Trucker Daddy (Working Man Series Book 3)

by Elizabeth Rose

  “I – I don’t know too much about him,” Cal admitted. “Jenna didn’t like to talk about him. The only thing she told me was that his name is Marcus Styles and that he is in jail.”

  “Jail?” she asked, sounding shocked. “What for?”

  “I think he got drunk and hit and killed someone with his car.”

  “Well, he can’t have been there long. I mean, Maggie is only six months old.”

  “I think it was a little over a year ago. I’m not even sure if my sister ever told him she was pregnant, since the scum knocked her up and left her.”

  “Well, you know more about this than I do.”

  “But you were friends with her. Didn’t Jenna tell you? Girl talk, and all.”

  “No. Your sister was very private about her personal life and never mentioned the baby’s father to me or any of her friends as far as I know. Of course, it wasn’t because of our lack of trying to find out.”

  “I wish I had asked her more about it, but I suppose it doesn’t matter now.”

  “Well, Maggie deserves a father who isn’t a convict,” Tuesday told him. “Since Jenna wasn’t married and left the baby in your care, I’m guessing she believed that, too.”

  “If the guy ended up in jail, it’s probably best he never knows he fathered a daughter.” Cal groaned, looking down at the baby and then up at her. “Twiggy, can we please hurry up and get what we need and go? Burrito’s in the truck waiting. He gets upset if I leave him alone for too long.”

  “You’ve got the air on for him, don’t you?”

  “Sure. I put some music on, too.”

  “Then he’s got it good. I don’t know why you’re worried.”

  “Twiggy,” he said, losing his patience.

  “Oh, all right,” she said. “But I can’t believe you care more about the danged dog than you do about the baby.” She reached out and pulled two extra large packs of diapers from the shelf and droppped them into the cart.

  “Two?” he asked. “We don’t need all that. Put one back.”

  Tuesday released a puff of air from her mouth, tired of Cal’s miserly ways. “Fine,” she said, putting one back. “But then you do realize we’ll have to stop for more along the way.”

  “We’re only going to be on the road three or four days tops. There is no way she’ll use all those diapers.”

  “If you say so,” she answered nonchalantly, inspecting a baby gadget and then hanging it back on the hook. “Oh, there’s the baby food aisle,” she said with a nod as Cal pushed the cart behind her. Little Maggie cooed and smiled and shoved one fist in her mouth. Honestly, she just seemed happy to be somewhere other than the truck, and Tuesday couldn’t blame her. She felt the same way.

  This trip was going to be a lot more challenging than she’d originally thought, and it had nothing to do with the baby. It did, however, have everything to do with riding in a small area with the handsome Cal Reeves, living with him for the next few days.

  She had planned on giving him the cold shoulder, but found herself already liking him again. What in heaven’s name was the matter with her? She should have listened to Charlotte and not accepted Cal’s offer. Still, it was too late now. She just had to make the best of things and keep herself occupied with the baby. Just one more look into his sexy gray eyes and she’d be falling into his arms and giving herself to him willingly.

  Tuesday snuck a glance back over her shoulder, liking the way Cal looked pushing the cart with the baby. Maggie reached out for him, grabbing on to the front of his shirt with one hand and thumping her wet fist against his stomach.

  “Easy there, Slugger,” he said in a deep, low voice, trying to dislodge her. “I haven’t eaten yet and you’re going to make my stomach growl even louder.”

  “You’re hungry?” she asked, starting to pull jars of baby food off the shelves. “I thought you said there was a burrito in the fridge in the truck. Why didn’t you finish it?”

  “No!” he said, giving her a look to say she was crazy. “I can’t eat that!”

  “Well, why not?” she asked, surveying the labels and putting a half-dozen jars into the cart.

  “Because it’s not mine, that’s why. Steak burritos are the dog’s favorite, and I would never think of eating his food.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” she mumbled, making a face.

  “No, I’m not. I named Burrito after his favorite food. He started eating them as a puppy. I purposely ration them out or he’d eat them all in one sitting.”

  “I don’t believe this,” she said, almost dropping the jars. The sound of the clinking glass bottles against each other filled the air. “So you were going to give the baby the dog’s food?”

  “No, I wasn’t,” he told her, shaking his head and swiping his hand through the air. “Not really. But you have to admit, the dog’s food looks a hell of a lot more appetizing than this crap.” He snatched up a jar of pureed green beans and made a stink face.

  “Stop the swearing,” she warned him again, turning back to the shelf. “Now, help me find prunes and apricots and then we’ll go down the formula aisle next. After that, we need to find a proper car seat, some extra onesies, and a few pair of booties.”

  “What?” he asked in surprise. “Is that all?” he asked in a sarcastic tone.

  “No.” She spun around on her heel and continued to lead the way. “We also need a plastic bathtub, soap, baby powder, toys, and something she can lay down in to sleep. Oh, and a bunky, too.” Tuesday ticked the items off on her fingers as she rattled them off faster than a machine gun.

  Cal watched the blond bombshell’s hands move in a blur as she quickly kept adding item after item to the cart so fast it was like she was on one of those reality shopping shows where you have to find and throw things into the cart before the timer buzzed.

  “A bunk . . . what?” he asked.

  “Bunky. A blanket to hug and hold,” she explained, not even looking at him when she talked. Her attention was on buying every damned thing on the shelf and she was succeeding. “After all, every child needs one. It’s a type of security for them.”

  “Oh, well, then by all means, let’s get two of them,” he answered sarcastically, thinking she was going overboard with all this. Half the items in the cart were certainly not needed.

  “Good idea.” She picked up two blankets and held them up. “I like the clowns and also the butterflies. What do you think?”

  Cal didn’t like clowns since they’d always frightened him as a child. “No clowns. We don’t want her having nightmares. Get that one with the puppy dogs on it instead.”

  “Dogs?” Just the word made her smile disappear. “No, I don’t think so. Burrito might think it’s for him.”

  “Burrito doesn’t have or need a bunky,” he told her. “He shares my bed. Now put the clown one back and just get the other.”

  Her eyes roamed down to blankets and she bit her lip in thought. “We’ll compromise. I’ll put the clowns back and we’ll get the kitties instead of the puppies.” She started to exchange them without waiting for his reply. Cal wondered if her fear of dogs was motivating her action. Ridiculous! Still, if he told her his thoughts, it would only bring him trouble, and Lord knew he’d had enough of that lately. No, the last thing he wanted to do was ask her if he was right. So instead, the side of his mouth curved up and he toyed with the girl.

  “Good, get that one. After all, I do like pussies,” he said, almost laughing aloud when he noticed her eyes open wide.

  She stopped with her hand in midair and turned back on her heel. Just the butterfly blanket clutched in her fist, she hurriedly tossed it into the cart. “One bunky will be fine,” she mumbled and turned away from him. Too bad, because if she’d seen him grinning, she would have known he was only joking around.

  Cal chuckled under his breath because the whole incident was laughable. Well, at least now he knew how to stop her buying madness.

  Tuesday placed another half-dozen jars into the cart, follow
ed by baby wipes and a few more things he couldn’t quite identify.

  “Oh! I forgot a feeding spoon,” she said, racing back and getting one and grabbing a bottle, a pacifier, and a tube of some kind of cream on the way back to the cart.

  “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to the tube.

  “It’s for teething,” she explained. “It helps numb the pain.”

  “We don’t need it,” he answered with a shake of his head. “This is already more than will fit in the truck, not to mention you’re bleeding me dry here. Now, put some of the items back.”

  “Your truck is huge, so I’m not buying that excuse,” she said with a sniff. “The baby needs this,” she told him, shaking the tube of cream in his face. “She’s approaching the teething age, Cal. I assure you, it is crucial that we get it.”

  “No, she doesn’t need it, and it is far from crucial.” He snatched it out of her hand and threw it down on the shelf.

  “Fine,” she answered with a turned down mouth and a clenched jaw. Her arms flew up in the air, her hands shaking. “Let’s just get a car seat in the next aisle and then we’re done.”

  Cal silently followed after her, and waited as Twiggy inspected one car seat after another, not able to make a decision.

  “Just grab one and let’s get a move on,” he grumbled, checking the time on his cell phone, seeing precious minutes quickly ticking away. Damn, this little shopping trip was putting him way behind schedule.

  “Well, I’m not sure,” she said, reading the back of the boxes as if she were studying for a final exam. “I can’t decide between the brown one or the blue.” One long, manicured nail tapped one box on the shelf and then the next. “Cal, what do you think?” Her bright blue eyes sought out his, and she honestly sounded concerned. Geez, it was only a stupid car seat, so what did it matter? It wasn’t as if she were shopping for a new house or something that really mattered! This woman made way too much out of the smallest things.

  “I don’t really care. This one is fine,” he answered, just trying to get it over with and get back on the road. He grabbed the box that was closer to him and was about to toss it into the cart when he saw the price tag and stopped in midmotion. “Whoa! Wait a minute, honey. There must be some kind of mistake here. This says it’s two hundred and fifty dollars.”

  “Uh huh,” she answered in a small voice, void of emotion. “Is that a problem?” She looked up at him and batted her eyelashes, as if price didn’t matter at all to her. “Remember, you agreed to pay for expenses.”

  He didn’t forget his end of the deal, but was already regretting he gave in to her demands in the first place. He never saw this coming! “We’ll take that one instead,” he said, pointing to one higher on the shelf that was only a hundred bucks.

  “No, we won’t. That one is only for infants ,” she stated. “We want one that is going to hold Maggie securely until she’s ready to sit on the seat without it.”

  “Well, how long will that be?”

  “I’m not sure. Every child grows at a different rate. Maybe seven or eight.”

  “What?” he asked in shock. “When you say seven or eight, are you talking weeks or months?” Either one sounded absurd to him.

  “Years,” she answered cooly, leaving him standing there speechless. “There are safety laws about these kinds of things, you know. Cal, I like the brown one because it also has a handle to use as a carrier and it can face backwards or forwards. And when little Maggie gets older, it can be adjusted and used as a booster seat, too. See?”

  She pointed at it to show him, but Cal wasn’t looking at the box. He was staring at her beautiful, long fingers with her perfectly manicured nails that were painted in a pale pink today. He figured she must have went to one of those nail salons to have them done since they weren’t this color yesterday. This girl liked to spend money. He could already see it was going to prove to be a problem. After all, the money she was spending was his!

  He noticed that she wore an antique gold ring encasing a vibrant yellow stone on her finger. Her skin looked so smooth that he found himself wondering how it felt. Without realizing it, he reached out and closed his hand over hers.

  Her body stiffened and her head snapped up. Cal immediately looked down into her eyes, noticing excitement mixed with a tinge of fear.

  “Sorry,” he apologized, quickly pulling his hand away from hers. “I just wanted to . . . see that ring. That’s all.”

  “Oh,” she said in a breathy whisper, sounding oddly seductive in an innocent sort of way. It only made him want her more. “It was my great-grandmother’s amber ring.” She held her hand up for him to see, only making him want to touch her again. When he looked down at her, she was staring up into his eyes and neither of them said a word.

  He wanted to ask her how her eyes changed color over the years but decided this wasn’t the right time to do it. He kept thinking about kissing her, and he needed to get that blasted thought out of his head before it got him in trouble. Then, out of nowhere, he found himself wondering if she wanted to kiss him, too. Or perhaps even get intimate with him.

  “Can we do it?” she asked in her sweet, sexy voice, almost making him choke.

  “Do what?” he squeaked out, not believing that she just said those words. His heart sped up. Could she really be asking what he thought she was? He almost believed it was what she meant until she turned around and grabbed a box off the shelf. “Can we get this car seat or not?”

  “Oh.” Her question left him sorely disappointed. Yet, at the same time, part of him felt a little relieved. “Yeah, sure, whatever,” he said, throwing it into the back of the cart with the mountain of other items. He could barely see the baby anymore. Little Magnolia gurgled and cooed, smiling at him, only making things worse since she was so cute.

  “Thanks, Cal.” Tuesday reached over and gave him a half-hug. And then to his utter amazement, she stood on her toes and gave him a small peck on the cheek. “I see that Maggie likes it, too. She’s smiling, and hasn’t cried at all since we’ve been in here.”

  As fast as she’d kissed him, she reached down and kissed the little girl on the head, making it all seem too innocent. Or was it?

  The whole thing caught him off guard. Cal wasn’t sure how to react to that! There was an awkward moment between them as she focused her attention on the baby and didn’t look back at him at all. Little Maggie started to gnaw on the handle on the shopping cart.

  “No, don’t do that, sweetheart,” scolded Twiggy, gently pulling the baby’s mouth off of it, causing the child to cry. Cal never thought he’d be thankful that the baby was crying, but at least it gave him a way out from reacting to Twiggy’s quick kiss. This was a very awkward situation.

  “I got her,” Cal said at the same time Twiggy reached for the baby. Once again, his hands slid over hers. A warm feeling flooded his body and the scent of lilacs drifted up from her hair. He yanked his hands away and stuck them into his back pockets, pretending to find interest on a high shelf instead of looking at her.

  “Maybe we’d better pay for this and get going,” she suggested, picking up the baby and cuddling her to her chest. “I think Maggie is hungry. She also needs to be changed before I put her down with a bottle for a nap.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Cal cleared his throat. “I’ve got the cart. Let’s go.” He hurriedly walked ahead of Twiggy so she wouldn’t notice the new bulge below his waist.

  Chapter 5

  Half an hour later, Cal pulled his rig back out onto the road, with Twiggy tending to the baby in the sleeper compartment of the truck.

  “Slow down, you’re being reckless,” she called out, holding on to the baby, feeding her a bottle. The bags and boxes that she’d left in the middle of the floor slid one way and then the other as he pulled back out onto the interstate.

  “I’m merging with traffic,” he told her, hearing a sigh from his dog on the seat next to him. Burrito laid down and hid his nose between his paws. “What?” Cal asked the dog. “You
never seemed to mind my driving before.”

  “Can’t you take it slower until I get the baby down for her nap?” complained Twiggy once again from behind him.

  “Look, we’re already behind schedule since we not only had to shop, but you insisted I jury-rig a seat belt to hold the baby seat to the bench. Not to mention, you made me wait while you warmed up the bottle.”

  “At least I feel that the baby is safer now with the car seat secure. Thank you,” she told him. “But I still don’t like using a microwave to warm up formula.”

  “It was either that or warm up water in a pot on the stove, but hell if I was going to wait for that. Damn it,” he spat as a little car swerved right in front of him. He hit the air horn, causing the car to move back in its own lane. The horn was loud and he heard Twiggy jerk backward, hitting her head against the wall.

  “Ow!” she cried, and the baby started crying.

  “Was that really necessary?” she bit off. “You made Maggie cry.”

  “There was a car in my lane, so yes, it was necessary,” he answered, not liking that he had to explain his actions to anyone. “It was more necessary than half those packages cluttering up my sleeping area,” he added in a mumble under his breath.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll find a place for everything just as soon as Maggie dozes off,” she promised, having ears like a hawk. Or was that eyes like a hawk? Either way, she had them both and it was a little unnerving.

  “All the cabinets have locks on them so the items won’t fall out. Just be sure to click them closed when you’re done.”

  “I will.”

  Cal wasn’t used to having a passenger along, besides his dog. And now he had two passengers . . . and they were both women. God help him, these next few days were going to seem like eternity.

  It wasn’t long before Tuesday had all their purchases arranged and stashed away in the latching cabinets that lined the walls. The back area was huge! A man over six feet tall could stand straight up without hitting his head on the ceiling. Windows filled the area, and there were mirrors everywhere, making the space seem even bigger.