behavior was inexcusable.
The back door slammed, jerking her out of her thoughts. She looked up and spotted Griff coming through the door that led to the mudroom. He stopped at the kitchen sink, his broad back to her.
Jolie got up, holding the sleeping baby on her shoulder as she strode into the kitchen to give the man a piece of her mind.
He stood, his tall frame hunched over the sink, washing his hands. In the short time since she had met him she had forgotten what a big man he was.
He turned to look at her, surprise plain on his face. “Evening.”
Had he forgotten she was in the house? She cleared her throat and said in a low voice, “Actually, it’s past evening.”
He stared at her for a moment, then his glance slid briefly over his son, as if trying to place who they were. Finally he looked past her, over her shoulder.
What was he doing, checking the dark house to see if there was anyone else there he might have forgotten?
Jolie took a deep breath and reached for her courage, determined to pin him down. “Mr. Price, I have some questions I need answered now.”
His expression became shuttered so quickly she blinked at the change in him.
He shifted his glance away from her face. “Okay. I’m listening.” He picked a towel up off the counter to dry his hands.
Jolie put a protective hand up to cradle the sleeping child’s head, as if contact with the baby could keep her focused on what she planned to say to him. “You left without telling me the baby’s name or anything about him.”
“His name is Riley.” Griff seemed to be searching his mind for something else to say. “He’s ten months old.”
She watched him focus on something behind her again, and his shoulders slumped in a defeated movement as he leaned his hips against the cabinet. “You’re leaving.”
Jolie glanced over her shoulder and saw that he stared at her suitcase. “Oh, no. I’m staying. My suitcase is there because you didn’t bother to tell me which room is mine.”
She couldn’t leave.
Not just because she didn’t have any money.
Griff Price needed her, whether he realized it or not. And for a lot more than changing his son’s diapers. His expression told her how badly he thought he needed her, and he didn’t know the half of it.
No one had ever needed Jolie before, not like this.
She would stay, not for him, but for the precious little boy asleep in her arms. She hadn’t missed the fact he hadn’t taken even a moment to ask after his child.
“We need to talk.” She suspected before long he would regret he hadn’t taken her back to town tonight.
Griff let out a sigh as he watched the stubborn set of Jolie Carleton’s sweet little chin. Still fighting his headache, he thought sourly, was there a phrase he hated more than we need to talk?
He eyed the beautiful, frazzled-looking woman standing there holding his nephew. In the few hours since he had met her he had tried to forget what a fine-looking woman she was.
Griff eyed the set of her jaw and knew before the words were out of his mouth he would regret asking. “About what?”
Her lovely mouth dropped open as if he had asked an astounding question. She caught herself gaping at him and closed her jaw with a snap of perfect white teeth.
Taking a deep breath, she glanced down at Riley, then hissed at Griff. “About your responsibilities, Mr. Price.”
Well, he had a million of those, that was for sure. “What responsibilities would those be?”
Her pale fine skin flushed. “This baby!”
She was no longer trying to keep her voice down. Riley jerked awake, his head coming off her shoulder.
Griff didn’t want to talk about his nephew. Not tonight. If she had just kept her voice down, Riley would still be asleep.
He skewered her with a look designed to intimidate. “Wrong, Ms. Carleton. I hired you to take care of Riley. He’s your responsibility.”
Griff turned away from the dumbfounded look on her face, crossed through the house to the stairs and picked up her bag.
He didn’t want to explain anything. Talking about the baby would lead to talking about his wife and his brother. That was a subject he didn’t plan to cover, especially with a stranger.
He needed some aspirin and a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow would be another too-full day. He’d still be out on the range tonight if the moon hadn’t set.
As he got to the top of the stairs he heard her determined footsteps just behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and held back another sigh as he watched her march up the stairs.
She looked like a woman with a mission. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she hadn’t liked his answer.
That scowl he had used on her downstairs worked on his hired hands but didn’t seem to phase Jolie Carleton.
Save me from crusading females, Griff thought as he put her suitcase just inside the door of the bedroom next to the baby’s room. He straightened up and braced himself for another round.
She sailed past him without a word, stepped into Riley’s room and closed the door firmly behind her.
Surprised to find, in spite of his headache, he was a little disappointed she hadn’t faced him down again, he stood and stared at the closed door.
He had no intention of telling her about Deirdre or Jake, but he had enjoyed the flush on her cheeks and the flash of anger that ruffled her composed exterior.
In the diner she had come across as cool and collected. With all that temper simmering below the surface, she might prove to be more passionate than he had first supposed.
Standing out in the hall, he heard her walking back and forth across the bare wood floor, murmuring to Riley.
Griff continued to stare at the closed door as he wondered what it would be like to peel the fragile silk of her blouse off and see all that fine pale skin turn rosy with arousal. His body reacted to the thought, and he smiled.
This just might turn out to be an interesting couple of weeks.
He could hear her through the door, still muttering to the baby. Griff rubbed his hand over the tired muscles of his neck. He was pretty sure the discussion regarding his responsibilities wasn’t over.
When a woman said she wanted to talk to a man, it meant she talked until she got the man to agree.
Tired as he was, he found himself looking forward to tomorrow night.
Chapter Three
After
