Read Off The Clock: First Responders, Book 1 for Free Online

settled into her rocker with a sigh and began to feed the baby, closing her eyes and willing herself to relax. All the while the drone of the mower provided background noise and Carly was torn between feeling grateful for Gabe’s efforts and wishing he would go away. She thought of him too often as it was and wished she didn’t. Their last encounter had made everything clear. He’d helped her and that was that.
    Which did nothing to explain why on earth he was here now.
    Nathan wasn’t done feeding when the mower stopped and Carly’s head snapped up. Surely Gabe wouldn’t come in. He’d load the mower onto the trailer first. She looked down at Nathan’s downy head. His eyes were closed but he was definitely not finished, one hand pressed against the skin of her breast as if holding it in place, making sure it wouldn’t disappear. A soft smile touched her lips as a knock sounded at the screen door. Nathan’s eyes flew open and his hand flinched in a startle reflex. But he was determined, and never moved when the knock sounded again.
    “Carly?”
    She felt heat rise to her cheeks at the sound of Gabe’s voice. She didn’t want him to see her nursing. It was too…personal. Too awkward. She didn’t know how to answer him and he said her name again. This time she heard the hinges on the door creak and she reached for the flannel receiving blanket, clumsily draping it over Nathan’s head and her partially naked breast.
    The tiny foyer was just off the living room and as soon as Gabe entered he realized where Carly was and what she was doing—it was written in the blank, awkward expression on his face. She felt heat flare again as she met his gaze. She shouldn’t be embarrassed. It was her house, her baby…and Gabe had walked into it.
    But it was more than that. It was because despite all arguments to the contrary, there was something between them. Whether it was past feelings or recent words, there was something tethering them together and they’d be stupid to deny it.
    “I’m sorry,” Gabe murmured, and turned to go back out the way he’d come.
    Nathan picked that moment to completely fall asleep. “It’s okay, Gabe. We’re done. Just give me a moment to…”
    Why was she so flustered? She struggled to keep the blanket in place as she tried to re-clip her nursing bra. People fed their babies every day. It was the most natural thing in the world. But it was different because it was Gabe, not some stranger. It was different because she cared what he thought. And even though he’d walked in at an inopportune moment, she did want to talk to him. To find out what he was doing here. “Just let me put things back into place, okay?”
    Gabe’s face flushed and he looked like he didn’t know whether to go out or stay in. In the midst of his indecision the square of fabric covering Nathan drooped, revealing the full curve of Carly’s breast as she tried to fasten her bra.
    Heat rushed into her face as she grabbed at the receiving blanket. She saw Gabe swallow and avert his eyes. She was absolutely mortified and she bowed her head, struggling to regain her composure as she buttoned the top three buttons on her blouse. This afternoon she’d been feeling somewhat human again, going shopping and picking up lunch like she would have before Nathan was born. Like she was getting back into the swing of things. And then Gabe had arrived, making her jittery and self-conscious with his chocolate eyes and, well, by just being Gabe .
    “There,” she whispered, flashing him an uncertain smile. She got up from the chair, moving gingerly in deference to both the lingering stiffness she felt and to keep Nathan from waking. “Let me put him down in his crib and I’ll be right back.”
    As Carly made her way back to the living room, she passed the hall mirror and noticed the dark circles beneath her eyes. There was a small spot on her blouse where she’d dropped a tiny piece of chicken salad, and her “deliberately