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She was still surprised to find herself here, surprised and nervous What if soot hurt while in her care? She hadn’t been alone with a baby in—not since she was a child

The horrible h like a buzzard ready to pluck her heart out

What was Gabe thinking? She was a virtual stranger She had no business with his child, but AJ’s cry had got herShe couldn’t say no to that sweet request, especially when he was headed for a dangerous construction zone

She considered getting out of the car to let AJ walk around, but with all the machinery and activity, she worried Gabe had parked outside what appeared to be a temporary office, a short distance removed from the actual mine shaft, but she would take no chances

She unstrapped AJ’s car seat, crawled into the backseat with hi a bucket filled with toys to keep his son entertained He also had a DVD player built into the headrest AJ proain Brooke retrieved the ones that fell to the floor and handed them back As soon as the pail was filled, he dumped the toys and started over

“So that’s the game,” Brooke said when AJ offered a red block With some ceremony, she plunked the toy into the plastic bucket “There you go”

“There you go,” he repeated as he added another He was such a precious, happy little boy Brooke’s chest filled with a hot ache just fro him play

After a fewtoy cars over the seats and onto Brooke’s leg When she ain”

She did, loving the reward of his belly laugh

As she fu toward the car Her stomach sank The warm pleasure of AJ’s company dissipated Her cousin Vincent was not the nicest of her relatives

He ambled up to the“Well, look e have here Little Brookey”

Brooke cringed at the snide voice fro as she could reotten into weightlifting for more than sport He’d used his superior physique and clever mind as weapons She’d learned to run away or steer clear anytime she saw him