Page 14 of Rancher to the Rescue

“Fences?” She quirked a brow, noticing he’d just called Baby X a ‘thing.’ She was mildly amused by the off-handed comment.

“Remind me to explain what that means another time,” he said with a smile and a wink.

She took his outstretched hand and used it as leverage to pull herself up. There was something about making contact with Adam that caused electricity to vibrate through her, warming her all the way to her cheekbones and back.

“Think we can head to my place first thing in the morning? I have a prescription there and can’t miss a dose,” she said.

“Not a problem. I have a feeling Baby—”

“Mind if we figure out a nickname for her? I hate the thought of referring to her in such a generic term,” Prudence said.

“Let’s see. I was standing on Angel Pass when I first—”

“Angel. I like that name,” she said with a smile. “What do you think?”

“It’s good. It fits her.” He looked at the baby in her arms with such appreciation that Prudence’s ovaries practically hummed.

“Let’s put Angel to bed and give your arms a break,” he said.

“Deal.”

Prudence followed him upstairs and to the first bedroom on the right. The room was large. It had a four-poster bed, wallpaper that was elegant but also from a different era, and a sitting area complete with a balcony.

“I picked this suite for its size, the en suite bath, and the fact that, if memory serves, there’s a crib on the other side of the bed,” he said.

“If you don’t come up here, why is it so clean?” She didn’t see a speck of dust.

“The Marshall had a live-in housekeeper for years. She’ll be back tomorrow morning. It was next to impossible to force her to take the night off and go home,” he said.

“I thought you said she lived here,” she said.

“Only during the weekdays,” he stated.

True to his word, there was an old-fashioned crib next to the bed. Prudence glanced at the clock, realizing she didn’t so much as have her phone on her. It was strange to be so disconnected, but she missed her journal even more. She almost laughed out loud. What exactly would she write in it? Forgot the past three days but woke up with a baby and none other than Adam Firebrand at my side.

If only it was funny.

Prudence glanced down at her clothes. She must have been around some animal today considering the dog hair on her jogging suit. Please don’t tell her she’d been wearing the same clothes for three days. She shook off the thought as impossible. She would smell much worse.

Although, would she even know it if she did?

Embarrassment heated her cheeks at the thought. There would have been a sign if she stunk to high heaven. Right? A wrinkled nose when Adam got close to her.

She decided she must not be too ripe. A shower still sounded amazing and she wondered if there was any clothing she could borrow in the meantime.

“Do you, by chance, have something I can change into after a shower? I always take one before bed and these clothes are dirty.” She had to wash off the animal funk before climbing under her sheets.

“There’s a robe on the back of the door. That should do until I can throw your clothes in the washer.” His voice dropped an octave and had a low-gravelly quality to it that caused her stomach to freefall.

“That’s great.” She cleared her throat trying to ease the sudden dryness. Why did it feel like she’d just licked a glue stick? Prudence gently placed the baby in the crib. “Think she’ll be okay here until I get back?”

“I’ll make sure of it.” Those words spoken with that voice traveled all over her.

Prudence had no choice but to get out of Dodge. She practically gaited toward the bathroom.

“Toss your clothes out and I’ll run them through while you shower,” he said. That man could make reading the ingredients off a cereal box sound sexy.

“Okay.” The thought of him touching her most personal things sent more of that electricity shooting through her. She stripped and then wrapped a towel around her. Even the towels here were bigger and better than anything she’d ever owned.