Wyoming Cinderella

Ella fended off the suggestion with a wave of her hand. “It’s kind of you to offer, but I really don’t think so.”

“Please,” little Sarah implored, her huge blue eyes filling with hope.

Ella groaned.

She recognizing the throbbing behind her right eyeball for what it was.

Obligation overload.

That all too familiar sense of having to put others’ needs before her own was so deeply ingrained from years of service that it had left worry lines permanently etched upon her forehead. Passed over for adoption herself time and time again, Ella was frequently farmed out to foster homes in need of a strong back and free baby-sitting services. Her friends had called her Sister Mac in jest, making fun of her devotion to other people’s children—and reminding her of the heartbreak she inevitably suffered every time those ties were severed.

Years of being used by the system had taught her the folly of putting herself second to others more fortunate.

“Pleeeeeease,” echoed Billy, dragging the word and her heart into several pieces.

“Do you mind my asking what you planned on making if you got that job in town you mentioned?” Hawk asked before the final decibel of his son’s pleading had died away.

The offended look on Ella’s face indicated that she did indeed mind. Nonetheless she rattled off a figure that included a fair margin for gratuities. She may not be the prettiest girl George Abrams would ever hire on at the Watering Hole, but she had a way with customers that unruffled feathers and transformed frowns into smiles. People found Ella’s genuine interest in them so refreshing that even the crustiest curmudgeons usually left a generous tip behind.

Hawk didn’t so much as blink at the sum she quoted. “I’ll double it. And include room and board as well as a generous up-front signing fee. How soon can you move in?”

“Move in?” Ella squeaked. “Why, I don’t even know your name!”

“William Fawson Hawk III,” he supplied in a formal tone, extending her a smile and his hand once again. “But you can just call me Hawk.”

Ella backed away from it as she would from a snake curled up in the grass. She wasn’t about to risk physical contact again with anyone who held such phenomenal power over her sensibilities.

“If you’re a decent cook, I’ll triple the amount. The kids can testify to the fact that I can even manage to screw up a basic peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and even their unnatural fondness for microwave macaroni and cheese has worn thin.”

“I can cook, and I can provide you with references, too,” Ella admitted grudgingly, feeling herself slipping into the vortex of the tornado which was gathering speed around her. Her head was spinning. Was this guy for real?

Looking around at the sophisticated decor, Ella knew she wasn’t dealing with just any crackpot. It appeared this man was an excellent businessman, just as smooth as the expensive bourbon she’d spied behind the wet bar. Did he realize that he was offering her an opportunity to make enough money over the course of a year to pay for the college education that had been eluding her since high school graduation? If she continued taking classes one at a time as she could afford them, Ella figured she’d be old enough to collect Social Security by the time she actually earned a degree.

Why she wasn’t jumping all over this man’s extraordinary offer was beyond her.

It certainly wasn’t because she minded doing an honest day’s work. She had been doing that for as long as she could remember. Nor did it have anything to do with not liking the two little imps who had wolfed down an entire sack of cookies at her rough-hewn table. They were utterly adorable. Not to mention that they could well prove to be the most valid audience to whom she could safely subject her stories. Even though a heartbreaking stint of trying to make it as a full-time writer/illustrator hadn’t yielded the slightest opportunity of being published, Ella wasn’t ready to part with her dream until she absolutely had to.

Perhaps it was because as an aspiring artist, she was reticent about giving up her solitude.

Perhaps it was simply that she had already wiped enough runny noses and bottoms to last her a lifetime.

Or perhaps it was because the impact of this man’s eyes was as powerful as his touch. A touch, she reminded herself nervously, that sent her tumbling over a chair like some cheap slapstick comedian.

“How soon can you start? Will you need help moving in?” Hawk pressed.

The lopsided smile he had passed on to his son deepened the dimple in his chin that Ella found so fascinating. Such charm ought to be bottled, she thought, dimly aware that she was being danced into a corner without so much as feeling her feet touch the ground.

“I can help,” Billy volunteered, throwing his little chest out in a manly fashion.

A woman would have to be made of marble to have resisted such chivalry.

Ella capitulated with a sigh that said she already regretted the decision. “Moving isn’t a problem. I don’t have much to bring over,” she explained simply, then added with an authority that belied her youth, “but if I’m going to work for you, we need to establish some ground rules.”

Hawk tried not to grin too broadly. He didn’t think he could keep a straight face if she started setting forth conditions to safeguard her chastity.

She didn’t. Instead Ella startled him with an admonition that had nothing whatsoever to do with protecting her lithe young body.

“I’ll agree to your terms as long as number one, I can have every Wednesday evening off to attend a college class I’ve already signed up for, and number two, you agree not to undermine my authority in any way. I want free reign to handle the children how I see fit. I have to warn you,” she added looking him squarely in the eye with all the earnestness of someone about to disclose a long, checkered criminal record. “My methods are less than conventional.”

“With hair such an outrageous color of red as yours, I’d expect no less,” Hawk proclaimed, filling the room with the warm resonance of a laugh that left Ella’s face flushed.

Two

The next day, as she snapped her suitcase shut, Ella was still fuming about Hawk’s parting remark. Scratched and scuffed from years of abuse, the old yellow luggage had indeed seen better days. But as it was one of the few things Ella had left to remind her of her mother, it was nonetheless an item she cherished. Setting the solitary bag out on the porch, Ella thought to herself that it was a good thing being a nanny didn’t require an extensive wardrobe. A couple of pairs of jeans, a few T-shirts, her favorite red sweater, and a pair of tennis shoes would have to serve her well.

As had the rustic cabin which she had called home for the past year and a half. The single room was large enough to house a bed, a rough-hewn table, a couple of chairs and an ancient but functional stove utilized both for cooking and heating purposes. An easel stood guard beside the front window. Colorful art supplies were neatly arranged in a box beside an unfinished work in progress. Log walls were decorated with vibrant paintings of castles and fairyland inhabitants, several wearing the latest in modern-day running shoes.

Others might turn up their royal noses at the thought of living as simply as Ella did, without such newfangled conveniences as running water and electricity. Disregarding their judgment as bourgeois, she laughingly referred to her home as a “studio.” Ella considered herself in good company with other artists who accepted hardship as a necessary encumbrance in maintaining the freedom of their unconventional lifestyles. Of course, there were times like yesterday when those two adorable urchins arrived on her doorstep that she would have given anything for a telephone to save her from the treacherous march from her place to the mansion next door. How much simpler her life would be now had she simply been able to make a call to the children’s workaholic daddy without ever having to look directly into his hypnotic gray eyes. The color defied the artist in her to capture it on canvas.

Never alone in the solitude of her imagination, Ella was content spending her days in the long, comforting shadows of the Wind River Mountains. Some of her happiest moments had been spent rocking contentedly on her front porch, listening to the joyful trill of the meadowlarks’ songs as she painted the world the way she thought it should be. Her new boss may have a veritable castle in comparison, but Ella was nonetheless hesitant to leave her own place behind. After years of thankless servitude, she thoroughly enjoyed the luxury of having no one to take care of but herself.

Remembering all the times she had given her heart to a needy family only to have them roughly return it when her indenture was up, Ella told herself not to get overly involved with Billy and Sarah. It wouldn’t surprise her if their well-to-do papa didn’t give up on Wyoming before the end of his first winter, soon tiring of the state’s harsh climate, forced isolation and dearth of urbane culture. Her new neighbor’s fancy furnishings suggested William Fawson Hawk III was more into highbrow society events and yuppie comforts than rodeos and ranching. Ella suspected that like many rich transplants, he considered the latter more a hobby than an actual profession.

Not that it mattered to her one way or the other. The extravagant salary he was offering her to take care of his children was enough to help Ella set aside any qualms about her “hottie” new boss. Haughty was more like it, she thought to herself, mentally engaging in an imaginary conversation with Phoebe, the long-time friend who introduced her to that latest college expression for an attractive member of the opposite sex.

Phoebe was certain to go wild over Hawk. Boy crazy since seventh grade, her best friend was still breaking her neck following any cute male butt that happened to sashay by. Secretly Ella suspected Phoebe had taken a college art course with her simply to ogle the nude male models who were paid to pose for the class. A hopeless romantic, Phoebe was one to create great love stories out of harmless flirtations and the most innocuous glances.

Depositing her treasured box of art supplies into the back of the pickup, Ella set about the task of gathering up the litter of abandoned kittens. Despite the affectionate petting they received beforehand, they mewled in protest at being confined to and transported inside a cardboard box. Though Ella doubted anyone would actually bother breaking in to her humble abode, she nonetheless locked the front door and said a silent farewell to her home. With a regretful sigh, she placed the kittens on the front seat of her pickup, tossed her suitcase in the back, and headed for her new job.

The distance between her cabin and Hawk’s Red Feather Ranch was relatively short as the crow flies. Wearing tennis shoes, Ella could make the trek through aspen groves and crisscrossing creeks in approximately fifteen minutes. Unfortunately since roads were not engineered according to a crow’s good sense, she was compelled to drive the perimeter of her few acres and around Hawk’s vast pastureland. She rolled down the windows to cross-ventilate the aging pickup. She didn’t mind the wind messing up her hair on such a glorious day as today.

The meadows clung tenaciously to the last green of the fading summer season. It wouldn’t be long before the aspen leaves would be devouring the hillsides in fiery bursts of red and orange. Ella was sorely tempted to pull over and capture the way the morning light cast a celestial halo around Gannet Peak. The highest summit in Wyoming, it towered above the granite back of the Wind River Range. Ella loved hiding fantasy creatures in the backgrounds of her paintings. Squinting against the rose-colored sunrise, she could just make out a satyr’s frosted beard in the snow that remained on the Peak all year long.

A black-and-white speckled kitten she’d dubbed Holstein crawled out of the nest of drowsy siblings and toppled over the edge of its box. Ella picked it up and set it on her lap with a gentle admonition not to interfere with the driving task at hand.

“Now that I’m back to punching a time clock,” she told the kitten, “there’s no time to tarry.”

Filing the memory of that panoramic scene in her mind for future reference, she continued down the washboard road that led to the Red Feather Ranch. A half an hour later, Ella was standing on her employer’s spacious front deck, pressing the doorbell. And pressing it again. And again. When both her finger and her patience wore out, expediency directed her to simply let herself in.

She was certain that she had not misunderstood either the day or the time they had agreed upon for beginning her employment. The instant she stepped inside it was apparent why no one had bothered answering the doorbell. It was impossible to hear anything over the television blaring out cartoons at full volume. She shook her head at the monstrous big-screen set. Why anyone would want a movie screen dominating their living space was beyond her understanding. Personally she considered television a major waste of time and was put off by the constant drone of commercialism trying to convince her that her wants and needs were one in the same.

Ella picked her way across a room littered with toys to shut the abandoned appliance off. Following the noise of a video game reverberating down the hallway, she proceeded to Hawk’s den where she found him once again glued to his computer.

He needed a haircut, she noticed. His dark hair was beginning to curl over the collar of his expensive shirt. Standing safely in the open doorway, Ella was free to study him without his knowledge or permission. She had little fear he would feel her gaze upon him. It appeared the entire house could fall down around those football shoulders of his without him losing focus.

That such a gorgeous hunk was in actuality a computer nerd would no doubt disappoint Phoebe, but Ella wasn’t about to argue with the facts before her. Or acknowledge the increase in her heart rate as she covertly admired her employer’s physical attributes. The ability to concentrate entirely upon one’s work was something Ella understood and respected. She had just never realized that business could hold the same all encompassing allure for someone as art did for her. Deciding it would be best not to disturb Hawk when he was so wrapped up in his work, she silently continued on with her search for Billy and Sarah.

Drawn to their playroom by the electronic sounds of alien destruction, Ella unearthed them at last. They were sitting slack-jawed in front of a video game, nimbly maneuvering their respective joysticks and mumbling incoherently.

“I think you’ve done your part to save the universe for today,” Ella said, getting their attention by shutting the game off.

They reacted as if she had cut off their oxygen supply.

“We were in the middle of a game!” Billy protested, an unpleasant whine tingeing his voice.

“Yeah!” Sarah reiterated, placing her little hands defiantly on her hips.

Billy reached over to reactivate the game. He was perplexed when the screen remained blank. Swinging the disconnected cord around in her hand like a modern-day lariat, Ella was determined to let them both know from the get-go who was in charge.

“Hey!” they hollered.

“Straw!” she rejoined with a grin.

Determined to limit the amount of time the children spent in front of a glowing screen, Ella informed them both that she needed their help unpacking. They groaned. Sarah threatened to “tell my daddy on you” if Ella didn’t plug the set back in immediately.

“Go ahead,” Ella told her, not in the least nonplused. She wasn’t about to be manipulated by two small children, no matter how precocious they were. Of course, she didn’t want to start her tenure off with an angry confrontation either. Hoping to avert a power struggle, she tried distracting them from the crisis of the moment.

“I brought you both a surprise,” she said.

Two pair of curious eyes studied her with sudden interest.

“What is it?” Billy wanted to know.

“A toy?” Sarah inquired.

“No, not a toy.” Ella laughed, thinking of all the discarded playthings strewn throughout the house. Without giving it a thought, she plopped down on the floor beside them to meet them at eye level. “It looks to me like you have more than enough toys than are good for any boy or girl. Tell me, do you like animals?”

They both nodded their heads enthusiastically.

“What do you think about taking on the responsibility of a pet? A living, breathing creature that would be dependent on you for its care?”

“Really?” Sarah asked in delight.

“Really,” Ella assured her, pushing a golden lock of the girl’s disheveled hair away from her face. “That is, if you two think you’re big enough and responsible enough to take care of them.”

Unable to contain their inquisitiveness a moment longer, they jumped to their feet demanding to know what manner of creature their new nanny had brought them. Billy said he hoped it wasn’t a fish because he’d had some of those once and they all had died on him. Grabbing Ella by both hands, they pulled her up from the floor. The next thing Ella knew, Billy was dragging her battered suitcase up the front steps and Sarah was helping bring her art supplies into her new bedroom. She didn’t so much as have time to check out her new surroundings before they were pulling her back outside, demanding to see what was making all the noise in that curious cardboard box in the cab of her pickup.

Ella knew full well that she should have obtained Hawk’s permission before bringing a litter of kittens into his home. She rationalized the oversight by telling herself every boy and girl should have a pet to love and care for. Besides, what would she have done had Hawk said no? She couldn’t very well dump the kittens on somebody else’s doorstep as had been done to her. Considering how much easier it often was to obtain forgiveness rather than permission, she planned on using the desperateness of Hawk’s situation to smooth things over.

Just watching the children giggling and playing with their newfound friends made Ella feel better about her decision. She may not have been raised with all the financial advantages these children had, but before she died, her mother had cultivated Ella’s imagination and planted the seeds of kindness in her daughter’s heart. There was no denying that money could buy many material things, but one look at those children’s excited faces reaffirmed something it couldn’t procure. The joy received from a real live kitten was better any day of the week than all the video games in the world.

Hawk glanced at the clock on the wall in surprise. He couldn’t believe he’d gotten so much pressing work done without the usual interruptions that had him pulling his hair out by the roots. Pushing himself away from the computer, he strained to hear the reassuring noise of his children at play—even if that meant they were bickering again. When nothing but the sound of silence reached his ears, his heart tightened in his chest. What was wrong? Where were his babies? And what in the world were they up to now?

Hawk checked his watch. The young woman he’d hired as their nanny should have been here quite some time ago. Though she had struck him as a flaky sort the instant he’d set eyes on her, something about her direct gaze, self-righteous attitude and firm grasp had given him the distinct impression that her word was good. The fact that her references had indeed checked out merely confirmed his gut feeling that she was a rare find. Where could she be?

He hurried from his office into the living room and was stopped by what he saw—or rather by what he didn’t see. It took Hawk a moment to figure out what was different. The toys were picked up, the laundry was off the floor and the big-screen television set was off. Hawk found the children’s bedrooms and playroom in a similar state of order. Since it seemed unlikely that a kidnapper would stop to tidy up, he could only assume that Ella had arrived like some fairy godmother to wave a wand over his life.

The calm for which he’d so often wished was nothing short of eerie as he realized that without his children this was what his life would be. Silent, still and empty.

Hawk suddenly felt the need to surround himself with the sound of his children’s laughter. Where were they? Glancing out the front picture window, he spied them at last. With bright handkerchiefs tied to the end of sticks, they were marching dutifully to a spot of shade beneath the old apple tree. Trailing behind was a parade of kittens. One even had a tiny flag attached to its swishing tail. It was almost as cute as their new nanny’s trim derriere swaying in time to the music they created with pots and pans and an old kazoo.

Hawk wished he had a camera handy to capture the moment on film. Sarah and Billy looked like little hobos following a red-haired pied piper. She was in the act of spreading a blanket upon the ground for this joyful, impromptu picnic. They all were smiling broadly, laughing and having a grand time. Something uncomfortably akin to jealousy twisted inside Hawk’s guts at the sight. He hadn’t witnessed such expressions of rapt fascination on his children’s faces since well before their mother’s funeral. Had he failed them so miserably that a virtual stranger could waltz in and steal their affection with little more than a sandwich and a bag of marshmallows?

And why hadn’t anyone bothered asking him to partake in this makeshift celebration?

While Hawk felt deeply grateful to Ella for her skill and inventiveness in entertaining his children and cleaning up the weekend’s accumulation of clutter, on a purely visceral level, he felt fear welling up inside the pit of his stomach as he studied his children’s beaming faces through a plate glass window. He took a closer look at the amazing young woman he’d managed to hire to look after Billy and Sarah. In a pair of jeans and a pale lemon sweater with her thick russet tresses unfurled around her shoulders, she presented a much less ridiculous figure than she had the day before. Here was Gidget and Ann Margret and every adolescent boy’s fantasy prom date all rolled into one.

The involuntary stirring in the lower part of his body at the sight of her falling down upon the blanket to instruct his children in the art of cloud gazing was tempered by a jolt of guilt. Why, she was but a child herself! Far too young and naive to have a grown father figure panting after her like some silly pup that didn’t know any better. Like someone who hadn’t already had his heart ripped out and stomped upon until it almost stopped beating entirely.

He hoped it hadn’t been a mistake bringing Ella here. The truth of the matter was Hawk didn’t need such a luscious complication in his life right now. Having buried his passion with his wife, he had no desire to resurrect it again. Certainly not with a younger woman in his employ.

A litter box was uppermost on Ella’s list of supplies that she was going to pick up in town. She had survived the first night in Hawk’s home, and though her employer had been clearly displeased that his new nanny came with a box of kittens, he hadn’t insisted that either the kittens or Ella be put out. To have done so would have risked the wrath of his children who had promptly fallen in love with their new pets. Though Holstein and Sly remained loyally attached to Ella, Chin and Chilla were fickle creatures who seemed to instinctively understand which side of their bread was buttered with gourmet cat flavors. They purred with delight in the new masters’ little arms, giving Ella a look that as much as said there would be no more Spartan table scraps in their future. Thank the gods of universal justice, their lives as paupers were over. Indeed, Hawk had instructed her to pick up all the amenities their new pets would need.

One white puff ball, dubbed Hissy Face, demanded her fair share of food without so much as a gracious exchange of allowing anyone to pick her up and pet her. If anyone so dared, she would unsheathe her claws from their velvet scabbards and spit in alarm. For some inexplicable reason Hissy Face affixed herself to the one person in the house who made it exceedingly clear that he wanted absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with her or any of her siblings. Hawk swore the beast purposely set out to trip him whenever he crossed a room. Ella assured him it was merely “puppy” love and advised him not to fight it.