A Nanny for the Cowboy

“Hey, Luke,” Tanner O’Brien called to him.

“Tanner,” Luke greeted, and smiled at his friend’s wife as if walking into the Chick-a-Lick with a pretty woman was a daily thing for him. “Good to see you, Jules. And Wyoming,” he added, patting their young son on the shoulder as he passed.

He grabbed a high chair on the way, and by the time Hayley had settled Brayden into it and scooted into one side of the booth, the usual buzz of conversation in the café had resumed. Still, Luke knew people were speculating on who she was and what was going on.

Hayley picked up one of the menus tucked behind the napkin holder and looked around the room. “You were right. It’s definitely a popular place.”

He nodded his agreement and grabbed his own menu, hoping to hide the fact that he was clueless on how to handle this predicament he’d gotten them into. He hadn’t given any thought to how the first visit to town with Hayley would quickly become a topic of gossip. After all, he’d never come into the café before with any woman other than his wife, when he was married, and everyone in town knew how that had ended.

He rarely missed Saturday lunch at the Chick-a-Lick. Even Brayden knew with some kind of sixth sense where they were going when they started for town on Saturday. Leaving Brayden behind was never an option. His son would complain. Loudly. But taking Brayden, while leaving Hayley behind, just hadn’t seemed right, either. So here they were.

As he looked over the menu, he told himself that she deserved to have a meal she hadn’t cooked, and this was the perfect chance to introduce her around so she could meet people and maybe make a few friends. Now all he had to do was find a way to keep gossip at a minimum.

By the pale, pink blotches on Hayley’s cheeks, he guessed she was feeling a little embarrassed and maybe even uncomfortable. “They’re curious,” he told her. “They’re all good people.”

“It’s all right,” she answered. “I guess I’d be surprised if they weren’t. I’m sure that even if I was eighty and gray-haired and wrinkled, they’d still wonder.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, you’re right.” And he felt better because she understood.

“So what’s good?” she asked. “Besides everything.”

Suddenly glad she wasn’t eighty, gray-haired and wrinkled, he was in the middle of making lunch suggestions when the waitress came to the table.

“Hey, Luke,” she greeted. Placing several packages of crackers on the table in front of Brayden, she turned to smile at Hayley. “I’m Darla. Welcome to the Chick-a-Lick.”

“Nice to meet you, Darla. I’m Hayley Brooks, Brayden’s new nanny.”

Darla took the hand she offered. “Aren’t you the lucky one? He’s such a cute little guy. So are you all ready to order?”

When Hayley nodded in his direction, he answered, “I guess we are,” and they gave Darla their orders. She’d just walked away when Tanner and Jules O’Brien approached the booth with their son.

“Okay, I’ll say it. Jules is dying of curiosity,” Tanner said, laughing.

“I am not!” His wife gave him a playful punch in the arm, and then laughed, too. “All right, I guess small-town nosiness has rubbed off on me,” she said, smiling at Hayley.

Luke hurried to introduce his friends, and explained that Hayley was his son’s new nanny, without feeling it was the wrong thing to say.

“Perfect,” Jules said, with a glance at her husband.

“Hi there, Wyoming,” Hayley said to their son. “How old are you?”

Wyoming held up three fingers.

“He’ll be four in August,” Jules added. “And we really should get home. It’s so nice to meet you, Hayley. I hope you’ll all stop by the ranch sometime.”

They said their goodbyes, and when the O’Briens were gone, Luke let out a sigh. “I guess that went okay, didn’t it?”

“Very okay,” Hayley replied.

Darla soon returned with their meal, and the three of them fell silent as they enjoyed it. Luke didn’t fail to notice that Hayley kept an eye on Brayden, helping him with his food the way a mother would. And for a change, Brayden behaved like a perfect little gentleman, instead of wanting to get up to run around the café.

Luke had just finished paying the bill at the cash register and they were ready to leave, when the door opened. “Looks like you both have your hands full,” Luke told the couple who walked into the café.

“Double trouble,” Dusty McPherson replied, glancing at his wife with a grin, as he jiggled one of his twin sons in his arms. More quietly he said, “Hey, Luke, I’ve been meaning to ask where Dylan has disappeared to.”

Luke shrugged and kept his voice low, too. “He just said he needed to get away.” After glancing around to make sure no one was listening, he continued. “You know how it is with him this time of year.”

“Maybe he’ll be able to sort it all out if he’s away from the ranch,” Dusty suggested. “Sometimes just getting away can help. I know it did me. Why, if it hadn’t been—”

“Dusty,” his wife warned, as she shifted the other twin in her arms. There was a sparkle in her eyes as she glanced at Hayley with a smile. “I’m sure Luke and his friend aren’t interested.”

Dusty grinned at Hayley. “Right. Beg your pardon, ma’am.”

Hayley laughed. “None needed. I’m Hayley Brooks. Brayden’s new nanny.”

“A nanny!” Kate looked pointedly at her husband and frowned. “Now why didn’t you think of that?”

He slipped an arm around his wife’s waist. “Maybe after the next one...or two?” he suggested with a bawdy wink.

Laughing, Luke moved to the door. “I’ll tell Dylan to stop by when he gets back. Maybe you can talk some sense into him, if he hasn’t managed to find some on his own.”

“In the meantime,” Kate said, placing a hand on Hayley’s arm, “I’m Kate McPherson, and if you decide Luke is a slave driver, I’m sure I can find a position for you. If you get my drift. Oh, and this cowboy is my husband, Dusty.” Before moving on, she flashed Luke a smug smile.

“Wow, what a pair!” Hayley said, as they exited the café and started for the pickup. “And what nice friends you have. They went out of their way to make me feel welcome.”

Luke shrugged as he opened the truck door for her. “Like I said, people in Desperation are nice folks.” When they’d settled in the truck and were on their way back to the ranch, he turned to look at her. “You don’t have to worry now. Everybody in town will know you’re Brayden’s new nanny before the sun goes down.”

“I guess that’s a good thing,” she replied. “But I wasn’t really worried. I try not to pay a lot of attention to what others say, especially when they don’t know the circumstances. Still, for you and Brayden, I’m glad everyone will know.”

He was surprised at her honesty and unsure of how to answer, so he nodded in agreement before concentrating on the road ahead. It was pretty clear that she wasn’t the type to keep her opinions to herself. While that might have been a problem with others—his ex-wife, for instance—with Hayley he was beginning to appreciate it. He never felt she was being unkind, and her honesty made things easier. He wouldn’t have to wonder where he stood with her. Even the live-in situation wasn’t proving to be the problem he’d expected it would be, now that they were falling into a routine. And he was hoping that time would take care of the attraction he felt for her. Not that it had, so far.

As he turned into the driveway to the ranch, he glanced in the rearview mirror at his son, who had fallen asleep. Brayden had been unnaturally good all afternoon, and Luke could only chalk that up to Hayley’s influence. He admitted to himself that he was pleased she hadn’t given up and left that first day of the interview.

“I’ll take Brayden up to bed,” he told her, as he pulled up to the house and shut off the engine.

“Thanks,” she said, sliding out of the truck. “It’s amazing how heavy something so small can sometimes be.”

After putting Brayden in his bed, Luke found Hayley sitting in the kitchen, her head down as she turned the page of the book in front of her. He cleared his throat to keep from frightening her, and when she looked up, he spoke. “I’ve got some work to do out in the machine shed. If you need me, just give a shout.”

She nodded, but immediately went back to whatever she was reading. By the size of the book, he suspected it was for school.

Once in the shed, he felt more like himself. Lunch with Hayley at the café hadn’t been what he’d expected, and he was grateful for work that took his mind off it.

“How’s it goin’?”

Luke jumped at the sound of the voice and dropped the crowbar he was using, missing his right foot by inches. “Damn, Dylan!” he shouted at the sight of his older brother. “You might try warning a person instead of sneaking up on him.”

Dylan snorted. “You might try being a bit less jumpy.”