women, but he was also extremely solicitous. He immediately awakened
two maids to help prepare the rooms. Every one took baths. Caleb not
only awakened during his bath, but was also full of energy. The nap on
the way to the hotel had obviously rejuvenated him.
Jessica and Grace were dead on their feet and fell asleep as soon as
they got into their beds. Daniel propped his chair against Grace's
door and was asleep seconds later with his hand resting on the hilt of
his gun.
Cole was across the hall. He too had stretched out in his chair and
had his back up against the door to Jessica's room. He could hear
Caleb chattering away in nonsensical gibberish. After several minutes,
the door opened and the baby came running out.
Cole carried him back to his mother, but stopped short just inside the
door when he saw Jessica. She was sleeping on her stomach with her
arms splayed wide. Apparently she had been too exhausted to pull the
covers up, and her pink nightgown had worked its way around her
knees.
Lord, but she had a shapely backside and legs. Cole noticed she had
nice feet too, and he wondered if she was ticklish.
Her face was turned toward the moonlight streaming in through the open
window. He stared at her mouth, remembering how soft her lips had been
when she'd kissed him. He could still feel her pressed against him,
and all he wanted to do now was get into that bed with her and . . .
He blocked the thoughts racing through his mind. The poorwoman had
been through hell tonight, and he didn't have any business conjuring up
such lustful notions. Besides, he was a U. S. marshal and the job
carried responsibilities with it. He couldn't act on his impulses, no
matter how irresistible they were.
Caleb began to fidget in his arms then, pulling Cole back from his
fantasies. The baby was wet. Cole quickly found his nappies and lay
him on the side of the bed close to Jessica.
'No, ' Caleb chanted over and over. He swung his leg up, kicking Cole
in the arm, and tried to flip over so that he could slide down on the
floor.
'Oh, no you don't, ' Cole whispered. 'You're going to get changed, and
then you're going to sleep.' He tied the straps securing the nappy,
picked up Caleb, then grabbed his baby doll and shoved it into his
arms. The baby was grinning and chattering away as Cole carried him
over to the narrow cot the manager had sent up, tucked him in, and
quietly left the room.
