Fair Lakes Series Box Set - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,229

loner category. How are you supposed to blend in and make everyone forget you when the first person you meet, your tongue is hanging out like a horny dog, and you jump at the opportunity to spend just a little more time with him?

You’re doing a swell job there, Hollis.

Sighing, I wipe my wet hands on a paper towel by the sink and glance around my new space. It’s small—very small—but practical. All I need is a little space to work from my laptop, a place to rest my head, and a kitchen to cook some food. I have all of that. Well, minus the resting of the head part. I have no furniture yet, which I hope to rectify in the morning with a trip to a local secondhand store I found in my online search of the area. Until then, I’ll take my blankets and pillow and make a nice bed on the floor. It’ll be like camping, only better. Fewer bugs and bears.

Laughter spills through the closed door. I’m sure the reason it echoes is that my place is empty, right? Add in a few pieces of practical furniture, and I’m sure I’ll barely know I have roommates so close. The baby cries loudly, and I can’t help but wonder what I got myself into. I’ve never been around a baby before. He didn’t say anything about a baby in the ad, but I guess that’s not a deal breaker. It’s not like I’m here to care for the little guy, right?

That’s right, Hollis. You’re just renting a room. This isn’t your family or problem to deal with.

Deciding I’ve been gone long enough, I open the door and step into Colton’s space. My entrance is off the laundry room, right next to where the washer and dryer are positioned. The ad mentioned a communal laundry room for both him and myself, as well as the back exit. I take a quick peek at the backyard and am surprised by the size. It’s large, with several old trees that will provide plenty of shade in the summer. It needs a good mowing and trim job, but I can see why a man with a young son would want a yard like this one.

I head to the kitchen and find Colton. His back is to me, and he’s talking to the little boy perched against his shoulder. The little guy sees me and starts waving his arms around. “That’s right, champ. We’ll get your belly full and then finish getting the furniture set up in your room. You’re gonna sleep in your big boy crib tonight in your new room. Are you excited?” he asks his son as he shakes up the fresh bottle he just made. Colton turns his head and places his mouth on the baby’s side, blowing a raspberry kiss through his onesie outfit. Milo wiggles and yells, but not in the pissed off way he yelled when I first arrived. No, this one is a happy yell, one that makes me smile.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you were standing there.”

I glance up from the baby and find Colton’s blue eyes watching me. “Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt,” I say, glancing down at my shoes.

“You weren’t interrupting,” he insists, maneuvering Milo to the crook of his arm and plopping the bottle into his awaiting mouth. “It’s his dinner time,” he adds, glancing down and smiling at the boy in his arms.

“I’ll let you get to that. I can wait in my room,” I insist, starting to turn back the way I came.

“No, let’s take a quick tour. I don’t mind feeding him on the go. In fact, I’m pretty much becoming a professional at it,” he adds with a chuckle. The deep timbre of his voice can be felt clear down to my toes.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

He waves me to follow him as he heads toward the front of the house. “This is my living room,” he says, stepping into a wide, open space. It has a couch and large television, but that’s about it. Well, besides the playpen set up in the corner of the room. The walls are painted the same taupe color as my walls, and the carpet is the same tan plush. Whoever decorated didn’t enjoy too much of a color palette.

“Back here are our bedrooms. This one is Milo’s,” he says, pushing open the door and revealing his sister-in-law.

“Oh, hey! I’m just getting some of Milo’s things put away,”