Western Seduction (The Seduction Series Book 2)

by Brenda Jernigan

  “’Tis good tae know. I think one feels better when they are around water.”

  “Since you’ll be caring for my children, I suppose I should know a little about you. What did your family say about you traveling so far from home?”

  “'Tis complicated, I fear,” she said with a sigh before averting her gaze.

  She was avoiding the question. That wasn’t a good sign, Luke thought. “Indulge me.”

  Shannon cut her eyes to him. My, she thought, the mon was persistent. Then a tinge of guilt hit her. Perhaps he did have a right to know a little about her past. She didn’t have to tell him the entire story. “Well, my mother died aboot five years ago now. My da -- let's just say he's not a nice mon.”

  “So you came over all by yourself?”

  “Nay. I huv a cousin and a friend who are like sisters tae me. Jocelyn stayed in New York tae pursue whatever ‘tis she wants tae do. Sounds odd, but she’s a bit fickle, so it might take her a long while tae make up her mind. And Brooke, she inherited a plantation near New Orleans.”

  Luke regarded her for a moment. She wondered what he was thinking.

  “Why in the world didn't you go to New Orleans with your friend or should I say sister? It’s a little more settled there than Texas.”

  “I wanted tae be on my own,” Shannon explained, stubbornly. “I’ve been fascinated with the west and everything that I’ve read aboot in books. We dinna get many books aboot the west in my country, but enough tae get my curiosity up.

  “I also love children, so I thought yer situation was perfect fer me. I dinna know much aboot where ye live, but I like adventure, and so far I’ve not been disappointed. Do ye huv any family, Mr. Griffin? Besides the children.”

  “Look,” Luke paused then glanced at her. “I don't really like formalities. Texas isn’t very formal or civilized as I’m sure you’ve noticed so why don't you call me Luke, and I'll call you Shannon. Makes things simple.”

  Shannon gave a nod and said softly, “Luke.” His given name felt strange on her tongue. She wasn’t accustomed to being so familiar with a man she barely knew, but then she was traveling alone across great distances of the wilderness with him, she realized, so what did a name matter?

  Luke grunted at the sound of his name on her lips as a thrilling current rippled through him. It was downright irritating. It was the first time he’d felt anything like it in a long time and along with the excitement came the guilt. He didn’t know whether to enjoy it or curse it, nor did he know how to stop feeling guilty.

  His wife had meant everything to him. When she’d smiled, his world had been complete. He wasn’t certain he would ever find that in another woman. Not that he’d been looking, mind you.

  Luke had to admit, though, that Ruth had always been frail, taking to her bed with every excuse. She’d never liked Texas as he had. Why hadn’t he taken her back to Boston long before she’d come down with that fever?

  With the guilty question rolling around his head, he didn’t hear the woman beside him.

  “Perhaps, I shouldn’t call ye by yer given name if it’s goin’ tae make ye frown.”

  Luke blinked to clear his thoughts, then turned to her. Thank goodness he could see the two wagon wheels marking the entrance to Star Ranch ahead in the distance. Something about Shannon disturbed him. “The ranch is up ahead,” he grumbled.

  Shannon couldn't see anything as the buckboard swung onto the road leading under an archway of two wagon wheels. The ranch was as mysterious as the man who looked so hopeless and empty. He’d been carrying on a normal conversation with her a minute ago, and now he’d gone back to his brooding. What had she done to cause the change in him?

  They traveled another quarter of a mile until they suddenly topped a hill. She hadn’t realized they had been climbing until Luke drew the wagon to a halt. The view below caused her to gasp with surprise and fascination as she stared down.

  There in the valley sat a large house, shaded by trees of a variety she didn’t recognize. A river ran behind the house, providing the water necessary to maintain such large trees and making this small piece of land seem like paradise compared to what she’d seen of Texas so far.

  The ranch house was quite different than the grand English manor she’d been in. Instead of being several stories high, this one was long and low to the ground. And it was of a strange material, painted white outside instead of being made of brick or wood.

  “Yer home is quite lovely,” Shannon said, filled with awe she couldn’t hide. “I dinna believe I've ever seen a house with such a different construction.”

  “It’s made of adobe. Sun-dried mud bricks,” he explained. “Then it’s whitewashed so that it reflects the heat. Very helpful in the summer when the sun is blistering hot.” Luke smiled and Shannon thought it was something he should do more often.

  “I’ll admit it’s a bit fancier than most folks have around here, but Ruth was from Boston. She wouldn't have lived in a shack, therefore the Victorian wood trim. I'm sure it’s different from the kinds of places you’ve lived in, but I think you'll enjoy the roominess. Even though it is a single structure, there are two wings arranged in a U-shape.”

  “'Tis much larger than I would huv thought.”

  “Nine rooms.”

  “'Tis grand, indeed. Ye’ve done a good job with yer home. I know ye must be verra proud,” Shannon said, her voice full of praise.

  Luke’s chest swelled with pride. He appreciated the fact that Shannon liked his home, and she didn’t seem to mind that the nearest neighbor was miles away. Ruth had complained about the isolation. However the biggest test was still ahead of Shannon. How well she’d get along with his children might be an entirely different story.

  Luke didn't have much time to wonder, because as soon as he drew the horses to a halt and the wagon stopped his children came barreling around the house. They were covered head to toe with dirt.

  Shannon watched Luke’s two small children come to a tumbling halt. As soon as they were still, they stared at her, their big, bright eyes filled with questions. She needed to get off this infernal contraption and meet the children closer to their level, but she didn’t want to fall flat on her face and look the fool, so she waited until Luke offered to help her down.

  She accepted with a nod and turned toward him. He lifted her to the ground as easily as if she were a feather. Shannon had to admit she liked his support and the feel of his strong hands grasping her waist longer than necessary. She glanced up and caught a fleeting expression of some unnamed emotion in his gaze before he quickly masked his face again and dropped his hands to his side.

  Shannon turned to the children. Oh my, she thought. The only way she could tell one of them was a girl was because she had her hair bound in long pigtails. Shannon thought the child's hair was blonde, but she was none too sure at the moment because it was so dirty.

  “Huv ye been playin' with the pigs?” she asked them.

  “Yes, we have,” they both said.

  “They are a sight, I agree, and I do apologize,” Luke said, though his voice held little remorse. Then he addressed his children. “I told you two not to get into any trouble.”

  “We’ve just been playing, Pa,” the smallest, presumably the youngest, said and added, “The pig had babies.” He pointed a grimy little finger toward Shannon. “Who's she?”

  “Luke reached for Shannon’s elbow. “Children, I’d like for you to meet Miss McKinley, your new nanny.”

  “Aw, Pa. We don’t want no nanny,” they said in unison.

  “So you've told me in the past,” Luke commented ruefully, more for Shannon than the children’s benefit.

  The little girl added, “She talks funny.”

  “Ye think so,” Shannon said with a smile. “And I thought ye were the ones who sounded funny.”

  “Miss McKinley, these are my children. Molly is eight and Toby six.”

  “Hello, children,” Shannon said, stooping down to their level and gravely offering her ha
nd. “I'm sure we'll get along famously.”

  Neither child responded.

  Shannon could tell right away the children were going to be a handful. The stubbornness she saw on their faces told her she’d have to be strict. They certainly took after their father in that regard.

  “I can see we’ll huv a period o’ adjustment. However, there’s no time like the present tae start. I dinna want tae make this any more painful than I huv to,” she said firmly. “Now let’s get ye both bathed before dinner.”

  Molly took a step back. “Don’t want no bath,” she said sulkily.

  Shannon rose and brushed the dirt off her hand. “Come along,” she said as she turned towards the steps to the front door.

  “What’s she mean by painful?” Toby asked his sister.

  “I'm not sure,” Molly said then glanced at her father. “Do we have to wash up now?”

  “Yes, Molly.” Luke scooped them both up into his arms and carried them to the house. “Miss McKinley is in charge. You’ll do as she says,” he said firmly.

  Shannon paused by the door, waiting for Luke and the children to join her. “I prefer that the children call me Miss Shannon, if that is all right with ye.” She noticed he hadn’t told the children she was only staying thirty days.

  Luke stopped in front of her. “Whatever you wish, Miss McKinley.”

  “Ye can call me Shannon, too. As ye said before, ye dinna like formalities way out here.”

  Luke nodded then seemed a little puzzled. “Are you waiting for something?”

  “Aye. Have ye forgotten yer manners? A gentleman should always open a door fer a lady. Besides which, ‘tisn’t my house, and ye haven’t invited me in.” Shannon looked up at Luke and she could swear that the man blushed.

  “S’pose I'm a little rusty,” Luke muttered. “Don’t get much company out here.” He set the children down and opened the door for her.

  The children tried to dart in front of her, something she'd anticipated. Shannon snagged them both by the arm and held them back. “Children, I believe ye need tae learn a few manners, and there is no time like the present tae start. Ye dinna dart in front o’ grownups, and ladies always go first. Do ye ken?”

  “Ken?” the children repeated like parrots.

  “Understand.” Evidently not, she sighed, because both children stared at her as though she were speaking in tongues.

  “Toby, stand over beside your father. I will enter first and then Molly wull follow since she is a lady in disguise.”

  Molly grinned at that bit of news, then turned and stuck her tongue out at her brother.

  “Toby, ye wull follow yer sister. Understood?”

  Luke never realized that going through the front door could be such a pain in the ass. He still needed to ride out to the range before dinner and see if the boys had finished putting up the fence, and this nonsense was wasting valuable time.

  However, as the woman swept by him, he had to admit she did have a point. He had forgotten so much about civilized living since Ruth had been gone. So had his children. They’d grown wild in the absence of a woman at the ranch, and in his neglect. Not only had he failed them he’d failed Ruth, too.

  As he watched the children march into the house, Luke resisted the urge to smile. He'd love to stay and watch Miss McKinley struggle with the children’s baths, but he had chores to do. Besides, giving each a bath required more muscle than roping a calf, but would be a lot more entertaining to watch, he wagered.

  “Cook,” he called out as he followed them inside.

  Shortly, a woman appeared from the back of the house and Shannon turned toward her. The woman was a brown-skinned lady who looked to be in her thirties.

  “This is Shannon McKinley. She is the children’s new nanny.” He turned to Shannon. “Shannon McKinley, this is our wonderful cook and jack of all trades who I simply call Cook. She makes the best refried beans in all of Texas.”

  “'Tis nice tae meet ye.” Shannon extended her hand, wanting to ask the woman why she had to recook beans, but that could wait until later. There were more important things at hand. “I can unpack later if ye just show me where tae bathe the children.”

  “You’re going to wash them by yourself, Señorita?”

  “Aye.”

  The children had other ideas as they tried to dash out the door, but Shannon caught them by the backs of their shirts. “Now, ye really were not thinkin’ aboot runnin’ off, were ye?”

  Luke chuckled. “You children behave. And don't give Miss Shannon a hard time,” he said, his expression changing to a sterner one. Amazing how easy her name rolled off his tongue. “It's been a while since you've had a spanking, and you don't want to end the day with one, do you?”

  Both children shook their heads.

  “Good. Since we have an understanding, I’ll get some work done and see you at dinner.” Luke told them and left the house. As he strode to the barn, he wondered what the three of them would look like over dinner. Would the children still be dirty and Shannon soaked? He chuckled as he thought about it. Maybe that would be enough to make her ready to go back to town.

  Reckoned he'd find out tonight. And damn if he didn't look forward to having dinner with all of them. Strange, it had been a long time since he’d looked forward to anything, and he suspected that Miss McKinley was the cause.

  Chapter 4

  Shannon didn't bother to take a grand tour of the house nor ask where her room was located. After all, she wasn’t a guest and could learn the layout of the house later. She needed to prove to Luke that she was perfectly capable of taking care of his children.

  At the moment, she had one goal in mind, and that was to bathe those filthy children.

  Shannon turned to the woman who Luke had called Cook. “If ye'll show me where the children can be bathed and provide us with some hot water, I'd be most grateful.”

  “I ain't grateful,” Toby grumbled.

  “Ye are not grateful,” Shannon corrected.

  Toby twisted his head up to look at her. “Yeah, that's what I said.”

  “But ye dinna say it correctly,” Shannon gently pointed out. “I see we’ll huv a great deal o' work tae do.” She nodded toward the hallway. “Lead the way, if you please.”

  Shannon heard Toby whisper to his sister, “She sure talks funny,” as they trudged down the hall trailing their grubby fingers along the wall.

  The housekeeper motioned to Shannon. “We have bathing rooms, señorita, specially built on both wings of the house. Everything you’ll need will be in there, and I'll find some clean clothes for the niños and place them on their beds,” she said with a smile. “Their rooms are next to the bathing room.”

  “Niños?”

  “Sí-- children,” the woman explained.

  “We call them bairns,” Shannon said.

  The housekeeper was a middle-aged, Mexican woman with brown skin, dark hair, and warm eyes the color of chocolate. She was dressed in a bright orange and red striped dress, which complimented her skin perfectly. Shannon found that she liked the gentle woman with her easy smile.

  “I do appreciate yer help,” She told her. “Surely, ye huv a name other than cook?”

  “Sí, señorita. My name is Maria. Señor Luke was being funny calling me cook.”

  “What a lovely name,” Shannon said with a smile. “Are ye from the Texas Territory?”

  “Sí. We move here from Mexico when I was much younger. So this feels like home.”

  “I'm sorry tae be so much trouble, but I'm sure I'll be needin' yer help until I’ve learned my way around here.”

  The children who had reached the bathing room darted inside. Hopefully, there is no outside escape door, Shannon thought wryly. She’d hate to have to run them down again.

  “If you can harness those two,” Maria said, nodding toward the children, “then you're a good one, señorita. They have been allowed to run wild far too long. You’re the sixth nanny they have had.”

  “Why so many?”r />
  “The others said the money wasn't worth putting up with such ill-mannered niños,” Maria answered as they followed the children down the hallway. “Our third nanny lasted the longest. A full five days before she ran off.” Maria glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, looking extremely guilty.

  Shannon stopped and peered at Maria. “You’re not tellin’ me somethin’.”

  “Sí.” Maria’s dark eyebrows slanted in a frown. “I--I hate to tell you, but the men are already making wagers on how long you’ll stay.” She paused and shrugged. “An--and I am afraid I made a little wager, too.”

  Shannon laughed. “If ye want tae make some money, bet fer the longest time,” she suggested. “I grew up in the wilds of Scotland, so I'm a strappin’ lass, and a bit o’ hard work willna frighten me away.” Pausing, Shannon reached for the doorknob. “Now, I need tae scrub these two bairns.”

  Maria nodded and gave her a warm, good luck smile before leaving her.

  When Shannon entered the room she found it spacious, with white walls and potted green plants. Two large tubs, complete with claw feet like the kind she had back home, sat in the center of the room. A partition between them provided a nice touch and plenty of privacy for each child.

  Without warning, a vision of herself in one tub and Luke in the other flashed across her mind. Just as quickly, she shoved that particular image to the back of her mind, unsure of where it had come from.

  Two maids were already filling the tubs with hot water. The steam rolled up in the air, looking very inviting. Shannon wouldn’t mind a bath herself. It had been a long journey, but that small luxury had to wait.

  Evidently, Mr. Griffin had already given instructions for baths because the tubs were nearly full. When the maids had finished, they waited for Shannon to dismiss them, then exited through a back door leading to the outdoors. No wonder the children hadn’t darted outside to freedom when they had the chance.