Baby Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

combination packed a wallop. "Come on, "
    he repeated huskily. "I swear I won't try anything, "
    When she knelt on one knee between his spread boots, she searched his face, her expression so dubious that he nearly chuckled. Instead he faked a shiver. "Hurry, honey. I'm letting in cold air. "
    She turned and sat with her back to him. The top of her dark head hit him just below the chin. As she cud-26 CATHERINE ANDERSON
    dled the baby in her arms, his whiskers caught on her silky hair. He waited, expecting her to relax against him, but instead she kept her spine so straight it could have ruled paper.
    Biting back another smile, he drew the front of the heavy coat closed over her and the child, his arms forming a loose circle around them. The chill of her body made him yearn to hug her closer to share his heat, but he didn't want to scare her.
    "You say your name's Maggie?" he inquired softly next to her ear.
    "Yes. "
    Maggie. It suited her perfectly somehow. Rafe breathed in the sweet scent of mother and child. "Is your baby a little boy?"
    She bent her head and curled her fingers over the edge of blue nylon to reveal the child's tiny face. "Yes, "
    she replied, her voice throbbing with love. "His name is Jaimie—with two I's. I named him after my father.
    ""That's a Celtic spelling, isn't it?"
    "It may be. My father was a Scot. "
    He didn't miss the fact that she referred to her father in the past tense. Whoever had beaten her up, it hadn't been her dad.
    She wore no wedding ring. He decided she was probably running from a boyfriend. "My name's Rafe Kendrick. "
    She turned to meet his gaze, her guarded expression making his heart ache. It had to be damned miserable, being trapped inside a coat with a man she didn't trust. Though she was trying to keep a safe distance between their bodies, he could feel her trembling, and he doubted it was from the cold now.
    She lowered her lashes, the long dark spikes casting feathery shadows on her cheeks in the rosy light of dawn. An urge came over him to trace the shape of her mouth with his fingertips. He was relieved when she averted her face.
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    She continued to sit ramrod straight, which he knew couldn't be very comfortable, especially with aching ribs. Splaying a hand over the section of coat where he guessed the baby to be, he applied gentle pressure. "I don't bite, Maggie. At least not hard enough to break the skin. Go ahead and lean back. "
    "I'm fine, " she insisted.
    She looked exhausted. He suspected she was running on her last reserves of energy. He forced the issue by applying more pressure. Just as he anticipated, she relented instantly, which he doubted she would have done if he'd pressed his palm against her instead of the child.
    Her body felt slight and wonderfully soft where it nes-tled against him. His breath froze in his chest. It had been so long since he'd held a woman that he'd nearly forgotten how good it felt. He wanted to bury his face in her beautiful hair and inhale its scent. And, oh, God, how he yearned to free his arms from the coat sleeves so he could slip his hands inside and explore her softness—the curve of her waist, the swell of her hips, the soft fullness of her bottom.
    It had been too long since he'd had a drink, he decided. Without the constant infusion of booze into his system, the numbness was wearing off.
    Normally he swept parking lots to get a new jug before the old one ran dry. Now that his most recently purchased bottle had been shattered, he'd have no choice but to go all day without a drink until he earned the money to buy more. What if he got the shakes and couldn't hold a broom? The thought made him feel frantic.
    Rafe felt the girl flinch. He realized that in his agitation he'd increased the pressure of his hand on her and the baby. Concern for her chased away his sudden yearning for alcohol. Leaning around to regard her face, he saw that she was biting her bottom lip.
    "What is it?" he asked.
    "Your belt buckle. It's