“No problem, I got my degree in rocking chair.” Checking her reflection in the hallway mirror, Claudia tucked a stray hair back into her coiled French coiffure. “You didn’t happen to have an argument with Cooper, did you?” The question came out of the blue.

  Ashley could feel the blood rush from her face, then just as quickly flood back. “What makes you ask?”

  “Seth and I have hardly seen him the last couple of days, and he’s been in the foulest mood. It’s not like him to behave like this. I can’t understand it.”

  “What makes you think I have anything to do with it?” she asked, doing her best to conceal her reaction.

  “I know it sounds crazy, and I wouldn’t want to offend you, Ash, but I still think something’s stirring between you two. I may be an old married fuddy-duddy, but I recognize the looks he’s been giving you. What I can’t understand is why the two of you work so hard at hiding it. As far as I’m concerned, you’re perfect for one another.”

  “Ha,” Ashley said harshly. “We can’t spend two minutes together lately without going for each other’s jugular.”

  Seth took Claudia’s wrap from the hall closet and placed it over her shoulders. “Sounds like the way it was with us a few times, doesn’t it, honey?” he asked, and tenderly kissed the creamy smooth slope of Claudia’s neck.

  “Call if you have any problems, won’t you?” Claudia said, suddenly sounding worried. “Scotty will cry the first few minutes after we’ve left, but he should quiet down in a little bit, so don’t panic.”

  “I never panic,” Ashley assured her with a cheeky grin.

  True to his mother’s word, Scott gave a hearty cry the minute the door was closed.

  “It’s all right. Look, here’s your teddy.”

  Scotty took the stuffed animal, threw it across the room and cried all the louder.

  Ten minutes passed and nothing seemed to calm his frantic cries. Even John looked as if he was ready to give way and start howling.

  “Come on, sweetie, not you, too.”

  “I want my mommy.”

  “Let’s pretend I’m your mommy,” Ashley offered, “and then you can tell me how to make Scotty happy.”

  “Will you hold me like my mommy?” Johnny asked, a tear running down his pale face.

  “Sure, join the crowd,” Ashley laughed, lifting him so that she had a baby on each hip. Johnny cried in small whimpering sounds and Scott in large howling sobs.

  Pacing the floor, she glanced up to find Cooper standing in the entryway watching her, a stunned look on his face.

  Five

  “Look, Johnny, Scott,” Ashley said cheerfully. “Uncle Cooper’s here.”

  Both boys cried harder. Scotty buried his face in her neck, his stubby hands tangled in her blond hair. When he pulled a long strand, she cried out involuntarily, “Ouch.”

  The small protest spurred Cooper into action. He hung his overcoat in the hall closet and entered the living room, taking John from Ashley.

  “What’s the matter, fella?” he asked in a reassuring tone.

  “I want my mommy!” John wailed.

  “They went out for the evening,” Ashley explained, both hands supporting Scott as she paced the floor, making cooing sounds in his ear. But nothing seemed to comfort the baby, who continued to cry pitifully.

  “What about Webber and your party?” Cooper asked stiffly.

  “I tried to tell you that I wasn’t going,” she explained, and breathed in deeply. “I didn’t say a thing about attending the party with Webb. You assumed I was.”

  “Are you telling me the reason you didn’t go tonight is because you’d promised to baby-sit John and Scotty?”

  Ashley silently confirmed the statement with a weak nod. His dark eyes narrowed with self-directed anger.

  “Why do you put up with me?” he asked.

  She didn’t get the opportunity to answer, because Scotty began bellowing even louder.

  A troubled frown broke across Cooper’s expression. “Is he sick? I’ve never heard him cry like that.”

  “No, just unhappy. Claudia said she’d left a bottle for him. Maybe we should heat it up.”

  All four moved into the kitchen. With Scotty balanced on her hip, Ashley took the baby bottle out of the refrigerator. “It needs to be heated.” She held it out to him.

  “If you say so,” he said, shrugging his broad shoulders. “How does your mommy do it?” he asked Johnny, who seemed more secure now that his uncle had arrived.

  “She nurses Scotty.”

  Slowly Cooper’s dark eyes met hers, amusement flickering across his face. She giggled, and soon they were both laughing. Scotty cried all the harder, clinging to Ashley.

  The humor broke the terrible tension that had existed between them for days.

  Cooper smiled warmly into her eyes, trying to hold back his laughter. He walked across the room and took a large pan out of the bottom cupboard, then filled it with hot water. “I don’t want to chance the microwave. What if I melt the bottle? It’s plastic, after all.” By the time he’d set the pan on the stove and turned on the burner, he’d regained his composure.

  Ashley placed the baby bottle in the water. “Is it supposed to float?”

  “I don’t know.” He shook his head briefly, the look in his eyes unbelievably tender.

  “Oh well, we’ll experiment, won’t we, boys?”

  “What’s an experiment?” Johnny asked. He was sitting on top of the counter, his short legs dangling over the edge.

  “It’s a process by which we examine the validity of a hypothesis and determine the nature of something as yet unknown.”

  “Cooper…” Ashley laughed at the way the three-year-old’s mouth and eyes rounded as he tried to understand what Cooper was saying. “Honestly! Let me explain.” She turned to Johnny. “An experiment is trying something you’ve never done before.”

  “Oh!” Johnny’s clouded expression brightened, and he eagerly shook his head. “Mommy does that a lot with dinner.”

  “That’s right.” Ashley beamed.

  “Smart aleck,” Cooper whispered under his breath, his gaze lingering on her for a heart-stopping moment.

  Ashley found herself drowning in the dark depths of his eyes and quickly averted her head. The water in the pan was coming to a boil, the baby bottle tossing back and forth in the bubbling liquid.

  “It must be ready by now,” she commented as she turned off the burner.

  Cooper went out to the back porch and returned with a huge pair of barbeque tongs. He quickly lifted the bottle from the hot water, setting it upright on the counter.

  “Nicely done,” she commented, and waited a few minutes before testing the milk’s temperature. Once she was sure it wouldn’t burn Scotty’s tender mouth, she led the way into the living room.

  Remembering what Claudia had said about rocking the baby, Ashley sat in the polished wooden rocker and gently tipped back and forth. Scotty reached for the bottle and held it himself, sucking greedily. Her eyes filled with tenderness. She brushed the fine hair from his face and cupped his ear. The room was blissfully silent as John and Cooper sat across from her.

  Johnny crawled into Cooper’s lap and handed him a book that he wanted read. Cooper complied, his voice and face expressive as he turned page after page, reading quietly.

  Ashley found her attention drawn again and again to the man and the young boy. A surge of love filled her, so strong and overpowering that tears formed in her eyes. Hurriedly she looked away, batting her eyelashes to forestall the moisture.

  Losing interest in the bottle, Scotty began chewing the nipple and watching Ashley. His round eyes held a fascinated expression as he studied her hair and reached out to grab her blond curls.

  Carefully, she brushed her hair back. As she did her eyes met Cooper’s. His gaze had centered on her mouth with a disturbing intensity. The power he had over her produced an aching tightness in her throat.

  “You’ll make a good mother someday.” His voice was low and husky.

  “I was just thinking the same thing about you,” she murmured, then realized what she’d said and hastened to correct herself. “I mean a good father.”

  “I know what you meant.”

  “Uncle Cooper.” Johnny tugged at Cooper’s arm. “You’re supposed to be reading.”

  “So I am,” he agreed in a lazy drawl. “So I am.”

  Finished now, Scotty tossed the bottle aside, then struggled to sit up. “I know I should burp him,” Ashley said, “but I’m not sure of the best way to hold him.” Cooper stood. “Claudia left a baby book lying around here somewhere. Maybe it would be best to look it up.”

  The small party moved into Cooper’s den. Ashley carried Scotty on her hip. He didn’t make a sound, having apparently become accustomed to her, and that pleased her.

  Cooper found the book and set it on his desk, flipping the pages. As soon as Ashley bent over next to him to read a paragraph, Scotty burped loudly.

  “Well I guess that answers that, doesn’t it?” she said, laughing.

  “Uncle Coop, can I have a piggyback ride?” Johnny climbed onto the chair and held out his hands entreatingly.

  Cooper looked unsure for a moment but agreed with a good-natured nod. “Okay, partner.”

  Johnny climbed onto Cooper’s back, looped his legs around his uncle’s waist and clung tightly with his chubby arms. “Gitty-up, horsey,” he commanded happily.

  Cooper grinned. “How come this is called a piggyback ride and you say ‘Gitty-up, horsey’?”

  Johnny chuckled. “It’s an experiment.”

  “He’s got you there.” Ashley flashed him a cheeky grin.

  Cooper mumbled something unintelligible and trotted into the next room.

  Ashley followed, enjoying the sight of Cooper looking so relaxed. Scotty clapped his hands gleefully, and Ashley trotted after the others.

  After a moment Cooper paused. “I smell something.”

  “Not…” She didn’t finish.

  “I think it must be.”

  Three pairs of eyes centered on the baby. Dramatically, Johnny plugged his nose. “Scotty has a messy diaper,” he announced with the formality of a judge.

  “Well, he’s still a baby, and they’re expected to do that sort of thing. Isn’t that right, Scotty?”

  Unconcerned, Scotty cooed happily, chewing on his pajama sleeve.

  “Claudia showed me where everything is, this shouldn’t take long.”

  “Ashley.” Cooper stopped her, his face tight. “I think I should probably be the one to change him.”

  “You? Why? Are you saying it’s the proper thing to do, since he’s a boy?”

  “I’m saying it’s not a lot of fun and I’ve done it before, so…”

  Unsuccessfully disguising a grateful smile, she handed him the baby. Scotty protested loudly as Cooper supported him with his hands under the baby’s armpits, holding him as far away as possible.

  “Call me if you need help.”

  Johnny led the way up the stairs, the large wooden steps almost more than he could manage. Cooper glanced down, his brow marred by a frown, then followed his nephew down the hall.

  Ashley waited at the foot of the stairs, one shoe positioned on the bottom step, in case Cooper called.

  “Auntie Ash.” Johnny came running down the wide hallway and stopped at the top of the stairs. “Uncle Cooper says he needs you.”

  A tiny smile formed lines at the edges of her mouth. Somehow the words sounded exceedingly beautiful. She yearned to hear them from Cooper himself, though not exactly in this context.

  She entered the bedroom and saw that his frown had deepened. He extended a hand to stop her as she entered the nursery. “I need a washcloth or something…you can give it to John.”

  Ashley ran the water in the bathroom sink until it was warm and soaked the washcloth in it. After wringing out most of the moisture, she handed it to Johnny, who ran full speed into the bedroom.

  Loitering outside the room, Ashley impatiently stuck her head inside the door. “Cooper, this is silly.”

  “I’m almost finished,” he mumbled. “This was just a little…more than I’m used to dealing with.” His expensive silk tie was loosened, and the long sleeves of his crisp business shirt had been rolled up to his elbows.

  Ashley watched from the doorway, highly amused.

  “Voilà,” he said, pleased with himself, as he stood Scotty up on the table.

  Ashley dissolved into fits of laughter. The disposable diaper stuck out at odd angles in every direction. Had he really done this before, or had he just been trying to spare her an unpleasant task? As she was giggling, the diaper began to slide down Scotty’s legs, stopping at knee level. She laughed so hard that her shoulders shook.

  “Here, let me try,” she insisted after a moment, swallowing her amusement as best she could.

  Cooper looked almost grateful when she took the baby and laid him back onto the changing table. She did the best she could, but her efforts weren’t much better than Cooper’s. He was kind enough not to comment.

  When she had finished, she paused to look around the room for the first time. Claudia had told her about the bedroom Cooper had decorated for the boys, but she hadn’t had a chance to take it all in earlier. Now she could stand back and marvel. The walls were painted blue, with cotton candy clouds floating past and a huge multicolored rainbow with a pot of gold.

  Johnny, who had apparently noticed her appreciation, tugged at her hand. “Come look.”

  Obligingly, Ashley followed.

  He closed the door, and flipped the light switch, casting the room into darkness. “See,” he said, pointing to the ceiling.

  Ashley looked up and noticed a hundred glittering stars illuminated on the huge ceiling. What had been an attractive, whimsical room with the light on became a land of fantasy with the light off.

  “It’s great,” she murmured, her voice slightly thick. Over and over again Claudia had commented on how much Cooper loved the boys. Ashley had seen it herself. He wasn’t lofty or untouchable when he was with John and Scott. His affinity for children showed he could be human and vulnerable. He was so warm and loving with the boys that it was all she could do to keep from running into his arms.

  Cooper made a show of checking his wristwatch. “Isn’t it about time for you boys to go to bed?”

  “Can I wear your watch again?” Johnny asked eagerly.

  Cooper didn’t hesitate, slipping the gold band from his wrist and placing it on his godson’s arm.

  Ashley couldn’t help but wonder at the ease with which Cooper relinquished a timepiece that must have cost thousands of dollars.

  Scotty cried when she placed him in the crib. She stayed for several minutes, attempting to comfort him, but to no avail. She would just get him to lie down and tuck him under the blanket when he would pull himself upright, hold onto the bars and look at her with those pleading blue eyes. She couldn’t refuse, and finally gave in and lifted him out of the crib.

  “Claudia said something about rocking him to sleep.”

  “No problem,” Cooper said with a sly grin. He left and returned a minute later with the wooden rocker from downstairs.

  “Will you pray with me, Uncle Cooper?” Johnny—who was also still wide awake—requested, kneeling at his bedside.

  Cooper joined the little boy on the plush navy blue carpet.

  For the second time that night Ashley was emotionally stirred by the sight of this man with a child.

  “God bless Mommy, Daddy and Scotty,” John prayed, his head bowed reverently, his small hands folded. “And God bless Uncle Cooper, Auntie Ash and all the angels. And I love You, Jesus, and amen.”

  “Amen,” Cooper echoed softly.

  Scotty had his eyes closed as he lay securely in Ashley’s arms. Gently she stood to lay him in the crib, but both eyes flew open anxiously and he struggled to sit up. With a short sigh of acquiescence, she sat back down and began to rock again. Content, Scotty watched her, but with every minute his eyes closed a little more. She wouldn’t make the mistake of getting up too early a second time. Gently, she brushed the wisps of hair from his brow.

  Cooper was sitting on the mattress beside Johnny, who was playing with the wristwatch, his gaze fixed on the lighted digits. Cooper pushed a variety of buttons, which delighted the boy. After a few minutes, Cooper tucked Johnny between the sheets and leaned over to kiss his brow.

  “Night, night, Auntie Ash,” Johnny whispered.

  She blew him a kiss. Johnny pretended to catch it, then tucked his stuffed animal under his arm and rolled over.

  The moment was serene and peaceful. Finally sure that Scotty was asleep, she stood and gently put him into the crib. Cooper came to stand at her side, a hand cupping her shoulder as they looked down on the sleeping baby.

  Neither spoke, afraid of destroying the tranquility. When they finally stepped back, he removed his hand. Immediately, Ashley missed the warmth of his touch as they headed back downstairs.

  He paused at the bottom of the stairs, a step ahead of her. He turned, halting her descent.

  “Ashley,” he whispered on a soft trembling breath, his look dark and troubled.

  A tremor ran through her at the perplexing expression she saw in his eyes. Spontaneously she slipped her arms around his neck without even being aware of what she was doing.

  “Ashley,” he repeated, the husky sound a gentle caress. He crushed her to him, his arms hugging her waist as his lips sought hers. The kiss was like it had always been between them. That jolt of awareness so strong it seemed to catch them both off guard. When his mouth broke from hers, she could hear his labored breathing and the heavy thud of his heart.

  He loosened his hold, bringing his hands up to her neck, weaving long fingers through her hair. His lips soothed her chin and temple, and she gloried in the tingling sensations that spread through her. She continued to lean against him, needing his support, because her legs felt weak and wobbly.