Major Dad by Shelley Cooper

Author:Shelley Cooper [Cooper, Shelley]
Language: deu
Format: epub
Published: 2011-07-06T21:51:00+00:00

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Chapter 8

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The grandfather clock chimed the hour. Eight p.m. Haven kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto the green leather love seat in the den. With any luck, Anna would be asleep momentarily. And she could finally relax and unwind. Or come as close to that desired state as possible with Brady in residence.

Heaving a grateful sigh, she closed her eyes and decided to think positively. She'd survived her first full day as a married woman. That was cause for celebration.

Now all she had to do was make it through the night.

She felt his presence before he uttered a word. She hadn't heard him approach, but when her eyes suddenly flew open and her gaze traveled to the doorway, there he stood. He looked big and handsome, and more weary than a new mother who'd spent the night pacing the floor with a colicky baby.

Unbidden, longing stirred and swelled within her. She ached to reach out to him, to gather his head to her breast, to smooth the grooves of exhaustion from his forehead. What truly amazed her was that she could feel this way and act as if she felt nothing at all.

"Tired?" he asked.

"I feel like I could sleep for a week."

She closed her eyes again. It hurt too much to look at him, in light of her growing feelings. No matter what, she could never allow herself to forget that, one day, all too soon, he would be gone. Her only contact with him would be when he came to visit Anna. It would be beyond foolish to nurture her longing for him, to hope it would grow into something else. Something lasting.

For her self-preservation, she couldn't allow herself to hide from the truth. Brady was a man who didn't want to care for anyone. A man who, whenever those feelings threatened to arise, fought them with the fierceness of a samurai warrior.

But he did care, deeply, about Pete and Eileen. She'd seen that yesterday at their wedding. He'd cared enough about Anna to enter into a bogus marriage. He'd taken three abandoned kittens and given them a home. And she'd heard the love in his voice when he spoke of his adoptive father. Was there hope that he could care for her, too?

Maybe, she conceded, if a miracle occurred. Unfortunately, she'd ceased believing in miracles long ago.

"I'm exhausted, too," he said. She heard the leather of the matching sofa give as he stretched out on it. "It's been quite a day. Two days, really."

"You can say that again." She was surprised she was still awake. She must be running on fumes.

"Anna asleep?" she asked.

"Finally. Although if I never read about Evangeline and that blasted stranger again, it'll be too soon for me."

Haven chuckled. "How many times did she make you read it?"

"Three."

"Only three? You got off easy. Usually it takes four or more for her to nod off."

"I must have the magic touch."

He certainly did, so far as Haven was concerned. "Where are the kittens?"

"Sleeping with Anna.

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