Page 33 of Curvy Nanny for the Cowboy

Until Molly.

The curvy spitfire of a nanny who dared to make me want more, and worse, she made me want to reach for more.

With her.

My cell phone buzzed in my pocket, stealing my attention from the never-ending spreadsheet on the screen. I ignored the first three rings, and thankfully the damn thing stopped ringing, only to start ringing again. “Yeah?”

A long silence followed, and then a low, feminine smile exploded from the other side of the call. “Well now, I’ll bet you’re just a handful to deal with.” The voice was familiar, and it took me a moment to place it.“Serenity.

What can I do for you today?” The owner of the nanny agency that sent me Molly deserved more than my gruff demeanor, but she’d caught me off guard, and her call sent a knife of worry straight down my spine. “Sorry. What’s up?”

She laughed again. “No need to apologize; you’re a busy man, and I understand. But this is a business call.”

My brows furrowed, even though she couldn’t see me. I stood and circled the desk to push the office door shut. “Business? What business?” There was just one bit of business we shared. “Molly?”

“Got it in one. Now tomorrow is the sixtieth day of Molly’s probationary period, and I need to know if she’ll be staying there with you and Hunter or if I need to find her another placement.” Her words lingered in the air for a long, pregnant pause. “Mr. McCall?”

Whether or not I wanted Molly to stay wasn’t in question. “She’s done a wonderful job with Hunter, and I have no complaints.” I wanted to keep her at the ranch permanently. “What is the next step?”

“As of tomorrow, the contract will renew for twelve months unless you have another length of time in mind?”

I frowned at the phone. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it felt almost as if Serenity knew something was going on with us. “One year is a good start, I think. She’s done such a great job with my son that I may want to keep her longer.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! I’m sure Molly will be thrilled to hear that after the past year.”

“What’s been going on?” Other than an over-eager boyfriend, she hadn’t said much about her past.

“Oh, nothing, just a few jealous wives and girlfriends who made it near impossible to find a placement for dear Molly. I am so glad this has worked out.”

“Me too. She’s made my life a lot easier.”

“Excellent!” Serenity Woods was so upbeat I could hear her smile through the call. “I’ll ring Molly with the good news. Good talking with you, Mr. McCall.”

“Call me Colton,” I told her with a laugh as I ended the call. Knowing that Molly would be around a little bit longer was a relief, but that didn’t stop the unease that settled in my gut.

I returned my attention to the spreadsheets because running a ranch included a surprising number of spreadsheets to keep track of everything from the animals to the milk sold, the hay bought, repair materials, and every other detail that went into keeping this place running. I looked at the screen until my eyes began to swim, and it was clear that I needed a break. Wyatt and the other hands were on the far side of the property fixing up fences and letting the bison graze on the fresh grass, which meant I was on my own.

The rumble of an engine sounded sometime after lunch, which was the perfect excuse to take a break from digital paperwork. I stood and stretched stiff muscles with a loud groan before making my way down the narrow staircase and out of the barn. “Buck!” I called out to the local mechanic as he stepped down from his flatbed.

Buck scanned the land with a wide smile that only grew when he spotted me, waving one weather-beaten hand in the air. “Colton McCall, I haven’t seen you in at least a few blue moons. How the hell are you?”

“Can’t complain,” I shouted and made my way across the field. “Heard you’re the proud grandpapa of twins?”

His smile somehow grew even brighter. “Good news travels fast if it already made its way to you. They are as beautiful as this here land of yours.” He looked around again with that settled look that most people got when they were face to face with the vast openness of the land. “Got a special delivery for Molly. She around?”

“Somewhere around here with Hunter. I can take possession of it if you want. They could be anywhere.” I’d gone to the main house for lunch, and food was there, but my nanny and my son were not. “Any messages I need to pass on?”

Buck shrugged. “Now I can’t speak to all of that, but it was definitely a nail that sliced through all four tires. There were two slits in each tire, so it wasn’t a mistake. Had to replace ’em all instead of just patching them up, which is cheaper, you know?”

I nodded, but dread slithered down my chest and settled deep in my belly. Someone had slashed her tires on purpose, not just to scare her but to cost her money. To doubly screw her. “Thanks for that, Buck.”

“That’s not all, Colton.”

Shit.“What else?” Molly had only mentioned the tires, and I hadn’t noticed anything else.

Buck reached inside the car with a grunt, but when he stepped back, he tossed me a small black box, no bigger than an old-school cell phone. “Found that under the back tire. Looks like one of those trackers you can buy at those spy stores.” While I stared at the tracker, he lowered Molly’s car to the ground with ease.

“Shit.”

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