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СКАЧАТЬ the wisdom of arguing with him. But she would rather have Nicole safe and warm at home than have to wait with her daughter in the cold until a tow truck arrived. “All right. But I left something in my truck that I need to pick up. It’s only a little way ahead.”

      When Carter pulled up behind her truck he said, “Do you need any help?”

      “I can handle it.” Desiree was struggling with the door on Nicole’s side of the truck, when it was pulled open from behind her. She whirled in fright—to find Carter standing right behind her.

      “I figured you could use some help, after all.”

      Desiree took a deep breath. This man wasn’t going to harm her. She had to stop acting so jumpy around him. “Thank you,” she said.

      The instant the truck door opened, Nicole came flying out. Desiree barely managed to catch her before she fell. In fact, she would have fallen if Carter hadn’t put his arms around Desiree and supported both her and the child.

      “This is the something you needed to pick up?” he asked.

      Desiree heard the displeasure underlying his amazement and responded defensively, “This is my daughter, Nicole.”

      “You didn’t say anything about a kid earlier this evening.”

      “It wasn’t necessary that you know about her until we had reached some agreement.”

      “I don’t think—”

      Desiree cut him off. “I would rather not discuss this further until we’re alone.” Which was tantamount to a suggestion that they ought to have further discussion on the matter in private, Desiree realized too late.

      “All right,” he said.

      “You can let go now. I’ve got her.”

      He was slow to remove his support, and Desiree was aware suddenly of how secure she had felt with his arms around her. And of being very much alone without them.

      She carried Nicole the short distance to his truck. He held the passenger door open, but she found it awkward to step up into the truck with Nicole in her arms.

      “Give her to me.” Carter’s tone of voice made it plain he would rather not have handled the child. Before either Desiree or Nicole could protest, he had the girl in his arms.

      Desiree had barely settled herself in the truck when Carter dropped Nicole on her lap, shoved her thin wool coat inside and slammed the truck door closed.

      “The turnoff for the Rimrock is about five miles ahead on the right,” Desiree instructed.

      “I know.”

      “How—”

      “I drove by there on the way to my grandmother’s. I haven’t forgotten visiting your place when I was ten.”

      She watched him rub his thigh and wondered about the bone he had broken so many years ago. “Does it still bother you?”

      “Sometimes.”

      “I’m sorry.”

      “No need to be. It was my own fault.”

      He looked sinister in the green light reflected off the dash, not at all like the savior she had sought out in the parking lot of the church.

      “What’s your name?” Nicole asked. “Do you know my mommy? I was an angel tonight. Do you want to see me fly?”

      Carter’s lips flattened in annoyance.

      In the uncomfortable silence that followed her daughter’s questions, a frown grew in the space between Desiree’s brows. Carter’s refusal to answer Nicole was rude—or at least, inconsiderate. Did Carter simply not like children? Or was it just Nicole’s behavior he didn’t approve of?

      Carter’s lack of response did nothing to curb Nicole’s curiosity.

      “Are you coming to our house?”

      “Yes,” Carter replied sharply.

      Desiree realized he had probably been curt in hopes of shutting her daughter up. But Nicole wasn’t deterred by Carter’s antagonism. The little girl had learned through dealing with a mother who was putty in her hands that persistence often won her what she wanted.

      “Do you want to see my room?”

      Carter sighed.

      Desiree could see that he wanted to say no. He sought out her eyes, his lips pursed in displeasure. She decided to rescue him from her daughter’s clutches.

      “It’s nearly bedtime, sweetheart. You’ll have to wait to show Mr. Prescott your room until some other time.” It was all she could do to keep her own displeasure at the cowboy’s surliness out of her voice.

      “Are you going to be my daddy?”

      “Nicole!”

      Desiree was mortified at the question because she had, in fact, proposed to the man sitting across from her, and because she hadn’t realized Nicole was even aware that she was seeking a husband. The little girl’s next words made it clear that she had thought of the idea all on her own.

      “My friend Shirley has a daddy, but I don’t. I asked Santa Claus for a daddy, but so far I haven’t got one. Are you the daddy I asked for?”

      “No,” he said in a strangled voice.

      “Oh. Well, it’s not Christmas yet,” Nicole said cheerfully. “Maybe Santa Claus will bring me a daddy.”

      Desiree was chagrined at her daughter’s outspokenness. However, if she had anything to say about it, Nicole would get her wish, although Carter’s attitude toward Nicole was a matter that needed further exploration before their discussion of marriage continued.

      Carter was pleased when they reached the Rimrock ranch house to discover it was just as he remembered it. The two-story frame structure had been built to last by people who cared. Someone had planted pines and spruce around the house, and with the drifting snow it was a scene worthy of a picture postcard.

      “Follow the road around to the back,” Desiree said.

      Carter didn’t volunteer to carry Nicole from the truck, and Desiree didn’t ask. But halfway to the door, and though it made his stomach clench, he took the little girl in his arms to relieve Desiree of a burden that was obviously too heavy for her.

      To his surprise, when he reached for the doorknob, he discovered that Desiree had locked the back door. Most ranches, even in this day and age, were left open, a vestige of range hospitality from a time when homesteads had been few and far between.

      “Afraid of the bogeyman?” he asked with a wry grin.

      Desiree didn’t smile back. “I have to think of Nicole’s safety.” She stepped inside, turned on the light and held the door for him.

      Carter immediately set the little girl СКАЧАТЬ