Page 70 of Her Summer Hope

She looked horrified and embarrassed and adorable.

“I’m so sorry, Kyle. I am so embarrassed. I can’t believe I fell asleep on your bed when I was supposed to be working!”

He held his arms out for Emmie and she handed her over without even thinking about it.

Kyle had very little experience with babies, but he soon figured out how she wanted to be held. Maddy herself was looking a bit dumbfounded that she just handed her baby over to her boss without meaning to. She moved to take her back, but Kyle waved her off.

“Grab some food. I’ll hold her while you eat.”

Her brow furrowed and he could feel Murdock’s scrutiny. “Are you sure? I eat and hold her all the time. I’m used to it,” she insisted.

“Maddy, get your food and eat. That’s an order,” he said lightly, gently bouncing Em in his arms. The baby seemed to enjoy it, and yawned, flashing her toothless gums. He grinned down at the bundle.

“This is cozy,” Cal said, a mocking light in his eyes. “I could get used to this.”

Kyle glared at him. “Not one more word.”

Murdock held his hands up in surrender and leaned back in his chair. Madison was making a hamburger at the table and piling some other food on her plate.

“I’m glad she eats,” Kyle said. “I don’t understand those women who eat a stick of celery and say they’re full.”

“She needs to eat more,” Murdock says. “She’s lost weight since she started working here.”

Kyle looked nonplussed. “Really?”

He studied her as she reached for the fries. Cal was right, she did look a bit thinner.

“She needs to eat more. She’s nursing the baby and shouldn’t be losing,” Cal clarified.

Kyle stared at him. That explained the unbuttoned dress.

The image of her lying bare-breasted on his bed just about did him in. Only the baby in his arms kept the situation from getting embarrassing. He’d never be able to get the image from his mind though, and he knew it would haunt him tonight when he went to lie down.

“You think she’s trying to lose weight?” Kyle asked, keeping his mind firmly in more appropriate territory.

“I think she’s so damned busy that she doesn’t stop to eat.”

Maddy came back toward them, smiling when she caught him watching her. He felt out of place for a moment, like he was in a stranger’s shoes…her husband’s. He brushed that thought away and pulled her chair out for her without jostling the baby.

“Thanks,” she said, sitting down. “This looks great. I haven’t had a cheeseburger in forever.”

“Chow down, woman, and go back for seconds,” Cal growled grimly. “You’re just about skin and bones.”

She scoffed.

Chapter Seventeen

Madison

Madison finished her food and did not go back for more even though Murdock heckled her about it. She was stuffed.

It was starting to get dark as she leaned back and let Em rest on her chest. She patted the baby’s diapered bottom as the men spoke quietly. Kyle lit the torches as the sun sank in the sky and the mosquitos started to get more prevalent.

She felt as if she’d fallen into a kind of fairy tale scene that she knew would end at any second.

Kyle was not her husband. Em wasn’t his child. Cal wasn’t their best friend. This wasn’t her home.

She sighed and kissed the downy head under her chin, feeling the creeping despair skulking its way toward her again. It seemed like every time she let it get close, it was worse than the last time.

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