“No, I’ve got her.” Ruby sat down in the recliner while Callie stared up at her with wide eyes. Callie’s lashes were thick and wet with tears but she’d stopped crying.
“I should fix her bottle.” Leaving the two of them where they were, I got up to head into the kitchen.
Ruby’s voice followed me. “Are you still planning on heading out soon?”
“Yeah. I want to get out of Montana before the snow starts to fall.” I grabbed the formula and a clean bottle. The movements had become so natural over the past two weeks that I could go through the steps without even thinking about them.
“Has Cullen made plans for someone to take over?”
He hadn’t been talking to me about anything except Callie’s day-to-day routine since that kiss. “Not that I know of. Has he asked you for help?”
She shook her head, and her earrings jangled. “Not yet. I thought maybe he’d asked you to stay on a little longer.”
“He hasn’t.” I squirted a bit of formula onto my wrist to make sure it wasn’t too warm. “Even if he did, I couldn’t stay.”
Ruby tracked me as I headed back into the room, her eyes as sharp as ever. “Do you have a job lined up wherever you’re headed, hon?”
I hadn’t volunteered any details about my plans to her or anyone else during the short time I’d been in Mustang Mountain. The less anyone knew about me, the better.
“I’m sure I’ll be able to find something. People who are willing to work for minimum wage are always in demand.” I’d figure it out. I always did. That was the problem. I attempted a grin to soften the blow even though inside I didn’t feel like smiling. Ruby struck me as someone who wasn’t used to meeting with resistance. “Do you want me to take her or do you want feed her?”
“I’ll do it. I’m not ready to give this perfect little angel up yet.” Callie settled in her arms, happy to have her bottle. Ruby gazed down at her but kept firing the questions my way. “Have you ever thought about working with kids? You’re so good with Callie. I’m sure Cullen would be more than willing to provide a reference if you need one.”
“I’m not sure I’m cut out for that. I think I’d do better working retail or in a restaurant again.” I was already getting too attached, and it had only been a couple of weeks. Leaving Callie was going to gut me when the time came. There was no way I’d open up my heart to taking care of someone else’s kid again.
“You can use me as a reference too. With the holidays coming up, you probably won’t have any trouble finding something. Do you have somewhere to stay lined up?” she asked.
I kept my gaze trained on Callie. “You don’t have to worry about me, Ruby. I can take care of myself.”
She let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “I know you can, sugar. It gets awfully lonely doing that though, doesn’t it?”
My throat tightened. I didn’t want to have this conversation any more than I wanted to subject myself to a root canal.
“Gets lonely doing what?” Cullen’s voice came from the kitchen. He must have come in through the garage door without either one of us noticing.
“Hi there.” Ruby craned her neck as he entered the room. “How’s the new dad doing?”
“Good. No one told me taking care of a kid would be so exhausting, though.” He glanced over at me and smiled as he said it. “Rose is doing the hard work. At least I get to go to the station and can catch a nap when it’s not busy.”
“She said your little one is teething,” Ruby smiled down at Callie who’d almost finished the bottle already.
Callie pushed the bottle away and reached for Cullen. He picked her up and held her over his shoulder. She let out a burp so loud and long that it could have earned a first place ribbon in a burping contest.
“How does someone so little make such big noises?” Cullen teased as he sat down next to me, his hip grazing mine as he got settled on the couch. Heat slid under my skin at the contact and my pulse ticked hard in my throat. I didn’t move. “How’s she doing?”
“She was up off and on again all night. I spread some of that gel on her gums and it helped a little,” I said. Relief that he was home eased the tightness in my shoulders. Everything felt a little easier when he was around.
“Aw. The three of you look so sweet sitting there. Let me take a quick picture.” Ruby pulled out her phone before I had a chance to say no. Cullen even slipped his arm around my shoulders while she snapped a few shots. “You look like the perfect little family.”
The word dropped like a weight in my lap… warm, heavy, and dangerous.
“Ruby…” Cullen warned.
He was too late. The picture had already lodged in my head… his arm around me, Callie’s fist in my shirt, and all of it feeling so right when it shouldn’t.
“I’ll be back in a second.” I struggled to get to my feet. The tightness in my throat and chest made it impossible to pull in a breath.
When I stepped onto the deck, I closed my eyes and tilted my head toward the sun. How had I let it come to this? I’d wanted to help and needed the money. If I’d stopped to think before agreeing to take care of Callie, maybe I would have realized that it wasn’t such a good idea. I never expected Ruby would start tossing around words like “family.”
