Sweet dimpled hands came up to grip the sides of the bottle, and Raine sank into the cushy rocker in the corner of the room. Resting her head against the back of the cushion, she closed her eyes as Abby greedily sucked down the milk.
Thankfully they had nowhere to go today, seeing as how the snow kept coming down in big, thick flakes. And when she’d glanced out at the driveway, her car had been there. The tow service must’ve brought it after she’d gone to bed, and she had no doubt there would be a hefty bill on her credit card statement since she had to give them the account number when she had called.
From what she’d seen, only the headlight and the grille were damaged, but she hadn’t waded through the snow to find out any more.
Raine opened her eyes and glanced down at Abby whose own eyes had drifted shut.
“Now you want to sleep,” Raine said with a smile. “When I’m holding and feeding you, but when you’re alone in your bed, you want to scream.”
Raine knew the feeling of being alone, left out and neglected. But there was no way this baby would ever feel anything less than secure. Perhaps that’s why Abby kept crying. She instinctively knew that Raine couldn’t handle it and would hold her to calm her down. The truth was, Raine just hated the thought of the baby feeling scared or abandoned.
There was no worse feeling in the world.
“We have each other,” she whispered to Abby. “And you’ll always know what love is.”
Finally when the bottle was depleted and Abby was breathing peacefully, Raine swiped the milk from beneath Abby’s soft, full lips and laid the baby back in the crib.
Raine slid the curtain from the hook and blocked out the bright sun. Tiptoeing as quietly as possible, Raine eased the door closed behind her.
Should she go finish making the rest of her lavender soaps, take a brief nap and then start in on filling the online orders, or throw a load of laundry in, and fold and put away the two baskets waiting on her?
Did the to-do list never end?
She’d just gone into her workroom when she glanced out the window and saw a full-sized black truck pull up her drive. In a mad dash, she ran down the stairs, because, if someone rang her doorbell, she’d not be greeting them with the most pleasant of smiles. She’d personally murder anyone who woke Abby from her long overdue nap.
Raine jerked open the door just as Marshall Wallace lifted his hand to the bell. She resisted the urge to ignore this unwanted visitor, not that she didn’t like Marshall, but she knew why he was here, and she wasn’t in the mood.
“Hey, Raine,” the young, polished man said with a wide smile. “Your father wanted me to drive out here and check on you.”
“Hi, Marshall.” She curled her hands around the door. “As you can see, I’m fine. So go back and tell the mayor he did his civic duty.”
God forbid her father trek out here in the elements to see how she and Abby were doing. The salt and snow would probably ruin his designer shoes.
And that was just another common thread she and Max had shared. Their fathers always put work ahead of family. Even though Max was one of the most recognized men in Hollywood, he’d dropped everything to be with his mother. Not that she needed a lot of care, but he was here for the love and support.
“Have you thought any more about my offer?” Marshall asked, shoving his hands into the pocket of his thick brown coat.
Raine sighed. Another reason why she always cringed when Marshall came to her house. The man was relentless in his quest to date her. He’d started pursuing her years ago after Max had left. He’d been so persistent and in her face, she’d let it slip that she was pregnant so he’d back off. Then she’d regretted her decision and had sworn him to secrecy.
She’d given into his advances once, though, and they’d gone out. The entire evening Raine felt like she was dating her brother...if she had had a brother, she figured that’s what it would be like.
“Marshall, I’m just so busy right now with Abby, focusing on the adoption and working on my online orders. You wouldn’t want to go out with me. You should look for someone with more time and freedom.”
“I’d be more than happy to come here with dinner. We don’t have to go out.”
Oh, Lord. If he thought he’d come over, eat dinner and play house, he was sorely mistaken. Even she wasn’t that desperate.
Raine dodged his less-than-subtle approach and returned his smile. “Tell my father I’m fine, and so is the baby, not that he ever asks about her. I appreciate you coming out, Marshall.”
As she started to close the door, a big black boot stepped over the threshold and blocked her.
“I hope you’ll at least consider my offer, Raine,” he told her, easing his body just inside the door frame. “That time we went out, I felt a connection with you.”
A connection? This was worse than she thought. Surely whatever he felt was just like...indigestion. There was no way that lame date sparked something romantic on his end. Of course, he could just be horny, and that was a whole other matter she didn’t want to get into with him.
“Marshall, I don’t have time to date right now. I’m sure a busy man like you understands.”
There, she’d appealed to his male ego and even stroked it a little. If he didn’t back off, she’d just have to be blunt and tell him to get the hell off her property. But her mother had raised a lady, despite her mother’s views to the contrary, so Raine would make every effort to be polite.
Marshall nodded. “I won’t give up on us, Raine.”
Before she could sputter a “There is no us,” he’d turned and was heading back to his truck. Was this dude for real? She’d never once led him to believe there was hope. Even after their date when he’d gone to kiss her good-night, she’d done the swift head turn, and he’d caught her cheek.
Closing the door, Raine sagged against it and squeezed her eyes shut. Why did life hate her? Why, within the span of twenty-four hours, did she have to encounter the only man she’d ever loved and now was fighting off the one man who wouldn’t take no for an answer? Apparently Cupid had struck Marshall, and now he was determined to make her his Valentine. No thank you.
Damn, Valentine’s Day was two days away, and Marshall was probably looking for a date. That was a big hell no.
The only Valentine she wanted was asleep upstairs. Besides, Valentine’s Day didn’t mean much to her. She’d spent nearly all of them single, except when she had dated Max. He’d given her this little gold locket and had told her that she’d always have his heart.
She should’ve known an eighteen-year-old boy was only out for sex, but those pretty words had made her fall in love with him even more. And she’d die before she ever admitted she still had that locket. So what? She had kept quite a few things from high school. Just because that particular piece was in her jewelry box didn’t mean anything.
God, she couldn’t even lie to herself. She’d kept that locket because she’d wanted to hold on to that hope that one person truly loved her for her, for the quirky way she was.
But that love was not only naive, it was a fabrication.
The banging on the door jarred Raine’s body, making her jump. Pressing a hand to her chest to try to control her rapid heartbeat, she turned back to the door. Marshall really didn’t give up, did he?
She threw open the door, ready to be brutally honest with the man, but it wasn’t Marshall standing before her. It was Max.
With the collar of his black coat up around his neck and his dark knit cap pulled low on his forehead, he looked mysterious...sultry even. And that sexy stubble along his jawline only made him look more ruggedly handsome. With those dark eyes staring back at her, Raine felt that gaze all through her body, infiltrating places she wished would stay dormant where this man was concerned.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, blocking him from seeing inside.
“Wanted to make sure you had your car back and to see if you needed anything. The roads are pretty bad, and they’re calling for several inches per hour for the next day.”
Raine didn’t want her heart to melt at his worry. And she didn’t know why the notion of Max checking up on her made her belly dance with nerves, when the visit from Marshall had simply annoyed her.
She didn’t want the belly-dancing nerves. She wanted to stay angry with Max for the rest of her life, but seriously, she had to get over the teenage attitude. They now led different lives. It was over and way past time to move on.
“I’m good right now,” she replied.
“How bad was the car?” he asked.
Raine peered out around him to assess the damage. “I haven’t gone out to see up close, but it looks minimal. I’m sure I can still drive it.”
“Not in this weather, you can’t.” He pointed to the four-wheel-drive truck he had. “I used the truck dad keeps in the garage, because there was no way my rental would’ve gotten me here.”
Abby’s screeching cry sounded through the house, and Raine resisted the urge to cry herself.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I need to get her.”
She turned from the door and ran up the steps. Abby was clearly not happy, but the second her eyes landed on Raine, she calmed down.
“You really just want me here, don’t you, sweet pea?” she cooed as she picked Abby up and laid her against her shoulder. “You need to learn to sleep without me coming in here all the time.”
But how could Raine be upset? Even though she was in a zombielike state nearly every day, there was just no way she could be angry or even feel put out by this precious bundle.
“You’re just tired yourself, aren’t you?”
Reaching into the crib, Raine grabbed the yellow blanket and wrapped it around Abby. Maybe she would be entertained in her swing while Raine worked on the soaps. Perhaps Abby would fall asleep there and get some much needed rest.
As she turned from the crib, she froze when she saw Max standing in the doorway.
“I thought you left,” she said, trying not to cringe over him being in her home. Her run-down home.
This man was used to Beverly Hills mansions, probably threw lavish patio parties where guests mingled over champagne and caviar. And here he was in her home, with its carpet tearing, linoleum peeling, ceilings chipping...the list went on and on.
“I wasn’t done talking.”
Raine snickered. “I wasn’t under the impression we had anything more to discuss.”
“Is she okay?” he asked, nodded toward Abby.
“She’s fine. She doesn’t like to be alone.”
His eyes returned to hers. “Sounds like she takes after her mother.”
Raine started to correct him, but technically Raine was Abby’s mother. Just because she was adopted—or would hopefully be soon—didn’t make the relationship any less real. And Max wasn’t going to be sticking around anyway, so really anything she did or did not do was none of his business.
Shifting Abby to the other shoulder, Raine patted her bottom and swayed side to side. “What did you need to talk about that you braved this weather to come see me?”
He opened his mouth, but Abby started screaming right in Raine’s ear, and Max straightened in the doorway. “What’s wrong?”
Raine pulled Abby back and looked at her. Abby was rubbing her eyes, fussing and puckering that little lip. It was the pucker that always got her.
“She’s just tired,” Raine explained. “She fights sleep.”
“Fights sleep?”
“Trust me. It sounds insane, but there’s no other term for it.”
Raine moved over to the rocker and started singing “You Are My Sunshine.” Usually that song calmed Abby down. Raine had gone through the song twice before Abby relaxed against her. Max eased out into the hall, and Raine appreciated the privacy. It wasn’t that she was uncomfortable with him here, but... Oh, who was she kidding? She was extremely uncomfortable. Here she was all frumpy in her fleece socks, paint-stained sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt that read Meat Sucks in big, block letters.
Added to that, the house was a mess. She hadn’t been able to really clean since Abby came, and the past week had been hell because there was no sleep happening in this house...for either of them.
And she wasn’t even going to get into the repairs that needed to be done. Basically the house and everything and everyone in it needed an overhaul. Too bad none of that would be happening anytime soon.
“I need to rock her again,” Raine hollered over the baby’s cries, hoping Max would take the hint and let himself out.
He nodded. “I can wait in the living room. We need to talk.”
Talk. One word. Four simple letters that sparked myriad emotions...fear being the number one contender.