Nobody's Baby (15 page)

The kiss swallowed her up, warming her from the inside out. She let it overtake her for a few moments because she’d wanted it too, but it wasn’t right for her to give Rio false hope. She pushed him away. “Stop.”

“Why?”

“Because I want you to.” Kate turned and walked away before he could see the lie in her eyes.

Chapter Ten

T
heir journey through the woods was accompanied by the songs and calls of the bird world piercing the crisp air and the occasional whisper of not-quite dry aspen leaves as some woodland creature scurried off. The path wound deep into the woods, eventually ending beside a small stream, where a large tent pad and oversized picnic table awaited warm-weather visitors.

Kate sat down to catch her breath, and Rio joined her without comment, leaving some space between them. Their gazes met for a second. No accusation in his. No apparent animosity. So. They were going to ignore what had happened. Fine by her. “It’s beautiful here. So peaceful. You should bring A.J. to see this when it’s warmer.”

“There’s another hurdle,” he responded with wry humor, as if they were friends and hadn’t kissed. “Outings.”

“A little preplanning will help those go smoothly. Babies are happier all around if you stick to a routine. Figure that any outing with a baby will take twice as long as you expect. Plan to make trips short during periods between feedings and always take a well-stocked diaper bag along. If I were you, I’d keep it supplied and ready.”

“Done and done.” Rio looked quite pleased with himself. “The Foxe’s have a sister with kids who was kind enough to e-mail me a list for a baby go-bag, though it turned out that Allie already had one packed.”

“I’m not surprised. She was so ready to be a mom.”

He leaned forward, bracing forearms on his knees and stared at the flowing water with a solemn expression.

“Sorry.” Kate touched the sleeve of his jacket, then caught herself and returned her hand to her lap. “I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“You didn’t.” He reached out and took her hand in his bare one. The warmth of his skin seeped through the thick knit of her glove. “Well, you did. But it’s mostly because every time you tell me something else I need to know, we’re one step closer to you leaving. Lately, I find myself wishing there was some way you could stay in our lives. Crazy, huh?”

His glance and wry smile made her wistful. “Rio —”

“I know. I’ll just say this and shut up, okay?” He angled his body toward her. “If you decide you want to work out a different arrangement than what we have, I’m willing to hear options.”

She took back her hand, avoiding his gaze. She wanted to ask if those options included him, or just a relationship with A.J. Better she didn’t know. A.J. was lure enough without adding his hunky uncle into the mix. The point was moot anyway. She had to be firm, stick to her plan. “I appreciate that, but a complete break is what’s best for everyone. Especially your nephew. I’ve got goals and dreams yet to be realized. I need to explore them, to reach for them. Having me come and go from his life would be too confusing.”

Rio looked as if he were going to say something else, then he clamped his lips shut and nodded, keeping his word.

*
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I
n the days that followed, Rio developed a cautiously optimistic attitude about his future with A.J. Full-time care of an infant was a much larger job than he had imagined, often leaving him more exhausted than a day of traipsing around the African plains with a bunch of demanding, photo-greedy tourists. But he was adjusting and getting a sense of that heart-knotting thing that Toby had experienced with his nieces. Rio had hoped his mom would come to visit and provide some relief, but her friend’s surgery had been more involved than the doctor had expected and recovery was slow.

“Hey, there, little man. Enjoying your mid-afternoon bottle?” At Kate’s urging, he’d begun to engage with A.J. Talking to a baby seemed silly at first, and Rio wasn’t yet comfortable doing it in front of others. There was something addictive about the baby’s eyes fastening on his face, as if Rio held all the power in the world.

He had to admit, this baby thing wasn’t all bad. Some of it was even enjoyable. Like now, with A.J. content and sucking down the last of a bottle. Rio set it aside, moved the baby to his shoulder and patted. Toby came in from grocery shopping at the very moment A.J. let go of his post-bottle air bubble.

“All right, A.J.! That was a healthy one.” A collection of earth-friendly shopping bags swung from the beefy guy’s arms as he bumped the door closed with his knee. “Hey, man.” He hitched his chin at Rio. “They were out of filet mignon, so I got rib eyes. Hope that’s okay.”

“Yeah. That’s fine.” He lowered the baby into a reclining seat and buckled him in. “Let me get A.J. settled and I’ll help you carry those in.”

“No need. Got it all in one trip. Checked out the tabloids like you asked. They don’t lack for imagination. Apparently you and Kate have escaped to a secluded love nest. Nothing more from your ... uh, Hank.”

“That’s not good.” He had an itchy feeling between his shoulder blades. What was the old man up to now? Rio had learned to use that feeling as an early warning system, seeing as it had saved his bacon many times on safari. “Did you make sure you weren’t followed?”

Toby stilled in the act of unloading bags. “You don’t think we’ve heard the last of him.”

“He’s a greedy bastard. Was always chasing the next get-rich scheme or inventing one to rip people off. I can’t see him backing away from a gravy train like the Hawthorne fortune, but if you weren’t tailed ...”

“Damn.” Toby’s thick neck and cheeks reddened as he grimaced. “I didn’t check. Not really. I mean, it’s habit to check the rearview, but we made sure we weren’t followed initially and haven’t had any problems here. Stupid. Can’t believe I made such a rookie mista —”

“Hey,” Rio cut him off. “I wouldn’t have thought of it either, except my high alert meter is going off, y’know?”

“Yeah, but it’s not your job to think of it. Sorry, man. I’ll let Cody know when I’m done here. We’ll add more night rounds and do some reconnaissance on the surrounding roads during the day.”

“You’re still doing night rounds?”

“Damn straight. It’s SOP on a protection detail.”

It might be standard operating procedure but as secluded as they were, the twins couldn’t be faulted much if they’d relaxed their routine. He figured Toby had just redeemed himself. “Nice.”

“You got a recent photo of this guy Hank?”

“Not a thing. My mom might have something, but it would be a couple decades old. I could have her fax it to us.”

“You have a fax here?” Kate asked as she came in from the living room in a pink jogging suit over a T-shirt. Due to recent outdoor exercise, her cheeks matched the color of her outfit. She squeezed behind Toby on her way to the fridge rather than pass between A.J. and the island.

How much had she heard? “Yeah. Basement office, in back of the workout room.”

“Hey, now that’s a room I could use. I’d almost forgotten you said there was a place to exercise. If we get a big snow, that’ll come in handy.” She turned toward them rather fast, caught Rio shaking his head at Toby and propped a hand on her hip. “What was that about? Has something happened?”

Damn, but her workout had made her sassy today. The attitude looked good on her, too.

“Shoot.” Toby said before Rio could get past staring and formulate an answer. “Guess you’ll figure it out at dinner anyway. No filet steaks at the meat counter today so I bought rib eye. We’ll have to muddle through.”

She looked from the bodyguard to Rio and back again, then drawled. “Ri-i-ight.”

Toby shot Rio an apologetic glance as he folded the reusable shopping bags and shrugged.

“No big mystery.” Rio said before she could get all indignant. “I told Toby I didn’t think we’d seen the last of Hank. It’s not like him to quit while he’s ahead, but I didn’t want to worry you over a hunch.”

“Does he know about this place?” Kate broke the seal on a bottled water and twisted off the cap with no-nonsense fingers. “Not that I have cause for safety concerns. Even if I couldn’t take care of myself, I’m living in a testosterone zone.”

“Between internet search engines and property records online, if somebody wants to bad enough, they can find anybody nowadays,” Toby assured her.

“And that’s why the Foxe brothers are in the business of personal protection,” Rio added as Kate drank. He liked that she didn’t mind things simple, could enjoy meat-and-potato type meals because of her penchant for exercise. He even liked that she kept her nails short and practical. He’d never gone for high-maintenance women.

“You got that right, man. Hey, listen, I’m going to shove off.” Toby raised a hand in farewell and headed for the rear door to the outside. “Cody should be waking up for his shift in a few, and we’ll need to tweak the schedule.”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks.” It relieved Rio’s mind to know those guys were here, especially since he was tied up most of the day with A.J. and slept like the dead when he got the chance.

The kitchen fell silent as the door closed, then a tiny snore broke through.

For some reason, it struck Rio as funny that A.J. could do something so ordinary. He snorted, trying not to laugh at loud. That made Kate snicker behind her hand, which came out sounded strangled. Their gazes met across the counter, rife with humor, and suddenly they were both laughing.

A.J. woke with a jerk of tiny arms and frowned.

“Sorry little dude, but that was funny.” Rio stroked the baby’s cheek and watched his little blue-veined eyelids droop again.

“You’re doing great with him, Rio. Does it feel more natural now that you’ve had some practice?”

He got up and pulled a drink from the fridge behind her, more from a need to get closer to her than because of any great thirst. “I’m man enough to admit it. The thought of handling the kid had me shaking in my boots, but he’s sturdier than he looks.”

Kate turned to face him and leaned against the counter. Just to gauge her reaction, he leaned into her personal space. “Tell me his skin won’t stay that soft. I mean, he’s a
guy
. It’ll toughen up, right?”

“You know it will. After all, you were a baby once.” She leaned forward until their noses were mere inches apart. “I have a bone to pick with you. I don’t begrudge the occasional gentlemanly gesture, but don’t try to shield me from things that could impact my life just because they might be worrisome. I’m not the fragile type. I’d rather know and be prepared, even if it scares me, than be clueless and walk into a bad situation.” She moved her head from side to side, in a gesture that men find fascinating but can’t copy. “Got it?”

“Got it.” Yeah, her adrenaline was still pumping. She was definitely feeling frisky and he liked it.

“About this thing you’re ...” She rocked her index finger back and forth between them. “You don’t intimidate me one bit, Mr. Rio Hawthorne. I’ve got your big ol’ marshmallow number.”

“Marshmallow.” He planted a hand on either side of her, which forced her to lean back to maintain any distance at all between them. “Really?”

“I call it like I see it.”

There was such life and humor sparkling in her eyes, Rio had trouble keeping a straight face. “You obviously haven’t seen my ruthless side.”

She had the audacity to laugh in his face. “Aw, now that I’d like to see. Come on. Let it out to play.”

He’d make her pay for poking fun at him. Rio moved in until she couldn’t bend back any farther, then made a show of perusing her at a snail’s pace. “You sure that’s what you want? Ruthless men take what they want, and my Christmas wish list is getting longer by the second.”

Her brows rose comically, daring him. Little minx. She was playing with fire and about to get singed.

Rio lowered his mouth to the sensitive skin below her ear and nipped it, then soothed the spot with his mouth and tongue. He tasted the slight tang of salt and smelled some kind of fruit-rich soap or shampoo. Hearing her sigh, he smiled and repeated the action, then followed it up by tracing the outline of her ear with his tongue.

A quiver ran through her. She leaned sideways away from him, all traces of the humor gone. Her gaze lowered to his mouth where her thumb played across his lower lip. “I’d bet good money your wish list and mine look pretty similar right about now.”

“Now there’s an intriguing thought. Want to compare?”

Her smile was full of regret. “Our timing stinks.”

“Right.” What had he been thinking, starting something they couldn’t finish? Around her he sometimes went brainless. He loosened his hold and she stepped back, her hands resting on his forearms.

“What are we doing, Rio?” Her question echoed his thoughts. “This. Us. It’s like we have some crazy kissing addiction.”

He wanted to remind her that she could continue to be in his and A.J.’s lives. That would give them time to explore more if they wanted to, but he’d said his piece and promised to keep quiet on the subject. “Nothing wrong with kissing between two free and consenting adults.”

She took a step back and crossed her hands tight under her breast. “No. I guess not. But with us, it’s not quite that simple, is it?”

“It’s whatever we want it to be, Kate.”

“Considering the situation, I guess it’s nothing. We’re just flirting.”

He set aside disappointment and lifted one shoulder, pretending indifference. “No harm, no foul.”

“Then you agree it has to stop.”