In It to Win It by Morgan Kearns Page B

the frightened baby in his arms.
    Jane saw his lips whispering next to the little one’s ear. Blond curls bobbed in a nod, and Nate set her down on her feet. She popped a thumb into her mouth and reached up to take hold of Nate’s finger.
    Roxy weaved her way through the crowd. Nate did too with Grace in tow, until the two of them came to stand next to where she and Molly stood in the kitchen. Nate’s knuckles bumped into her shoulder. “Good job, Jane.”
    “ Hey, I helped,” Molly said in mock chastisement.
    Nate dipped his chin. “You both did great. I appreciate it so much. She was surprised. Did you see how surprised she was? I’m so gonna get lucky tonight.”
    “ I’m lucky,” Gracie said.
    Nate yanked his daughter into his arms, hugging her tightly to his chest. He pressed a kiss into her hair. “Yes, you are, Gracie. You are very lucky. You’re my lucky charm.”
    “ Graaaaaa-cie!” Jesse screamed from across the house.
    “ Love you, Dad-dy.” Grace kissed his cheek and struggled to get down. “Jessss-se!” she answered, deafening her father in the process.
    Nate put her down and rubbed at his ear with his palm. “That little girl has a set of lungs on her.” He watched with a smile on his face as she took off on a dead run, then his grin turned mis-chievous. “Just like her mother.”

 
     
    7
     
     
     
    O VER THE NEXT MONTH, JANE WAS BOM-barded by people who wanted to talk to her. Her phone rang nonstop until Dale instructed the station receptionist to take messages (and there were a lot of them). Even the calls on Jane’s cell had increased substantially. It’d gotten to the point that if she didn’t know the number, she didn’t answer it. Not surprising, there were a lot of hang-ups.
    The whole situation was beyond ridiculous.
    Nate was a good sport about the whole thing. Before she’d teased him about being her bodyguard, now the statement had become a self-fulfilled prophecy. More than once he’d had to get between her and someone wanting a statement, someone who wouldn’t take “no comment” for the only comment they were going to get. He’d actually introduced Clayton Tate’s back to the wall of a building downtown.
    A trip to the grocery store had produced a totally-off-her-rocker groupie creeping around in fruits and vegetables. “Holy cow! I can’t believe it. You’re … you’re you.”
    Jane looked over her shoulder, hoping beyond all hope to find another you behind her. There wasn’t. “Can I help you?”
    “ Oh! Oh!” Her head whipped around in search of something, Jane couldn’t be sure what. The girl finally grinned. “Please. Wait right here.”
    “ Okay,” Jane said, knowing full well that she was going to dart as soon as this crazy girl walked away. She raced to the dairy department for some yogurt and milk so that she could get out of the store before…
    Someone cleared their throat behind her. Jane grimaced, knowing darn well who it would be.
    “ You didn’t wait,” the girl pouted.
    Jane didn’t say anything because she wasn’t sorry she hadn’t waited and any other excuse would have been lame.
    The girl had her hands on her hips, her clothes in disarray. She held out her hand and Jane squeaked. Part of her wanted to bust up laughing until she pee’d a little; the other part of her was completely mortified.
    “ Will you please give these to Grayson?”
    “ No!”
    The girl’s hand moved closer in an insistent jerk. “You have to.”
    “ Actually, no. I don’t.”
    Seriously, this girl was trying to get Jane to give Grayson underwear. Not that Jane was sure it could be called underwear. It was the tiniest scrap of nylon she’d ever seen.
    “ I’m sorry, I can’t,” Jane told her.
    The hopeful expression on the girl’s face flashed into one of fury. “Who the hell are you anyway? You’re not even that pretty.”
    Jane just shook her head and walked away … as quickly as she could without breaking out into a full-on sprint.
    It