Somethin' Dirty: Country Fever, Book 4 by Em Petrova Read Free Book Online

“What?” she squealed. “Oh my God, Nola. It’s fate.”
    Nola shook her head as soon as she saw that word perched on her sister’s lips. Since kindergarten, Nola had been telling her it wasn’t fate that she and Bobby sat together on the bus. In eighth grade, she’d promised Molly that she and Jordan were not slated for marriage. And on and on.
    “No, his ma is sick with cancer, and he needs some help. That’s all.”
    “And the kid? How old?”
    Nola tried not to allow her insides to freeze at the thought of being left alone with Lyric. “Four months, a little girl named Lyric.”
    “Jeezus!” Molly grasped Nola’s forearms and shook her. “You’re a country singer and he has a kid named Lyric? It’s fate, woman! Open your eyes.”
    Yeah, Nola had mused about that too, but it was coincidence. No matter that if she had her own child, the name would have been a perfect fit.
    “When do you start?”
    She glanced at her gold watch. “Actually, I need to run. He sent me to the store for diapers and formula. When I get back, I’ll take over for a few hours while he tends cattle.”
    “Lordy, I may faint.” Molly fanned herself. “He’s a cowboy.”
    Ohhh, is he . Pure male in low-slung jeans and a worn cowboy hat.
    Nola ignored the burn between her legs. “Anyway, I won’t be home till late tonight. Tell Mom not to keep dinner. I’ll probably fix a sandwich at Griffin’s.”
    “You’ve gotta make chicken marsala for him. It’s your best dish.”
    “It’s not a date. I’m taking care of his kid. Okay, you’ve got a customer. Try not to drape yourself all over him.” Nola scooted out the door and back to her car.
    She spent an hour trying to find the items on his list. By the time she paid for the baby supplies, she was rethinking her decision to take the nanny position. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if she stayed at the optometry office.
    Except now that she knew Griffin was in a jam, something deep inside her wanted to reach out and help. All the way back to Needle’s Pass, she warred with herself. If she planned to walk away, sooner worked better than later.
    It was a bad idea to be around a man she could so easily lose control with. I’m not the right person for this position.
     
     
    When she entered, he was on the phone, the receiver tucked between ear and shoulder and a pissed-off Lyric over his opposite shoulder. Nola’s decision to leave him in the lurch vanished. Hurriedly she set the bags down and took the baby.
    The bundle squirmed, and Nola panicked. What the hell was she supposed to do with her? She bounced her for a moment, trying to discern what she needed. Fed? Burped?
    “Let’s start with the basics.” She clutched her awkwardly to her chest and peeked between the snaps on the baby’s legs. A soggy diaper. With what she hoped was a smile at Griffin, she whisked Lyric down the hall to the changing table.
    His voice rose and fell, a low tenor that did things to her insides. She tried to block his voice by talking to Lyric, but he kept invading her senses. A moment later, Lyric was still fussy but clean. Nola’s hair tumbled into one eye, and her shirt clung to her damp skin after wrestling two fat legs into a sleeper.
    She lifted Lyric and looked up to see Griffin in the doorway, staring at her.
    “She’s hungry. She’s on a four-hour schedule. A minute more than that, and she’ll let ya hear it.” He grinned lopsidedly, the bracket cutting a path in his cheek. Nola shivered. Too well she recalled the feel of his beard scraping her sensitive skin. And that soul patch…
    “Right. I’ll handle it if you have work to do.”
    He gave a short nod. “I do.” Still he didn’t leave.
    Awareness prickled all over her body. Shit, this wasn’t what she’d signed up for. She crossed the room, and he stepped aside so she could pass. In the kitchen, she floundered around the space until she found bottle, warmer and burp cloth. He watched her without lifting a hand to find