“I’ll drive to the store,” he promised. With a nod, she turned her attention back to the baby. Even with dark circles under her eyes and her hair a mess, she managed to still look beautiful.
“Have you had breakfast?”
She bit her lip. “No. Neither has anyone else. I overslept and I haven’t had time to make it into the kitchen and cook anything, so you probably have a bunch of hungry ranch hands.”
He realized he’d need to find either a new cook or a nanny, at least until this thing was resolved. “I’m sure they understand,” he lied. “I’ll get in there and take care of their morning meal. Heck, I’ll tell them it’s brunch, since it’s nearly lunchtime. They’ll survive. And I want you to make sure to get yourself a plate.”
A shadow crossed her blue eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s just with everything that happened and taking care of the baby—”
“No need to apologize. After I fix breakfast, I’m going into town to talk to Mimi’s ex-husband, Dr. Rand. If you’ll write down for me what kind I need, I’ll be sure to pick up formula and diapers while I’m there.”
She nodded, gazing at the tiny infant in her arms. “What do you think is going to happen to her?”
At her question, he dragged his hand across his mouth. “That’s what I want to talk to Lucas Rand about.”
The rest of the morning flew by swiftly. Still carrying Amelia, Ellie followed him down to the kitchen and directed him in the nuances of preparing the morning meal for six hungry cowboys. She couldn’t help but wonder how he managed to look rugged and sexy, even in this setting.
He used two dozen eggs, an entire loaf of bread and two huge slabs of thick-cut bacon. A jug of milk, a huge carafe of fresh, hot coffee and another jug of orange juice completed the setup.
“I usually make them biscuits and gravy, too.” She sounded apologetic again.
“They’ll just have to make do,” he said, shaking his head. “Extraordinary circumstances.”
Nodding, she crossed to the exterior door and pulled the bell cord, sending the brass bell that hung outside chiming.
Almost immediately after, Theo’s hands began filing into the kitchen. A few of them appeared surprised to see their boss there, but once they spotted the food set out on the long wooden table in the adjoining room, they shrugged, grabbed a plate and dug in. If they wondered why the food was so late in coming, no one said anything.
Theo had saved back some of the eggs, bacon and bread and made Ellie and himself a plate. He indicated one of the chairs at the smaller kitchen table and slid her breakfast over to her.
She climbed up, carefully holding Amelia, and once settled, eyed the plate, making no move to pick up a fork.
With a flush of embarrassment, he realized she didn’t know how to eat while holding the baby.
“Here. Put her in the bassinette while you eat.”
“No.” She angled the baby away from him, her chin up, her blue eyes flashing. “You eat first, and when you’re finished, you can hold her and I’ll have my turn.”
For a second, he froze, dumbfounded at the idea of holding such a miniscule little girl in front of everyone. He could do this, he told himself. Surely a man unafraid to climb on the backs of wildest horses wouldn’t be undone by an infant. Plus, he’d already held her the night before, though he’d acted solely on instinct.
“Sure,” he said, trying for easily.
Ellie rewarded him with a smile that sent his pulse racing. Stunned, he wondered if she knew how adorable she looked. Since she seemed determined, he didn’t argue, even though he still felt seriously uncomfortable holding an infant. Instead he started shoveling the food into his mouth, barely pausing for air.
Once he’d cleared his plate, he drained his glass of juice, took a quick gulp of coffee and then held out his arms for the baby, hoping he appeared nonchalant. “Your turn.”
One corner of her mouth quirked as she stared at him. “Even they—” indicating the men at the table behind them, who were all intently chowing down “—don’t eat that fast.”
“I was hungry,” he replied, grinning. “Now hand me that baby and eat your food before it gets cold.”
Shaking her head, she handed Amelia over, transferring her gently. “Make sure you support her head.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Once he had her, he gazed down into her tiny sleeping face. She smelled good, like baby powder and milk, and appeared healthy, at least to him. Though fragile. Which made him sort of afraid to move.
“That reminds me,” he told Ellie. “There are more people sick with whatever Mimi had. We need to get Amelia checked out.”
Fork in midair, Ellie froze. “I didn’t think of that.” Expression dismayed, she put down her fork. “I don’t want her going to the clinic if there are other sick people there. You said Mimi’s ex is a doctor. Do you think he’d be willing to check her out here?”
Pleased her concern was for the baby rather than herself, he nodded. “I’ll bring that up when I talk to him today. If not, my sister is a nurse and can do it.”
He took a deep breath, hating what he had to say next, but knowing it was necessary. “Listen, Ellie, don’t go getting too attached. There’s a possibility Amelia might not be here too long.”
Her eyes widened. Her voice rose. “What do you mean? You can’t be considering giving up your own flesh and blood.”
The men at the other table stopped talking and turned to stare at them from the other room. Theo grimaced. “There’s a very real possibility she’s not mine,” he said gently. “Mimi was... Well, let’s say she wasn’t exclusive.”
Her downcast look told him she didn’t like what she was hearing. “She has your eyes,” she said.
“Yes, but green eyes aren’t proof of anything.”
“I understand,” she replied, clearly lying. “Let me have Amelia back, please.”
“You haven’t eaten yet.”
Taking the baby from him, she nodded. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
No one spoke as she marched out of the room.
Once she was gone, Theo’s hands all looked at him. Even from the other room, he could feel their disapproval.
He shrugged. “Come on, guys.” Giving their empty plates a look, he pointed toward the door. “Time to get back to work.”
Though not a single man argued with him, he could tell from a few of their expressions—belligerent, questioning and yes, disappointed—that they wanted to. He hated that they thought he was acting like a jerk—honestly, he wasn’t. But this was his life, and it wasn’t up for debate.
If baby Amelia belonged to him, Theo would move heaven and earth to ensure
