Taut: The Ford Book

I ignore her and go back to the bathroom and change into my gym shorts, then flip the light off and walk back over to the bed.

“It’s freezing in here,” she says softly. “I tried to change the setting on the heater, but it’s just cold air so I turned it off.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot.” I switch the bedside light on and grab the heat blanket on my bed and offer it to her. “It’s a blizzard blanket. Self-heating. It should last all night.”

“What about you?”

I offer her a small smile and hold up the other bag. “I have two. But takes like fifteen minutes for them to heat up, and this one’s already warm.” I wait a few seconds as she studies my face. “Want it?” She still says nothing. “Well—” I throw it over the top of her and then sit back down on my bed. “I’ll have to insist. You’re still wet.” I rip open the other blanket bag and her reply is so small I almost miss her, “Thank you.”

“No problem.” I throw the other blanket over my bed, turn the light off, and let out a long sigh as I get under the covers. What a f**king day.

“Good night,” she says. And then there’s some rustling as she turns over.

“Night,” I say back to the darkness. I expect to stare at the ceiling for a good long while, since I’m not a big sleeper on the best of days and having a strange girl with a baby in my room is pretty out of the ordinary for me. But I’m drifting off before I can even close my eyes.

I sit up in bed, confused, and then instinctively reach over and switch on the light. “What’s that f**king sound?” And where the hell am I, I don’t add out loud. My heart slows as I remember. I turn to the girl in the bed next to me and her expression is nearing fearful. “Sorry,” I say.

“She’s hungry, that’s all. I’m trying to be quiet.”

It’s only then that I notice the sound that woke me is a baby suckling. On a breast. That’s partly exposed right now. I’m not sure what comes over me but it takes quite a few seconds to pull my eyes away. When I find her gaze she’s not afraid anymore, she’s mad. I laugh a little as I switch the light off and lie back on the bed, my hands behind my head.

“What’s funny?” she asks, annoyed.

“That look. Like you’d punch me in the face if you didn’t have a baby attached to you.”

“I’m going to ignore you.”

And she does. The baby slurps away happily and I can make out the girl’s face in a stray beam of light that filters through an opening in the curtains from the parking lot. Her eyes are closed and she appears utterly content.

My dick twitches a little and I laugh again.

“Do you mind?”

“I actually do not mind. Not one bit.” And then it’s my turn to turn away and ignore her. But the smile is still on my face and even though I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, I think that breastfeeding a baby not six feet away from me—a man she knows nothing about but seems ready to trust completely—is just about the sexiest f**king thing I’ve ever encountered.

Chapter Six

A knock at the door pulls me back from my dreamless slumber. I open my eyes and stare at the door. “Now what?” I look over at the girl but she’s still asleep. I wrap the blanket around me and check the time on my phone. Seven AM. Who the f**k is up at seven AM on New Year’s Day?

I pull it open, ready to bitch out whoever’s on the other side, but stop short when I realize it’s Mrs. Pearson.

“Rutherford, sorry to bother you…”

I wait.

“Do you mind if I come in? It’s six degrees out here.”

“Oh, sure.” I step aside and let her in.

She pushes past me and then stops short as I close the door. “Oh, I just assumed you were alone last night. I only charged you for a single.”

“So bill me,” I reply dryly.

“No, no, that’s fine. You know we were all so disappointed when you never came for your father’s funeral. The whole village turned out. Everyone wanted to see you.”

I have nothing for that.

“At any rate, I’m happy you’re back. I’m sure everyone will be glad to talk to you.”

“I’m not back. I broke down and I’m passing through, that’s all.”

Her gaze remains on the girl in the bed and I have to clear my throat to get her attention back. “Right,” she says, finally turning back to me. “Dallas called Jason last night and told him of your… situation.” Her eyes linger on the girl again, like she just can’t accept the fact that she’s there. “Anyway, Jason said he’ll be in at eleven to take a look at your truck. You still have that thing, huh?”

“Yes, Mrs. Pearson, it’s a classic.”

“Oh, well… I hope it has seatbelts. You know, for the baby.”

I look over at the girl, who now has her eyes open and is starting to pull herself up from the bed. She’s stripped down to a t-shirt and her legs are bare when she swings them out from under the covers in a half-dazed state. The baby is sleeping next to her and shifts a little as she maneuvers, enough to make Mrs. Pearson jump into action to prevent a potential roll-off.

“Thanks,” the girl mumbles groggily. She’s clearly not awake yet.

I look over at Mrs. Pearson and she’s frowning. “Why is it so cold in here?” she asks.