls, spoons, soda pop, napkins or extra-hot sauce to feed the people who would show up tonight. She wanted—she needed—everything to be perfect. The basketball team needed money to go to the play-offs and Daisy wanted so much to feel part of the community. "Maybe I should chop more onions."

  "I already did extra." He moved the chopping knife out of her reach and slid the cutting board into a sink filled with soapy water.

  "Shredded cheddar?"

  "Done."

  "What if I don't have enough bowls?"

  He pointed to the stacks of plastic bowls behind the counter. "You have enough for the entire county and then some."

  "Ice?"

  "The grocery store is donating extra, remember?" He paused. "There's one thing you might need, though."

  Daisy waited. "What?"

  "Valium. Before you drive me crazy."

  "I just want everything to go well." Maybe volunteering to host this fund-raiser hadn't been such a brilliant idea. Next time she'd keep her mouth shut when she went to the chamber of commerce meeting. Maybe next time she'd pick a less stressful business than running a restaurant. Like a jet-fighter pilot. Or a brain surgeon.

  Heather poked her head in the door. "Daisy, someone wants to see you."

  "Not him." And not now, when her resolutions to resist all that dangerous charm were fresh in her mind. She'd even managed to get a good night's sleep, despite missing Spring. Funny how the rooms felt so empty.

  The waitress gave her a blank look. "Him who?"

  "Never mind. I'll be right there." She turned back to Barlow. "You're sure we're all set?"

  He checked his watch. "Six hours until the big event? I think we can handle it. Go drink some tea or something. Just get out of my kitchen for a while."

  Daisy slipped her order pad in the pocket of her apron. "I guess I'd better go be a waitress for a while."

  "Good. I'm going to eat breakfast before the lunch rush starts." Barlow waved goodbye and turned back to the grill to flip flapjacks. "You want anything?" he called over his shoulder.

  "No, thanks." She was too nervous to eat. Which was ridiculous. She'd been through worse before, when she'd worked in Wyoming. Like the time the power went off in the middle of feeding twenty-eight passengers off the Greyhound bus. Or when the mean-looking drifter tried to rob the cash register at closing time. Daisy took a deep breath and left the kitchen.

  "Daisy?" Jane waved from a corner booth. She still looked very pregnant and very healthy and very happy. Daisy swallowed h
er envy and hurried over to the booth.

  "Hi. How are you feeling?"

  "Like a truck full of hogs," she moaned. "Can you sit for a minute?"

  She glanced around the nearly empty room. Heather obviously had everything under control. The young woman even had time to flirt with her latest boyfriend, who was seated on a stool at the counter. "Sure. Do you want some coffee or anything?"

  "Maybe later." Jane grinned at her. "I have something really interesting to tell you. Sarah is Will's sister."

  "I know."

  Jane's face fell. "Damn. Here I thought I had some really hot information."

  Daisy laughed. "He told me, but I didn't believe him. Not until now."

  "He told you? That's interesting."

  "Why?"

  Jane tried to lean forward, but gave up. "Haven't you been married twice?"

  "Yes."

  "And you still don't know anything about men?" Jane laughed. "Come on, Daisy. He wouldn't have told you if he didn't want you to know he wasn't, um, involved with some other woman. He must care what you think about him."

  Daisy wasn't convinced. She didn't think Will Wilson cared too much what people thought. "Will's not like that."

  "You picked out the crib yesterday?"

  "A white one, very simple and sweet. And a beautiful rosebud-print blanket and bumper pads." Daisy leaned on her elbow. "He's fixed up his living room for a bedroom."

  "I heard. Joe went out this morning to help him move stuff around."

  "He had to move the bed," Daisy said, remembering the way she'd tumbled onto the mattress within minutes of being kissed.

  "You're blushing," Jane pointed out. "Don't worry. I'm not going to ask—"

  "Daisy McGregor," Maude Anderson hollered, crossing the room at a surprising pace for an elderly lady. "You're just the person I want to see!"

  "I am?" She looked at Jane, who shrugged. "I've been thinking about this," Maude said, sitting down next to Jane, who had obligingly managed to slide over to make room. "Ever since Hazel told me about Billy Wilson being left alone with that sweet baby. How are they doing?"

  "Just fine. Really." She ignored Jane's curious look "Couldn't be better."

  "He bought her a new crib," Jane added as if she couldn't wait to see what happened next.