Bride Wanted
Page 19
Coop strode toward the shadowy figures taking shape, swept the kid into his arms and grasped the woman’s smooth hand. “You have the baby?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go.”
“I dropped Braveman!” the kid hollered, twisting to get free.
Coop gripped the boy tighter, peering through the haze for a small animal of some kind. “Who’s Braveman?”
“My superhero.”
“Then he should be fine, right?” Smoke stinging his eyes, he made for the door. The baby’s cries echoing eerily in the haze, they broke onto the porch. Cold, fresh air smelled mighty sweet. They thumped down the few steps.
The woman set the baby carrier on the ground and fumbled with the security strap, the baby’s crying almost covered by the wind.
Coop wrangled himself out of his jacket and wrapped it around the shivering kid in his arms. “You okay?”
The boy coughed, tears rolling under his glasses and down his cheeks. “Braveman’s in danger,” he wailed.
Coop glanced up at the black smoke rising into the sky and decided Braveman was on his own for the time being. “Don’t superheroes love danger?”
The little guy gave a serious nod.
“Well, he’s probably doing great, then.”
The woman tried to cuddle her infant inside her jacket. “I need to call the fire department,” she said over the baby’s crying.
“I already called them.”
“Oh. Thank you so much.”
Coop helped her grasp blanket ends whipping in the wind and tucked them tightly around the infant. The woman’s face was shadowed by the night, but her exotic scent drew him in and commanded his attention. With those high heels, she could almost look him in the eye. He liked that.
“I’m sorry to be so much trouble.” Swaying to comfort her baby, her deep sapphire eyes fired off enough damsel-in-distress signals to tweak every protective nerve he owned. Her teeth were even chattering.
“Glad to help.” This wind had ice in it, and her lightweight jacket was clearly built for style rather than warmth. “My house isn’t far away.”
“Your house?” The woman sounded as if she hadn’t considered what she’d do beyond getting out of the smoke.
“Come on.” Hanging on to the squirming kid, Coop scooped up the empty baby carrier and strode across the yard Clyde kept mowed and trimmed. The woman caught up and jogged beside him, the baby still crying his heart out. He sure did have a great set of lungs.
“My brother is really, really scart.”
“I’ll bet he is.” This kid was probably plenty scared himself. “But everybody’s safe, so there’s no reason to be scared.”
“Braveman’s not safe.” Coughing, the kid turned himself into a squirming octopus trying to wrench himself out of Coop’s arms again.
Coop hung on.
The woman looked over her shoulder. “Something is wrong with the chimney.”
Her skin looked porcelain in the moonlight peeking through the clouds. “Birds, chipmunks, maybe even raccoons probably filled the chimney with nests and stashes of food. I’m surprised Clyde didn’t clean it out before you arrived.”
“I told him I’d be here next week, but...plans changed. How far do the firefighters have to come?”
“From Noah’s Crossing, about a mile.” Digger trotted to them, wagging his tail and looking pretty proud of himself. “Good boy, Digger.”
“Is he your dog?” the boy asked.
“He sure is. He let me know about the smoke.”
“He’s a hero,” the boy said, his voice hushed. “Just like Braveman.”
“Hear that, Dig? You’re just like Braveman.”
“Thank you, Digger. And Mr.—” The woman sounded out of breath.
Remembering those high-heeled boots she wore, he slowed his pace. “Ben Cooper.”
“Alyssa Douglas. It never occurred to me the chimney could be plugged.”
“Well, don’t worry. We have the best volunteer fire department and EMS unit in the area.”
“Volunteer?” She sounded alarmed.
“Best in the area. We’d be in big trouble if we had to wait for help to come from farther away.”
The baby’s crying seemed to be winding down. Reaching his house, Coop pushed open the door and stood back to allow her to go in first.
She walked into his laundry room, the light making her golden hair glow like soft silk. He’d never seen a more delicate, feminine woman. Tall—too thin—but she carried herself like a princess. Her U.S. senator father must be proud.
Coop stepped into the house behind her. Princess or not, her problems obviously ran a lot deeper than a chimney fire. Why else would she be staying in an old cottage in November with two little kids and no husband in sight?
ISBN: 9781460317310
BRIDE WANTED
Copyright © 2013 by Renee Andrews
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com