managed his way through the rest of the meeting with Bob, amazed at how much a person could accomplish one-handed and continually comforting a child. He had a new appreciation for his mother, who’d managed Shep and his twin brother, Cole, with the efficiency of a drill sergeant at the same time she showered them with constant affection. How had she done it?
He wished he could call her now, regretted that he hadn’t done more to show his appreciation and respect for everything she’d sacrificed as a mother. But he lost that chance and no amount of wishing would bring her back.
Clearly he couldn’t keep bringing Rosie to the construction site, even with the tiny safety helmet and noise cancelling headphones he’d ordered for her. Between the noise, the dust and the crew of men shouting to each other over the din of hammers and power tools, his little girl would be in a constant state of anxiety. He buckled her into her car seat and handed her a sippy cup of water from the diaper bag he’d packed that morning.
Shep Bennett, confirmed bachelor and consummate ladies’ man up until eight months ago, now filled his fridge with baby food instead of beer. He carried a diaper bag, albeit one that looked more like a backpack.
Rosie let out a sigh and gave him a wide smile, flashing all four of her newly sprouted top and bottom teeth. He hadn’t understood the term wrapped around her finger until he’d laid eyes on his daughter for the first time. In an instant he’d fallen fast and hard, knowing without question he’d sacrifice anything for her.
His entire life as it turned out. As he made the twenty-minute drive from the ski resort at the base of Crimson Mountain into downtown, he concentrated on the forest on either side of the road and the view of the valley below, dotted with farms and ranches and pockets of housing developments. Unlike nearby Aspen, Crimson still retained some of the spirit of the old West—quaint but slightly untamed.
Shep guessed that’s what had first attracted Cole to the area. Cole being here is what had brought Shep to Colorado, although he’d never admit that to his brother. He’d needed to get out of Los Angeles. The crowded, sprawling city of angels was not the place for Rosie.
He hadn’t spoken to Cole for seven years before arriving in Crimson a month ago. Instead Shep had relied on his twin’s innate good-naturedness to ensure that Cole would be willing to mend the chasm-size riff in their relationship once he knew about Rosie.
It probably helped that Cole was newly in love. Hell, Shep could have asked him for a kidney and Cole would have handed it over then gone right back to making cow eyes at Sienna Pierce, his beautiful and spirited fiancée.
He’d hoped the peaceful town would help Rosie begin to overcome the crippling shyness and mistrust of people that had landed her with Shep in the first place. Like he had a better idea than Monica, his ex-girlfriend, of how to manage a reticent baby. At least he wasn’t giving up or walking away. That had to count for something.
Downtown was bustling with people as he pulled to the curb around the corner from the little bakery where he and Cole were meeting for lunch. It gave him hope that his plan to renovate the ski area would pay off. The board of Trinity Development Company, the real estate corporation he headed, hadn’t been keen to venture from its usual projects of upscale resorts in urban markets to take on the reopening of an entire ski mountain. There were too many uncontrollable factors—weather and annual snowfall the two biggest—to make Crimson a sure thing. His board liked a sure thing and Shep had gotten good at delivering.
It was difficult to know whether his instinct on Crimson had more to do with the potential of the ski mountain or the potential to get some help with Rosie.
She looked up at him with those big blue eyes as he unstrapped her car seat. Faint shadows marred the soft skin under her eyes, and he hated how stressed she seemed at her young age. Maybe it had been a mistake to move her halfway across the country, but she hadn’t been any more content in LA and Shep had felt unable to devote the attention she needed with his California lifestyle. It might not be ideal to bring a baby near a construction site, but he was careful to keep her safe and away from where most of the actual work was taking place. Shep would never put his daughter in danger.
He picked her up, slammed the car door shut and shoved a few quarters into the meter.
“Buwrd,” Rosie said, pointing to a magpie keeping watch on the park across the street from a nearby lamppost. She grinned and squealed with delight when the bird spread its wings and swooped away. “Buwrd, Dada,” she shouted.
“Off to get lunch,” he said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “Just like us.”
“Mac-an,” she announced, clapping her hands. Thank heavens for macaroni and cheese, as it was one of the few foods his daughter would eat without coaxing.
“We’ll get you some mac and cheese,” he said, and was rewarded with a smacking kiss on the underside of his jaw. Oh, yeah. Wrapped around her finger tight.
A strand of bells rang cheerfully as he entered Life is Sweet bakery. He scanned the small crowd, then moved forward as Cole waved to him from a café table at the far end of the seating area.
His brother wore a tan shirt with a badge pinned just above his left breast pocket, darker pants and a holster around his waist. A Stetson sat on the table in front of him, and Cole looked every inch the upstanding Western lawman.
Which he was, Shep mused, long-simmering jealousy pricking at his spine. Cole had always been the good one—the golden child. It seemed to come so easy to him, the whole honorable deal, whereas Shep had chafed against his role as the “second son,” even if he’d been born a mere four minutes after his twin.
“Hey,” Cole said, moving his hat to the empty seat next to him. He shifted the high chair that had been pulled up to one side of the table. “Hi, Rosie. Are you ready for some lunch?”
As expected, Rosie tucked her face into the crook of Shep’s neck. “She can sit on my lap,” he told his brother, lowering himself into the metal chair across from Cole.
He looked down as Rosie shifted, glancing over at Cole then lowering her gaze. Cole and Shep were identical, so Rosie was slightly more comfortable with her uncle than with other adults.
To his credit, Cole didn’t push her to interact the way some people tried. “I can’t wait to eat,” he said with a gentle smile then turned his attention to Shep, his gaze sympathetic. “No babysitter today?”
Rosie stiffened. Merely hearing the dreaded word made her tense.
“Just me and my girl,” Shep said with false cheer. He rubbed a soothing hand over Rosie’s back. “We had a meeting at the ski resort today. Demo went well and they’re already starting framing. We should have plumbing, electrical and HVAC coming in next week.”
“Nice progress,” Cole said.
Shep laughed softly. “Rosie’s a hell of a taskmaster.”
Cole cringed. “I don’t think you’re supposed to swear in front of a kid.”
“Right,” Shep agreed with a sigh. He started to apologize to his toddler daughter only to realize her eyes had drifted shut. “Saved by the lack of nap schedule. Or any type of schedule for that matter.”
“It’s still bad?” Cole asked then glanced up as a pretty brunette approached the table.
“I’m not sure
