The Baby Trail. Karen Smith Rose

stood at Garrett’s SUV by the side of the building. Nobody came and went. Once in a while a few cars traveled up and down the street as the wind whipped Gwen’s curls across her cheek. Without fore-thought Garrett reached out to stroke them away.

      He should have known better than to touch her.

      Her eyes became luminescent and softly deep. The urge to kiss her was so strong, he could taste it. He could feel it in every part of his body, especially the ones that mattered. He stepped even closer…bent his head…

      The sun, which had been hiding behind a cloud, suddenly shone brightly and illuminated Gwen, sending firelight through her hair, giving him clarity about what he should and shouldn’t do.

      As if the sun had cleared up things for Gwen, too, she took a step back and gave him a weak smile. “Amy’s waiting for me. Maybe I’ll see you at the hospital.”

      While she was opening the door to her van and he was opening the door to his SUV, he realized it would be better if he didn’t see Gwen at the hospital.

      It would be better if he found Amy’s mother on his own.

      Chapter Three

      Gwen was taking clothes from her washer and pushing them into her dryer when her doorbell rang. She was expecting Garrett.

      She had intended to ignore him yesterday at the hospital but he’d poked his head into the nursery and told her the nurses couldn’t find Amy’s clothes. They were going to keep looking and notify either him or Gwen if they found anything. When Gwen had stopped to see Amy over her lunch hour today, the desk nurse had handed her a bag. Someone had found the clothes in a supply cupboard. Immediately Gwen had called Garrett.

      Her heart beating harder, she pushed he dryer door closed with a bang and hurried to the door.

      What had almost happened between her and Garrett yesterday? Had it been an almost kiss? If so, she had pulled away from it, hadn’t she?

      Gwen gave herself a mental shake and told herself to slow down. She didn’t get infatuated with men, she reminded herself. She was picky, and a rugged face with a good body might turn her head, but it didn’t stay turned. She wanted substance.

      You thought you had substance with Mark, a little voice reminded her.

      She’d been so wrong about that. She’d been so wrong about a lot of things. She had taken a close look at herself and her choices since Mark left and she hadn’t liked some of the things she’d seen. But she was working on fixing them, working on breaking away from a childhood she had no control over, working on an adult, stable relationship with her dad.

      As she opened the door to Garrett, common sense flew out the proverbial window. He was a hottie, plain and simple. She was attracted to him, plain and simple. She would watch every step she made, plain and simple. Tonight he wore gray dress slacks with a western-cut white shirt and a bolo tie. Her surprise must have shown.

      “I clean up now and then,” he said with a dark sardonic smile that fired up the quick thrill of excitement running through her at seeing him. “I had a meeting in Cody.”

      “Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare,” she admitted, her cheeks hot. “Come on in,” she said quickly to cover her embarrassment.

      When she’d gotten home from work, she’d made a chocolate bundt cake. It was sitting in a cake holder on her table with powdered sugar sprinkled across the top. She hadn’t baked for herself.

      “Would you like some coffee? I have chocolate cake, too, if you’re interested.”

      Stopping short of her kitchen, he seemed to weigh whether he wanted to accept her offer or not. “I grabbed supper at a fast-food restaurant before I left Cody. But chocolate cake is hard to turn down.”

      “Is that a yes? The coffee’s fresh, I made it with supper. It’s Kona,” she added, nonchalantly, knowing that would be an additional enticement for a coffee lover.

      “Where did you get Kona here?”

      “I have my sources.” As she gathered dishes from the cupboard and silverware from the drawer, she motioned to her mug tree. “Go ahead and pour yourself a cup. I’ll cut the cake.”

      When she removed the glass cover, he looked at the cake and then glanced at her. “Did you bake that for tonight?”

      She could say she always had baked goods around to nibble on, but that would be a lie. “Yes. Most men like chocolate.”

      At her elbow, he capped her shoulder. “Gwen—”

      “Look, it was no trouble. If you won’t let me pay you, I have to reimburse you somehow. A snack just seemed hospitable.”

      Before, when she’d been close to Garrett, she’d caught the scent of man and the outdoors. Now she noticed his cologne. It was lime and musky and compelling…just as he was. His gray eyes seemed heated with an inner fire as he studied her. She wondered if they were both thinking about lips touching, tongues entwining, sex in the dark of night. His beard line was shadowed now at the end of the day. To her dismay she realized how much she’d like to touch it…how much she’d like to feel it on her skin.

      Although the fire in his eyes wasn’t banked, his tone was neutral as he shifted slightly away from her and asked, “Do you have Amy’s clothes?”

      The mention of the infant made her take a resigned breath and remember exactly why he was here. This wasn’t a tea party…or a coffee party.

      Motioning to the cake, she suggested, “Go ahead and cut yourself a slice while I get them.”

      When she would have stepped away, she heard him mutter, “Oh, hell.”

      The next moment, his hand was on her shoulder, he was bending his head, and his lips came down hard on hers.

      Garrett’s lips were as hot as the sizzle of attraction between them. Gwen’s hand rested against his chest, and she ran her fingers up the placket of his shirt to the taut skin of his neck. His hair was shaggy over his collar, thick and coarse. When his tongue slid into her mouth, the erotic sensation of it almost made her gasp. The hunger and desire in his kiss fired a like hunger and desire in her. Her last coherent thought was a simple one—this is pure chemistry.

      When his tongue danced with hers, time was suspended and she practically melted at his feet. The passion blooming inside of her was overwhelming, and she wondered why it had lain dormant all her life until this moment.

      However, as quickly as Garrett had decided to kiss her, he decided to stop kissing her.

      Thank goodness his hands were on her shoulders to steady her or she might have collapsed. With a monumental effort, she took a step away from him, testing the steadiness of her knees.

      “Wow!” She didn’t know exactly what else to say and that seemed to say it all.

      On his part, Garrett didn’t seem to be as affected as she was. In fact…

      “I shouldn’t have done that.”

      He looked so composed she wanted to beat on his chest and ask him, Wasn’t that just the best kiss you ever had? She’d never experienced anything like it with Mark…or anyone else. However, just because Garrett had turned her kitchen upside down for her didn’t mean she’d done the same to him.

      “Why not?” she blurted out. “Are you involved with someone?” That wouldn’t be a first. Men were notorious for wanting to sample greener grass…or nostalgic grass. Not a month after she and Mark had broken up, she’d learned he was dating his former girlfriend. Had they been in touch while he and Gwen were engaged? When they had talked after his defection, Mark had denied that anyone else had been involved. But he had gotten married six months later, so Gwen suspected otherwise.

      “No, I’m not involved,” Garrett snapped. “And I don’t intend to be involved. That’s the point.”

      His