He supposed the real truth was that he’d been feeling tense and out of sorts ever since Jessie had appeared on his doorstep. It was as if he were being ripped apart inside, torn between desire and honor. If he’d thought his emotions were frayed at his ranch, he realized now that the necessity for watching every word, every glance while under his father’s roof only compounded the problem. His conscience, never something he’d worried too much about before Erik’s marriage to Jessie, was taking a royal beating.
Eventually he tired of pacing. Worn out by tangling with his own thoughts, he started back downstairs. Outside Jessie’s door, he heard Angela crying and Lara’s unsuccessful attempts to quiet her. He hesitated, wondering where Jessie was. Perhaps she had already gone downstairs.
He tapped on the door and opened it. The young Mexican girl, her cheeks flushed, her hair mussed, was frantically rocking the crying baby. The jerky movement was not having a soothing effect. Quite the contrary, in fact.
“What’s the problem?”
“I cannot get her to sleep,” Lara whispered, sounding panicked. “No matter what I do, she cries.”
“Where’s Jessie?”
“With the señora.”
“Has the baby been fed?”
“Sí. Only a short time ago.”
Luke crossed the room in a few quick strides, then reached down and took the baby from Lara. She fit into his arms as if she belonged there, her warm little body snuggling against his chest. Her gulping cries turned to whimpers almost at once.
“Shh,” he whispered. “It’s your uncle Luke, sweet pea. What’s with all the noise? Were you feeling abandoned there for a minute?” He glanced at Lara and saw that an expression of relief had spread across her face. “How was she while we were out this afternoon?”
“Like an angel, Señor Luke. She slept most of the time. I thought she would go to sleep again as soon as she had eaten.”
Luke rubbed the baby’s back. A tiny hand waved in the air, then settled against his cheek. As if she found the contact familiar and comforting, she quieted at once. That strange sense of completeness stole over him again.
Luke made a decision. “Lara, why don’t you take a break for a few hours. I think our little angel ought to join the rest of us for dinner.”
“But la señora said...”
Luke tried to recall exactly how many times he’d heard his mother’s edicts repeated in just that way by Consuela, by his father, even his teachers. Mary Adams’s influence had been felt everywhere in his life, at least when she chose to exert it. “Let me worry about my mother. Have your dinner. Go on out for the evening. We can manage here.”
“Sí, if that is your wish,” she said with obvious reluctance.
“It is,” he assured her.
He found a soft pink baby blanket, obviously a new addition since he doubted there would have been anything pink in the assortment of items his mother had saved from her sons. Wrapping Angela loosely in the blanket, he cradled her in one arm and gathered a few spare diapers and a bottle with his other hand. He eyed a can of baby powder, debated a couple of toys, but abandoned them when he couldn’t figure out how to pick them up.
“Remind me to get you one of those fancy carry things,” he told the baby, who regarded him with wide-eyed fascination. “I don’t have enough hands to carry this much paraphernalia. Things were a whole lot less complicated at my house, before you got outfitted with the best supplies money could buy.”
Angela gurgled her agreement.
“You know what I love most about you, sweet pea? You go along with everything I say. Be careful with all that adoration, though. It’ll give a guy a swelled head. I don’t want to give away any trade secrets. After all, we men should really stick together when it comes to women, but for you I’ll make an exception. If there’s any heartbreaking to be done, I want you to be the one who does it. You need advice about some jerk, you come to me. Is it a deal?”
The baby cooed on cue. Luke grinned.
“You understood every word, didn’t you? Well, now that we’ve settled how you should go about dealing with men, let’s go find your mama and your grandparents. Not that I’m so crazy about sharing you, you understand, but the truth is I’m not always going to be around. You need to have other folks you can count on, too. Your mama’s one of the best. And nobody on earth will protect you from harm any better than your granddaddy. He’s fierce when it comes to taking care of his own. Just don’t let him bully you.”
Angela yawned.
“Okay, okay, I get the message. I’m boring you. Let’s go, then.”
Downstairs, he located the rest of the family in the parlor. He found the varying reactions fascinating—and telling. His mother looked vaguely dismayed by the sight of Angela in his arms, just as she had when any of her own children had slipped downstairs during a grown-up party. His father grinned, unable to hide his pleasure or his pride, just as he had when showing off his sons to company. Jessie seemed resigned at the sight of her daughter comfortably settled against Luke’s chest.
“Where on earth is Lara?” his mother demanded at once. “I am paying that girl to look after the baby.”
Before Luke could say a word, Jessie jumped in. “Don’t blame Lara. I suspect your son is responsible for this. Is that right, Luke?”
Luke shrugged, refusing to apologize. “She was crying.”
“Babies cry,” his mother said irritably. “Picking them up will only spoil them.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sakes, Mary, she’s a newborn,” Harlan countered. “There’s nothing wrong with giving her a little extra attention. Besides, I want to get to know my first grandbaby. Bring her here, Luke.”
He eagerly held out his arms. Luke placed
