Page 26 of Wounded Cowboy
Rory had stopped eating and was staring at them.
“Bro,listento yourself. A timetable. For two little girls on summer break.” Winnie shook her head.“YouknowKelsey isn’t some inexperienced teenager who’s never babysat before!” Winnie’s voice slowed down, as if she were talking to a kindergartener.“She’s a professional nanny who knows what she’s doing. Isn’t the whole point of hiring a professional that you don’t need to worry about the girls while you’re working?”
Spring crossed his arms and glared at his sister.“I havestandardsfor how I want the girls raised, and I need to make sure Kelsey understands and follows my plan.”
“Standards, huh? Like Nick and I don’t have any?” Winnie’s grin vanished. Now she looked hurt.
“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that,” Spring protested.
“Yes, you did.” Winnie sighed.“Look, I get that you’ve turned into a bit of a control freak ever since—uh—over the past few years. Spring—and I say this with love—you seriously need to lighten up a little.” She patted him on the shoulder.“Trust me, the girls are in excellent hands. And even if she ignores your timetable, Kelsey won’t let them run hog-wild.”
Despite Winnie’s reassurances, her assumption that Kelsey would evenconsiderignoring his timetable bothered Spring.
Sure, Kelsey had experience working with children. She’d taken care of Winnie’s stepson Kegan for years. But that didn’t mean Kelsey could automatically handle his girls, no matter what Winnie wanted to believe.
Winnie had a point, though. Spring owed it to Kelsey, and to Grandma Abigail, to give Kelsey the same fair chance he gave his ranch hands.
“All right,” he conceded, albeit reluctantly.“But it’s Kelsey’s first day on the job. It would’ve been nice to hear how things were going.”
“Fair enough,” Winnie agreed.“Nick and I were pretty hands-off. But it’s not a big deal to ask Kelsey to check in with you during the day. Why don’t you text her now, so that you can eat your lunch with no worries?”
“Good idea.” Spring pulled his phone out of his pocket.
He typed:Hi, Kelsey. How’s it going with the girls?
Within moments, his phone buzzed with her reply:Doing great. We’re in the middle of a game of hide and seek.
Spring scowled down at his phone.Hide and seek? That wasn’t in my plan!
He dialed Kelsey’s number, swinging his booted foot impatiently as the phone rang.
Kelsey answered on the second ring.“Hi, Spring!” she greeted him cheerfully.“Everything’s great here, and the girls are having so much fun. How’s your day going?”
“What’s this about hide and seek? That wasn’t on the schedule today,” Spring said.“They were supposed to be in the vegetable garden, pulling weeds, harvesting strawberries, and identifying the pollinators.”
Kelsey sighed. He bristled at the sound.“I know that. We went out to the garden, but the girls really weren’t into it. And the wasps terrified Abby.”
“What wasps?” Spring demanded.
“There’s a yellowjacket nest in your woodpile. They were all over the garden today.”
“I didn’t know.” He winced at the thought of Abby or April encountering one of the little striped bastards. Though he considered bugs part of nature and usually left them alone, he made an exception for yellowjackets. They were the assholes of the insect world.“I’ll take care of that nest tonight, after dark.”
“That would be great,” Kelsey said warmly.
The approval in her voice made Spring want to roll over for a belly rub. Which irritated him.
She continued,“Anyhow, they wanted to play hide and seek instead, so I said yes.”
“But they don’tlearnanything from hide and seek.”
“They were happy and active. Isn’t that what matters? We can do something educational tomorrow, if that’s how you want them to spend their summer break.” She paused.“Anyhow, everything’s under control here. No one’s bleeding and nothing’s on fire.”
Spring clenched his jaw at her breezy tone. The sound of Abby’s joyful shriek filtering through the phone did little to ease his annoyance.
“Everything isnotunder control if you’re just letting them do whatever they want,” he snapped, more harshly than he intended.
Kelsey’s voice remained calm.“Spring, they’re playing together and they’re safe. I promise everything is going well. When you get home tonight, let’s talk about acceptable alternatives to the activities in your, uh, timetable.”
