Rags To Riches: At His Bidding: A Home for Nobody's Princess / The Rancher's Housekeeper / Prince Daddy & the Nanny

Whoa, he thought. “She’d scream bloody murder if I tried to take her fishing.”

Her eyes softened just a little. “I’m not talking about fishing. I’m talking about you and your daughter doing something enjoyable together. Both of you need that.”

Chapter Three (#ulink_3565f9e0-b9d8-5ec7-9f19-65c440f541aa)

The next night, Benjamin met his brother Jackson at a bar in town. They sat down over couple of cold beers. “So, what’s up?” Jackson asked. “You don’t look too good.”

Benjamin slid a sideways glance at his younger brother. Jackson, an up-and-coming lawyer, had always been fast on the draw. He’d finished high school in two years, college in three, then gone on to collect his law degree at a prestigious university.

“Wanna trade places for a month or two?” Benjamin joked.

“Sorry.” Jackson lifted his mug to his lips. “Even I know you would get the easier deal. Ranch and a new baby. Me? I’m a single guy with no plans for a wife or kids anytime in the next century.”

“I hadn’t planned on children yet, either,” Benjamin said wryly but couldn’t keep from cracking a smile. “How’s the practice going?”

“Good,” he said. “It would be easier if I were in Dallas, and there was that offer in New York.”

“So why don’t you go?” Benjamin challenged, already knowing the answer. His brother was committed to Silver City.

Jackson shrugged. “I don’t know. This just feels right.”

“Then quit bellyachin’ about it,” Benjamin said.

Jackson shot him a mock-hard glance. “You’re the one who wanted to trade places,” he said and took a swallow of his beer. “What’s going on?”

Benjamin sighed. “Besides the fact that my daughter hates my guts?” he asked.

Jackson appeared to swallow a laugh and took another sip of beer to cover it. “That could be tough.”

“Yeah,” Benjamin said.

“But there’s something else,” Jackson prodded.

Benjamin sighed again. “The new nanny.”

Jackson frowned. “I thought she was magical. She calmed your screaming daughter. She was perfect.”

“Close to perfect,” Benjamin muttered. “But we’ve hit a bump.”

“She’s illegal?” Jackson asked.

Benjamin shook his head. “No. It’s worse that that.”

“What could be worse?”

Benjamin looked from side to side and leaned toward his brother with a low voice. “She’s a princess.”

“What?” Jackson asked loudly.

“Keep it down,” Benjamin said with a scowl.

“What are you talking about?” Jackson whispered.

“She was given up for adoption and she just found out her father was a prince.”

“Holy crap,” Jackson said. “You know how to pick them.”

Benjamin frowned. “Thank you for your support.”

“What do you need from me?”

“Some representatives of the royal family tried to get her to sign some forms,” Benjamin said.

“Absolutely not,” Jackson said. “Let me take a look at them first.”

“I already said no. They’ve invited her to visit their island country, but again, they want her to sign papers. She says she doesn’t care about meeting them, but I think she does.”

Jackson scrubbed his face. “And you’re wondering what this means legally? Do you want to fire her?”

“Hell, no. Emma loves her,” Benjamin said.

“Okay. Well, there’s a remote possibility that she’s due an inheritance, but since she’s out-of-wedlock and an adult, it’s unlikely. Royals have ways of tying up their funds.”

“I’m sure Coco would appreciate the infusion to her bank account, but there are other concerns,” Benjamin said.

“Such as?” Jackson asked.

“Such as the royal reps said she would be contacted by the media when the news breaks,” Benjamin said.

Jackson winced. “That’s true. There’s a huge infatuation with anything royal. She could get pestered....”

“My men and I can handle a little pestering,” he said.

“This might be more than a little,” Jackson warned.

“I think she wants family,” Benjamin said. “She didn’t have any brothers or sisters growing up. Her father died when she was young and her mother died within the last few months.”

Benjamin felt his brother studying him.

“This is starting to sound personal. Do you have something going on with your baby’s nanny?”

“No,” Benjamin said immediately. “I’m just telling you what I’ve observed.”

“So, no hanky-panky. No kisses. No middle of the night sleepwalking into each other’s beds.”

“No.”

“Hmm,” Jackson said, drumming his fingers on the bar as he studied Benjamin. “I don’t know. What does she look like?”