Rancher's Twins: Mum Needed. Barbara Hannay
so having a close encounter with this man’s partly naked body was likely to send almost any female into a tizzy, but what had happened to her priorities? What about poor Anna?
In the children’s bedroom she switched on a lamp and the room was illuminated by a soft pink glow. Anna was huddled in a tight ball in the middle of her bed, sobbing, ‘Mommy! Mommy!’
Gray looked appalled and helpless, but Holly was sadly used to this scene. Kneeling on the bed, she drew the little girl into her arms. ‘There, there. It’s okay.’ She stroked Anna’s silky hair. ‘It’s okay, honey. You can wake up. You’re all right.’
She felt the mattress dip beneath an extra weight. Gray was sitting on the other side of the bed, his eyes fierce and filled with concern. Lifting a shaking hand, he touched his daughter’s tear-stained cheek.
‘Anna,’ he whispered. ‘Anna, baby.’
‘Daddy!’ The little girl lifted her head from Holly’s shoulder, then turned and hurled herself into her father’s arms. Within minutes her shuddering sobs calmed and she buried her face into his chest.
Holly couldn’t blame her. What little girl wouldn’t want to be held safe in those big, strong, manly arms?
Just the same, she couldn’t help feeling rejected. After weeks of comforting Anna during these middle of the night crises, Holly had suddenly become redundant.
She looked across to Josh’s bed. In the early weeks he’d been the first to jump up, trying to calm his sister. Lately, he’d been more inclined to lie quietly, wide awake, knowing that Holly would come, that Holly knew what to do and that the storm would eventually pass.
‘Hey there, champ,’ Holly whispered.
‘Hey,’ the boy returned softly and then he yawned.
‘You go back to sleep.’ She leaned over to drop a kiss on his warm, still baby-soft cheek. He really was the greatest little guy. She adored him.
Adored them both.
When she turned back to see how Anna was now, she found Gray watching her, and it was then, in the warmth of his gaze, that she remembered that he wasn’t the only adult in this room who was half undressed. She was in her thin cotton nightie—little more than a long, baggy T-shirt with a trail of dog’s paw-prints stamped across her chest.
She tried to shrug off the intimacy of this situation, of being here with Gray, both in their pyjamas, tending to his children in the middle of the night. But the intimacy seemed even greater now after their afternoon in the park and their shared meal. Almost as if the four of them were a little family.
Good grief, what am I thinking?
How could she betray Chelsea with such thoughts? Very soon she would be waving goodbye to this father and his kids. In the fall, she would embark on an exciting new career.
Enough already.
Determined to be sensible, Holly said softly, ‘I think Anna will be okay now.’
In the early weeks, she’d taken the little girl back to sleep in her bed, but lately she’d been weaning Anna out of that habit.
‘Perhaps she’d like a drink of water.’ Holly handed Gray a glass from the nightstand and watched as Anna took a few sips. ‘We can leave the lamp on for five minutes,’ she said.
‘Okay, princess?’ Gray gently eased his daughter back into bed.
Holly pulled up the covers and tucked her in. ‘Night, night.’
The little girl looked peaceful again, curled on her side, eyes closed, golden curls gleaming softly in the lamplight as she clutched her favourite fluffy koala.
Gray gave his daughter a kiss and his son a gentle shoulder thump.
‘‘Night, Dad.’
When Gray and Holly were safely down the hallway once more, Gray let out his breath with a whoosh.
‘My God,’ he said quietly. ‘That scared the living daylights out of me. I’d rather hear a crocodile growling at my elbow than my own daughter screaming.’
‘Anna’s screams are heart-rending,’ Holly agreed.
‘Has this been happening all along? Ever since Chelsea—?’
Holly nodded. ‘It was worse at first. She’s getting better. This is the first nightmare in a while.’
‘Maybe she’s had too much excitement for one day.’
‘Perhaps that’s it.’
Gray let out a heavy sigh. ‘I’m sure I’m not going to be able to get back to sleep.’ He ran stiff fingers through his thick dark hair. ‘It’s two o’clock in the afternoon where I come from. Would I disturb you too much if I made a cuppa?’
‘No, not at all. Go right ahead.’
‘If I make tea, would you like a cup?’
‘Tea?’ She laughed. ‘English tea?’
He shrugged. ‘English, American … I’m not fussy.’
‘I’m afraid I only have green tea or camomile.’
He pulled a face. ‘How about wine, then? I bought a couple of Australian reds in the duty-free.’
No, thank you.
Holly was sure she should get straight back to her room. Right now. She should not sit around in the middle of the night in her jammies having cosy chats and glasses of vino with her charges’ scarily handsome father.
‘I … I’d love a glass. I’ll … um … just grab a wrap.’
Okay, I’m a bird-brain, but I do have a good excuse, Holly consoled herself as she hurried away. Gray needed to talk about his children. He needed to debrief after the scare he’d had with Anna.
By the time she came back into the kitchen, safely covered by a tightly knotted kimono that ended well below her knees, Gray had, mercifully, pulled on jeans and a T-shirt and he was freeing the cork from a bottle.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.