Rancher's Perfect Baby Rescue. Linda Conrad

Um. Mrs …”

      The woman blinked her eyes and then jolted straight up, pointing at the pitchfork. “Oh, don’t hurt us. Who are you? I …” Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed into the hay.

      Worried about the infant’s safety, Nathan dropped the fork and swooped up the child before it fell out of its mother’s arms.

      What the devil had he gotten himself into now?

       Chapter 2

      Susannah blinked open her eyes and found the tall, slightly scary man bending over her with Melody in his arms.

      Frightened but ready to fight like a tiger for her child, she came up swinging. “Give her to me!”

      “Whoa,” he said as he backed away. “Hold on there. I’m not trying to hurt you or your baby. You fainted. I was worried about you both. Are you all right?”

      “I …” Light-headedness made her unsure of herself. “Um. I guess I’m okay. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten. Maybe that’s the problem.

      “Please give me the baby.” She tried to stand, and the whole world tilted.

      Reaching out, she found a post that she could hang on to while she waited for the room to quit spinning. Her stomach churned as she felt the blood drain from her face.

      “Look, you don’t seem too steady. Maybe I should keep your child until you get your feet under you.”

      She plopped back down on the hay. “I guess you’re right. Just give me a minute.”

      “Stay right where you are. I’ll call for help.” He turned and disappeared beyond the half wall.

      Oh, no. He was either calling the cops to come arrest her for trespassing or he was calling the Devotees to pick up their runaways.

      As usual, she’d made a hash out of May’s very good plan. How could she get out of this sticky situation? Oh, yeah, if all else failed, she could lie.

      Nathan was halfway to the front of the barn before he realized he still had the baby in his arms. He hesitated and looked down at her.

      Tiny, the little babe couldn’t possibly be more than a few days old. And the baby was quiet. Since he’d been holding her, she hadn’t cried once.

      In fact, this child seemed too quiet.

      Looking her over, he couldn’t find anything obviously wrong—no cuts or bruises. Her color was a little off. She seemed drugged.

      His niece had never been so quiet when she was this age. Of course his niece—well, Sara had always been different than most. Logically, he knew that. And though she was seven now, he figured he’d end up comparing her to every baby he met from now on.

      “What’d you find, boss?” Mac stood at the front of the barn, peering toward the bundle he carried in his hands as if trying to decide what kind of dangerous critter they’d discovered.

      Walking toward his foreman, Nathan shook his head. “Not a critter. But we need help. Put the dogs up and call the house. See if Maria or Kathryn can get down here right away. Tell whoever to bring a bottle of water.”

      Mac wrinkled up his forehead. “What the hell?”

      “Put the dogs in the pen, Mac. I don’t want one of them jumping up to see what I’ve got.”

      “Okay. Right away.” Mac turned and started off toward the dogs’ pen.

      “And make that call!”

      Nathan turned around and headed back toward the mother. He didn’t want to venture too much farther while carrying this small child. Poor little baby. When he’d first seen the two of them huddled in the hay, they’d looked like two lost angels—both gorgeous and wide-eyed.

      The mother was one of the most striking women he’d ever seen, with her long, dark hair and porcelain skin. Stunning, even though her eyes had been filled with fright, she looked like a strong wind could blow her over.

      Now that he’d had a chance to look closer at the child, however, he noticed a wide reddish mark on the side of her head and neck. She was still a beauty. Almost a spitting image of her mother.

      “Don’t worry, little one,” he whispered. “I’ve got you now. I won’t let anything happen to you or your mom.”

      The baby never stirred as he carried her back to where her mother waited. When he ducked around the half wall, the woman tried to stand again. She wobbled and went down on her backside

      “Don’t try to move.” He knelt on the hay beside her. “Wait till help arrives. One of the women will be out shortly. Your baby is right here. See? Safe.”

      She reached out and touched the baby’s head. “Melody.” Closing her eyes, the woman whispered through a sigh, “I can’t help her right now. Please don’t hurt her. She’s so little.”

      Nathan sat back on his heels, wondering why this odd woman kept demanding that he not hurt them. What kind of monster would hurt a new mother and her child?

      “Her name is Melody?” he asked, trying to make small talk and sound calm. “Pretty. How old is she?” He wanted to keep the woman talking so he could be sure she hadn’t passed out.

      “Two weeks yesterday.”

      “What’s your name?”

      The woman groaned and pursed her lips. Apparently that was one question she didn’t want to answer. What the hell did he have on his hands? Who was she, and where had she come from? That she was running away from something seemed fairly obvious.

      “You needed help, Nathan?” Maria, his family’s housekeeper, peered around the half wall. “Oh, my goodness. What on earth?” She made short shrift of the few feet between them.

      “You bring the water with you?” He glanced over at Maria and saw the bottle in her hands. “Give this young woman a drink and then take the baby, please.”

      Maria crouched to help the stranger take a sip of water. “Where’d you come from, Mrs.?”

      The woman drank a few sips and then widened her eyes to stare at Maria. “Help my baby.” She grabbed hold of her arm in a deathlike grip. “Melody needs water, too, but I don’t know how to make her drink.”

      Maria pulled her arm free and stood, then took the child from his hands. “Ah, a tiny one. You leave her to me, ma’am. I’ll have her taking water in no time.” Maria glanced up at him. “This child needs warmth and the comfort of the main house.”

      He nodded at his housekeeper. “Thanks. I think I can carry the mother if you’ve got a handle on the baby.”

      “Yes, sir.” Maria reached over and picked up the woman’s backpack with her free hand. “Looks like the pack is probably being used for baby’s things. I can carry it, too.” She walked away, still making cooing noises at the child.

      Bending to scoop the stranger off the floor, Nathan thought he might have trouble hefting her. She jolted, and he could see her holding her breath. But actually her body came up in his arms almost too easily.

      “You hardly weigh a thing,” he said while he marched toward the barnyard.

      “I can walk. You don’t have to carry me.”

      “Last time I saw you trying to stand you weren’t too steady. I think this is the safest way for now.”

      “We’re going to your house? How far is it?”

      “Not far. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

      “Do you own this farm?”

      Tightening his grip on her, he exhaled and answered the slightly annoying question. “It’s a ranch. And my family owns it. For a trespasser, you’re just full of questions,