The Rancher's Nanny Bargain

When he’d mentioned to Luke that she was very quiet and very young, Luke’s blue eyes had twinkled.

“Not as quiet as when she was a kid,” he’d said. “And young is good. She’s energetic, upbeat, loves kids and they love her. Trust me, she’s great taking care of kids.”

“Is she an environmental engineer like you?”

“Not at all.” He’d gone on to list her credentials: an undergraduate degree in Human Development and Family Services, director of her church nursery, member of the Big Sister program while in college. “The only drawbacks for her would be a time limit and living on your ranch.”

“What’s the time limit?” Cade had asked, even though he’d had no intention of hiring Luke’s little sister.

“Erin just finished her bachelor’s degree. She’ll be starting back at the University of Texas for her master’s in January. She’s staying out a semester to earn money. I’ve offered to pay for school but she won’t accept my offer.” He’d grinned. “My sister is independent and wants to do it her way. Frankly, I can understand. We’re a big family and it will help Mom and Dad. I put myself through, something you know nothing about as Dirkson Callahan’s son who set all of you up in business.”

“Not Blake. Don’t get me started on my dad, or my mom. Mom won’t keep Amelia at all and made that plain from the first and flew to Europe with friends. Why the hell my dad had so many kids... Anyway, this is August, so it won’t help me to hire a nanny for a few months and then start over,” Cade had said before biting into a thick, juicy rib covered in dark red barbecue sauce.

“Think about it before you say no,” Luke had replied. “Hiring Erin now would give you time to get a really good nanny, and before she has to leave she could help you select the perfect replacement and train her. It would remove the pressure that you’re under now to choose a nanny quickly no matter how little you like any of them.”

He’d felt a slight bit defensive. “They all come highly recommended. I hate turning a baby over to a stranger, but I have to do something quickly. Grandmother and my cook have been taking care of Amelia and Grandmother doesn’t know much more about babies than I do. Maisie cooks, so she can’t care for Amelia all of the time. Sierra, Blake’s wife, has helped, too.”

“Hire Erin and you won’t be turning your niece over to a stranger.”

Maybe not a complete stranger, but he barely knew Erin and he hadn’t even seen her since he’d graduated from high school. He knew Luke’s argument to that—Cade had known his family since they were both kids. He knew he could trust her and believe what Luke told him about her.

“I wouldn’t recommend my sister to some of my friends,” Luke had said, “but I know I can leave the country and be certain you won’t hit on her.”

Amen to that one, Cade had thought, but he hadn’t say it aloud. “Well, hell—”

“You won’t hit on her because she’s not your type. She takes life seriously, while I know you’re a carefree, love-’em-and-leave-’em guy. Last year when the guy she was engaged to broke their engagement to marry someone else, she was crushed and she hasn’t gotten back into dating since then.”

Cade had been surprised to hear she had been engaged, but he’d said nothing. He still could only think of her as a waif who drifted in the background of Luke’s life. In addition to Erin, there were four younger kids in Luke’s family and they, too, had usually avoided Luke’s crowd.

“She has told a few people, but should you call her, I think you ought to know... While she was engaged, she was pregnant with his baby. She miscarried and that’s why the guy broke off the engagement. The doctors said she might be able to have a baby, but there was a higher than normal chance she might miscarry again. Her ex-fiancé said he wanted to know for certain that he had married a wife who could give him kids.”

“Well, damn, he must not have been deeply in love.”

“That’s what I thought, but what do I know—or you for that matter—about love and marriage? The breakup left her shaken and brokenhearted. We have a big family and she loves babies, so that loss tore her up because she wants marriage and kids. Plus she was in love with her fiancé. Now she doesn’t trust her own judgment in men. In short, she’s vulnerable. I know I can trust you not to cause her more grief.”

“If she works for me, some of the guys who work for me might ask her out, but she should be able to deal with them.”

“She’ll handle them, I’m sure. And I won’t have to worry about you, especially since you know this about her.”

“You act as if I’ve agreed to call her.”

“Go interview some more nannies and then you’ll call Erin.”

“It’s a shame you don’t have any confidence in yourself,” Cade had remarked.

Luke had laughed, then quickly sobered. “Look, Cade, she’s had a rough year and I’d like to see her where she can focus on a baby and get back to normal living. Take my advice. Stop worrying and get someone you know who can do the job.”

“I’ll think about it. Tell me again, what is it you’re doing?”

Luke smiled. “I’m an environmental engineer and I’ll be working for the government in Antarctica on wastewater management, permitting, removal of solid and hazardous waste—mainly effective wastewater treatment in the Antarctic which is not the same as in Texas—”

“I’ve got it. At least I’ve got as much as I want to hear about what you do. I’ll think about your sister,” he repeated.

* * *

Two days of interviews later, Cade contacted her.

Unable to get the image of a solemn, skinny kid out of his thoughts, he expected the same whispered, minimal conversation he’d got from her when they were kids, but was surprised to find the grown-up Erin friendly and confident. She’d turned him down politely, thanking him for the offer, preferring to keep her high-paying secretarial job until she went back to school.

But Cade had taken Luke’s advice to heart. He knew exactly what he needed: someone he knew, someone he could trust to watch baby Amelia. Using all his powers of persuasion, he’d convinced Erin to come interview before she made a hasty decision.

Now in his office at the ranch he glanced at the clock and saw she was due in four minutes.

As he shifted his attention to the papers in front of him, there was a light rap on the door. His tall, blond butler stood waiting. “Miss Dorsey has arrived.”

He smiled to himself. Erin Dorsey was as punctual as Mary Poppins. “Thanks, Harold. Tell her to come in.”

Harold stepped out of sight and in seconds she walked into the room.

For an instant Cade forgot his nanny interview. He could only stare at the tall, leggy redhead who entered the room. Blond streaks highlighted her long red hair that fell in curls around her face, framing her long-lashed green eyes. She wore what should have been a tailored, ordinary businesslike navy suit with a V-neck white blouse. On her, though, it was anything but ordinary or businesslike. The short skirt revealed long, shapely legs while a narrow belt circled a tiny waist. In a million years he would never have recognized her as Luke’s younger sister.

Dazed, he stared at her until he realized what he was doing. Then he stood and closed the distance between them as she offered her hand. When his fingers wrapped around her soft hand, the contact startled him again.

“You’ve grown up since I last saw you,” he said, causing her to smile, revealing a dimple in her right cheek. He didn’t remember any dimple, but he also didn’t remember seeing her smile as a little kid. But then again, he hadn’t ever paid attention to her. Now, her dazzling, dimpled smile sent the temperature in the room climbing. For an instant he thought he couldn’t hire her as a nanny because he wouldn’t be able to resist flirting with her or wanting to kiss that delicious mouth. Somehow he managed to shake that thought and pull himself back to business in time to hear her speak.

“I believe you have, too. I’m not still Luke’s ten-year-old kid sister which was probably the last time we saw each other.”

He bit back the reply that she sure as hell wasn’t. He waved his hand slightly toward two brown leather chairs that faced his wide cherrywood desk. “Please, have a seat,” he said. When she sat, he turned the other chair to face her.

He had already decided before she arrived that he wanted her for the job because he knew her and could trust her. More importantly, he knew her family values and they were what he viewed as ideal, what he wanted for his baby niece. Luke’s family was the family he always wished he’d had—caring and supportive of each other. His parents were invested in their kids and Luke had had his dad’s guidance and friendship—things that Cade had never known from his dad beyond financial support. Yes, Erin would be the perfect nanny in so many important ways. He would just have to resist her stunning looks and assume his normal professional manner.

“It’s been a long time since I last saw you,” he said, smiling at her.

She flashed a warm smile in return. “I’m surprised you remember me at all. I tried to stay out of Luke’s way when he had high school friends over. In those days tall, noisy boys intimidated me.”

Looking at her now, he doubted if any male intimidated her, because Luke’s sister had become a gorgeous, poised woman. Just the kind of woman that he hoped Amelia would one day grow up to be. As he thought about his little niece, he felt the too familiar dull ache that came each time he thought about her parents. He missed his brother and he always would. Little Amelia should have Nate and Lydia instead of an uncle and a nanny.

As if Erin guessed his thoughts, her smile vanished. “I’m so sorry about your brother and sister-in-law.”

“It was a tragedy. The drunk driver who hit them died in the crash, too. Three lives lost,” he replied, still thinking about his brother.

“At least their baby wasn’t with them, and how wonderful for you to be her guardian.”

“It’s an awesome responsibility and one that I never expected to have,” he replied, his thoughts shifting from Nate to Amelia. “You know, when Nate was working on their wills and he asked me if I would be Amelia’s guardian, I thought the likelihood of this ever happening was zero.” He remembered how shocked and dazed he had been over Nate’s and Lydia’s deaths back in June and how downright awestruck he’d been when he’d realized he had full responsibility for Amelia and would be his little niece’s guardian. “I don’t know one thing about babies.”

“Luke said your niece is six months old now.”

“That’s right.” He nodded. “Luke said you have experience taking care of babies and little kids. I—”