I'll Take Forever Kobo
Page 17
"I'm Jenny Stratford. I'm not a professional nanny, but I know how to take care of babies. Your sister hired me," she said, looking back at him.
"I assumed as much, since you obviously have the key to my apartment," Jared said. An apartment still ten steps away.
He could do that. He'd survived worse. He could make ten more steps. He wouldn’t even let himself dwell on the steps inside his two-story home. Once he reached the living room, he could collapse on the sofa.
"Can I help?" Jenny asked, apparently intent on ignoring his bad attitude.
Jared rested against the crutches and stared up at her. Unable to resist, he again let his gaze travel again from the pale champagne-blond hair down the slim body. She wore a skimpy sleeveless shirt and those blasted shorts. He wished he could come up with some ideas about how she might help, but he outweighed her by maybe seventy or eighty pounds, and he hadn’t a clue how she could possibly get him up the stairs.
Shaking his head, he gripped the crutches tighter. "Just what do you propose?"
She shrugged, a slow smiled starting. "Nothing, I guess. You're almost at the top," she offered encouragingly.
"I can see that." Again he positioned the crutches and hopped up another step. Again the impact slammed through him with the force of an explosion.
Not quite. He'd never forget the effects of a true explosion. Or the results.
"Oh dear," Mrs. Giraux said, watching him with worry in her eyes. Hovering at the top of the stairs, she looked as if she also wanted to help. She was even smaller than Jenny Stratford. For a moment he imagined them both reaching for him, knocking him off balance and all three tumbling to the bottom. If that ever happened, he’d give up and spend the night there.
"Mrs. G., I'm sure Mr. Montgomery will make it fine. Thanks for letting me know he was here. I'll get him and the baby settled and see you in the morning." Jenny patted the elderly woman on the shoulder and gently turned her toward her door.
Jared said nothing but appreciated the younger woman's actions in getting rid of his neighbor. At least that made one fewer spectator watching him struggle up the stairs. It’d be too much to hope that Jenny Stratford would also disappear—until he reached the landing.
He didn't care if it was sheer masculine pride, but he hated her seeing him struggle. Would hate any woman to watch. But something about her...
Another two minutes and he was down to three remaining steps.
"I drove down this afternoon, but I didn't expect you before tomorrow," she said, stepping back to the doorway to clear the landing.
"I sent Patti a cable." Another jump and he'd be there. Level surfaces he could manage. But there was no way he'd be able to climb the stairs inside his apartment. Not tonight. Why he had to have a two-story apartment with no elevator was beyond him. Of course normally he loved it when he was home. Now the mere thought of climbing another seventeen steps was more than he could cope with.
He'd crash on the sofa tonight and worry about getting up to his room tomorrow. There was a small powder room beneath the inside stairs for immediate needs. He was too tired to worry about a shower or anything except getting off his feet! Or, rather, foot.
Reaching the landing at last, Jared moved into his apartment and headed directly for the large, overstuffed sofa placed against one wall.
Sinking down gratefully, he lowered the crutches against the cushions and leaned back. He felt exhausted. What didn't ache from the injuries received during the explosion ached from using crutches and sheer exhaustion from the twenty-seven hours of traveling. He should have waited, no doubt about that. But he’d wanted to get home, get the baby settled and heal. He wanted life to return to normal as quickly as possible.
The Bachelor's Baby Promise
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
I’ll Take Forever
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
About the Author
Excerpt: The Bachelor's Baby Promise