“I’m Clayton Moore,” he answered getting down off the stallion that hadn’t stopped looking at her. “What do you need from me?”
Leila’s mouth dropped open and then she quickly closed it glad that she hadn’t said any of the things she had been thinking to her new boss. Shit! This man was going to be a bear to work for if he had this nasty attitude all of the time.
Blowing out a breath, she unfolded her arms then extended her hand. “Hi! I’m Leila Hilson, your new nanny.”
Dark eyebrows shot up under the rim of his Stetson as Clayton Moore glanced down at her hand and then looked back into her eyes. “The hell you are...Tony never mentioned that you were...”
“Are the words you’re looking for African American or should I say black?” Leila was so pissed right now that she couldn’t see straight. She’d left her nice quiet hometown for this jerk to insult her within five minutes of meeting her? No, she wasn’t going to stand for it.
Chapter Nine
Pushing his hat even further back on his head, Clayton stared down at the girl in front of him wondering what in the hell she was talking about. He could care less that she was black. That wasn’t why he was shocked as hell by her appearance. No, it was something else entirely.
“I don’t have a problem with you...” Clayton was cut off by the sound of the screen door slamming shut and little feet running down the steps of the house as his little girl came up to him.
“Daddy, I never thought you would get back home,” Sam yelled at him because she hadn’t noticed their visitor yet. “What took you so long?”
“I was on the hill looking down at the ranch and then I started talking to this young woman here,” Clayton said looking away from his daughter over to Leila who was staring back and forth between them. He didn’t see the usual shock on her face people got when they first met Samantha.
His little girl’s green eyes looked away from him over to Leila. “Who are you?”
“Hi! I’m Leila. I’m going to be your new nanny,” Leila answered. “I love your t-shirt. I used to watch Scooby Doo all the time when I was a little girl. It was my favorite cartoon.”
“Hi! I’m Sam. I love Scooby Doo too. I’ve a Scooby coloring book upstairs. Do you want to see it?”
Clayton cursed underneath his breath. He had wanted to get rid of this new nanny before Sam got a chance to see her. His daughter never knew a stranger and wanted to be friends with everyone that she came across. Since Sam had already invited Leila into their home how was he going to get situation under control before it got out of hand?
“Sweetheart, I need to talk to...” Damn it! He had already forgotten her name.
“Leila Hilson,” she said giving him a hard look that he didn’t have time to worry about. There was no way someone as young as Ms. Hilson wanted to be out in the middle of nowhere as a nanny. It just didn’t make any sense...unless she was running from something.
“Yes, Ms. Hilson,” he said. “Sweetheart, how about you go inside and color me a picture? I need to talk to your new nanny for a minute alone.”
Sam shocked him by shaking her head and grabbing Leila’s hand. “No, I want to show Leila my room, daddy.”
Turning away from him, his daughter looked up at Leila who was smiling down at her. “Do you want to see my room? It’s right across from yours.”
“I would love to see your room. I bet it’s so cute,” Leila said and then looked back over at him waiting to see how he was going to respond.
Clayton opened his mouth to comment only to be stopped by someone calling out to Leila. Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted the person who’d started this entire mess coming towards them with a huge grin on his face.
Tony had a lot of explaining to do once Ms. Hilson left. He’d never told him he agreed to hire someone who looked like they just got out of high school. He watched as Leila let go of Sam’s hand and hugged his ranch foreman.
“I can’t believe you’re here already,” Tony said stepping back from Leila. “How was the drive here? I thought you might get lost since it was your first time driving out of town.”
“No, I didn’t have any problems at all until now,” Leila said shooting another glance in his direction.
Clayton had to admit the girl did have spunk. Most people in town knew not to confront him, but she didn’t seem to have a problem standing up for herself. However, he didn’t want to get into an argument with Sam standing there watching them. He would deal with this problem later when all three of them could be together without the eyes of a child around.
Frowning, Tony’s eyes swung back and forth between him and Leila. “What’s the problem?”
“Nothing,” he quickly cut in. “Ms. Hilson, how about you go ahead and let Sam show you to your room and we can talk later in my study. I’ll have Tony grab your bags and bring them up to your room in a few minutes.”
“Sounds fine to me.” Leila smiled at him, but he noticed it didn’t reach her dark brown eyes.
“Thanks Daddy,” Sam said before grabbing Leila’s hand again. “Come on, let’s go.”
Clayton stood back and watched as Sam practically dragged Leila up the front steps and into the house. He could already tell that Sam was happy to have a woman around Blue Horn, so she was going to be upset when Leila left. But he wasn’t about to let her stay here as his nanny.
“Isn’t Leila the greatest?” Tony asked before heading off towards the car.
Ms. Hilson was something, but he didn’t know what. All he knew was that she stood up to him and it concerned him more than he was willing to admit at the moment. So, instead he followed Tony to the vehicle. It would be best if he told Tony first that he wasn’t going to honor the contract and then he could tell his new houseguest later.
“Tony, don’t take too many of Ms. Hilson’s bags out because she isn’t going to be staying,” Clayton said as he stopped by the edge of the car.
Tony placed the suitcase down on the ground with a thump and then stood up to his full height which was couple inches shorter than Clayton’s six feet five inches. Clayton could tell from the dark look that came into his friend’s eyes that he wasn’t pleased with him.
“Can I ask you why not?” Tony questioned. “Leila hasn’t even been here twenty minutes and you’re ready to toss her off the property. What in the hell is wrong with you?”
“When you told me about Leila, you didn’t tell me...she was...”
“Surely, you aren’t going to tell me you’re upset that my foster sister is black?” Tony demanded, loudly. “I never thought of you as that type of person, but maybe I don’t know the man I’m working for after all. Well, I quit! Let me pack my things and I’ll be out with Leila within the hour.”
Did Tony really think that was his issue with Ms. Hilson? Clayton wondered as he watched Tony reach for the suitcase to place it back into the trunk. Hell, he didn’t care if Ms. Hilson was a black woman.
“Wait! You don’t have to quit!”
He wasn’t about to lose the best worker and friend he’d had in years over a misunderstanding. Clayton took the suitcase away from Tony and placed it back on the ground. “I don’t care if Ms. Hilson is black. I’m concerned about her age. Most girls her age don’t want to be out in the middle of nowhere for a long period of time with an old man and his kid.
“I can’t have Sam getting attached to another woman and then have her up and leave without notice. I won’t put my little girl through that anymore. I thought I was hiring a more mature woman, so imagine my surprise to see her fresh face drive up.”
You noticed more than her pretty face, his mind taunted.
“Leila isn’t like that,” Tony told him. “Back home she didn’t go out and party with friends. She’s more on the quiet side. That’s why I thought she would be perfect as Samantha’s nanny. She’s great with kids. You can’t get rid of her before giving her a chance. Leila’s been through so much for only being twenty-five years old.”
She was twenty-five. H
ell, he didn’t think she looked older than eighteen or nineteen at the most.
“She looks younger than that. I thought she was still in her teens,” Clayton confessed as he took off his Stetson and ran his fingers through his thick dark brown hair.
Laughing, Tony grabbed the other bags out of the trunk and then closed it. “Oh, I can see why you would be upset now. Leila will be twenty-six pretty soon. So, does that mean you’re going to give her a chance?”
Clayton still wasn’t too sure. He needed to talk to her one on one before he made a final decision. “How about you take those bags upstairs and tell Ms. Hilson I would like to see her in my study in an hour. I’ll make my final decision after we talk.”
“I’ll do that boss.”
Placing his hat back on his head, Clayton walked back over to King. He needed to get his horse taken care of first and while he was doing that he would think about how to handle this new surprise tossed his way with the appearance of Leila Hilson.
Chapter Ten
“Ms. Leila, I’m so glad that you’re here,” Sam said as she led her down the long hallway to her bedroom.
Leila couldn’t believe how quickly the child had taken to her. She hadn’t been here twenty minutes and the little girl acted like she was already her best friend in the world. It made Leila wonder if the girl was getting enough female attention in her young life.
She had already met the father from hell and she didn’t know what woman in their right mind would want to be saddled with him for the rest of her life. Clayton Moore had to be the most domineering and arrogant man she’d had the misfortune to come across in her life. However, he was going to be her boss so she needed to shove her first impressions of him down and just do her job.
“I’m glad I’m here too, Sam,” Leila said wondering why Clayton called his little girl by that nickname instead of her full name. Samantha was such a beautiful name for a girl, but once again it wasn’t her place to comment about it.
“My room is right there,” Sam said pointing to a door with a horse poster hanging on the outside. “Daddy’s room is at the end of the hallway, but you can’t go in when the door is closed. That’s what he tells me, so I knock until he tells me to come in.”
She wasn’t planning on going into Clayton’s bedroom for any reason, so she wouldn’t ever have the need to knock on the door. She would just wait until she saw Clayton Moore outside or in another part of the house.”
“Okay, thanks for telling me,” Leila answered so she wouldn’t hurt Sam’s feelings. She didn’t want the little girl to think she wasn’t playing attention to what she was telling her. The better the connection she had with the little girl, the stronger the bond they could build.
“This is your room.” Sam stopped in front of a closed door that was a little way down from hers. “I hope you like the decorations. The last nanny who stayed here hated it and wanted Daddy to change it, but he didn’t do it for her.”
Letting go of her hand, Sam opened the door and walked inside. “Come on in.”
Leila followed Sam into the room and stopped in her tracks. She couldn’t believe the sheer beauty of the place. It was like rooms she had seen in magazines and secretly wanted to do for herself once she had enough money saved up for her own place. She couldn’t believe the brooding man she encountered outside would know about such elegance and class for an area.
A light tan carpet covered the floor making the space seem larger and more inviting. A huge white bed with matching pillows was against the far wall. In addition, a throw a shade darker than the carpet was folded across the foot of the bed. Six pictures of different trees known to Wyoming were displayed on the other wall by a window with off-white drapes. Next to the window was a small writing table with a cloth covered chair.
Lastly, a wicker bench sat at the end of the bed to help prevent the large bedroom from feeling too expansive – and provided a more relaxing place for getting dressed other than the high mattress.
“Samantha, it’s beautiful,” Leila complimented meaning every word. She couldn’t understand how the women before her hated this exquisite space.
“Good. Daddy will be happy about it. Do you think you’ll stay longer than the other women have?” Sam asked looking up at her with a worried look on her face. “Daddy doesn’t think I know, but I do know the reason they left so early.”
Leila was taken aback by the Sam’s openness. Most kids shielded themselves from strangers, but this little girl had wisdom beyond her young age. It was sad in a way. “Why do you think they left?”
“It was me. I heard one of the women fighting with my daddy about the way I looked like a boy instead of a girl. She said it wasn’t right that I acted like a boy instead of a girl. He got mad and told her to leave. His girlfriend doesn’t even like me, but Annie is mean. She yelled at me once when Daddy told her to watch me when he went into town. I don’t like her.”
What was she supposed to say to all of this? This was her first day here and she had learned so much about Clayton and his daughter. When she first saw Samantha outside she was reminded of the little girl from To Kill a Mockingbird. She didn’t want to say the wrong thing and make Samantha think she felt the same way as the other women, but she did have questions about the little girl’s appearance.
“You know what. I wouldn’t worry about those other nanny’s or your daddy’s girlfriend. If they think that way, then they are missing out on getting to know a wonderful little girl,” Leila said smiling down at Sam.
A huge smile lit up Sam’s face and Leila rethought her first opinion. Samantha was a gorgeous child. She just needed a female’s touch to bring out the little girl in her some more. For however long she was here, Leila was going to make it her mission to help turn Samantha into the princess she knew she could become.
“I see that Samantha showed you to your room.”
Spinning around, Leila smiled at Tony coming through the bedroom door carrying her suitcase. He moved past her and sat them down on the bed.
“Samantha, why don’t you go outside and play for a few minutes so I can talk to Leila?” Tony suggested and then looked at her.
“Okay,” Sam grinned and then raced for the door but not before telling both of them goodbye before she went out.
Leila was glad Tony had found her before she had to hunt him down. “Why didn’t you tell Mr. Moore that I was black? You should’ve seen the look on his face when I told him I was going to be his new nanny. I thought he was going to die on the spot. I would’ve left if his little girl hadn’t rushed outside on us.”
“Clayton doesn’t care you’re black. He was concerned about your age. He thought you were still a teenager, but I told him how old you are and I think he’s okay with it now,” Tony replied.
“You think he’s okay with it,” Leila demanded and then took a breath to calm down. “I quit my job at the factory to come here. What if he’s thinking about firing me on my first day? Samantha has already told me about all of the nannies that have been in her life and I couldn’t believe it. She thinks they’ve left because of her, but I bet they got fed up with her overbearing father and quit.”
Leila’s eyes narrowed to slits when Tony started laughing at her. “See, I told mother you had this fiery side, but she never wanted to believe me. Now I know it’s true. I wouldn’t worry about Clayton. He’s a very nice man and he doesn’t usually prejudge people.”
“Oh, so should I feel special that I was the first person he did that to?” she demanded wondering how this day was going to end for her. “I need to talk to him because if I have to leave, I’ll do it first thing in the morning. Maybe I could get my old job back at home if I’m lucky.”
Tony sobered up quickly at her comment. “Leila, don’t jump to conclusions. Clayton wants to talk to you downstairs in the study. Hear him out first and see what he has to say. If he does fire you then I’ll drive you back home and take the bus back here. But don’t think the worst until you see what he wants.”
She wasn’t in the mood to deal with Clayton Moore again, but she would do it for Samantha. She was so sweet and she would love to be able to spend time with the child as her nanny. “Fine, I’ll see what he wants but I’m only doing this for you and Samantha.”
“I’ll take what I can get. Now, let me show you to the study.” Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Tony escorted her from the room and to her unknown future at the Blue Horn ranch.
Chapter Eleven
Inside his study, Clayton took his favorite Stetson off his head and ran his fingers through his hair. He’d purposely taken a long time taking care of King because he needed the extra time to think about his conversation with Tony from earlier.
Did Ms. Hilson think the same thing as his foreman? Honestly, he could care less about her being black. All he cared about was how excited Sam had been to see her. Leila Hilson was another woman he was placing in his daughter’s life and she seemed so happy about it.
Sam had her mother’s ability to never meet a stranger in her life. Everyone she came across was her friend which sometimes ended up hurting his daughter’s tender heart. Despite the fact his daughter acted like she didn’t care, friends never came by to play with her. He knew it was a lie.
He saw how Sam would look at the other kids in town when they were out together on play dates. She wanted to be around kids her own age and missed it. Hell, he wasn’t too old to remember being eight and how much he loved playing with other kids. Sure, he’d had two older brothers, but it was so much fun to hang around his own friends too. He wanted the same feeling for Sam.
Now, he had to deal with pleasing his daughter and finding a way to see if he had insulted her new nanny. God, he still didn’t like the idea of Leila Hilson only being in her late twenties, but it was better than her being a teenager. Maybe since she was so much younger than the other nannies he had hired she‘d have the energy to chase after Sam.
Clayton took a seat behind his desk and looked around the room while he waited for his new houseguest to show it. This was the last space Donna helped him decorate before she died. He was fine with it being empty as long as he had an area to work in, but she wouldn’t hear of it. So, while he had been away on a business trip his wife had hired an interior decorator to do the room in a week and he hated to admit it but he loved it!
Roped Into You Page 5