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She’d let him know right up front that she wasn’t interested in marriage or anything permanent and that was all he needed to hear. When the time came and he was finished with her, he’d say good-bye.
“Guess we better get up and get ready to go,” he said, throwing his feet over the side of the bed. It was the Friday after Thanksgiving and instead of fighting crowds at the mall, they had spent the day in bed.
He jumped into the shower and she joined him there.
“We’re invited to go out with the bull riders after the rodeo,” she said, washing his back.
“Sounds like fun,” he said, thinking how those men lived life on the edge and partied like it was their last night.
And it could be.
After stepping out of the shower, he pulled on a fresh pair of jeans, tucked one of his good shirts into his pants, and slipped on his boots.
Turning, he watched Marcy spray her hair, making certain the curls stayed in place. Her makeup was spotless and he knew he’d be the envy of every cowboy at the rodeo tonight.
She turned and smiled.
“Ready?”
“Yes,” he said. They started toward the garage. The sound of knocking on his front door had him frowning.
“Let me get that and then we’ll go.” It was probably one of the workers there to tell him something about the cattle.
After walking into his living area, he opened the front door, and his eyes widened.
An old girlfriend from over a year ago, Skylar Beal, stood in front of him, looking gorgeous, her blonde hair longer than ever, holding a baby.
“Skylar,” he said, surprised. She hardly seemed like the motherly type. “What are you doing here?”
She thrust the baby into his arms and he had no choice but to accept the child or let it drop to the ground.
“What the hell?”
Her brown eyes flashed with determination and she stepped back far enough away he couldn’t give her the baby back.
“It’s your turn. I haven’t gone out and had fun in ages, Josh. I’ve been pregnant then dealing with Mia. Now it’s my turn for some fun. You can watch her for the weekend.”
The woman had completely lost it. “I’m not watching your kid. Why would I?”
The smirk he had hated from the day he met her filled her face. “She’s yours, hotshot. Deal with it. I had to.”
Terror filled his chest and his heart raced like a formula one driver’s car nearing the concrete wall.
“What? This baby isn’t mine,” he yelled.
Two big sapphire eyes popped open and the baby’s bottom lip trembled before she belted out a cry.
“Now you’ve done it,” Skylar said, dropping a bag on the ground at his feet. “Her formula, diapers, everything you’ll need is here in this bag. I’ll be back late Sunday to pick her up. Have a great weekend getting to know your daughter Mia.”
Turning around in her cowboy boots, she all but ran down the stairs and jumped into her Corvette. The engine roared to life and she backed out of his drive, spinning gravel as she took off.
Shocked, he stared down at the baby in his arms. This child was his? No…
What the hell was he going to do? He didn’t know anything about taking care of babies. What kind of mother just ran off and left her child with an amateur?
Marcy came up behind him. “Are you ready?” Her eyes widened with concern. “Where did the baby come from?”
“Skylar just dropped her off. Said she was mine.” He wasn’t certain he believed her, but what was he going to do? Her mother was gone.
