by Mindy Neff
Maedean came back to the table bearing red plastic baskets filled with steaming French fries and paper-wrapped cheeseburgers. Ian lifted his head to have a look.
“There you go, hon,” Maedean said, cupping Ian’s cheeks with grandmotherly affection. She frowned, and pressed the backs of her fingers to his forehead. “This little guy’s feeling a bit warm.”
Hannah was out of the booth and reaching for her son before Maedean had even finished the last syllable. With one knee braced against the vinyl seat right at Wyatt’s hip, she steadied herself with a hand on his shoulder, then checked for heat in her son’s face.
Her full breasts were aligned perfectly at mouth level; she smelled like a sun-drenched orange grove.
Wyatt’s appetite went right over the top, and it wasn’t for cheeseburgers.
“Oh, you are hot. Come to Momma, sweetie.”
Well, sure. He jerked, cutting off the thought and felt his ears heat when Hannah Richmond gave him a frowning look. Thoroughly disgusted with himself, he concluded he’d been out on the ranch for too long and had completely forgotten his manners. Never mind that the breach was only in his mind.
“Want me to rustle up a thermometer?” Maedean asked. “We could put it under his arm and get a quick reading.”
“I think he’ll be okay,” Hannah said. “But thank you, Maedean.”
Wyatt knew they were discussing the boy’s fever, but for the life of him, his overactive mind was placing other connotations on the conversation.
“No thanks, needed, hon. You holler if you change your mind, hear?”
Maedean left to attend to the other customers, and Wyatt leaned back, feeling it prudent to put an inch or so of distance between himself and temptation. When Hannah tried to lift Ian from his arms, he shook his head.
“Sit. I’ll hand him to you. He’s probably too heavy for you in your condition.”
“I’m fine.”
She didn’t look all that fine. When he finally got his randy thoughts under control, he noticed that her peaches-and-cream complexion was pale with exhaustion, her green eyes weary.
There was a wholesome innocence to her that he normally wouldn’t have associated with a woman her age—close to thirty, he’d guess.
He hated like crazy to tell her she had to turn around and go home, that there had been a terrible mistake, but it would be the kindest thing.
Attempting to stand, he was thwarted by the tightening of Ian’s arms around his neck. The boy did feel warm. And the smell of French fries didn’t seem to tempt. That right there was a sure sign of a kid feeling poorly.
“Don’t you want to go sit with your mom, partner? Have something to eat?”
Ian ran his fingers over Wyatt’s chin. The rasp of whiskers reminded him that he hadn’t gone to a lot of extra grooming trouble before coming to town. Then again, he hadn’t expected to be confronted with a bride and a family all rolled into one neat package.
But whether or not he’d shaved was the least of his troublesome thoughts.
“Are you g-gonna be my daddy?”
“Ian!”
Trust a little kid to get right to the heart of matters, and give him the perfect opening to admit that there had been a mistake fostered by four old matchmaking geezers.
But for some darn reason, he couldn’t make the words he needed to say come out. Sticky fingers poked at his Adam’s apple and a hard head clipped him in the chin. Fever or not, the kid still had energy to spare.
Hannah Richmond was looking at him with both embarrassment and fragile hope.
Ah, hell. Pregnant with a kid. And apparently prepared to put her future in his hands.
“Why don’t we get you home and in a warm bed?” he answered Ian instead, feeling his insides go still at the relief that came over Hannah’s soft features.
Relief and a flare of something else he was half afraid to speculate on.
It had been a long time since a woman had gazed at him like he was her salvation, her knight in shining armor. He didn’t know why in the world she would do so.
But his ego was just rusty enough to respond, his soul desperate enough to believe.
Click here to get Hannah and Wyatt’s story, THE RANCHER’S MAIL-ORDER BRIDE.
Also by Mindy Neff
THE RANCHER’S MAIL-ORDER-BRIDE—Wyatt Malone
THE PLAYBOY’S OWN MISS PRIM—Ethan Callahan
THE HORSEMAN’S CONVENIENT WIFE—Stony Stratton
CHEYENNE’S LADY—Cheyenne Bodine
THE DOCTOR’S INSTANT FAMILY—Chance Hammond
PREACHER’S IN-NAME-ONLY WIFE—Dan Lucas
SHOTGUN RIDGE—Grant Callahan
CHRISTMAS IN SHOTGUN RIDGE—Clay Callahan (coming 2019)
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Stand alone titles:
THE COWBOY IS A DADDY
ADAM’S KISS
A FAMILY MAN
THE BAD BOY NEXT DOOR
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COURTED BY A COWBOY (Book 1)
SURPRISED BY A BABY (Book 2)
RESCUED BY A RANCHER (Book 3)
TEMPTED BY A TEXAN (Book 4)
About Mindy
Mindy Neff is the award winning author of over thirty novels and novellas. Her books have won the National Reader's Choice Award, the Orange Rose Award of Excellence, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, and the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award, as well as W.I.S.H awards for outstanding hero, and two prestigious RITA® nominations.
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To learn more about Mindy and her books, visit her website at: http://mindyneff.com/ and join her email/newsletter list for new and upcoming releases, news and giveaways and advance reading/review copies.
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