Rancher's Double Dilemma

by Pamela Browning

  Interesting, she thought. Maybe this Colquitt fellow hadn’t found a nanny yet. Maybe the job was still open. And compared to taking care of a number of small charges in a day-care center, looking after one child would be a snap. Well, two children, actually, because accepting the job would hinge upon whether she’d be allowed to keep Michele with her.

  There was no phone number, not even a street number, for the Colquitt Ranch, but since Mosquito wasn’t much of a place, it probably wouldn’t be all that hard to find it.

  “Come on, Michele, sweetie,” Lacey said as she held out her arms. “Time’s awastin’. We better get busy rounding up a job if we want to eat next week.”

  “DANG,” SAID CODY, looking disgusted. “That kid has spit green beans all over your shirt. Again.”

  “Yeah, little brother, that’s the way it goes. You think you can do a better job of this, you’re welcome to try.” Garth Colquitt winked at his baby girl and dug down into the strained beans. He balanced a delicate proportion of the vegetable on the tip of the undersize spoon, which, gripped in his oversize hand, looked even more tiny than it actually was.

  Cody held his hands up in self-defense. “No, I’m not the man for the job. I’ve got the laundry detail, remember? I don’t understand how one baby can go through so many shirts and playsuits and bibs and—”

  “She’s going to show you how,” warned Garth, and Ashley obligingly and deliberately blew green bubbles, which drooled onto her bib, thereby joining the orange of previous carrots and the yellow of the morning’s egg yolk in an unartistic blotch.

  “I can’t stand this kid-care duty any more,” Cody said, slamming his plate down on the counter. “I’m going out to the pasture where I can do something real easy, like wrestle steers to the ground or ride a spooked mustang.”

  “Before you do, please take the time to stash your plate in the dishwasher. I’ve got a ranch to run, you know.”

  “If the last nanny you hired hadn’t got her nose all out of whack over having to do housework as well as take care of Ashley, we wouldn’t be having this crisis,” Cody pointed out.

  “I didn’t ask her to do much. I only wanted her to clean up once in a while.”

  “And you found out that once in a while isn’t enough when you’ve got a kid who tosses food on the floor for fun and thinks the crib sheets wash themselves.” His attention was diverted by a swirl of dust pulling in from the road. “Hey, somebody’s coming up the driveway. You expecting anyone, Garth?” Cody went and looked out the door, scratching himself unself-consciously.

  Garth carefully wiped Ashley’s mouth and face, then kissed her on the top of her head. He inhaled the sweet baby smell of her, thinking that he wouldn’t mind taking care of her all day if he could spare the time. But Cody wasn’t willing to take over much of the day-to-day work of the ranch, and maybe he never would be. It all fell to him, Garth. And, he thought, he was almost at his wit’s end with the pressure of it.

  Through the screen door, he watched the dust billow away to reveal a vehicle. “Looks like a Winnebago,” he said. “I don’t know anyone who owns a Winnebago. It’s probably some tourist looking to go to the Gulf Coast and lost the way.”

  Al, the rangy ranch mutt, sent up a few token barks, and Tipper, his mate, followed suit before they both settled down beside the porch rockers. At the same time Ashley began to cry. “Don’t do that,” Garth pleaded. “You’re supposed to be happy after lunch. You’re supposed to feel all well fed and everything.”

  “She’s supposed to feel sleepy. I could put her in her bed if you’d like,” Cody offered.

  “Sure, why don’t you? She likes her uncle Cody to do the honors once in a while.”

  “All right, but then I’m outta here.” Cody gathered Ashley into his arms, and she hiccuped.

  “Bye, darlin’,” Garth said to his daughter. “I’ll see you after your nap.”

  “Mmmmaa,” Ashley said, and she rubbed her eyes. That gesture, Garth had learned, meant she was sleepy. So if Ashley would do him the supreme favor of sleeping for an hour or so, he’d have time to phone that guy over in Lubbock who wanted to ship him a champion bull and maybe write some checks to pay the never-ending onslaught of bills.

  “Looks like our visitor’s a woman,” Cody said, angling his chin toward the Winnebago before heading upstairs.

  Garth assessed the Winnebago as it pulled up in the half circle driveway out back. It was a vehicle that had surely seen better days, being pocked with what looked like hail dents and sporting a good amount of rust along the sides. As Cody had said, a woman was climbing down out of the driver’s seat and marching toward the back porch, setting her feet down with gritty determination.

  Garth squinted his eyes against the heat shimmering up from the dust. This was a comely woman at that. She had pale-yellow hair scooped back from her face into a ponytail that had come loose from its band, wisping around her face like chick feathers. Her figure was slightly on the sensational side, big on top, tiny waist, broad hips with no flab. She wore skin-tight cutoff blue jeans, faded to a pale blue with sparkly stuff on them, and some kind of a top that left her midriff bare. It was bright shocking pink. The outfit made her look like an exotic bird against the dusty backdrops of the barn and Cody’s pickup. She eyed the two dogs cautiously.

  “They won’t bother you,” Garth called to her as Tipper flopped her tail a few times in the dust and lolled her tongue out in a smile.

  The woman, still keeping wary eyes on the dogs, stepped up onto the front porch, and he was intrigued to detect a sprinkling of cinnamon-colored freckles across her upturned nose. “I’m looking for a man named Garth Colquitt,” she announced, peering through the door screen.

  “You found him,” he said, liking what he saw so far. Her eyes, he noted, were wide and of a particularly fascinating shade of pale gray defined by darker gray rims. The color put him in the mind of raindrops seen through a haze of moonlight. He thought suddenly and irrelevantly that he should have shaved this morning. Come to think of it, he didn’t think he’d shaved yesterday morning, either.

  “I heard you need a nanny,” she said bluntly. “I’m looking for work. Is the job still open?”

  Garth thought about the green beans spattered all over his shirt and wished he had changed into another one before this woman showed up. He didn’t want her to know that this might be a tougher job than she anticipated. He didn’t want to scare her away.

  He stepped outside. One thing she didn’t need to see was the condition of the kitchen, with its bottles of curdled milk on the edge of the sink and its globs of hardened foods on all surfaces.

  “Sit down here and we’ll talk about it,” he said, indicating the rockers.

  She sat on one, her back straight and her hands folded primly in her lap, which made her breasts stick out against the bright-pink jersey. He couldn’t read much from her expression.

  “I saw your ad in the paper,” she said. “Can you tell me more about the position?”

  Could he tell her about the job he was offering? He most certainly could. He could tell her about a baby that cried often during the night, that crawled all over the place during the day, that seemed in imminent danger of falling down some set of stairs at all times, that demanded more attention than he could give. But she was an adorable child, the light of his life, and he could tell her that, too.

  All he said, however, was, “I have a daughter, Ashley Anne. She’s ten months old. My wife died shortly after she was born, and I need someone to look after her. And, yes, the job is still open. Have you worked as a nanny before?”

  When she shook her head, her big earrings jingled. “No, sir. I’ve worked in day-care centers, though. Lots of them, from Lubbock to Longview and back again.”

  So maybe she had trouble holding a job. He narrowed his eyes at her, judging whether or not she was flighty. Despite her revealing outfit, he didn’t think so. She gave the impression of being far too centered for that.

  “If you don
’t have any experience as a nanny, what makes you think you’re qualified for this position?”

  “I have a ten-month-old daughter, too. I know lots about taking care of her.”

  This set his mind at ease. “Would you mind telling me why you’ve moved around so much?”

  “Sure. My husband walked out on us. He’s a rodeo rider. So I kept driving after he left, hoping he wouldn’t catch up with me until I could divorce him.”

  Oh, great. So she had a past. Still. He needed a nanny, and he needed one fast. Never mind that he’d had it in mind to get someone more matronly, someone who wasn’t attractive. He’d never considered that he might have to hire someone who had been married and had a child of her own.

  Garth didn’t think it fitting to inquire into such a delicate matter, but he wanted to know what he was dealing with here, mostly for Ashley’s sake.

  “Are you divorced now?” he asked.

  Her chin edged up a tad. “I sure am. Fair and square and final. I got the Winnebago in the settlement, and that’s where I live. If I worked here, could I still live in my Winnebago?”

  He lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “Sure. I don’t see why not, but our other nannies lived in the house. There’s a room with a bath in the attic if you want to use it for yourself and your daughter. On the other hand, we have a pad for a mobile home out behind the barn with hookups and everything. My foreman used to live there before he moved his family to town. You could park your motor home there.”

  “That sounds right convenient,” she allowed, looking pleased. “The only thing is, I need to know if I could keep Michele with me while I’m looking after your little girl. The two kids could play together, they’re the same age. It would be good for them to play together. You know, kids have to have somebody around, somebody their own age. I really believe that.”

  She was a talky little thing, but Garth thought she might know what she was talking about. He’d worried about Ashley being the only baby out here in the boondocks. And as far as this woman’s daughter was concerned, he certainly didn’t mind another child around. He liked kids. He just didn’t like having total responsibility for one all the time. He needed some help here.

  “No problem with keeping your child close at hand while you’re looking after Ashley,” he said.

  “That’s wonderful.” She looked delighted.

  “Can you cook?” he asked bluntly. The nanny before the last one hadn’t even been able to fry an egg. He and Cody needed some worthwhile vittles in their stomachs, and they were both tired of making do.

  “I’m a fairly good cook, I’d say.” She reached down and gave the top of Al’s head a cautious pat, and the dog responded by closing his eyes in blissful surrender.

  “And I take it you wouldn’t mind simple household chores, like picking up after Ashley and washing our clothes and such?”

  She looked tickled, and he couldn’t figure out why until she said, “I’ve been washing in launderettes here and there. I must say that being able to have a washing machine at my disposal would be pure-tee luxury.”

  That made up Garth’s mind for him. “You’d have the use of a car,” he said. He jerked his thumb in the direction of the brand-new green Honda sedan he’d bought Joan a few months before Ashley was born.

  “That’s good. I expect you’ll want me to do the grocery shopping and such?”

  “Yes. Would you mind?”

  “No, if I’m going to be the one doing the cooking, I’d as soon be the one deciding what I’m going to cook.”

  There was one more thing he should ask. “And if you were to have total responsibility for the care of Ashley for a week or so at a time, would that be all right? There’s a blue-ribbon panel of ranchers meeting in Austin in a couple of weeks at the governor’s request, and I’ve been hankering to go.”

  “I’ve got full responsibility for my own little one, and I reckon I can take on one more. I’d welcome it, in fact.”

  Garth slapped his hands on his knees, gave her a curt little nod that hid his elation. “Looks to me like this situation is perfect. You’re hired.”

  “You didn’t even ask my name,” she reminded him, staring with her head tilted slightly to one side as if she were trying to figure him out.

  He felt abashed. If he were hiring a ranch hand, he’d know how to interview applicants for the job. The truth was that fatherhood—single fatherhood—had thrown him for a loop.

  “Well,” he said slowly, rubbing the stubble on his jaw, “suppose you tell me your name right now.”

  She stood up. “Lacey,” she said. “Lacey Shaw.”

  He stood too. “Okay, Ms. Lacey Shaw, you’re on the payroll as of immediately.”

  At that moment his brother stepped out on the porch. “Listen, Garth, the kid’s asleep, so be kinda quiet when you go upstairs. No need to—”

  Garth shot Cody a look warning him not to elaborate. “Cody, this is our new nanny. Lacey, this is my brother, my assistant in all things around here. It’ll be a relief to him that you’re going to take over the household and baby chores.”

  “I’ll say,” Cody said. “I hope you don’t mind plenty of laundry. Ashley spits up a lot, and—”

  “Cody,” Garth said in carefully measured tones, “didn’t you say you had work to do this afternoon?” Suddenly he saw Cody through the eyes of this stranger, and he was embarrassed that his brother’s jeans had a big tear in an inconvenient place and that he hadn’t shaved recently, either.

  “Uh, sure.” Cody aimed a tentative smile at Lacey. “See you around.” With that he clapped his hat on his head and headed for the ranch pickup, which was parked under a wide-spreading elm.

  “So when do you want me to report for work?” Lacey asked brightly. If she saw anything amiss in the appearance of either of them, she didn’t let on.

  “Is right now too soon?” Garth blurted.

  Lacey looked uneasy. “I left my baby asleep in the Winnebago. As much as I’d like to meet little Ashley, it seems like it might be a good idea to wait until both babies are awake.”

  “Yeah, there’s no point in waking either of them up.” He stood up and held out his hand. “Welcome to the Colquitt Ranch,” he said. Her hand in his was soft and yet firm.

  “I’m mighty glad to be here,” she said fervently.

  Not as glad as I am that you showed up, Garth thought to himself.

  He watched her as she sashayed back to the Winnebago. There was a sass to Lacey’s walk and a bounce to her step. There was also a swish to her hips that put Garth in mind of something he hadn’t had in far too long.

  However, if he wanted that, there were other places to find it. He wouldn’t take any chances, wouldn’t do anything to scare this new nanny away. He needed her, and so did Ashley.

  He was bound and determined to keep Lacey Shaw at the ranch, no matter what it took.

  THE THING WAS, Michele wasn’t asleep when Lacey returned to the Winnebago. Her daughter had awakened and was trying her darnedest to remove the screws from the frame of her crib with her fingernails, which were getting longish.

  “Mama,” she said, looking up. “Mama!” It was her sole word.

  “Oh, Michele, you are a caution,” Lacey scolded, scooping the baby up in her arms and sitting down with her at the table. “Here I thought you were asleep all this time, and you’ve been playing. I wonder how I’m ever going to get you on a schedule. It’s my fault mostly. I know that. For the past few months, I’ve kept us awake when we should be asleep and vice versa, traveling all over the map of Texas like we’ve been doing. But now, guess what?”

  If Michele guessed, she didn’t let on.

  “Michele, we’re going to stay here for a while. I think it’s going to be the perfect place for us. There’s another girl your age for you to get to know, and a couple of nice men for me to work for. They need me here, Michele, and it’s good to be needed. Oh, and there are dogs, two of them. Anyway, the important thing is that you and me, we’ll still be tog
ether all day long. Won’t that be great?”

  Michele grinned at her, a gap-toothed grin that showed her four teeth, two on top, two on bottom.

  “It’s a big house. Two stories. Painted white, with a wide front porch with a swing and potted plants and all. Well, the plants look a little tired, but I can smarten them up, I know. It’ll be a good place for us, Michele, you wait and see.”

  Michele lunged for her earring, and Lacey pried the little fingers away. “We’ll cut your fingernails now,” she said as she reached for the scissors.

  Afterward, Lacey played with her on the floor for about an hour. Then, since the baby was finally acting kind of sleepy, she put her down in her crib for a nap. Lastly, she poured herself a glass of iced tea, propped her own feet up on the opposite seat of the dinette, and marveled at her luck in finding a job that seemed totally suitable.

  She was still sitting like that when Cody knocked on the door. When Lacey answered it, he said, “I thought you could come on over and fix supper for us now.” He looked so plaintive that Lacey wanted to chuckle, but she sensed that he didn’t know he was looking like that. “Michele is still sleeping,” she told him.

  “Oops, I’m sorry.” He delivered this announcement in a stage whisper.

  She smiled at him. “Not much wakes this child up, Cody, and I can bring my baby monitor along so I’ll know if she does. How about if I come over and see what’s in the refrigerator?”

  “If you think your baby will be all right.”

  “She’ll probably sleep for another hour or so.” The Winnebago was parked no more than ten feet from the back porch, and even without the baby monitor, she would have been able to hear Michele cry if she left the windows open. “Let me check on her and I’ll be right over.”

  Michele was sleeping soundly, her pacifier in her mouth. Lacey smiled—the pacifier was one that she hadn’t been able to resist. It was made to look like adult lips, all made up with lipstick. She’d thought it was right funny when she came across it in a baby store in San Antonio, especially since she was such a makeup freak herself.

  She checked the baby monitor to make sure it was turned on, dabbed on a bit more mascara for good measure, and then she walked over to the house.