Forever in Love (Montana Brides) (2 page)

“I won’t be long.” Amy disappeared down the hallway.
 

He stayed where he was. If he bent down to play with Catherine it would take him ten times longer to get back on his feet. Ten times longer and a whole lot more pain that he didn’t need.
 

Catherine stared up at him with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. Her legs moved with purpose. Twisting her hips, she flipped onto her belly, giggling at being so clever. In two seconds flat she pulled herself onto her knees and took off across the room toward his legs.
 

His gaze shot around the doorway, desperate for something to throw in her way before she scooted between his legs. Her lips puckered into a determined grin. Sensing victory, her gaze zeroed in on the open space between his red socks.
 

He pulled his legs together. She swerved, heading left. He sidestepped into her path. She stopped, the blonde fuzz on top of her head nudging his legs. He stood still, praying Amy got back before Catherine dodged his legs and headed straight for the doorframe. He didn’t want her knocking her head against the wood. She might hurt herself. And cry. And he’d look like a fool, outmaneuvered by a baby with high powered pistons trying to make the great escape.

He looked over his shoulder. Maybe Amy hadn’t been able to find a washcloth? Catherine made a noise. He felt something grab his toes. His gaze shot back to the floor. She’d scooted onto her bottom and her fingers were plucking his socks. He wiggled his toes and a giggle filled the room. She lunged for his feet, grabbing the top of his sock with her fingers. A handful of red cotton nearly made it into her mouth.
 

“She’s got a thing for feet.”

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. The cavalry had arrived. “So I noticed.” He slowly wiggled his sock free of Catherine’s determined fingers, but she had other ideas. Her little face, as sweet as apple pie two seconds ago, twisted into a scowl before she let rip with a wail that would have stopped his dogs in their tracks.
 

Amy ignored the outburst. She passed him the washcloth and towel, picked her sister up and took her across to the bed pushed against the far wall. “Could you open the towel on the bed?”

Towels he could do. As many as she needed.
 

Before Catherine got a chance to suck another lungful of air into her body, Amy had her bulging diaper off her bottom. A quick flick of the washcloth, a pat down to dry her skin, a smear of cream, and she was done. While Catherine stared bemusedly up at him, Amy opened a clean diaper and fastened it around her waist. He wasn’t often impressed, but that had to be one of the slickest moves he’d ever seen.
 

Amy hunted through her carry-on, pulling out an empty bottle. “I’m going to take Catherine down to the kitchen and warm some milk for her. Thanks for your help.”

He hadn’t done much, but still…the tired smile on her face had to be better than the scowl she’d aimed at him earlier. A man would have to be mad not to accept the olive branch dangling in front of his nose. “I don’t know a lot about little kids,” he muttered, “but I know about calves. They’ve got to have something in common.” Especially babies with big brown eyes and lashes long enough to throw soft shadows against their cheeks.
 

 
Amy shook her head. “Tell me that in another week’s time.” She walked past him and headed downstairs.

Nathan followed them both out of the room. He stopped on the landing, a sinking feeling anchoring him to the floor. He’d come a long way in the last few months, but Amy’s arrival made him feel as raw and vulnerable as he’d been after the barn fire. He knew as surely as the next breath he took that he didn’t want her here, sharing a part of his life she’d deliberately left behind. He didn’t need her pity or the questions that would be left unanswered. He didn’t want her to see the changes in his life or the man he had become.

Hell, where had that thought come from? Since when did he care what anyone thought of him? He lifted his hand to the side of his face, rubbing his fingers across the raised web of scars marking him for life.
 

It looked as though he cared more than he thought he did.

The wooden stairs creaked under Amy’s feet. Catherine swayed in her arms, sleep all but forgotten. Her sister’s gaze flicked from the ceiling to the walls, taking in everything around her.
 

Amy held onto the banister, feeling the strength of wood that had been worn as soft as satin from generations of hands running along its surface. This home gave Nathan and his family more than warmth and shelter. It had been their refuge when times were hard. A place to celebrate new life and new beginnings. For Amy, it had been her sanctuary.
 

She could feel Nathan’s resentment as he stood above her. Holding Catherine a little tighter, she braced herself against the emotions pounding through her body. Nine years ago she’d wanted to be an important part of his life. She’d almost convinced herself that she could be close to him and not remember what had brought her to Bozeman in the first place.
 

It didn’t take long to realize that the only person she was fooling was Nathan. So she’d packed her bags and left, turning her back on the good and not so good parts of her life in Montana.

The moment she’d seen Nathan walk toward Sally’s truck, she knew coming home would be harder than she’d imagined. She’d made a promise that she’d never back herself into a corner. Life was all about choices and Amy Sullivan would always choose wisely. But this time her choices had all but disappeared.
 

She headed down the hallway. The kitchen sat at the back of the house, renovated over the years to make cooking for large families and hungry cowboys much easier than Nathan’s great-grandmother had ever known. Nathan’s mom had spent a small fortune ripping out cabinets that had been around before man landed on the moon. Big box cabinetry in a soft shade of buttermilk now hugged the walls and a white stone counter sparkled under pendant lights. Cherry red blinds hung at the windows and a big bowl of fresh fruit sat on the kitchen table.
 

Amy smiled as she remembered her poky little kitchen back in Chicago. Finding somewhere to plug the microwave in had been enough of a challenge, let alone managing to have a bowl of fruit on the counter. She opened the fridge door, staring at the food packed neatly on each shelf.

“I thought I’d find you in here.” Sally grabbed a carton of milk out of her hands. “I’ll make the bottle. How much milk?”

 
“Thanks. Just fill it up and put it in the microwave for twenty seconds.”

Sally set the timer, then flicked the kettle on. “Tea, coffee or hot chocolate?”

Amy sat at the table, jiggling Catherine on her knee. “Hot chocolate. With an extra spoon of sugar.”

“Living a bit dangerously, aren’t we? What happened to the health conscious doctor who didn’t use sugar on anything?”

“She disappeared when this little munchkin came along. I’ve got bigger problems than blocked arteries.” The timer on the microwave pinged and Catherine’s head swiveled toward the sound. “You know you’ve hit rock bottom when a ten-month-old thinks all food comes out of a microwave.”

“You don’t know that.” Sally laughed. “She might just like the sound of the beeps.”

“Does this reaction look like music therapy to you?”

Catherine’s arms waved in the air and her eyes were as bright as new buttons. She followed Sally’s movements as she put the lid on the bottle and closed the microwave door.
 

Amy grinned. “Watch what happens next.”

Sally walked across the room, shaking the bottle and squeezing a dribble of milk on the inside of her wrist. Catherine’s lips smacked together and her hands stretched into the air. As soon as she had the bottle safely in her hands, her little body melted against Amy. She slurped the warm liquid quickly down her throat, almost purring in pleasure.
 

“What a sweetie.” Sally rubbed the side of Catherine’s leg, earning a milky smile from the happy baby. “Now that one little girl’s happy, I’m going to make the grownup girls a drink.” She walked back to the counter and spooned chocolate powder into two mugs. “I’m glad you’ve come home.”
 

“Me too,” Amy sighed.

“Have you heard from your mom?”
 

 
Looking down at her sister, Amy brushed a silky curl off her face. “Not since she left Catherine with me.” That wasn’t strictly true, but Sally didn’t need to know about the screaming argument they’d had after she’d called Child Protective Services.

“Does she know you’ve moved back here?”

Taking a deep breath, Amy held Catherine a little tighter. “No. Maybe. I don’t know.”

“What?” The carton of milk in Sally’s hands clattered against the counter. “You took her without telling your mom? She could have you arrested for kidnapping.”

“What’s that about kidnapping?” Nathan stood at the kitchen door, a baggy white shirt hanging loose over his blue jeans. He gazed down at Catherine, nestled in Amy’s arms.

“It’s nothing. Sally got confused.” Amy stared at her best friend, daring her to let rip with the questions she could see buzzing inside her head.

Sally opened her mouth, but Nathan jumped in before her. “You brought your sister here without telling your mom? What about Catherine’s father?”
 

His voice sounded like jagged rock, sharp enough to cut through any lies or half truths Amy had lined up ready to explain her sister’s sudden appearance. “I don’t know who her father is.”

“What?”

Catherine’s mouth dropped open and warm milk spilled down her chin. She stared at Nathan’s frowning face. Amy looked up as Sally moved around the table, dabbing Catherine’s face with a paper towel before her sister jammed the bottle back between her teeth. Baby brown eyes flicked between Amy and Nathan, waiting to see what happened next.
 

“I don’t know who her father is, and I doubt my mom knows either.” Amy’s hands held Catherine firmly.

Nathan crossed his arms in front of his chest, then quickly dropped them to his side.

Amy hadn’t missed the tightening of his face. The fleeting grimace that told her he’d been hiding as much from her as she was from him. “How’s your back?”

Nathan’s gaze landed on Sally.

“I didn’t say much,” she muttered as she made a hasty exit into the hallway.
 

“Running away won’t solve your problems.” His words might have been meant for his sister, but his gaze stayed locked on Amy.

“Yeah, but it’ll keep me out of yours,” Sally threw over her shoulder. “I’ll start taking a few bags upstairs.”

Amy barely heard Sally leave the room. Nathan’s gaze trapped her to her seat. Unspoken words crashed between them, battering her tired body with too much emotion. Too much awareness of a man who’d never known when to leave good enough alone. He’d always expected more from her than she’d been willing to give, and given her more than she deserved.

“Are you going to tell me about Catherine, or do I need to do some digging of my own?”

She held her breath. “What do you mean?”

The look he shot her should have left her with fatal injuries. Maybe it would, given the amount of time she’d be spending on the ranch. She had two weeks to create a new life for her and her sister. Two weeks of keeping her heart firmly locked out of harm’s way.

“Dan Carter’s the Deputy Chief of Police.”

“You wouldn’t do anything so low,” she growled. Dan and Nathan had grown up together, inseparable buddies who created havoc wherever they went. She’d seen Dan briefly a couple of years ago when Sally had twisted her arm into coming home, just after he’d retired from the military.

Nathan sat at the table, settling back into his seat like a man who didn’t plan on going anywhere in a hurry. “I’ve done a lot worse than snoop into someone’s life.”

Catherine pulled the bottle out of her mouth, a sleepy smile on her face. She stared at Nathan, looking at him like he could do no wrong.
 

Amy knew better. If he wanted to know something he’d dig through whatever dirt he could find to get an answer. If she didn’t tell him about Catherine he’d be heading to Dan’s office first thing in the morning. That was the last thing she needed.
 

“Mom turned up on my doorstep seven months ago.” Bile rose in her throat as she remembered the shorter than short miniskirt, five inch heels and hot pink t-shirt her mother had been wearing. “I didn’t even know I had a half sister. The latest man in her life didn’t want someone else’s baby cramping his style, so she left Catherine with me.” Amy quickly glanced at Nathan. He sat rock still. “I couldn’t work fulltime and look after Catherine, so I left my job at the hospital and moved here. I don’t know where our mom is, and I don’t care.” Heat warmed her face. The lie hung between them like the final twist in a bad movie.
 

“Did she sign anything to give you custody?”

Amy shook her head. It hadn’t been that easy. Even though she’d done everything she could to keep her sister safe, it might still be for nothing. “Child Protective Services have listed me as Catherine’s caretaker. Mom has another five months to show she’s able to raise Catherine on her own. If she can’t, I get full custody.” Amy held her baby sister tight against her chest, rubbing her back to get the last windy burp from her tummy. “She’s not getting her back.”

“The decision won’t be yours to make.”

Her gaze streaked to Nathan’s face. She’d forgotten how blunt he could be. She took a deep breath, too scared about Catherine’s future to disagree with him. “I’ve got Catherine now and that’s all that matters.”

Nathan walked over to the kitchen counter. “Adam might be able to give you some legal advice. I’ll call him and make an appointment if you like.”

“No, I don’t like,” Amy muttered.
 

Nathan’s hand froze on the kettle. A heartbeat later he poured boiling water into a mug, adding enough coffee to keep him awake half the night. “I’m only trying to help.”