Absentminded Angel [Divine Creek Ranch 20] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
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Divine Creek Ranch 20
Absentminded Angel
Everyone deserves a second chance, even spoiled little rich girls. Accepting that she’s on her own, Presley Ann Woodworth is working hard to make a home for her and her baby, no matter what others—including interfering family members—say about her. When Kendry and Jared reveal their attraction, she thinks they’re nuts.
Kendry and Jared McCulloch have been captivated by their absentminded angel since the night they met her. Her son ensnares their hearts as well and they can’t understand why she’s so hard on herself because of her past. When the baby’s father shows up out of the blue, they put their hearts on the line to prove to her that they’re the men for her…and her son.
Letting her guard down with the men who want to claim her isn’t her only challenge, as she struggles with Mother Nature’s wrath, bad plumbing, nosy varmints, and the joys of colic. How much bad luck can one girl handle?
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys
Length: 88,742 words
ABSENTMINDED ANGEL
Divine Creek Ranch 20
Heather Rainier
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
ABSENTMINDED ANGEL
Copyright © 2014 by Heather Rainier
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-732-9
First E-book Publication: December 2014
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of Absentminded Angel by Heather Rainier from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.
The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.
This is Heather Rainier’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Heather Rainier’s right to earn a living from her work.
Amanda Hilton, Publisher
www.SirenPublishing.com
www.BookStrand.com
DEDICATION
For the man who understands intimately how much I identified with Presley Ann’s character. He lives with his very own imperfect, scatterbrained, absentminded angel. I’m still not sure about the angel part. Wise man, he just smiles and nods.
This book is also dedicated to all of the women who have ever found themselves in difficult situations but pulled themselves up by the bootstraps and kicked ass anyway.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to each and every reader who purchased this book through a legitimate source. I’m blessed to love what I do for a day job but I wouldn’t be doing it if I wasn’t able to make a living at it. Thank you for your support.
Thank you to my friends and family who have stood by me, despite my crazy hours, and for understanding when I’m “off in Divine.”
Thank you to my followers on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and all the subscribers to my blog, the Divine Tease. Your encouragement, humor, and support mean the world to me. Thank you especially to my street team on Facebook, the Divine Divas. I love these ladies so much and count every one as a friend.
Thank you to my PA, Lily Castle. She does her job so well, and makes me look so good. No matter what is needed, whether it’s running a contest, or helping with edits, she’s Johnny-on-the-spot, and I appreciate her so much.
Thank you to the entire staff at Siren-BookStrand, and most especially to my publisher, Diana. Thank you for all of your hard work and for believing in this series.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
About the Author
Cast of Main Characters in Book Reading Order
ABSENTMINDED ANGEL
Divine Creek Ranch 20
HEATHER RAINIER
Copyright © 2014
Chapter One
The last push ended with a tremendous sense of relief as Presley Ann’s son entered the world. Wrung out and absolutely elated, she collapsed against her sister, Leah, who had served as her coach.
“You did it, Mom!” Dr. Emma Rivers crowed as she cleared the baby’s mouth and held up Presley Ann’s son for her to see, the doctor’s eyes twinkling as she gently placed the infant on her chest. “There you go, Mama.”
Laying a tremulous hand around her son’s tiny warm back, Presley Ann fumbled for the snaps on the shoulder of her hospital gown but it had gotten sweaty and twisted while she’d been in labor.
Glancing up from her work, her labor and delivery nurse Tracey said, “Here, honey, let me help you.” She pulled the snaps loose and helped move the baby onto Presley Ann’s chest. “Would you look at that little head of jet black hair?”
Presley Ann pulled the baby closer to her, marveling at how tiny he was, and tears welled in he
r eyes as she snuggled him close on her bare chest. She cooed at him as he drew his fists close to his face and a knot tightened her throat when his lips bowed upward.
“Would you look at that?” Tracey whispered. “I know people say that’s gas or just a coincidence but, honey, I think he’s happy to be with his mama.”
Leah sniffled as she lay a gentle hand on the back of his head and in a voice that cracked she whispered, “I think so, too. You did it, sis. He’s gorgeous.”
Tracey nodded. “Trust me, honey. They don’t come out naturally looking much prettier than that.”
Presley Ann gazed at him, utterly awed. She brushed his tiny lower lip, noting its perfect fullness and the bow in his upper lip. She stroked his black, perfectly arched brows, and marveled at his long, thick, black eyelashes.
As Tracey rubbed at his hair with a towel, the black tufts stood up and Presley Ann remembered that jet black hair. He was the image of his father. Utter joy tinged with sorrow mixed together in her heart. A deep sob welled up and she let it out as she held him close and kissed his brow.
Leah held her close and kissed the side of her head and the three women let her cry as she gazed at her son, feeling protective and terrified in the same breath.
Leah took pictures of the baby and began letting their friends know as the sun rose in the sky. Once Emma was done and the baby was cleaned up, they moved her into a patient room and Leah left to run errands. Although Leah was allowed to come and go, visiting hours wouldn’t start for a while and the room was soon blessedly quiet.
Despite her aches and pains, her heart hummed with a lush sense of achievement. She’d done this. She’d brought this perfect little being into the world. She sat in her hospital bed, enthralled as her baby opened his eyes and gazed up at her. With gentle hands she laid the swaddled infant in front of her and opened the receiving blanket so she could take a good look at him. He was still bright red, and he watched her with equal intensity as she pulled the stocking cap from his head and all his starkly black hair stood straight up. She smiled at him and rubbed the soft strands. “You are beautiful.”
He drew up his knees and his face scrunched as he let out a soft squawk that made her smile. His diaper was teeny-tiny, wrapped around his little butt, and his legs were like string beans.
“Don’t worry, sweet pea, we’re gonna fill you out fast.” Never in a million years would she have believed that she would want to breastfeed but it felt like the right choice. His presence in her life had forced her to make changes at a deep level, to become a person she liked.
She reached for the tiny, super soft sleeper she’d brought with her, and gathered the leg up to slip his foot into it. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might be wriggly as she worked, but she accomplished her goal of dressing him with only a little drama—just in time for him to poop his diaper.
Stripping the sleeper off of his bottom half, she opened his diaper and gaped. “Good Lord, boy. Did you eat algae?” A giggle escaped from her and she prayed as she cleaned him that she didn’t royally screw this new job up. She cooed in sympathy when his little jaw trembled as he howled indignantly in reaction to the cold wipes.
“My goodness you have good lungs, sweet pea. Hush now, Mama’s got you.”
Once she’d wrapped up the hazardous materials, she re-diapered and got him dressed again. After swaddling him, just like Tracey had showed her, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Ready for something else that’s new and different? Oh yeah, me too. You and I are a team now, little man.”
She knew the pep talk was for her as much as for him and tugged at the snaps on her hospital gown. Tracey had coached her on breastfeeding a little earlier, before leaving her alone with the baby. “Let’s just pretend like this is old hat for us, okay? We’ve done this a million times.”
She remembered watching Grace nurse her baby when she’d visited her after Grant had been born as she lifted the baby into the crook of her arm and propped a couple of pillows under her elbow. He was already rooting when she finally popped her nipple into his open mouth and her eyes went wide as he latched on. “Oh. My. God.”
Little man looked up at her and his reaction made her think he was thinking the same exact thing. He snorted like a little pig and dug in. The oddest sensation, a cross between a sizzle and a shiver, swept over her, from her shoulder, up her arm and down into her breast and suddenly he was swallowing. Success!
If her abused nether regions hadn’t been in recovery she would’ve done a victory dance right there in her hospital room.
Finally! Something had to come at least a little naturally to me. Hallelujah!
A few minutes later, Leah returned, armed with a teddy bear, a dozen yellow roses, and a to-go cup from Divine Drip. Her eyes widened when she noticed Presley Ann feeding him and said, “Hey! Looks like you two got a little mojo going.”
Presley Ann grinned as she looked down at her son. “I also changed my first diaper. Thank you for the flowers.”
Leah grinned and said, “They’re not from me. I brought you the teddy bear. Evelyn and Charlene Porter sent you a gift card.”
She took the gift card in its little envelope from Leah. “That was so sweet of them.”
“Evelyn said it was just a little something to help you buy a few diapers since you wouldn’t let her and Charlene throw you a baby shower. I stopped at Divine Drip for coffee and a breakfast taco. Cassie said to tell you congratulations and she made you a fruit smoothie.” She placed the cup within Presley Ann’s reach and then lifted the card from the vase filled with vibrant yellow roses. “And these are from two handsome guys.”
After taking a sip from the divine fruit smoothie, Presley Ann fumbled one-handed with the flap on the envelope. “James and Vincent?” She’d needed help getting her apartment ready for the baby, and Leah’s men had been so helpful.
“Nope. I caught up with the nurse as she was about to bring them in. She said two handsome men delivered them for you a few minutes ago. She told them visiting hours didn’t start for another hour and they said they’d be back. Open the card.”
Presley Ann opened the card and smiled at the boxy, masculine handwriting.
Congratulations, Presley Ann. We’re happy for you and glad to hear that all went well last night.
Jared and Kendry
“‘Glad to hear’?” Presley Ann said with a chuckle. “Wonder how they heard,” she said, already knowing the answer by the way Leah blushed. She blushed a little herself as she thought of those blue-eyed handsome devils, Kendry with his shoulder-length wavy brown hair and Jared with his closely cropped blond hair. The last time she’d seen them they’d both been sporting rugged, scruffy beards that had made her fingertips tingle with the desire to stroke both of their jaws.
Leah giggled and said, “What? I thought they’d like to know. And I’m really excited that they found a place here in Divine yesterday.”
Presley Ann couldn’t deny the flare of hope and excitement at that news. Kendry and Jared’s friendship with James and Vincent had an unusual beginning. Kendry was a heart transplant survivor and James and Vincent’s brother, Patterson, had been the heart donor. Kendry had reached out, wanting to meet Patterson’s family, and that initial visit several months before had led to a fast friendship between the men. Ever since then, Kendry and Jared had been talking about possibly moving to Divine.
“They asked about you last night at dinner, like they ask about you every time I see them. They’re such sweet guys.”
“Sis, stop trying to set me up. I’m a single mom who’s about to have too many irons in the fire. This baby and I are a package deal, and unfortunately it’s a rare man who is truly interested in another man’s child.”
“It’s obvious they like you, and they always ask how things are progressing with the baby. I think they care way more than you give them credit for.”
Presley Ann lifted a shoulder and said, “They’re really sweet to me, but I’d be a waste of their time. They deser
ve a woman who doesn’t already have a ton of baggage.”
Her heart lurched as she imagined them loving another woman. Holding her in their capable hands and kissing her. Laying her down and making love to her. Making a life with her and taking care of her. They’d be big time givers. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she remembered how flip she’d always been with the feelings of others, before this baby and his father had come into her life. She didn’t deserve what they could offer. Desolation enveloped her, and she tried to swallow back her hormonal tears.
The baby let out a squawk and she eased him onto her shoulder, cooing as she tried and failed several times to get her hospital gown snapped back up, finally giving up in frustration and letting Leah help her. “See? I can’t even do all of this without help.”
Leah shook her head and mashed her lips together in a flat line. “Looked to me like you were doing just fine before I came in and got you all flustered. I’m sorry, sis.”
The baby started crying as Presley Ann patted his back and then he spit up on her shoulder. “I’m just being realistic. Trust me, if they’d known me before—” She quickly wiped the shoulder of her gown with a cloth diaper before patting him until a little belch sounded. “—they wouldn’t be wasting their time on me. I’m scatterbrained and flaky as it is. Add in a baby…I just don’t understand why they would want such a hot mess.”
Leah frowned at her and shook her head once more. “You don’t understand why they’re interested in you?” She watched with wide eyes as the baby latched on with speed and efficiency. “Wow. He’s got that move down pat.”