The next three hours were a whirlwind.

River filled out the forms, answered the phone when it rang, and met more Capriottis. At some point, she went to the bathroom and came back to find a pregnancy book on her desk with a little bow wrapped around it. She hugged the book close and silently thanked her anonymous benefactor.

At five on the dot, a guy showed up. Twentysomething, he was dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, boots, and a backward baseball cap. He pulled off his dark sunglasses and gave her a nod, his face unreadable. “Ready?”

Her heart stopped. Had she done something wrong and he was escorting her out? “For . . . ?”

“Cora said to move you into cottage number five.”

When she let out a whoosh of relieved air, he gave her an odd look that she ignored. “Thanks,” she said. “But I’ve got it.”

“Boss lady says otherwise. And as she’s still pissed at me, she also said after I was done doing that, I should ask you what else you needed and do that too.”

“I don’t need anything from you,” River said.

“She said you’d say that.”

Startled, she met his gaze, which was calm and steady, not matching his words at all. Neither did his tone. In fact, he seemed . . . amused?

Which made no sense. “Shouldn’t you be feeling bad about getting in trouble with the boss instead of laughing at me?” she asked.

“I’m laughing because you’re as stubborn as she said you’d be.”

“Maybe I just don’t want to deal with a troublemaker.” Or in other words, anyone of the male persuasion.

He shrugged. “That’s probably a smart plan,” he said.

Unable to help herself, she asked, “What did you do to make Cora mad?”

“Fell off a wild horse and got a concussion.”

She gasped. “And that was your fault?”

“One hundred percent. There’re wild horses grazing the land and we’re supposed to protect them, not touch them. And we’re certainly not supposed to ride them. They can be dangerous.” He gave a wry smile and tapped a finger to his temple.

“I see,” she said, though she didn’t see at all. “I appreciate that she offered your assistance, but really I’m fine.”

“She was pretty sure you’d say that too,” he said and turned to look out the window. “The rusted blue Camry, right?” Without waiting for a response, he moved to the door.

“Wait!” she cried and struggled to stand up. It took her a second and once she was up, his eyes widened at the sight of her belly and he held up a hand.

“Oh Christ,” he said, his calm definitely shaken now. “Sit back down!”

“I’m pregnant, not helpless.” But damn, she was dizzy from getting up too fast.

He came around and got ahold of her. “Whoa,” he said. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Low blood sugar? Do you need food?”

Yes and yes, not that she was going to say so. “I said I was fine,” she snapped and pulled free. “My diet’s fine. My baby’s fine. And as it’s my stuff out there, I’m going with you.”

He looked her over, scrubbing a hand over his scruffy jaw, probably trying to determine just how serious she was.

She was as serious as a heart attack.

“Fine,” he finally said and she gave him a point in his favor for accurately reading her level of determination. “You can point out the stuff you want moved. But you’re not to touch anything, you understand me?”

“The way you didn’t touch the wild horses?”

He slid her a look and gave a tiny hint of a smile. “Kitten’s got claws,” he said, sounding pleased.

“I do, and for your information, I’m not going to not touch my own stuff.”

He nodded as if he’d expected that answer and took off his baseball cap with one hand, shoving his other through his military-short dark hair so that it stood up on end. The guy had clearly been working hard, probably all day, and was gleaming with sweat. “Cora’s gonna kill me,” he muttered and jammed his hat back on his head and strode out the door.

She assumed she was to follow, so she did. At her car, he stopped and looked in.

“Is this all of it?” he asked.

When she didn’t answer right away, he turned toward her in question. Whatever he saw in her face softened the hard lines of his and he came toward her.

She backed up a step.

He stopped on a dime and went hands up. “You’re looking a little flushed is all,” he said quietly. “I just want you to back up a few more feet and sit on that bench, okay? You can boss me around from there just as well if that’s your plan.”

She sank with gratitude to the bench. “I’m not bossy.”

He laughed a little, which confused her.

“You’re doing all this for me,” she said, baffled. “And I don’t even know your name.”

“Holden.” Without asking her name in return, he opened the car door and grabbed the suitcase she’d been living out of. She had her purse on her, which left just a small backpack with a few essentials. He grabbed that as well and then went to pop the trunk.

“There’s nothing else,” she said.

He nodded. “I’ll take this stuff to your cottage and then you can give me your address and I’ll go get whatever else—”

“No, there’s nothing else,” she repeated softly. “As in . . . nothing else.”

He paused, and she told herself if he looked at her with so much as even a single ounce of pity, she’d have to smack him with her purse, which was heavy as shit.

But he simply nodded. “Pretty and she packs light,” he said. “I like it.”

She had no idea how to respond to that, but the butterflies in her belly did, taking flight. Holden showed her to her cabin, pointing out some landmarks on the way, such as the actual winery, the not-wild horses the family kept, the wide-open fields that to River were just about the most beautiful scenery she’d ever laid eyes on.

At her door, Holden pulled a key from his pocket, unlocked the place, and then handed the key to her. Then he shouldered his way in, strode to the small loveseat against the far wall, and set her things down. He looked around. “Never been in this one. It’s nice, yeah?”

She took in the very small place with a kitchenette and a full-sized bed with bedding that looked soft and inviting and felt a weight lift off her chest that she hadn’t even realized was there. “It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”

The minute the words left her mouth, she felt embarrassed, but he simply nodded his agreement.

“I know exactly what you mean,” he said, and then paused at the door.

She braced herself for him to do something stupid like every man she’d ever met, but all he said was, “If you need anything else, I’m three cottages down on the right. Cottage number two.”

She ignored the flutter in her belly at that, telling herself it was just the baby. “Thanks,” she said, and then with a gruff nod, he was gone.

That night, River lay in her comfy bed in her adorable cottage and shook her head. Guilt was her bedmate, but even she had to add, it was a hell of a lot better than being cold and hungry.