The Rancher’s Baby Bargain

by Jackson, Mary Sue

  Willa gritted her teeth in frustration. She knew this man meant well, but God Almighty, she couldn’t stay here! The last thing she wanted was to get stuck in this state she’d run away from the second she could. She’d left her hometown years ago because she’d never felt like she’d fit in. She’d wanted to paint, to bask in beautiful artwork. Her hometown’s idea of art had featured faded prints of Texan landscapes and photographs of horses.

  After graduating from art school and working tirelessly as an au pair to pay her bills, now she had the chance for a position at one of the most prestigious art galleries in the country. She was not going to let that job slip through her fingers. She’d worked too hard to get to this point.

  Bobby squealed then, and Willa jumped up, almost dropping her glass of sweet tea, when she realized he was about to stick his tiny finger in an electrical outlet. Why wasn’t the outlet covered? In shock, she realized that none of the outlets were covered, and if she had to guess as she took in the house, none of it was baby-proofed. She wanted to groan out loud. How could she in good conscience leave Bobby in a house like this?

  “Do you have any outlet covers?” she asked Daniel as she scooped Bobby up, which resulted in him yelling in her ear in protest. “And do you have a baby gate?”

  Daniel looked like she’d asked him if he liked to wear high heels, he was so thunderstruck. Willa restrained a laugh. Men!

  “What are you talking about? This house is perfectly safe,” he said.

  “Maybe it was safe thirty years ago, but things have changed.” She set Bobby on the floor again, keeping half an eye on him as she prowled around the living room. “I have some extra outlet covers in my bag. Thank God I brought them.” She’d had a feeling the house wouldn’t be baby-proofed, and she was glad she’d listened to her instincts.

  When Bobby had first started crawling, Robert had been the one who’d been fastidious about covering outlets, locking cabinets, and putting up gates. It wasn’t that Stacey hadn’t cared—far from it. But she was the type of person who didn’t always think about details, which was why Robert had been such a great match for her. Willa smiled at the memory of Robert coming home with bags of baby locks and whatnot, turning the house into the most baby-proofed abode in the history of baby-proofing.

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