Free Rodeo Bride by Myrna Mackenzie

him a favor loving and caring for his child for the past three months, and now she was teaching him how to be a good father despite the fact that he was taking Toby away from her. Last night she had patiently sat down with him and given him a crash course on car seats and other safety issues. She had shepherded him through his first diaper change and assured him that Toby would let him know if he got the thing on too tight.
    Dillon looked down at his son’s milky face and gave him a kiss. “I’ll be back,” he said and he held Toby out to Millie. “Can you man the baby while I go give Colleen a hand?”
    “You can’t do that. You’re supposed to be a—”
    “Don’t say guest . Everyone keeps saying that. That’s an order.”
    Millie shrugged. “Sorry. We’re just trying to be hospitable.”
    “And I appreciate it. But things will run more smoothly if you simply accept the fact that I’m used to taking charge and being responsible for my own actions and welfare. I’m not good at being a taker. At least I hope not. Now, where will I find her?”
    “Probably down where the entrance to the Applegate is. Colleen won’t stop the fishermen from going through, but she’ll want to make sure that no one decides to wander up to the house to snoop around.”
    He nodded. “Toby?”
    “Of course,” Millie said. “And…thank you. It’s nice that there’s some man who doesn’t automatically assume that Colleen should be capable of doing everything. People have always taken advantage of the fact that she’s a doer. She takes on too much. Not that I should complain. If she hadn’t been the kind of person she is and taken us in, who knows what would have happened to us, but…yeah, I’m glad you’re not simply taking her for granted the way everyone in town seems to.”
    Interesting. Dillon was certainly going to find out more about that topic when he got a few minutes, but for now, it seemed that Colleen was off fighting dragons for him. He was grateful, but he just wasn’t a dependent sort of guy. Couldn’t ever be.
    As he started out the door, Millie called to him. “The fastest way to the entrance is straight across the south pasture and through the orchard. If you take the road, it’s a lot farther.”
    “Thank you,” he said as he took off toward the entrance. Despite the uneven ground and his uncooperative leg, he moved as swiftly as he could, given that he had left his cane behind. He wasn’t sure what this was all about, but he knew this much. If he weren’t here, Colleen wouldn’t have to take care of the extra work of making sure he wasn’t “bothered.” Which was crazy, given the fact that he was bothered and hot and all kinds of attracted to her every time she got close to him. A man wanting to ask him about his car? Or even watching him struggle with a diaper? That was easy stuff. Not wanting to touch Colleen? Far too difficult.
    When he entered the orchard, the first thing he noticed was a striking sculpture of metal and what looked like broken bits of glass. It glittered in the sun, the glass tinkling in the breeze. Other bits of colored glass hung from the trees amidst the glossy leaves, the budding fruit and the gnarled branches. Itwas a bit like a living art gallery, but Dillon didn’t stop, because midway through the orchard he heard Colleen’s voice.
    “Harve, now I know you didn’t come here to fish. You only fish on Saturdays and the occasional Sunday. If you’re here during the week, it’s to spy on Mr. Farraday.”
    “He’s rich. He’s probably used to people staring at him.”
    “I don’t think that anyone ever gets used to people staring at them and asking nosy questions. Besides, where he’s from people probably don’t make him feel like some sort of bug under a microscope. There are lots of rich people in Chicago. Lots of interesting cars, too.”
    “Oh, come on, Colleen. We’re not going to bite him.”
    “No, you’re going to bug him. The man just got