“I can walk. You don’t have to carry me.”
“Last time I saw you trying to stand you weren’t too steady. I think this is the safest way for now.”
“We’re going to your house? How far is it?”
“Not far. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Do you own this farm?”
Tightening his grip on her, he exhaled and answered the slightly annoying question. “It’s a ranch. And my family owns it. For a trespasser, you’re just full of questions, aren’t you?”
She shut her mouth and narrowed it in a tight line.
“I’m Nathan Pierce, and I’ve answered all your questions. How about answering another of mine? What’s your name?”
Suddenly she looked terrified again. “Susannah. Susannah Paul.”
Her big eyes were pleading with him for some kind of mercy. And he didn’t have a clue what it was all about.
“That’s better. Nice name. And Melody is your baby. Where’s her father?”
“I really don’t know. He’s not around. We weren’t married, and he didn’t much want a baby.”
Her answer had come quick. Apparently the fact that she was on her own wasn’t the biggest problem. Something else must be frightening her.
He decided to give her a little time to rest before he questioned her further. Badgering new mothers for answers was not his style—especially ones as beautiful and fragile as this one.
He barged into the kitchen with her in his arms and found a small crowd around the table. The baby was the center of attention.
Maria looked over as they came near. “She’s taking a little water, ma’am. Is she on formula? I couldn’t find any in her bag.”
“I’m breast-feeding.” Susannah glared up at him. “If you’ll kindly put me down now, I need to take care of my daughter.”
“Here? In the kitchen?”
Maria answered for her. “Don’t be absurd, Nathan. Carry the mama into your bedroom. It’s the closest. And make her comfy. I’ll bring the baby along in a moment.”
His room? That was the last place he wanted to take this woman. But what did he know about tiny babies? Shutting his mouth, he dutifully did as requested.
How was it that he’d volunteered for this again?
He kicked open the door to his room, and a sudden flash of memory came back to kick him in the gut. Once before he’d carried a woman across the threshold of this room. That time things had not worked out well at all.
But this was different. This woman was not planning on staying.
At least he thought not. On the other hand, his body seemed suddenly to want an entirely different and completely inappropriate plan.
The windows were open, and fresh air filled the room with smells of spring—and maybe a little hint of cattle. It was not unpleasant to him; in fact, it was so ingrained in his life he hardly noticed anymore. But he didn’t have any idea what she would think of any of it—smells, cattle, ranch, him.
“The chair or the bed?” He really wanted her to opt for the chair but thought he’d better give her the choice.
“I’m afraid if I lie down I’ll fall sound asleep and Melody will never get fed. The chair, please.”
He eased her into his reading chair and fluffed the pillow at her back. “This going to be okay?”
“Fine, thanks. It’s really nice of you to offer your own room.”
The offer had been more of a shanghai. “Later … when you’ve rested some, we need to talk. My hospitality for your answers. Seems only fair.” He stood aside, wondering how fast he could disappear when the baby arrived.
“Fair? Yes, all right. Later.”
Maria arrived carrying the baby, and he backed out of his room at a world-record-setting pace. His mind was reeling not only with questions about these two lost souls, like where they came from and why they were running. But another question was why for the first time in nearly four years his libido was reacting to the mere sight and touch of a very attractive but totally unavailable woman.
Susannah opened her lids, pulling herself from a sound sleep, and for the second time today, she stared up into Nathan’s sky-blue eyes. “I must’ve fallen asleep.”
He nodded and sat opposite her on the edge of the bed. “Maria tells me after the baby was fed you had a bite to eat, too, and a little nap. She’s looking for something to use as a cradle so she can offer you the chance to clean up and take a shower.”
Leaning on his knees, he folded his hands between them and gazed over at her with questions in those terribly sexy eyes. “Feeling well enough for our talk now?”
“I guess.” Not really. She would much rather ask questions of her own, like whether or not anyone on the ranch was a Devotee and how far it was from here to the highway bus stop.
“I need to know who you’re running from.” He raised his eyebrows as if encouraging her to tell him everything.
When she didn’t answer, he volunteered a couple of possibilities of his own. “I guess you might be running from some kind of lawman. Did you bug out on the hospital maternity bill? Or maybe you’re running from the baby’s father? Maria tells me you’ve got a few cuts and scratches she’d like to tend. You get those from some bastard?”
She hesitated, trying to decide what to say.
“If it’s the law that’s chasing you, I have to know.” He looked so sincere and serious; she wanted to blurt out the whole story. “I’ll want to call the Cold Plains police chief. I’m sorry, but I can’t harbor any criminals on the ranch. This is a law-abiding place.”
She couldn’t let him call the Cold Plains police. That was the last thing she needed.
Deciding to go with a half-truth, she said, “The baby’s father got angry. He pushed me onto a bus heading east and said he never wanted to see us again. Then when the money almost ran out, the bus dropped us off. Melody and I got turned around, and we’ve been wandering in the woods looking for someone to help.”
Nathan bit his lip as if trying to decide about her story. “So you’re saying you walked into the forest on your own? No one chased you in?”
Well, it was half-true. “Yes. That’s right. And I kept getting scratched up by all the branches and dead tree limbs. But the baby is safe.”
“Uh-huh.” He didn’t look too convinced. “Okay, then. Where are you from? You have any other family we can contact for help?”
“We’re not from anywhere. We—the baby’s father and I—were just moving around the country. He … he’s a traveling salesman kind of guy.” This was pretty much all true.
“And there’s no one else?”
“No one.” If you took his question literally, she’d just lied. But in her mind and heart there was no one else—at least no one who would care to hear from her under any circumstances, especially not if she needed help.
Nathan stared down at the carpet, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. All she really wanted was a chance to rest the baby for a few hours and then get directions to the bus.
A knock sounded against the open door. “Nathan?” Maria stuck her head in the room. “Can I come in?”
Maria had told her she was the Pierce family housekeeper. But Susannah had been surprised by that and asked why Maria spoke to Nathan in a manner more like a mother or older sister than an employee. It seemed