The Borrowed Groom. Judy Christenberry

be glad to call your daughter, Mr. Hanson, but I wanted to discuss a…a proposition with you.” One that had struck her when she saw how well Terri dealt with the two young foster children who had arrived last night. “It will be more comfortable if we hold our discussion inside.”

      He stood there frowning at her, and she considered that he might stay that way until Terri appeared. She tried again. “I’m sorry I didn’t meet you and Terri yesterday, but I had business to take care of. Please let me extend a welcome to you now.”

      “Thanks. What proposition?”

      A man of few words.

      “I think we should discuss it inside.” She could be as stubborn as the cowboy. Turning her back to him, she walked into the house, leaving the door open.

      Damn! Just what he didn’t need. A woman. A soft, feminine woman, wanting something.

      The last time he’d given in to a woman’s softness, let her have her way, he’d been left with a three-month-old baby to raise. He’d vowed then and there to keep his distance.

      But Rob Hanson liked his new job. Abby Kennedy seemed a fair woman, a woman who thought like a man. He needed a place to settle down for a while, give Terri some stability after uprooting her. He didn’t want to leave.

      So he’d best make amends with the boss’s sister.

      He strode up the steps, across the porch and into the house, removing his Stetson as he did so. He was immediately struck by the homeyness of the place. The kind of home a man dreams about. Cool, quiet, inviting.

      This was worse than he’d thought it would be.

      “In here, Mr. Hanson,” that warm voice called, luring him deeper and deeper into the trap.

      The kitchen was large, bright, filled with mouthwatering scents…and three girls. He stared at his daughter, his gaze conveying his displeasure.

      “Hi, Dad. Melissa invited me to have cookies and milk with her and the girls, and I didn’t think you’d mind.” Terri spoke quickly, obviously hoping to get her excuses in before he ordered her back to their new house.

      “I told her I thought it would be all right since I’m Abby’s sister,” his hostess added.

      A lot of things sprang to mind to tell the woman, but he decided it would be safest to ignore her. If he could. She was mighty distracting. “I was worried about you,” he said to his daughter. The emotion, the panic he’d experienced when he found his daughter missing, burred his voice.

      Terri slipped from her chair and ran to slide her arms around his waist and give him a hug. She thought she was getting too old for hugs these days, but he wasn’t. He still needed to hold her close.

      “Sorry, Dad,” she whispered.

      “I know, baby. It’s all right,” he whispered in return.

      Over Terri’s shoulder, the two little girls stared at him, scared looks on their faces.

      “I didn’t mean to growl so,” he said both to them and his hostess.

      Terri pulled away. “This is my dad,” she said.

      He loved the pride in her voice. He wasn’t sure he deserved it, but it kept him standing a little straighter.

      “Let me introduce Jessica and Mary Ann,” Melissa Kennedy said, moving to stand beside the two girls. “They’re staying with me.”

      Rob said his hellos, adding a smile to convince them he wasn’t a bad guy. He didn’t succeed.

      “Terri, would you mind taking the girls upstairs and helping them wash up? I think they have chocolate all over their faces.”

      “We didn’t mean to!” one of them protested.

      Rob turned sharp eyes on his hostess. Was she one of those neat freaks, not wanting a thing out of place?

      Melissa bent over and kissed first one child’s cheek and then the other little girl’s. “Of course you didn’t. I made messy cookies. And it won’t take a minute to clean up.” Even as she smiled at the girls, she looked at Terri, a question in her gaze.

      “Sure. It’s okay, isn’t it, Dad? It won’t take long.”

      “Okay.”

      The children went eagerly with Terri. He didn’t know if it was his daughter’s charm or fear of him that motivated them, but they were quickly out of the room.

      Melissa gestured to one of the chairs at the table. Reluctantly, he moved to it and stood waiting for her to join him.

      She placed a new plate of cookies on the table. “Did you want milk with the cookies? Or I have soda or coffee.”

      “Milk will be fine.”

      He wondered if he could resist the cookies. Home-baked cookies were rare in his life. But they were part of the trap. The scent of fresh cookies laced with chocolate drifted up to him and he knew resistance wasn’t going to happen.

      Melissa set a glass of milk in front of him, then pulled out the chair next to him and sat down.

      After he lowered himself onto the chair next to her, she nudged the plate closer to the empty saucer she’d given him. “Help yourself.”

      Maybe if he only ate one it wouldn’t be so bad.

      She leaned toward him and he discovered something more tempting than warm, homemade cookies. Green eyes, laced with dark lashes, faced him. Beneath them was a soft, kissable mouth, faintly pink. Smooth skin, framed by a halo of dark curls, added to the picture.

      He stopped, with the cookie halfway to his mouth. Putting it back down, he said carefully, “What is it you wanted to talk to me about?” He had to get out of there—quick.

      “I wanted to offer Terri a job.”

      He stood, reaching for his hat where he’d hung it on the chair. “My daughter doesn’t need to work.” He kept his voice polite but firm. Then he made his escape.

      He’d almost made it out of the kitchen, ready to shout for Terri, when Melissa caught hold of his arm.

      “Mr. Hanson, let me explain.”

      “There’s nothing to explain. I don’t know what she told you, but Terri’s only twelve.” He glared at her.

      “I know that. But I need help with the kids, and I thought she might be bored this summer, since she’s new to the area.”

      She needed help with two little kids? Yeah, right. She expected someone else to do the work while she sat around watching television, he guessed. He hated those kinds of women. “Sorry. You find someone else to be your slave. It won’t be my daughter.”

      She seemed taken aback by his vehemence. Good. He didn’t want anyone taking Terri’s childhood away from her.

      “You don’t understand. It wouldn’t be all day. I could hire her for three or four hours a day.”

      “Hire me?” Terri said, tumbling down the stairs in excitement, clearly having overheard the woman. “You want to offer me a job?”

      Rob silently groaned. He knew what was coming. “Now, Terri, it’s time for us to get out of Ms. Kennedy’s way. Let’s go.”

      “But, Dad—”

      “Mr. Hanson!”

      “Thank you, ma’am, for your kindness. Terri.” He spoke his daughter’s name with all the authority he possessed. He knew she wouldn’t want to go. Already she’d been taken in by the woman’s trap.

      But not him.

      Hell! He hadn’t even tasted one of those cookies.

      “Yes, Dad,” Terri said, her chin dropping.

      He hated to disappoint