by Vivian Arend
“I need to record this somewhere so when the girls are teenagers I can prove how much pain and suffering I was willing to go through for them.”
Tamara stood behind him, tucked in close against his back as she did the ties snugly around his waist. “Hey, it’s just a costume, I don’t actually expect you to cook.”
“I can cook,” he protested.
“And I can cowboy.”
She gave him a swift pat on the butt, and he just about cleared the floor in surprise. He pivoted on the spot to discover her face had gone red.
“Oops?” She stepped back rapidly. “Sorry. Too used to joshing around with my cousins.”
He nearly reached for her, to drag her into his arms. What happened after that, he wasn’t sure. Oh, he knew what he’d like to do, but the exact order wasn’t down pat yet.
Something of his thoughts must’ve shown on his face, because her breathing gave a little hiccup, then she inhaled unsteadily. Her throat moved, and she blinked hard, and if the girls hadn’t chosen that moment to ram straight through the four inches of space separating them, Caleb was damn sure he would’ve done something regrettable.
The girls grabbed their bags off the table and rushed out the door.
The entire time they were marching to the barns, Caleb scolded himself thoroughly.
She was his employee, for God’s sake. Even if they wanted to get involved, they couldn’t, because no way in hell was he doing more to put his girls’ hearts in jeopardy.
Didn’t mean he could stop his eyes from being drawn back to Tamara again and again.
They swung past the goat pen and rescued two bags that were tied over ten feet off the ground to a yard-light post.
“How on earth?” Caleb muttered at Tamara as his girls shoved the find into their bags then took off again at a run.
“You don’t want to know.”
He laughed softly.
Emma literally bounced when she found the first bag of candy in the barn, hanging on the outside of Moonlight’s stall. She turned, shaking a Ziploc baggie that held a full-sized candy bar along with other treats.
“Daddy, look,” she called out loud, delight in her eyes.
Tamara didn’t make a fuss over Emma’s talking, just stepped forward with a smile and pointed the girls in two different directions. Chaos ensued for another five minutes until all the bags were found and his children were grinning from ear to ear.
And the morning wasn’t over. Tamara called the girls to her side, holding a bag with cut pieces of apple in it. “I’m pretty sure the horses don’t want any tricks, but you could give them all a treat.”
The girls came rushing back, their goodie-filled pillows tossed on a nearby shelf as they went down the line and, with his and Tamara’s help, offered up apple slices on their stretched-out palms.
Tamara patted the neck of her horse as Emma reached up her offering. “Stormy says thank you.”
Emma held her hand with the apple rock-steady until the treat had been daintily nibbled away, then she happily patted Stormy’s nose.
“You want to pet him some more?” Tamara asked. When Emma nodded her agreement, she brought them around to the side so Emma could stroke her hand along the horse’s strong neck.
Stormy turned his head to bump Tamara, and Emma giggled, sliding her fingers into Tamara’s.
Caleb wasn’t quite sure what to do with the sensation churning in his gut. It was fine to want the woman. Any man would want someone as beautiful and direct as Tamara. But this felt like more than sexual desire, watching her with his children.
A pulse of something definitely not desire struck, icy cold along his spine.
He cleared his throat, shoving away the emotions. “Time to get back to the house and let Tamara get on with her day. Halloween’s got to come to an end sometime.”
Two little girls made disgruntled sounds, but Tamara gestured them forward. “Go on. You have to sort your candy, and you can’t keep your daddy from his day forever.”
Walking back from the barns was a lot less pleasurable than the excited trip there. Uncomfortable, uneasy, at least on Caleb’s part. The girls and Tamara seemed oblivious, strolling at a comfortable pace as Sasha dramatically recited everything they’d just done, in spite of Tamara having been there.
Emma no longer held Tamara’s hand, but she was walking close enough to bump into her every other step.
When they got in the house he was far more brisk with Tamara than necessary, all things considered. “Why don’t you go take a break for a while? You’ve been up since early. I’ll sort the candy with the girls then get them started on their chores.”
He turned his back, dismissing her.
Sasha and Emma were busy upending their pillowcases on the table and making sounds of delight at their treasure trove. He watched for a moment before glancing over his shoulder to see Tamara had vanished.
But that strange uncomfortable sensation in his gut refused to leave.
Chapter Twelve
A week into November the snow lay like a beautiful fresh page over the land, and while it might be out of the norm, Tamara bundled herself up and took her coffee to the porch every morning.
They’d settled into a routine. Every day was a little different, and Tamara found she enjoyed the ebb and flow of daily life at Silver Stone. She rose, got her chores going, dealt with any number of things throughout the day. Spent time with the girls, then every evening she relaxed in the living room, fire burning in the hearth.
Caleb was there most nights. Dustin dropped in on a far more regular basis than she expected from a youth in the final year of his teens. Luke and Walker as well more often than not stopped for in a few moments, as if touching base with their older brother was an important part of finishing their day. Luke would laugh and joke with her. Walker—he tended to eye her as if she were a fish that had been left in the sun a little too long.
She’d thought she’d worked hard at the hospital, but the hours at the ranch seemed to last forever. She wasn’t the only one putting in long hours, though. Caleb was out of the house by four a.m. most days.
She wasn’t even sure why she knew that until she realized after leaving the house through the kitchen door, he’d walk the perimeter of the house on the covered porch. As if checking his territory before heading to the barns.
The solid impact of his boot heels on the wooden platform echoed in a steady rhythm until the moment he’d take the stairs, click, click, click, then nothing.
The first day she’d woke it probably had been the silence that stole her attention. She’d been trained to stay alert for nighttime sounds, and she’d already learned that in nannying, the quiet moments were more dangerous than the noisy ones.
When it sounded as if World War III was taking place in Sasha’s bedroom, Tamara could continue with her tasks. When the house went deadly silent, that’s when she had to worry.
She smiled as she sipped her coffee, bundled up with a throw blanket over her legs as she stared at the water. Thin traces of ice had formed at the edges of the lake, but the river flowing from the far end kept most of the surface from freezing.
It was late enough in the year that, at this time of the morning, a hint of sunlight was barely visible at the edge of the eastern horizon. Crisp, cold. Breathtakingly beautiful.
Staring over the lake had become a vital morning ritual.
Other changes continued, but her connections to family back in Rocky stayed strong. Lisa called on a regular basis, and Karen as well, checking to see how she was. She loved that they were interested, and that they cared.
She wondered at times if she was imagining the touch of jealousy in Lisa’s voice as her sister asked about all the new places and people she was meeting.
“You’re welcome to come visit anytime,” Tamara assured her.
“I know. I don’t want to encroach on your new adventure.”
A snort escaped her. “Please. It’s just a job.”
Her little siste
r said nothing, but a round of coughs resonated from the phone, sounding an awful lot like the word bullshit over and over.
Tamara laughed at the memory.
A creaking noise echoed in the quiet stillness, followed by another sharp snap, this one directly overhead.
Strange. There shouldn’t be enough snow yet to affect the gables.
She put down her coffee cup and stepped to the edge of the porch, leaning against the railing to peer toward the sky—
“Oh my God.”
The words burst out of her as a pair of boots swung off the roof and past her. Walker Coleman did a crazy acrobatic move, letting go of the eaves trough and twisting in mid-air to land with both feet on the porch.
He pulled himself to vertical and offered a calm, expressionless look, as if jumping off roofs at five-fifteen in the morning was perfectly normal behaviour. “Morning.”
She went for nonchalant as well. “Morning. Like a coffee?”
“Love one. Don’t get up, though, I can grab it. Want yours topped up?”
“Sure.”
He was back a moment later, steam curling skyward from the cup he handed back to her before settling in the second chair.
They stared over the land in shared silence for a bit. Peace returning.
Only Tamara couldn’t resist. “Your brothers said you were on the circuit. Do they know you’re actually a rodeo clown?”
A sharp snort of amusement rang out. “I don’t have the guts to be a bullfighter. They’re the ones racing toward the bull when everyone else is running like hell the opposite direction.”
“They are incredible, aren’t they?” Tamara agreed. “Dangerous line of work, but I’ve seen the results. They save lives.”
“They do.”
Tamara looked at Walker closer, not even pretending she wasn’t examining him. And when he turned his face toward her, as if assessing her right back, she ignored him and went on with her consideration.
She had spent a lot of time over the years getting into strange circumstances. She’d volunteered her nursing skills to people who’d been beaten up, broken down or otherwise abused. And, at times, she’d worked with the people who liked to get beat up and put themselves in dangerous situations.
Some people craved that kind of adrenaline rush—a lot of the guys on the circuit thrived on it.
Walker didn’t play out right in her mind. Something was off.
“Do I have mud on my face?” he asked, dark brown eyes meeting her eyes boldly. A challenge.
“Nope. You look like a Stone, though.”
His lips twitched. “That didn’t sound like a compliment.”
“You ever hear what happened the first time I met your brother?” Tamara asked.
Now she had his attention. “When was that? I’d assume this past summer.”
“He showed up to check on your foster sister. She was in the hospital, and I was her attending nurse.”
“An angel of mercy. I can see it now,” he said dryly.
“An avenging angel—Caleb overreacted and made a feint at my cousin. I got in the way and flipped him. He hit the floor hard. Knocked the wind from his sails long enough for his brain to come back online.”
Walker snickered. “I assume you know I will use this information to tease the hell out of him. You flipped him? That had to hurt his ego.”
“Tease if you want, but I told you that so you know—I can take care of myself. And I’ll take care of your nieces. I’m not here to mess around with anyone.”
He raised a brow. “Did I say you were?”
“Not in so many words, but yes.”
They sat in silence again, Tamara refusing to be the first to look away.
He finally turned his head and took a deep drink, humming appreciatively. “That’s good coffee.”
Which Tamara figured meant, they were good. “And I didn’t even poison it.”
Walker paused in the middle of a sip, pulling the cup back to flash her his first real smile. “This time.”
She laughed. “If I ever decide to poison you, I’ll warn you, how ’bout? Give you a fighting chance.”
“Deal. Better odds than riding a bull.”
A car pulled into the yard, and Tamara rose to her feet. “And that would be Tansy.”
Walker had stood as well, cup in his hands. “Tansy Fields?”
“Yeah. She said this was the best time to stop in. She has to be back at the store at six a.m. to open the doors.” She wondered at the expression on his face. “Are you feeling okay?”
He shook his head as if trying to clear cobwebs before offering her a slow smile, far politer than he’d been up to this point. “Of course. Let me get the door for you.”
Which put them both at the kitchen door right as Tansy walked up. Walker held the door for her as she stepped past, a huge towel-covered metal bowl in her arms.
“Walker. I didn’t know you were in town.”
“Off and on, like usual. How’s the family?”
Tansy’s expression went unreadable. “Oh, they’re all great.”
“That’s good. Real good.”
He stood there in the doorway, fidgeting with the cup in his fingers until he realized Tamara was watching him. He put it down on the counter then stepped back, reaching behind him for the door.
Suspicion snuck in. He was acting an awful lot like a nervous suitor. Did Walker have a thing for Tansy?
“You’re welcome if you want to stay,” Tamara said. “We’re making cinnamon rolls. You could have another cup of coffee—”
“No, that’s fine. I should be going. Thanks for the coffee. Bye, Tansy.”
And with that, he was gone, the kitchen door swinging closed after him with a snap. Tamara moved forward to watch out the window, amused that the man was all but running. He was past the road before slowing to a cowboy stroll.
“Well, that was entertaining.”
Tamara turned to discover Tansy wore a pleased smirk. “There’s got to be some history I don’t know about happening. Are you and Walker—?”
Tansy’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped open. “Oh no. Not me, my big sister. Ivy and Walker had a thing back in high school before she went away to university.”
Ha ha. The plot thickened. “So how’s the family was code for how’s Ivy doing but I don’t really want to ask?”
“Yup.” Tansy pointed toward the side counter. “Come on. We’ll get started on the next step while we talk. I can only stay for half an hour.”
Half an hour was long enough to get the cinnamon buns in the oven and share some quick talk time, which turned out to be not about Walker and his past love life. Instead they shared a little about their training—Tamara’s time as a nurse and Tansy’s baking adventures.
It was far too short, but when Tansy waved goodbye, the scent of sweet cinnamon and fresh bread was rising on the air, and Tamara felt as if she’d come that much closer to putting down roots.
A solid knock on the wooden panel to his right brought his attention up from where he was cleaning stalls. Tamara stood patiently until he met her gaze.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes, just wanted to make sure it was okay if I pick the girls up from school. We need to go shopping, so I may as well save them the bus trip home.”
And with that one comment, he felt a little out of touch. “They need new clothes? I thought—”
“No. They’re good. But they have a birthday party, and we’re down to the wire. I have no idea what eight years olds want.”
“According to Sasha, most of the store.”
Tamara smiled, and something inside him twisted. She’d let her hair down since he’d seen her that morning, and the ends curled around her face like a picture frame. She had a hint of something shiny on her lips, and he had to look away before it became too clear he was considering how much trouble it would cause if he were to press his lips to hers, just to see if there was a flavour to go with the shine.
Hell,
the thought of kissing her had a certain portion of his anatomy reacting, and he stepped awkwardly back into the stall to grab his rake in self-defense.
“We’ll be back before four,” Tamara finished, speaking to his back as if he weren’t being rude.
Only he couldn’t turn around because if she happened to look down, she was going to wonder what it was about horse stalls that gave him indecent hard-ons.
Then he remembered. “Wait.”
Hell. On. Earth. He reached into his back pocket and hauled out his wallet, gritting his teeth as the movement pressed his jeans tighter over his erection.
Caleb held the wallet high as he opened it and pulled out some cash. “Here. I know we got you set up with household money, but this kind of stuff is extra.”
“If you’re handing out change…” Luke slipped into the space next to Tamara and. “My hand is always willing and ready.”
“That might not be something you want to advertise too loudly,” Kelli teased, jumping out of reach as Luke took a mock swing her direction. “You sound as if you’re…”
“And hello to you two,” Tamara interrupted, lifting the cash in the air and nodding at Caleb. “Thanks. I’ll add it to the record in the kitchen, but I figured twenty-bucks-as-a-gift limit?”
He paused. “Each, or together?”
“Together.”
Kelli raised a brow. “Wow, you two are just as tight with the coin as each other. I like that.”
“Until you ask for a raise, at least,” Luke returned.
“They’ll take my raise out of your earnings. Since I’m the one who did your work today.”
Caleb glanced between the two of them. “Luke?”
His brother sighed as if he’d been hard done by. “She out-roped me.”
“Tell him how many times,” Kelli said perkily. She was gloating. Definitely gloating.
Luke ignored the question, turning his back on Kelli, probably so he didn’t have to see her grin. “I vote we find out what Tamara’s got happening. What’s on your agenda for tomorrow?” Luke asked.
Caleb considered returning to his raking, but this was too interesting.
“Birthday party with the girls for someone in Sasha’s grade two class. Of course, that means twenty-four girls and a dozen chaperones, so I get to meet all the young mothers in town.”
