Because of the Baby Read Online Free PDF

her.
    Was that what he wanted, though?
    Ben wiped the perfectly clean counter with slow, methodical strokes, patiently waiting for Matt to confide in him. Matt was well aware that a lot of the men in Hard Luck used Ben Hamilton as a sounding board. He was the kind of guy who made it easy to talk about one’s troubles, but Matt wasn’t interested. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. About anything.
    He was half tempted to take his coffee and move to one of the tables. He might have, if Duke Porter hadn’t chosen that moment to walk into the café. The bush pilot sidled up to the stool next to his and sat down.
    Matt glared at the other man.
    Duke glared back. “What’s your problem?”
    It was unreasonable and irrational to take his frustration out on Duke just because he’d had the gall to dance with Karen. “I’ve got woman troubles.”
    Duke snorted. “Me, too.”
    â€œYou?” Ben poured a cup of coffee for the pilot and set it on the counter. “What’re you talking about?”
    â€œWell, not me personally. It’s that attorney again. Tracy Santiago.” His eyes narrowed as he mentioned the lawyer Mariah Douglas’s family had hired to investigate Hard Luck after the town started advertising for women. Their daughter, Mariah, was the Midnight Sons secretary. “She’s trying to stir up trouble. Mariah got a phone call from her on Friday. Christian told me the Santiago woman’s threatening to fly up here again in a couple of months to check things out.”
    â€œThat’s Christian and Sawyer’s problem, isn’t it?”
    â€œYes,” Duke agreed, “but it makes me mad, you know? The way that woman keeps butting into everyone’s business. Here the O’Halloran brothers’ve done everything on the up and up—giving women jobs and housing—and what do those poor guys get in return? Hassles from some troublemaker who’s accusing them of exploiting women and…and…”
    â€œShe’s not your worry,” Ben reminded him.
    Duke didn’t respond. “What’s eating you?” he asked Matt, instead.
    Matt didn’t feel like discussing his ex-wife, especially with Duke.
    Duke didn’t wait for Matt to answer him. “I’ll bet it’s got something to do with Karen. What’s with you two, anyway? The whole time she was dancing with me, she was asking about you.”
    â€œMe?” From the way she’d behaved, Matt had assumed he was the farthest thing from her mind.
    â€œOh, she tried to be subtle about it, but I could see through her questions. She wanted to know about the lodge and what I thought of your plan. I told her it was a damn good one.”
    Matt was grateful. “I appreciate that.”
    â€œSo, what’s going on with you and your ex?” Duke asked again.
    Matt frowned. He wasn’t accustomed to discussing his personal business with anyone, not even his family. He certainly had no intention of confiding in a casual acquaintance. “We’re divorced. What else do you need to know?”
    â€œIt’s pretty obvious that you’re still in love. I don’t know what it is with couples these days,” Duke complained to Ben. “Can anyone tell me why people who care about each other decide to call it quits? It just doesn’t make sense.”
    Matt would’ve liked to argue the point, but he couldn’t come up with a single, solitary thing to say. There was only onethought in his mind—what happened last night had proved beyond a doubt that he wasn’t over Karen and never would be.
    He leapt off the stool. Duke was right; instead of sitting here bemoaning his fate, he should confront Karen. She loved him. She must. Otherwise she’d never have gone to bed with him.
    All she needed was a little reassurance. Okay, he’d made a few errors in judgment, but that was behind them now. The