Redeeming Rafe by Alicia Hunter Pace Page B

it, closer to his body until her thumb brushed his stomach. “You cannot continue to use cookies to deal with them.”
    He smiled a smile that didn’t really go with his face. “Candy? I could switch …”
    Abby did not speak, and she did not smile.
    He looked at her hand on his wrist and then into her eyes. “I have to get out of here.”
    “No,” she said. “You have to stay and start being a father. Those girls aren’t going away.”
    And they looked at each other, silent against the background of toddler chatter and Dirk’s voice reading
Goodnight Moon
.
    “I can’t,” he said.
    “If you can stay on the meanest bull in Texas for eight seconds, you can rock a twenty-two pound girl to sleep.”
    “Rock?” He looked horrified.
    “Bella always goes down immediately, with no fuss—probably because she wears herself out. Alice has to be rocked.” She released his wrist. “Now sit.”
    He looked around. “I’m not sure about this.” But he sat in the chair.
    Abby picked up the child. “Alice, Daddy is going to rock you tonight.” She set Alice in his lap. “I’ll get her pacifier and blanket.”
    For a moment, Abby thought the mission would have to be aborted. Rafe sat stiff as a dead man, and Alice began to struggle to get away.
    Abby put the pacifier in her mouth, and she settled a bit.
    “It might have been handy to have some of those on the trip from Denton,” he said.
    “No doubt. And no doubt there were some in their things. Now, wrap her in the blanket. Cuddle her. Rafe, you have to rock, not just sit.”
    And to Abby’s surprise, he did as she said. As Dirk and Gwen left their sleeping children and slipped out of the room, Gwen met Abby’s eyes and gave a half nod.
    It was hard to look away from Rafe and Alice, but Abby busied herself getting Phillip settled. Unlike Bella and Alice, he had never had a pacifier, hadn’t sucked his thumb much, either. He smiled before he closed his eyes. Was he smiling at her or some happy thought marching through a half dream? She stroked his hair off his face. He was secure now—health insurance, a beautiful room to live in, and a big boy bed waiting for him.
    That security came with a whole new set of problems. But didn’t every new situation?
    “I think she’s asleep,” Rafe said quietly.
    Abby turned. “Yes, she is.”
    He kept still and looked at Abby expectantly.
    “You can put her in bed,” Abby said.
    “I kind of thought you’d do that. I might wake her when I get up.”
    “You might. Then you’ll just have to get her back to sleep.”
    He grimaced. “I could make you do it. You’re the nanny.”
    “No. You really can’t. I can pick up Phillip, walk out of this room, and leave. Then what are you going to do?”
    “Are you always so disrespectful of the person who signs your check?”
    “You said earlier I wasn’t your employee.”
    “And you said you were. Just taking orders, ma’am.”
    “Then take these, and you’ll know how to do it next time. Get up slowly. Try to keep her still. Bella is a sound sleeper. You could use her for a bowling ball, but Alice wakes easily. Yes. That’s right. Good.” Abby stepped over to Alice’s crib and moved the blanket. “No. Not on her back. On her stomach. That’s right. Roll her over in your arms and ease her down.”
    He stood back and breathed a sigh of relief.
    “You’re not done,” Abby said.
    “Not done? She’s sound asleep. What am I supposed to do? Produce the tooth fairy and the sandman? The last I heard, there were no such people—which is good. It gave me the willies as a kid to think strangers were coming in and out of my room without me knowing it.”
    Abby laughed a little. Rafe was so much quieter than Gabe that it was hard to remember that he could be funny.
    “Nothing so complicated. Cover her and kiss her goodnight.”
    He pulled the blanket up and hesitated. Then he lifted the blanket and kissed the bottom of her foot. Abby bit her bottom lip to keep herself