Rent-A-Dad

by Judy Christenberry

“This evening won’t cost you a thing. I’ve already made reservations for seven o’clock. We’ll bathe Mandy before we go. All Mrs. Tuttle will have to do is give her a bottle before bedtime.”

  She could tell by his expression that he expected more protests. She supposed she had been very difficult since his arrival, which didn’t make sense since she’d invited him into her house so he could help her.

  But all she’d really intended was to sleep late on Mother’s Day. Instead, Russ Hall had taken care of Mandy for two mornings. She owed him her cooperation. She almost chuckled out loud. Her thought sounded so self-sacrificing. Dinner out with a handsome man was definitely not a sacrifice.

  “Thank you. That’s very thoughtful of you, Russ,” she said, and picked up her fork to eat her breakfast.

  Though she didn’t look at him, she could feel his gaze on her, but she chewed as normally as possible, pretending that his invitation was a common occurrence. Much to her relief, he finally began eating, also.

  Once breakfast was finished, he joined her at the sink, helping with the dishes. She graciously thanked him and handed him a towel.

  In no time, that task was completed.

  “Now what?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I don’t have any more chores to do right now. I’m sorry to disappoint you since I know you love to do them.” She gave him a cheeky grin.

  His hand came up to hold her chin. “Watch it, lady, or I’ll grab a mop and start on the floors.”

  She immediately rose to the bait. “I mopped my floors on Thursday!” His chuckle had her adding, “But, of course, I’d be delighted for you to clean them again. Shall I bring you the mop?”

  He dropped a kiss on her upturned mouth, then crossed the room to the high chair. “I think I’d better use my cleaning expertise on little Miss Mandy instead. Otherwise, she won’t be fit to go to the mall with us.”

  Melissa decided Russ must be in the habit of dishing out casual kisses. If she made a big deal about it, he’d know how much his touch disturbed her. “Uh, we’re going to the mall?”

  “Yeah, if you don’t mind. I want to buy Mandy a teddy bear. She doesn’t have one, does she?”

  “No, but you don’t need to buy her presents.”

  “I know I don’t need to. I want to. You’re not going to fuss about that, too, are you?”

  “No, of course not,” she replied. “But Mandy has a lot of toys.”

  “Yeah, but I want to give her something to remember me by. Every kid should have a teddy bear.”

  “Did you have one?”

  She should have known better. Any question about his childhood sent him in retreat.

  “Yes,” he said abruptly, then crossed to the sink to wet a paper towel before returning to wipe Mandy’s face and hands. “Does she need to change clothes before we go?”

  “Yes.”

  “You pick something out for her to wear and I’ll dress her while you get ready.”

  She looked down, having forgotten she was still in her robe and nightgown. How strange that she could be so casual around a man she barely knew.

  Hurrying out of the kitchen, she called over her shoulder, “Thanks, I’ll do that.”

  She really was getting the hang of letting Russ help her out.

  * * *

  AN HOUR LATER, Russ pushed Mandy’s stroller through the mall, feeling like the daddy he was pretending to be.

  “Lots of babies here today,” he whispered to Melissa, who was walking beside him.

  “That’s because it’s the weekend. During the week, the mall is almost empty.”

  She smiled at him and he gripped the stroller handles to keep from reaching for her. He’d already overstepped the boundaries with that kiss in the kitchen. But, hell, she was tough to resist.

  “Uh, where’s a toy store?”

  “The toy store is at the other end of the mall, but you’ll probably find more teddy bears at a baby store. If that’s still what you’re looking for.”

  He raised one eyebrow. There seemed to be a question somewhere in her words, but he wasn’t sure what it was. “Yeah, that’s what I’m looking for.”

  She guided him to a shop nearby, its windows filled with tiny clothes, several elaborate cribs and stuffed animals. One particular bear caught his eye. It wasn’t huge, like the white bear in the corner. It was brown, much the color of a real bear, with a lovable face. Black eyes and a big black nose were embroidered on its face.

  “I like that one,” he suggested, pointing out the brown bear.

  Melissa seemed relieved. “That one is perfect. It’s just the size Mandy will enjoy. I was afraid you were going to go for one of those giant things.”

  “I considered it,” he told her with a grin. “Let’s see if Mandy likes my choice.”

  When the saleslady got the bear out of the window, since it was the last they had in that style, Russ knelt in front of the stroller and held the bear in front of Mandy.

  “Da-da-da-da!” the baby exclaimed, reaching for the bear.

  “I think she likes it,” Russ told Melissa, grinning. “And it’s soft enough. Feel.”

  Melissa touched the bear and assured him his choice was great.

  “We’ll take it,” he told the saleslady. “May I cut the tag off so she can play with it?”

  The woman took a pair of scissors and snipped the tag free, then handed the bear back to Russ. He knelt in front of Mandy again and offered it to her. She grabbed the bear and immediately carried it to her mouth.

  “Is she trying to eat it or kiss it?” Russ asked, watching in fascination.

  “Probably both. I’m not sure she can differentiate between the two at this point.”

  He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and handed the saleslady his charge card.

  “Will there be anything else, sir? We’ve got a special on summer play clothes. Your daughter would look cute in that pink outfit,” she said, gesturing to a plastic model wearing a pink T-shirt with stars on it, accompanied by a pair of pink shorts.

  “Hey, I like that. What size does Mandy wear?” he asked Melissa.

  “Russ, you’ve already bought her a toy. That’s really all—”

  “Come on, Melissa, let me have some fun.”

  “Fine,” she agreed reluctantly. “One outfit.”

  He grinned. “And maybe some sandals. She’ll need sandals with those shorts.”

  Fifteen minutes later, thoroughly enjoying himself, he’d amassed a pile of purchases for Mandy. He gathered up all their bags, leaving Melissa to push the stroller as they left the store. Mandy, chewing on her teddy bear’s ear, was content.

  “Time for lunch.” He’d had a big breakfast, thanks to Melissa, but it was almost two o’clock.

  She checked her watch. “Oh, the pictures will be ready in five minutes. Could we swing by there and pick them up? I’m anxious to see how they turned out.”

  “Sure. I’ll go pick up the car first. It should be ready by now.” They had left the car at a garage across from the mall to have the tire repaired. “Is there a restaurant near the photo place?”

  “Are you in the mood for Mexican? Dos Hombres is right across from it.”

  “Sounds good. And we can stow all our packages in the car.” As they walked toward the mall exit, he added, “I may have gotten a little carried away, but I had fun.”

  “I’m glad, because I won’t need to buy Mandy anything for months. Even then, she’ll still be able to wear the blue jeans.”

  “They’re cute, aren’t they? She’ll need them if I put her on a horse again. She’s got to look the part. Maybe I should buy her a hat.”

  “No! No more purchases for Mandy. Besides, you won’t be around to take her riding, remember? You’ll be back in Chicago.”

&nbs
p; Her words hit him hard. He’d been pretending Melissa and her baby had a permanent place in his life. But he wouldn’t see them after this weekend.

  Unless he came back for a visit. Or moved back to Wyoming—a possibility he’d promised himself he’d consider.

  He hadn’t been back to Wyoming once in the fourteen years he’d been gone. But now he was contemplating a return trip in a month or two.

  And maybe another at Christmas. He’d have to see Mandy at Christmastime. He could go to FAO Schwartz in Chicago to find her a great Christmas present. And deliver it personally.

  What would he bring Melissa?

  An immediate vision of something out of Victoria’s Secret formed in his mind. Dangerous thought. He shook his head to clear it and realized Melissa had stopped a few feet back, staring at a tuxedo rental shop.

  “Melissa?”

  “Oh, sorry. I just—Russ, would you consider posing for a few more pictures?”

  “Sure, if you want me to. What do you have in mind?”

  “I was thinking—you’ll think I’m crazy, but the contrast of you in a tuxedo against a rugged backdrop, you know, civilization against the wilderness... I think it would be great. We can rent you a tuxedo and—”

  “No need. I brought my own. Getting a tuxedo to fit me isn’t easy, and I didn’t know what you had in mind, so I came prepared.”

  She smiled radiantly at him, making him glad he’d bothered. Anything that made Melissa happy was a good thing.

  “That’s perfect!”

  He grinned back. “Do we get to eat lunch first?”

  “Of course. I’ll need to go back and get my equipment after we eat. Then I know the perfect place. There’s a bluff that looks down on the Platte River. You’ll love it.”

  Somehow, he was sure she was right.

  CHAPTER TEN

  RUSS ORDERED A PLATE of nachos to eat while they waited for their meal. Then he looked at Melissa.

  “Okay, how did they turn out?”

  While he’d driven them to the restaurant, she’d taken a quick peek at the pictures, but he hadn’t seen any of them.

  From the look on his face, she thought he might be nervous, which was ridiculous.

  “I think I’m going to have to pay you a modeling fee.” In fact, from the glimpse she’d taken, she was convinced Russ would make her rich. She pulled the first set of pictures from the envelope. Making sure the table had no moisture on it, she began laying out the proofs of the photos they’d taken in the barn.

  “You’re a good photographer,” Russ commented as he studied himself.

  “I had great material to work with.” She stacked those photos and slid them back into the envelope.

  The next group included Russ leaning against the stall with the horse nuzzling his shoulder. “Oh, Russ, look,” she said with a smile. “The horse is as good a model as you.”

  “But I’m more handsome, aren’t I?” he teased.

  “Definitely.” She hoped the man didn’t know how much she was bowled over by his attractiveness.

  When they got to the pictures in the bubble bath, Russ was actually embarrassed at the sexiness of his image.

  “Well, you were right about the contrast, all right, but I don’t think anyone will want a picture of me in a bathtub.” He frowned as he continued to study the photos.

  Melissa chuckled. “I think these will sell out the minute they go on the market.” One photo in particular, where he was wearing his cocky grin, his hat tilted down, his arms resting on the edge of the tub, was worth the entire day’s shoot. “I think I’ll give this one to the reporter coming tomorrow.”

  “What reporter?” he asked with a frown.

  “Don’t you remember? The local paper promised to do a follow-up on each bachelor’s weekend. I scheduled an interview for tomorrow afternoon.”

  “I don’t want to do an interview,” he protested, still frowning.

  “But that was the whole point to my bidding on a bachelor at the auction. To use him as a model, then have it promoted in the media.”

  “But everyone will know who I am when they buy that card with me sitting in a tub as if I were naked!”

  “You’re wearing your swimsuit.”

  “I wanted to—you seemed—” He paused and drew a deep breath. “Okay. Okay, I’ll do the interview. Probably no one will remember my name, anyway.”

  Only every woman in Wyoming. “Mostly I sell to tourists. They’ll never see the article.”

  “Good.”

  The waitress appeared beside their table with the nachos, and Melissa hurriedly began scooping up the pictures.

  “Wow! Those are some pictures!” the woman exclaimed, staring at Russ and then the photos.

  “Yes, they are, aren’t they?” Melissa replied, pleased at the waitress’s reaction. She could do a line of note cards, too. Maybe even a calendar. Wrapped up in her thoughts, she scarcely noticed when the woman finally served the nachos and left.

  “Melissa?” Russ said. “What are you thinking about?”

  “My business. Russ, I think I really do need to pay you for your work.”

  “Nope. I agreed to it. You bought my services for the weekend, remember?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “No argument. Let’s relax before we start working again.”

  * * *

  IT WAS DEFINITELY WORK. Russ wasn’t naive enough to think modeling was fun, but he hadn’t realized just how much work was involved.

  Mandy was sitting in her stroller, holding her bear, while he posed in front of a cliff on the banks of the Platte River. He was wearing his tuxedo and Sam’s cowboy hat again. Along with his own boots. Fortunately they were black.

  “Okay. Take off your hat and hold it in front of you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you have good hair, and it’s a pose all the cowboys make in westerns.” She smiled at him. “Pretend you’ve come calling on the schoolmarm.”

  He shook his head but did as she asked. It wasn’t hard to pretend. After all, if Melissa were the schoolmarm, he’d definitely come calling.

  “Wonderful,” she muttered as she moved around him. Then she paused. “Um, Russ, is there any chance you could look shy?”

  “Shy?”

  “You needn’t make it sound like a foreign word, mister,” she teased. “Surely you didn’t leave the cradle with that knowing grin.”

  No, he hadn’t left the cradle believing he’d held the world in his hands. In fact, when he’d first come to the ranch, he hadn’t spoken for almost a month. Mrs. Duncan had once told him she’d feared he would never talk again.

  It had taken him a long time to shed his vulnerability. Or at least hide it.

  He lowered his chin and gave a half smile, his hat in his hand. After Melissa snapped a number of pictures, he raised his eyebrows. “Don’t you think you’ve taken enough shots? You’ve already got at least a hundred from yesterday.”

  “Are you too tired?”

  “Hell, no, I’m not too tired. But how many pictures do you need of one guy in a tuxedo?”

  Mandy protested, as if she, too, wanted an answer to that question. Melissa put down her camera and dug into the diaper bag for a teething biscuit for her daughter. “I’ll trade you the biscuit for the bear, sweetie.”

  Reluctantly, Mandy made the trade, but she watched her mother until the bear disappeared in the diaper bag, as if she wanted to know where to find her toy.

  Melissa then turned her attention to Russ. Wa
lking over, she said, “Just a few more pictures, please?”

  His voice was gruff when he agreed, because he didn’t want her to know how easily she could gain his cooperation. Whatever she asked for would immediately be hers if he had any say in the matter.

  She reached up to touch his bow tie. “May I undo this? We want a relaxed look, as if you’ve just come in from a great night.”

  He stood still as a statue as she undid his tie, then took out the first two studs, spreading the lapels of his shirt slightly.

  “Mmm, nice,” she said under her breath.

  Nice? He’d wanted her to continue to undress him until he was free of the monkey suit and could return the favor. And make love with her in the waning sunlight.

  “I’ve noticed you tend to undress me every time you get a chance,” he teased to distract himself, loving the way her cheeks heated up.

  In spite of her embarrassment, she grinned at him. “It’s a female thing. You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Oh, I think I might,” he muttered, hoping she couldn’t read his mind.

  Mandy shrieked and he was reminded of her presence. How did married couples ever manage any time alone? Mandy had napped through most of lunch. Did parents have to plan their sex life around a baby’s naptime? Or were they always limited to nighttime activities, when they were both exhausted?

  “What are you thinking about?” Melissa asked, curiosity in her voice.

  Russ could feel his own cheeks flushing. “Nothing! I mean—I don’t know. Why?”

  “You seemed very intent on something.”

  Oh, yeah. He’d been intent, all right. In fact, it was fortunate she’d interrupted him, because his body had begun to respond to the thought of making love to Melissa. He didn’t want that in the pictures.

  * * *

  THEY GOT HOME LATER than Russ had intended. It was almost six-thirty and their reservations were for seven.

  “We’re going to have to hurry,” he said as he carried Mandy into the house. “Shall we bathe Mandy first?”

  “No, I have to feed her some dinner first. Why don’t you get ready while I do that.”