Page 3 of A Surprise Wedding for the Cowboy

“I’m his uncle and, uh, his new guardian. And I can’t believe he just went to you like that. He’s usually a lot more… discerning. I mean, clingy.”

“I love kids.” All those years of babysitting. All those years in preschool Sunday school. And when was she going to get to have babies of her own? First, she needed a husband, and men interested in that role were nowhere to be found.

Take Robert. She’d driven two hours from Jewel Lake to meet the guy she’d been chatting with online for weeks, and he’d just told her which hotel to meet him at so they wouldn’t have to get a cab after drinking.

Uh… no. She’d been prepared to try some alcohol and get a room on her own. If good girls finished last, she wasn’t going to be one of those anymore. But her conscience wouldn’t let her go as far as sleeping with a guy she didn’t even know.

Should she text him back and tell him no way? Later. She wasn’t supposed to meet him for a couple of hours. She’d be most of the way back to Jewel Lake by then, if all those clunking noises in the car since she’d swiped the concrete barrier didn’t spell disaster.

The little boy in her arms pressed a slobbery mouth to her cheek. “Mama.”

Tears filled her eyes and dribbled down her cheeks. She tried to turn away from the watching man, but that felt wrong, like she was stealing his nephew. She would never.

“Are you okay?” He’d shifted to see her face.

She sniffled, trying to stop the torrent. Tears unnerved some men, and she didn’t even know this one. He looked about thirty, give or take, with dark hair and a strong jaw. Good-looking. And he was this child’s guardian with no mention of it being a shared role. Was he married or not?

It didn’t matter. This was a chance meeting in a parking lot due to her stupidity at actually reading Robert’s text while she was about to navigate an off-ramp. In mere seconds, this man would take the child from her arms and walk out of her life, leaving her just as messed-up as she’d been before and would remain forever.

“Come on, Jamie. Time to go check in.”

The toddler clutched her neck tighter.

Stephanie tried to disengage his arms, but then his legs wrapped around her. How had she gotten into this mess? Just because a strange child called her mama?

The man put his hands around the boy’s chest and pulled. Jamie screamed and stretched toward Stephanie, his legs kicking.

“I…” She looked at the man helplessly, her fingers twitching at her sides. She felt chilled where the toddler had pressed against her.

The man shook his head, obviously frustrated. “That’s enough, Jamie. Sorry to trouble you, ma’am.”

Stephanie’s eyebrows shot up. “Ma’am?” The word made her feel fifty, not at all like a moderately attractive twenty-eight-year-old. She might not be a blond bombshell like Harper, but she wasn’t ugly or ancient.

“I’m sorry if that was an insult.” He shifted the frantic child to his other arm. “I need to get this kid some food and try to settle him down. It’s been a long two days.”

“You’re traveling alone with him?”

His dark eyes snapped. “It’s not like I had a choice.”

There was always a choice. But who was she to judge? She’d made a terrible decision in agreeing to meet Robert. She should probably be grateful he’d revealed his hand before they ever met. “Look, I know you don’t know me, but do you need a hand for a little while?” Dumb idea. She should think about driving back to Jewel Lake and trying to forget she’d ever planned otherwise. If her car wasn’t too badly damaged.

His eyes searched hers. “Who are you? Why should I trust you?”

“I’m Stephanie Simpson, and I live in Jewel Lake. I work at the bank and am an active member of Creekside Fellowship. That’s a church.” In case he didn’t know what a fellowship was.

“Jewel Lake?” His eyebrows shot up. “Ever heard of the Sweet River Ranch?”

“Yes? It was recently bought by…” By a wealthy old man from Chicago. Who was bringing in his grandsons to refresh the place. This guy’s car looked brand new and pretty snazzy. One of the grandsons?

“It was bought by Walter Sullivan, my grandfather. I don’t know what he was thinking.”

She’d let that pass for now. “So, you’re traveling to Jewel Lake?”

“I am. My name is Tate Sullivan, and you’ve already met Jamie.” He offered her a rueful grin. “Can I get you dinner? You mentioned having a little free time. Maybe you could tell me a bit about the town and the area. I’ve never set foot in Montana before today.”

She’d kind of already offered, but then she glanced at her car and cringed at the sight of the deflated front tire and bent bumper. “I think I need to deal with my car while businesses are still open. I saw the sign for a tire shop from I-90 a few miles back.”

“Let me handle it.”

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