Page 84 of Montana Groom of Convenience
“I liked it, too. I’m going to miss you close to me.”
“Granddad said this is the way it should be.”
“I know.” She kissed the child again. “You have a good sleep.” She petted the kitten. “You, too, Skippy.”
Jill giggled. “She’ll crawl up to my neck as soon as you’re gone.”
“Just make sure she doesn’t eat you alive.” She tickled Jill and laughed.
Jill grew serious. “She would never hurt me.”
“I know. Now you go to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She returned to the kitchen. Father sat in his big chair watching her. She sat at the table with her back to him.
“Where’s Sawyer?” he asked.
“Outside.”
“Aye, and why? Are you cold toward him?”
“Father, don’t be blaming me for something you started.” Next, he’d be telling her she should get prettied up for her man.
“Me?”
Sawyer banged into the house.
She was inordinately pleased to see him. It would put a stop to Father’s meddling. She sprang to her feet. “Would you like tea or coffee or somethingto eat?” They’d never bothered with a bedtime snack before, but now seemed a good time to start doing so.
“No, thanks.” He didn’t sit.
His hovering presence unnerved her, and she stood, too, and met his gaze. Saw so many things. Or imagined she did. Regret perhaps. Or simply acceptance. If only she could believe she saw longing.
He looked past her to Father, watching and waiting, brought his gaze back to her, and smiled, a gentle comforting smile. “You go ahead and get ready for bed. I’ll come in a few minutes.”
“Thank you,” she murmured. This might not be difficult if Sawyer was understanding about it.
She hurriedly to the bedroom, hesitating about slipping into her nightgown. She couldn’t sleep in her clothes, and she pulled the night garment over her head as quickly as she could. With a grimace, she lay on the child-sized bed. She’d be unable to straighten her legs unless she lowered them to the ground. But she wasn’t about to complain.
Sawyer tapped lightly to warn her that he was entering and slipped in. “Your father is watching to make sure I don’t sneak out and sleep in the barn.”
She groaned.
In the dim light coming through the curtains, he studied her. “That isn’t going to be very comfortable.”
She shifted to her side and drew her knees to her chest. “I’ll be fine.”
“No, you won’t. You sleep in the bed, and I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“I can’t do that to you. After all, it’s my father who is forcing us to do this.” She tried not to shuffle in an attempt to get more comfortable.
“Sorry, but I absolutely refuse to allow this.” He grabbed a pillow and the quilt folded at the bottom of the bed. His boots thudded off. The rustle of material suggested he’d removed his jeans and shirt. With a sigh, he settled on the floor on the far side. “You might as well take advantage of the bed.” His disembodied voice came to her.
“This is silly.” She waited for him to change his mind, but he remained on the floor, and she knew he would. He was a man who meant what he said. Something she both respected and regretted from time to time. “If you insist.” She scrambled into the bed and stretched out with a sigh. “It’s lovely. Thank you. But now I feel bad that you’re on the floor.”
“Don’t. I’ve slept on harder ground, as you might recall.”
“I suppose you have.” She stared at the ceiling, so aware of him on the floor beside her that she could hardly breathe. “That trip to the Bar None seems like a lifetime ago.”
