That Night in Texas

She had no business kissing Cam, her one-night stand.

And the father of her beautiful, smart kid.

Vivi flipped open the car seat clasp and winced when Clem tumbled into her jellylike arms. Grimacing, she settled Clem on her hip and reached for the bag Cam had placed on the floor below Clem’s feet. Her back muscles screamed as she bent down, her fingertips brushing over the handle of the bag. Dammit, she was stiffening up. She reached for the bag again and this time she couldn’t stop a low groan from leaving her mouth. She couldn’t help looking at Cam, hoping that he hadn’t heard. He was standing behind her, his arms crossed, his legs slightly apart. His head was cocked, and his expression inscrutable, but she recognized the frustration and annoyance in his eyes.

“Are you done being a stubborn ass?”

Vivi narrowed her eyes at him but swallowed down her hot retort. “Thanks for the lift. It was...” She hesitated, looking for the right word. Amazing? Great? Exciting? Knee-collapsing? “...interesting seeing you again,” she finished.

Cam had the nerve to grin. “Do you really believe that I am just going to be a good boy and ride away?”

No, of course, she didn’t. She wasn’t that naive. Or stupid. “One could hope,” Vivi muttered. She shifted Clem on her hip, wondering when her daughter had picked up another twenty pounds.

“Good try but...no.” Cam lifted his hands and looked Clem in the eye, silently asking her whether he could carry her. Clem shocked her by leaning forward with a sunny grin. Two seconds later, she was perched on Cam’s thick forearm, two sets of identical blue eyes looking at her. Vivi stepped forward, wanting to take her back, needing to regain control of the situation. Then Clem dropped her head and rested her temple against Cam’s collarbone, fully comfortable being held by this strange man.

Vivi couldn’t blame her. Cam exuded capability and confidence, and babies were barometers. Cam made her and, apparently, her daughter feel secure, like he was the barrier that stood between them and an ugly world.

Vivi felt a burning sensation in her eyes and cursed the tears blurring her vision. That was her job; she’d been that person for Clem all her life! How could Cam stride into their lives and just take over? It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t fair!

But as she knew, so much about life wasn’t fair.

Cam gently pushed her away from the door and reached down and snagged Clem’s bag. He closed the back door and transferred the bright pink bag to his other hand. Then Vivi’s hand was swallowed by his and she immediately felt calmer, as if the earth had stopped rocking beneath her feet. Like Clem, she couldn’t help responding to his strength and his capability.

As they walked to the front door of her cottage, Vivi tried to convince herself to put her foot down, to tell him to leave. But she was utterly exhausted, and the words wouldn’t come.

Pulling her house key out of the back pocket of her cutoffs she tried to open the door, silently cursing when she missed the lock. Cam didn’t say anything but just took the key from her hand, jammed it in the lock and opened the door for her. And as Vivi stepped into her house—the home she’d made for her and her daughter—she told herself that it was okay to lean, just for a half hour, maybe a little more.

She’d take a little time to gather her strength and her courage and then she’d send Cam on his way. She didn’t need him.

She just needed her daughter.

* * *

Cam, with Clem still in his arms, stepped into the hallway of Vivi’s small house, grateful for the cool, fragrant air. The house held that perfectly pleasant smell that only came with the presence of females—perfume and powder, sweet and sexy. Cam placed his hand on Clem’s small back, his eyes moving from Vivi’s face to his daughter’s, thinking that his life had been woman free—casual sexual encounters couldn’t be counted—and now he had two girls who’d dropped into his life.

And despite Vivi’s not-so-subtle go-away attitude, he intended to keep them there. Being part of Clem’s life was a no-brainer; he fully intended to be her dad, however bad he might be at it. But he could learn, he would learn. He had no intention of being the same waste-of-space parent his father had been.