The Nanny And The Reluctant Rancher. Barbara McCauley
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it didn’t seem too unreasonable.”
“What’s that?” She tossed her apron on a hook under the counter.
“He wants you to cook.”
“Cook?” She swallowed hard. “You mean, as in prepare the meals?”
Stubbs ignored Rusty, who was lifting up his coffee cup for a refill. “You don’t like to cook?”
“Of course I like to cook,” she said quickly. “I love to cook. I, ah, just don’t know what to make, that’s all.”
“The usual. Meat and potatoes, same thing most men like,” he said offhandedly, then cleared his throat and lowered his voice. “You come back and visit us, you hear?”
Kat kissed Stubbs on both cheeks. He turned bright red, then turned and scowled at the round of catcalls that went through the café.
She grabbed her purse and forced herself to walk slowly and calmly out the front door when she really felt like running. Logan turned when she came out, and his expression was tight. No doubt he hated admitting he’d been wrong, and even more, hated asking her to come back at a higher salary. She didn’t want the raise, of course, and if he hadn’t looked as if he’d bite her head off, she might have told him so. She’d tell him later, when his pride wasn’t so sore.
“I’ll just be a few minutes,” she told him. “I need to pack.”
He nodded. “I’m going to the department store. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”
Fifteen minutes? She couldn’t pack that fast. “Fine.”
He was back in fourteen minutes and she was waiting in front of the motel, wondering what was taking him so long.
They were quiet on the ride back to the ranch. Eyes glued straight ahead, Logan held the steering wheel as if it might come off, and Kat kept her attention on the passing scenery, struggling to control her excitement that he was actually bringing her back. Cows and horses grazed along the barbed-wire fence separating the highway from the land, and wisps of white clouds streaked the blue sky. The weather was pleasantly warm, and Logan drove with his window down. A breeze whipped at Kat’s hair, and in spite of her nervousness, she felt a sense of exhilaration. She knew it was silly, but she almost felt as if she were coming home.
“I’ll reimburse you for your stay in town,” Logan said unexpectedly, breaking the silence after several minutes.
She glanced sideways at him, but he kept his eyes on the road. “That’s not necessary.”
“If I ever want to check out another library book, buy a hamburger for myself or grain for my stock, it is necessary. The entire town thinks I’m some kind of a blackguard, lower than a tick on a dog’s—” he stopped himself “—behind.”
Startled. Kat turned to look at him. “Because of me?”
He turned off the main highway, onto the road that led to his ranch. “I never expected you to stay in Harmony. When you did, I suddenly became Simon Legree, throwing a damsel in distress into the street.”
“Is that why you rehired me?” Kat hated how small her voice sounded. “Because of the town?”
“No.” He pulled up in front of the house and cut the engine. “We’ll tell Anna you’re here, then I’ll get you settled in your room.”
In her hurry to leave town, Kat hadn’t changed out of her uniform, and only now, as Logan opened the cab door for her, did she realize how short her skirt was. She pulled it down, but not before she saw Logan’s frown as his gaze moved over her legs. When he offered his hand, she quickly slid out of the truck.
“I didn’t have time to change,” she said weakly, tugging on the skirt.
He simply shrugged and moved around to get her luggage from the bed of the truck. Terrific, she thought with a silent groan. If it wasn’t enough she’d made a bad first impression by being younger than he’d expected, her second impression as a floozy wasn’t looking so good, either.
“Hey, Logan! You get lost?”
Kat turned as a man approached the truck. He was almost as tall as Logan and about the same age, with dark features and long black hair pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck. He moved beside the truck and stared at her curiously.
“This is my foreman, Tom Whitefeather,” Logan said as he pulled her luggage out of the truck. “Tom, this is Kat Delaney, Anna’s nanny for the summer.”
Tom seemed momentarily surprised, then smiled at her and touched the brim of his white cowboy hat. “How do, ma’am.”
Kat offered her hand to Tom. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Whitefeather.”
Tom hesitated, then slowly covered her small hand with his large one. “Just Tom will do, Miss Delaney.”
She smiled. “And I’m Kat.”
“You think we might move this along anytime soon?” Logan drawled, his arms loaded with Kat’s luggage.
“You need some help with that, boss?”
“I think I can manage,” he said sarcastically, then turned and headed for the house. “But the truck needs unloading. I’ll meet you in the barn in a few minutes.”
Tom nodded to her, then hopped in the truck and drove off. Kat threw her hat on her head and hurried after Logan.
The scent of floor cleaner and furniture polish filled the house, along with the sound of a woman singing in Spanish. Logan disappeared through the doorway where Anna had first appeared, and Kat followed. Still holding her luggage, Logan nodded to the end door, which was ajar. The woman’s voice was coming from that room.
Nervous, but excited, Kat knocked lightly on the door.
“Come in, Señor Logan,” Logan’s housekeeper called. “I make la señorita Anna muy bonita.”
Kat opened the door and entered. Sophia, an older, heavy-boned woman with short, salt-and-pepper hair, stood with her back to the door, combing Anna’s hair into a ponytail. Anna sat in her wheelchair beside her pink-and-white canopy bed.
“Anna,” Logan said from behind Kat, “I’ve brought someone with me I thought you might like to say hello to.”
With an obvious lack of real interest, Anna turned. When her gaze fell on Kat, the child’s eyes lighted. She looked quickly at her father, her expression hopeful, but questioning.
“Miss Delaney is going to stay for the summer,” Logan said, his voice softening.
Anna looked at Kat again and smiled slowly. Kat smiled back. “Anna and I are friends, she can call me Kat. And you must be Sophia.” Kat looked at the housekeeper.
Sophia nodded, holding onto the ponytail she was assembling. “Welcome to la casa Kincaid.”
Kat nodded. “Thank you.”
“Anna—” Logan smiled at his daughter and Kat realized it was the first time she’d actually seen him do anything but frown “—I’m going to show Miss Delaney her room right now. She’ll be back as soon as she gets settled.”
Anna nodded, and the ponytail Sophia held fell apart. Anna looked contrite, but Sophia simply shook her head and started over.
Kat followed Logan to the opposite end of the hall. Her bedroom was large and sunny, the hardwood floor polished to a soft shine. Navajo print rugs lay beside, and at the foot of, the king-size bed. She nearly gasped as she looked out the French door slider and saw a private patio with a builtin spa.
Kat had been surrounded her entire life with swank and elegance, and while she’d lived in upscale New York apartments her entire life, none of the rooms had ever been this big, let alone the bedroom. She moved closer to the French doors and stared out onto the patio.