Cowboy in Charge Read Online Free Page A

you.” He crossed his arms again. “Dammit, Layne, you always were the most stubborn...”
    It was his turn to take a deep breath. She bit her lip to keep from responding.
    “Look,” he continued, “you could barely handle the baby when she started squirming. And you were hanging on to the kitchen table with one hand while you stood up to strap her into her seat. You want to risk a serious accident while you’re alone with the kids?”
    She flushed. “Of course not.”
    “Then—”
    “I don’t have anyone to call.”
    “The baby’s daddy—”
    “He’s not in the picture,” she said shortly.
    She could see him hesitate, as if her admission had thrown him. But he simply said, “What about your brother?”
    “No. Cole’s the best man in a wedding, and tonight’s the rehearsal dinner. Everybody I know is involved one way or another in prepping for the wedding. Or they’re working. That’s where I would have been, too, if I hadn’t called in sick.”
    “You have a job, along with taking care of two kids?”
    She nodded. “I waitress at SugarPie’s.” She had started working at the small sandwich shop in the center of town after Jason had left. “Which means they’re shorthanded without me there now, too.”
    “Well, that settles it.” He returned to his seat across from her at the table and leaned forward until they were almost nose to nose. “You’ve got yourself an overnight guest.”
    “ No . I’ll find someone else to help me out.” Anyone else. She shot to her feet to stare him down. The defiant movement did her in. Light-headed, she staggered, then struggled to regain her balance. The small amount of soup she had eaten churned in her stomach. With one hand over her mouth, she fled from the room.
    Even as she hurried toward the bathroom, she frantically ran down a mental list of all her friends. Surely she could find one person who wasn’t working and would come to her rescue.
    Because Jason couldn’t stay here all night.
    * * *
    L AYNE AWOKE WITH a start to find she still held the cordless phone. Frantically, she looked around the living room. The baby lay asleep in the playpen. Scott sprawled on the floor with his toy cars spread out around him.
    Across from her, Jason sat in one of the overstuffed armchairs. He was flipping through a newspaper but looked up as soon as she shifted upright. “You went out like a TV with its plug yanked from the socket,” he told her.
    “Sorry.” Her voice cracked. She prayed the dry spot in her throat wasn’t the beginning of strep. The flu symptoms were enough to deal with. “How long was I asleep?”
    “About an hour.”
    While he sat there and did her job, watching over her kids.
    Sighing, she turned her attention to her son. “Bedtime, Scott.”
    He frowned. “No, Mommy. I play with cars. Look, my race cars.” He pointed to a sheet of cardboard propped up by some of his plastic blocks that seemed to be serving as a motorway for his entire auto collection. At that moment, she didn’t have the energy to argue, and an extra half hour or so of playtime wouldn’t hurt him.
    What hurt her was having to see Scott and his daddy together.
    “Very nice,” she managed. “Did you do that all by yourself?”
    “No. Jason maked it.”
    “Oh.” She looked at her ex. “Between getting supper and overseeing road construction, you seem to have maked yourself right at home.”
    “You’ll thank me for that once I’ve gone and maked you a cup of tea for that throat.”
    He laughed, and the sound did things to her insides that had nothing to do with the flu. She crossed her arms over her chest, fighting a sudden shiver she couldn’t blame on her illness, either. He frowned, and once again the resemblance to Scott made her breath catch. Over the years, she had tried not to notice the likenesses between her son and Jason. But seeing the two of them together only made the similarities between them undeniable.
    Having the man right here in front of her