Read Online Claiming His Brother's Baby by Helen Lacey - Free Book Online

attraction.
It’s because he’s handsome and sexy and friendly, that’s all.
She’d have to be a rock not to notice, right?
    She said his name and waited for several seconds while he continued to watch her and the heat in Cassie’s blood intensified and her cheeks burned. Her skin was on fire and she wondered how much it had to do with her fever, and how much had to do with the man standing beside her bed. She’d never experienced anything quite like it before and despite the headache, sore throat and fever, Cassie knew that whatever she was feeling, he was feeling it, too.
    But how? Why? Cassie didn’t have any illusions about herself. She wasn’t beautiful or glamorous or overly smart. She was pretty at best. The same ordinary girl she’d been all her life. A single mother.
The mother of his brother’s child.
The very reason they shouldn’t be looking at one another with such scorching desire.
    Finally, he spoke. “I should go. Get some rest, Cassie.”
    “Oliver will—”
    “I’ll take care of the baby. Just rest.”
    He left the room quickly and Cassie stared after him.
    Okay...so they had...
chemistry
.
    It didn’t have to go anywhere. It wouldn’t. It couldn’t. She was Oliver’s mother. She had a child to think about and fantasizing about a man like Tanner wasn’t going to do anyone any good. She dropped back onto the bed and pulled the covers up. Her head hurt, her throat hurt, even her bones ached. Maybe he was right about getting some rest.
    I just need to sleep and clear my head.
    By tomorrow she’d be over it. And over her attraction for Tanner.
    There was no other option.
    *
    Around ten the following morning Tanner found Cassie’s cell phone and called her friend Lauren. Within an hour she and her doctor fiancé were on the doorstep. Cassie’s fever had become progressively worse overnight and by morning she was burning up and clearly unwell. He managed to get her to take some more aspirin and drink a little water just before midnight and she woke again after seven, coughing and shaking from the chills.
    “You were right to call us,” Lauren said when she came from Cassie’s room and met him in the nursery. “Gabe said she has a mild flu. I’ll arrange for some medicine to be delivered as soon as possible. That and a few days’ rest and she should be fine.” She looked at him and smiled. “You don’t seem surprised by the diagnosis.”
    “I’m not,” he replied and held Oliver against his chest. He wasn’t about to explain he’d spent most of the night alternating between the chair in Cassie’s room to make sure he was close by if she needed anything, and the sofa in the living room. If he’d thought it was something more serious than mild influenza he would have bundled her in the car and taken her to hospital. “But I’m pleased she’ll be okay.”
    Lauren gently touched the baby’s head. “You stayed last night?”
    “Of course.”
    She nodded slowly. “Well, I’m glad that you’re here to look after...things. However, we can take Oliver home with us if you—”
    “No,” he said quickly. “That’s not necessary. I’ll stay until Cassie’s feeling better. And I’m sure she’d prefer that Oliver remain here.”
    He thought she might insist, but Lauren only nodded. “You’re probably right. Let me know if you need anything. You have my number.”
    They left a few minutes later and Tanner quickly checked on a restlessly sleeping Cassie before he headed for the kitchen to feed Oliver. He’d become quickly attached to the little guy and was enjoying the time he got to spend with his nephew. Oliver was a placid baby and caring for him made Tanner think about the prospect of having children of his own. One day. He was surprised how much he liked the idea. The ranch could be a lonely place and more so than ever before, he let himself imagine a couple of kids running across the yard to the house and then along the wide verandah. And a woman...a wife. Someone to