Chapter 2
ROSE
I stood on the porch of Cullen Jameson’s cabin and waited for someone to come to the door.
I’d already knocked twice. I could tell by the sound of a baby’s cries coming from inside that someone was home.
Ruby had begged me to come as soon as I could.
She had an event over in Bozeman this weekend and asked if I could help Cullen take care of a baby until she could get back.
I told myself I was just doing her a favor.
That’s what I always did—help, then move on. No roots. No strings.
This wasn’t just any baby, either. I’d heard the rumors, and Ruby had confirmed them.
Cullen found out he was a dad less than twenty-four hours ago, and everyone in Mustang Mountain already knew all about it.
It wasn’t the first time I’d seen someone thrown into parenthood overnight.
As a kid, I knew what it felt like to be dropped off and told to make the best of it.
But I’d never been on the other end of it and couldn’t imagine the shockwave that had sent through his life.
He had a reputation for being the kind of man who didn’t want to settle down.
Ruby said he wasn’t sure what he was going to do yet, but he needed all the help he could get.
I lifted my fist to knock again, but the door swung open.
Cullen stood in the doorway, his hair sticking out all over like he hadn’t slept in days.
He wore a wrinkled flannel with something white and crusty down the front and held a baby carrier in his hand.
For a man who looked like he’d recently lost a fight with a burp cloth, he had no right having eyes that warm or a face that handsome. Life really wasn’t fair.
“Are you Rose?” The look in his beautiful brown eyes begged for me to say yes. Ruby must have told him I was on my way.
“Yes.” I stepped past him into the cabin and caught a whiff of dirty diapers. Several empty baby bottles sat by the sink, and a huge dog licked something out of a small plastic bowl on the kitchen table.
“She won’t stop crying.” Cullen held the baby carrier toward me. The little girl’s face was bright red, and tears streaked her cheeks.
I immediately set it down and started to unbuckle her. “When’s the last time you held her?”
“Held her?” He looked at me like I’d grown another head.
“Yes.” I lifted the baby out of the carrier and cradled her in my arms. Instinct kicked in, and all the time I’d spent swaying another unlucky foster kid on my hip took over. I rocked from side to side. Her cries softened and then stopped.
Cullen took a deep breath. “She stopped crying. How did you do that?”
“I literally just picked her up. Do you want to hold her?” I held out my arms, expecting him to take her, but he took a big step back instead.
“She doesn’t like me. Ruby left a few hours ago, and she’s been crying ever since.” The bowl the dog had been licking on the table clattered to the floor, drawing his attention. “Have a seat. Do you want coffee?”
His big couch swallowed me up as I sank down onto the cushions. “Sure. Just black is fine. Does she have a name?”
“Calliope,” he said from the kitchen. “Ozzy, get out of here. Damn dog thinks he’s in heaven.”
While he dealt with the dog, I looked around the interior of the cabin.
It was definitely a bachelor pad. A huge TV hung above the mantel of a large fireplace.
Cullen’s firefighter gear sat next to the front door along with a couple of pairs of boots.
There was nothing on the walls and no pictures on the bookshelf by the fireplace.
Except for the couch and an ancient recliner, the only other furniture I could see was a kitchen table and a few mismatched chairs.
Ozzy trotted over and stuck his nose into my chest. He must have been a mix of a few big breeds. Calliope smiled and grabbed a handful of his fur.
“I’m going to grab a fresh shirt real quick if you don’t mind.” Cullen walked past, his fingers already undoing the buttons on his flannel.
“Take your time. I can stay for an hour or two.”
He turned around, his shirt falling from his shoulders, exposing the kind of abs I’d only seen in underwear ads along with a few dark tattoos on his chest. “An hour or two? But I need help.”
“Sorry. Ruby asked me to stop by before work. I’ve got a shift at the Merc that starts at one.
” Ruby had been kind enough to offer me some part-time work when I’d ended up stranded in Mustang Mountain a couple of weeks ago.
I’d been on my way from California to anywhere else when my car broke down, and now I was trying to save up enough to replenish my savings before I took off again.
Cullen reached for his phone. I could only hear his side of the conversation. “Hey Ruby, Rose is here. Do you really need her at the Merc today?”
It didn’t matter to me whether I spent my afternoon stocking shelves or changing diapers. As long as I got paid for my effort, I’d be adding to the money I needed to get on the road again. That was the lie I told myself. Truth was, watching him try mattered more than I wanted to admit.
He paced the hall and let out a series of “mmms” before finally smiling. “Thanks. I owe you one.”
I ran my hand between Ozzy’s ears while Calliope smiled up at the shaggy dog. “Let me guess. You sweet-talked her into giving me the afternoon off.”
“I should have asked you first, but I’m desperate.” The smile was gone, replaced by a deep crease between his brows. “Will you stay this afternoon? Please?”
I’d be willing to bet that Cullen Jameson had never known the meaning of the word “desperate” before an unexpected baby showed up. He didn’t look like he’d ever had to wonder where his next meal might come from or worry about a foster dad taking liberties he didn’t deserve.
“I charge fifteen an hour.” That was more than I was making at the Merc. If he wanted me to stick around, it would have to be worth my time.
“Fine.” His shoulders sagged, and he let out a huge exhale. “I’m going to get that clean shirt. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I didn’t intend to watch him go, but my gaze followed him down the hall. His dark jeans sat low on his hips, showing off a sliver of the waistband of whatever he had on underneath.
Feeling like I was getting a look at something I shouldn’t, I turned my attention back to Calliope.
The dog had given up on finding any more snacks and settled on a pillow in front of the fireplace.
I spotted a diaper bag by the recliner and got up to check inventory.
Ruby said he might be running low on supplies.
“Her schedule’s on the table,” Cullen said as he came back into the room. He’d pulled on a Mustang Mountain Firehouse t-shirt that stretched taut across his broad chest.
I held the baby in one arm while I counted diapers. He was down to a handful. “You need to go to the store. She’s only got enough diapers to last another night. Where’s the rest of her stuff? And when’s the last time you changed her?”
“Ruby changed her before she left. I’ve got two cans of formula. That should last a long time, shouldn’t it?”
“You haven’t checked her diaper since Ruby left?” I immediately got up and spread a blanket down on the couch. “That was hours ago.”
“Ruby set up a space on my dresser if you want to do it there.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, motioning to his bedroom.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been in a man’s bedroom, but it had been years. This wasn’t about me, though. “Fine. Show me.”
Cullen led the way to where Ruby had set out a changing pad on top of a hand-hewn dresser and stacked diapers in a drawer underneath. I laid Calliope down and put my hand on her chest to keep her from rolling.
“Wipes are here,” Cullen said, handing me a packet.
“You’re going to change her.” I moved out of his way while still keeping my hand on the baby. We were starting with tiny steps. I didn’t expect him to be able to hold her still and change a diaper at the same time.
His brown eyes met mine with a mix of panic and stubbornness. “I’d really rather you did it.”
“I bet. But you’re going to need to know how once I leave and it’s just the two of you here.”
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t step away.
He unzipped the front of her pink sleeper, and his fingers fumbled with the tiny snaps at the bottom of her onesie.
Calliope didn’t seem to care. She laughed as she reached for my hair.
I gave Cullen instructions, one step at a time until he’d secured a fresh diaper around her waist and tucked her feet back inside her pajamas.
“Now go wash your hands and we’ll move on to how to mix her bottle. She’s probably hungry.” I carried Calliope to the kitchen while he cleaned up and tossed the diaper in the trash.
For the next several hours, I coached him through fixing bottles, warming up the small jars of baby food, and how to hold her like a person instead of a football. When she went down for a nap, I helped him clean up so he could start all over again as soon as she woke up.
I hadn’t expected him to pick up on everything so easily, but by the time her bedtime rolled around, he was securing diapers and burping her over his shoulder like a pro.
He’d only gone through three shirts and a pair of jeans in the process.
We gave her a bath in the kitchen sink before her final bottle, then I rocked her for a few minutes before setting her down in the pack ’n’ play Ruby had provided.
“What do I do when she wakes up?” Cullen asked after he’d pulled the door to his second bedroom closed.
“You keep going. Change her, feed her, burp her, and bathe her when she needs it. It’s a never-ending cycle.” I walked back out to the family room and picked my coat up from the couch.
“How am I supposed to work? I can’t exactly take her to the station with me.” He rubbed a palm against the back of his neck and stared up at the ceiling. “I’m not cut out for this.”
“She doesn’t need you to be perfect.” I don’t know what got into me that made me reach out and put my hand on his arm. “She just needs you to be there for her.”
Cullen lowered his head and stared straight into my eyes. I sympathized with him. He’d gone to work yesterday not knowing that by the time he got home his whole life would change.
“Did you have a good dad?” he asked, his voice low.
I bit down on my lip and let my hand fall away, unwilling to unlock the box of memories I had about my own childhood. “Not exactly.”
“Neither did I.” He hooked his thumbs on his belt loops. “I don’t know how to do this.”
My heart swelled. He sounded like he wanted to do the right thing. “I bet Ruby can help you find someone to watch her while you’re at work.”
“What about you?”
“Oh, I don’t think—”
“I’ll pay you. Ruby said you’ve been renting Mr. Farley’s trailer down by the river. You can even save on rent and move in here. What do you say?”
I wanted to let him down easy. He didn’t think he was qualified to be a father, but he’d already spent more time with little Calliope than my own dad had spent with me. Based on my upbringing, I’d only learned what not to do when it came to raising a child.
“Just until I can find another solution?” he asked. Desperation laced through his tone.
“And you’ll pay me?”
“Yeah. Room and board plus whatever Ruby’s been paying you per week.”
“Plus twenty-five percent,” I said. He probably would have agreed to anything, but I wasn’t out to take total advantage. “And just until you can find someone else.”
He nodded.
“I’ll let Ruby know I won’t be able to keep my shifts at the Merc and give Mr. Farley my notice. I’ve already paid my rent this week, so I don’t need a place to stay until next weekend. You’ve got three weeks. I need to be back on the road by the first of November.”
He was either too relieved to wonder where I was going or too tired to ask. “Thank you, Rose. What time can you be here in the morning? I’m supposed to start a twenty-four-hour shift at the station the day after tomorrow.”
“Is eight okay?” That was only twelve hours away, barely enough time to get back to the trailer, fix something to eat, and get a decent night’s sleep.
“That would be great. I’ll try not to break her before you get back.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“You won’t.” My reassurance shouldn’t make a difference, but it seemed like it did.
I left him standing in the doorway, with the light from inside outlining his massive silhouette.
By the time I reached my truck, the cool night air hadn’t done a thing to clear my head.
I’d told him I was just helping out, but part of me already knew I was in deeper than that.