Beneath the Stetson
Page 18
Her eyes widened. “You mean, am I...? OMG, no way! I’m not going around with saggy boobs for the rest of my life—and I do plan to have a life, Daddy. I want my baby, but you can’t expect me to sit home with him all the time. As soon as you buy me a car, I’m going to—”
“The car can wait.” It was all Wyatt could do to keep from snapping at her. “Meanwhile you’ve got a child to take care of. Do you even know how to change a diaper?”
She stared at him as if he’d just climbed out of a flying saucer.
“Goodness, Daddy. What do you think we’re getting a nanny for?”
* * *
Waiting outside the half-opened door, Leigh heard everything. Wyatt had given her an inkling of what to expect. Now the impact of what she’d be dealing with smacked her full in the face. She could see what he’d meant when he’d said she’d have two children in her care. And Chloe sounded like a handful. Only the thought of the baby kept her from turning around and walking out of the hospital.
Seconds later he reappeared in the doorway, his face a mask of frustration. “Sorry you had to hear that,” he muttered.
“It’s just as well that I did.” Following his lead, she allowed him to usher into the room. Chloe was sitting up against the pillows. Even in the drab hospital gown she looked like a petite little doll with Shirley Temple curls and china-blue eyes—almost as blue as her father’s.
“Chloe,” Wyatt said, “this is Miss Foster. Unless you have some objection, I plan on asking her to become your son’s nanny.”
The girl scrutinized her carefully. Leigh wondered what she was looking for. Chloe seemed to be wondering the same thing as uncertainty passed over her face. She stole a glance at her father, but he seemed to be replying to a message on his phone. “Fine,” the girl said, clearly trying too hard to sound authoritative. “She’ll do.”
“Thank you.” The less said, the better, Leigh resolved.
Chloe glanced toward the door, where the nurse had appeared with a blue-wrapped bundle. “I hope you’re not staying much longer,” she said. “My friends are coming over to see Mikey, and they’ll be here any minute.”
“We were just about to leave.” Wyatt eased toward the door as the nurse entered.
“Wait!” Leigh said, seizing the moment. “Since I’ll be helping with your baby, Chloe, would you mind if I held him for a minute?”
“Whatever.”
Leigh felt her heart drop as the nurse placed the warm bundle in her arms. He felt so tiny, almost weightless. Scarcely daring to breathe, she pulled down the edge of the blanket to reveal the small, rosebud face. Little Mikey was beautiful, with his mother’s blue eyes and russet curls. But it was his other features she looked for and found—the aquiline nose and square chin, the ears that didn’t quite lie flat, the dark, straight brows—all coming together in one perfect package.
Leigh fought back welling tears. There could be no more doubt. She was holding her brother’s child.
Copyright © 2014 by Elizabeth Lane
ISBN-13: 9781460324035
BENEATH THE STETSON
Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Janice Maynard for her contribution to the Texas Cattleman's Club: The Missing Mogul miniseries.
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