He made a moan of delight and again she blushed. When she got the warm cobbler out of the oven, the men cheered. She served it herself, wanting to make sure there was enough for everyone.
After the hands had taken themselves off to the bunkhouse, Theo guided her toward the living room couch, handing her the remote before going back to fetch the bassinette, which he placed near Ellie.
“Sit. I’ll clean up,” he said. “And for breakfast tomorrow morning, Gram Dottie used to make us this baked egg dish that you can refrigerate and just pop in the oven. I helped her once or twice, so I think I remember how to do it.”
Surprised and touched, Ellie nodded. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He flashed a grin so devastating her breath caught in her chest. “Now relax and watch something on TV. I’ll join you once I’m finished in the kitchen.”
Strange. Too tired to comment, she glanced at Amelia, who still slept. Perfect baby. Leaning back into the overstuffed couch cushions, she pressed the power button on the remote. Since she still didn’t know the television channels for this area, she pressed one at random. A legal drama was on, one she thought she might have caught a few episodes of in the past.
The next thing she knew, Theo was shaking her shoulder. “Ellie, wake up. It’s late and you need to go on to bed.”
Groggy, she blinked up at him, trying to understand. “What...what time is it?”
His lazy smile touched her like a sensual caress. “A little after ten. You fell asleep and looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to bother you.”
“Amelia.” She looked for the baby, not finding her. “Where’s Amelia?”
“I carried her upstairs a minute ago. She needed a diaper change and I think I figured out how to do it.” He lifted his shoulder in a sheepish shrug. “Though you might want to double-check my handiwork. She’s asleep in the crib.”
He’d changed Amelia? Talk about giant strides, especially from a man who’d barely been able to say his daughter’s name. Wisely, she kept her sentiment to herself. She sensed if she made a big deal about it or even commented, Theo would shut down.
“She’s going to want her nighttime bottle soon.” Pushing herself up off the sofa, she stifled a yawn. “I’ll just go ahead and make it, so I’ll have it when she wakes.”
He eyed her. “How do you know how to do all this, anyway?”
“My parents were very active in the church,” she said, shrugging. “When they went off to be missionaries, I stayed with a neighboring family who had triplets. Mrs. Anderson needed all the help she could get. I learned not only how to take care of babies, but I also learned how to cook.”
And Ellie had felt glad to be needed. Even if later, as she’d grown older, she’d come to understand she was being used as an unpaid nanny and cook. She hadn’t truly minded, as she’d come to love the triplets, but when she’d needed to get a job to earn her own money, she’d asked to be paid. Instead, she’d found herself out on the street. Luckily, one of her high school friends had taken her in until she could find a job and save for a place of her own.
Taking her arm, he guided her into the kitchen and over to a chair. His slow smile made her mouth go dry. “Sit. Tell me what to do and I’ll make the bottle.”
Wondering if she was still asleep and dreaming, she gave him instructions, unable to resist the tiniest bit of flirting. “It would seem you have a natural talent,” she told him, smiling shyly. His answering grin made her feel warm all over.
When the bottle was ready and he’d tested the temperature with a drop on his wrist, the way she’d told him, he handed it over, his fingers brushing against hers and lingering a second too long.
Telling herself it was in her imagination, she took it and pushed to her feet, again swaying slightly. He reached out to steady her, and somehow she ended up pressed against the muscular length of him.
Instantly, her senses leaped to life as she came deliciously awake. Breasts tingling against his rock-hard chest, her entire lower body began to melt as she stared up at him.
Green gaze dark, he lowered his face as if about to kiss her. She caught her breath, her heart lurching crazily, her mouth already throbbing. She wanted him so badly in that moment she shivered, dizzy with longing.
And then he released her, shaking his head, one corner of his sensual mouth curving. “Sorry. Old habits.”
Somehow she managed to make it out of that room and into hers without collapsing. Only when she’d closed the door and dropped down onto her bed and covered her face with her hands did she let herself think about what had just almost happened.
The only reason it hadn’t was that Theo had enough sense to back away.
Though she had to admit, the casual old habits had stung. But then, she chastised herself, what the hell had she expected? Theo Colton wasn’t for her. She needed her job and the protection Theo had promised from her crazy stalker. Which meant she needed to get herself under control and forget even thinking about being attracted to him.
Amelia began making snuffling sounds, which meant she was about to cry. Ellie scooped her up, gently pressing the bottle’s nipple against her perfect, bow-shaped lips. The baby latched on, suckling like a champion, which made Ellie smile.
Once Amelia had finished, Ellie burped her. One final check of her diaper, which had been put on perfectly, and she put the baby back in her crib, amazed at how quickly Amelia dropped into sleep.
Attending to her evening preparations as quickly as she could, Ellie brushed her teeth, washed up and changed into her pajamas.
She climbed into bed, ready to fall asleep, even though she knew she’d probably dream of Theo. She resolved, if she did, to promptly forget all about them in the morning.
* * *
That night and the next morning, Theo refused to even think about what foolish urge had made him almost kiss Ellie Parker. He’d been without a woman too long; that had to be it. After all, Ellie wasn’t even his usual type. He preferred his women curvy and flirty and casual. With her willowy, athletic figure, Ellie not only wasn’t his type, but was too serious by far.
And too sweet, he thought. The kind of woman who needed a white picket fence and a husband who was content to work a nine-to-five and come home to her each night.
In other words, everything Theo was not. Little Miss Serious would want it all, including love. He wasn’t in the habit of intentionally breaking hearts, and he didn’t intend to start now.
Rushing through his shower, he hurried downstairs to get the egg casserole baking in the oven. He also made a pot of coffee, waiting impatiently for it to finish brewing. Outside, the sun hadn’t yet risen, and he could tell the outside air would be crisp. His favorite kind of morning, back when he’d wake up and drive out to the rodeo grounds to check out the lay of the land. He’d walk the grounds, a cup of java steaming in his hands, looking for the other cowboys who were out there doing the exact same thing.
Shaking his head, he ruthlessly pushed that thought away the same way he’d quashed his surprising desire for Ellie.
Pretty soon the kitchen smelled like eggs and sausage and coffee. The hired hands begin to drift in, one by one, hanging up their jackets and wiping off their work boots on the mat just inside the back door before heading to their table in the adjoining room.
The casserole seemed to be a big hit, judging from the appreciative comments and requests for seconds. He’d already put the second one in and it had finished cooking just as he scooped the last bit out of the first pan.
The hands finished eating, several of them joking and laughing and clapping him on the back, calling him a damn good cook. As they filed out, Theo began to wonder why Ellie hadn’t yet