Contract Bride. Susan Fox

seemed odd to him if Rachel hadn’t stood up to him.

      But Leah wasn’t the woman he’d been so fervently in love with—was still in love with—so she had to watch her step. She was very aware that she’d have to depend completely on Reece’s sense of fairness as well as her own ability to tactfully and consistently hold her own, because it was imperative that Reece respect her.

      She couldn’t afford to go to war with him, not when Bobby would be the one who’d suffer most. And though Reece couldn’t love her, the last thing she wanted was to somehow make him loathe her. It was hard enough to weather his indifference.

      And it was more crucial than ever that Reece never guessed what she felt for him. Until now her feelings had been easy enough to conceal, because a man who barely paid attention missed a lot of things.

      Reece would be paying attention now. To everything. He’d be looking for ways to keep their marriage together, at least for a while, and it would be natural for him to exploit any advantage.

      Since his greatest advantage would be to discover how much she loved him, she’d have to take special care to keep him from somehow figuring it out.

      CHAPTER THREE

      WHO the hell was Leah Waverly?

      His curiosity last night about what she wore to bed mocked him now. The soft-spoken, compliant woman who’d lived with him all these months had somehow turned prickly and assertive practically overnight.

      He’d married her because of her devotion to Rachel and to Bobby, and because he knew she’d fight any claim Rachel’s parents might make on the boy if something happened to him. She’d always been meek about her own interests, but the child was another matter.

      He’d seen the panic in her eyes and heard the faint tremor in her voice, but the lady had managed to look him straight in the eye and deliver her veiled little ultimatums. Though she’d used mild words, there was an inflexibility behind them that warned she’d meant what she’d said, however difficult it was for her to speak up for herself.

      It was also a fresh reminder that where the boy was concerned, she was prepared to fight like a hellcat.

      “Daddeee, mo’ juice.”

      Bobby was leaning his way, twisting in his high chair as if to somehow put himself in his daddy’s line of sight to get his attention.

      Reece felt the mild surprise of realizing the child might have asked him more than once. He covered it with an automatic, “What’s the magic word?”

      Bobby straightened and reared back against his chair as he declared an eager, “Please!”

      Reece reached for the pitcher of orange juice and poured a sensible half inch of liquid into the boy’s cup, just like Leah always did, before he handed it over. Bobby seized it with both hands and lifted it too suddenly to his mouth. Reece barely managed to grab the spare napkin to catch the overflow of juice as it spurted from both sides of the cup lip.

      “Take it slower next time, pard,” he said gruffly, hastily adding his own napkin to catch and blot the rivulets that dribbled down on the bib. He patiently took the cup from Bobby’s hands and set it aside. “Ready to get down?”

      “Yeah, down. Down.”

      Reece stood, then belatedly reached for the damp washcloth Leah always had on the table to gently wipe away the stickiness from the baby’s face and hands. The bib went off next, then the loosening of the chair tray before he lifted Bobby out and set him on the floor.

      By the time he turned back to his own breakfast, Reece realized he was no longer hungry either. As Bobby toddled over to the cabinet door where Leah kept a few toys, Reece cleared the table. Though he’d never done that before, it seemed important that he demonstrate some kind of usefulness to his wife.

      He finished up a few minutes later, then set the dishwasher controls before he wondered what the hell was taking Leah so long in the laundry room.

      Leah had folded a basket of clean towels and washcloths in record time, started a load of Reece’s work clothes, then stacked a second basket of Bobby’s things on top of the towel basket before she carried them through the house to put away.

      She went to Bobby’s room first and efficiently put his things where they belonged. She’d just finished when she noticed that the small picture of Rachel that usually sat on the dresser top was gone. A quick glance around confirmed it was nowhere in the room.

      After she carried the basket of towels to the linen closet and put them away, she took a moment to hurry into Reece’s room to make up the bed. She was just fluffing the pillows when she thought to glance toward the tall chest where a picture of Rachel normally sat.

      The fact that it was gone was a confirmation that the absence of the one in Bobby’s room wasn’t a mistake. She wondered if the one in the den had also been put away. The pictures had been there yesterday, so Reece must have taken them away before he’d gone to bed last night or sometime this morning before he’d come to the kitchen for breakfast. He’d apparently taken the step before he’d told her his decision to stay married, so he’d already begun to act in good faith.

      How hard had it been for him to put the photos away? She’d not begrudged the fact that they’d been displayed in the house. Even she had taken comfort from having them around because she’d been so close to Rachel.

      The sound of Reece’s voice from the doorway startled her.

      “There’s your missing mama.”

      Leah hastily finished smoothing the bedspread before she glanced toward the hall door.

      Reece carried Bobby on his wide shoulders and the boy was giggling while he gripped Reece’s hair. The contrast between Bobby’s gleeful face and Reece’s somber one made her realize he’d seen her staring at the spot where Rachel’s picture had been.

      “Thanks for looking after him,” she said. “If you have things you need to do, go ahead.”

      “I see you noticed the picture.”

      Leah nodded. “And the one in Bobby’s room.”

      “They’re in the dresser in the first bedroom. When you get time you might wrap ’em up to save for Bobby. I’ll put them in the attic over the garage later.”