Page 48 of Winter Vows

In the morning Hardy felt as if he’d been on an all-night bender. It was a sensation he was familiar with but this time had done nothing to deserve. That made him irritable.

When he got to Jordan’s ranch, he pounded on the front door as if that carved oak barrier had offended him.

“What on earth?” Kelly demanded, when she opened it. “Hardy, is something wrong?”

He winced, then shook his head. “Sorry.”

“Come on in and have some coffee. You look as though you could use it.”

“No, thanks,” he said, well aware that he wasn’t fit company. “I’ll wait in the car.”

“It could be a long wait. You might as well come in. Trish isn’t quite ready. She had a rough night last night, and Laura’s been fussing since way before dawn.”

It was the mention of the baby that got to him. “Where is she?”

Kelly regarded him with amusement. “Laura? In the kitchen in her bassinet, squalling up a storm. She seems to be unhappy about everything today. Maybe she’s catching on to her mother’s mood. Trish has been distracted and sad ever since her brother left.”

“Let me have a try at settling Laura down,” he said, already heading in that direction. He could hear the pitiful wails before he was halfway down the hall. When he reached her, she was red-faced and waving her tiny fists in the air as if to protest being neglected.

“Come here, angel,” he murmured, picking her up and settling her against his shoulder. The scent of baby powder and the feel of her soft flannel blanket wiped out the last traces of his lousy mood. He patted her back. “Are you having a tough day?”

As if she understood that she finally had a sympathetic audience, her cries trailed off. Hardy grinned as she hiccuped once, then again, then finally uttered what sounded like a tiny sigh.

Trish walked in just then, looking almost as frazzled as her daughter. Her eyes weren’t red from crying, but they were shadowed with exhaustion.

“Aren’t you a miracle worker?” she muttered, sounding more annoyed than grateful.

“Hey, I can’t help it if she likes me.”

“Maybe not, but I’m sure you’re thrilled to have another female conquest you can claim.”

He studied her intently, trying to guess where the hostility was coming from. “Bad night?” he inquired finally, as if he hadn’t already witnessed part of it and heard about the rest.

She sighed heavily and looked vaguely contrite. “Bad enough,” she admitted. “I don’t think she slept for more than fifteen minutes at a time. She didn’t want to be fed, didn’t need to be changed. I was at my wit’s end. Sorry if I was taking it out on you.”

“I can handle the occasional short-tempered mood. I’ve had my share. Ask Kelly. I almost broke the front door this morning, before she wisely got it out of my way.”

She studied him quizzically. “Why?”

“Not enough sleep, too many crazy thoughts running around in my head.” He shrugged. “General contrariness.”

“Aren’t we a pair, then?” she said, finally mustering a halfhearted smile. “I guess Kelly will be thrilled to see the last of us.”

Kelly appeared at precisely that moment. “Not until you’ve both had a proper breakfast. Something tells me neither one of you has eaten. That’s probably why you’re acting like a couple of grouchy old bears.”

She added something under her breath that Hardy couldn’t quite catch. “What was that?” he asked, all but certain he already knew. If he’d guessed right, Kelly Adams was a very intuitive woman.

Trish’s cheeks turned bright pink. Kelly beamed at him. “Not a thing.”

He looked at Trish. “What about you? You heard her.”

“I never heard a thing,” she insisted, avoiding his gaze.

He held Laura out in front of him. “What about you, sweetness? Did you hear her?”

The baby gurgled something he couldn’t interpret. “Hmm, not talking. Must mean all the women intend to stick together. Guess it had something to do with sex.” He gazed into the baby’s eyes. “Was that it? Was she blaming our foul moods on sexual frustration?”

“Hardy!” Trish protested, as Kelly chuckled, pretty much confirming his guess.

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