LITMIR.BIZ

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head. “I can see the difference already.” He turned his attention to Dakota. “You look good, too, by the way.”

      She grinned. “Gee, thanks. I appreciate the compliment, even if it is an afterthought.”

      She led the way into the living room. Finn settled on the blanket, with Hannah on his lap. Dakota sat across from him.

      He’d always had the kind of looks that made her think of tangled sheets and late mornings spent in bed. But there was something about seeing a strong, confident man holding a baby. She’d never experienced it before but now she totally got the appeal.

      “How are things on the show?” he asked. “I talked to Sasha a couple of days ago and he was complaining that they needed to go on a hot date.”

      “Bad choice of words. After the fire incident, I’m thinking even Geoff is hesitant to let those two loose.”

      “I think that’s why they’re staying close to home. Nothing’s been scheduled with Stephen and Aurelia. I don’t think they’re interesting enough for Geoff.”

      “Probably not. He’s getting frantic about keeping the ratings up. He mentioned he would love an explosion at the Tulip Festival. I told him there was no way that was going to happen. So how’s the flying? Miss those Alaska mountains?”

      “Not as much as I would have thought. There are plenty of people who would rather fly to Fool’s Gold than drive. I don’t get it—the drive is beautiful, and I say that as a pilot. Still, it’s keeping me busy. I’ve flown a few cargo flights and had an interesting afternoon taking a whooping crane from San Francisco to San Diego. The bird I flew is supposed to be a hot breeder.” He chuckled. “He didn’t look any different to me, but I’m not a girl whooping crane.”

      As he talked, Hannah reached toward one of the small stuffed animals on the floor.

      “Do you want that?” Finn asked. He picked up the small pink stuffed elephant and handed it to her.

      “Ga ga ga.”

      Dakota stared at the little girl. “Did you just say ga?” She turned to Finn. “You heard that, right? She spoke.”

      Finn rolled onto his back and held the little girl up in his arms. “Look at how smart you are. You can say ga.”

      Hannah squealed with delight as Finn continued to hold her in the air. When he rolled back to a seated position, she reached for her elephant. He handed it to her.

      Dakota couldn’t stop grinning. “I know I had nothing to do with it, but I feel so proud.”

      “It’s a parent thing.”

      That’s right. She was a parent now. “I need to remember what this feels like so that when she’s fourteen and driving me crazy, I have something to fall back on.”

      He chuckled. “You are a woman with a plan.”

      They watched the little girl. She seemed mesmerized by her pink elephant.

      “One of the guys I flew in told me there’s talk of building a casino just north of town,” Finn said.

      “I heard about that. Apparently it’s going to be a very upscale facility. More tourists are always a good thing.”

      “I also heard plenty of talk about the man shortage. You know the world thinks Fool’s Gold is filled with desperate women.”

      Dakota winced. “It’s been an ongoing problem. I told you about the grad student who wrote about the man shortage in her thesis. The media picked it up and went crazy. That’s why we have Geoff here, doing his show. Demographically, men might be outnumbered, but we are hardly desperate women.” She looked at him. “Although it does explain my attraction to you.”

      “You’d want me no matter how many men were in town.”

      “There’s certainly nothing wrong with your ego.”

      “Or any other part of me.”

      He was right about that, Dakota thought, remembering the feel of his body against hers. But she wasn’t going to admit it.

      “There seem to be plenty of guys in town,” he said. “Is there still a shortage?”

      “I’m not sure. They were coming in by the busload last fall, but I don’t know how many of the men stayed. Still, the town is fine. That’s what made all the media attention so frustrating.”

      “It’s a good town,” he told her. “You’ll get through this.”

      “Mayor Marsha is counting the minutes until Geoff and his production company leaves. She’s afraid of what they’ll want to do next. I’m pretty sure Geoff finds Fool’s Gold quiet and boring. We don’t want him writing our tourist brochure, that’s for sure.”

      As they were speaking, Hannah started to lean more heavily against Finn. Her eyes began to close in that familiar way.

      “Someone’s getting sleepy,” Dakota said, scrambling to her feet. She glanced at the clock. “It’s a little past time for her nap. I don’t want to put her down too late. She’s nearly sleeping through the night.”

      Finn handed her the baby, then stood. “Not something you want to mess with.”

      “Exactly. Sleep is still precious. More so for me than for her.”

      Dakota headed for her daughter’s room. Finn trailed along behind her. She checked the baby’s diaper, then put her in her crib and turned on the mobile.

      Finn moved next to her and touched Hannah’s cheek. “Sleep well, little girl.”

      The baby sighed and then drifted off to sleep. Dakota picked up the monitor and stepped out of the room. Finn closed the door behind them.

      “How long does she sleep?” he asked.

      “About two hours. Then we have dinner and I read to her some more. The evenings are—”

      She had more she was going to say but never got the chance. They were barely in the living room when Finn put his hand on her waist and drew her to him. She went without thinking and was glad she did when his mouth settled on hers.

      Her first thought was that it had been too long between kisses. He’d been busy with flying, and she’d been adjusting to being a mother. But when she felt his tongue on her bottom lip, her thoughts faded as she lost herself in the fiery passion that lurked whenever he was near her.

      He tasted of coffee and mint. His body was strong and hard against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to get closer, to feel all of him. His heat surrounded her.

      More, she thought hungrily. She wanted more.

      Still holding on to the monitor, she led the way into her bedroom. She put the monitor on her dresser and checked the sound, then turned to him.

      Neither of them had said anything. She suspected neither of them had planned this moment. But if the desire in his eyes was anything to go by, he wasn’t going to object, and she knew she wanted everything he had to offer.

      He stepped toward her. She moved into his arms.

      Perhaps this wasn’t the smartest decision she’d made that day, but she was okay with that. There might be consequences for giving herself to Finn when she knew that eventually he would leave. She would worry about that later, she promised herself, getting lost in his kiss and the feel of his hands on her body. For now, there was only the man and the way he made her feel.

      FINN WAS AWARE of Dakota’s even breathing. It might only be four in the afternoon, but she was exhausted. He would like to take credit, but an hour of passionate lovemaking was nothing when compared to caring for a six-month-old baby.

      He doubted she slept for more than four hours at a stretch. So when he heard the sound of Hannah stirring, he got up from the bed and turned down the monitor.

      After

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