The Bachelor's Baby. Mia Ross

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СКАЧАТЬ way through them.

      Alone.

      Forcing herself to look over at him, she gathered up her courage. “I’m sorry, Brian. This is my problem, not yours. I’ll figure it out.”

      Being let off the hook seemed to ease his tension, and he visibly relaxed. “For now, we’re gonna get you something to eat. I’m sure Gran has something over at the bakery that’ll warm you up.”

      Ellie Calhoun was one of Lindsay’s few fond memories of this place, and just hearing the woman’s name made her smile. “That sounds great.”

      Brian nodded and headed down Main Street toward the tiny business district. She suspected that it had been pretty much the same since the day the founding Calhoun brothers opened their blacksmith shop next to the winding creek that gave the town its name. The stores were small, but each had a large front window that displayed what was sold inside. There was an old-fashioned confectionary, a bookstore that advertised gourmet coffee and a high-speed internet connection, even a small-town barbershop whose striped pole spun in the wind.

      Everything was still the way she remembered it, she mused as Brian parked beside Ellie’s Bakery and Bike Rentals. That might be a good thing. But considering the way her day had gone so far, she doubted it.

      * * *

      “Lindsay!” When Brian walked her through the glass-front door, his grandmother hurried out from behind the counter to embrace her. Artfully dodging the obvious change in their visitor, she beamed at Lindsay as if she’d been waiting for her all day instead of being surprised to find her there. “It’s wonderful to see you. How have you been?”

      “Good, and you?”

      Gran laughed. “Oh, you know how it is around here. There’s always something interesting going on, and I just try to keep up.” She turned to Brian with an accusing look. “Why didn’t you tell me Lindsay was coming into town?”

      “It was a surprise to me, too,” he answered, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “I know it’s a little early for customers, but what’s the chance of us getting some lunch?”

      “For my boy? A hundred percent. Since it’s so cold, I’ve got a batch of stew simmering, and I’m just pulling fresh bread out of the oven. You two sit down and I’ll bring you some.”

      “I knew I smelled something amazing,” Lindsay commented while she shed her coat.

      Suddenly recalling his manners, Brian took it from her and hung it on the rack near the door. Adding his own, he joined her at the table she’d chosen. As far from the front windows as she could get, he noticed. She was either keeping away from the chill near the door or trying to avoid being seen. Considering her condition, he guessed that it was probably some of both.

      “I forgot how cold it gets here in the winter,” she said, rubbing her bare hands together to warm them. “Once I find myself a job, I’ll have to buy a pair of gloves.”

      “You’ve got some money now,” he reminded her.

      “I’ll need that to pay for a room. Assuming I can find one.”

      Brian waited for the cheeky grin he remembered to tell him that she was exaggerating. When it didn’t appear, he felt a pang of sorrow for this beautiful, lost woman who’d found herself at the end of her rope and somehow landed on his doorstep. He still wasn’t sure how that had happened, but in view of their rocky history he was grateful that despite the obstacles she’d had to overcome, she’d come back to where there were people who genuinely cared about her.

      And her baby, he reminded himself, still trying to adjust to the idea. He’d been on his own for years, so he was pretty good at taking care of himself. Someday he’d love to have a family, but right now the idea of assuming responsibility for anyone else scared him to death. Maybe once his business was solidly in the black, he could think about settling down. But these days, struggling to relaunch the ironworks was giving him all he could manage and more.

      “How are things going up at your end of town today?” Ellie asked, ruffling his hair.

      “Busy. How ’bout here?”

      “Oh, you know how it is when the weather’s so nasty. Folks just want to tuck in at home and stay warm until the snow stops. They’ll be out tomorrow, I’m sure.” Her optimism lifted his own spirits, and then she turned her attention to Lindsay. “I’m so proud of this one. He’s got so many orders, he won’t have time for much else once the forge is up and running.”

      She hurried back into the kitchen, and Lindsay gave him an accusing look. “I had no idea you had customers waiting for your stuff.”

      If only the contracts were for more than garden gates and fireplace screens, he thought morosely. But his corporate policy was to be positive around the family to avoid worrying them, so he shrugged. “Yeah, well, I hate to brag.”

      For the first time since she’d arrived, Lindsay let out an honest laugh. “Since when?”

      Since he’d lost three jobs in two years through no fault of his own. He was a skilled machinist, but the shops he’d worked for had been poorly managed, and when they needed to balance the books, he was always the new guy. It had been tough on his ego, and last summer he’d finally had enough of it. Reopening a nineteenth-century business might seem far-fetched to most people, but the effort to resurrect the historic Liberty Creek Forge hadn’t just given him something to do. It had gone a long way toward restoring his battered pride.

      Because teasing him had brightened her mood, he opted not to share his sob story and instead dredged up a grin. “Good point.”

      After staring at each other for what felt like a little too long, they fell into an uneasy silence. Then she said, “I see Ellie’s still in town. How about the rest of your family?”

      “Sam got married just before Christmas,” he replied, grateful for something else to talk about. “He and Holly live on the edge of town with her son, Chase, who’s just about the greatest kid ever. Emma teaches art at the elementary school and lives in our old house. Mom and Dad both work over in Waterford now, so they moved there a few years ago.”

      “Have you been here all this time?”

      “I moved around a bit, then settled in Portsmouth for a while before coming back. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but it’s really nice to be home.”

      “That doesn’t surprise me,” she commented as Gran approached their table carrying a loaded tray. “You never struck me as the nomad type.”

      Unlike her, Brian added silently. He wondered if that would change now that she had a child to consider.

      “Here you go, kids,” Gran announced, setting their lunch out for them.

      He’d skipped breakfast that morning, and the aroma of her blue-ribbon cooking actually made his mouth water. He tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into the steaming crock of stew before popping it in his mouth. Registering his grandmother’s questioning look, he chuckled. “You’ve been experimenting again, haven’t you?”

      “Maybe. Can you tell what’s different?”

      “Delicious as usual,” he replied because quite honestly, he couldn’t detect СКАЧАТЬ