Cowboy's Barmaid: A Small Town Military Romance (Lucky Flats Ranchers Book 2)

by Piper Sullivan

  “What’s the story, Zane?” Bryce sipped his drink, staring pointedly at the phone. Zane took the hint, and put it in his pocket.

  “Sorry, buddy,” he said. “I’m a bit preoccupied. You know how I’ve been fighting for custody of the kids? Well, I suddenly got them. Jo has relinquished them, completely. She’s taking off with Billy Baker, the rock star. She’s been seeing him for a while, now. They’re jetting off to his chateau in France. Apparently, the kids don’t mean that much to her, after all.” A thread of bitterness ran through his words.

  “But this is good, isn’t it?” Cara questioned. “You’ve been wanting the kids back.”

  “Yes,” Zane sighed. “It is. But the timing is all wrong. Jo is just dumping them at the Station, with no nanny. The nanny apparently quit as soon as she heard that Jo was going overseas. And Mrs. Price, my housekeeper, is an old lady. They have no one to look after them.”

  “Wow,” said Bryce. “That’s a pickle. Especially as you are going to Singapore, aren’t you?”

  “I’m catching the flight tomorrow,” he answered. “It’s an important business deal, and I can’t get out of it. It’s been booked for a while.” He sighed, running a hand through his sandy hair. “All the nanny agencies I’ve called can’t help me at such short notice.”

  “Bianca could do it,” Cara said, looking at me, her eyes widening. “Couldn’t you, Bianca? It would be like a working holiday. You could save money to open your business, again.”

  “Cara…” I looked at my big sister like she had lost her mind. This was all too sudden. Nannying? Me?

  But now Zane and Bryce turned to me, entreating me with their eyes.

  “Bianca,” Zane said, looking at me beseechingly. “You would save my life. Honestly. And I would compensate you well, don’t worry.”

  “Well…” I was put on the spot. Yes, I had been planning on staying in Australia for another month. Cara and I had been planning a trip to Melbourne to visit her best friend Amber. But that didn’t mean that I wanted to go to the middle of nowhere, to mind some brats. Where was the Northern Territory, exactly?

  “Please,” Zane said. His eyes shone with fervor. “I could get you on a flight tomorrow, all expenses paid, of course. Business class.”

  “Alright,” I sighed, downing my champagne. “As a favor, just until you get a real nanny.”

  “Thank you,” Zane breathed. He suddenly smiled, in relief. He really was a handsome man, especially when he relaxed.

  Our eyes met, holding a second longer than necessary. I felt a sudden jolt of attraction, right down to my toes.

  “You won’t regret it,” Zane said.

  Famous last words, of course.

  Zane

  “Almost there, Mr. Connelly.”

  I looked up from my tablet at George, my personal assistant. He was staring out the plane window as we circled over Ayers Rock. I smiled wearily.

  “It feels like I’ve been travelling forever,” I remarked, stretching. It had been a whirlwind week. I had just returned from Singapore, having completed talks with some potential partners. And now were heading home to Birrimba, my family’s cattle station in the Northern Territory.

  The plane circled, slowly. I looked out the window. The famous Rock was receding. It was an amazing landscape, one that I never tired of watching.

  Massive salt lakes spread over the land, with rivers veering off them like a mass of spider veins. The earth itself was reminiscent of opal: speckled and lined, colors merging and spreading. The vast deserts of my homeland, folding out as far as the eye could see.

  Through my weariness, I felt excited. It was always like this, when I returned home. I was constantly travelling the country and the world, but the old adage was true, there was no place like home. And my home had been in my family for generations. It was one of the first cattle stations built in the Northern Territory, and it was the biggest.

  I could see it approaching, now. It was spread out like a small town; various buildings and yards. In the center was the homestead, a huge weatherboard built in 1894. I smiled, again. George looked across at me, giving me a thumbs up. He knew how tired I was, and how grateful to be home.

  Roland, my personal pilot, spoke over the intercom. “About to land at Birrimba, Mr. Connelly.”

  The plane circled, again. Then I felt the descent. We were about to land.

  George and I clicked on our seatbelts in preparation. It was a small plane, and the landing was often bumpy.

  Yes, I was grateful to be home. But then the personal problems that I had managed to put on the backburner of my brain suddenly reared up at me. There was a lot going on. I wouldn’t be able to get home and relax. I had three children who had been uprooted once again, who were suddenly home – and without their mother.

  Oh, and let’s not forget a new nanny. Hired only last week, spontaneously. I thought of the woman who was now in charge of my children. Bianca. An American on holiday.

  She was the sister of Cara, who my good friend Bryce had recently married. It had happened so quickly it still made my head spin.

  I had been on the Gold Coast for some last-minute business, when I had taken the call from Jo, my ex.

  “Zane,” she had drawled. “Your wish has come true! I’m bringing the children to Birrimba tomorrow.”

  “Hang on a minute.” I adjusted the phone to my ear. “What are you talking about? It’s not my scheduled week. I’m flying out to Singapore tomorrow.”

  Jo had laughed. “Oh no, you’re misunderstanding me,” she had said. “It’s not just for the week. It’s permanent. You’ve got what you wanted. I am relinquishing custody, once and for all.”

  “What?” I almost dropped the phone. I had been battling Jo for custody for over a year, now. She had been adamant that the children belonged with their mother. What had suddenly changed?

  “I have to leave,” she continued. “Billy and I are heading to his chateau in France.” She paused. “Billy doesn’t think the kids should come. He wants to spend some quality time alone with me.”

  I should have known. Jo had been seeing Billy Baker, the famous lead singer of the Vultures of Energy, for a while now. Not that she had told me much about it. I had read of their volatile relationship in the papers. They were always being snapped at wild parties, and premieres; they were the paparazzi’s new darlings. Ex-wife of billionaire Zane Connelly and the most famous rock star in Australia. They were a tabloid magazine’s wet dream.

  It was also one of the reasons I had been pressing so hard for custody. Billy Baker was not a stable person, and he seemed to be leading Jo into his degenerate lifestyle. It wasn’t an environment I wanted my children to grow up in. I was sincerely worried about their welfare.

  “Let me get this straight.” I closed my eyes. I could feel a headache starting to thump behind my eyes. “You are just dumping the kids so you can frolic in the South of France with your lover?”

  I could hear the sigh on the other end of the line. “Don’t be so dramatic, Zane,” she said. “The kids are fine. They understand. And you are getting what you’ve been fighting me for, don’t forget.”

  “Okay.” I swallowed. She was right. “So, the kids and Rosa will be there tomorrow?” Rosa was the kids nanny.

  There was silence on the other end of the phone. “Just the kids,” she said, eventually. “Rosa has quit. Honestly, the woman is a handful! Said she couldn’t do it anymore.”

  “Are you telling me that you are bringing the kids to Birrimba without their nanny?” I couldn’t believe this. “I just told you, I am heading to Singapore tomorrow. There is no one to look after them!”

  “Get Mrs. Price to do it,” Jo said.

  “Mrs. Price is sixty-five years old!” The headache was getting worse. “She can barely keep up with the housekeeping. She’s due to retire at the end of the year, for God’s sake!” I swallowed my anger. I simply couldn’t believe this was happening. Jo had been getting more unstable since she had taken up with Baker, b
ut she had always managed to put the kids’ welfare first. Not anymore, apparently.

  “I’ll handle it.” It took all my effort not to scream down the phone at her. “Have a great trip.” I pressed end on the call. My hands were shaking.

  Then Bryce had come to my rescue, inviting me out for dinner with his new wife and her sister who was visiting from the States.

  I had acknowledged Bianca when we had been introduced, but I was very preoccupied with the bombshell Jo had just dropped. But I had noticed she was a very pretty woman, with dark hair and big blue eyes. In any other circumstance, I would have appreciated that fact.

  It was Cara who had suggested it, that Bianca take over temporary nanny duties until I found a permanent replacement. I had been ringing around agencies for over an hour, and not one had anyone free. I was getting desperate.

  Bianca had looked shocked, but then she agreed. I had quickly booked a flight for her to the Territory and arranged for Roland to pick her up from Alice Springs airport, flying her the rest of the way to Birrimba in the private plane.

  I had spoken to Mrs. Price once, from Singapore. She had confirmed that the kids and Bianca had arrived, but there hadn’t been time for a full brief.

  I felt the wheels of the plane hit the tarmac, bumping unsteadily as the plane landed. The brakes came on, and we careered to a stop.

  “Touchdown, Mr. Connelly.” Roland’s voice came over the PA, slightly fuzzy. “You may disembark.”

  I unclicked my seat belt. George was already up, gathering the luggage. I was home.

  Out of the frying pan and into the fire. All I wanted to do was rest, have some downtime. But a sixth sense told me that I was dreaming.

  Three unsettled kids, and a new nanny. A nanny who had never worked at the job before, either.

  Let the fun and games begin.

  ***

  “Daddy!”

  I was almost bowled over as soon as I opened the front door. Two little girls were upon me, their arms encircling me so that I could barely walk.

  I laughed, tousling their heads. “Okay, okay, let me walk,” I laughed. They refused to let go. In the end, I had to walk with them, putting one leg in front of the other like I was walking through heavy snow.

  Mrs. Price walked out from the kitchen. “I thought I heard the plane,” she smiled. “Did you have a good trip?”

  “Adequate,” I replied. I frowned, looking at her. She was walking a bit stiffer than last time I had seen her. Her arthritis was obviously playing up, again. Poor Mrs. Price. She had been the housekeeper here for as long as I could remember, and she was getting old.

  I glanced around. “Where’s Max?” Max was my oldest, a seven-year-old bundle of mischief.

  Mrs. Price rolled his eyes. “Out with Robbo, as usual,” she replied. “Thinking that he’s the man of the house.” She pursed her lips. Mrs. Price found Max trying. It was one of the main reasons that I couldn’t have left her in charge of the kids.

  “Do you have presents for us, Daddy?” Poppy, my five-year-old, looked up at me expectantly. Harper, her little sister who had just turned four, nodded her head. “Please, Daddy?”

  I laughed. “Go and see George,” I said. “He’s got all the presents.” They ran off, trying to locate my personal assistant.

  A woman walked into the kitchen, smiling.

  Bianca. The new nanny. I approached her, smiling back, with my hand outstretched. “Bianca,” I said. “Good to see you. Thank you so much for taking on the kids at such short notice. You really are a life saver!”

  Bianca shook my hand. “Well, it’s certainly been a baptism by fire,” she said. Her American accent rolled around the words.

  “Could we have a coffee, and you can fill me in?” I said, walking to the kitchen. “Mrs. Price, could you bring coffee for Bianca and I into my study, please?”

  Better to get the worst of it over with. I headed to the study, indicating for Bianca to follow me.

  She sat opposite me, not speaking. Mrs. Price brought the coffee and cups in for us, then shut the door as she left.

  I took the opportunity to study Bianca while I poured us both a cup.

  She was wearing a t-shirt and shorts, which showed off her tan. She was smaller than I remembered; she barely reached my shoulders. The same dark hair, twisted into a casual top knot.

  But it was her eyes, which struck me. I remembered she was blue eyed, but not how amazing they were. Huge almond shaped eyes of cornflower blue, fringed with long, black lashes.

  Wow. I knew she was very pretty, but this was the first time I had felt it. Well, I had been very preoccupied when we first met.

  She couldn’t be more different than Rosa, her predecessor. Rosa had been a forty-year-old sullen woman, who rarely smiled and had the charm of a toad. Jo had employed her because of her impeccable reputation, but also, I suspected, because she was so plain. No one would look twice at Rosa, and if they did, she would probably have eaten them for breakfast.

  “How have you settled in?” I asked, trying very hard not to stare at her crossed legs. Long legs, for such a petite woman.

  “It’s been…interesting.” She squinted those amazing eyes. “The children are very high spirited, aren’t they?”

  I laughed at that. “They most certainly are,” I agreed. “Some might say a handful.” I paused, looking at her. “Let me give you some background. My children have been living with their mother and new partner, and haven’t had a very settled life, from what I’ve gathered. They are also dealing with the aftermath of our divorce. So they are a little more…temperamental, than usual.”

  Bianca raised her eyebrows. “That explains a bit,” she said. “They haven’t been very keen to get to know me. I’m trying, but every move I make is rebuffed.” She looked down, a little sadly.

  Shit. The last thing I needed was for her to do a runner. “Give them time,” I said. “It will be okay.” I stood up. “It’s almost lunch time, Bianca. The kids need to be rounded up for lunch. I will join you, presently.”

  She looked surprised, but stood up also, leaving the room.

  I collapsed wearily back into my chair. My head was spinning.

  I knew my kids. They were up to their old tricks. And the beautiful, blue eyed nanny was their new target.

  Bianca

  I closed the door behind me with a decisive click. I had been dismissed, well and truly. So much for the coffee I had been promised.

  I walked down the hallway of the old house, thinking of rounding up the children for lunch. I sighed. The children were harder to wrangle than the cattle that surrounded us. I still had to pinch myself that I was here. Stranded. In the middle of nowhere, in charge of three rambunctious kids. Me, Bianca Harris, who had once dreamed of being at the cutting edge of fashion in the States.

  I had bitten off more than I could chew, that was for sure. And Zane Connelly, my new boss, didn’t seem to be willing to help.

  I thought of him as I walked. A man used to his bidding being done, obviously. Mrs. Price, the crusty old housekeeper here, had filled me in on Zane and the station as soon as I had got here; almost as soon as I had stepped off the plane.

  “So, you’re the new nanny,” she had sniffed, looking me up and down. I don’t think she approved. “Do you have a uniform?” She frowned, looking at the cut off shorts and tank top I was wearing. Hey, it was as hot as hell out here. And what was this crap about a uniform? I hadn’t realized I was supposed to be rigged out like Mary Poppins.

  “Don’t have one,” I had said, meeting her eye. I wasn’t intimidated by her. The woman had obviously been here forever, and thought she ran the whole show. “Is it a requirement?”

  Mrs. Price had sighed. “Rosa always wore one,” she had said. “But then, Rosa was formally trained by one of the leading agencies in Australia.” Her eyes narrowed. “What are your qualifications?”

  “I don’t have any,” I replied. “I’m just helping Zane out, temporarily.”

  “Mister Connelly,
you mean,” she had said, crisply. I shrugged. How old school was this place? I had been introduced to him as Zane, so I didn’t see what the problem was.

  “The Connelly’s are the royal family of the Outback,” she had continued, her mouth pursed. “Birrimba was founded in 1894. It is the biggest cattle station in the Northern Territory. The history is vast. Proper respect for that is essential, if you intend to work here.” She fixed me with a penetrating stare. “Come and meet the children. They arrived only two hours ago.”

  I followed the old biddy down the hallway, feeling like I was about to meet my executioner. Why, oh why, had I agreed to this? I hardly knew any children. You couldn’t say I was the most maternal of women. I barely even thought about kids.

  And now, I was about to be put in charge of three of them. I was quaking in my boots, just a little.

  “Children.” Mrs. Price walked into a large room, where three children were watching a movie. “Please turn that off, for the moment. There is someone you need to meet.”

  An older boy pressed pause on the television, looking at us curiously. Two little girls, who had been reclining on bean bags, stood up. They all looked at me as if I had just landed from outer space. I forced a smile onto my face.

  “This is your new nanny,” Mrs. Price continued. “Her name is Miss Harris.”

  “Bianca will do,” I said, smiling wider. Mrs. Price frowned, but didn’t say anything. The three children looked at me, not blinking.

  “This is Max, Poppy and Harper,” continued Mrs. Price. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.” She walked out of the room. I looked after her, startled. She was just going to leave me with them? What was I supposed to do?

  “Where’s Rosa?” asked Poppy, her blonde head cocked to the side. Her little sister, Harper, nodded. The boy, Max, was still looking at me silently.

  “I’m not sure,” I answered. “I think she had to leave. So I’m taking her place.”

  “You?” Max said, finally finding his voice. “You don’t look old enough. Rosa was an old lady.”