The Rancher's Bargain

“No, thank you. Teddy and I ate dinner earlier.” She couldn’t risk spending too much time in her employer’s presence based on her over-the-top physical reaction to just a handshake, for crying out loud. If she was going to reach at least the two-month mark on this trial period, she really shouldn’t have late meals alone with him. “I just thought maybe now would be a good time for me to return to my house and pick up a few items to get me through the next week.”

“I forgot you didn’t move your things in today.” He backed out of the refrigerator with a sandwich on a crusty French roll and proceeded to remove the clear plastic wrap. “There’s a storm brewing that could turn nasty if the temperature drops any more.”

“I’ll be careful.” She stepped closer to the kitchen but didn’t enter it, remaining outside the granite-topped breakfast bar as she watched him retrieve a plate and glass. “I can be back in two hours.”

He parted the curtain on the window over the kitchen sink, peering out into the night. “The roads are going to be dangerous if we get ice.”

“As the oldest of eight in my family, I have to say it’s a unique experience to have someone worry about my safety for a change.” She couldn’t help a rueful smile, since she was usually the one doing the worrying.

“What about your mom?” he asked, letting go of the sheer curtain to fill a water glass. “She didn’t ever tell you not to go out into an ice storm?”

Even with the barrier of the counter between them, she felt the draw of his curiosity about her. She’d never experienced the pinprick of awareness all over her skin with anyone else and wondered why, of all the people Gail could have indebted herself to, it had to be a man whom Lydia found so potently sexy.

“My mother doesn’t take much notice of potential dangers in the environment.” To put it mildly. Lydia had saved her youngest sister from drowning in a neighbor’s backyard pool while her mom led a workshop on fostering a love of Mother Earth in children. She’d been totally oblivious. “Fiona Walker truly believes that if you see hearts and flowers wherever you go, then the world must be a happy, safe place.”

James’s eyebrows lifted as he slid his sandwich into the microwave. “Sounds like you got to see a different side of the House Rules parenting approach.”

She wasn’t surprised he knew about the blog. Her mother’s PR machine regularly spit out stats about how many lives the parenting website actively changed for the better—which was their highly embroidered way of reporting social media reach.

Choosing her words carefully, she replied, “Let’s just say that I hope you didn’t hire me because you thought I’d be giving Teddy lessons in the power of positive thinking.”