McKettricks of Texas: Garrett by Linda Lael Miller Page A

drawer, handed them to him.
    Calvin was on his feet by then, resigned to washing up and brushing his teeth.
    Julie waited, smiling to herself.
    She heard the toilet flush, then water running in the sink.
    When Calvin returned, Julie was sitting on the side of his bed and Harry was snugged in down by the footboard. Remarkably agile on his three legs, the dog had jumped up unassisted, just as he did every night.
    Julie rose, and Calvin climbed into bed, staring soberly up at Julie while she tucked him in. She was oddly aware of Garrett nearby, either in the sitting room of the suite or beyond, in the big kitchen.
    â€œI love you,” she said.
    Calvin grinned. “I love you more,” he countered. It was a game they played, the two of them.
    â€œI love you all the way to the moon and back,” Julie replied.
    â€œI love you twice that much.”
    â€œI love you ten times more,” Julie batted back.
    â€œI love you all the numbers in the world,” Calvin finished triumphantly.
    Julie laughed, accepting defeat gracefully. She could have thrown infinity at him, but he would merely have doubled it.
    Her heart was full when she kissed Calvin once more, for good measure. She barely kept herself from hauling him into her arms and holding him tight, tight, tight.
    Of course, that would have worried him.
    â€œCan I ride on Dark Moon again tomorrow?” he asked, as she paused at the bedroom door to switch off the lamp. “If Tate is there, or Garrett?”
    Julie debated silently for a few moments, then gave a suitably noncommittal answer. “Let me talk the idea over with your aunt Libby first,” she said. “Maybe it would be better if you rode one of the twins’ ponies instead of a big one. The ponies are more your size.”
    Calvin’s smile, though tentative, was worth everything to Julie. “I wish I could have my own pony,” he said, in an awed whisper. “My very own pony, black and white. I’d name him something cool, like Old Paint.”
    â€œEven if he wasn’t old?” Julie teased. She knew she shouldn’t have played along with the pony fantasy—not even for a few moments—since it wasn’t one she could fulfill, but she didn’t have the heart to throw cold water on the idea.
    Calvin beamed. “He could be Young Paint, then, Iguess,” he said. Without his glasses he looked even younger than he was, and more vulnerable, too.
    Again, Julie wanted to gather her baby into her arms and clutch him close to her. Again, for the sake of Calvin’s dignity, she resisted the urge.
    He yawned big and closed his eyes. Made a little crooning sound as he settled into his pillow, into his little-boy dreams.
    Julie rose and went to the doorway, lingered on the threshold, listening as his breathing slowed and deepened.
    He was asleep within moments.
    And Garrett was still in the sitting room.
    â€œGot a minute?” he asked.
    Julie longed for a bath, a soft nightgown and eight full hours of sleep, but nodded.
    â€œSit down,” Garrett said.
    She took one of the shabby-chic chairs, and he took the other.
    The chairs faced each other, and their knees, his and hers, almost touched.
    â€œAbout today,” Garrett began.
    Julie put up a hand. “I overreacted,” she said. “To the horse, I mean. I just—I don’t know—a lot of things happened earlier, and I guess I just panicked—”
    Garrett grinned. “You’re the boy’s mother,” he added, when she fell silent. “If you don’t want him riding horseback, that’s certainly your prerogative.”
    Julie nodded, then shook her head, then blushed. What was it about being in this man’s presence that made her feel so rattled and so confused, so off balance? No one else affected her that way—no one ever had. Not even Gordon, when they were together.
    â€œLibby and Paige are always telling me I’m too protective of