A Nanny for the Cowboy

Hayley’s throat constricted with emotion. “I can’t even imagine what it was like for you all.”

“The phone lines were down in town, so Dylan had stayed at the school with a few friends, waiting out both storms. When the rain began to let up, he started home and came upon the accident, just as the emergency crews arrived.”

“Oh, no,” she whispered, imagining how Luke’s brother must have felt.

He looked up at her. “He’s never gotten over it, and he refuses to talk about it. He quit the baseball team and devoted himself to the ranch and to finishing school. He’d been offered a college scholarship, but wouldn’t take it, and nothing anyone said could change it. Erin stayed around and took care of us both, until I graduated, then she started traveling the rodeo circuit full-time.”

“Aunt Rita mentioned she’s a barrel racer.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Luke pushed away from the table and stood. “I ought to drive over to Dylan’s and make sure he’s doing okay.”

“And I need to check on Brayden.” Hayley stood, unsure of whether to say something about what he had shared with her or to just let it go.

“Wait a second,” he said. “What with all this stuff about Dylan, I forgot something. Let me get my checkbook and I’ll pay you for this week, before I go.”

His words were a reminder to her that she was supposed to be doing her job, not telling her employer how to deal with his brother. She was there to take care of his son. She obviously had a problem, but Luke wasn’t it. She was. Hadn’t she spent the past five days denying her attraction to him? And wasn’t that beyond foolish of her? Especially since she wasn’t interested in a relationship with anyone. Not after Nathan and definitely not at this point in her life.

While she silently scolded herself, Luke returned to the room, holding a check in his hand. “You’re great, Hayley,” he said. “With Brayden,” he added quickly.

For a reason she didn’t want to explore, disappointment hit her. Swallowing a sigh, she turned to leave. But a hand on her arm stopped her and she turned back.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Luke said. “I guess I don’t know how to handle this kind of situation.” He released her and raked his hand through his hair. “It’s just been Brayden and me for so long, and having you here, taking care of him— Well, it’s changed a lot of things. I guess I’m just having trouble...”

“Adjusting?”

A smile lit his face. “That’d be the word.”

Her heart skipped a beat and without thinking, she took a step forward. “That makes two of us.”

His eyes darkened as he looked at her. “We’re a couple of misfits, I guess.”

His voice was husky, sending a shiver of warmth through her, until she realized what was happening. Giving herself a hard, mental shake, she stepped back immediately. Was she crazy?

“You—you’d better get going,” she managed to say. Clutching the paycheck in her hand, she brushed past him, headed for her room. If she wasn’t careful, she’d have to quit her job. And she’d have no one to blame but herself.

* * *

“SORRY ABOUT THE INTERRUPTION,” Dylan told Hayley that evening, “but I need to get these cattle records. I’m glad I got to see Brayden before bedtime, though. Makes me wish I had a little one so I’d need somebody like you to look after him.”

Luke opened his mouth to tell his brother that Hayley was already taken, but he stopped and clamped it shut. One or the other of them would take it wrong, when all he meant was— He didn’t mean anything. Not a damn thing, and if his brother wanted to start up with her, he wasn’t going to stop him. After all, she was his son’s nanny, not some woman he had a thing for.

Hayley shrugged. “I grew up the only girl in a family of five kids. My mom needed help, so I was the one to do it. In fact, as soon as I was old enough to put a knife, fork and spoon on the table, I was in the kitchen.”

“Nothing like Erin, right, Luke?” Dylan asked.

Luke thought about his sister, whose skills leaned more toward horses than cooking. Way more. “Erin has her own talents,” he reminded his brother.

Hayley helped Brayden down from his high chair and looked at Luke. “Not every woman enjoys cooking.”

“Or being a mother,” Dylan said. He immediately ducked his head and glanced at his brother. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“Forget it,” Luke answered, brushing off the comment, and stood. He knew Dylan had been as taken in by Kendra as he had. Erin, too.

Taking Brayden by the hand, Hayley turned to them both. “Cooking and nurturing aren’t for women only, you know,” she said, then hurried past them.

Luke watched her take Brayden from the room, unsure of what to say.

Dylan took a step in the same direction. “She seemed kind of upset. Maybe I should apologize.”

“Leave her alone for a few minutes. She’ll cool down, and I’ll go make sure everything is okay.”

Dylan’s expression was repentant. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings or whatever. I just— I guess I should’ve kept my mouth shut, but I was trying to compliment her.” He turned to look in the direction where she’d disappeared. “I sure blew that, didn’t I?”

Luke approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. She has an independent streak.”

“Like Erin.”

Luke had to smile. “In a way, yeah, I guess. Don’t let it bother you. She’ll be fine.”

But he wasn’t convinced she would and he didn’t stay around to explain it to his brother. The evening had been pleasant, but he’d felt a reserve about Hayley that had bothered him. Whatever had caused it, he knew he should probably find out so he wouldn’t repeat it. This nanny thing was new to him, and he wasn’t sure what was expected of him.

He found her upstairs in his son’s bedroom. As he stood, watching from the doorway, she pulled out a small pair of pajamas from the bureau drawer. Placing them on the bed, she bent to give Brayden a hug.

“Bath time,” she announced, “and then you can get in your clean jammies.”

“No,” Brayden said, running to hide behind the closet door.

She didn’t say anything for several seconds, until Brayden peeked out at her. “Maybe your daddy will let you go back down to tell your uncle Dylan good night. Would you like that?”

Brayden stepped out from behind the door, bobbing his head in an eager nod.

Luke cleared his throat so he wouldn’t spook her. “Go on down then.”

The look of joy on his young son’s face was priceless as the boy sped past him out the door. “Slow down on the stairs, Brayden,” he called to him. “We’ll be there in a minute.”