Page 37 of Stockman's Sandstorm

‘No.’ She grabbed his hand, forcing him to stand beside her. ‘Look at him.’

‘I don’t want to.’

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t want to mess him up.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I’d never own this station without my brothers. I suck at responsibility and that,’ he said, pointing to the sleeping child, ‘is the biggest responsibility a man can have. I didn’t ask for it, Harper.’

‘I know. Most new fathers have nine months to prepare for the responsibility. How much time did you get?’

‘I didn’t get any.’ He rubbed the back of his neck, the burden evident in the bend of his shoulders. ‘So, I’m not overreacting?’

‘No. You just never had time to prepare.’ She rubbed his back in slow circles like she did for Mason. ‘The thing is, Mason didn’t ask for it either. I bet his nightmare is about his mother not being here and how much he misses her. When he could be having happy dreams, discovering the pure joy of what it’s like to have a father.’

‘How was your dad?’

‘The best. I was a total daddy’s girl.’ She gave him a shy smile. ‘You?’

‘I was closer to my mother. She had to keep me in line.’

Harper arched an eyebrow at him.

‘Don’t you judge and get all snooty on me, missy.’ He playfully tapped her nose, surprising her so much she gave a girlish giggle.

‘I let my mother control my bank accounts for my wage, so she’d put some of it away for me to save.’

‘Nothing wrong with that. My mother did the same for me until I got used to doing it myself.’ Harper then admitted, ‘Sometimes when I’m shopping, I still hear my mother’s voice telling me to put down that pair of shoes and back away from the store.’

‘I get that sometimes when I’m buying computer games.’ They shared a grin. He then looked at her. Like really looked at her, with none of that sleazy flirtiness from the man whose own brothers said he went through women in droves.

But when he lowered his head, his dark hair fell across his forehead in an oddly endearing way, exposing a whole new side to Ash, and it was hot.

She curled her hand into a fist, to stop herself from reaching out to run her fingers through his hair. The blood rushed in her ears, and electricity seemed to build in the air. But she wasn’t here for Ash.

‘Stay for a while.’ Gripping his wrist, she placed his hand on the cot’s side rail.

‘And do what?’

‘Nothing. Just look at him. He’s your son. You need to accept that, because once you do, I promise you, it’ll be one of the greatest gifts that life offers.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘Because it’s what my father used to say about me, and I’ve heard other parents say that about their children. Mason doesn’t need much, all he wants is your time. And the thing is, time moves so fast, one day you could blink, and they’re gone.’ She stared at the slumbering child, so small and peaceful, her heart ached to hold him. ‘Moments like these, we don’t know how precious they truly are.’

She gazed up at him, trying to control her own emotions, but it was a struggle. Time had always been her enemy, where there was never enough or she was too busy trying to recapture what time had stolen from her. Yet being on this station was like living in a hidden world that created its own rules about time, spending time with Mason and Bree, learning a whole new way to use time.

‘Now I’m the one rambling.’ She exhaled heavily, feeling heat brush over her cheeks.

‘No, you’re not rambling, Harper.’ The way he said her name—a little deeper, with a little more gravel in his tone—made her heart quicken.

She focused on Mason and not the dreamy guy with dark eyes watching her.

‘You know, all this little boy wants is to be part of a family, and you need to welcome him, Ash.’ Unsure if she was saying the right thing, but she was hoping to convince him to bond with Mason for both their sakes.

‘How?’

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