Page 20 of Forbidden Cowboy

“I need to go back to Denver, and get a job. I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back.”

“You want me to look after Beau,” he deadpanned, his expression unamused.

I felt irritation scratch under my skin.

“It’s the least you can do for me,” I countered.

“I’m sorry,” he pressed a hand to his forehead. “I didn’t mean to sound like that—it’s just…”

His eyes flashed like there was something he wasn’t saying.

“Just what?”

“Just… not fair that you have to go when we—whenBeau—just got you back.”

Was it me, or was that a red flush creeping up his cheeks?

“It’s been two and a half weeks,” I admitted. “And while I don’t want to go, I can’t afford to just sit by his bedside.”

Something tightened at the corner of Wyatt’s mouth, and I wondered if I’d even have noticed it if I hadn’t spent a good part of my teenage years memorizing everything about his face. He glanced at his sleeping daughter, and then to the doorway of the room where his best friend lay unconscious. He was going to tell me that he would do his best, but that he was too busy to be fully responsible for Beau. He was going to let me down again. I braced my sinking heart for it.

“Let me hire you.”

“What?”

“As Anna’s new nanny—you can stay in Gunny, and be with Beau. The job comes with benefits and you’ll have your own quarters in the house.” He was getting excited as he spoke. “It works for both of us! You won’t have to worry about seeing me much, either.”

The last part sounded like an afterthought, and I wondered what I had done to give him the impression I might not want to see him. After our day at the ranch, things had been much easier between us, and I had even gone back a couple of times to get some fresh air in between sitting with Beau.

I couldn’t deny that the prospect oflivingon the ranch, and being paid to do so, was an appealing one. Not to mention, I’d get to stay near Beau. Anna seemed like a good enough kid, not that I’d spent much time around her, and I figured nannying her wouldn’t be the worst thing I’d ever done.

There was just one thing holding me back. When I looked at Wyatt’s face, the small amount of hope written on his features, butterflies began to hatch from long dormant cocoons, and they felt like they could wreak havoc on me and my emotions.

But I wouldn’t have to leave Beau.

I met his eyes, and took a deep breath, wondering what I was getting myself into.

“Okay.”

Chapter Eight

Wyatt

Having Sierra around was a blessing and a curse.

She was bright and happy, and had a terrifying ability to manage my daughter that not even I possessed.

The first couple of days, I stayed close to home in case there was an issue. I had expected horrible behavior from Anna, and I had been right to, but I hadn’t immediately stepped in, because I wanted to see how Sierra would deal with it in my absence.

Salt in the sugar jar? Sierra laughed and drank her salty coffee with pride, while Anna looked on in shock. Locked in her new bedroom by a chair hooked under the door handle? Sierra climbed out of her second-story window, shimmied down a drainpipe, and walked in the kitchen completely calm and collected, much to Anna’s chagrin. Even when my daughter put bang pops on the toilet seat like she had to poor Jeanette, Sierra just made a joke about it being the most exciting bathroom experience of her life.

Anna tested the woman, and I watched on, pained, afraid that at any moment, Sierra would turn to me and tell me she quit. After three days, however, I felt more confident, and started heading off to my own business. I found a quiet kind of joy in being alone and not having to worry about anything except the task I was focused on. Anna was in good hands.

But like I said, it was also a curse.

I walked into the bathroom closest to Sierra’s room on her second day there, after forgetting that I had invited her to stay with us. Half asleep, given it was before six in the morning, I didn’t think about the light being on until I walked in, and Sierra was standing there, stretching her arms over her head. The t-shirt she was in rode up, exposing the pale skin of a flat belly, and the sharp angles of her hip bones where her shorts rode low.

She was yawning in the mirror, and caught my gaze when she opened her eyes. She dropped her hands and smiled at me warmly, obviously not realizing anything was amiss.