“Wow, I—” Her mind was racing. She’d literally just been thinking how meeting him had changed her but going home would get her over it. The intense attraction was a very good reason for her to say no.
But she couldn’t ignore the fact that accepting the offer would solve two of her most pressing problems—money and a place to live when the house sold. She would be a fool to pass up this opportunity.
“In that case, thank you. I would love to be Wren’s nanny.”
And if there was a God in heaven, Hunter would never suspect how she felt about him.
* * *
The first day back from the wedding was Hunter’s first day to wonder what he’d been thinking to hire Merry Matthews to be the live-in nanny. She’d brought Wren home from school then unpacked her own things in one of the cabin’s two extra upstairs bedrooms.
Merry had the table set when he came in from working and she greeted him with a sunny smile, a beer and the best meatloaf and mashed potatoes he’d ever tasted. Somehow she’d even flimflammed his daughter into eating her green beans without an argument. So, his problem with Merry had nothing to do with her work and everything to do with his attraction to her.
Now he was alone downstairs while happy noises and laughter drifted to him from the second floor. At the wedding he’d seen how content his married brothers were and he felt like he was on the outside looking in. He’d never expected to feel that way in his own home. It was always him and Wren against the world, but now Merry was here making meatloaf and supervising his child’s bath.
He was too restless to watch TV and decided to make sure Merry knew where the soap and towels were kept. At the top of the stairs the master bedroom was on his left. He turned the other way and passed his daughter’s room, then stopped. The bathroom door was open and the little girl was standing in front of the oak-framed oval mirror and wearing her favorite pink nightgown. Merry was behind her, combing her hair.
“Hi, Daddy.”
“Hey, kiddo. I can’t believe you’re clean already.”
“Merry said if I was fast there would be time before bed to show me how to French braid my hair.”
“Did she now?”
“She did,” Merry confirmed. “I’m a solid believer in the carrot-and-stick method of negotiation. Better known as rewarding positive behavior.”
“And you have the positive results to back you up.” He leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb.
“I do. She lived up to her end of the bargain so now I have to pay up.” She smiled into the mirror. “So what’ll it be, sweetie? Braids? Pigtails?” She gathered the wet strands that lightened to golden blond when dry and pulled them up to the crown of Wren’s head. “Top knot?”
“French braids. I already told you.”
“Just making sure you haven’t changed your mind.”
It hadn’t taken Merry long to figure out that this child often altered the plan when he thought she’d set her heart on something. Sometimes Wren made his head spin but this woman seemed to take it in stride. Points to her.
“Daddy doesn’t know how to French braid,” Wren teased. “He can only do a ponytail.”
“I’m sure he has other very important skills.”
He thought for a moment. “As a matter of fact, I fixed the door on your dollhouse. Remember?”
“Is that true?” Merry’s hands stilled as she met the child’s gaze in the mirror.
“Yes, ma’am.” She nodded enthusiastically and nearly pulled her hair from the nanny’s loose grip. “He made it for me, too.”
“That big beautiful wooden Victorian dollhouse with the lovely details? The one taking up a large portion of her room. You built that?” Her eyes were wide and full of amazement.
“With my bare hands.” He swore he could almost feel his chest puffing out because he’d impressed her.
“Where were you when I was a little girl?”
“Probably a little boy dipping a little girl’s French braid in the inkwell.”
She laughed. “Actually that was a rhetorical question. But seriously, it’s a beautiful job. I would have loved something like that when I was a child.” She looked at Wren. “Your dad can’t do hair but you’re very fortunate that he has some serious dollhouse skills.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“You’re welcome.”
“That reminds me,” Wren said. “In school today we made a turkey out of construction paper. My teacher was tellin’ us about the very first Thanksgiving.”
“Yeah?” Merry secured the braid she just finished.
“Yes. And she said the holiday will be here before we know it.”
“That’s true.” He was only half listening because the concentration on Merry’s face as she worked was so darn cute.
“We’re having a first Thanksgiving, too. Just like the pilgrims.”
“You are?” Merry said.
“Uh-huh.” Again Wren nodded and this time did pull her hair out of the nanny’s hands. She had to start over. “Sorry.”
“No problem. Please continue.”
“This will be Daddy’s and my first Thanksgiving here on the ranch.”
“Wow. That’s exciting.” Her tone was bright and shiny, but her expression didn’t match. There was sadness in her eyes. “Sometimes firsts are fun and sometimes they’re not.”
“You’ll be missing your dad this year,” Hunter guessed.
She glanced at him and nodded. “This is my first one without him. Ever.”
“I’m sorry, Merry,” the little girl said. “I never had Thanksgiving with my mom because she died when I was a baby.”
Hunter noticed that his daughter had dropped the “Miss” when she talked to Merry. The little girl was clearly comfortable with her new nanny. He remembered that first Thanksgiving without Lara and whatever the definition of fun was, that holiday didn’t even come close. He’d been knee-deep in diapers, formula and sleepless nights. But if it hadn’t been for Wren and his family, he didn’t think he’d have gotten through that dark time at all.
“You know, sweetie, you’re very lucky to have all your family close by. And not just for the holiday. Not everyone is so fortunate.”
It occurred to Hunter that he didn’t know a lot about her family except the little she’d shared. That she and her father had moved to Rust Creek Falls right after the flood. And she had a brother who joined the military. Was she completely alone now? He wanted to know but couldn’t phrase the question like that.
“But you have a brother,” Hunter said.
“Yes.”
He expected her to elaborate, but she pressed her lips tightly together. No one would ever accuse him of being fluent in body language but hers clearly said she wouldn’t tell him more. Of course that just made him more curious about her story. Including, now that he thought about it, was there a special man in her life? Fortunately his daughter was oblivious to the signals and didn’t let the subject go.
“What’s your brother’s name?”
“Jack.”
“Where does he live?” Wren asked.
“He’s in the military. Right now he lives overseas.”
“Is that far?” The little girl’s eyes grew wider.
“Very far. We don’t see each other much.”
Hunter wasn’t sure why he recognized that this separation pained her, but he did. Maybe because of his own loss, kindred spirits and all that. Still the why of it didn’t matter. All he knew was that Merry wasn’t living up to her name. And something told him there was more to this than just geographical distance. If eyes were the window to the soul, hers were revealing a painful bruise. Jack had somehow hurt her.
Merry secured the second braid and forced a smile. “Ta-da. You are gorgeous. Do you like it?”
Turning her head from side to side Wren said, “Yes. Can you
do it like this for Thanksgiving?”
“Of course. You’ll be the prettiest six-year-old at the table.”
“I’ll be the only one there,” the little girl said.
“Really?” Merry tapped her lip thoughtfully. “That’s right. Baby Sophia isn’t big enough to walk yet.”
“She can’t talk either.”
“True. Not a lot of company in your demographic,” Merry sympathized.
“Does that mean I have no one to talk to?” Wren asked.
“Yes.” Merry glanced at Hunter and the corners of her mouth curved up in amusement.
“Your aunts will all be there,” Hunter reminded her.
“Cool.”
“You’re going to have a wonderful holiday,” Merry said. “And you can tell me all about it.”
“But you’re going to be there, too,” the little girl said.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged.
“You have to be here. With me. And my family. We can have our firsts together.”
“Your first one in Montana and my first without my dad.” Merry met his gaze though she spoke to Wren. “It’s not up to me, sweetie.”
Hunter wasn’t sure how his daughter had grown into the thoughtful, caring person she was. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t extended the invitation already. His only excuse was being preoccupied with Merry’s mouth. More specifically how her lips would feel against his own. Would they be as soft as he expected? Maybe she would taste like sunshine and fresh air.
Both of the females in the room were staring at him and for a second he was afraid he’d said that out loud.
“What?” he asked them.
“Da-ad.” Wren rolled her eyes. “Is it okay for Merry to have Thanksgiving with us?”
“We can talk about this later,” Merry interjected. “I don’t want you to feel like you’re on the spot. It’s really fine. I’ll have dinner with my friend Zoey—”
“It’s okay. Wren wants you here and you’re more than welcome. So, dinner with the Crawfords on Thanksgiving is a go. The more the Merry-er.”
“Like I’ve never heard that one before.” The nanny grinned at him then giggled with Wren.
“So will you? Come with us to Gramps’s house for Thanksgiving?” There was a note of coaxing in Wren’s tone.
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
Wren turned and pressed herself against Merry, wrapping her small arms around her waist. “It’s a good thing you’re here. You have us to spend the holiday with.”
“And I am so very lucky.” She bent and kissed the top of the little girl’s head. “And on that note, it has to be said that it’s time—”
“For bed,” Wren finished. Then she laughed.
Hunter couldn’t believe it. No drama. Zero argument. Just good-natured surrender to the inevitable. Had he been doing something wrong? Was the nanny sprinkling rainbows and fairy dust on his child?
More important—what was he? Chopped liver?
That sounded a little bit ungrateful. It was probably just about the newness of the situation. The little girl he knew and loved couldn’t keep this up for long. But contemplating that philosophical question was better than thinking about the one uppermost in his mind. Had it been a mistake to hire Merry? He had decidedly mixed feelings about her living here.
On the one hand, Wren seemed happy to have a woman here. Hence the bedtime capitulation. On the other hand, the moment Hunter came home and saw dinner ready followed by Merry offering him a beer, he’d begun to ache in places he’d been sure had died a long time ago.
He didn’t want to feel again but he did, and having her here was the only difference between yesterday and today. This wasn’t anything he’d anticipated and he acknowledged it might have been a major miscalculation to offer her the job. But that horse had already left the barn.
Chapter Six
Normally Hunter liked riding fences to check that the posts and wire didn’t need repair or make sure a cow wasn’t stuck in the fence. But this morning his father was with him. Max had insisted he wanted to come along, but surely he had an agenda. The man always did.
He glanced over and admired the way his father sat a horse, the way he’d taught Hunter and his brothers to ride. Straight, tall and proud. Maximilian Crawford was an imposing figure, but Hunter wished he was an imposing figure in his ranch office instead.
“I think you should start dating again,” his father said.
“And there it is.”
“What?” There was a little too much innocence in Max’s gravelly voice.
“The reason you got up before God to keep me company.”
“It does make you kind of a captive audience.” Max grinned, completely unashamed. “I just want to talk to you about getting back in the saddle, no pun intended.”
“Dating.”
“Right.”
“Then this will be a short conversation, Dad. I dated a little back in Dallas. I don’t want to get serious. Good talk.”
Max nodded, his black Stetson casting a shadow that hid his eyes. “I was also thinking about how much I like Montana. The land. The mountains. Coming here and making a change is going to be good for this family. Hell, it already is. Look how happy your brothers are.”
“I agree.”
Hunter had noticed, and he envied them but that was his problem. On the other hand, his daughter had never been happier since Merry had come to live with them. He still wasn’t convinced hiring her was the right move because every time she walked into a room need knotted deep in his gut. She was messing with his head, had him picturing himself running his hands through all that silky blond hair and kissing her full lips. And it wasn’t just his head she was messing with. The rest of his body wanted in on the action. There were so many reasons why that was a bad idea.
Hunter became aware that his father was staring at him as they clip-clopped along. “What?”
“I can’t recall the last time you agreed with me about anything.”
“Well, I do, about moving to Montana. Wren is settling in really well.” Thanks to Merry.
And as if Max could read his mind, he said, “Hiring Merry to be her nanny has made a difference then?”
“Seems so.” It had been only a few days since she moved into the house, but they’d fallen seamlessly into a routine. And the woman was making herself indispensable to him, as well. Her being there took pressure and stress off him as far as ranch chores late at night or early in the morning. Like today.
“It doesn’t hurt that we left a lot of bad memories behind in Texas,” Max said.
“You’re not wrong, Dad.”
The ranch and city of Dallas itself had reminders everywhere Hunter went. It was where he and Lara had started their life together and where hers had ended. He’d been a grieving husband and single dad who had no clue how to care for an infant daughter.
“How did you manage it all?” he asked his father. “After Mom left, I mean.”
“Badly.”
Hunter rested his gloved hands on the saddle horn and glanced sideways. He’d never heard that particular tone of regret in Max’s voice before. “What do you mean?”
“Your mom wanted out of the marriage, and I didn’t want to let her go. Consequently I made a lot of mistakes, as a husband and a father.”
“Such as?”
Max’s mouth pulled tight and his body slumped a little in the saddle. The image of dejection and sadness. “She wasn’t happy but I tried to force her to stay anyway. I tried to control the situation and used my own sons as leverage. That just made everything worse.”
“How?” Hunter and his brothers had lived the nightmare of their mom being there one day then gone the next, and never seeing her again. But his father had never talked about this before and he needed to hear it.
“You boys didn’t
have a mom. I kept you from her to try and get her to come back. It backfired. And now I see the true meaning of that saying—you reap what you sow. The chickens have come home to roost.”
“What do you mean? Just spit it out, Dad.”
“All of you boys are reluctant to commit to love. And that’s my fault.”
Hunter sighed. “Correct me if I’m wrong. Four of my brothers are married. That seems an awful lot like commitment to me.”
“It is,” Max agreed. “But they wouldn’t have found love if I hadn’t helped them along.”
“You call it help, I call it interference.”
His father threw up his hands in frustration and startled his horse into dancing sideways. He patted the animal’s neck and made a shushing sound. “Easy there.”
“The thing is, Dad, you can check me off your conscience. It’s all good. I don’t need your help because I already did commit and I don’t want to do it again. I lost the woman I love just when I thought I had everything. Wren turned us into a family but I lost Lara. Suddenly my perfect family was gone. So, committing cost me everything.”
“That’s the way I felt about your mother,” Max said sadly. “But I was only thinking of myself when I kept her away from you boys. I thought she’d come around but instead I hurt my children. I’m really sorry, son.”
“I believe you.”
Oddly enough, Hunter understood. As a kid he’d been confused and hurt when his mom disappeared. Always in the back of his mind was the thought that maybe if he’d been a better kid she might not have gone away. If he’d never fallen in love with Lara, he wouldn’t get it that a man could do stupid things because of love. He should be mad, but in a weird way he was bonding with his father, maybe for the first time.
“And it’s okay, Dad.”
“No, it’s not. I started to realize it when Wren was born and Lara died. A man’s perspective changes when he becomes a grandfather. I watched you hurting and raising her without a mother. That had me soul-searching. You didn’t have a choice about losing your daughter’s mother, but I did and chose wrong.”
Maverick Holiday Magic (Montana Mavericks: Six Brides For Six Brothers Book 5) Page 7
