Page 67 of Her Summer Hope

“Even if you love her?” John asked.

“Even then, but I don’t.”

“Even if she loves you back?” John retorted.

His heart stuttered to a stop and the ache in his chest almost became unbearable.

It wasn’t possible. Madison didn’t love him. It wasn’t true. She loved her husband. She had a baby with her husband. She was a nice person, a mother, and a good worker.

She didn’t love him. There wasn’t even a chance. There couldn’t be.

“She doesn’t. How many beers have you had?” he scoffed.

John grinned. “Not enough to block out all the lovesick glances y’all are firing off like fifty-cal rounds.”

“Asshole,” Kyle grumbled and left him with Barbie in retaliation.

He’d finally had enough of watching Evans trying to juggle the baby and get into the girls’ too-short shorts simultaneously. He set down his beer and plucked Em from his arms.

The baby looked up at him in consternation for a moment before she started to settle.

He took her inside, trying to ignore the way her warm, sweet weight felt in his arms. God, she was small, even with those triple chins.

When Madison had asked him if he wanted kids, he’d lied his ass off. The truth was, he did want kids, but he’d long ago given up on having them. He had to find a woman that he loved and respected first, and that just hadn’t happened for him.

The only one that he could see having anything with was already taken.

Madison turned from the cabinet and smiled. Her eyes lit up when she saw him and as much as he wanted to believe what John said, he knew it wasn’t true. She was happy to see Em again, that was all.

“I think she might need a diaper or something,” he said, studying the baby’s tiny toes. They were so tiny, it was astounding to think that she’d grow into a regular-size person someday.

“I’ll take her now. Everything in here is finished and Aiden can handle the rest,” she said.

He handed her over, reluctantly, and watched as Madison bustled around gathering up the diaper bag and baby carrier with her free hand.

“You can change her on my bed,” he said, leading her toward his room.

He opened the door but left the light off. The window gave off enough light and he didn’t want to hurt the baby’s eyes with the overhead. It was nice and calm after the bright sunshine and insipid conversation outside.

He wanted to stay in here with Madison and the baby but knew that would be weird, plus he was expected back outside.

“Come join us when you finish.”

She smiled her thanks and began laying out a blanket to put Emma on. He gave her one last nod and left the room, shutting the door.

The walk back to the kitchen didn’t take nearly long enough, and he hoped that the brunette had shifted her fire onto someone else. John didn’t seem to like her much either, but Wyatt was more than capable of handling the three of them.

In fact, he considered it an appropriate punishment for the man’s disastrous invitation.

He pulled his cap a bit lower over his eyes and stayed to the shadows on the porch while he sought out a scowling Murdock, who’d decided to leave the woods in search of food.

“I hate people,” Murdock spat, wiping his dirty hands on his pants and adjusting his own cap over his sweaty blonde hair.

He rested his hand near the pistol in the concealed holster on his back, taking comfort from its heavy presence. Kyle often found himself doing the same thing, though he’d taken to wearing it less around the house now. Wyatt said it might be off-putting to the guests.

Kyle chuckled.

“I’m serious,” Murdock argued. “That one tried to get in my pants in the woods,” he said, nodding his head toward the blond in the pink shorts. “Got down on her knees and started messing with my buttons and everything. I thought I was going to have to take her down and truss her up like a feral hog.”

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