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reminded Angie that Kylie needed a real mother figure, someone permanent. And not a fly-by-night female role model who’d nearly made love to a man outdoors in broad daylight, with three impressionable kids inside the house.

      “Twenty-three kids?” Toby asked. “But that’s counting the boys, too. You can’t invite them to a girls’ slumber party.”

      Kylie pointed at Angie. “But you had a girl over for a slumber party.”

      The tiny red-haired cherub in the princess pajamas had brought the conversation full circle without missing a beat.

      And just as quickly, Toby opened the pantry door and changed the topic. “Hey, guys. We need to get our chores done early today. Why don’t I make pancakes for breakfast? You can help me by setting the table and getting the juice out of the fridge.”

      Smart move. New focus.

      While the children were distracted with setting the table and getting the orange juice out of the refrigerator, Angie decided it was the perfect time to sneak out of here.

      She was such a coward. But she was doing what she did best—leaving before things got uncomfortable again.

      So she slipped out the back, quietly shutting the door. When she walked by the kitchen window, Toby spotted her and lifted his eyebrows.

      She gestured, then mouthed, “I have to go.” It was a lame excuse, especially since she really had nowhere to go on a Saturday morning. But she couldn’t very well stay here and play house with Toby and the kids.

      He nodded as if he understood. Yet guilt, embarrassment, fear and other emotions she hadn’t yet pegged all tumbled around in her throat, threatening to cut off her air supply.

      She put her thumb to her ear and her pinkie to her lips, giving him the universal sign for telephone. Then she mouthed, “I’ll call you.”

      Again, he nodded.

      Then she climbed into her car before she could debate whether she really had any business calling Toby at all.

      * * *

      Ten minutes after Angie drove away, the cordless phone on the counter rang and Kylie answered it before Toby could make a grab for it. Was Angie calling him already? He could understand her wanting to get the heck out of Dodge this morning. He’d been tempted to jump in her car and go with her just to escape the curious eyes pelting him with unspoken questions.

      What had he been thinking, spending the entire night with Angie like that? Better yet, what had he been thinking setting those damn sprinklers on a timer to go off at six in the morning? If they hadn’t blasted them with water, Toby knew exactly what he would have done to Angie’s sweet, warm and tempting body this morning. He wouldn’t have stopped with a hand on her lush breast—that was for sure. Instead, they’d gotten sprayed with water like a couple of dogs someone had to turn the hose on to keep from going at it on the front lawn.

      “Yeah, Aunt Stacey,” Kylie said. “He’s right here, fixing pancakes for us and Angie.”

      Obviously, Kylie still hadn’t realized that Angie had left. Or that Toby was still staring out the kitchen window after her like a sad, abandoned puppy.

      He tried to reach for the telephone before Kylie could tell his sister anything else, but his hands were full of slimy eggshells, which he’d have to rinse off first.

      “Uh-huh,” Kylie continued. “Angie and Toby had a sleepover last night. And Toby got my pillow all wet, but that’s okay because he said I get to invite my class over for a slumber party.”

      With his hands clean, but still wet, Toby took the phone from Kylie. “Hey, Stace. What’s up?”

      “Why did Kylie put you on the phone?” Stacey asked. “I wanted to talk to Angie.”

      “She’s not here,” Toby said, a bit more defensively than he’d intended.

      “She left already?” Justin asked. “Aw, man. I wanted to ask her to help me build a spaceship out of LEGO.”

      “We’ll see her later,” Toby told the disappointed boy.

      But the truth was, he didn’t know when they’d see Angie again. Or if Angie would even want to see him after the way he’d been pawing at her this morning.

      “Later, huh?” Stacey asked. “I heard the two of you have been spending a lot of time together lately, but I had no idea you guys were at the sleepover stage.”

      Toby covered the mouthpiece. “Brian, stir the pancake mix. I’m going to talk to my sister for a sec. But don’t use the stove until I get back.”

      After giving all the kids an assignment, Toby walked into the living room so they wouldn’t hear his line of defense.

      Not that he’d done anything wrong. Had he? Maybe if he just explained what had happened...

      Hey, wait. He didn’t owe anyone an explanation.

      When he reached the living room, he asked, “So how’s Piper?”

      Everyone knew Stacey adored her nine-month-old daughter, so he figured he’d change the subject to one of toothless grins and sleepless nights.

      “She’s fine,” Stacey said. “Growing cuter and smarter every day.”

      “And how about Colton?” he asked, hoping he could get her talking about her new fiancé, one of the neighboring ranchers. “Have you guys set a date yet?”

      “Colton is doing great, but don’t try those distraction tactics on me. I’m one step ahead of you, big brother. You are not getting out of this one. What’s going on with you and Angie Edwards?”

      His sisters, Stacey and Delaney, were protective over all their brothers, but particularly Toby since his family always accused him of being a softy—and a sucker for a sob story. Not that Angie was a sob story.

      “Nothing’s going on,” he said. “Angie’s been helping me out with the kids. That’s all.”

      “Are you paying her for babysitting services? Because I heard Angie’s always looking for a new job. She never seems to stick with one very long.”

      “Not that it’s any of your business, but no, I’m not paying her. She’s doing it to be nice and because she likes the kids. And for your information, Angie is a very hard worker. Just because she hasn’t found a career she likes doesn’t mean she isn’t a good person.”

      “I never said she wasn’t, Toby. I was just telling you what I’ve been hearing around town. I went to high school with Angie, remember? She used to date a lot back then.”

      Toby felt a jostle of jealousy stir up again in his veins.

      “What do you mean she used to date a lot? Like she was...” Toby didn’t want to say anything that would be demeaning to Angie, but he didn’t know how else to ask.

      “Well, she didn’t have a reputation for being fast or anything like that, but she was known as the Queen of the First Date.”

      “What does that mean?”

      “It means she would go out with a guy if he asked her, but usually, they never made it to a second date. I don’t know if it was fear of commitment or what, but she never went steady with anyone or took any of the guys seriously. She for sure never had sleepovers with anyone before. Or at least none that I heard about.”

      The envy died down a little bit inside him. At least he couldn’t fault Angie for being choosy.

      “Listen, last night wasn’t a sleepover. It was just an accident. Nothing, uh, really happened.”

      He hoped his sister hadn’t caught the hesitation in his voice.

      “Aha!” she said. “Define ‘nothing.’ And ‘really.’”

      “I’m not

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