Wife For Hire

Hayley hefted the picnic basket, walking down the long stone-scattered driveway and heading off on the side road, under the drape of willow and sweet-gum trees, to the barns. Beside her, Kim and Kate each carried a big thermos and struggled to keep up. She veered in the direction of voices. Male voices. When she rounded the edge of the barn, she gave a shrill whistle, bringing heads around.

“Hey, fellas,” she called, holding up the basket. “Hungry?”

Six men dropped their pitchforks, lashed leads to posts or set shovels aside and came to her like foxes after bunnies as she set the basket on the tailgate of the truck and opened the lid. She introduced herself and each ranch hand tipped his hat a fraction and nodded cordially. Jimmy Lee was long and lanky with a big smile and deeply tanned skin. He had an intense stare and wasn’t above having a look-see of her from head to foot, until Beau nudged him. Beau was young, just out of high school, she imagined, and blushed went she shook his hand. There was Ronnie, about forty, with hair too long for his age and tied back in a ponytail, his straw cowboy hat crimped to fit his head just so. He didn’t talk and just eyeballed her, accepting a cup of cold water. Then there was Bubba.

“Just what name does Bubba replace?” she asked the older man, gray-haired with weathered features and a sweat-dampened dark T-shirt.

“Robert. Bob.”

Hayley decided Robert fit him better, despite the muscled chest, John Deere hat and overalls. Seth moved closer, lifting Kate and Kim onto the tailgate and peering into the basket.

“Miss Hayley made sandwiches, Mr. Seth. Big hulking ones,” Kate said, glancing at Hayley.

She winked, then motioned to the twins with a stack of paper cups to pour some water for the men first. “I’ve got roast beef, ham and cheese, turkey and plenty of everything.” Hayley fluffed out a tablecloth, then hitched her rear on the tailgate to lay out the meal with chips and fruit. “There’s coffee for you, Ronnie,” she said. “Kim mentioned you favored it, even in this heat.”

“Yes, ma’am, I do.” He took the thermos and poured a steaming cup.

Hayley felt perspiration trickle down her spine at just the thought of drinking it right now.

She served up a plateful for each of the men, then pulled out the peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches the girls had requested. Sitting atop hay bales in the truck, Kim and Kate were in heaven over the outdoor break. As she munched, Hayley studied the house. It was a massive structure in the low-country, two-story style, with a porch that wrapped completely around it. And this one, she’d discovered while vacuuming earlier, went on forever. There were six bedrooms in the place, and there was also a guest cottage out back near the pool. Beyond the two huge barns was a bunkhouse. The whole place was beautiful, and Hayley relaxed just looking at it. River Willow. She’d forgotten the name over the years, but as with Nash, that was all she’d forgotten.

The distant sound of hoofbeats came to Hayley, and she glanced around just as Nash came riding over the hill from the west side of the house. The girls waved and he waved back. He paused on the hill, shadowed beneath a tall willow tree, and her heart did a strange leap in her chest. That was just too much man for one body, she thought. He looked magnificent, exuding strength and masculine power, and for an instant, the image of a man, a hundred years ago in a billowy white shirt and knee breeches, flooded her mind. Old family, a Southern gentleman, even if he’d grown sharp around the edges. He met her gaze, and even at this distance she could feel it glide over her skin, pause where it shouldn’t, yet flattering her that it did.

He still turns me inside out, she thought.

His horse pranced delicately before he bolted toward the barns. Hayley turned back to the truck, resisting the urge to fan herself. The girls wadded up the sandwich wrappers and tossed them in the basket. She sent them off to collect the trash from the men as she packed up. When she looked up again, Nash was a few yards away. But she’d heard him, felt her pulse quicken when she knew he was riding closer. It was disgusting, this chaos she felt around him still.

“What are you doing out here?” He slid from the horse’s back and stormed toward her.

If he thought she’d run for cover, he was wrong. She had to stick with this, finish this job. And nothing, not even his intimidating glare, was going to make her back down. “Y’all need to stiffen up a bit.” She gestured to the ranch hands and Nash. “You’re just too loose and happy-go-lucky. I’m surprised you get a lick of work done.” The hands snickered, moving quickly off, and Nash stopped, his blue eyes narrowing.

“Does it hurt?” she asked.

He looked at her from beneath the brim of his hat. “Does what hurt?”

“To smile.”

Disarmed, his lips twitched. Behind her, the twins giggled.

“Guess not.” Nash wondered now why he was so angry. Was it that his ranch hands were flirting with her, or was it that she was simply here, winning everyone over but him?

“Thanks a heap, Miss Hayley,” Jimmy Lee said as he sauntered back, handing her his cup and letting his gaze slide up and down long enough to make her blush.

“You’re a rascal, Jim.”

Nash gritted his teeth at the smile she gave the man.

“That’s what my mama keeps saying.” He walked away and Hayley flipped open the basket and held out a sandwich to Nash. “Would you like one?”

He looked between her and the sandwich.

“This doesn’t take a lot of brain power, Nash. A simple yes or no will do.”

Nash took the sandwich. She tossed him a soda, forcing him to catch it.

“Come on, girls.” She slapped the basket lid shut and inclined her head. Kim and Kate scrambled down, stopping before Nash. He squatted to meet their gaze and gave each of them a quick kiss.

“What have you been doing all morning?” he asked.

“Laundry,” they said, smiling.

“You never liked doing it with me.”

“But with Miss Hayley—” the girls looked at her adoringly “—it’s fun.”

“Well, we still have a ton of chores before party time, ladies.” She hooked a thumb toward the house and the girls skipped on ahead.

Nash straightened, the motion bringing him inches from her. He caught the scent of jasmine again, felt the heat of her body. He took a step back. “Party time?”

“I’ve promised them a game or two. Is it all right if they go in the pool?” At his hesitation, she added, “I’m an excellent swimmer.”

He knew that and hated to deprive the girls. “Sure, just let me know before you get in so I can check the chlorine.”

“I already did.” She turned away, not seeing his brows shoot up.

“Thanks, Miss Hayley,” the men chimed.

“You’re welcome, guys. Don’t work too hard.” She walked toward the house.

“Yeah, thanks,” came a deep drawl, and Hayley sent a look over her shoulder.

“No sweat, boss. Just doing my job.”

She wasn’t. She didn’t have to take the time to make the hands a midafternoon snack and certainly not bring it out here to them. They’d all had a decent lunch at noon. And Nash knew there was more than one person’s share of work to get done in the house. He didn’t like her calling him boss, either, then decided it would certainly remind him of the boundary between them.

Regardless of his thoughts, Nash watched her round behind shifting inside her short skirt, then dragged his gaze to his daughters. A little tinge of jealousy worked beneath his skin when the girls raced back to help her carry the basket.

“Sure was nice of her,” Beau said, and Nash glanced at him. Great. The kid had a crush on her already.

Yet in the back of his mind a little voice whispered that she was going into the pool and that meant a bathing suit. Nash turned away, swinging onto his horse and riding down to the south fence. He’d be there for a couple of hours making repairs, he told himself. Anything to keep from seeing Hayley, half-naked, in a swimsuit.

Because then he’d remember what it was like to make love to her.

Two

Strike three.

She could cook.

Nash stood in his formal dining room and stared at the spread on the table. He wasn’t sure what it was that smelled so good, yet the minute he’d entered the house, his mouth had started watering. The Hayley he’d known before couldn’t boil water and had eaten food that came out of a can or could be nuked in a microwave. Unless he’d taken her out.

It was another reminder that she wasn’t the same woman.

Behind him the ranch hands filed in, washed and shirts changed. His daughters were already sitting at their places near his, their plates prepared, beside them tall glasses of chocolate milk. He’d have to remind Hayley he preferred they didn’t overdo it with the sugar.

“Have a seat, gentleman. Dinner is served.”

Nash turned as she entered the area from the kitchen with a huge platter stacked with breaded chicken. The men scrambled for their seats as Nash slipped into his.

“I know your mamas taught you better, or am I going to have to hold this food hostage for y’all to take off those hats?” she said, eyeing them all except hatless Nash and Seth. Caps and cowboy hats disappeared under the table, and smiling with approval, she held the platter so they could serve themselves.

“What is it, Miss Hayley?” Beau asked, giving the platter a speculative look before stabbing a portion.

“Chicken Castellana. It’s a recipe from an old friend’s Sicilian nana. See, her husband, Angelo, was a barber, and during the depression people didn’t have cash, so they paid him in day-old bread, chickens, potatoes, whatever.” She shrugged, talking as she moved from man to man. “People had to have a haircut to get a job.” Her glance slid meaningfully to Ronnie and he smirked. “Anyway, Nana Josie created this recipe from the payments. It’s been cooking all afternoon.”

She stopped beside Nash and bent to offer him the platter. He served himself, avoiding looking into those eyes.

“Don’t be shy, Nash. There’s plenty more still in the oven.”

She was so close Nash felt the whisper of her breath skate down the side of his throat. He turned his head slightly and met her gaze. Her lips curved as if she knew her effect on him, and he focused on the platter, adding another piece to his plate. “Happy?”

“Ecstatic,” she said, then set the platter down. “The gravy is there, and help yourselves to seconds.” She went to the hutch, picking up the water pitcher and refilling the glasses before stopping beside the girls, bending to their level. “You two doing okay?”

They nodded vigorously, their mouths full. “Vegetables, too,” Hayley said. They made faces, then after a glance at their dad, nodded. She tipped her head to Nash. “How is it?”

“Incredible.” He didn’t look up.

“Sorta ticked you off, huh?”

Now he did look at her. He stared, dumbfounded for a second as he chewed.

“Admit it. You didn’t think I could handle it.”

He swallowed. “I admit to nothing.”

“Careful, Nash, your testosterone is dripping.” His gaze narrowed and she blinked sweetly, then straightened, accepting compliments as she left the room.

Nash gazed down the length of the table, realizing there was no place setting for her. He left his chair and went into the kitchen. She was seated at the worktable on a high stool, her face in a medical book as she ate. She looked like a pixie figurine, her head bowed, the fork poised. The lonely picture made his heart drop, and forced him to see how little family she’d had in her life. How many times had she dined alone? Spent a holiday alone?

“Hayley.”

She looked up.

“Aren’t you joining us?”

She gave him a patient smile. “I’m the hired help, not a regular one at that.” She’d done this kind of work enough to know it just wasn’t wise to include herself at the dinner table.

“I’m sure the girls would like it.”

“But I wouldn’t.”

His brows drew down and he stepped closer.

Her heart immediately picked up its pace. “I’m temporary, Nash. I don’t want to give the girls any ideas just because you and I knew each other once.”

“Know each other,” he corrected, his eyes speaking volumes.

In the biblical sense, the long nights they’d spent exploring each other. It was hard to erase those images and even harder right now to remember the heartache she’d suffered. Especially when he looked at her the way he was now. With heat and memory.

She put the fork down, shaking her head. “Don’t go there, please.”

He moved closer, his broad-shouldered presence blocking out the light. “Hayley.”

“No, Nash.” She tipped her head back and met his gaze.

The sheen in her sable eyes knocked the breath from his lungs.

“I can’t look at you across a dinner table without remembering that you walked away from me without a word.” Her voice lowered to a heart-wrenching whisper. “Without remembering what it was like to be loved by you.” Her lower lip quivered.

Nash felt sliced to ribbons. “Hayley. I need to tell—”

“No. You don’t. Michelle told me all I needed.”

His eyes darkened with suppressed anger. “I can just imagine.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m a stone’s throw away from my residency.”

He straightened. “And like before, nothing is going to stop you.”

She reared back a bit. “Can you blame me? I’ve worked hard for my degree.”

“I know you have. But we both can see there’s still something here between us.”

“We can’t relive the past. Too much has gone on.”

“I know I’ve hurt you—”

She laughed, a short bitter sound. “Don’t assume to know how I feel, Nash. As I recall, you never bothered to ask that seven years ago.” He started to speak and she put up her hand. “It makes no difference to me now.”

Nash ground his teeth. It did matter. Even if she was too stubborn to admit it. His daughters’ and the ranch hands’ voices filtered to the kitchen. This was not the place or the time to discuss this. But they would, dammit. They would. And are you prepared to tell her the truth? a voice pestered.

“Spend the time with your children, Nash. Ask how long they treaded water.” She focused on the book and again Nash felt dismissed in his own house. He turned to the doorway. “And they helped make supper, too,” she added.

That was a hint to praise them, and Nash felt like a heel for leaving the girls all the time. But that couldn’t be helped and was the singular reason Hayley was here. He stepped back into the dining room.

Hayley bowed her head, clutching the book to her chest and swallowing the tears threatening to erupt. She thought she’d dealt with this years ago. Hadn’t she gone on with her life? Hadn’t she focused ever bit of energy on her education? Yet she was here, in his house, working for him and she hated it. Hated the reminders that said she’d never let him out of her heart. Oh, Lord. How could she ever forgive him when it hurt so badly just to see what she’d lost? The worst of it was that she’d loved him back then very deeply, and when he’d asked her to put her education on hold, to marry him and raise a family, she’d almost conceded. They’d fought over it. He just couldn’t understand that she’d dreamed of being a doctor since she was a child. She couldn’t let anything stop her then, and he was unwilling to compromise. Besides, she didn’t know a thing about having a home and family. She’d had little of that herself. She’d wanted her career and knew if she’d given in to him, she’d never have gone back to school, and she would have resented him for it.

However, she never expected him to go straight into Michelle’s arms.

Michelle had had her sights on Nash the instant he and Hayley had started dating. Hayley had known that, but she’d just never believed her own sorority sister would betray her or that Nash would fall for Michelle’s helpless-Southern-belle bit. But that was only part of it. Hayley wasn’t good enough for him. She didn’t have the social graces, the impeccable background that Michelle Criswell had. Michelle was a socialite; she traveled in Nash’s social circles, possessing all the proper qualities a man like Nash needed in a wife. Hayley, on the other hand, was nearly poverty-stricken, on scholarships and working two jobs to survive. She could never measure up to the Rayburn two-hundred-year-old lineage.

Michelle had flashed her indecently large engagement ring in her face and victoriously said just that.

Hayley sniffled and swallowed, reaching for a napkin to dry her tears. Then, she couldn’t have made plans till she had her MD, and she couldn’t now.

Nash’s deep voice rumbled through the distance to the kitchen, making her heart skip and she looked up at the wall separating the kitchen and dining room. It’s too late to go back, she thought.

“Calm down, Hayley.”

“Calm down?” she said into the phone. “I swear, Kat, if I was there, I’d—”

“Beat me senseless about the head and shoulders?”

Hayley’s lips curved in a smile and she sighed. “Yeah. But that would ruin your hairdo.” She sank onto the bed, rubbing her forehead. “How could you do this to me?”

“Sugah, it was fate, I swear it. He called and you were next on the list, available.”

“Didn’t you consider the position you put me in?”

“You can handle him. You’re a strong woman, Hayley.”

“And his former lover.”

“It would have been rude to mention that.”

“He doesn’t want me here.”

“How do you know that?”

Hayley scoffed. “I’m a bad penny turning up, Kat, and the fact that I’m inches from residency is just one reminder of why we split.”

“And Michelle didn’t have a thing to do with it, right?”

Hayley didn’t want to talk about Michelle. She was dead, part of the past, unchangeable. No one, not even Kat, knew the details of Nash’s marriage. It was as if he’d shut out the world then. And it was too painful a subject to approach, especially with Nash. “Michelle didn’t tackle him till he and I argued. Besides, she had all the right qualities, obviously, and—”

“That’s bunk.”

“—it wouldn’t have worked,” Hayley said as if Kat hadn’t spoken. “He wanted a wife and mother. I wanted a career. I still want that. Besides, I don’t have time.”

“You have two weeks.”

Hayley didn’t bother to comment on that. “Fine, be that way.” Kat paused and then said, “So, how’s he look?”

Smiling at the purely feminine interest in Kat’s voice, Hayley shook her head and flopped back onto the pillows. “Well, you know how fine wine gets with age.”

“Oh, lawd, he must be devastating.”

“An understatement.” Wealthy, commanding, handsome, strong-willed and, as she recalled, a great kisser. What more could a girl ask for?

Kat’s voice broke back into her thoughts. “His daughters?”

She smiled. “Beautiful. Sweet, well behaved.”

“You’re falling in love with them.”

“Anyone with a heart would.”

“And their daddy?”

“That is a dead subject, Kat. But…”

Kat jumped on her hesitation. “But what?”

“Nothing…it’s nothing.”

“Dag-gummit, Hayley Ann!”

Hayley smiled. Let her stew, she thought. Kat deserves to be left out in the cold. Not that there was anything to tell. “You know, Katherine, what goes around comes around.”

“Hah! I wish something long-legged and slow talkin’ like Nashville Rayburn would come calling around me.”

Nashville. She’d forgotten about that little secret. “Careful what you wish for, you tart.”

“Pest. Always were. Worst little sister I’ve ever sponsored.” The love in Kat’s tone was unmistakable.

Hayley heard voices, and frowning, she walked to her bedroom door and opened it, peering into the hall. It was coming from the girls’ quarters upstairs. “I’ve got to go. I can hear Nash hollering, and he sounds like he’s going to bust a vein or something.”

“Well, you just go to him, then, sugah.”

Distracted, Hayley didn’t recognize the smugness in Katherine’s voice before she cut the line and tossed the phone on the bed.

Had she, she might not have gone upstairs.

“Kimberly Grace Rayburn, open this door!”

“I can’t, Daddy!”

“I promised not to come in, but you promised not to lock the door.”

“We’re fine, Daddy. We’re not babies.”

“But you’re my babies.” They just giggled. “I can get it open, you know.”

“No!” the twins wailed.

Nash sighed, falling back against the wall and rubbing his hand over his face. They’d been at this for ten minutes and he didn’t want them bathing without supervision. Why were they so shy around him lately?

“It’s normal.”

He opened his eyes to find Hayley standing nearby, a stack of towels in her arms. “I’m their father,” he said.

“You’re a male to them right now and they don’t want you to see them naked.”

“But I’ve seen them every day for five years!” He made a frustrated sound, then said, “They could drown!”

Hayley stepped close, knocking softly. “Hey, girls, can I come in?”

There was a bit of discussion in there and Hayley offered Nash a weak smile. Then the door lock clicked. Nash scowled. Hayley stepped inside. Nash started to move in, too, but Hayley waved him back, leaving the door open a discreet crack.

“What, no bubbles?”

“Bubbles?” The twins looked at each other and smiled. “Mrs. Winslow never let us have bubbles. She makes us hurry.”

Nash scowled at that and he leaned against the wall, out of sight.

“Well,” Hayley said, settling to the floor and taking up the washcloth and soap, “sometimes it’s necessary, but a lady needs to soak in a bathtub of bubbles once in a while. It’s a luxury we are allowed.”

“Why?” Nash said from the hall.

“Because we are females, Nash. It’s that time when we paint our toenails, ponder world affairs, pretty gowns, handsome men—” she winked at the girls, shampooing their hair “—soothe broken hearts and plan our futures.”

“Broken hearts” clung to his mind and his throat tightened. Her voice was soft, her Southern accent refined and cultured, like his mom’s. “I don’t see the point of it,” he said. “Get in, get out. Turning into a prune is a waste of time.”

Hayley rolled her eyes and the girls copied her. “That’s why you are a man and we are women. You will never understand.”

“A girl thing,” he said.

“Yes. Okay, ladies, time to rinse.”

This was the hard part, Nash thought. Kate was scared to death of getting soap in her eyes. The water ran, but he didn’t hear the usual complaints, and he peeked inside the room. Kate had a washcloth pressed tightly over her eyes and Hayley was doing her best to keep it from getting wet. Well, heck, he did that all the time, but got nothing but screams. When Kate was done, Hayley wrapped her head in a towel, then focused on Kim. Nash darted back when they stepped from the tub.

A few minutes later Kate said, “Okay, Daddy, you can come in now.”

Nudging the door open, he swung around the door frame and smiled. “I knew my babies were under all that dirt.” He kissed each twin, then reached for the comb. Kim winced before he even started.

Standing behind Kate, Hayley cleared her throat. He looked. She worked through the tangles in record time and Nash copied her moves, starting from the bottom in small increments. Kim twisted, looking at him and smiling. While they blow-dried pounds of hair, Nash’s gaze kept slipping to Hayley’s reflection in the mirror. She looked like the wild redhead he’d fallen in love with, and he’d never allowed himself to imagine her like this, with his daughters. He didn’t want to consider how good it felt to have her here. She wasn’t staying.

“You both have such beautiful hair,” Hayley said, stroking the brush through Kate’s long curls. Nash smiled at Kate’s contented expression. She was almost purring.

The girls thanked her politely. “Daddy thinks we should get it cut.”

Her gaze slid to Nash’s. “That might not be such a bad idea, just for the summer. It is hot.” His shoulders drooped a little and Hayley could tell he was relieved by the suggestion. “Think about it. We can look at magazines for a cut you’d like.” The girls weren’t receptive.