Free Dylan's Daddy Dilemma (The Colorado Fosters Book 04) by Tracy Madison

busy day. I’m supposed to be at the sporting-goods store by twelve and at Reid’s by four-thirty. I’m juggling my responsibilities with trying to help Chelsea, and time is running short. That’s it.”
    “The store will manage without you today,” Cole said. “Do what you need to do.”
    “And if you can’t be at my place this afternoon, Daisy will understand,” Reid said without hesitation. “But something seems to be bothering you. Worries me, Dylan, since the way you’re behaving now is similar to when you—”
    “Stop. Please,” Dylan said before Reid uttered Elise’s name. His mother’s intuition seemed to be spreading, and that was not a good sign. “I don’t want to add to Chelsea’s discomfort by having her walk into a room filled with strangers. So, vamoose already, okay?”
    Paul, who’d watched the back-and-forth with a fair amount of interest, stood. “Move it,” he said to Reid and Cole. “No sense in arguing. We’ve agreed to help, and that’s that. Whatever else you want to know, you can ask later.”
    Clamping his jaw shut, as if physically restraining himself from saying more, Reid nodded and exited the room, with Cole and their parents right behind him.
    Three seconds later, Chelsea walked in.

Chapter Five
    “Y ou okay?” Dylan asked the instant the door closed behind Chelsea. She turned, and there he was, strong and tall and far too appealing for a man she’d only just met. He smiled and butterflies dipped and bobbed in her stomach, adding to her nerves. “That had to be tough, selling your car. Brave, too, though. I’m sorry you had to make such a choice.”
    “Brave? Not hardly. It was the right choice.”
    “Just because something is right doesn’t mean it’s easy.” He leaned against the wall, his arms angled over his chest, and looked her straight in the eyes. It was disconcerting. And more than a little intense. “You can argue if you want, but it won’t change my mind.”
    Blinking to break the contact, she said, “Then I’ll change the subject. Thank you for watching Henry. I hope he behaved and didn’t cause too much trouble.”
    “Nah. He wasn’t any trouble at all.” Dylan nodded toward the main area of the restaurant. “My family is here, and Haley sort of fell under your son’s spell. She wants to spend the day with him, thought she’d take him to her place. If you’re okay with the idea, naturally, but she—”
    “Wait. Just wait a minute,” Chelsea interjected, taken off guard. “Why would your sister want to babysit a kid she barely knows? That seems odd.”
    “Not odd at all. Haley loves kids. In fact,” Dylan said with a shrug, “she and her fiancé run a camp for foster children. The last group of boys left a week ago and the next won’t be here until a little closer to summer. I think the place feels empty to her now.”
    “I see.” She tried to gather her thoughts, tried to put her finger on what bothered her the most about this offer, and the best she came up with was “While that must be terrific for the kids, having a camp like that, Henry isn’t a foster child. He also isn’t Haley’s responsibility. So, I’m guessing you asked her to babysit, and the only reason—”
    “Whoa,” Dylan said, holding up a hand. “Stop for a second and take a breath.” She pressed her lips together and waited, but tapped her toe to show her impatience. “Did I say that Henry was a foster child or that I believe he is Haley’s responsibility?”
    “No. But you seem to think that I’m the sort of mother who will pawn her child off on a stranger, and that’s not the type of parent I am.” Irritation darkened her voice. She had
always
seen to Henry’s welfare, which was why she had to get out of here. A job was not going to miraculously fall into her hands. “I take care of my son.”
    “If I somehow implied you didn’t, I apologize.” Again, Dylan’s gaze hit her head-on. Again, her stomach dipped and bobbed. “But why are