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slopes and sightseers flocking to the hotels, shops and restaurants. And the cold season was coming soon. Already his crews were inspecting every inch of the runs and lifts, getting ready for the first big snowstorm.
    A light breeze, smelling of winter, cooled his face. He always savored this time of year and the changes it brought. But the changes happening now were like nothing in his experience.
    Leigh was right. Chloe was going to need him. But how could he even begin to nurture her, discipline her and give her the support she needed? From his own father, Wyatt had inherited a legacy of neglect and abuse. What if the traits that made a good parent were simply missing in him? It was that fear that had made him keep his distance when she was a baby, herself. He’d missed the chance to get to know her, to build the kind of relationship that would help him understand how to be there for her. Could he trust himself to build that relationship now? Where did he even begin?
    As for the baby... He couldn’t begin to wrap his brain around that reality. Not tonight. But if he wasn’t sure how to be a father after all these years, then he couldn’t believe that Chloe was prepared to be a mother when she was barely more than a child herself. Having a child could destroy her future. Since she’d arrived, he’d tried over and over again to help her realize that the best thing for all of them would be to give the little boy up to a good family. The message hadn’t gotten through, but perhaps things would change now that the baby was here. Once she realized that having a baby wasn’t like having a new doll, the girl might come to her senses.
    Meanwhile, there was Leigh. He was depending on her to maintain a level of sanity he could live with. So far, she’d proved as efficient, hardworking and practical as she was pretty. He could only hope she had the skill to care for the baby and the patience to deal with the red-haired hellion that was Chloe at her worst.
    The weariness he’d been holding back too long crashed in on him. Time he got some rest. It was late, and tomorrow he’d be bringing Chloe and the baby home from the hospital. The day was bound to be trying.
    Stepping back inside, he headed toward the stairs. That was when he glanced down the dark hallway and noticed the sliver of light under the closed door of Leigh’s bedroom. Discretion told him to ignore it. But it was one-thirty in the morning. What if something was wrong? What if she was sick or in some kind of trouble?
    Outside the door he paused to listen. Hearing nothing, he rapped lightly on the rough-hewn wood. When there was no answer, he pressed the latch and inched the door open.
    Lamplight glowed on Leigh in bed, propped against two oversized pillows. She was dead asleep, her eyes closed, her head drooping to one side. The thin strap of her silky black nightgown had slipped off one shoulder to reveal the upper curve of a satiny breast.
    Had she been waiting up for him? But that notion wasn’t worth the time it took to kick it to the curb. Nothing in tonight’s behavior could’ve been read as an invitation.
    So why hadn’t she just turned off the light and rolled over? In the next instant he found the answer. On the duvet, where it could have fallen from her hand, lay a thick paperback book. Drawing closer, Wyatt could make out the title— Baby Care for the New Mother .
    Leigh had fallen asleep cramming for her job.
    So her claim to be experienced in childcare was something of a stretch. A smile teased the corners of Wyatt’s mouth. He wasn’t ready to fire Leigh. But he wanted to let her know, in a subtle way, that he was wise to her little fib.
    Tired as she was, she’d probably sleep until morning. If she woke to find the book on the nightstand and the lamp switched off that should be enough to give her a clue.
    Leaving his shoes in the hallway, he stole across the carpet to the bed. Close up, her lush beauty was even more tempting—ripe lips