Page 11 of Claimed By the Cowboys
“For some reason, that’s not exactly comforting.”
Chapter 7
Zeke
Montana has brought home some pretty neat stuff before.
There was the time he hauled in the old popcorn machine from the movie theater in town, and Dakota got it to make popcorn again—much to our delight.
Another when he found the absolutely huge leather sectional couch that fit all of us with room to spare.
Or, my personal favorite, the evening Montana came home with an old-school karaoke machine. We hooked it up in the living room so that Maisie could sing along with her favorite songs.
Even though Clay had made a big stink about it, he ended up singing more songs than anyone after a couple of beers.
Something told me Piper Collins was going to end up being the best thing he’d ever brought back to Blackwood Ranch, though. I felt it the moment she put her hand in mine.
Of course, much like the incident with the karaoke machine, it looked like our pack lead would need some convincing.
We had already washed our hands and set the table for dinner, even if it was going to be served out of takeout containers, when Clayton finally got home. His hair, a ruggedsalt and pepper, was mussed from being under a hat all day; his beard, uncharacteristically long and shaggy after a few weeks of doing nothing but work.
“Hello, Miss Collins,” he greeted. His demeanor was less than sunny after coming home to a surprise after a long day on the range. “I hear from Montana that you’re our new nanny.”
I noticed the small twitch in Piper’s smile as his words hit her.
“Yes, I’m delighted to meet you! Everyone at the ranch has been so nice,” she said sweetly, clearly trying to make up for Clayton’s sourness.
“Hmph, I bet they are.” He snorted dismissively before cutting me a stern glance.
“So, aside from Evelyn’s glowing recommendation, what qualifications do you have for this position?” Clayton pressed, a hand stroking his increasingly unruly beard.
“Well, the whole cooking thing—mostly, you’ll have to take my word. I’m certainly no professional,” she began timidly before soldiering on. “I used to cook for all my friends in college, and I’m pretty good in the kitchen myself.”
“I see,” Clayton responded with a total lack of enthusiasm.
Piper did her best to keep a sunny smile on her face as she made her case to her new boss, but I could see his demeanor starting to weigh on her. I didn’t like how disagreeable our pack leader was being. It was like he was searching for a problem. Usually when we interacted with omegas, he was sweet, albeit a little rough around the edges.
Piper Collins had him all grumbly, and I couldn’t for the life of me put my finger on why.
“I have a lot of experience working with kids.” Piper made an attempt to steer the conversation back toward safer territory. “I majored in early childhood education before changing to communications, and I grew up babysitting a lot. Kids love mebecause I’m like a big goofy kid myself sometimes,” she offered cheerfully.
“Well, if a city girl like you can rough it out here in our humble backwater town, we would love to have such a well-qualifiedbabysitter.” Clayton let the thinly veiled jab hang out in the open.
A wounded look passed across Piper’s face for a moment before her eyes flashed with spite, a too-sweet smile drawing across her lips. “I just hope I can manage,” Piper sighed, with the slightest tinge of sarcasm creeping in at the edge of her voice.
Before Clayton could cut in and make matters worse, Piper forged right ahead.
“If you don’t have any further questions for me, then I’d be happy to have Zeke or one of the others show me to my room now, if that’s quite alright with you,sir,” she finished icily.
Sir. Ha! After the way she had been informally speaking to us, calling Clayton “sir” made it clear she’d written him off as her stuffy, rude boss.
None of this was lost on Clayton, who looked less than amused.
“It’s okay by me, as long as you earn your keep and your cooking is decent.”
Well acquainted with Clayton’s moods, Dakota and Montana both looked at Clay as if he were a bomb in danger of going off without warning.
“I trust you’ll be able to decide for yourself after dinner tomorrow, sir.” Piper’s stance snapped open with irritation, her feet shoulder-width apart and hands braced on her hips.
