The Rancher's Nanny Bargain

“You’ll learn what to do.”

“It’s scary. When Amelia cries, I feel like I’m failing her and Nate and Lydia.”

“Relax a little, Cade. You take care of a lot of things on this ranch that are far more difficult and complicated. She’s just a little girl.”

“I meant it when I said that I don’t know anything about babies or kids. And I especially don’t know anything about little girls,” he confessed. Then he rolled his eyes and let out a groan. “I can’t bear to think of trying to deal with a teenage girl.”

Erin laughed softly. “She won’t be a teen for a few years so stop worrying about that. You’ll get accustomed to Amelia in no time.” Erin paused in the hallway to face him and her expression sobered. “I’m sorry I can’t do this. While I’d love to take care of Amelia and it would fit with my future career, living on your ranch or driving back and forth to my home in Dallas every day would be too much of a hardship. And I make a very good salary where I am. I wish you luck.”

He looked into those deep green eyes that he knew he wouldn’t forget for a long time and he knew what he had to do. “At least hear my offer before you turn me down.”

He needed Erin. Amelia needed Erin. At the same time, he had known since she walked through his office door and he got his first sight of her, that resisting the urge to have her wouldn’t be easy. But he hoped it would be possible. Besides, it was only a few months, not long enough to be much of a temptation.

“Come on,” he said, turning toward his office and feeling her follow behind him. “Is there anyone you’re seeing who’ll be upset about you accepting a job on a ranch or being away from Dallas all week?” he asked as they walked.

“No, there isn’t,” she replied. “Luke leaves this week for the Antarctic and isn’t scheduled to be back for the rest of the year. Mom is visiting her sister who lives in Arkansas—” She stopped, as if she suddenly thought of something. “I guess you weren’t talking about my brother and family.” She shook her head. “There’s no man in my life.”

“At the moment that works out better.”

They entered Cade’s office and sat in the leather chairs again. She crossed her legs and looked at him expectantly.

He placed his elbows on his knees and leaned closer. “I know you’re capable and reliable. I know you and your family. I trust your credentials and I can trust you to care for Amelia like she was your own. You’re perfect for this job.”

“Thank you for such faith in me but—”

“I know. You don’t think you’ll make enough money for this nanny job to be worth your time. So, let’s make it worth your time. It’s five months counting December and then you’ll leave for graduate school, right?”

“I’m quitting my job mid-December because I want to get ready to go to the university and I want a little time at home during Christmas.”

“Okay. Only four months, plus two weeks, then. That makes a bigger salary even easier.” When he paused to think, she waited quietly.

“Whatever your salary is for secretarial work, I’ll quadruple it if you’ll work for me,” he offered.

Her eyes widened as she stared at him, saying nothing.

“You can have the use of one of my cars while you live here. That way you won’t have wear and tear on your car or gas to buy when you come and go out here. You can have Saturdays and Sundays off after the first month and a ten-thousand-dollar signing bonus upon acceptance. The reason for asking you to stay on the weekends the first month is because everyone else is gone on the weekend. I’ll get my cook to stay Saturday and take off one day during the week, but I’m not ready to be alone with Amelia and have full charge of her care.”

“Mercy...” As her lips parted, his attention was drawn to them and his curiosity rose over what it would be like to kiss her. It still shocked him that the same person he could so easily ignore as a kid now took his breath away, made his pulse race and inspired fantasies about hot kisses. He had to force his mind back onto his offer when she finally spoke.

“What you’re offering is ridiculous,” she whispered, still staring at him as if he had offered her all the gold in Fort Knox. “It’s definitely something I have to consider, now that I’m going to grad school.” Her gaze flickered as she said, “You know, if I hadn’t known you all my life and if you weren’t really close friends with my brother, I would suspect some ulterior motive for that kind of money. As it is, I know you well enough to know you’re offering me the job for the right reasons.”

“Yes, I am. Because I trust Luke’s recommendation. And because Amelia is the highest priority in my life and I want the best nanny I can possibly get.” He had to, for her and for his brother. When he was away from Amelia, he didn’t want to worry about her. Or even when he was with her. Funny, he thought, how he could handle all kinds of things on his ranch, but taking care of a little baby scared the daylights out of him.

He looked at Erin and held his breath, hoping she wouldn’t take a lot of time to make a decision.

She shook her head slowly and he wondered if she intended to say no. He needed her desperately. If she turned him down, how much more should he offer to get her to accept the job?

“I don’t need time. I can’t possibly turn down your offer. When do you want me to start?”

Two

“As soon as you possibly can.”

He felt relief surging in him and he could hardly stifle the smile that split his lips. Although temporary, he felt positive that he just hired an excellent nanny, and someone who could teach him how to be a parent so that later, he could select the best long-term nanny for his niece.

“I feel desperate and so does my grandmother, not to mention my cook who is doing some double shifts. Although sometimes I relieve her and cook for us so that she can help my grandmother,” he explained. “Actually, tomorrow would be the best possible time for you to start, but I know you can’t change your life that fast.”

“No, I can’t, but I can move to your ranch Monday and get to know Amelia. If you or your grandmother can be here the first day or two, it would be nice, so I can see Amelia’s routine and learn what I need to know about her.”

“I’ll work that out. Move in Monday and if I can help you, let me know. There are a lot of guys on this ranch willing to pitch in and help you move,” he said. Every guy on the ranch would help once they got a glimpse of her. “I have a small plane and I also have a private jet I keep in Dallas. If you want, I can either have my pilot fly you here, because from the ranch it’s a little over 160 miles to Dallas, or have someone pick you up in Dallas in a limo and move your things. From the ranch to Downly is twenty miles.”

“My head is swimming. Let me think and I’ll send you a text or call you later today. How’s that?”

“That’s excellent,” he said, sitting back and smiling at her. She did look a bit overwhelmed.

“I’m stunned by your offer and am trying to adjust to the change in my life and what this job will mean to me,” she said, her gaze shifting to his as she looked intently at him.

He became aware of how close they sat, her knees almost touching his, her exotic perfume filling the air. Her green eyes had darkened slightly and her rosy lips were turned up in a slight grin. He also became aware of how much he wanted to lean closer and taste them.

Would she always be such a temptation? he wondered. Or was it just the shock of seeing her looking so different, so mature, so feminine? He told himself he’d get used to the new Erin, with some time. Meanwhile, he had nothing to worry about where she was concerned. He had no qualms that she would be circumspect, professional, focused on Amelia.

He would, too, if he always kept in mind how vulnerable Erin was and how much she was into marriage, family and permanent commitment. Also, how much he valued her brother’s friendship.

And she would never flirt with him or come on to him. He remembered how solemn she used to be. The reminder should be a reassurance to him, but for some reason it wasn’t.

“When you’re here, if you ever have any problems, don’t hesitate to tell me,” he said, his voice a deeper rasp.

“Thank you,” she replied. “You know, I wouldn’t do this if it weren’t for your friendship with Luke and all the years we’ve known you.”

“I wouldn’t do this if it weren’t for Luke, either,” he said.

“And I doubt if I’ll need any help, but I will let you know if I do. I don’t even know what I need to bring.”

“Let’s go look at where you’ll stay.” He stood but paused as he exited his office. “One more thing,” he said, “I’d like you to be on duty Friday nights. If you have some place you want to go on a Friday, let me know and I’ll work around it, but on Fridays, I’d like to go out.”

“That’s fine. I think that would work out really well,” she added and he smiled.

“Don’t sound so happy to be rid of me,” he said and she looked startled.

“I’m joking,” he added swiftly, wanting to get back to being impersonal. “If you don’t want to stay by yourself with Amelia, there are a couple of wives of the cowboys who work for me who live on the ranch. I can get them to stay on Friday night so you’ll have someone else here with you.”

“I’ll be fine. They’re all here on the ranch, so someone I can call won’t be far away if necessary. Right?”

“Right. Come meet Maisie, my cook. She’s still in the kitchen. She has a house here and her husband works for me, too. Harold, my butler, has a house on the ranch and his wife cooks for the people who work here.” Cade took Erin’s arm lightly to lead her out, and was surprised when the faint contact sent tingles up his arm. Yes, he thought, the woman was certainly tempting. Thank goodness once he had her situated and familiar with her charge and his staff, he could throw himself into work and see her less.

But how could he do that?

He needed to learn how to cope with Amelia. He needed to follow Erin around and see how to care for his charge. He also needed to bond with Amelia and when he did, Erin would be present, too. They were going to be thrown together, living together in his ranch house, spending a lot of time together with Amelia. And he had to remain cool and professional, the boss and his nanny.

He clung to the knowledge that even though Erin was gorgeous, there were other beautiful women who were far more lighthearted, ready to party, wanting the same freedom he did and who hadn’t lost a baby or been hurt badly in a recent broken engagement. There were so many reasons to remain professional and distant with her, so why did they seemed to evaporate when he looked into her big, green eyes?

They entered the kitchen where a slender woman with braided blond hair wiped the countertops. “Ahh, hello, there,” she said. “You must be Luke’s younger sister. I can see a family resemblance.”

Erin laughed. “I’ve heard that before, but not often.”

“Erin, meet Maisie Elsworth, my cook and the person who keeps this place going. If you have questions about Amelia, the job or the ranch, or need help, Maisie is the person to ask.”

“Absolutely,” Maisie replied, smiling. “You’ll love little Amelia and maybe you can teach this Wild West cowboy how to calm her. She’s adorable.” Maisie looked away and wiped her eyes, turning her back. “You’ll have to give me a moment. I feel as if I lost one of my own boys when we lost Amelia’s dad. The same for the little one’s mother. So sad, and sometimes it hits me out of the blue,” she said, still wiping her eyes.

Cade stepped up to put his arm around her and give her a squeeze. He stood quietly while she became composed again and turned to Erin.

“Sorry,” Maisie said. “Moments come without warning when I realize they’re gone forever and I think of little Amelia.”

“Don’t ever apologize because you love someone,” Erin said. Cade thought about her miscarriage and how much she must have hurt over losing her baby, and how much she was still hurting.

“Ahh, you’ll be a good nanny for our little baby,” Maisie told her. “I hope your brother is fine. I miss seeing him. They were fun boys, but now they’re grown men and busy and I don’t see them.”

“You see me plenty, Maisie,” Cade said with a grin. “You’ll see more of me today, but right now, I want to show Erin where she’ll be staying when she moves in.”

“It’ll be good to have you with us,” she said to Erin and Cade wondered whether he had just complicated his future while making Amelia’s more secure.

Next, Cade took Erin to a suite that held four rooms. She walked into the center of the living area, turning to look at the room that had oak floors, a thick area rug in two tones of blue, watercolor paintings of horses on the walls, and glass and teak furniture.

Cade watched her turn to look around, his gaze running over her. He was still amazed by the changes in her appearance, even though common sense told him she wouldn’t look the way she had at ten.

“Go ahead and look at the bedroom, the closet and the adjoining bathroom,” Cade urged, wanting her to be happy with the job and where she would live. “There’s also a small office with computer equipment.”

He watched her thick red hair swing slightly across her shoulders as she walked out of sight into the bedroom. When she returned, she smiled—another friendly, dimpled smile that under other circumstances he would have accepted as an invitation to flirt.

“This is marvelous,” she said. “I’ll go back to the office and give notice today. They won’t mind letting me go because I’m temporary anyway. I’ll just leave sooner than I had planned.”

He suspected they were going to mind letting her go, but he merely nodded. “Good. We’ll stop by my office and I’ll write a check to you for your signing bonus.” They fell into step and he was aware of her close beside him. When they entered his office he hastily wrote the check, his fingers brushing hers when he handed it to her.

Every physical contact, no matter how slight or how much he tried to ignore it, was noticeable—all red flag warnings that he would have to deal carefully with her.

What made the feathery brushes of their hands noticeable besides his reaction was awareness that she responded, too. Her reaction showed in tiny ways: a surprised look, a flicker in her eyes, a deep breath. Some kind of chemistry existed between them, an attraction that he could not pursue and she didn’t want.

When they walked to his front porch, she turned to face him, offering her hand.

“Thank you for this fantastic offer. I’m going to love taking care of Amelia and now I won’t have to worry about finances so much,” she said, withdrawing her hand that was soft and slender.

“Even though you’re on a full scholarship, I know your brother has offered to pay your college expenses and you’ve always turned him down.”

“He put himself through school and I want to do this on my own, too, the way he did. I have my undergraduate degree now, so I’m making progress and I see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.”

“Congratulations. That’s commendable,” Cade said, realizing she had a streak of independence that was so like her brother. “For the present, you have my phone number in case you need anything. And the offer of help to move still stands. I’ll see you Monday.”

“Thanks. I never dreamed I’d be in a business arrangement with you someday. And I’m sure you wouldn’t have thought it possible to be in one with me,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “I might as well have been wallpaper for all the attention you ever gave me back then.”

He smiled and held back a reply that came to mind instantly, that he definitely noticed her now and she wasn’t anything like wallpaper. He glanced at her full lips and wondered again about kissing her. More forbidden thoughts plagued him, thoughts that he would have to squelch. How many times would he have to remind himself?

“Cade, thank you again so very much for this job. I’m thrilled and looking forward to getting started,” she said.

With an effort, he stepped back. “See you Monday,” he said, taking a deep breath.

“Sure,” she said, giving him one more long look before she hurried to her small black car. She waved as she drove away.

He had an excellent, trustworthy nanny—and a nagging worry that he might be bringing trouble home in a big way. Was he going to be able to ignore the chemistry that smoldered between them today? Was he going to be careful to avoid trying to seduce his nanny? He had to or he’d lose his best friend forever. Besides, he wasn’t interested in commitment and Erin was the marrying kind. She had already been hurt badly and was vulnerable. He couldn’t hurt her more.

Cade watched her car go down the ranch drive, but all he really saw were big green eyes and a rosy mouth that looked ripe for kissing.

* * *

When Erin glanced at her rearview mirror, Cade still stood on the porch of his sprawling ranch house. A tall Texas rancher, a man worth millions, yet he looked like other cowboys from ranches all over Texas. Except he was more handsome than most.

Smiling, she thought about how he had been shocked that she had grown up. He had never paid attention to her the years he was in high school. All her brother’s friends had seemed big and intimidating and they had seldom taken notice of her, which was a relief to her. She just tried to avoid them and go ahead with what she wanted to do.

By the time Cade graduated from college, she was in her early teens and was attracted to him, thinking he was to-die-for handsome. She had a silly, schoolgirl crush that she told no one about. She knew the times he was at their house he didn’t notice her any more than he had when she was nine years old and he had been in high school.

She hadn’t seen Cade in years and it was a surprise to see an appealing, good-looking rancher. A grown man now—handsome, filled out and older, with that air of confidence that was as evident as it was with her brother.

Even though Cade was still her brother’s closest friend, there was only a little she knew about him.

When she rounded a bend in the road and his house disappeared from the view behind her, she let out her breath. With the check he had just given her, there was no way she could turn down his job offer, but it was going to hurt badly at times.

She still wasn’t over her losses completely, though the pain had eased somewhat. Losing her baby had been devastating and when Cade handed Amelia to her, she’d had a terrible clutch to her heart and felt tears sting her eyes. As she drove down the graveled, dusty ranch road, a pang still tore at her. She didn’t think she would ever stop hurting over losing her baby, even though it had been early in her pregnancy, and she knew that Amelia was going to be a constant reminder of what she had lost.

Now she had taken a job that was going to dredge up that pain again every day until she got accustomed to dealing with Amelia and could focus on her charge without thinking about her miscarriage. Amelia looked so adorable, she should bring cheer just by being a sweet baby.

Cade, however, might not be so easily handled. He loomed, another giant difficulty because of his incredible appeal. What might make working for him difficult was the chemistry between them. Where had that come from? She felt it and she knew he had. Or maybe he stirred that reaction in all the women he met.

Several times today, he had looked at her intently, giving her the look a man gives a woman when he actually sees her as an attractive woman. She wasn’t so out of practice that she didn’t recognize it.

It wouldn’t have mattered if he had spent the whole interview flirting with her. She didn’t want to date, didn’t want to fall in love, didn’t want any kind of relationship. The pain of her broken engagement was still too real, too intense. The consequences of any relationship would bring back too many hurtful memories.

She didn’t want to get involved emotionally with any man at this point in her life and definitely not Cade. She knew his views on relationships and his cynical view of marriage. She might not ever be able to have a baby, but she still wanted marriage and children in her future and that was not what Cade had ever wanted. If she could resist Cade’s appeal and deal with the hurt and reminders of her loss that Amelia would unknowingly cause, this job would be great. A huge windfall for her, and good experience for her future career. Cade’s offer had been irresistible. No way could she have turned it down.

Even though Erin tried to avoid thinking too much about her doctor’s warning that she might not ever be able to carry a baby full-term, it was impossible to forget. If she couldn’t bear a child, she would adopt. She would have a family, one way or another, but that would come in her future. Now she intended to concentrate on grad school and her career.

For a few months she would take care of a precious little girl. Amelia Callahan was a beautiful baby with lots of thick black curls and big dark blue eyes like her uncle. Erin remembered the few minutes when she held her and Amelia had stopped crying, looking into Erin’s eyes as if they were bonding.

And you bonded with her uncle, too.

She ignored the insinuating voice inside her head. She hadn’t bonded with Cade; she’d simply looked at him while he spoke to her. Yeah, and drowned in his eyes. And nearly ignited when he touched her.

Who was she kidding? Working for Cade was going to take difficult to new levels.

Living on the ranch, she could only hope Cade would be gone most of the day. It would make her job easier if he wasn’t around. She was going to love precious little Amelia and when December came, it would be dreadful to say goodbye.

In the meantime she’d simply avoid caring too much about Amelia’s appealing guardian.

* * *

On Monday Erin changed clothes several times, finally deciding on practical navy slacks, a short-sleeve matching cotton blouse with a round neckline and navy pumps. She brushed her hair and stood looking at herself until she realized she was thinking about how Cade would view her. She had to stop that. And she had to put a halt to the heart-pounding, prickly awareness of him that had plagued her all weekend.

Her apartment bell buzzed and she went to the intercom to hear her brother’s voice. “Am I too early?”

“No. I’m ready to go. Come up.”

She opened her apartment door and in minutes Luke swept into the room. “Hey, you look nice,” he said, studying her and then turning his eyes on her bags, laptop, carry-on and purse stacked near the door.

“Thanks, Luke, for helping me load my car.”

“Sure. I’m glad you’re doing this and I’m glad he’s paying you well. I figured he would.”

“The pay is fantastic. Now I don’t have to worry about school.”

“I still say, anytime you need anything or if you run short of money, let me know. I’m single, earning a good living and I’ll be happy to help you. You don’t have to pay me back, either—that’s the best part.”

She smiled at him. “The best part is that you made the offer. That gives me a secure feeling that I can always turn to you if something disastrous happens.”

“Damn straight. Speaking of something disastrous... Let me remind you again—”

“Luke,” she cautioned and laughed. “Don’t tell me to avoid going out with Cade. He never even noticed me until he wanted to hire me. He knows I’m your little sister and he won’t jeopardize his friendship with you. Now stop worrying about me.”

“I’m worrying about what Cade will do, although I don’t think he’ll hit on you for the reasons you just gave. I can promise that he notices you now. He didn’t when you were eight or nine years old, but...well, you look a lot different now. Let me remind you that while Cade loves the ladies, he is dead set against marriage. When it comes to long-term relationships, there’s not a serious bone in his body. He doesn’t know what a real family is—I know he always enjoyed being at our house partly because of our parents. He’s close with his brothers and his mother had good intentions, but she was more interested in a social life. What I’m saying is Cade is not your type and you don’t need another hurt.”