Page 5 of The Cowboy Takes a Nanny
Given his behavior since she’d arrived, his presence shouldn’t have startled her, but it did, and she—hopefully—used that as a cover for the quick flash of heat that flooded her face. It was something she hated about her complexion, and she’d learned no amount of decorum training or applied self-control could regulate that annoying response. Though while she may not feel calm, she could certainly sound that way. “Astonishingly crazy is possibly closer to what I was thinking,” she said cooly. She turned to see him standing at the bottom of the stairs, lounging against the railing.
He nodded. “I guess I can accept that. It wasn’t meant to happen this way.” He sighed, lifted a hand to indicate the plush sectional sofa, following her across and joining her once she’d settled. She was acutely aware of him watching as she pulled two cellphone-sized baby monitors out of the back pockets of her jeans. Placing them on the sofa beside her, she allowed herself a sigh of relief that he’d left a generous space between them.
“Strangely enough, I have no trouble believing that.” she replied, proud to have hidden her slightly perturbed state.
He quirked a brow. “Apart from when Dad had his heart attack, I was hardly home over the past few years. I was hitting the rodeo circuit hard. Wringing out every last dime. Setting myself up. I was building a property portfolio with my brother Jack, but also literally building this place, this house. From afar, really,” he added. “Dad and my brothers were overseeing the work as time allowed, and I couldn’t wait to get home to thank them; christen the place. So, I ordered all this stuff and had it delivered and set up ready for my return. It was going to be a boys’ night—Dad, my brothers, my cousin Cody, and a few friends and ranch hand buddies.” He mussed that thick, dark hair that she was sure must have been curly when he’d been a kid, and she itched to reach out and smooth the bits that still stuck up. “And it was all working out, but then things kind went awry.”
“Your accident? Losing your partner. Hope? I’ve gleaned a little of the story from the family. It’s awful.”
Again, he nodded. “Yeah … And I’d sure picked the worst time to get banged up. I learned about Hope and Mia when I was in hospital … There was so much going on. Hope needed me and the daughter I hadn’t even known existed needed me, and I kind of felt I was useless to them both.”
“Not the way I heard it.” Against all better judgment, she slid a bit closer, her voice little more than a whisper. “The story as I heard it told of the man who pulled out all the tubes, discharged himself from the hospital, and dragged himself across the country to be with the woman he loved. I was told you were there for her in those last days; to assure her you would care for and love your daughter. Not much in that story screams useless to me, Leo. Just the opposite.” She sucked in air, braved reaching out a hand to squeeze his arm; feeling the muscles beneath her fingertips cord and bunch. “Not everyone would find the strength to do that, and it must have been so heartbreaking to have finally found Hope again, only to lose her forever.”
His head dropped back against the back of the sofa. His eyes narrowed as though trying to see through two upper floors to where his daughter slept peacefully in her crib. “It’s Mia I mostly worry about,” he said quietly, his voice a low rumble. “She’s got the best aunties and best grandmother and a whole community of people who love her and will look out for her, but it’s not the same as a mom, right?”
She shrugged. “Sure, two loving parents, who wouldn’t want that for their child? But if that can’t happen? Then one parent who loves that child with every atom of their being, is just as good.” She swallowed deeply. “And if you’re fortunate enough to be able to provide strong role models—which Mia has in spades—than that’s a bonus. At least that’s what I believe.”
Her voice had dropped toward the end, and she subtly opened up the space between them again.
Leo glanced sideways. “And you damn well should believe that. You’re doing a great job with Benny, Ella. He’s a fantastic little kid, and funny like his mama.”
Benny was great. But like his mama? Forcing back a lump that suddenly and determinedly jammed her throat she hastened to lift the mood and strove to look amused. “You think my boy is developing my carefully cultivated, and very English brand of sarcastic comebacks? Then job well done, I’d say.”
Her ploy seemed to have worked, and his expression brightened. It was a pattern they were falling into and one she wanted to continue. She’d always found easy laughter and the ability to not take oneself too seriously very sexy. However, Leo was a double threat, because while their nonsensical conversations might make her heart flutter and encourage other organs to join in, when he was serious, deeper, like he’d been now, her entire body didn’t even wait for the invitation. It was all in.
Besides, sparring with Leo was fun—and she hadn’t had a lot of that of late.
“Nah…” He responded, not batting an eyelid. “The kid’s much funnier. Much wittier. Got way more style.”
His grin deepened as his gaze once more held her captive. “So, English, huh? I knew there was English in your accent but there also seems to be more and I—”
She shrugged off his comment. “I sometimes feel like I’m a citizen of the world, but yeah, I guess England is where I spent most of my formative years.”
“Your husb—”
Honestly, the timing couldn’t have been better. Just as she was wondering how she’d navigate the questions she had a feeling were coming at her, Benny’s plaintive Mama, filled the room. Hastily grabbing the baby monitors she stood and headed for the stairs. “I need to get to him before he wakes Mia. He can get loud if I don’t immediately appear.” Halfway up she called back, “Great room! Thanks for the tour.”
“Any time.” He made to follow her. “I should come up and check on Mia.”
On a sigh she paused; shook her head. “No, you shouldn’t Leo. That’s what I’m here for—just go do whatever it is you need to do.”
*
It should have annoyed her, but Ella knew she’d have been far more successful at coping with her adolescent reactions to her employer if he wasn’t always hovering. After all, he was constantly peeking over her shoulder while she tended to Mia. At least when he was home. She spent the first couple of days of awkwardly avoiding him whenever possible until she’d come to her senses and started acting like the adult she purported to be. Leo seemed to have come to the same conclusion, unless his awkwardness had been all in her imagination. The past week she’d thought things had settled into a more comfortable partnership, making it—for the most part—about the kids.
At first, his checking on her interactions with Mia every time he was home was understandable, but now it was starting to get weird.
Without taking her eyes off the task of dressing Mia after her bath, she said, “Are you sure you need a nanny, Leo? Or am I not making the grade? I do know what I’m doing, you know.” She’d kept her tone matter-of-fact, even though her patience was beginning to fray.
She didn’t have to see him pull back, or the rueful expression she’d come to know well, firmly settle in place. She shot Benny a deadpan look.
After a long moment Leo’s deep voice to rippled through the room. “I’m sorry. It’s just—”
“That dressing a squirming baby is a task that is beyond my skillset. Just like feeding her a bottle or changing her na—diaper?”
She lifted Mia from the changing table, bussed her noisily on the cheek, and turned to face him. She’d been correct about the rueful expression, only she’d omitted to add the wry grin shaping his lips into something more, leaving her to wonder if he’d let it develop. She also hadn’t imagined that both his hands would be held up in supplication.
“Permission to address the bench, your honor?”
