Rags To Riches: At His Bidding: A Home for Nobody's Princess / The Rancher's Housekeeper / Prince Daddy & the Nanny

* * *

Coco dressed Emma in a light jacket, tucked her into the stroller and took her for a walk. There was a slight nip in the air, but it was sunny and the time outside would do them both good. Coco headed for the back of the house, where a trail divided two fields. Chatting about the cattle and the trees, Coco alternately walked and ran. Emma let out a giggle when Coco ran.

“So you like a little speed in your stroller, do you?” Coco asked, glancing at the baby. “Your daddy’s not gonna be happy if you feel the same way when you get your first car.” Coco ran and Emma giggled again.

She turned around to return home, alternately walking and running. As she approached the back of the house, though, she noticed that Emma had fallen asleep, her head drooping to the side and her baby lips gently parted. Her heart twisted at the sight of her, so relaxed and at peace. As she rounded the corner to the front of the house, she wondered if she should take her up to her crib for a quick little snooze before dinner.

Three men and a woman immediately lunged toward her. She heard the click of cameras in between their questions.

“Miss Jordan, is it true that you are the illegitimate daughter of the former Prince of Chantaine?”

“Who are you?” Coco asked, shocked by their approach. She instinctively stepped in front of the stroller to protect Emma. “How did you find—”

“Your Highness,” the woman began, “how does it feel to become a princess? You must be so excited.”

Coco shook her head in confusion, distracted by the man shooting photographs of her. “I’m not a princess.”

“Is it true that the Devereau family wishes to deny your place in the royal family?” a man asked.

Emma began to fuss.

“What place?” Coco asked and turned to pull Emma from the stroller. What a ridiculous question, she thought.

“Your rightful place in the royal family,” the man said. “Surely you know you’re due certain rights and privileges.”

“Not really,” Coco said as Emma began to wail.

“But you’re a princess now,” the female reporter said.

“I’m not a princess,” Coco said flatly. “And you’re making the baby cry. Are you proud of that?” she said more than asked and walked up the steps to the front door.

Chapter Four

“What I want to know is how in hell four reporters got past my men,” Benjamin said to his foreman.

“We haven’t been policing it 24/7, Ben,” Hal Dunn said. The two had known each other since Benjamin was eight years old and Hal had been a young new worker on the ranch that Benjamin’s father had then owned. Now Hal was Benjamin’s right-hand man. “They could have sneaked through the wooded area in the front of the property.”

“Well, I don’t want to hear about anyone sneaking in anywhere,” Benjamin said. “And 24/7 starts now.”

“Got it,” Hal said. “But I can tell you that whoever pulls that midnight shift is gonna want extra pay.”

“Done,” Benjamin said. “Just don’t make it too much or you’ll get squabbling over who gets to take the night shift.”

“That’s for darn sure,” Hal said with a rough laugh then turned sober. “Hope they didn’t upset the little one or the nanny too much.”

“Coco said Emma started crying but stopped as soon as they stepped inside the house. Coco seemed pissed off, but I think she may have been more rattled than she wanted to admit. I don’t think she really expected any extra attention from the press, even though we were warned.”

“Well, hell, she’s royalty. That’s big news around here,” Hal said. “Maybe big news everywhere.”

“Because it’s going to change the world if Coco is a princess,” Benjamin said with more than a touch of sarcasm.

Hal gave a combination of a wince and shrug. “Guess that’s true. What else do you want us to do?”

“Just guard the perimeter,” Benjamin said.

“Will do,” Hal said.

A few moments later, Coco bounced down the stairs with Emma bundled in a fleece outfit “We’re ready to go to the doctor,” Coco said.

“What?” Benjamin said. “Why does she need to go to the doctor?”

“It’s a regular appointment,” she said. “Remember, you told me you wanted me to go with you?”

“Yeah, I remember,” he said, thinking he should have added the appointment to his cell calendar schedule. He must have put it on a different calendar. Having trespassers on his property had gotten him sidetracked. “Maybe I should have someone drive you to the pediatrician,” he mused.

“Absolutely not. If we start behaving differently, then we’ll have to do it for the next year. There’s no need for such insanity.”

“I could have one of the men follow her,” Hal said.

“No,” Coco said. “If we take the casual route, then the press will back off,”

Benjamin gave it a second, and even third, thought. “I think it would be a good idea to have one of our men backing you up.”

“Overkill,” she said.

“Better safe than sorry,” he said, enduring her scowl. “We have to think about both your safety and Emma’s safety.”

Her complexion paled. “I would guard Emma with my life.”

“I know you would,” he said. “But I don’t want it to get to that point.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”

Benjamin scrubbed his jaw with his hand. “I’ll reschedule my other appointments for this afternoon. I need to stay on top of Emma’s health.”

Coco blinked and took a quick breath. “Uh, okay. That’s a great idea. You just need to remember to take off your hat.”

Benjamin felt Hal’s confused gaze. “Emma doesn’t like my hat.”

“Damn,” Hal said. “That’s a shame.”

“Tell me about it,” Benjamin said and sighed. He took off his hat and clutched it in his right hand. “Let’s go,” he said to Coco and led the way to his SUV.

“Her car seat is in my car,” she said.

“No problem,” Benjamin said and transferred the seat from Coco’s car to his. He watched as Coco wedged Emma into the car seat and shook his head. “Bet she hates that.”

“If you give her enough toys, she forgets about it,” she said. “But I’m glad we don’t have to go on any long trips.”

“You and me both,” he said as soon as everyone was buckled in place.

He pulled away from the house and drove down the long drive to the public road. He noted a few cars parked alongside the public road and frowned but hoped they weren’t newspeople.

Driving toward town, he checked his rearview mirror, relieved when it didn’t appear that he was being followed. “So what’s the purpose of this appointment? Any shots?”

“It’s a regular checkup. Yes to the shots,” she said.

“Damn,” he muttered. “One more opportunity for her to associate me with pain.”

“They really do forget quickly,” she said.

“I’ll let you hold her during the shots,” he said.

Knowing the bond between Emma and Benjamin was still a bit tenuous, she acquiesced. “This time,” she said.

He slid her a sideways glance. “This time?”

“Yes,” she said. “There may be times when Emma will need support. She may break a leg—”

“Not on my watch,” he insisted.

She smiled. “She may fall and need stitches.”

“You’ll teach her to be careful,” he said.

“Accidents happen. How many broken bones and stitches did you get when you were growing up?”

“That’s different,” he said. “I’m male.”

“Ooh,” she said, drawing out the one syllable in a way that clearly indicated she disagreed. “Big mistake to think that because she’s female, she won’t have accidents. Plus there are illnesses that could take her to the hospital.”

Benjamin’s stomach turned. “I don’t like the sound of any of this.”

“Too late,” she said. “You’re already her father. The good news is that you can take this all one step at a time. Plus you’re already the type to man up, so you’ve got that on your side.”

Benjamin turned the corner to the road where the pediatrician’s office was located. “What makes you so sure about that?”

“You wouldn’t have gone after Emma right after Brooke died if you weren’t a responsible man. You wouldn’t have hired me ASAP. You wouldn’t have taken off your hat for Emma and allowed her to spit peas at you.”

“Well, I guess there’s that,” he said dryly and brought the car to a stop in front of the pediatrician’s office.

“Do they give you a beer after this?” he asked.

She laughed. “No. Not until you get home. Let’s go. It won’t be as bad as you expect.”

Automatically returning his hat to his head, he ushered Coco out of the car and freed Emma from her car seat. She was staring hard at him.

“Hat,” Coco prompted.

“Oh. Okay,” he said and removed it again, setting it in the front seat.

He handed off Emma to Coco and escorted them inside. They sat in the waiting room for fifteen minutes. Afterward, Emma was weighed and measured while they waited for Dr. Apple.

The jovial man walked into the examination room with a friendly, booming voice. “Hello to Emma and mom and dad.”

“You didn’t read the report. Emma’s mother died last month. Coco is her nanny.”

Dr. Apple frowned. “Oh, please accept my condolences. This must be a difficult time for you.”

“Yes, but not in the way you’re thinking,” Benjamin said. “Emma’s mother and I weren’t married.”

Dr. Apple’s mouth formed a perfect O.

“Yeah, and Emma hates me. She screams bloody murder every time I come around,” Benjamin said.

“She’s not screaming now,” Dr. Apple said.

“This is the exception,” he said.

“Not true,” Coco said. “All you have to do is take off your hat.”

Benjamin couldn’t deny her statement.

“Hmm,” Dr. Apple said. “Let’s check out your baby.”

The doctor conducted the examination and ordered the vaccinations. Emma was above average in her weight and height. She had gained in both since her last appointment. According to Dr. Apple, Emma was thriving. Benjamin was certain the primary reason for that was Coco.

The nurse entered and administered the punishment. Emma screamed in fury and agony. His heart wrenched. He watched Coco wince then immediately turn into comfort mode. “There you go,” she said rubbing the baby’s arm. “What a brave girl. All over in no time. You’re such a good girl.”

Emma quickly became distracted by Coco’s words of praise. Her cries subsided and she gave a few extra sobs then sighed.

“You can give her a low dose of baby acetaminophen if she appears uncomfortable,” the nurse said. “She’s a beautiful baby.”

Coco smiled. “Thank you. We think so, too.”

They walked out of the office and Benjamin helped Emma into her car seat and escorted Coco into her seat. Emma sucked on her pacifier.

“Poor thing,” Coco said. “They go through so much they don’t understand.”

“Yeah, but it’s necessary to keep them alive,” Benjamin said. “I would be a rotten father if I didn’t protect her against the diseases she could get.”

“That’s right,” Coco agreed. “And you’re nowhere near a rotten father.” She glanced behind her. “Besides, she’s sleeping now.”

Benjamin felt something inside him ease. “Good. Just tell me we have that baby Tylenol ready.”

“We do,” she assured him. “Along with your beer.”

* * *

The next day, the story hit the Dallas and Houston papers. The weekly Silver City paper wouldn’t be far behind. The house phone started ringing. Everyone from newspaper reporters to radio DJs to television reporters wanted to interview Coco about her association with the Devereau family.

Sarah fielded the calls when Coco was busy with Emma, but she was getting antsy by late afternoon. “I don’t think I can do another day of this. These phone calls have totally interrupted my cooking and cleaning schedule.”

“I’m sorry,” Coco said as the phone rang again. “Maybe we should let the calls go to voice mail.”

Sarah scoffed and shook her head. “It’ll fill up in an hour. I swear, it must be a slow news day for everyone to get worked up over this.” She picked up the phone. “Garner Ranch.” She paused a few seconds. “Miss Jordan has nothing to say to the press. Pass that along to all your colleagues so they’ll stop calling. Goodbye,” she said and hung up the phone.

“They’ll stop when they figure out I don’t know anything about the Devereaux. As long as I continue to be boring, they’ll get bored, too,” Coco said.

Sarah snorted. “I don’t know what you’ve been drinking, but this is a great story. Pretty girl, orphaned by her adoptive parents, finds out she’s a princess—”

“I’m not a princess,” Coco said. “I’m a nanny.”

“Hmmph,” Sarah said. “Try telling that to the reporters.”

“I have,” Coco said.

The phone rang again and Coco reached for it. She didn’t want Sarah getting any more cranky than she already was. “Garner Ranch,” she said.

“This is Annie Howell. I’d like to speak with Coco Jordan,” the woman said.

Coco sighed. “Speaking.”

“Oh, Your Highness. I’m so happy to talk to you,” the woman gushed. “I’m the president of the Silver City Ladies Society. We would love for you to come and speak to our group next month.”

“Thank you for the kind invitation,” Coco said. “But I must tell you that I’m not any kind of highness and I’m very busy working for the Garner household right now.”

“But you are from royalty,” the woman said. “We’re so excited to have royalty right here among us.”

“But I’m really not royalty. A true royal person is raised to be royal from birth and, trust me, I was not. I’m sorry I can’t help you. Have a good day. Goodbye,” she said before the woman could respond.

“These people really don’t get it,” she murmured.

Emma’s cry vibrated through the baby monitor, interrupting her thoughts.

Coco ran upstairs, scooped up Emma, changed her diaper and returned downstairs just as the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” Sarah said. “Might as well be Grand Central Station in here today with all these interruptions.”

Carrying Emma, Coco wandered toward the front room.

Sarah opened the door and looked surprised. “Eunice and Timmy, what brings you here?” she asked, drying her hands on the dish towel she carried.

“May we come in?” the woman outside asked.

“Of course,” Sarah said and stepped aside. “What can I do for you, Eunice?”

An older woman with bright red lipstick and unrealistically black hair and a middle-aged man stood inside the door. The woman carried a fruit basket and the man cleared his throat and pressed down his hair.

“We hear you have a princess living in your house and we wanted to welcome her to the neighborhood,” Eunice said.

Coco took a silent step backward so she wouldn’t be seen.

Sarah paused a half beat then sighed and reached for the basket. “That’s nice of you. I’ll be sure and tell Coco you dropped by.”

“Oh, we were hoping to meet the princess,” Eunice said.

“Well, she’s busy with the baby right now,” Sarah said.

Emma looked down at the dog and made a loud gurgling sound.

“Oh, is that them?”

Emma let out another loud gurgle.

“Coco,” Sarah called as if she realized it was no use trying to hide Coco any longer. “You have guests.”

Coco entered the room and smiled. “Hello,” she said.

“Coco, this is Eunice Chittum and her son, Timmy.”

“Tim,” the man corrected and cleared his throat.

“Tim,” Sarah repeated. “Well, the Chittums have brought you a fruit basket. I’ll take it into the kitchen for you.”

“Thank you very much,” Coco said. “What a nice gift. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh, our pleasure,” Eunice gushed and dipped in a curtsey. “Your royalness.”

Frustration rippled through Coco. “Oh, no, please don’t do that. I’m just Coco Jordan. Really.”

“There’s no need to be so humble with us. We’re very honored to meet you. I especially wanted you to meet Timmy.”

“Tim,” the man corrected.

“He would be a perfect escort and you should know that he is eligible.”

“Mother,” Timmy said, rubbing at his hair self-consciously.

Coco covered her dismay by shifting Emma to her left hip and extending her hand. “It’s nice to meet both of you and so friendly of you to stop by. I wish I could invite you to stay longer, but I need to bathe the baby.”

“Oh, of course. We wouldn’t dream of imposing, but I do want to leave you with my phone number and Timmy’s,” the woman said with a bob of her head and handed Coco a floral card with several phone numbers on it. “That last one is Timmy’s cell and he always answers. Please call us for anything you might need. Anything at all.”

Coco nodded and murmured her thanks again as she closed the door behind them. As soon as they left, she walked to the kitchen where Sarah was cooking. “Just tell me this won’t last long,” she said over Emma’s babbling. Emma was turning into quite the chatty baby. Coco just wished she understood the baby’s language.

Sarah shot her a look of sympathy. “Oh, sweetheart, it’s just getting started, but maybe if we ask Benjamin to keep it to no visitors for a while, it’ll die down faster.”

“I hate to be unfriendly,” Coco said.

“It’s about survival,” Sarah said. “We have to survive the incoming.”

The phone rang.

“I’ll get it,” Coco said as Emma continued to babble.

“I’ll let you,” Sarah said and turned back to stirring her pot.

Coco scooted around the corner to grab the phone in the den and almost collided with Benjamin. “Oh, I didn’t know you were here,” she said.

Emma stared at Benjamin’s hat and immediately stopped babbling. “She really doesn’t like that hat,” Sarah muttered.

Rolling his eyes, Benjamin removed it. “I’ll get the phone,” he said, picking up the receiver.

Coco went after him. “You might not want to do—”

“Garner Ranch,” he said and listened. He wrinkled his brow and his face became more and more perturbed. “Wait a minute. Wait, wait a minute. You say you’re a DJ at a radio station, and you want to interview Princess Coco Jordan?”

Benjamin glanced at her. She cringed and shook her head.

“She doesn’t want to be interviewed,” he said and opened his mouth as if he were going to say goodbye. He listened a moment longer and his eyes grew wide with disbelief. “You want to have a reality competition for men who want to marry a princess? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in my life—” He broke off and shook his head. “You say you’ve already got fifty men signed up? I don’t care if you’ve got a million. It’s not gonna happen. Ever. Got it? Goodbye.”

He hung up the phone and turned to her. “We’re gonna need a different strategy.”

* * *

That night after she put Emma to bed, Coco returned to her bedroom, pulled on a sweatshirt and crept downstairs and out the back door. Her mind whirling a mile a minute, she circled the house. She started out at a fast jog. What was her blood brother like? Were any of those royals worth knowing? Would any of them consider her worth knowing?

Coco had always dreamed of having brothers and sisters, but her parents had told her she was their everything. In retrospect, she’d felt more than a little pressure from that. She’d always wanted to be the best student, the best artist, the best singer, the best fisher, the best athlete, but in truth, she’d been mostly average.

Oh, she’d been a good speller and her grades had spiked into Dean’s List territory every now and then, but along the way, she’d learned that she couldn’t be Miss Perfect. And she’d felt a little guilty about it, especially when she’d overheard her parents arguing about money and learned that her parents had spent their life savings to adopt her.

After a time, she’d seen that her requests for a sibling had pained her mother and father, so she’d stopped voicing them. But she’d never stopped wanting a brother or sister or both. And now, she technically had brothers and sisters, all for the taking. Yet she felt as if it were all a bad joke, because she sensed they would regard her as a complication, perhaps a threat.

Which was so ridiculous, because she wasn’t a nasty person.

Why couldn’t she put this craziness out of her mind? The onslaught of the press didn’t help, but she just wished she could turn it all off at night when she went to bed. So far, no luck.

Suddenly, Benjamin appeared by her side, walking with her. “Something bothering you?” he asked in his low drawl.

“It’s been a strange day,” she said a little breathlessly. She inhaled quickly, superaware of his height and muscular frame.

“I’ll say,” he said. “Which bothered you most?” he asked. “Eunice and Timmy? Or the reality competition for your hand in marriage?”

She shot him a dirty look. Ordinarily, she would have been more careful with her reaction to her boss.

He chuckled and gave her a quick elbow. “Looks like you’ve got some extra energy. You need to run,” he said and started to jog.

She couldn’t not accept his dare, so she quickened her stride. Coco noticed that Benjamin wasn’t breathing hard. “Were you a football player when you were in high school?”

“And college,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

She shrugged and upped her speed a bit. “Just curious. You’re big, but fit,” she said.

“Big?” he echoed. “I was one of the little guys on the team. But thanks for the compliment. It helps to move around a lot during the day. You should know with all the moving you do for Emma.”

She nodded, concentrating on her pace and breathing.

“You still didn’t answer my question about why we’re running,” he said.

“I don’t know why you are running,” she said.

“Okay, I can settle that. I’m running to keep up with you. Why are you running?”

She ran several more steps. “I don’t want to have to deal with all this right now. I just started taking care of Emma. Sarah has been a good sport, but it’s not fair to her to have to answer all these crazy phone calls.”

“Yeah,” he said. “What else?”

She continued jogging then slowed. Then walked. “I don’t want to want to meet them,” she said, her heart pounding in her chest. “I don’t want to care if I ever see one of them face-to-face.”

“But you do want to meet them. I would want to,” he said, walking beside her.

“You said that before,” she said, looking at him.

“Sure. I’ve got brothers, but I’ve always known them,” he said.

She nodded, taking a deep breath. “The trouble is I don’t want to go by myself, and I can’t think of anyone to go with me.”

“Hmm,” he said.

Her heart twisted. “And it’s such bad timing.”

He rubbed his chin. “It could be worse.”

“How?” she asked.

“It’s not calving season,” he said and met her gaze. “How would you feel about having Emma and me tag along for your trip to Chantaine?”

She gaped at him in amazement. “Are you joking?”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not doing this out of the goodness of my heart,” he said. “You’re the best one for Emma, and I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep you.”

Coco blinked while his words sank in. Allrighty. She was totally confused for an entire moment, until she realized that Benjamin was still desperate to keep Emma happy, even though his daughter had stopped screaming at the very sight of him.

Chapter Five

The next day, numerous bouquets of flowers, invitations and fruit baskets arrived. The arrivals kept Boomer busy as he tried to greet each deliveryman. Benjamin made a new message for the voice mail and no one was required to pick up the house phone. His men kept all visitors at bay.

Coco breathed a sigh of relief several times throughout the day. Sarah was more relaxed. Even the baby seemed more at ease. The conversation she’d had with Benjamin made her feel alternately uneasy and anxious. Was she really going to Chantaine to meet her half siblings? Had Benjamin really agreed to go with her? And take Emma?

Coco wondered if she’d dreamed it.