The Millionaires' Club: David, Clint & Travis

As he neared the four-car garage, a brown-and-black shaggy dog came tearing out of the shadows and ran to meet the car, jumping and wagging his tail, staying back a safe distance away from the car.

David parked and climbed out, idly scratching the dog’s head briefly. “Now, General, you scoot. We’ve got a sweet baby who has come to live with us, and she’s too little for you to play with.”

Just then Autumn stirred and blinked, and for a few moments, gazed at the world in silence.

“We’re home, little one. I’ll have you changed and fed in no time. I’m getting to be an old hand at this,” he said, hurrying into his house.

As he passed a rocker on his porch, he eyed it, and half an hour later he went back outside to pick it up and carry it into his spacious kitchen, which had a large living area at one end of the room. He picked Autumn up from her carrier and put her on his shoulder, patting her as he crossed to the counter to get her bottle he had just readied.

“Now, darlin’, your diaper has been changed. We can rock and you can eat and that ought to make you happy.” He sat down and shifted her carefully in his arms, holding the bottle for her as he had seen Marissa do. In seconds Autumn was happily sucking away and David rocked, marveling that he had a baby to care for.

“I’m getting the hang of it,” he said in amazement. “I’ll still be mighty glad to see your nanny arrive.” He glanced around the kitchen. His housekeeper, Gertie, had cleaned his disastrous kitchen from last night. Imported tile countertops were once again immaculate, as was the terra-cotta floor. He looked around the room. It had rich fruitwood cabinets with fruitwood covering the refrigerator. A workstation island separated the kitchen area from the living area, and one end of the room held a large stone fireplace with a sofa and two comfortable chairs. On the other side of that end of the room stood a fruitwood oval table and twelve chairs beside a wide bay window. Practical and comfortable with state-of-the-art equipment, the room was one of David’s favorite places. Now the rocker was in the center of the living area.

David looked at the baby in his arms. Could he have ever been this tiny? Before she died, in those early months, had his mother rocked him? There was a rocker at the Pine Valley house and it was old. He was certain his father had never rocked him. He couldn’t imagine his father dealing with a baby. His father had always hired someone to do that job.

He glanced at the clock. Five until four. Would Marissa be prompt? He didn’t care, as long as she just showed up. He had called home from the club and told Gertie to get a bedroom ready, that he had hired a nanny who was moving into the ranch house.

He heard an approaching car and sighed with relief. When the doorbell rang, David got up, careful to avoid disturbing Autumn, who was still busily drinking from her bottle. He carried the baby with him and swung open the front door, staring in amazement.

He wanted to ask, “Who are you?” Instead, he gazed into the same chocolate-brown eyes and saw the same delectable full lips.

Gone were the strange clothes and makeup. Before him stood a stunning woman who was all curves and long legs with a narrow waist. Shining dark blond hair fell in a silky curtain below her shoulders to frame her face.

Her skin was flawless, with only the faintest pink to her cheeks. She wore a simple blue cotton short-sleeve shirt that was tucked into a navy skirt. David reflected he’d be able to span her waist with his hands. He realized he was staring.

“You don’t look the same,” he blurted, and then wondered what had happened to his finesse.

She smiled, the same adorable, dimpled smile, only now it turned his insides to steam.

“No. I guess we never got around to discussing my clothing this morning. The store had a special sale going and they asked all the employees to dress as Mother Goose characters. I was Little Bo-Peep.”

“Bo-Peep?”

“You don’t know your nursery rhymes—Bo-Peep who lost her sheep?”

“No, I don’t.”

Marissa’s brows arched, but she kept her comments on his lack of knowledge of nursery rhymes to herself. She looked at the baby. “I see Autumn is doing just fine,” Marissa said, and David realized they were still standing at the door; he was still staring, and he had not invited Marissa inside.

Hastily, he stepped aside. “Come in. Are your things in your car?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll help you bring them in. Let me finish feeding Autumn and then I’ll show you around. I was in the kitchen feeding her. I carried a rocker in from the back porch,” he said, wondering at himself. He was babbling—a first in his life. His mind reeled. He had hired what he thought would be a competent nanny. Now he realized he had hired a very appealing woman. How was he going to live with her under his roof and ignore her?

With one hand he pulled the rocker near the fireplace. Between the oval breakfast table and the fireplace was a plaid-upholstered sofa. He motioned toward the sofa. “Have a seat.”

He sat as Marissa sat and crossed her long, shapely legs. He was in a sweat, and he realized he was staring again. He yanked his gaze up to meet her steady look.

“I bought a rocker on the way home today. It’ll be delivered this afternoon. This one belongs on the porch and, frankly, I forgot I had it.”

“Autumn looks more than halfway through that bottle. You might want to stop and burp her,” Marissa suggested.

“Do what?”

“Little babies get air bubbles in their tummies when they take a bottle. Here, I’ll show you. Where do you keep the kitchen towels?”

“In the third drawer by the fridge.”

With a sexy sway of her hips that he could watch all afternoon, Marissa crossed the room, found a towel and returned to stand in front of David. “Lean forward slightly, and I’ll put this over your shoulder.”

He did as instructed and was acutely aware of her bending down to place the towel across his shoulder. He felt her hands flutter over him, caught a whiff of an enticing perfume that smelled a little like roses, and saw silky strands of hair close in front of his face. Her skin was creamy smooth. Damnation, he didn’t want to be attracted to his nanny. That seemed bad business all the way around.

“Now, lean back and put her on your shoulder.”

“I hate to stop her.”

“She won’t mind for a little while and she’ll feel better. It might make her cry less if her tummy doesn’t hurt.”

He took the bottle from Autumn and set it on the floor beside the rocker. He carefully put the baby on his shoulder and she snuggled against him.

“That’s it,” Marissa said, watching him. “Now, pat her back gently.”

Marissa returned to the sofa to sit, and crossed her fabulous legs. He hadn’t noticed her legs in those striped stockings this morning. Now he had to struggle to keep from staring at them.

Autumn gave a little burp that startled him. “She burped.”

“Now you can go back to feeding her.”

“I wish I’d known that last night,” he said with a sigh.

“She probably wishes you’d known it, too,” Marissa told him with a smile.

“You said you’re not married, Marissa. I didn’t ask about a boyfriend.”

Her dimple flashed. “No boyfriends.”

“A friend of mine said you used to be married.”

Her expression didn’t change, but David sensed he had touched a sensitive subject. “I was,” she answered evenly. “To Reed Grambling. He’s remarried and moved to Midland now.”

“I knew him,” David said, recalling a guy who was on the basketball team. “He was a year behind me in school and I remember that he was a popular guy. Sorry it didn’t work out.”

“I fell for his looks and charm, and beneath all that was a man purely interested in himself. And women. After I put him through medical school, he walked. He was through with me. But that’s over, and I have my maiden name back,” she replied.

“You had a rotten deal.”

“I’m forgetting about it,” she stated firmly. “Did you go by the hospital before you came home?” she asked.

“No, I checked with Clint Andover and there was no point in going to the hospital. Clint said the mother is still in a coma. She’s listed as critical.”

“How awful! Oh, my goodness, that poor little baby!” Marissa exclaimed, biting her lip and staring at Autumn.

“We’ll all pray the mother pulls through this. In the meantime, Autumn is in good hands now.” He looked down at the baby. “She’s asleep. If you’d like, I can give you a tour of the house.”

“Sure,” Marissa said, standing when he did. “This is a beautiful kitchen.”

“Dad had it done over several years ago. I was away in the Gulf War, so I didn’t know until I came home. Some of the house has been remodeled and some of it is the original that was built when my great-great-grandpa Sorrenson settled here.”

Marissa listened to David’s deep, husky voice, which was enticing all in itself. Was there a woman in his life? He had said there wasn’t one to help with the baby. It didn’t matter, she reminded herself. He was another man like her former husband—charming, handsome and interested in women who were beautiful and far more worldly than she could ever hope to be.

The house was spacious with large rooms, high-beamed ceilings and polished plank floors. David led her into a wide hallway, where oil seascapes hung along the walls and potted plants stood on the floor.

“Grandpa rebelled when he was young and ran away and joined the navy. He came home after a few years, but he never lost his love for the sea and he collected all these paintings.”

David took her arm lightly and steered her to the right. “In here is the family room—this and the kitchen living area is where I spend most of my time.”

He dropped her arm, yet she could still feel the warm touch of his fingers and she was too aware of him at her side. Since her head barely came to his shoulder, he had to be a foot taller than she was. Tall, handsome, charming. As dangerous to a woman’s heart as her ex-husband had been. Maybe even more so because she had thought David was cute since she was a kid. How was she going to be able to resist him? She was all but drooling on him right now.

Trying to focus on his family room instead of the man beside her, she looked at an enormous room with picture windows that gave a panoramic view of an expanse of ranch land. Bookshelves with books and pictures lined one wall. An immense stone fireplace had an oil painting of a schooner in stormy waters mounted above the mantel. A jumbo-size television screen was at one end of the room. A game table and four chairs stood in another corner. The ceiling was high with massive beams, and she wondered how much stone and lumber it took to build the house.

As she looked around, she suspected she was going to get to know too much about this sexy man—more than enough to fuel that old crush that had been dormant for so long.

They strolled through an elegant living room and large dining room with a long mahogany table that seated twenty easily. She saw the billiard room, the library, his office, and then they walked down the hall to the bedrooms.

“You’ll be in this room,” he said, leading her into a room with a four-poster bed and antique maple furniture. “I haven’t considered where I’ll put Autumn.”

“Put her bed in my room if you want. I’ll be up with her at night. Unless that’s too far from your bedroom.”

“Nope, my room is on the other side of yours.”

“Oh, my!” she gasped.

His head whipped around. “Is something wrong?” he asked, looking at her intently.

“No, of course not,” she answered quickly, feeling her cheeks flush. In the next room. How would she ever get a wink of sleep knowing that he was sleeping so close?

When she had driven to his ranch and had first seen the sprawling house, she figured she might see him only rarely because the place looked so big. But now she realized that wasn’t going to be the case at all. He slept in the next room. There goes my sleep, she thought.

“Fine. The baby bed goes in here,” David said cheerfully, unaware of the effect he had on her. “They promised to deliver it this afternoon.” As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

“Give me Autumn and you can get the door,” Marissa said. Brushing his hands again with hers, he handed her the baby and left in long, springy strides.

She let out her breath. “Oh, my!” she repeated softly, and then looked at the sleeping baby in her arms. The little girl was precious, and Marissa couldn’t wait to get her bathed and dressed in some of the things they had picked out at the store earlier.

She sat in a chair and cuddled Autumn, talking softly to her until she looked up and saw David standing in the door watching her.

“The crib is here,” he said in his husky voice that held a peculiar, solemn note. “You can put her on your bed until it’s set up. She can’t roll off yet.”

“I know. But I believe in holding and loving little babies. Even if she’s asleep, I think she likes being held.”

“She can’t possibly know you’re holding her.”

“Oh, I think she does. And if she stirs, she’ll know. This is more comfy than on the bed.”

“I can’t argue that one,” he remarked dryly, and hauled an enormous box into the room. “I was going to put the bed up, but I don’t want to wake her.”

“You won’t.”

“I’ll make a lot of noise,” he said. “I may have to hammer.”

“Babies can sleep through all sorts of noise,” she assured him.

“I wish I’d known that last night,” he remarked.

“Go ahead and set up the bed. If she wakes, we’ll move to another room.”

Marissa watched him work, noticing the play of muscles in his back and arms as he put the bed together. His hands were strong and well-shaped, except she noticed two of his fingers on his left hand were crooked and scarred and she wondered what had happened to him.

“I didn’t sleep any last night, so after supper tonight, it’s la-la land for me.” He slanted her a look over his shoulder. “That okay? Can you manage by yourself this first night?”

“I certainly can,” she said, watching the taut pull of his jeans over his long, muscled legs as he hunkered down to put the pieces together.

“Good! I’ve been dreaming of hitting the sack since midnight last night. And believe me, I’ll be dead to the world. She eats every two hours or maybe more often than that.”

“We’ll be fine. You just go ahead and sleep,” she said, thinking about him sprawled in bed, too aware that her pulse jumped at the mental picture conjured up by her mind. Knowing she better stop finding him so fascinating, Marissa still couldn’t keep from watching every move he made.

Swiftly, he set up the crib and then left to find the bedding they had purchased together. In another few minutes he had a sheet on the mattress, a bumper pad secured inside and a mobile of colorful animals fastened to hang over the crib.

The next time the doorbell rang, he left and returned carrying a large, cherry-wood rocker. “I thought I might as well put this in your room. Where do you want it?”

“I don’t know. Just set it down, and we’ll figure out the best place later.”

“If you’ll give me the keys to your car, I’ll bring it around to the back and unload your things.”

“Sure.” She fished in her pocket and held out keys, and his fingers stroked hers as he took them. It was the most casual touch, yet she tingled to the tips of her toes. He was gone again and back in minutes carrying boxes and suitcases.

He made three trips and then stood with his hands on his hips looking at her belongings. “You don’t travel lightly, do you?”

“You didn’t make it clear how long this job will last,” she said pointedly.

He shrugged. “I didn’t mean to question you about your things. I don’t care if you move your grandma and sisters here and bring the entire household. I’m just so thankful to have a good nanny, anything you do will be fine.”

“I’m here now, and she’s a sweet little baby.”

“When would you like to eat? If it’s all right with you, we can eat while she’s asleep. And later, Gertie leaves. It’ll be just the two of us.”

Just the two of us, spoken in his deep voice that all by itself was like a caress, sent another tingle spiraling in her. She hadn’t been here two hours and she was having reaction after reaction to him.

“It doesn’t matter to me.”

He looked at his watch. “If Autumn is sleeping about seven o’clock, we’ll eat, and then I’m bidding you adieu to sleep.”

“Fine.”

“I’m going to clean up, unless you want me to hold her while you unpack?”

“No. That’s all right. She’s asleep, so I’ll put her down for a little while and get some of my things unpacked.” Marissa moved to the crib, placing Autumn on her back. She stood looking at the baby, brushing her wispy hair with her finger. “She’s a beautiful baby.”

“She’s a little miracle. I don’t know how she put up with me last night,” he said softly. He had moved to the other side of the crib, and Marissa looked up to see him studying Autumn intently. He touched her lightly with his large fingers. His skin was dark brown next to the baby’s pale skin. “She is pretty. I never thought that about a baby before, but then I’ve been around very few babies.”

“It was good of you to take her in.”

He looked up to meet Marissa’s gaze. “Her mother needs all the help she can get. And some prayers. These two are in deep trouble. Well, I’ll leave you alone and see you at dinner. Holler if you want me.”

“Sure, David,” she replied, and watched him go. I’m going to fall for him, she thought. Head over heels. He’s sexy and handsome and he cares. She looked at the little baby again and experienced a rush of tenderness. “Just think about the money,” she whispered to herself. The money would help her fulfill her dream. A dream she had shared with no one else so far, and until today, it had seemed years away. But now, with the money she’d earn from David Sorrenson, she might be able to get her wish.

She touched Autumn’s tiny hand tenderly and then she turned around to unpack.

When she went to supper, David had on a fresh navy T-shirt and jeans. With his hair combed and his jaw clean-shaven, he took her breath away, and he looked more like the David she had always known—only twice as appealing. She remembered him as a slender boy. He was a man now, muscled, tall, handsome. He flashed her a smile that revealed his even, white teeth, a winning smile that accelerated her heartbeat. When he crossed the hall to her to take Autumn from her arms, she caught a whiff of aftershave. “Come meet Gertie,” he said. “She made dinner and tomorrow morning she’ll be back to clean and cook. All you have to worry about here is Autumn.”

Marissa entered the kitchen and faced a tall, thin, graying woman who smiled broadly.

“Marissa, this is Gertrude Jones,” David said. “Gertie, meet Marissa Wilder, our new nanny.”

“Ah, that’s good,” Gertie said, smiling at Marissa. “And you like little ones?”

“I love them,” Marissa replied.

Autumn stirred and began to cry, and the next hour was a busy one as Marissa changed and fed her and David hung around to help. Gertie offered to stay and serve dinner, but both Marissa and David reassured her that they could manage. As soon as Gertie was in the yard, David returned to the kitchen and locked up the house.

Supper was hectic, because Autumn woke up cranky even though she had just eaten and slept. Marissa and David took turns holding her and eating. Afterward, David cleaned the kitchen quickly and efficiently while Marissa soothed Autumn.

“I’m surprised Gertie doesn’t want to care for Autumn,” Marissa said as she rocked Autumn to sleep.

“Gertie knows as little about children as I do,” he replied, drying his hands and crossing the room to kneel down and stack logs in the kitchen fireplace. “She lives here, just across the road on the ranch. Several employees live in their own houses. She worked for my dad. She’s been here since long before I was born.” As soon as he had a fire blazing, he turned. “Give Autumn to me and I’ll hold her.”

“I thought you were headed for bed to catch up on sleep,” Marissa remarked, handing him the baby. David moved a few feet away to sit in a large leather chair, holding Autumn in the crook of his arm.

He shook his head. “Now that I know I can sleep, I’m not so tired. I want to get to know my nanny,” he said, and she smiled, hoping he had no clue how simple remarks like that could send her pulse galloping. He tilted his head to study her. When she had been sixteen years old, she thought he had the sexiest eyes she had ever seen. As she looked at him now, she still thought so. His sea-green eyes with thick, black lashes had always fascinated her.

“You said there’s no boyfriend. How do you spend your time?”

“With my family,” she replied. “I take care of my niece and nephews. I take care of my sisters and grandmother. I jog and swim. Just ordinary things. What about you, David?” she asked. “Didn’t you just get out of the air force?”

“Yep. Enough of that life,” he said, stretching out his long legs and crossing them at the ankles.

“So now you’ll take care of the ranch,” she remarked, trying to keep her gaze from drifting down over him again.

“Not really. I’m taking some time, but eventually I’ll move to Houston and go to work in my dad’s oil company.”

Marissa regarded his air of worldliness and could easily imagine him in a big city. In spite of his boots and jeans, he seemed the type more suited to city life than country life. But maybe that image had been conjured up by pictures in the paper of him with some socialite beauty on his arm.

“Are you going to live in Royal all your life?” he asked. All afternoon and evening he had given her his full attention and she decided he was a good listener. Too good, because he was very easy to talk to.

“I hope to always live here. I like being close to my family.”

“So what’ll you do with your windfall fortune if this nanny job lasts more than a week or two? What do you want?”

She thought of multiple answers she could give him, but then she saw no reason to avoid the truth with David. Their lives were touching only briefly, and then they would go separate ways and never see each other again.

“I haven’t told my family, but I’d like to go to a sperm bank and have my own baby.”

A twinkle came into his green eyes. “There are cheaper and easier ways—and more exciting ones—than to go to a sperm bank.”

She laughed. “But other ways always mean getting involved with a man. I’ve done that and I don’t want to do it again.”

“I’m sorry that you got burned in that marriage.”

“Yes, I did. While Reed went through medical school, I worked all six years of our marriage. As soon as he could stand on his own, he was off with another woman. And I found out that he was cheating on me almost from the beginning. So I’m not interested in dating again.”

“You shouldn’t lump all guys in with your ex.”

“No. If I meet a real saint, I won’t lump him in with Reed.”

“A real saint is a pretty high standard,” David remarked, looking at her so intently she began to regret revealing her deepest, most private wish to him.

“Well, a saint is about all I’m interested in, and the sperm bank sounds like the happy solution. What about you? You’re still single.”

He shrugged. “Marriage isn’t for me. I didn’t grow up in a house where there were good role models. My mom died when I was very young and my dad hired people to take care of me. Then I acquired a lifestyle that definitely wasn’t for a married man. Nope, no marriage in my future.” He grinned. “But I do like to date.”

She smiled at him. “Well, I don’t see another marriage in my life.”

His gaze trailed over her. “I’d bet the ranch that you marry again.”

Her curiosity overwhelmed her. “Why do you say that, David? You hardly know me.”

“You’re too attractive to stay single.”