'It's time for you to go to bed, Caleb, ' she said, her voice a
soothing whisper.
Shaking his head, Caleb pulled his thumb from his mouth long enough to
put his arms up to Cole and let out a loud grunt to be picked up. When
he spied his mother advancing, he dropped his doll to the floor, threw
his arms around Cole's neck, and held on for dear life.
'I don't think this boy wants to go to bed just yet, ' Cole remarked.
She stood close to Cole and tried to peel her son's hands away from his
neck, but she wasn't paying much attention to what she was doing.
Tilly was right. The marshal did have beautiful eyes. She wished the
dear woman hadn't made such a fuss over the lawmen's appearance because
now all Jessica could think about was how fit the two of them were. If
Tilly hadn't pointed it out, she surely wouldn't have noticed.
She wasn't in the market for a husband. The reminder helped her
concentrate on the task at hand.
'Caleb always goes right to sleep as soon as I tuck him in with his
baby doll, ' she explained. 'He's going through adifficult phase and
seems to think he has to throw a tantrum at bedtime.
He's a very good boy, though. Aren't you, Caleb? ' The baby nodded
against Cole's neck. Cole stared at Jessica with a look of amusement
in his eyes. She wondered if he knew he was making her
uncomfortable.
She thought that maybe he did, and, oh, how could she have ever thought
him menacing? His hands were big, yet so very gentle as he patted
Caleb's back in a circular, rhythmic motion. Caleb rubbed his tiny
fist against his nose as he nestled his head under Cole's chin.
The child looked blissful.
'You're very good with babies, ' she remarked.
'Mrs. Summers? Would you mind asking Grace Winthrop to come out on
the porch? ' The intrusion of Marshal Ryan's voice startled her.
'Yes, of course, ' she stammered.
'Is it Mrs. Summers? ' Cole asked her. 'Or Miss? ' 'It's Jessica, '
she answered as she turned away. 'Grace is in the kitchen. If you
like, you could go on in and sit at the table while you question her.
' 'That would be fine, ' Daniel answered. He moved ahead to open the
door for her, and Cole followed behind with Caleb. He transferred the
