by Sara Orwig
“I hope so. Amelia’s certainly happy over it. I’ll give the phone back to Erin. Good talking to you.” He wanted to add, “I think,” but he didn’t. He handed the phone to Erin carefully, making sure their hands didn’t touch.
He stood and walked away from her, thinking about her brother, trying to focus on Luke, to think about Erin’s broken engagement, her canceled wedding, her miscarriage. He vowed to himself that he would exercise self-control, willpower, and resist the attraction that seemed to increase by the hour.
It had helped to talk with Luke. He should be able to keep his promises to Luke, control his feelings and longings and remain professional. Erin obviously was fighting the same battle to some extent, but he didn’t think she felt the attraction to the depth and intensity that he did. If she did...
Realizing where his thoughts were leading, he tried to focus on the ranch and the roof that needed to be checked after the last hailstorm.
He wanted to go to Fort Worth to a cattle sale and pick up a new bull.
“If you need me, call,” he said, leaning down to brush a quick kiss on Amelia’s cheek and getting a sticky hand on his cheek that made him laugh.
“Thanks, Amelia,” he said, going to the sink to wash his cheek, then grabbing a paper towel to dry it, while Erin told her brother goodbye and ended the call.
“Do you see any food on my face?” He had intended to ask Maisie, but she had moved away and Erin stood nearby, so she stepped close to look at his face.
He inhaled and caught the faint sweet scent again. Her skin was smooth, flawless and her cheeks rosy. Her lips were full, heart-shaped, tempting. He was caught and held as he looked into her green eyes. “Anything on my face?” he repeated in a husky voice.
Her gaze moved slowly over him and his pulse raced so fast he could barely get his breath. He should turn and get out of the kitchen, but for some reason he couldn’t seem to move.
She focused on his cheek and took the paper towel from him to dab at his face. “There. Now there’s not,” she said softly and met his gaze.
“Thanks,” he whispered. He finally got his legs to obey his silent command and left the kitchen as if he was being chased. Outside in the cool morning air, he wiped his suddenly sweaty brow and let out his breath.
He had one humdinger of a dilemma on his hands.
He didn’t want to stay away from Amelia. This was a critical time when she was adjusting to him, to new people and a new home. He needed to be there for her, but Erin was one of the most appealing women he had ever met. And he needed to steer clear of her. So what could he do? He stood outside, staring across the yard, lost in thought and not even knowing where he was.
Why did Luke’s sister have to be this red-hot alluring woman who took his breath away, made his heart pound and muddled his thinking? Of all the women he had ever known, Erin Dorsey was the one woman he should not have any interest in other than as a nanny. She was far too vulnerable. She wasn’t his type. And she was his employee. Most of all, she was his lifelong best friend’s sister and if he hurt her, he would lose the best friend he had ever had.
As he headed to the garage to get his pickup, he realized Erin had probably gotten the same warnings from Luke to resist her boss and clear reminders how Cade would never be serious about a woman or have a real relationship with any meaning.
He hoped Luke had warned her. He had been on the verge of it himself.
He realized he was standing by his pickup, lost in thought about Erin. She was distracting. Maybe if he kissed her once, he would be satisfied and then leave her alone.
“Yeah, right,” he said as he climbed into his truck and pulled out.
* * *
Erin had changed for dinner while Amelia napped, into a dark green, sleeveless, cotton sundress with a full skirt that was not too short, not too revealing. Just right for dinner with Amelia and Cade.
After Amelia’s nap Erin changed her into a pretty new jumper and took her outside in the shady yard to take some pictures. Over the last few days she’d noticed that Cade had no photos of the baby anywhere in the house.
“You don’t want to grow up without pictures, do you?” she asked Amelia. Despite knowing she wouldn’t get an answer, she talked constantly to Amelia anyway, because that was how babies came to learn.
She took a couple of shots with her phone, then sent several to her parents and two to Luke. Since he was a bachelor, she didn’t know how much he would be interested in Amelia’s pictures, but she thought Amelia looked so cute, she didn’t know how anyone could keep from enjoying seeing her pictures. Then she sent several to Cade so he’d have some on his phone as well as in his house.
Just thinking about him made her pulse quicken. In a few hours, when he returned and Maisie left for the evening, they’d be alone. With Amelia, of course. Until she went to bed. And then...? Every inch of her tingled as she let herself fantasize about what kind of night they’d have. Alone with a sexy man who had such a sensual effect on her—
No! She pushed those thoughts out of her mind, refusing to indulge those enticing images. What was she thinking? Cade Callahan may be a handsome rancher but he was her boss. And tonight was nothing more than work. Caring for her charge and sharing a meal with her employer.
That was all it could be.
She heard the gate open behind her and turned toward it. When she took in the sight, her breath caught in her throat. In a wide-brimmed black hat, tight jeans, boots and a fitted, blue cotton shirt that reflected his eyes, Cade strode toward her, his gaze never leaving hers.
And right then and there she knew she was in big trouble.
Four
Cade crossed the yard to them, his long legs eating up the distance. “Hi. What’s happening?” he asked, his gaze going over her, making her aware of her sundress and the breeze tugging at her hair. She held down her skirt.
“We’re out for a stroll,” she replied, not liking the deep tone to her voice. She wanted to clear her throat but didn’t want to be too obvious. “Amelia likes to be outside.”
“It’s cooling off some now and I suppose it’s comfy in the shade, especially if you’re not tossing trimmed brush into a truck bed.” He dusted off his jeans and hunkered down in front of Amelia in her stroller.
“Hi, little doll,” he said, smiling at Amelia who babbled and grabbed the brim of his hat, tugging lightly, but not able to pull it off. He pushed it back on his head. “Thanks for her pictures,” he said without turning to look at Erin.
“You’re welcome. You should have pictures of her on your phone to show people. And we should print some out and frame them for the house. I’ll do that. Also, Cade, I think she’d like a swing out here. You have some big tree limbs that are low enough. She loves being outside and she likes her inside swing so...”
He stood to face Erin and her heartbeat quickened as she looked up at him. She rolled the stroller slightly back and forth to entertain Amelia. As Cade glanced around, her gaze ran over his jaw that now had a faint shadow from the stubble of his beard. His clothes and boots were dusty and he had a smudge on his cheek. Just the sight of him made her tingle from head to toe. Her body nearly cried out with longing, making it hard to hear the echo of her brother’s reminders and warnings on the phone earlier. Luke had told her again that Cade would never be serious about a relationship. He’d repeated that Cade was a die-hard bachelor and intended to stay that way all his life. He was deeply opposed to marriage.
The words reverberated in her head till he smiled, and then she didn’t hear a one of them.
“You’re right,” Cade said. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of a swing for her.” He looked up at the tree they stood under, searching for the perfect limb. “I guess I was so busy trying to figure out what I needed to do to care for her each day, a swing never entered—”
He broke
off as he turned to look at her and his eyes narrowed. He drew a deep breath and she felt her cheeks flush with heat. Suddenly self-conscious, she bent down to smooth Amelia’s collar that didn’t need smoothing. She didn’t know what Cade had seen in her expression, but he must have guessed her thoughts were personal and on him.
“You look pretty,” he said in a husky voice.
She was grateful she wasn’t looking at him or he would have seen the desire that flared to life in her eyes. She busied herself with fidgeting with Amelia’s jumper, which probably lasted only a couple of seconds but felt like an eternity. By the time she straightened, he was backing up, his hat in his hand.
“I’ll go clean up and see you at dinner,” he said abruptly and turned to stride toward the house, his long legs covering the ground swiftly.
She felt bereft at his departure. But she knew why he’d left so suddenly. His tone of voice had been thick and deep. There was no denying the fiery attraction he’d felt. She had felt it, too. And there was no way she’d be able to resist him if he ever broke down that wall of self-control he’d erected around himself.
If that happened, she’d be tumbling headfirst into heartbreak.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed the stroller back to the house and stepped into the much-needed air-conditioning just as Maisie was leaving.
“Dinner is ready. I told Cade and he left to clean up. Can I do anything else before I go?”
“No, thank you, Maisie. Thanks so much for all you did today.”
“I’ll see you Monday morning unless you need me before then.”
“Thanks. Have a nice weekend,” Erin said. But what she really wanted to say was that they needed her to stay for the weekend and be a third person with them. But that was wishful thinking.
She remembered from her interview that Cade had asked for her to stay with Amelia on Friday evenings so he could go out and she wished he was starting tonight, but he hadn’t said a word about going anywhere away from the ranch. She’d better get a grip because it was going to be a long night.
She got Amelia out of her stroller and took her to the sitting room where she spread out a blanket and sat down to play with her. She was playing patty-cake as Cade came into the room and for an instant she forgot what she was doing when she glanced at him. He had showered and changed. He still had a faint stubble of beard, but his hair was combed with waves already curling on his forehead, the ends still damp from his shower. He wore a blue dress shirt open at the throat and tucked into fresh jeans with a different pair of clean, black hand-tooled boots and a leather belt around his narrow waist.
“Come join us.”
“How about a glass of wine? Or a beer?”
“I’ll take white wine, thank you. Would you please bring her sippy cup with some water in case she gets thirsty?”
He nodded and returned with the white wine, a bottle of cold beer and a cup that he handed to Amelia. He joined them on the floor.
She latched on to a safe topic. “You asked me to stay these few weekends, so if it’s all right with you, tomorrow you can help with Amelia and learn how to take care of her all on your own.”
“That still scares the hell out of me. I don’t know what to do, but I’m watching to see what you and Maisie do. My grandmother was almost as much at a loss as I am.”
“She was sweet to stay until you got a nanny.”
“You’re a great nanny and I’m so thankful you took the job.”
“Which brings up something I want to talk to you about.”
His blue eyes focused on her and he arched a dark eyebrow in question.
“Amelia is babbling and imitating sounds. I’d like to start using words around her so she can begin to learn them. Is she going to call you daddy or Uncle Cade?” As he started to answer, she held her hand up. “Think a minute. You will raise her and you will be a dad to her.”
“I’m never taking Nate’s place,” Cade said, frowning. “Nate was her dad and is forever her dad.”
“Of course. I know that and she will, too, when she is slightly older and can understand, but in practical everyday living, you’re going to be Dad to her. If this were reversed would you want your child calling your brother Uncle or Dad? She’ll know Nate was her daddy because you’ll see to that and have his pictures around, but in a lot of ways, you’re going to have to be her dad and you need to decide what she’ll call you.”
Cade looked away and a muscle worked in his jaw. “Sometimes that wreck hits me. I miss Nate. I miss Nate and Lydia having their baby.”
“I know you do,” Erin said quietly, giving him a moment to deal with his emotions.
Finally he took a deep breath and faced her again. “Amelia isn’t talking yet and I haven’t given that a thought. Let me sleep on it.”
“You do that, but let me know because before long, this little girl is going to be saying simple words and I can teach her something to call you before I go.” She smiled. “Uncle Cade is a mouthful, I have to say, and will probably come out like Unca Kay. Or maybe she’ll just call you Okay. That’s an incentive to make a decision.” He grinned and she smiled deeper, unable to resist his grin. When she put Amelia to bed tonight, she had to go to her room and get away from him, no matter how tempting it was to come back to talk to him.
“Will you entertain her while I put our dinner on the table and we can eat?” Erin said. “It smells wonderful, some kind of enchilada casserole.”
“Sounds good to me,” he said. “What’s our baby having? More mashed stuff that bears little resemblance to real food?”
“Something healthy, pureed for babies.”
“Good thing you didn’t leave me to feed her tonight,” he said, making a silly noise and causing Amelia to laugh.
As Erin got dinner on the table, she watched Cade playing with Amelia. For a man who didn’t want to ever marry, he was such a good daddy. He seemed to be having as much fun playing as Amelia was having. Impulsively, Erin took their picture, both of them laughing while Cade held Amelia in the crook of his arm and made silly noises and faces. Erin couldn’t keep from laughing at them—until she was struck by the power of the moment. It was one of those times when she was knocked over by the realization of her own loss and she felt a sharp stab of pain right to her heart.
Turning away from them, she hurried to get dinner on the table.
Later, after they’d finished, when she finally stood and told Cade she was taking Amelia to bed, she stopped in the doorway. “I won’t come back tonight. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I know you’re not going to sleep this early. Come back and talk for a while. I’ll stay clear over here on my side of the room and you can stay way over there and we won’t cross the middle of the room. How safe is that?”
She stared at him in surprise that he had openly acknowledged they were trying to avoid each other. He hadn’t admitted why, but they both knew why. “It might be safe, might not, but it’s not very smart,” she answered with a breathlessness that she couldn’t avoid.
“Live dangerously, Erin. Your brother has warned you so much about me that I’m sure you’ll do what he told you. He’s threatened to punch me out if I do anything I shouldn’t and I don’t particularly want that, nor do I want to lose his friendship which goes way back in our young lives. So come back and let’s sit and talk and keep our distance and all will be well. Otherwise, I might have to come get you and try to talk you into coming back here with me. That would throw us much closer together.”
“You’re a bit devious, aren’t you?” she said, smiling and knowing she couldn’t say no. “I’ll be back.”
“That’s good,” he said as she walked away.
At the door she turned. “It’ll be a while. I rock her and read at least one or two stories to her. Don’t look for me soon and don’t come to get me because I’
m not leaving her until she’s down for the night.”
“I wouldn’t think of taking you away from rocking her or reading to her. I think that’s wonderful. I’d love it if you—”
“Shh,” she said, stopping him from voicing what she thought was coming. “Whatever you’re about to say, don’t say it. We’re doing pretty well keeping things impersonal. Pretty well. I’d say maybe good enough to rate a C+. Don’t pull down that grade.”
“C+? I think I deserve an A.”
“Don’t push your luck,” she said, turning to leave because they were verging on losing that professionalism they each had been struggling to demonstrate. She didn’t look back as she left, carrying Amelia to get her ready for bed. Erin no longer wondered how she would get through the weekend with him. Instead, she fretted over how she would get through the next few hours.
She needed to continue the remote, polite, professional relationship of a rancher and his nanny.
Would that even be possible? Why was she so drawn to him? She had been hurt, and numb around all other men since her broken engagement. What was it about Cade that had been instant, intense and an irresistible attraction even when she knew she should never become emotionally involved with him?
Could she spend the next few hours with him without ending up in his arms and without kissing him?
* * *
Cade went outside and stood on the back porch, looking at the yard. He had yard lights and lights in the trees so it was easy to see close to the porch, and he looked again at tree limbs where he could hang a swing. He was losing his fear of carrying Amelia, of holding her too tightly, of scaring her with his deep voice. He no longer had to worry about what to feed her because Erin and Maisie both knew. Erin would be present when Maisie went home.
Now his worries shifted to Erin. His call to Luke brought back all the warnings, the emphasis on the heartaches she had just been through, the threats by Luke to end their friendship if Cade hurt her.
