Free Bachelor Father by Vicki Lewis Lewis Thompson Page B

the material of her blouse nearly transparent, and the cold had tightened her nipples under the lacy nursing bra. With the seat belt secured between her breasts, she was on display. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest. “Sorry.”
    Zeke swallowed and turned his attention to backing the truck around, but between his heavy breathing and hers, the windows were fogging up. Silently he switched on the defroster.

CHAPTER SIX
    T HE TRUCK HANDLED LIKE the tank Zeke had driven in the Persian Gulf War. That seemed appropriate, although he’d been in physical danger then, and he was in emotional danger now. Of the two, he’d been better prepared to deal with the war than this situation with Katherine. It was a damned good thing he’d decided to drive her back to civilization instead of waiting for the phone to be reconnected. Much more contact and he could predict what would happen.
    Muscling the lame truck along the muddy road took all his concentration. He tried not to think about what he was doing to it in the process. Katherine sat silently beside him as they jolted along. He worked to make the ride as smooth as possible for Amanda’s sake, but the baby didn’t let out a peep, so she must have dropped right off to sleep.
    The skies were producing a world-class rain, but it was a quiet storm with no thunder and lightning. He was grateful for that. Lightning was a ranger’s nightmare, even in a wet forest.
    This particular forest was mighty wet. The wipers cleared a fan of windshield glass only to have the rain obscure it again. Zeke leaned forward, watching for the first sight of the creek and the bridge. Once they made it over the bridge, he’d breathe a lot easier. If they made it past the creek, he could guarantee that he’d be free of her, and then he could start reconstructing his world.
    Except it looked as if he wouldn’t get over the bridge. Zeke stepped on the brake and leaned heavily against the steering wheel.
    “Oh, no.” Katherine put her hand over her mouth.
    Quietly he surveyed the swollen creek. The bridge had been ripped in half.
    Katherine turned to him, her eyes wide.
    He deliberately masked his despair, afraid she might misunderstand and think he was worried about their survival. He wasn’t. The cabin would shelter them for as long as necessary. But the cabin wouldn’t protect them from each other. “Guess we turn around,” he said.
    “And wait for the phone to be fixed?”
    “Well, the phone is only part of our answer now. Even a tow truck couldn’t get across that creek the way it is. The only way anybody could get in here today would be with a helicopter.”
    “So we have to wait for the creek to go down?”
    “Yep. At least enough that a four-wheel drive can get through.” He put the truck in reverse and searched for the best place to back it around, but the shoulders of the road looked very unstable.
    “How long could that take?”
    “Hard to say. Depends on how much more rain we get.” He eased the truck back slowly, cranking the wheel as far as he could. The flat tire didn’t help.
    “Well.” Katherine took a deep breath. “I was prepared for a few hours away from the lodge with Amanda, not a couple of days.”
    He figured Amanda would be the least of their problems. Her food supply was always available, and she didn’t do anything but eat and sleep. Oh, God. Maybe she had some condition that required medicine every so often. He’d never even thought to ask. “What are you missing?”
    “If we end up being here overnight, Amanda’s going to run out of disposable diapers.”
    Maybe it was only his relief that the baby wasn’t sick, but that struck Zeke as funny. He started to laugh.
    Katherine got a haughty look on her face. “I’m glad you’re amused. As a man who’s never changed a baby’s diaper, you can’t be expected to understand the problem, I suppose.”
    “Disposable diapers,” he said, still chuckling. “If that’s the biggest problem we have in