Page 8 of The Cowboy Contract
She turned to find him watching her, an oddly intense expression on his face.
Paige swallowed hard, unsure how to interpret the look he was giving her. “I didn’t agree to change diapers.”
Leland lifted both hands, shaking his head. “You’re the one in possession of the little monster. And I’ve heard possession is nine-tenths of the law, so that dirty diaper belongs to you, ma’am.”
“Ugh.” Paige rolled her eyes. “I hate you so much.”
“No, you don’t.” Leland gave her a wicked grin. ‘You love me.”
He wasn’t wrong.
That was the problem.
4
Leland
HE WAS EITHER a glutton for punishment or a dumbass. Probably a little of both.
That was the only possible explanation for why he’d called Paige and asked her to come over. Forced himself to witness a representation of everything he wanted so desperately right as it seemed to be slipping through his fingers.
Watching her cuddle Will and share nuggets with Rosemary was torture, and he needed a minute to get his shit back together.
And Will’s, apparently.
“I’m just giving you a hard time.” He grabbed his nephew, deciding whatever was in the kid’s pants was preferable to seeing Paige holding him.
He hadn’t been prepared for what the sight of her with a baby would do to him. He’d witnessed it countless times during the course of their friendship, but that was before. Back when he thought one day it would be their baby she was holding.
Now…
Now it was looking less and less like that might happen.
And it had his chest aching in a way that made it hard to breathe.
“If I was a better person I’d argue with you.” Paige stood from the sofa, oblivious to the pain she and his nephew were causing. “But I’m not, so knock yourself out.” She lifted her brows as she passed. “I’m going to go fight your niece for a chicken nugget.”
“Protect anything you value. She’s feral.” He was only half joking. Less than an hour ago, his niece had almost taken out one of his nuts with a jump rope she was swinging like a lasso. Or possibly a whip. It could honestly have gone either way.
“I’m pretty sure I can handle it.” Paige smirked. “She can’t be half as bad as the ranch hands I deal with every night.”
“She’s not as tall, I’ll give her that.” He trailed behind Paige, cradling his now more relaxed nephew in one arm. “And she hasn’t figured out how to use a broken bottle as a weapon.” He paused for effect before adding on, “Yet.”
Paige turned, giving him a poke in the chest. “I think you’re being a little dramatic.”
“You’d think, but she’s leveled up recently.” He joined Paige in the kitchen where Rosemary was watching cartoons on her tablet as she tried to shove two chicken nuggets into her mouth at once. “It would be impressive if it wasn’t so terrifying.”
Paige settled into a chair at the table, eyeing him and his nephew. “I thought you were going to go rectify that stinky situation?”
“I’ve been trying to put it off. Thanks for pointing that out.” He was for sure a glutton for punishment, because he was still drinking in the sight of Paige. Still digging at the sore spot making his chest ache.
And he wanted to keep jabbing it. Because he was also a dumbass.
“I guess if you want to keep letting it soak into his onesie like that, by all means.” Paige waved around a French fry. “Take your time.”
His stomach bottomed out and lurched at the same time as an odd dampness sank into the skin of his forearm. Eyes dropping to the baby in his arms, he prayed it was just pee. A little urine never killed anybody, but his nephew’s shit could peel the paint off a car.
Or embarrass the hell out of a cowboy by forcing him to make awful retching sounds while remediating the situation.
