A Nanny for the Cowboy

“If that works for you, I won’t argue. Would it be all right if I take Brayden into town, after lunch?” she asked, then hurried to add, “I’ll make sure he gets a longer nap when we get back. I’d like to pick up some groceries, if you don’t mind, and Brayden might enjoy the outing.”

Luke rubbed his chin with his knuckles and nodded. “Yeah, we do need some stuff.” He gave her a sheepish smile. “I never seem to know what to get and usually end up with nothing I need and everything I don’t.”

She cleaned the jelly from Brayden’s face and hands and helped him down from the chair. “Don’t worry about it,” she told Luke. “I’ll get you back up to par with the food.”

“I’ll call the grocery store and have them charge it to me.”

She nodded. “Just give me a limit, and I’ll go from there.”

“Whatever we need,” he said with a shrug. “No limit.”

She wasn’t accustomed to buying food for someone she didn’t know and hoped she would make wise decisions. Brayden was easy to figure out, but she wasn’t so sure about his dad. “Is there anything special you like?” she asked.

“Just about everything. Meat and potatoes or whatever. I’m not picky, as long as it’s easy to fix. No need for you to spend a lot of time cooking.” He glanced at his watch and frowned. “I’d better get back to work, or I won’t be done by six.”

“I only need to know where Brayden’s car seat is, and we’ll be all set for the rest of the day.”

He walked to the doorway that led to the garage, but didn’t open the door. “The spare is out here. I hardly use it, so just keep it in your car. I can get it for you.”

“No need,” she said in a rush. “I’ll find it. I’ve taken up enough of your time.”

He gave a quick nod. When Brayden ran to him and clasped his arms around his daddy’s legs, Luke reached down and mussed his hair. “I’ll be back later, buddy. You be good for Hayley, okay?”

Both of them looked at Hayley, and she offered them a smile. “We’ll be fine.”

“Well, okay then,” Luke said, while removing his son from his legs. “I’ll bring your suitcases in. I guess you saw that there’s a spare room right around the corner there.”

“Yes, a very nice room. It’ll be fine. Thank you.”

“And you can put your car in the garage, too.” he told her, and she thanked him again.

Hesitating, he finally opened the door and left without saying anything else. Hayley breathed a sigh of pure relief. She had a job. And she loved Brayden. But her new boss unnerved her. One minute he was all business and unwilling to talk, and she could handle that. But when he loosened up and became what she suspected was the real Luke Walker, she felt that old, familiar fluttery feeling in her stomach. That same feeling she’d had when she first met Nathan. But that had eventually turned sour, and she’d ended it, relieved that she did. She’d learned a lesson from the whole experience, and now she was determined to concentrate on finishing school. She’d simply focus on her studies and her tiny charge until that fluttering went away.

* * *

LUKE DRIED HIS HANDS on the towel and checked the time. Right on the dot. He wasn’t late.

Opening the door leading from the garage mudroom to the house, he was nearly bowled over by the mouthwatering smells coming from the kitchen. He hadn’t had the pleasure of enjoying a home-cooked meal for longer than he wanted to admit, but he sure hadn’t forgotten what it was like.

He spied Hayley in the kitchen and looked around. To his surprise, he found Brayden playing quietly in the corner with the toys she’d brought him. For the past year and a half, his son had been like a burr, sticking to him at all times. He wasn’t sure what magic Hayley was working or how she was doing it, but he was happy to see Brayden being more like a kid should be.

Hunkering down next to the boy, he pointed at the plastic pony Brayden held. “Hey, guy, whatcha got there?”

Brayden looked up at him. “Sorsey,” he answered and put the pony in his dad’s hand.

Luke chuckled at Brayden’s habit of replacing an S for an H in words. “Yep, it sure is. And a mighty fine one, too.”

Spying a plastic cowboy, he picked it up and studied it. Remembering the similar set he and Dylan had played with when they were small boys, he felt the oddly familiar ache in his chest as memories of his own childhood flooded him. His early years had been happy and normal, but the later ones had brought sorrow, and he quickly pushed aside the painful thoughts.

“So how’d you and Hayley get along, Brayden? Everything go okay?”

His son looked up at him, his dark brown eyes round and full of an innocence Luke knew came and went with the wind. As if he suddenly understood, Brayden turned to look at the new nanny and responded with a throaty giggle, a sure sign that he and Hayley had hit it off.

Tugging at one of Brayden’s short curls, Luke smiled and kept his voice low. “Yeah, that’s what I figured. You got your old man’s good taste in women.”

When he realized what he had just said to his son, Luke clamped his mouth shut. Good taste? Hardly. He had been so sure that Kendra was the one-and-only girl for him. He’d been as wrong as anybody could ever be. If he could turn back the clock...

Beside him, Brayden bumped the truck against his knee. No, no turning back the clock. Kendra had given him the one thing he cared about more than life itself. Even the ranch didn’t hold a candle to the way he felt about his son. And Brayden was all his.

Getting to his feet, Luke walked the length of the long room. “Something sure smells good,” he said as he walked through the room to stand behind her. He breathed in, just as he remembered his manners. “But you really didn’t have to go to so much trouble.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him and moved to her left, away from him. “No trouble. I did some shopping today. It’s in the slow cooker. It’s ready, whenever you are.”

“I sure appreciate it.” She looked up and he caught her gaze and held it. “First day on the job, and I should be giving you a raise already,” he teased.

“No need,” she replied, her face taking on a pink color. “I expected to help with other things besides child care when I was hired.”

He felt like kicking himself for giving in to the temptation to tease her. It obviously made her uncomfortable. And why shouldn’t it? He was her employer. He hadn’t meant for his comment to come out the way it had, hadn’t meant to make it sound so... He ducked his head, wishing he could take the words back. Hell, he wasn’t trying to seduce her, so why had he felt the need to tease her in a way that sounded like he was?

She cleared her throat and he looked up at her. “I think everything you need is here,” she said.

“You’re not joining us?”

She opened the refrigerator and removed a bottle of water. “You and Brayden are used to spending your evenings together, and I’ve spent all day with him. I think he’d like some one-on-one time with his dad. I’ll see Brayden later at bedtime, if that’s all right.”

He wasn’t familiar with the ways of nannies, and he didn’t want to pressure her, especially on her first day. “Sure.”

He wasn’t sure that was right, but what did he know? They’d never had a live-in nanny before. He tried to reason with himself. Why should he care what the woman did, as long as she took good care of his son? And she seemed to be doing that, from what he’d seen.

Brayden continued to play quietly, and Luke decided Hayley was probably right about the two of them needing to spend a little special time together. He’d been so busy all day that he hadn’t realized until that moment that he missed sharing most of the day with his son.

Needing some space and a few minutes to clear his head, he joined Brayden again and helped gather up the menagerie of animals and assorted vehicles, surprised that his son helped him with the small chore. His usual style was to turn around and walk away. Luke had learned the hard way that it didn’t do any good to yell at the boy. Even at two, Brayden had developed a way to tune out anything he didn’t want to hear and had inherited his mother’s knack for tantrums. Picking up toys was one of those things that could set Brayden off in a split second. Going to bed was another.

When they finished, Luke took him by the hand, but it was Brayden who pulled Luke to the counter. Luke raised an eyebrow when the little guy pulled a bib from the counter and handed it to him, then lifted his chin without being asked so Luke could hook it behind his neck.

“Looks like you and Hayley had a good day,” Luke said, settling Brayden in his seat.

He watched her move around the counter to give Brayden a hug, and he felt even worse. In one day, his son had taken to her and she to him. If Brayden’s mother had done the same...

“I’ll see you later, Brayden,” she said, placing a kiss on the top of the boy’s head. She looked at Luke. “Same time in the morning?”

“If it works out for you, yes.”

“Then I’ll see you at six-thirty with breakfast.”

“There’s no need—”

“I don’t mind at all.”