Montana Cowboy Daddy (Wyatt Brothers of Montana #3) - Jane Porter Page 0,50

rent was past due.

It was already early April.

Erika had never missed her rent before and couldn’t believe she’d forgotten it. How many other things was she forgetting? But life in Riverside was a world away from Billy’s cozy Utah cabin, and the longer she was here, the more comfortable she became. Her new daily routine included lots of teasing and banter, never mind breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Billy. She liked helping him get bandaged up, liked helping him dress, liked the shivery sensation she got when standing close to him, her lips just inches from the taut planes of his broad chest.

She closed the laptop and lay back on her bed, staring up at the beams in the ceiling, and the slow whirl of the rustic fan that kept the air moving.

How much longer would she stay here? Billy ought to have use of both arms soon, she thought, as well as the ability to lift and carry Beck without pain in his ribs. That would be what… a month? Two? Either way, the time would pass quickly, and that was both good and bad, because the passage of time brought her closer and closer to her dissertation’s due date. She’d done almost nothing in the past six weeks. She’d regret her lack of focus later. But now, now she was needed, and wanted, and it was the best feeling.

Erika left her room and went to the living room where Beck was swinging away in his swing, while Billy watched TV. She walked past the basket of toys in the corner—a soft chunky truck, a fabric book, a teething ring that looked like a black and white cow—and thought yet again how lucky Beck was. Billy was going to be a great dad.

Her heart suddenly ached. Billy and his boy. They’d make a great team.

Chapter Eight

Billy woke to the sound of soft fussing from Beck’s room, the morning cry that Billy had come to identify as hello, I’m awake. Billy looked at the time. It was almost five thirty. Still dark out. But Beck didn’t seem to mind that the world was sleeping, he was ready to get up. Granddad was the same. Always awake before dawn.

Billy left bed, left arm bent at the elbow and pressed to his side and went to Beck’s room. He flipped on the little night-light and leaned over the crib. Beck was staring up at him with bright blue eyes, and the moment he spotted Billy, he gurgled and smiled, his wide irresistible smile. Billy’s chest tightened, filled with love and a fierce, primitive desire to protect his baby from all dangers. He’d do anything for Beck, just as he’d do anything for his brothers.

Billy carefully scooped up Beck with his right arm, carrying him to the changing table to get a dry diaper on him. Beck kept his wiggling to a minimum, just kicking legs a little bit as Billy drew the pajamas back up and then zipped the zipper, keeping Beck snug.

Together, they headed toward the living room, passing Erika’s room. Her door was still closed. No light shone beneath the door. Billy hoped she was still sleeping as she tended to stay up late and wake early. She probably needed far more sleep than she was getting.

They continued on to the kitchen where Billy slid Beck into his high chair so that he could put on a pot of coffee and then, while that was brewing, he turned his focus to a bottle for Beck. Before giving his son the bottle, Billy turned on the heat, and then lit the gas in the fireplace in the living room, and then carried first the coffee to the living room, then Beck and the bottle.

Beck was impatient for the bottle and gurgled his displeasure that he was being kept waiting. “Patience, little man,” Billy said, easing into his recliner. “You’ll have your milk soon enough. Let me just have one sip of coffee, okay?”

Beck emptied his bottle in record time and Billy did his best to burp him, shifting the baby against his good shoulder and giving him firm pats on the back. Beck’s hand reached up into Billy’s hair, grabbing little tufts and giving them hard tugs.

Beck was a strong little thing and growing by the day. He’d filled out a lot—if that was possible, considering he was a little chunk of love to begin with. It crossed Billy’s mind that maybe he should head back to Paradise Valley, spend a