Free A Texas Soldier's Family by CATHY GILLEN THACKER Page A

that?
    Apparently, judging by the supreme masculine satisfaction emanating from him, she had.
    * * *
    D ELIGHTEDLY TRACKING THE flush that started in her chest and crept up to her face, Garrett palmed the center of his chest. “Me?”
    She thought about trying to deny it but realized that was pointless. “Surely you noticed how much Max loves it when you hold him...”
    Garrett shrugged. “I love holding him, too.”
    That said, he gazed at her lips. Her breath caught as he took her glass. Set it aside. Bent his head.
    The next thing Hope knew she was all the way against him. His arms were wrapped around her. Their mouths were fused.
    If anything, this kiss was sweeter than the first they had shared.
    Shorter, too.
    He drew back. Enough light poured out from the interior of the house that she could see the desire glimmering in his eyes.
    She had sure as heck felt it in his kiss.
    Her chest rose and fell as she tried to find the will to admonish him, but the words just wouldn’t come. So she did the only thing she could. She picked up her glass and disappeared into the house and then her bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind her.
    Garrett knew he was pushing the boundaries Hope had set. But with only a few days to convince her they had something worth pursuing, he had kissed her, anyway.
    Felt her respond.
    And knew all he had to do was continue getting to know her—and her adorable little son—and let the rest of the situation play out. Go from there.
    In the meantime, they all needed sleep, so he headed to bed.
    He was awakened at one thirty in the morning, when Max cried.
    “Meh...meh...meh...”
    Which meant, Garrett knew now, Max was hungry.
    The house fell silent once again.
    Which meant Hope was nursing.
    Two hours later, Max woke again, demanding to be fed. Eventually the house grew quiet.
    At five thirty, Max woke for the third time in six hours. “Meh...meh...meh...” And this time, he wouldn’t stop.
    Garrett lay in bed, wondering if he should offer to help, or stay put and let Hope deal with it as expertly as she usually did.
    The sound of the front door opening and a crying Max being carried outside had him vaulting out of bed.
    He joined Hope and the baby in the yard.
    She was standing with her hand on the car door, tears streaming down her face. And still an apparently hungry—and healthy—Max cried. “Meh, meh, meh.”
    “What’s going on?” Garrett asked, gathering the infant into his arms.
    Hope was still in her menswear-style pajamas, which were buttoned crookedly up the front, her hair a tousled mess. She had her keys but no purse.
    And the tears continued to spill from her eyes. “Max wants to nurse again,” she sobbed softly, “and my breasts are dry!”
    He could see where that was a problem, a big one, for both mother and child. Resisting the urge to take Hope in his arms, along with Max, and hold them both close, he asked, “So what’s the plan?” Obviously, she had one.
    Hope let out a shuddering breath and ran both her hands through her hair. Her chest rose and fell with each agitated breath. “To drive him back and forth on the ranch until he falls asleep again. Or I make more milk.” She gestured helplessly. “Whichever comes first.”
    The physician in him rose to the challenge. He met and held her eyes. “I have a better plan. Why don’t you go inside and get dressed?”

Chapter Six
    Ten minutes later, a fully dressed Hope climbed into the back of the SUV next to her intermittently wailing son. Garrett slipped his phone into the pocket of his shirt and settled behind the wheel. From the doorway, Lucille and Adelaide, who had been awakened by all the ruckus, waved.
    Embarrassed that she was turning out to be so inept a mother, at a time when she most needed to be at her best, Hope drew a deep breath.
    She knew she shouldn’t need a man in her life. And she didn’t. But it was sure nice to have Garrett here right now. Even better that he was a doctor.
    “You’re