Texas Manhunt

by Linda Conrad

  It did the trick, though, and brought her head up. “I don’t think my thoughts are worth a penny. I was just wondering if Macy might need some help.”

  Of course, he should have realized. “You’re looking for work?”

  “Temporarily. I’ll need to earn enough money to fix my car.”

  He sat back, his mind racing. He couldn’t just hand her the money. She had too much pride for that. It had been everything he could do to convince her to let him pay for her supper.

  “I’m afraid Macy wouldn’t be able to afford any more help right now,” he began slowly. “We’re heading into winter, the slowest time of year. I’m sure she’s pulling this quiet night by herself to save money, not for lack of available workers.”

  “Oh.” Summer’s eyes were so expressive, her disappointment clear and compelling. He could sit and watch the emotions play across her face all night.

  “But I might have an idea.” Yeah, this idea might actually work to convince her to take help from him. “My daughter is seven—uh—going on thirty. She’s a handful. And my housekeeper is getting married in a month and up to her neck making plans and attending parties. We could sure use a little extra help around the house during this hectic time. Would you consider giving us a hand? The pay would probably be just enough to fix that car of yours.”

  Instead of the grateful smile he’d hoped to see, a look of pure dismay broke out on her face. “Um, I don’t know. Your daughter is seven?”

  That was her sticking point? She didn’t like children? Impossible. She was too gentle. Something about her just said she’d make a terrific mother. Maybe it was because she reminded him of his own mother. Summer must like kids. So that couldn’t be it.

  “Jenna is very grown-up for her age,” he argued. “And you don’t have to pick up after her—much.”

  “Well, maybe.” Summer’s expressive face told him she wanted to leap at the offer, but something was holding her back.

  Macy arrived with their pie.

  “Tell you what,” he began, as Macy set a plate before her. “Why don’t you come on out to the ranch with me and Jenna tonight? We’ve got lots of room. Take a day or two to get to know her and the household, and see what you think? I know our housekeeper would be most grateful for anything you can do to help.”

  Macy set his pie plate down and turned to Summer. “You going to work for Travis? You won’t be sorry. He’s a terrific boss. Rosie had a devil of a time deciding whether to get married and leave town or keep the best housekeeping job in the state.”

  Travis felt his face flush at the unsolicited compliment. But he finally saw what he’d hoped to see earlier. Summer’s lips tilted up in her first genuine smile since he’d met her.

  “All right,” she said as she picked up her fork. “I guess giving it a try for a couple of days wouldn’t hurt anything.”

  Good. He might as well do something that would help them both out at the same time. He needed a housekeeper and she needed a job. Simple. He was determined to be of service to this young woman—no matter that he would probably be accused of controlling and meddling again.

  He didn’t have any doubts that, once she met Jenna and Rosie and saw the ranch, all her fears would subside. He intended to give her a helping hand, whether she wanted one or not, and in the meantime, maybe he’d get to know her a whole lot better.

  * * *

  By the time they went back to the garage and picked up her things, the storm had subsided, but Summer’s hands were trembling. Could she do this? Could she meet and befriend a seven-year-old girl?

  Her own sweet Emma would’ve been almost six by now. Just thinking her baby’s name gave Summer an ache in the chest that nearly doubled her over.

  She’d tried to stay out of situations where children could be involved, for all of the endless last five years. Even though her fondest wish growing up had been to work with and have her own kids.

  The lonely years of her childhood, with parents who claimed to love her but left her with nannies and in boarding schools, came looming out of her mind. How she’d longed for a sister or brother, any kind of friend or family. She’d vowed to find a career that involved children and to have at least six of her own.

  And she’d thought she’d made a good start. Emma was so sweet and precious. Summer had been ready to have another child as soon as possible.

  Until everything blew up in her face, blowing her dreams away in a puff of smoke.

  “Jenna’s not far,” Travis said from the driver’s seat as they left the garage. “Just on the other side of town. She’s been staying with my aunt June while Rosie is off on a shopping trip. I’m sure the two of you will get along real well.”

  Yeah? Summer wasn’t so sure. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she came to the conclusion that she might not be cut out for taking care of kids at this point in her life. Oh, a baby she probably could’ve managed. But a girl who could talk and dream and play with dolls, as Summer had always imagined Emma would do? Not so much.

  Fidgeting in her seat, she said, “I don’t have any experience with seven-year-olds. I’d be better off taking over the household chores for your Rosie, and letting her take care of your daughter.”

  Travis smiled in a benevolent manner. “Nonsense. Jenna’s no trouble. She may be a little headstrong, but she’s sweet and kind to a fault. You’ll see. Everyone falls in love with her within five minutes of meeting her.”

  Summer bit her lip as they pulled into the front yard of a two-story, clapboard house. A little girl with long blond pigtails came running down the porch steps, a backpack slung over her shoulder.

  “Hey, Daddy,” she called out as she neared the SUV. “You’re kinda late. I need to get home to check on Measles. She’s expecting her baby tonight.”

  Travis jumped out of the SUV, but he wasn’t fast enough to stop the girl. She threw open the front passenger door and reared back to toss her pack up into the seat before getting in. But when Jenna spotted Summer in the front seat, she stopped and narrowed her eyes.

  “Who are you? What are you doing in my place?”

  “Jenna!” Travis arrived and took her pack. “That’s no way to say hello. This is Summer Wheeler, and we’re hoping to hire her to help Rosie out for the next month or so. We’re all going to be friends.”

  The girl harrumphed and threw her hands on her hips. “Tell her to get in the back, Daddy. I ride up front.”

  “Jenna.” Travis’s voice sounded disbelieving. “You just started riding in front a couple of months ago, when you hit seven. You can sit in your old place in back for one night.”

  He opened the back and tossed her backpack in. “Hop up if you want to see Measles so badly.”

  Little Jenna didn’t look too pleased, but she climbed into the backseat and buckled herself in. As Travis drove off, Summer tried to calm her pounding heart. The little one was the exact image of how she’d always imagined her daughter would’ve looked at this age.

  But the girl didn’t seem any happier to have a new adult in her life than Summer was to have a child in hers.

  “Daddy,” she said grumpily as they left the town behind and rode out through open ranch land, “does she know how to ride?”

  “Her name is Summer, Jenna. And I don’t know. Why don’t you ask her?”

  Without a change in tune, Jenna piped up, “Well, do you?”

  “If you mean horses, I’m afraid not. But maybe you can teach me.”

  “You don’t know how to ride? What do you know?”

  Summer was at a loss for words, so she remained quiet.

  “Daddy, I don’t want her. We don’t need anyone. Send her away.”

  “That’s not nice, Jenna. Behave. She stays.”

  Jenna folded her arms over her chest and sighed. “Oh, brother. This is just awful. It’s not going to work out at all.”

  Chapter 3

  Summer agreed with the little girl. This wasn’t going to work out well at all.

  B
ut try telling that to Travis. He’d set his jaw and thrown his daughter one last steely gaze.

  As they rode in the SUV through the darkened countryside, she reminded herself that it would probably be a good thing if Jenna didn’t want her company. The child’s attitude could make a perfect excuse for Summer to keep her distance and look for other ways to help out at the ranch. At least, while she searched for her man.

  Still, it hurt. Somewhere deep down, when Jenna first appeared on the porch steps, Summer had immediately wanted some kind of relationship with her. Summer wasn’t exactly sure what she’d hoped for, but the sudden opportunity to be the girl’s caretaker had triggered a desire far down in her subconscious. It had been a huge surprise.

  But looking at things logically, if she refrained from becoming involved in the little girl’s daily life, it would be better for everyone all the way around. Emotionally, however, it stung just as if someone had offered a piece of chocolate cake only to snatch it away again.

  She’d better get ahold of herself. Slipping backward emotionally wasn’t any way to get want she needed. That would only gain her a one-way ticket back to the psychologist’s couch.

  Silence reigned in the SUV for the next thirty minutes. “How far is it? I thought your ranch was right around here somewhere.”

  Travis threw her a big grin. “We’ve been on ranch property for the last twenty minutes. We’re almost to the house now. It’ll take a while for you to get used to the distances in Texas.”

  Holy moly. That must be some ginormous ranching operation they had going on here.

  She stared out the window at the black void, wondering if the place was as prosperous as it sounded. “Who runs everything? Your father?”

  “See, Daddy?” a voice popped up from behind them. “She’s just dumb.”

  “Jenna! If you don’t keep quiet and behave, you will go straight to bed when we get home.” Travis cleared his throat. “Sorry about that. I think Jenna must be overly tired. She’s usually a very kind and helpful little girl.”

  A dead silence reverberated from the backseat.

  “But in answer to your question,” he said, turning his chin toward her for the moment. “My dad passed away nearly ten years ago. I’m the CEO of the family corporation. I don’t do it all alone, of course. There’s lots of help. And recently, that help includes one of my brothers. Nice to have more family involved, but I guess you could say I make most of the tough decisions alone.”

  “That must be a big job.”

  “Somebody has to make things happen.”

  Just then the car’s headlights illuminated a big, fancy gate with BAR-C emblazoned in scrollwork at the top. Travis slowed the SUV and punched a button on the dashboard. The gates opened slowly.

  “Pretty fancy.” She was surprised when the words she’d thought tumbled from her mouth.

  “We still have plenty of gates throughout the ranch that need to be opened by hand.”

  “Oh, I didn’t mean…” She wasn’t sure what she’d meant. Just that she should’ve kept her mouth shut.

  “Gates on a working cattle ranch are required for more than privacy,” he informed her. “They’re used to keep the animals where we want them, instead of wandering out of the pastures and onto the roads. Cattle guards are used for the same reason on unfenced land. Wait until you drive over one of those babies. You won’t forget the experience.”

  “Daddy, hurry up.”

  A dangerous pause from the front seat, along with a quick glare that only a stern father could give, kept Jenna quietly bouncing in her seat as they headed up a long drive. Curving around a circle to the front door of a mansion that looked like it belonged in one of those expensive suburbs where Summer had come from, the SUV finally pulled to a stop. This place just screamed money. Suddenly she felt uncomfortable.

  Her in-laws had lived in a house like this one. Her parents had, too—whenever they’d been at home and not traveling. She’d sworn to herself that, when she had a choice, her homes would be cozy, intimate. Not big and ostentatious. Not like this one.

  But her husband had seen things the opposite way. He’d wanted his surroundings—his car, his clothes, his home—to proclaim his wealth to the world. And in the end, that public declaration was what killed him.

  Well, that and being born into the wrong family.

  “Look, Jenna.” Travis put the SUV in park and shut it down. “Rosie’s back early.” Unbuckling, he climbed out.

  Young Jenna unbuckled herself too, and sprang out of the backseat before the engine even stopped purring. Summer took a breath, trying to support shaky nerves, then eased her feet to the driveway and followed Jenna and Travis up the steps, toward the woman waiting at the door.

  Sneaking a peek at the housekeeper as she climbed the porch stairs, Summer was surprised to see a woman of nearly fifty. She’d thought of the housekeeper as a young woman—probably because of her impending marriage.

  Regardless of her age, Rosie’s soft eyes and gentle smile made her seem like a genuinely kind person. Summer just hoped that kindness would extend to a stranger coming to take over part of her job.

  “I’m so glad you’re home.” Jenna threw her arms around the older woman’s waist.

  “Hello to you, too,” Rosie said with a laugh. “You’re a little late coming home. Measles already had her foal. You’ll have to hurry if you want to see the filly before your bedtime.”

  “A girl? Measles had a girl? Oh, boy.” Jenna dropped her backpack on the tile floor in the foyer and dashed off toward the back of the house.

  Travis’s chuckle from behind her made Summer turn around. “Jenna’s not usually this scattered and impolite,” he said with a grimace. “She’s a little overly excited tonight about the new foal, because I told her this one would be hers eventually.”

  Summer nodded. Horses were a little out of her area of expertise. But she could understand the emotions of a child getting something she’d been looking forward to for a long time.

  Taking her by the elbow, Travis turned his head to speak to his housekeeper. “Rosie, this is Summer Wheeler. She’s in a tough spot. Her car broke down and she needs to earn extra cash to have it fixed. You think you can find a few chores to keep her busy?”

  Rosie’s deep brown eyes sparked with interest. “Are you kidding? That’s perfect. You know there’re always things need doing around here. An extra pair of hands means I can have more time to finish my dress and work on the wedding details.”

  It was Travis’s turn to nod his head. “Uh-huh. Well, why don’t you fix Summer up in one of the upstairs guest rooms and get her settled? I think I’d better head for the barn to check on Jenna before she drags that foal into bed with her.”

  Rosie was chuckling under her breath as Travis turned to address Summer. “Rosie will make sure you have everything you need for tonight. And I’ll see you at breakfast.” He released her elbow. “Oh, and we’re real glad to have you helping out on the Bar-C.” With that, he headed off into the shadows of a dark night.

  She watched him disappear, wondering how she’d ever gotten mixed up with anyone so…so larger than life.

  “Yeah, he’s a pistol, all right,” Rosie said as she touched her arm. “You can sure see where Jenna gets her spunk. But don’t think he isn’t itching to see that foal the same as Jenna. New life on the ranch is always a miracle.”

  Summer turned to the older woman and blinked back whatever inappropriate thoughts she’d been having. About Travis. About Jenna. And now about new life. Obviously they showed on her face.

  “Come on in,” Rosie said with a deep twang. “Let’s go up, pick you out a nice room and make you comfortable. Days start early around here, and you need a good night’s sleep if you intend to help me keep up with that little bundle of energy.”

  Summer didn’t want to stop her to point out that she wasn’t there to help with Jenna, but to lend a hand with the housekeeping. It just didn’t seem very hospitable to contradict her new boss. But just as
soon as they got to know each other a little better, she would straighten Rosie out as to her duties.

  In very short order, Rosie chose a nice room that had already been made up and showed her to the nearest bathroom facilities, right next door. “You think you’ll be okay here?” she asked.

  “Better than okay. Thanks. This is really nice of you. I’m sorry Travis didn’t give you a heads-up that I was coming before we just arrived on your doorstep.”

  Rosie waved her off. “Oh, that’s Travis’s way. He’s a decent man who tends to jump into situations before he thinks them all the way through. Especially when he sees a need. I’m used to him doing things like that. Been working for him since he first brought his bride home. Over ten years now, I guess it’s been.”

  Summer was curious and let her mouth run when, no doubt, she should’ve kept it shut. “Does Jenna see her mom often? Do they share custody?”

  Rosie didn’t seem to mind the rather nosy questions, but her expression turned melancholy. “No. I sincerely doubt Jenna would remember what her mother looks like. She wasn’t even two yet when Callie took off. And that cold-hearted mother of hers never looked back at the family she’d left behind—not once. She just took off for the bright lights of Nashville. Fancied herself a singer, you know.”

  “So Jenna never sees her?”

  “Never. Poor little thing waits by the mailbox around her birthday, hoping for some word. But Callie never bothers with presents or cards. To my knowledge, she’s only called her own daughter twice in the whole five years she’s been gone.”

  Summer’s stomach clenched at the thought of a mother who’d apparently thrown away a relationship with her child. Life seemed so unfair, when Summer would gladly give up five years of her life, along with her right arm, for a chance to have a relationship with her own daughter.

  “I didn’t mean to make you sad about Jenna’s situation.” Rosie lowered her voice and shook her head slowly. “Travis sees to it his girl has all the love and friendship a child could ever want. If you’re still around for Christmas, you’ll see. The fiestas for Jenna go on for days.”