Free Undercover Daddy by Delores Fossen Page B

the moment turned a little weird. It was too intimate. As if they were a family. Which they weren’t.
    The happy moment ended as quickly as it’d come.
    “I’ll get back to making breakfast,” she told Luke. “You might want to use the baby wipes to clean yourself.”
    Feeling awkward and warm at the same time, Elaina made her way back to the kitchen to finish the oatmeal. What was wrong with her anyway? She’d started the morning thinking about French kisses and sex. Now, she was thinking about family. Talk about insane notions.
    Or was it?
    She was almost afraid to let the thought fully materialize in her head, but she couldn’t seem to stop it, either. After all, it was Luke who wanted to pretend to be a loving, happy couple. For Christopher’s sake. But what was wrong with continuing that pretense until they could figure out what to do about shared custody and such?
    Plus, there were the men in jail. Having Luke around would mean that Christopher would be safe, because Elaina knew he would protect his son.
    Of course, the downside to having Luke around was that she was starting to feel things that she thought she’d never feel again. Feelings she’d buried with Kevin.
    Feelings that Luke would never be able to feel for her in return.
    To him, she was the enemy. She was the woman who’d robbed him of all these months with his son. The only feelings that Luke would ever have for her would be part of this pretense.
    And that was okay.
    Elaina repeated that to herself.
    She already had enough to deal with without adding feelings and emotions to the mix.
    By the time Luke and Christopher joined her in the kitchen, Elaina was reasonably sure that her little talk with herself was working. She was getting her mind back on the right things. Then, she saw Luke’s bare chest, watched him lovingly put Christopher in his high chair and she needed another attitude adjustment.
    It was going to be a long day.
    Luke had just sat down to start feeding Christopher the oatmeal when his cell phone rang. Elaina took over the feeding duties while he took the call.
    “Hello, Rusty,” he answered after glancing at his Caller ID.
    Elaina divided her attention between feeding Christopher and watching Luke’s reaction. She knew the call could be important, but judging from Luke’s tight jaw, something had gone wrong. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell what.
    Other than simple yes and no responses, she did hear Luke request a “safe house” which sent a shiver of panic through her. Did he honestly think they needed something like that? Unfortunately, Elaina had to wait until he’d finished the call before she could get an explanation.
    “That was Rusty who’s down at the sheriff’s office,” Luke relayed to her. “He said he’ll drop off my suitcase this morning so I won’t have to leave you to drive over there.”
    She studied him. “Then, why are you scowling?”
    “Well, it’s not because of the suitcase. The lawyer’s been delayed. He won’t be in Crystal Creek until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. That means the interviews aren’t going to happen until then.”
    She scowled then, too. She wanted this over and done, and that couldn’t happen until the men gave up some information.
    “And the safe house?” Elaina asked. “What was that all about?”
    “A precaution. I asked Rusty to request a safe house just in case we have to release those men tomorrow. I don’t want Christopher or you here with them loose.”
    Neither did Elaina. But then, a safe house seemed a little extreme. Unless…“Does this mean you think the men will be released?”
    Luke shrugged. “We have reason to hold them, so I don’t think they’re going anywhere, but we have to be prepared, just in case.” He leaned against the counter and watched her feed Christopher. “There’s also the likelihood that these men aren’t working alone.”
    “Yes,” she said, feeling that panic again. “They could be working for