Rent-A-Dad

by Judy Christenberry

  “Not exactly. But a little teasing never hurts anyone, does it? Laughter is good for everyone.” His gaze dropped to her child. “Do we have to stop and burp her?”

  “Not until she finishes the bottle.”

  “When she gets up in the morning, does she get a bottle?”

  “Yes, but you don’t have to worry about the morning. I’ll get up with her. She’s an early riser.”

  “So am I.”

  “I told you I’d changed my mind. Don’t you ever listen?” she demanded, frustration overtaking good manners.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, still grinning. Then, as if he hadn’t noted her anger, he said, “You know, feeding a baby is kind of soothing. If I did this every night, I might not be so stressed out in my job.”

  “Then maybe you should be asking yourself about dating, not me,” she retorted, then closed her eyes in dismay. Why did she have to remind him of his earlier question?

  As if he could read her mind, he smiled again.

  “Don’t you like your job?” she hurriedly asked.

  “It’s all right. The salary is more than I’d ever hoped to make, but the work is dull, uncreative. I’d like more variety. You can only do so much when you’re designing office buildings.”

  “Do you ever design houses?”

  He gave her a wry grin that was charming. “At home. Never on the job.”

  Before she could ask any more questions, he took the bottle from Mandy’s mouth. “This little lady is finished. Now what? I burp her?”

  “Yes. Put her on your shoulder and rub her back.”

  He carefully maneuvered the baby to the right position. Melissa appreciated the care he showed, but she wished he’d give Mandy back to her. She felt vulnerable without her baby in her arms.

  In almost no time, a loud burp ripped out of Mandy and brought a chuckle to Russ. “This kid has a definite talent. Too bad she’s a girl.”

  Melissa’s hackles rose at once. Her fiancé’s parents had expressed disappointment that she gave birth to a girl. They’d hoped for a replacement for their son. Fortunately, they lived in Colorado and she and Mandy seldom saw them. “What’s wrong with girls?” she challenged.

  “Nothing. But I don’t think girls indulge in burping contests like boys. With her talent, Mandy could win every time.”

  Melissa relaxed, smiling. “Hopefully she won’t join in those contests.”

  “Do we put her in bed now?”

  “After another diaper change. I’ll take her.” She hoped he’d remain in the living room, giving her some breathing space. She wasn’t used to having a man around the house.

  But he didn’t take the hint. He followed right behind her, standing at her elbow as she changed Mandy, then tucked her into her bed, winding the animal mobile over her crib that played a lullaby.

  Once they’d tiptoed out of the baby’s room and Melissa had closed the door behind them, she headed for the kitchen to make sure everything was cleaned up and ready for the morning.

  Russ followed.

  “I’m just straightening up. Feel free to watch television or—or I’ve got a couple of murder mysteries you might want to read.”

  “You trying to get rid of me?”

  “Uh, no, of course not.” Why would she want to get rid of a tall, handsome man, one who made her think about long, hot kisses and passion-filled nights? That involuntary thought appalled her.

  “Good.”

  * * *

  RUSS GRINNED AS MELISSA turned around with a flounce and hurried to the kitchen. She was such an easy target for his teasing. He hadn’t had this much fun in years.

  Considering how his afternoon had started, with the baby on the airplane screaming for an hour and a half, things had greatly improved. If anyone had asked him if he’d willingly spend three days with an overprotective single mom and a seven-month-old baby girl, he’d have assured them they were crazy.

  Yet, given the opportunity several times by Melissa to walk away, he’d refused. There was something about her, other than her trim, gently curved body, sparkling brown eyes and stubborn chin, that made him want to linger.

  Of course, he felt he owed her since she’d paid for this weekend. And the money from the auction meant the boys ranch could continue to help other kids like him.

  He had to give Melissa credit. She was taking care of her child, unlike his mother. Maybe that was why he wanted to give her a break. She was being a good mother, even when she was tired. Had his mother been exhausted? Too worn-out to go on?

  “Russ?”

  Her voice, warm and husky, lured him from his thoughts.

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to go to a hotel?”

  “Are you afraid to have me stay here, Melissa? I promise I won’t take advantage of you.”

  “No, of course not!” she returned at once, her cheeks blazing. “I trust you not to—”

  “Then quit worrying. We’ll all get a good night’s sleep and tomorrow we’ll decide what to do.”

  Tenderness filled him as the worry eased on Melissa’s face. He immediately frowned. What was going on? He wasn’t a nurturer. He believed in survival of the fittest. But there was something about Melissa that got to him.

  “You changed your mind?” she asked.

  “No, why would you think that?”

  “You frowned.”

  He grinned again and reached out to caress her cheek lightly. “I was thinking of something else.”

  She stepped away. “There are fresh towels in the bathroom. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go on to bed. Mandy gets up early.”

  He refrained from reminding her again that he got up early, too. In fact, he loved the early hours, before the world got into high gear. She probably hoped he’d stay in the bedroom until noon, leaving her alone.

  No such luck.

  “Of course I don’t mind. Sweet dreams.”

  She seemed startled by his words. He was, too. Lindsay’s mother had always wished each of the boys the same thing each night—probably because she’d had to deal with too many nightmares.

  But it had been a long time since he’d heard or voiced that wish himself.

  * * *

  RUSS SLOWLY CAME AWAKE at first light the next morning. Amazing how different the sunshine seemed to be in Wyoming compared to Chicago. Brighter, cleaner, more invigorating.

  He’d slept amazingly well. Melissa’s sheets were soft, faintly scented, inviting. And the quiet of the morning, punctuated by birds chirping and a breeze blowing, was a huge contrast to his apartment perched above the rushing traffic. He’d been in Chicago almost fourteen years, since high school.

  Had he reached his limit? Was it time to come home? He had to admit the idea had crossed his mind a few times lately. If Melissa didn’t have anything for him to do today, he’d look around, talk to friends, scout out some possibilities.

  He swung back the cover and got out of bed, his mind excited by his thoughts. After dressing in a pair of running shorts and shoes, carrying a T-shirt in case he got cold, he prepared to slip out for a brisk morning jog. Then he heard Mandy stirring.

  He immediately pictured Melissa’s face as she’d spoken of sleeping in one morning. Why not three? He crossed the hall and entered the baby’s room. Mandy was already standing in the bed, reaching for the animals dangling from the mobile above her crib, babbling softly as if they were pets.

  “Hi, little girl,” he whispered, approaching her slowly, hoping she remembered him.

  “Da-da-da-da,” she jabbered at him with a grin.

  While he was relieved that she treated him as friend, not foe, he was stunned by her response. “Lord have mercy, I’m not your daddy, little girl. I hope you don’t know what you’re saying.”


  He reached for a disposable diaper and laid her down in the bed. “Let’s see if I can do as good a job as Mommy. Eeew, you’re a little stinky this morning.” He dumped the nighttime diaper in the diaper pail and hastily replaced it with a fresh one. Her sleeper was also wet and he stripped it from her.

  He and Mandy stared at each other. “What do you wear?” he asked, as if she could tell him. There was no response, of course, other than nonsensical syllables. He turned to the small white chest of drawers. After a brief search he found a pink, long-sleeved shirt and matching knit bottoms and decided Mandy could wear those clothes until her mother decided differently.

  Next they adjourned to the kitchen. Carefully preparing a bottle as Melissa had last night, Russ settled on the couch and fed Mandy. He immediately noted one difference from the previous night. Mandy ran her tiny hand through his chest hair and then clamped down on a thick tuft.

  “Hey, Mandy, that’s not a handle,” he muttered, and removed the bottle to pry her fingers loose. She offered a complaint that he feared would wake Melissa. He returned the bottle to her mouth at once, and she promptly resumed her hold on him.

  “Okay. I guess I lost that debate,” he acknowledged with a wry grin. He supposed her clutching his chest hair didn’t matter. As long as she didn’t try to remove any.

  Once the bottle, and the impressive burp, had been completed, Russ wasn’t sure what to do. He’d intended to jog and regretted not being able to. When his gaze passed over a navy-blue object near the coat closet, it took several seconds for him to register what he’d discovered.

  An umbrella stroller.

  “Hey, is Mom a jogger?” he asked Mandy.

  She gurgled and tried to pull herself up to a standing position.

  “Whoa! Let me help you before I have a bare patch on my chest,” he hastily offered.

  Rising from the couch, Mandy in his arms, he crossed the room and opened the stroller. He’d seen a lot of women, and men, too, jogging while pushing their children in strollers like this.

  “Want to go for a run, Mandy? Would you be good?”

  Mandy clapped her hands together and beamed at him.

  Well, he’d said something she liked. He lowered her into the stroller and fastened the safety belt across her little tummy. She seemed secure, so he stepped back down the hall and softly pushed opened the office door.

  Melissa was sound asleep on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket that had worked loose from one leg, exposing a well-muscled calf that he had a sudden urge to stroke. Quickly, he closed the door.

  Jogging would knock those thoughts out of his mind, he hoped. A lot of jogging.

  Mandy seemed to be trying to get out of the stroller when he got back to the living room. “Mandy, what are you doing? Are you ready to go?”

  Again she clapped her hands.

  He stared at her. “Go?”

  She clapped.

  “Well, I’ll be darned. You know that word, don’t you? I’m going to have to be careful what I say around you.”

  He hurried back down the hall to her room and found a baby blanket to tuck around her. It might be May, but that didn’t mean early mornings in Wyoming would be warm.

  After wrapping her up, he pulled the stroller to the front door and opened it quietly. After he and Mandy were outside, he pulled it to, leaving it unlocked. He didn’t know where Melissa kept her keys, and he didn’t want to be locked out.

  “Mommy will be fine until we get back, right, Mandy? At least she’s getting to sleep in. She’ll thank us when we return.”

  In fact, he was filled with a sense of satisfaction. Already he could give Melissa what she appeared to so desperately need—a break from mothering.

  Along with his satisfaction at being back in Wyoming and the pleasure of physical exercise, this morning was turning out to be very special.

  “Here we go, Mandy. Hang on!”

  The unlikely pair jogged up the street.

  Melissa’s house was on the western edge of town. The Platte River cut through the area not too far away. Ridges and plateaus backed up behind the neighborhood and he could catch sight of higher mountains in the distance.

  He drew a deep breath of fresh air and relaxed. He was home. Maybe to stay.

  * * *

  MELISSA TURNED OVER...and almost fell off her abbreviated bed. She caught herself and flopped back onto her pillow, settling the blanket over the leg that was exposed.

  Nice. She loved waking up without the alarm clock jolting her from unconsciousness. Her eyes drifted down. She’d try to sleep until it went off, though. She needed every minute she could get. Mandy would be up soon.

  The next time she opened her eyes, she knew she had indeed fallen back asleep again. She felt too good. As she stretched, her feet hit the end of the couch. She reached over for the alarm clock, then remembered she’d promised herself she’d stay in bed until Mandy woke her this morning.

  Checking her wristwatch, she noted the time—7:47. She slipped her arm under the blanket again. Then reality hit her. Why hadn’t Mandy awakened her?

  She scrambled from the couch and reached for the robe she’d left handy. After all, she had a guest. A very sexy guest. Tying the belt on her robe, she hurried to Mandy’s room.

  Her eyes rounded in shock as she discovered the empty crib. Whirling around, she raced to the kitchen. No one was there.

  Running back down the hall, she threw open Russ’s bedroom door. Empty.

  She checked the bathroom, then retraced her steps, revisiting each room of the house again. Blind panic built at an incredible speed until she couldn’t think.

  All she knew was that her baby was gone.

  She ran around the house like a crazy woman until she forced herself to take a deep breath and think logically. He wouldn’t take her baby. He didn’t even know anything about babies. He’d been gentle with Mandy.

  So where were they?

  She checked the house once more, then opened the front door and stepped outside, scanning the neighborhood, looking for one bachelor and her beloved little girl.

  * * *

  RUSS WENT FOR A LONG JOG, alternating a brisk walk with his running. The rise as the road climbed to a ridge was more of a challenge than the gym in Chicago. And more fun, too. Invigorating exercise, coupled with clean air, was a great way to start his day. And Mandy, snug in her stroller beneath the blanket, had fallen back asleep, seemingly content with their agenda.

  Even more important, Melissa had gotten some extra sleep. He couldn’t keep his mind from his hostess. She was an attractive woman, but even more so because of her dedication to her child.

  Not that he was interested, of course. He’d decided long ago he wasn’t going to marry and have a family. It was too risky.

  He was content living alone, being responsible only for himself.

  Look what had happened to Melissa.

  His gaze fell on the sleeping child. How would Melissa feel if given the chance to have a life without Mandy? Instinctively, he knew she’d never give up her child, no matter what hardships presented themselves.

  Unlike his mother.

  Of course, Melissa had several advantages over his mother. She was older, an adult. She had an education and an income that meant she didn’t have to worry about her child starving.

  When he’d first come to the ranch, Lindsay’s mother told him he’d been thin as a rail. It had taken several months of hearty cooking to put any meat on his bones. And a lot of encouragement to get him to eat. She said she thought he’d been mourning his mother’s disappearance.

  He no longer cared about the woman, he assured himself, frowning fiercely.

  He turned the corner of Melissa’s street, slowing to a walk again. He’d taken several steps toward the house before he saw Melissa standing on th
e porch, looking up and down the street. He knew immediately what was wrong when she saw him. She practically collapsed against the side of the house.

  “Damn!” he muttered. He hadn’t thought about how worried she would be. He’d assumed she would figure out where they were...if she woke up. With luck, he’d hoped she would sleep the entire time they were gone.

  So much for a cooldown. He picked up the pace again, anxious to reassure Melissa that her baby was safe.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “HOW DARE YOU!” Melissa yelled as Russ rolled the stroller up to her. She immediately knelt on the grass to unstrap Mandy.

  “How dare I what?” he demanded, breathing heavily.

  “Take my baby without telling me,” she snapped, cuddling Melissa against her shoulder, running her hands all over the baby, as if checking her for an injury.

  Russ stared at her, irritation replacing concern. He’d only been trying to help.

  “Melissa, dear, are you all right?” a gentle soprano voice called from the porch next door.

  Melissa still knelt on the grass clutching Mandy to her. Mandy, who was awake now, began to fret.

  Russ bent forward to help Melissa up, despite his growing impatience, but Melissa drew back as if he’d attacked her. That brought the old lady on the porch rushing over.

  Russ glared at Melissa. “Could you tell me what I’ve done? I was trying to help you, not hurt you. And I only did what you asked me to do.”

  She gave him a blank look, as if he’d spoken a foreign language. “I asked you to take Mandy without permission?”

  “He took Mandy?” the old lady asked with a gasp, reaching out to the baby as if she needed to touch her to be sure she was safe. “You want me to call the police?”

  Russ rolled his eyes in exasperation. He was wearing athletic shoes, nylon jogging shorts and nothing else. He’d had a T-shirt on, but he’d taken it off partway through his run and put it around his neck. He didn’t think he looked like a criminal, but Melissa’s neighbor apparently didn’t share his opinion.

  “Oh, Mrs. Tuttle, no!” Melissa exclaimed, affording Russ some relief. “It was a misunderstanding.”