A Rancher's Pride(7)

“Couldn’t get her to bed?” he asked.

“No.” She forced a civilized tone. “She was over-stimulated after watching you leave in such a hurry. And then from learning about your mother.”

“You told her?”

“Only that her grandma wasn’t feeling well and you’d taken her to see a doctor.”

He nodded.

Becky had nearly bounced off the couch in her excitement at having Kayla there, too. But he wouldn’t want to know about that.

“By the time I could get her settled down to eat, she’d gotten overtired.” Kayla had found enough food in the refrigerator to make a light dinner for them both. Afterward, she played with her niece until the time came for her to change into pajamas and brush her teeth. But when Kayla put both hands together near her cheek, making the sign for bed, Becky unexpectedly balked. “I decided to let her curl up here with her dolls, figuring a few hours on the couch wouldn’t hurt. Eventually, she dropped off to sleep.”

She’d told herself she didn’t want Becky upstairs in an unfamiliar house, anyway. The truth was, she couldn’t bear to have her niece separated from her again so soon.

“Well,” Sam said, “let’s get her up there now. I’ll show you where you can bed down for the night.” He lifted the sleeping child from the couch and cradled her against him.

This time, as he looked down at her, his expression softened. His eyes gleamed. Silver-gray in the soft lighting and so much like Becky’s, those eyes clearly revealed his thoughts. They showed feelings Kayla didn’t want to see and emotions she didn’t want to believe a man like Sam could have.

Her throat tightened.

He turned slowly away.

Blinking hard, she grabbed the two dolls from the couch and followed him, giving herself a stern lecture. A man who had ignored his daughter for her entire life, who had treated his wife the way he had done, didn’t deserve Kayla’s sympathy. Or her respect. Or anything else.

She stopped by the front door only long enough to grab the overnight bag she’d taken out of the trunk of the rental car earlier that evening. Another bone of contention. She clenched her jaw in annoyance, thinking again of how he’d trapped her on his ranch.

He turned on the light at the top of the stairs. She forced her jaw to relax and quietly followed him to the second floor. Now wasn’t the time to call him on his trick.

She skimmed her free hand along the oak railing, which ended in an intricately carved newel post at the head of a broad, open hall.

They passed a closed door. His mother’s room, Kayla assumed, as all the other doors stood open.

Stopping at the next room, he eased sideways, careful of Becky’s head and feet as he carried her inside. The matching youth bed and scaled-down dresser proclaimed this a child’s room.

She hurried forward to turn down the comforter so Sam could set Becky on the bed. As she looked at her niece, she felt determination fill her again. That little girl had stolen her heart the first minute she’d seen her. Kayla would do whatever it took to make sure Becky had what she needed—including pressing her advantage in this unexpected situation.

She swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the lump that had formed in her throat. Eager for any distraction, she ran her fingertips along the headboard of the bed. Across the width of it had been carved an intricate design of a horse in full gallop, his mane streaming out behind him. “Beautiful,” she said sincerely. “I’ve never seen a design like this before.”

“Thanks.” The word came grudgingly.

Kayla finished tucking her niece in, placing the two dolls on the pillows on either side of her. “Amazing that she slept through being carried up here,” she murmured.

“Worn-out from playing.”

She shook her head. “Completely exhausted,” she corrected. “She must be. Becky’s sensitive to movement and normally wakes up at a touch.”

From the other side of the bed, Sam turned as if to leave.

Quickly, she glanced around the room. “There’s no night-light in here.”

He shrugged.

She looked at him pointedly. “Most small children don’t like to sleep in total darkness. For Becky especially, in a strange house, it would help for her to have some extra light.”

He nodded but kept going, murmuring over his shoulder, “We left the hall fixture on last night.”

That was something, anyhow. Probably his mother’s idea.