Stepping into the den, she caught sight of Colton napping on the sofa with Piper asleep on his chest. Her heart swelled with emotion. If that wasn’t the sweetest sight she’d ever seen, she thought. Seeing her daughter being held by a good strong man reminded Stacey of everything Piper was missing on an everyday basis. Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked furiously to keep them at bay.
First things first, she thought. Get the baby to bed. She gingerly extracted Piper from Colton’s chest, praying the baby wouldn’t awaken. Then she tiptoed to the small nursery in the room next to hers and put Piper down in her crib. Piper gave a few wiggly moves, and Stacey held her breath. Then the baby sighed and went back to sleep.
Stacey returned to the den and touched Colton’s shoulder. He didn’t awaken. She gave him a gentle shake, then another. The man was dead to the world. He must be worn out, she thought. He’d probably put in a full day at the ranch, yet he’d still agreed to watch Piper for her.
A rush of sympathy flooded through her. Stacey had lived on a ranch long enough to know it involved hard backbreaking work and long hours. It wouldn’t hurt him to rest a little longer, she thought, and pulled the blanket from the back of the sofa and put it over him.
Backing away, she pulled off her coat and hung it in the closet, then returned to the den. Sinking onto the chair across from the sofa, Stacey allowed herself the luxury of looking at Colton while he was unaware. She wondered why she’d never noticed how attractive he was before. Sure, she’d known him her entire life, but she wasn’t blind.
He was as strong as they came. Broad shoulders and she’d bet he might even have a six-pack. She blushed at the direction her mind was headed. He had a bit of stubble on his chin. His hard masculinity was at such odds with those eyelashes, she thought.
She wondered what it would be like to sleep with him and wake up with him. Would he be grouchy or sweet in the morning? She wondered what kind of lover he would be. She’d only had one, Joe. Their lovemaking sessions had often felt rushed to her, and although it wasn’t something she discussed, she’d never felt completely, well, satisfied after sex with Joe.
Stacey wondered if Colton was the kind of man to take his time with a woman. Although she hadn’t paid much attention, she’d heard of more than one woman he’d left more than happy after a night together. Lately, she was becoming much more curious about Colton. She kept reminding herself that he was interested in someone else, but that didn’t seem to take the edge off her...curiosity.
At that moment, she heard the front door open and her father talking to her mother. “That meeting went on forever,” he grumbled.
“Everyone has a right to speak their mind,” Jeanne said.
“Well, they could speak a little faster,” he said, and closed the door firmly behind him.
Stacey saw Colton jolt awake at the sound. He glanced around. “What the—” He broke off and shook his head.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hey,” he said, rising quickly.
“Listen, thank you for taking care of Piper,” she said, also getting to her feet.
“No problem,” he said, rubbing his face. “I guess I’ll head home—”
Her mother and father entered the den. “Well, hello there, Colton. It’s good to see you.”
“Colton agreed to watch Piper while I checked out Kylie for Toby. He said she wasn’t feeling well and their doctor is out of town, so he wanted me to come over and make sure she was okay. She just had a headache. I think Toby may be a little nervous fostering those three kids. Can’t say I blame him.”
“I’m glad Kylie is okay. It sure was nice of you to come over here and look after Piper,” Jeanne said.
“That, it was. She can run you ragged at bedtime,” her father said sympathetically.
“Daddy,” Stacey said in an accusing tone.
“But she’s a cute one and we love her,” her father added.
“Of course we do,” her mother said. “Why don’t you join us for some hot chocolate before you leave? I can have it ready in no time.”
“You don’t need to do that,” Colton said, appearing a bit embarrassed.
“I want to,” Jeanne said. “Now sit down and relax, and I’ll have that hot chocolate for you before you know it.”
Colton sighed and sat down on the edge of the sofa. “Is there anyone who can say no to your mother?”
“Not for long,” Stacey said, laughing. “How was Piper?”
Colton nodded. “She did fine,” he said in a noncommittal tone.
Stacey read between the lines. “She was a beast, wasn’t she? I was afraid of that. Even though I’d fed her, she seemed unsettled.” Stacey sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“I wouldn’t call her a beast,” Colton said. “Now,” he added and chuckled, “amazing how something so small can get you so twisted trying to get her to calm down.”
“How did you get her calm?” she asked, curious.
“You mean after I gave her the bottle in your magic bag and changed the toxic dump of her diaper?” he asked.
“Oh,” she said, cringing.
“Yeah, I might need to take the kitchen trash out tonight before I leave,” he said.
Her mother entered the room with cups of hot chocolate filled with mini-marshmallows. “This will help you sleep better once you get home, Colton,” she said.
“I think Piper may have worn him out, so he may not need any help falling asleep,” Stacey said.
“Oh, dear,” her mother said, wincing. “She’s gotten so much better during the last month. Did she have a rough night?”
“I wonder if she sensed that I was in a tizzy about getting over to Toby’s house,” Stacey said.
“Well, I speak from experience. Babies can sense our moods. Especially their mom’s moods. At the same time, she may have just had a little tummy ache. Can I get you something to eat, Colton?”
“No, I’m fine, Mrs. Jones. Mrs. Fortune Jones,” he corrected.
Her mother smiled. “That was sweet,” she said. “But you’ve known me long enough to call me Jeanne.” Her mother looked at Stacey. “Now, what on earth made you think to call Colton to take care of Piper?”
“I was trying to reach Rachel and she didn’t pick up. I was hoping Colton could reach her,” Stacey said.
“Oh,” her mother said with a glance that combined intuition and suspicion. “Colton was definitely the man of the hour tonight, wasn’t he?”
Uncomfortable with her mother’s almost knowing expression, Stacey cleared her throat. “Yes, he was.”
A couple days later, Colton went into town to get some special feed and pick up a few things from the Superette for his mom. He would almost swear his mother could sense when he was headed into town because she always seemed to have a list of items for him to pick up from the small grocery—well, the only grocery—in town.
Using the term town might have been an exaggeration. Colton may have lived his entire life in Horseback Hollow, but he’d traveled enough to know his birthplace was more about wide open spaces than tall buildings and city conveniences. The town was just two streets long.
Colton glanced at the list his mother had given him and picked up apples, bananas, onions, tomato sauce and pasta. He hoped that meant spaghetti was in his