Courtship, Montana Style by Charlotte Maclay

Author:Charlotte Maclay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

“I feel so guilty.”

Lizzie had been hovering over Susie-Q’s crib since they got back from town. The doctor had given the baby an antibiotic and some medicine for the fever, and now the infant was sleeping peacefully. But you wouldn’t have known that from the miserable look on Lizzie’s face.

Walker was at a loss to know how to help her. And, if the truth be known, he had been as worried about Susie-Q as Lizzie. Fortunately the doctor had assured them both the baby would be fine.

“You’ve got to stop beating yourself up,” Walker said. “All babies get sick.”

“But I didn’t even realize there was something wrong. I thought she was just being fussy. What kind of a mother does that make me?”

“So you’re not a genius when it comes to parenting. No first-time mother is.”

She snorted. “I certainly fit somewhere in the below-average category.”

He slid his arm around her slender waist. “Come on, you need to eat something. I’ll make you a sandwich.” They had skipped the potluck, opting to bring Susie-Q back to the ranch instead. Neither one of them would have been able to eat anyway.

“No. I’m not hungry. You go ahead.” She glanced up at him, her blue eyes watery. “I don’t want to leave her.”

If Lizzie wouldn’t go to the mountain, then he’d bring the mountain to her. “I’ll be back in a minute. Don’t go away.”

It took him more than a minute to fix sandwiches and pour glasses of milk, but when he returned she was standing right where he’d left her. He placed the tray on the changing table and went across the hall for a straight-back chair, which be brought into the nursery.

“Here you go. Sit down before you collapse.”

“I’m fine, really.” Despite the exhaustion apparent in the lines of strain around her eyes, she shook her head.

“All right, I’ve got a better idea.” Sitting down himself, he closed his hands around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. “Now we can both watch her.”

Instead of fighting him, she drew a shaky sob and rested her head on his shoulder. She didn’t weigh much at all, less than a bale of hay and her soft curves converged with his chest and thighs. He folded his arms around her, inhaling the sweet scent of violets in her hair.

“I’m afraid to take my eyes off of her for fear she’ll stop breathing,” she whispered.

“That’s probably an overreaction,” he said calmly, although he could understand her feelings. He found watching Susie-Q’s tiny chest moving up and down reassuring, too.

She chuckled a humorless sound. “Thank you for not laughing at me. I know I’m being silly over just an ear infection.”

“It’s never wrong for a mother to worry about her baby. What’s wrong is for a mother not to care.”

“Like Scotty’s mother?”

“Like all the boys here.”

She lifted her head from his shoulder. “Is that why you ended up here, too?”

“My mother deserted me in a grocery store when I was ten. After a while I got hungry and snitched an ice-cream bar.

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