“Mrs. Stanislowski. I didn’t have much time to talk to her, but I did find out she bought it after her husband passed away. He was quite a bit older and left her with enough to open this place. She loves it.”
“I can tell. Pots of flowers everywhere and the white trim looks as if someone just painted it.”
“It’s a lovely place. I was worried when I couldn’t find a hotel in Eagles Nest, but this is better.” She’d had the presence of mind to shove the front door key into her jeans pocket when she’d left here. Stepping up on the porch, she dug out the key and opened the carved oak door with its etched oval glass insert.
The softly lit reception area was decorated with a harvest theme. Although the autumn leaves and pumpkins were artificial, they looked real, especially with the pots of yellow and orange chrysanthemums tucked into the foliage.
Gage looked around. “Where’s the lady of the house?”
“In her private quarters, I suspect. She serves everyone wine and munchies for Happy Hour but that’s over. I’m on the first floor. Right down this little hall.”
“Smart. No stairs.”
“I was lucky she had this one available.” As she started toward it, Josh grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled. “Ouch, Josh.” She reached up to untangle him but he’d decided it was a game. The minute she got one strand free he grabbed another one. “Josh, stop. That hurts.”
“Stand still.” Gage put down the bags of food, moved closer and set about prying those little fingers loose. “Hey, buddy, when you go after your mom’s hair, you don’t mess around, do you?”
“I shouldn’t have left it loose. I know better.”
“It looks pretty when it’s down, though.” As he concentrated on the task, his warm breath caressed her cheek and the scent of his aftershave prompted a spike in her pulse rate.
Maybe conversation would dilute the effect of having him so close. “But I should hold off on leaving it loose until he gets over his fascination with it.”
He murmured something under his breath that sounded like I never did.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing important.”
Oh, it might be very important, but she wouldn’t press him to tell her.
“You’re free.” He stepped back. “Maybe I’d better carry him so he doesn’t do it again.”
“Good idea. I’ll take the food.”
“Come with me, sport.” He scooped Josh out of her arms, which involved more bodily contact.
She took a quick breath before gathering the bags he’d left on the floor and hurrying down the hallway, key in hand. Behind her, Josh giggled, evidently having a grand old time being transported by his dad.
Shifting the bags to one hand, she unlocked the door and went in. “If you’ll keep him amused for a few minutes, I’ll set us up at the table.”
“I think it’s the other way around.” He closed the door. “He’s keeping me amused.”
She glanced back in time to see Josh blow a raspberry at Gage. He blew one back. Then Josh made a grab for his hat.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Gage took it off and looked around.
“Want me to take it?”
“No, thanks. I’ve got this.” He sent it sailing toward the four-poster that dominated the right half of the room. The hat spun around on the nearest post and came to rest.
“Impressive stunt.”
“Thank you. It’s been awhile since I’ve tried that.”
Josh crowed with delight and bounced in his arms.
“He wants you to do it again.”
“Well, I’m not gonna.” He flashed her a grin. “Next time I might miss.”
“I sincerely doubt it.” Smiling, she carried the bags and her backpack over to a small table. It sat by a window with a view of a sweet little garden that was still visible in the fading light. An antique high chair sat by the table along with two chairs.
While Josh and Gage traded laughter and raspberries, Emma turned on the light in the kitchenette and set the table with the dishes in the cupboard. She got out Josh’s food and sliced up a banana for his desert. Then she started a pot of coffee.
“I always liked that song.”
She looked up, startled. “What song?”
“The one you were humming just now.” He dodged Josh’s attempt to grab his nose. “Could I Have This Dance?”
“I didn’t even realize what I was doing.” Her cheeks grew warm. Evidently the cozy domestic scene had prompted her to start humming. “Ready to eat?”
“You know it.” He brought Josh over to the high chair. “Whoa. Different configuration.”
“Let me slide the tray back. Mrs. Stanislowski bought an antique one to match the décor.”
“I like it.” He deposited Josh in the chair and she locked the tray back into place. “What kind do you have at home?”
“One something like this. I’m a sucker for vintage.”
“I guess I am, too. This place is great. I’m glad you suggested coming back here to eat.”
“Oh! One of the reasons was your shirt. I forgot about that. If you’ll take it off, I’ll start it soaking while we eat.”
“Ah, never mind the shirt. It’ll be fine.”
“The stain is getting more embedded by the minute and that’s a gorgeous shirt. I’ll feel terrible if Josh has ruined it. Your hat is bad enough.”
He smiled. “Then I’ll have a shirt that reminds me of him, too.”
“Don’t be silly. Take it off. I insist.”
“Alrighty, then.” He unsnapped the cuffs and pulled the bottom loose from his jeans. Then he worked his way down the front, revealing bare skin. No white t-shirt.
Uh-oh.
He paused. “Is something wrong?”
“No, no. I just thought…don’t you usually wear a t-shirt?”
“In the winter, but not in the—oh, I get it. When you pictured me taking off my shirt, you expected I’d still have a t-shirt on underneath.” He began refastening the snaps. “Let’s not worry about this right now.”
“But I—”
Josh banged on his tray and squealed.
“He’s hungry.” Gage glanced at him. “We’d better—”
“I’ll feed him in a minute. I want to work on that stain. It’s not like I’ve never seen your naked chest.”
He gazed at her. “But that was different.”
She didn’t dare get lost in that gaze. Sure as the world she’d see her own hot memories reflected there. “I’m saving that shirt, whether you want me to or not. Take it off.”
“You sound determined.”
“I am.”
Josh squealed again.
“Then let’s do this.” Snaps popped as Gage pulled the shirt apart and took it off. “Here you go. Where’s Josh’s jar of goo?”
She cast a quick glance over Gage’s muscled chest with its sexy dusting of dark hair. As seductive as ever. “On the table with a spoon, but you don’t have to feed him.”
“Might as well try. It’s not like he’s going to mess up my shirt.”
“Guess not.” She took the shirt to the kitchenette, ran some water over the stains, and pulled a bottle of dish soap from under the sink.
While she squirted it on the back side of the stain and rubbed it in, she took several deep breaths. She could do this. She could eat a meal with a shirtless Gage Sawyer without ogling him.
Leaving the shirt to soak, she turned around.
Heaven help her. Sharing a meal with a shirtless Gage might have been doable. But he’d just upped the ante.
Jar in one hand, spoon in the other, he was feeding Josh. No fighter jet games, no elaborate tricks. Instead he softly coaxed her son to accept one spoonful after another.
Somehow, in the short time Josh and his father had been together, they’d bonded. For Gage to be casually feeding his son wearing nothing but his jeans and boots was the most natural thing in the world. And beautiful.
Chapter Seven
Gage
looked over at Emma. “I have no idea why he’s being so cooperative.”
“That’s easy. You nailed the hat toss.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s it. Gets ‘em every time.” Returning his attention to Josh, he scooped up another spoonful and the little guy opened his mouth. Feeding him was a thrill and a half.
The green stuff was nasty to look at but as he’d discovered when some had hit him in the face, it tasted decent. This baby food was the first thing he’d eaten that Emma had cooked. He’d spent his nights with her but had driven back to the ranch at dawn every morning. He’d never stayed for breakfast.
The jar was almost empty. “Go ahead and start eating.” He spooned in some more green stuff. “We’ll be done in a minute.”
“I’ll wait. I’ll pour our coffee, though. You want some, right?”
“Yes, please. Does Josh get something to drink?”
“I’ll give him his sippy cup after he eats the banana.”
“He’s done with bottles?”
“I didn’t do the bottle routine. I nursed him until recently, and he went from that to his sippy cup.”
His son had done a lot of growing up that he hadn’t been around to see. He’d missed Josh’s first smile, his first laugh, his first tooth. “When’s his birthday?”
“September twenty-first.”
“A week from today.” He didn’t want to miss that, too.
“It’s coming up fast.”
“Have you made plans?”
“Not really. My parents are both teachers so the timing is bad for them to come out here at the beginning of the school year. They wanted me to fly back there with him and at first I was going to. But I changed my mind.”
“How come?” He scraped the last of the green glop from the jar and popped it into Josh’s mouth.
“I’m not sure it would make sense to anyone else.”
“Try me.”
“Montana is my home, now. Josh is a Montana kid. I don’t want him to spend his first birthday in Wisconsin.”
“Sounds about right to me.” He handed her the empty jar. “How about coming down here? My family would love to celebrate his birthday.”
“But they haven’t even met him, yet.” She carried the jar over to the sink.
“Doesn’t matter. My family’s all about birthdays.” Something else he hadn’t appreciated enough. “Josh is the first grandchild. I can guarantee they’d be thrilled if they could throw him a party.”
“I’d still like you to check with them.”
“I’ll ask tomorrow. What’s the plan for the banana?”
“Just a few pieces at once.”
“Okay.” He plucked five slices out of the bowl she’d put on the table and laid them on the tray of the high chair. “What would happen if I dumped the entire bowl on his tray?”
“He’ll mash it into oblivion.”
He laughed. “The kid in me wants to see that happen.”
“Have you ever tried to clean sticky bits of banana off a floor?”
“Can’t say I have.”
“Then curb your impulse to give him all of it at once. He won’t be able to resist driving his fist into a mound of banana slices.”
“Come to think of it, I might not be able to resist, either. Some things are just meant to be squished.”
She took a seat at the table. “I’ve never had that thought in my entire life.”
“Which supports my theory that girls are different from boys.”
“They are?” Her eyes widened in mock disbelief.
“Yes, ma’am. And I, for one, am very happy about that.” He began spooning his dinner onto his plate.
“So am I.” Her gaze rested for a moment on his bare chest, then skittered away.
If having him sit there without a shirt bothered her, oh, well. He’d tried to talk her out of it. Exactly how it bothered her interested him a great deal, though.
If he had to guess, he’d say the chemistry was still very much there, but she was conflicted about it. That put them in the same boat. And the stakes were way higher now. Josh was involved.
They couldn’t afford to do anything that might cause problems in what was now a complicated relationship. Easier said than done when Emma had insisted that he strip down.
Taking off his shirt was a trigger because that had been one of the first things to go whenever they’d made love. Being bare-chested clearly affected her, but it affected him, too.
The gesture had awakened his instincts and energized his body. Removing his shirt in front of Emma had always meant that something was about to happen, something exceedingly pleasurable.
Not tonight, though. He dug into his meal because at least that was one hunger he could satisfy. For a while, silence reigned as they ate their dinner and Josh was busy with his banana slices. Gage kept him supplied, adding more when the tray was empty. No smashing went on.
“That’s it for the banana,” he said when Josh picked up the last slice and crammed it in his mouth.
“I’ll get his sippy cup.” She went into the little kitchen area and came back with it, along with a washcloth. “Time to clean you up, sweetie-pie.”
Josh scrunched up his face and flailed with his hands as she wiped away excess banana, but he cooed with excitement when she finally gave him the sippy cup.
“Wow, he handles that like a pro.”
“He has excellent coordination for his age.” She took the washcloth back to the kitchen and returned to the table.
“Of course he does. He’s my—I mean our son.”
She laughed as she sat down. “You can take credit for his good coordination if you want. I doubt I could have landed that hat on the bedpost.”
“You could if you’d practiced as much as I have.”
“Oh, really? On whose bedpost?” She picked up her fork and started eating the last of her dinner.
Did he detect a slight tinge of jealousy in that question? “I don’t need one to practice. I grew up on a ranch. Posts galore. This was my first actual bedpost.”
“I see.” She looked happy about that. “I didn’t realize Josh and I were witnessing such a momentous event.”
“Oh, yeah. One for the record books.” He picked up his coffee mug.
“Was this ranch where you grew up in Spokane?”
“Outside of it. The Lazy S. My dad sold it in May.” He took a sip of his coffee.
“Then he hasn’t been in Eagles Nest that long, either.”
“No. Everything happened pretty fast, which is why it caught me off guard. I’d never felt untethered before, but I sure did once I couldn’t go back to the Lazy S. Didn’t matter that I seldom visited. It was just the idea that it was there if I wanted to.”
“I can see why that would be disorienting.”
“No kidding. I didn’t know the ranch meant that much to me until it was gone. Suddenly I felt the need to quit my job and move here so I could hang out with my family again.”
“How’s that working out?”
“Great. I’m glad I did it. For one thing, I have a new appreciation for my dad. For years he was the dependable anchor for the rest of us. But he needed the freedom to grow and change, too. Now he has it.”
“And what does he think about this new development?”
Gage decided not to bring up the meant to be remark. “He’s excited to have a grandson, although he’s a little freaked out that he’s suddenly a grandpa. I don’t think he was quite ready for that.”
She smiled. “This is the first one, then?”
“Surprisingly, yes. Roxanne’s engaged and Wes is moving in that direction, but nobody’s produced a kid. Until now.”
“Let me guess. You were the least likely candidate.”
“No question.” He swallowed the last of his coffee. “What about your family? Any other grandkids?”
“No. My brother’s not ready to settle down, either.”
“Either?”
She blinked. “I did jus
t say that, didn’t I? Force of habit. Then again, maybe I don’t think of having a baby as settling down. I’m still single. I don’t answer to anyone and my only real responsibility is to Josh.”
“You like being your own boss, then.”
She met his gaze. “Absolutely.”
“That makes two of us. I think that’s part of the reason we were attracted to each other.” Although he’d wanted to ask her out from the moment he’d gazed into her luminous green eyes. He’d been mesmerized. Still was.
“I think you’re right. I’ve always avoided needy men and you’ve never struck me as that type. Cocky, yes, but not—”
“Cocky?” He pressed a hand to his chest. “You wound me, madam.”
“No worries. It just adds to your charm.” She said it with a smile in her voice.
She was also looking at him in a way that brought a rush of heat to his groin. In the past, he would have taken that as a sign that she was open to the idea of getting naked.
It couldn’t mean that now, of course, but that didn’t stop him from reacting. “We had some good times.”
“Yes, we did.” Her lips parted and her breathing grew shallow.
Oh, hey, now. He wasn’t imagining this. He knew exactly what was going through her mind. The same thing that was going through his. His jeans began to pinch.
Right on cue, Josh banged his sippy cup on the tray of the high chair. “Da-da!”
Gage dragged in a breath. “I should go.”
“Your shirt is wet.” She sounded breathless.
“Probably a good thing.” Getting out of his chair was slightly painful but he managed it. “It’ll cool me off.” Leaning down, he kissed the top of Josh’s head. “Later, big guy.”
Grabbing the shirt from the sink, he wrung it out and shrugged into it as best he could. He left it hanging open. “I’ll be in touch about tomorrow.”
She pushed back from the table. “I’ll walk you to the—”
“That’s okay.” He gave her a quick smile. “I’ll see myself out.” He propelled himself through the door, down the hall and out into the cool night air. Another second in that room and he would have hauled her out of her chair and kissed her, baby or no baby. And she would have let him.
A Cowboy's Baby (The McGavin Brothers Book 11) Page 5
