let that pass. He’d allowed an awkward moment slide by without comment and that was all she cared about. A man who could ignore hints and innuendoes, who could detect a puzzle and let it rest until the solution was offered voluntarily was a rarity. After months of people poking and prying into her feelings, she was more grateful than he would ever know.
“Let me grab another package of formula and we’re set.”
“I’ll get that. You bundle up the little darlin’.”
When everyone was wrapped snugly in enough layers to withstand the bitter cold, they walked briskly to her place. She couldn’t help thinking that on a night just like this one a week ago, the cold had cut through her and left a chill not only throughout her body, but in her heart. What a difference a few days—and the presence of this man and this baby—had made. What would happen to her when—not if, but when—they were gone?
Chapter Five
Cord had never spent a more frustrating few minutes in his life. First the unexpected flood of tears from a woman who seemed so strong, then the admission of secrets and the shuttered expression at the mention of beer. There was a story there, but he had a feeling it was a whole lot more complicated than anything he could imagine.
It would be simple enough to get at the truth out at White Pines. Sharon Lynn had said it herself—she had no secrets from her family. Fortunately he was wise enough to know that the answers had to come from her. He wanted her to trust him enough to share them with him, to let him into her life totally and completely. That kind of trust didn’t happen overnight and it surely wouldn’t happen if he started prying. Obviously this was going to be just one more test of his patience.
In the meantime, though, his imagination was working overtime. To silence all the wild speculation going on in his head, he focused on the baby. Every time he held her, he was more awestruck. She was so tiny, so perfect. Powerful, amazing emotions swept through him, made him vow to protect her with his life if it ever came to that. The emotions were all the more astonishing because he had no idea where they’d come from. His own pitiful parents had never set such an example.
“Have you ever in your life seen a kid this size eat this much?” he asked as she sucked lustily on her bottle, her little hands gripping it tightly as if she feared he might take it from her. “You don’t suppose she was half starved when we found her?”
“Lizzy says her weight appeared to be normal and that she wasn’t showing any signs of being malnourished.” Her expression darkened. “Have you thought about the mother at all?”
“I’ve tried not to. It’s too infuriating. What about you?”
“I can’t help thinking that she must have been truly desperate.”
“Maybe the mother wasn’t in any position to care for a child.”
“You mean financially?”
“I mean maybe she was sick herself, maybe she even died after the baby was born and the baby’s father couldn’t cope.”
Her expression shifted from anger to sympathy. “Oh, God, I hadn’t even considered that.” She came to stand close and brushed gentle fingers over the baby’s head. “Poor little thing.”
Cord glanced up at her. “Not so poor. She landed with you, didn’t she? She’s warm and safe.”
“But all alone.”
“She has you. She has me,” he said fiercely.
Sharon Lynn grinned. “She certainly does seem to have you wrapped around her little finger.”
He snuggled the weight of her a little closer, laughed when her face screwed up as the bottle’s nipple slipped from her mouth. “Are you still hungry?” he murmured incredulously, even as he offered her more. He glanced over at Sharon Lynn, who had gone back to stirring spaghetti sauce, filling the kitchen with an enticing aroma. “Have you given any thought to giving her a name?”
Her hand stilled. “I don’t think I should. It’s not my place.”
“We can’t just go on referring to her as the baby. It sounds like she’s interchangeable with every other kid.” He studied the baby intently, then said, “I think we should call her Ashley.”
“Ashley? Why Ashley?”
“I don’t know. I like it.”
Sharon Lynn hesitated for a full minute, her expression troubled. “I don’t know...”
“Then you pick.”
“I meant I don’t know if we should do this.”
“Why not?”
She drew in a deep breath and met his gaze. “It makes it too