He worked on plating their meals while he answered. "I think you know that we weren't exactly raised with wealth. We had this house, but my father gradually sold off the surrounding land." He didn't mention that it was because he didn't work, because that wasn't any of her business at this point. "When we graduated from high school, we didn't have jobs lined up, and there were no college funds. Archer went to work for a construction company, and he learned to renovate houses. He's done a lot of work on his wing. I'll show you sometime." He carried their plates over to the table and sat down opposite her. "Cage did a bit of bartending for big catered parties. And I worked in the kitchen of various restaurants."
She had a hard time picturing him working anywhere he wasn't the boss. "Really? Did you enjoy it?"
He laughed. "Don't tell anyone, but I really did. I love cooking. I don't get to do it often enough."
Ashley looked at her food, the shrimp fettuccini Alfredo looking perfect, and two pieces of garlic bread beside it. "This looks and smells delicious."
"One of the restaurants was a tiny little Italian place, run by an Italian woman who yelled a lot. She had arthritis, and couldn't do a lot of the cooking, so she told me I would have to be her hands. So many times she would get onto me for not making something as perfectly as she would."
Ashley grinned. "She sounds pretty amazing."
"I still go see her when I can. She was like a grandmother to me."
She took a bite of the fettuccini after blowing on it to cool it. "This is wonderful! You really can cook!"
Barrett's face lit up at the praise. "I told you I could. Just don't tell my brothers. They'd make fun of me."
"They don't know you can cook?"
"Oh, sure they know. They just don't know that I enjoy it and still do it."
She shook her head. "You shouldn't be ashamed of any talent, cooking or otherwise."
Barrett popped another bite of food in his mouth, chewing slowly. He wished he could put his fears into words. He wasn't really ashamed of cooking, it was more fear that his brothers would never let him live it down.
When he didn't say anything, she broached the topic she'd been wanting to discuss. "We haven't really talked about days off for me. As much as I love Baby Dalton, I'm going to need at least one day a week to shop, or just relax. I'll keep taking care of him at night..." She trailed off, almost feeling guilty for bringing it up while eating the delicious meal he'd cooked.
"I think that's perfectly fair. Would you rather have Saturdays or Sundays?"
She frowned at that. "Well, I'd like Saturdays so I have time to do what I want but I want to be able to go to church on Sunday mornings." She sighed. "Which would work better for you?"
He shrugged. "Honestly, why don't you take both? I can deal with the baby for a few hours on Sunday while you go to church, and I'll plan on him all day on Saturday. If you can get me through the nights, that would be awesome!"
She smiled. "You really don't mind? When he's a little older, I can take him to church with me, and leave him in the nursery, but for now, I don't want him around other children because of the risk of getting sick."
"That works for me." He reached over and covered her hand with his. "I like that you're thinking about the future. I want you to stay." He hadn't realized he felt that way until she talked about the possibility of taking Baby Dalton to church when he was older. Suddenly, he never wanted her to leave.
Her heart raced at his touch. "I would love to stay and watch him grow up."
Chapter Four
Ashley approached Barrett the following morning, realizing that even though she had the freedom to go into town, she didn't have the means. He was in the kitchen fixing a bottle for Baby Dalton, looking up when he saw her. She was dressed in shorts, a tank top, and sandals. The look he gave her had her blushing from head to toe.
"You know, anytime you want to wear that to take care of the baby, you're more than welcome."
Ashley forced herself not to smile. "It's too cold in the house with the air conditioning to dress this way."
"Well, then I'll see what I can do to break the AC," he mumbled, obviously not intending for her to hear.
She thought it best not to respond. "I just realized that my plans for the day, and tomorrow, aren't really possible. I don't have a vehicle. I left my car in Montana. I guess I could fly up and drive it down, but that would keep me from the baby for a good week, and honestly, I think my dad may tie me up to keep me from coming back down here to you anyway."
Barrett's mind immediately saw her naked and tied to his bed. He closed his eyes to enjoy the image while he answered. "Use my truck. If you're going somewhere, then I certainly won't be. I'll make sure there's a car for you to use on your days off. Cage's new maid will need transportation while she's here as well. He'll split the cost with me."
He had a bottle in one hand and the baby in the other. He looked at her helplessly. "My hands are full. Would you mind digging my keys out of my pocket?" He stepped forward, turning his right hip toward her.
Ashley swallowed hard. She'd never done anything quite so intimate before "Why don't I take the baby while you get the keys, and then I'll give him back?" she asked logically.
"Won't work," he said. He paused for a moment while he forced his brain to come up with a good reason it wouldn't work. "He's already settled so comfortably. I don't want to disturb him."
She shook her head at him. "That's just an excuse to get my hand in your pocket, you perv."
He laughed. "It is. Does that mean you don't have the guts to do it?" He watched her carefully, wondering if his taunting would really work.
Her eyes narrowed, and she took a step closer to him, her hand delving into the pocket of his tight jeans. She caught the ring with her finger and pulled them out. "There." Holding the keys up in front of his eyes, she grinned at him.
"You're something else, Nanny Ashley."
She made a face as she walked away. "Do you want me to plan on cooking dinner for you tonight? I'm not nearly as good as you are, but I know the basics."
He frowned. "No, that's okay. I'm planning on starting something for both of us when I put the baby down." He watched her go, realizing he wanted to do little things for her. What in the hell was wrong with him?
*****
Ashley spent the day acquainting herself with Dalton, Texas. The town was bigger than she'd realized. There was a small shopping district that rivaled what she could get in Billings for sure. It didn't rival the shopping in Manhattan, but what did?
She went from store to store, mostly window shopping. She found a couple of summer dresses, a new bathing suit, and a pair of cowboy boots she just had to have. She was in Texas, after all.
When she was finished, she headed back to the ranch. She wasn't really one to shop all day. She could manage for an hour or two, but not forever, much to her aunt's dismay. Her aunt would wake her up on a Saturday morning and tell her to put comfortable shoes on, and they would shop. Not just one or two stores either. They wouldn't get back to the house until late, and her uncle would grumble about all the money they spent, while Lachele merrily ignored him.
That type of day exhausted Ashley, and she was glad she didn't have to do it here. There was something to be said for knowing no one in the state except a sexy man and a tiny baby.
When she got back to the ranch, she saw Cage leaning over Brooklyn who was sitting on the couch, watching TV. "You do know the laundry still needs to be done, right? You agreed to do all the laundry for the whole house."
Brooklyn merely shrugged, her eyes going to Ashley. "Oh, did you shop? I want to see what you got!"
Ashley grinned, knowing that Cage was not going to have an easy time with his new maid. Good. Maybe the Dalton men would figure out how to treat women if they kept hiring enough of them.
"Sure! Come to my room with me," Ashley suggested.
Brooklyn ducked under Cage's outspread arm and ignored his look of disgust as the two women disappeared down
the hall toward Ashley's room. "You're going to think my purchases are boring," Ashley warned Brooklyn.
Brooklyn shrugged. "Anything to get out of doing laundry."
Ashley had done her laundry and Dalton's but decided she'd better do Barrett's as well. There was no point for all three brothers to run around filthy. Hers could be his usual clean sexy self.
She stopped walking for a moment. Hers? Where had that thought come from?
She led Brooklyn into her room and shut the door behind them. Sitting on the bed, she opened the first bag and pulled out the two summer dresses. She had made good money all year with very few expenses, since she'd been living with her father, and then with her aunt. She could afford to spend a little more than usual on a couple of pretty outfits.
Brooklyn's face lit up, and she reached out to touch the dress. "Oh, I like that! What size are you?"
"Seven."
"Well, that stinks. Maybe I'll borrow it anyway." Brooklyn sat on the bed and made herself right at home. "I can't wait 'til I get my first paycheck from working here. I didn't get to bring most of my clothes with me." She avoided Ashley's eyes as she said that, but Ashley didn't ask anything. She wasn't sure she wanted to get close to the maid.
Ashley pulled out the swim suit, which was much more daring than she'd ever worn before. She didn't know what made her buy it. She blushed as she held it up. It was a tiny two piece, the kind she believed should be worn in front of no one except the man you were already married to.
"I like," Brooklyn told her. "You don't look like someone who would wear that, though."
Ashley shrugged. "I probably won't ever wear it unless I go out to the hot tub in the middle of the night. I'm not sure what got into me. I saw it, and the next thing I knew, I was buying it."
"I think you should wear it. Barrett's eyes would pop right out of his head. Maybe he'd marry you then. Poor baby needs a mom."
Ashley gaped in disbelief. "I'm not Baby Dalton's mother. I'm his nanny!" Had Cage said she was the mother?
"Oh, well you can't blame me for thinking you were his mother. You carry him around everywhere as if you actually like him. That's just not normal."
Ashley decided that comment wasn't worth responding to. Instead she pulled out her new cowboy boots and showed Brooklyn. She didn't listen to what the girl had to say about them.
Brooklyn laid across her bed chattering while Ashley put the clothes away. "I should probably get a nap," Ashley finally said. "I've been on the baby's schedule, and I find I do better if I nap every day."
Brooklyn sniffed, getting up from the bed. "I'm still not doing the laundry, you know."
Ashley shrugged. "That's between you and Cage."
"Yes, it is." Brooklyn left the room closing the door behind her. Ashley knew she'd been rude, but she wasn't sure she could handle much longer with the other girl. She seemed so—phony.
Ashley walked through the bathroom to the baby's room and opened the door, but he wasn't there. She frowned. She left her room and walked to the kitchen. No man and baby. Where could they have gone?
She heard sounds from Barrett's bedroom, and since the door was partially open, she peeked in. There was Barrett, shirtless and sound asleep, with the baby sleeping on his chest. The sounds she'd heard were Barrett's soft snores.
They looked so peaceful lying there together that way. She tiptoed into the room to get a closer look, and saw that Baby Dalton had left a pool of drool on his father's shoulder. It was all she could do not to giggle as she tiptoed back out of the room.
She changed into her one piece swim suit and grabbed her iPad. There'd been so few days since she'd arrived with no rain that she wanted to take advantage. She got into the hot tub and read her book for a while, before going over to lay in the sun.
She felt a bit guilty for enjoying herself while her employer napped with the baby, but really? It was his kid not hers.
*****
Barrett woke with a start, realizing he should have worked on dinner while the baby slept, rather than offering himself up as a sacrificial bed. He swung his legs out of bed, while cradling the baby to his chest. He put the baby into his bassinet before heading off to the kitchen to cook dinner for Ashley.
An idea had formed in his mind earlier, and he was going to broach it with her. It was a brilliant idea if he did say so himself, but he'd have to wait until dinner to do it.
When Ashley wandered in from the pool area, the smells of dinner were already filling the wing. She went to her room and changed, and heard Baby Dalton crying. She rushed to him, changing his diaper and scooping him out of bed. She knew Barrett was in the kitchen making dinner, and she was more than willing to help.
She went into the kitchen and fixed a bottle for the baby, not saying a word to Barrett who was at the stove mumbling under his breath about something. Did the man always talk to himself?
He jumped at the snap of the microwave door closing. "No, it's your day off. I've got it!"
Ashley shook her head. "I had most of the day off, and I like taking care of the baby. It's not a problem. You cook, and I'll feed."
Barrett frowned down at her. He didn't want to take advantage of her generous nature. Of course, if she accepted his offer, it wouldn't matter so much.
"All right," he finally said, turning back to the stove.
By the time she had fed and bathed the baby, putting him back in his bassinet, Barrett had dinner ready. She joined him in the kitchen again, thrilled to have another of his home cooked meals. "How can I help?"
"All done. Just sit and let me serve it."
"You're going to spoil me if you keep this up," she said with a grin.
"I have a feeling you could do with a little spoiling," he told her. He slid a plate in front of her.
She looked down at it, again amazed by all he put into it. A pork roast, with a thick sauce, broccoli, and a twice baked potato. She had skipped lunch, having a feeling dinner would be heavy. "I'm going to put on ten pounds if you keep feeding me like this."
He looked at her, his eyes heavy lidded. "You'd still be sexy to me."
The look on his face sent warmth flooding to her stomach and between her thighs. There was just something about this man that kept her constantly worked up. "I'm not sure if that's what we should be going for here," she said with a half-smile.
"Well, that's true," he said. "But maybe it is." He took a bite of his meat and chewed slowly, deciding now was as good a time to talk to her about his idea as any. "I've been thinking."
"Are you sure that's a wise thing to do?" She took a bite of her food, grinning at his frown.
"This is serious." He took a sip of water, suddenly nervous. He'd never talked to a woman about this before, and wouldn't be now if the baby wasn't involved. At least, he didn't think he would. "Becoming a father has thrown my life all out of whack."
Ashley frowned. "I can see why it would, but it's not Baby Dalton's fault. He's the sweetest baby in the world, and you shouldn't complain about him!"
Barrett frowned. "I'm not complaining about the baby. No, I'm saying he's making me see things differently than I ever have before. You see, I thought I'd spend my whole life alone. My father left a lot to be desired, and my mother died from complications of having triplets."
"Okay." Ashley was clearly puzzled. "So how are you seeing things differently?"
"The baby needs a mother," Barrett told her.
She nodded solemnly. Yes, the baby did need a mother. So why did she feel so sick at the mere idea of him marrying someone?
"In my whole life I'd never met anyone that I felt I wanted to spend my life with. Hell, I've rarely spent an entire night with a woman, let alone any real time." He took another swallow of his water, trying to find the right words for what he wanted to say. "I've finally met someone that I think I could spend my life with, and who I think would be a wonderful mother to Baby Dalton."
"Are you firing me?" Ashley asked him. "'Cuz if you are, just spit it out. I can fly back to New
York and live with my aunt."
"No, I'm not firing you! I'm trying to ask you to marry me!" He practically yelled the words, and realized that yelling a marriage proposal was unlikely to have the desired effect. He took a deep breath. "I think you'd be a good mother to Baby Dalton, and I want you in my bed. I even like you when we're not kissing. Please, would you do me the honor of being my wife?"
She studied his face for a moment before she burst out laughing. "Oh, that's a good one." She wondered how long he'd been planning to ask her that. How silly to think she'd fall for it. "You know, I haven't been in Texas long, but I didn't arrive on the back of a turnip truck," she said, using one of her aunt's expressions. Sometimes it was nice to have strange sayings to draw on, and her aunt was just chock full of strange sayings.
"I'm serious. I want you to marry me. It's the perfect solution. You already love my son, and you like me." His eyes traveled down her body. "I like you, too."
She shook her head, still laughing a bit. "And do you ask all the girls you like to marry you?"
He shrugged. "I don't know that I've just ever liked a girl before. In school they all looked down on us, because we were so poor, even though we lived in this massive house. In college, I was working too hard to finish to notice girls existed. And since college, after we found the oil all over our land, I've been fighting girls off with a stick, but none of them was interested in me, Barrett. It was more of a 'I want a rich man, and you'll do' kind of thing. I don't want that. I want someone who is nice, who I can genuinely like."
"You can't be serious." She studied his face. He sounded serious, but she was waiting for him to burst out laughing at any moment.
"I can be serious, and I am. Look, me getting married would solve several things. Number one, I'd have a mother for Dalton. Number two, the gossip, at least about me, would slow down. Number three, now that I'm a father, I don't want to bring women around my kid. Being married, I wouldn't need to, because I'd have sex readily available. See? It makes all kinds of sense." He beamed at her, glad he'd finally been able to explain it in a logical manner.
The Nanny (The Fabulous Dalton Boys Book 1) Page 4