Married In A Month

Collateral? What a laugh! To build her dream childcare facility she’d have to borrow the money for everything from the land to the building and even for the first few payments until the center began to turn a profit. And she could only think of one way for a single, jobless orphan to acquire that much collateral. According to the bankers of Rattlesnake, a husband’s collateral would be just fine. But did she have a husband? Not even a boyfriend. And then she’d seen Colt’s ad, and like a gift from heaven the idea came to her.

“So, if you’ll marry me,” she concluded, “I’ll have the collateral I need to get a loan, the children of Rattlesnake will have someone to love and care for them, and you’ll have a nanny, free of charge, for Evan until his mother returns.”

In the course of her monologue, Colt’s horror had turned first to bewilderment and then to incredulity.

“Even if this idea of yours made any sense at all—which it doesn’t—it wouldn’t work.” Colt gave his head a stubborn shake. “I don’t want to get married. Never have, never will. Marriage sucks all the life out of people.”

“I’m not talking about a real marriage.” She hoped she sounded calmer than she felt. “It’s a business arrangement, a marriage in name only as a means to acquire collateral for my loan.”

He shook his head, jostling the bundle in his arms. “Your reasoning makes no sense.”

“It does to me. A fifty-fifty proposition. You get a nanny. I get collateral.” Couldn’t he understand? As long as they made a deal in which each party benefited, she was a businesswoman, not a charity case. She’d had enough of that in her life.

Shoulders sagging wearily, Colt pressed a thumb and forefinger into his eye sockets. Little Evan’s whimper brought the big cowboy’s head upright. Panic filled his dark eyes.

“Just a business arrangement, right?” He patted the baby’s wiggling back in awkward desperation. “None of that till-death-do-us-part stuff?”

“Of course not. After I have my loan and Evan’s mother is found, you can go somewhere for one of those quickie divorces. No strings attached.” While her belly shook in trepidation, she spoke lightly, airily, as if she proposed a marriage of convenience to a strange man every day of the week.

Surely he could see the logic in her win-win idea. He needed her almost as much as she needed him. As tired as he was, he couldn’t hold up much longer. He was about to fall over now. And so was she. If Colt didn’t say something soon, Kati would collapse in a heap on the scuffed toes of his black boots.

Still eyeing her with deep suspicion, Colt rubbed at the back of his neck. “Quickie divorce? Where do they do that?”

Kati blinked, uncertain. “I—Reno maybe?” She didn’t have a clue.

“I don’t know, either. My attorney would know.”

Her pulse rate shot up. He was weakening.

He blew out a long, gusty sigh. “Would you be willing to sign papers agreeing to everything? The divorce and all, I mean?”

She really wanted to feel sorry for him, but she couldn’t allow it. For once in her life, she had to be utterly, completely ruthless. Kati’s Angels depended upon it. This precious little boy depended upon it. And the lonely, neglected children of Rattlesnake depended upon it—and her. The vision of Kati Winslow, guardian angel of needy children, bloomed in her imagination.

“Certainly I’ll sign papers. This is a business arrangement.” Nerves rattling like marbles in a tin can, she offered one last piece of bait. “I’ll also sign a prenuptial agreement to the effect that I have no right to any of your financial assets.”

“You’re nuts, you know that?”

Gripping the smooth back of the leather sofa, she willed herself to hang in there. She could do this. She had to. This was her one and only chance to fulfill the dream of a lifetime.

“I am not crazy. Just desperate like you. Each of us needs something from the other. This is the perfect solution.”

His lips twisted wryly. “ Perfect isn’t the word I’d use to describe it.”

She shrugged, hoping for nonchalance. “Well, perhaps you can find some other nanny for the child.”

Gathering her purse, she battled her conscience and looked toward the door as if to leave.

The baby’s whimper grew louder.

“No!” Colt shouted. His hand snaked out and snagged her arm. Colt thrust the fussing child toward her. “Please. Three weeks is all I can take. You’re the only human being that’s agreed to accept the job under any circumstances.”

Carefully extracting her arm from his strong, warm grip, Kati stepped back, refusing to take the baby. It wasn’t an easy thing to do considering how much the baby needed her, and how pathetically Colt begged, but he was almost hers. She couldn’t fold now. “Well, then?”

“I can’t just up and marry a woman I don’t know. What if I don’t like the job you do with Evan?” His gaze fell to the fidgeting baby in his arms. “What if you’re a lousy baby-sitter?”

“We aren’t called baby-sitters anymore. We’re nannies.”

“Will you consider a trial run?”

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Move in with us for a few weeks until we see how things go. If your work is satisfactory and Evan is still with me, I’ll—” He seemed to strangle on the words.

“Marry me?”

“Yeah. That.”

“Will you sign a paper to that effect?”

In spite of himself, Colt grinned. She’d used his own words against him. She might be nuttier than a pecan pie, but she was smart. Not as smart as he was, though. He’d had plenty of experience dodging wedding bells.

He only needed her for a few weeks tops. By then, Natosha Parker would be found, and Miss Kati Winslow would be out on her conniving little—ear. Meanwhile, he could resume his work and get a decent night’s rest. Evan would have the good, motherly care he deserved instead of the fumbling efforts of an exhausted cowboy and an old sailor. The little nutcase was right. She had the perfect solution.

“Yes, I’ll sign the blasted paper.”

He handed her the baby again, and this time she took him, hardly able to believe she’d actually pulled it off as Colt strode to the desk and began scribbling on a sheet of paper.

Reaction set in. Legs trembling so that she could barely stand, Kati settled back on the couch and hid her face in the baby’s neck. She’d done it. Colt Garret was going to marry her, and she’d finally have children to love and a place to call her own.

The infant made soft, mewling sounds in her ear, a reminder of the most important part of the deal. Pressing him into her shoulder, she patted and rocked until he settled once more into slumber. He was so helpless and innocent that an enormous wave of protectiveness surged through her.

I’m sorry, baby, that I had to use you this way. I’ll do right by you. I promise.

“Here you go, Miss Kati,” Colt drawled, handing her the agreement. “I, Colt R. Garret, do promise to marry you one month from today in the event that Evan Parker is still in my custody. How’s that?”

“Everything seems in order.” Taking care not to wake Evan, she folded the paper and slipped it inside her purse. “A month should give us plenty of time to plan an appropriate wedding.”

Colt thought his head would explode. “Now, wait a minute, here. I never agreed to a wedding.”

“This paper in my purse says you did.”

“It says marry, not wedding.” Suddenly he was having second thoughts. If she started planning a wedding, half the county would know about it, a most disagreeable situation that would make shaking her off all the harder. Besides, he didn’t really plan to marry her. That was just a ploy to make her stay with Evan.

He pressed down on his head with both hands. What had he gotten himself into? Didn’t he realize he was too exhausted to make sensible decisions? Hadn’t he seen that on television? Men do stupid things when they’ve been without sleep for days on end. Bright, sensible men became blundering idiots when sleep deprived.

He’d known this woman was a loony toon when she’d first started talking about marriage. Now she was demanding an “appropriate” wedding—whatever in the Sam Hill that meant.

Kati shot him a look of exasperation. “You can’t get married without a wedding.”

“Yes, we can. Couples do it all the time. I know a justice of the peace down at the courthouse who can marry us in two minutes flat.” He snapped his fingers. “Just like that. In, out. No fuss, no bother.”

Kati shifted the baby to her other shoulder. When he fussed she patted absently at his back, a natural motherly gesture that caused Colt’s stomach to lift the way it did when his truck took a hill too fast. He averted his eyes and tried to concentrate. Lord only knew what he’d fall into if he didn’t pay close attention to Kati Winslow.

Colt flopped down on the opposite end of the long leather couch and scrubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. Lord, he was tired. “This isn’t going to be a real marriage.”

“We’ve already determined that,” she replied, big gray eyes peering at him in a way that made him want to agree with anything she said. “But Rattlesnake is a small town. If the banks get wind that this isn’t a real marriage, they may not think the collateral is real, either. I can’t take a chance on losing that loan.”

Too sleep deprived to argue further, he threw his hands up in surrender. “Okay. Okay. Have it your way. Plan a wedding in Westminster Cathedral for all I care.”

What was he worrying about? Since this wedding of hers would never happen, let her plan anything her little heart desired. As long as she stuck around until Evan’s mother was located, that was all he cared about. He had no intention of giving up his bachelor status.

Chapter Two

Kati moved in that afternoon.

“Is this all the stuff you got?” Cookie asked, peering into the trunk of her ancient green Toyota.

He’d come scuttling out the door the minute she’d arrived, offering his assistance. From all appearances, he was as relieved to have her here as Colt was.

Before the interview with Colt, when the old cook had first opened the door for her, Kati had been hard-pressed to hide her misgivings. She hadn’t known whether to laugh or scream. Since her second arrival, the man had gone out of his way to be helpful, and she regretted judging him by his bizarre appearance.

“I travel light,” Kati said in answer to his question about her lack of belongings.

In foster care there was never any time or place to collect “things.” She’d learned at an early age not to cling to possessions, so traveling light came easy.

Cookie hoisted the two cardboard boxes while she grabbed the battered plaid suitcase and several hangers of clothes. They carried everything inside in one trip.

Caesar, Kati’s cat, insulted by the long car ride, twitched his long tail and marched into the house like royalty. Cookie shot him a questioning glance. “Boss know you got a cat?”

“Why? Is that a problem?” The sleek gray cat with aristocratic airs had been her companion for four years.

“Boss hates cats.”

“Oh, dear.” Biting her lip, she paused in the natural-stone entryway and frowned.

“Now, don’t you worry none.” A beefy hand patted awkwardly at her shoulder. “Just keep the critter out from underfoot and everything will be just fine. Colt’s out of the house more than he’s in, anyway.”

“Okay,” she murmured feebly, following Cookie and the insulted cat through a massive living room, then down a long hallway. She couldn’t afford to make Colt angry, but Caesar was her family. She just hoped she could keep the independent animal out of the way.

“Boss figured as how you’d want to be close to the baby.” Cookie stopped at the end of a long hallway dotted with bedrooms, lowered the boxes and pushed the golden-oak door inward.

Kati almost lost her breath as she entered a room beautifully decorated in restful greens. The furniture, the same golden oak she’d noticed throughout the ranch house, gleamed with a fresh shine, and a bouquet of spring flowers waited invitingly on the bedside table along with several magazines and a Bible. Staking his claim at once, Caesar leaped onto the thick sage comforter, circled twice and lay down, his yellow eyes daring anyone to protest.

“Why, Mr. Cookie, everything looks so lovely.”

Dropping the bag, Kati went immediately to press her face into the fragrant pink flowers. “Did you pick these yourself?”

Dragging his gaze from the cat to Kati, the old man looked genuinely pleased at the compliment. “I told the boss you’d like them flowers. And I ain’t Mr. Cookie. Everybody just calls me plain old Cookie.”

At the mention of Colt, Kati’s mouth went dry. He hadn’t come out to greet her when she’d arrived, though that didn’t come as any surprise. He had a ranch to run, and from the looks of things, he’d been too busy with Evan to get much work done. Still, she wondered what he must be thinking now that the enormity of their agreement had had time to sink in. She sucked in a deep breath.

“Where is ‘the boss’?”

“Getting some shut-eye. Once you got the baby to sleeping good, that little critter ain’t never woke up. Colt figured he could do with some catching up of his own.”

“He did look tired.”

“I’ve seen that boy stay up for days on end when he was rodeoing. Drive all day, rodeo all night.” The old cook chuckled and rubbed his scruffy chin. “But that baby boy’s done got him whupped.”

Kati grinned at the thought of Colt letting anything get the best of him. To her, he was invincible. Taking in a homeless baby and agreeing to a marriage of convenience for that baby’s sake only proved the point.

“Where is the baby’s room?”

“Next one down.” He gestured vaguely and started out the door. “You just go on and make yourself to home, Miss Kati. I got some pies in the oven.” He disappeared around the corner only to reappear again immediately. “What’s your favorite pie?”

“Apple.”

“Hot dang! I knowed I liked you. Apple it is.”

Kati smiled as the massive cook disappeared once more, thankful for a sensitive nose that had picked up the scent of apples and cinnamon as soon as she’d entered the back door.

Though anxious to put away her things and explore the sprawling ranch house, Kati’s first thoughts were of Evan. When she’d left him several hours ago he’d been contentedly sleeping in Colt’s arms. By now a hungry tummy should be waking him.

At the end of the hall she discovered two doors instead of the expected one. Unsure of which held the nursery she quietly pushed open the one on the right.

A king-size bed dominated a room decorated in turquoise and black and more of the golden-oak furniture. Sprawled across the thick black comforter was none other than the boss himself, Colt Garret. Kati’s foolish heart gave a lurch as she stood glued to the spot, staring at him.

He was as magnificent in repose as he was awake. One long arm was flung upward mussing his dark hair. Lines of fatigue radiated around his eyes. His mouth hung open, the firm, sensuous lips relaxed and inviting. Kati couldn’t take her eyes off those lips.

For long moments she gaped, willing herself to leave and not a bit surprised when she couldn’t. He’d kissed her once a long time ago in high school, and though he clearly didn’t remember, she’d never forgotten the warm, firm feel of that mouth. He’d come off the football field in exuberant victory, picked her up and twirled her around, then kissed her soundly before disappearing in a sea of shouting, screaming fans. He’d probably done that a thousand times to a thousand girls, but for Kati it was a defining moment in her life.

Over the years, fantasies of Colt had sustained her through a bleak parade of countless foster homes. With each new place, she’d curl up in some quiet spot and pretend Colt was coming to get her. At last she’d have someone to love her forever. That was the best thing about fantasies. In her constant moves, she had to leave people, places and things, but never Colt. He was permanently with her, if only in her heart. Even now, as a grown woman who knew better than to indulge in fantasies, the teenage memory came back warm and inviting.

She wanted to go to him, lie down on that bed beside him, press her lips to his and feel their magic once again. She might very well have done it, if young Mr. Evan Parker hadn’t chosen that exact moment to awaken, his cry ripping the quiet with the force of a jackhammer.

Startled into action, Kati backed into the hall, but not before Colt also awakened. Sexy, sleepy brown eyes locked with hers seconds before she beat a hasty retreat toward the nursery.

Colt struggled upward from a heavy slumber. Somewhere a baby cried. The heavy weight of responsibility pressed in on him. A baby. The baby needed him. He had to get there. Through sheer force of will he yanked his protesting eyelids upward. A woman stood at the end of his bed.

Hell’s bells, the whole world had gone berserk. Babies crying. Women skulking around.

Colt leaped off the bed only to stumble over his own boots. With a vicious kick he sent them sailing across the room where they thudded against the pale green wall. The pain in his toe radiated to his brain, jolting him to wakefulness. Confusion cleared, and memory returned. Evan was calling him.

Heart still pounding, toe throbbing, he limped across the hall to the nursery. The door stood open, and the new nanny was bent over Evan’s crib, talking softly as her hands busily changed his diaper. So that’s who’d been in his room. He wondered why.

Colt stood outside the door and watched her, anxious that she do a good job. Evan was a sweet little critter who’d gotten under Colt’s skin more than he wanted to admit. And if Miss Loony Toon didn’t do right by the boy, she’d be out the door by sundown.

Once the baby was changed Kati disappeared into the bathroom, washed her hands and returned to scoop Evan into her arms. His crying became a high-pitched wail Colt recognized as hunger.

“Time for a bottle,” he said, lounging against the door frame.

Kati jumped and spun around. Her face flushed bright red. “I… I…where are they?”

He hitched his chin in the direction of the hall. “Come on, I’ll show you. Cookie has a supply already fixed.”

He led the way into the kitchen, removed a bottle from the refrigerator and quickly warmed it in the microwave. Three weeks of child care had taught him more than he’d ever wanted to know about a baby’s needs.

After shaking a bit of milk onto his wrist, he determined it safe and reached for Evan. “I’ll feed him.”

“I can do it.” Grabbing the bottle, she turned abruptly and sailed out of the kitchen.

Colt frowned, watching the sway of her long, dark hair as she scuttled down the hall like a frightened kitten. What was that all about?

He followed her back to the nursery where she sat in the rocker holding Evan.

“What were you doing in my room?” he asked as abruptly as she’d left the kitchen.

She blushed deeply, and the color bathed her pale skin in a downright appealing pink.

“Well, I wasn’t stealing the silver,” she replied stiffly. “Having only just arrived, I was trying to locate the nursery.”

Her rigid voice and stiff back said she was offended. He hadn’t accused her of anything, but she seemed to think he had. Was that the problem? She thought he was checking up on her? Well, he was, wasn’t he? For Evan’s sake.

Face averted, she turned her attention to the baby. A long strand of chestnut-colored hair fell over her shoulder onto the baby. Holding Evan with one hand while balancing the bottle with her chin, Kati used the free hand to gather the smooth, dark tresses into a ponytail which she then drew over her opposite shoulder.

Colt followed the action, thinking what beautiful hair she had. This afternoon she’d been groomed like a businesswoman with one of those sleek up-dos. Somewhere since he’d seen her last, she’d changed into jeans and a T-shirt and let down her long, glorious hair.

She wasn’t what he’d consider a particularly beautiful woman, but she exuded a kind of feminine grace he found uniquely alluring. She wore little makeup, but her skin was clear and soft looking, her lips full and gently curving. Thick black lashes framed a pair of large gray eyes and cast shadows against her cheeks.

But it was the long mane of hair that drew him most. If he took two steps he could touch it, feel the silky fullness on his skin. Maybe even press his nose into the clean fresh scent. One hand, as if acting on its own, started to reach out.

Hell’s bells! He snapped the offending hand down to his side. What had gotten into him? This woman was a temporary nanny—with the emphasis on temporary. It was bad enough he’d let her trick him into signing that confounded paper. He could easily have loaned her the money or been her cosigner instead of promising to marry her, but fatigue had kept him from seeing through her ridiculous plan. She was either crazy, desperate or a gold digger, and he must be completely out of his mind to think about touching her.

But he was okay. He could deal with the entire mess. As long as she took good care of Evan, and let him go on with his life, he’d be happy. Signing that paper meant nothing. She’d be out of here long before a month was up.

He glanced back at the woman, expecting deceit to be written on her like a neon sign. No such luck. Totally attuned to the infant in her arms, she looked like the Madonna.

Colt jerked at the notion. There he went again. Annoyed and frustrated, he muttered gruffly, “I’ve got work to do. Supper’s at six.” Then he stomped out of the room.

Supper proved to be a sumptuous feast. Kati, tense as a fiddle string, sat across from Colt watching him shovel in enough chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy to kill a horse, while Cookie shuffled about the kitchen, sweat glistening on his cornrowed brow.

Kati took a deep drink from a tall glass of iced tea, savoring the cool sweetness as she savored the image of her employer. Though he looked more rested now than he had earlier, and a sight more chipper, he was every bit as handsome and rugged. Her stomach did a double axle and a triple flip just looking at him. The attraction grew with every glance, an attraction she’d work hard to ignore given the circumstances. Men in general, especially hunks like Colt Garret, didn’t find her the least bit attractive. And even if they did, she wasn’t interested in any more temporary relationships in her life. Kati’s Angels would be permanent, would give her roots and stability, the three things she’d always wanted. She wasn’t about to stick her heart out on her sleeve for someone to rip to shreds. Still, looking at Colt wouldn’t be a problem, and tonight she wanted to look her fill.

“You get settled in all right?” he asked congenially, aiming his rich-chocolate gaze in her direction.

“Fine, thank you.” Her lips felt as stiff as new shoes. They’d gotten off to such a bad start that afternoon, she wasn’t sure what to expect.

“Baby asleep?”

“Oh, yes,” she answered around a bite of buttery mashed potatoes. In the past ten minutes, she’d stuffed herself like a Charles Dickens orphan. “A baby his age sleeps a lot.”

“Not when I was taking care of him,” Colt answered wryly.

His cute smile set off another chain of flips and somersaults that Kati battled by drowning them in cold tea. But his smile was a welcome change, considering what happened that afternoon in the nursery. Colt had clearly thought she was snooping. Well, she had been, hadn’t she? But only by accident. As a teenager, she’d once been falsely accused of stealing from a foster family. Though she’d eventually been cleared, the cloud of suspicion had hovered and she’d never quite forgotten the bitter humiliation of such an accusation. Colt already thought she was a lunatic; she couldn’t allow him to think she was a thief, as well.

Cookie appeared with a steaming apple pie and interrupted her anxious musings.

“Got some ice cream to go with this, too, Miss Kati.” He slid the pan onto a trivet close to Kati’s elbow, bringing the cinnamon scent right beneath her nose.