Myrna Mackenzie – Rodeo Bride (страница 8)

Colleen looked slightly uncomfortable. She fidgeted with her belt buckle. “I’m sure you have lots of things to do, business you need to get back to, and during the night, it occurred to me…”

He waited.

“Babies sleep a lot. There’s a lot of downtime,” she said. “And you’re a man who’s used to being busy.”

Dillon raised a brow. “How did you reach that conclusion?”

“You were a soldier who led other soldiers. You built structures and started running a company when you were barely out of college and still going to grad school. That’s all in your bio on the Farraday Engineering Web site. In fact, I think one of the articles said something about how you specialized in multitasking, but ranch life moves at a slower pace. That could be a problem. You might get bored here really fast.”

“Meaning I might want to leave here after only a few days.”

“Yes.”

“And take my son with me.”

Her eyes looked stricken. “Yes.”

“Maybe we should set a specific date. I do need to make sure that I know what I’m doing as a father, and I’m more than grateful that you’ve agreed to help me with that, but I can’t stay here too long. Being an absentee owner of a business has drawbacks, and while I did my best to take charge when I was bedridden, now that I’m mobile, it’s past time for me to take back the helm of the firm. If I name a time frame, at least you’ll know when the end is coming. Will that be best?”

Slowly she nodded.

“Three weeks?” he asked.

“That sounds good.” But her voice was a bit tight. Obviously, letting go of Toby would be difficult for her. “Now,” she continued, “is there anything you need while I’m in town? Something that will make the hours when Toby’s napping pass more quickly? Books? Newspapers?”

He laughed. “Pamper the rich, bored male, you mean? Eventually there will be things I’ll need, but I’m not sure what will be on the list and when I know, I’ll have everything delivered.”

She looked startled. “That won’t be necessary. I have a pickup truck.”

“Yes, but I don’t think a load of lumber and roofing shingles will fit in your truck.”

“Lumber and shingles? I don’t understand.”

Dillon smiled. “I’m more than just a rich man, Colleen. I’m an engineer. I know how to build things and build them right. I can fix your porch.”

She blushed prettily. “I’m afraid I can’t afford it right now.”

“I can.”

“But you’re a—”

He put his finger over her lips to stop her from saying guest.

“You’re helping me. Let me help you. I’m going to do this,” he said. “And a few other things, starting with replacing that sleeper sofa.”

Now, he had her attention. She crossed her arms over chest, which was supposed to make her look stern, he was sure, but only served to draw his attention to her pretty breasts. “I can’t let you do that much,” she said.

“You can’t stop me, Colleen. I’m a man on a mission. Now go do whatever you need to do.”

And stop looking so adorable, he thought as she walked away.

Chapter Four

HOW am I going to survive this man? Colleen thought as she drove toward town. He had only been here less than a day and already he seemed to fill up her house.

What’s more, when she got to town she found that word of Dillon’s arrival had already spread. “Buying a lot of food, are you? Stocking up?” Alma Anderson asked at the grocery store. “Yeah, a man will eat you out of house and home, especially if he’s a big man. Is he a big man? Is he staying long?”

Colleen pasted on a smile that didn’t say anything but seemed to satisfy Alma.

“Wow, I can’t remember the last time I associated the word man with you, Colleen,” Barb Seltzer added. She was getting ready to expound on that and probably ask more questions when Colleen cut in.

“Sorry, gotta run, ladies. Business to tend to.”

But it was the same everywhere she went. The town had never had anyone rich in their midst, at least not anyone who was planning to stay more than a day or two. “I saw that car when he drove through town yesterday,” Bill Winters said with a long, low whistle. “A man would do a lot for a sleek, fast car like that. A brand-new Ferrari? Pricey. I never thought to see one in Bright Creek. So…that guy at the house, this Dillon Farraday, Lisa’s man, I guess he’s pretty used to having the best, eh?”

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.