by KC Crowne
Her look was sympathetic. “That’s incredible. She gave birth to your daughter and never told you?”
I nodded. “Guess she figured she could do it all on her own. She was pretty bullheaded.”
“Still,” Samantha said, shaking her head. “Ellie deserved to know her father.”
“You’re tellin’ me. I try to understand why she did what she did, but…” I stopped myself. I’d just met Samantha, and I didn’t need to pour my guts out to people I’d only gotten acquainted with. “Anyway, Ellie’s havin’ a rough go of it. She grew up in Houston, so this kinda life’s a little new to her.”
“She’s having trouble adjusting,” she said, nodding. “And I’d be willing to bet she’s either responding by withdrawing or acting out, depending on her personality.”
I raised an eyebrow, impressed with her quick assessment of the situation. “You’re right about that. And it’s the second one. Been havin’ a hard time gettin’ the girl to listen to a single word I say.”
Samantha nodded. “She’s trying to assert her independence. It’s common for kids that age.”
“And how would you aim to sort that out? How would you treat a girl like that?”
She glanced away, and I could tell the gears of her mind were turning. After a brief silence, she met my eyes again. “I’d give her a combination of support and structure. She’ll need help getting used to her new environment, and at the same time, she’ll need to understand there are rules.”
“Sounds good so far. And you think you’re the one to do it?”
She smiled her gorgeous smile. “I think so. I don’t have any doubt you’re a great dad and are doing your best for her. But I’m betting right now she sees you and this place as the enemy.”
“Sure as hell feels that way.”
“And if I were to be her nanny, we’d be on the same team – two people new to this place, both trying to fit in to new surroundings. We’d help each other out.”
“Now, that’s a damn good point.”
She nodded her thanks. “Right now, you stand for everything she’s not happy with about her life. Sure, you’re her dad, and she’s going to love you no matter what. But for the time being, she’s going to express her dissatisfaction by making things difficult.”
“To say the least.” Again, Ellie’s words played in my mind. “I hate you!”
“And while I’m helping her get used to the ranch and her new life, I can establish some boundaries. Because, let me tell you, if there’s one thing kids crave, it’s boundaries.”
“Sure doesn’t seem that way. Ellie’s been goin’ out of her way to break the rules around here.”
“That’s how kids express this need. It’s very common for them to act out – it’s their way of figuring out what the rules are, what they can and can’t do. And when you put your foot down, they might be upset, but deep down, you’re giving them exactly what they need.”
Hell, I was impressed. Samantha sounded like a child expert with a sky-high IQ. “Hm,” I said, sitting back. “Now, this all sounds good. But the real question is how you’re goin’ to get along with her.”
Samantha smiled. “I’d love to get the chance to find out.”
Right after she spoke the words, a soft knock sounded from the front door. “Daddy?” came a sweet voice. “You in there?”
I grinned. “Well,” I announced. “Hope you meant it because now’s your chance.”
Samantha grinned right back. “I can’t wait.”
And neither could I.
Chapter 2
SAMANTHA
Showtime!
Another knock sounded on the door as Chance rose and headed to the door. “I’m’ a comin’, little lady. Hold your horses.”
I was certain Chance had been impressed by what I’d said during the interview, but it wouldn’t matter one bit if I didn’t make a good impression with his little girl.
And the fact that he was hot beyond compare didn’t help things. Chance was tall and strapping, easily around 6’4” and built as solid and strong as one of the trucks parked around the property. His shoulders were broad, the sleeves of his cowboy shirt rolled up along taut forearms. Rugged jeans, a big belt buckle, and a pair of boots completed the picture.
His face…God, was he handsome. Wide, strong jaw, steely green eyes, and lips that cried out for a kiss. Chance’s head was topped with shaggy brown hair, his sculpted features dusted with stubble. And the tattoos were a surprise – his forearms were covered in colorful designs, a bit more poking out from the top of his shirt. Never thought cowboys were the type to get inked up, but Chance was no typical cowboy.
I’d heard everything was bigger in Texas and that the men there were a different breed. I loved Portland, but some of the city guys there could be…soft. And soft wasn’t a word I’d use to describe Chance at all. The man looked like he’d been carved out of stone.
Focus, focus. The real interview’s about to start. I pushed how insanely hot Chance was out of my mind as he opened the door.
Ellie Walker stepped into the house, tiny and precious. She looked so much like her dad it was almost scary. She had the same steely eyes, the same full lips, the same brown hair – though hers was pulled back into a long ponytail. She was dressed like a little cowgirl too, wearing a green-and-black checkered shirt and faded jeans, and a pair of adorable boots on her little feet.
She clapped her eyes on me, her mouth opening slightly in surprise. “Who’s that?” she asked, raising a tiny finger in my direction.
“I’m really excited for you to meet this young woman. Come on in, kiddo.”
Ellie took hesitant steps into the room, Chance shutting the door behind her. She stopped a few feet away from me, her expression uncertain.
It was my time to shine. I rose and stuck out my hand. “Hi, Ellie!” I exclaimed. “My name’s Samantha, but you can call me Sam.”
“Who are you?” she asked, her voice soft.
“Well, your daddy’s thinking of hiring me to help out around here.”
“But we have lots of people working here already. Do we need more?”
I smiled, squatting and putting my hands on my knees. “I wouldn’t be doing any kind of ranch work. I’d be here to hang out with you. You think you’d like that?”
She said nothing, instead continuing to gaze at me with that same uncertain expression. The girl was adorable – no doubt about that. Ellie turned to her dad. “She’s going to stay here?”
“She’d be your nanny,” he clarified. “She’d live here with us, looking after you when I can’t be around. And she’d take you to school, play with you in the park – all kinds of fun stuff.”
“I don’t want any friends,” she announced petulantly, her face scrunched up unhappily. “I wanna be alone.”
Chance glanced at me with an expression that seemed to say, “here’s what I’ve been talking about.”
I decided to try another angle. “I heard you and your daddy had a little argument earlier today. Mind telling me what happened?”
“He was being mean.” Her arms crossed over her chest.
I nodded to her and turned to Chance. “How about I take her for a little walk, spend a little time with her?”
“Would you like that?” he questioned the little girl. “I’ve been talkin’ to Miss Samantha here – she’s as good as they come.”
“I heard you have a bunch of horses here,” I said. “Is that right?”
Her eyes lit up, a smile appearing on her face for the first time since she’d walked in. “Yeah! There’s a bunch. And they’re all really, really pretty. My favorite is this one named Red. She’s red, just like her name says.”
“Wow, sounds cool,” I replied. “How about you show her to me?”
She glanced at her dad, asking without words if it was alright with him. “Sure,” he said. “Go let her take a gander at Red. But you know the rules, right?”
The smile faded from her face. “No touching unless an adu
lt is there. And don’t ever walk behind them.”
“That’s right,” Chance said, smiling at her before lifting his eyes to me. “And that goes for you too, Samantha. Horses get spooked real easy. Be careful around ‘em.”
I nodded and glanced at Ellie. “So, what do you say, Ellie? Want to show me Red?”
“OK!”
I glanced at Chance, who offered a warm smile at his daughter’s response. Then I stuck my hand out to Ellie, and she took it, her tiny palm disappearing in mine.
“Don’t stay out too long, Ellie,” Chance called. “I’ve still got some things to talk about with Miss Samantha.”
“OK, OK.”
Ellie led me out of the cabin, her hand still in mine. I felt relief as soon as we were out. Chance had an easy, though tough personality, but I was still nervous as all get-out about the interview. It felt good to get some fresh air.
“You know, Ellie,” I began.
“El.”
“Hmm?”
“You called me Ellie, but I like to be called El.”
“Sure, El,” I said. “You know, you’re a really lucky girl.”
We walked along the trodden path away from the cabin, the worn grass winding through the emerald green around us.
“I’m lucky?”
“Look at this place.” I swept my hand toward the vast expanse of Rainbow Canyons. “You have this beautiful place all around you, and you get to live here. Plenty of grownups pay a lot of money just to stay here for a little while. But it’s all yours.”
Rainbow Canyons was about the most amazing place I’d seen in my life. Various shades of green surrounded us, from the fresh, fragrant grass to the towering oak trees. The land stretched into the distance, the sky above a clear blue. Small cabins dotted the landscape here and there, and I assumed they belonged to one member of the Walker family or another.
In the center of the property, situated in front of a small lake, was the main cabin. Though calling it a cabin seemed like something of a misnomer. The building was huge, three stories, and designed in the style that seemed more suited to the deep south rather than Texas.
“I guess,” she said. “But I miss home.”
“I understand that.”
“I could see the whole city from Gram and Papa’s house.” Her tiny voice was tinged by sadness.
“Wow, that sounds neat. I used to live in a city, too.”
“Really?” she asked. “Which one?”
“Have you heard of Portland before?”
“No, where is it?’
“It’s on the west side of the country, right on the water. But living on a ranch like this is even cooler.”
“How come you came here?” she asked.
“Because sometimes you get older and decide you want to do something different with your life.” That was about the simplest way I could put it. “I used to be a teacher,” I told her. “For kids your age.”
“Really?”
“Really. And they were a lot of fun. You have some friends from school you keep in touch with?”
Her expression fell. “Not really.”
“How come?”
“They think I’m weird.”
“Well, you know that’s crazy, right? I’ve been talking to you for only a few minutes, and I can tell you’re a special, really cool kid.”
“You think so?” she asked, curious and skeptical at such a young age.
“I know so. And I know cool when I see it.” I gave her a wink, and she smiled.
“I had to go to a new school here, and I don’t know anybody.”
“I bet that was hard. Makes it tough to have friends.”
She nodded. Off in the distance, a barn appeared over the horizon, and Ellie led me toward it. “Yeah,” she said, her voice soft. “And I guess the ranch is cool. I have cousins, but they’re still babies.”
“That’s what would be really neat if I came to live here. I’m new here, just like you. We’d be buds, and we wouldn’t have to feel so alone.”
She glanced at me, her eyes looking even bigger and brighter in the late afternoon sun. “Really? You’d be my friend?”
“Of course! We could do all sorts of fun stuff, like go to the park in town, or watch movies and eat ice cream, or ride horses – if it’s all okay with your dad.”
“That’d be so fun,” she said, her smile widening a little.
“And I could help you with your schoolwork, too,” I offered, smiling down at her. “I bet you and I would be best friends before you knew it.”
She smiled again, and I knew I was making progress. Ellie seemed like a great kid, and it broke my heart that she was having such a rough time fitting in and finding her place. If I could help her with that, I’d be doing some real good.
“Here’s where Red lives.” Ellie walked in front of the side door to the barn and opened it. Sunlight flooded the space, and the scent of hay and horse filled my nostrils.
Ellie disappeared into the barn, and I followed. The sides of the barn were lined with horse stalls, the magnificent animals snorting and eating their food, their dark eyes locking onto us as we arrived. They were all incredible. Living in Portland, I never had a chance to be around nature like this, to see the sorts of animals in person that were common on the ranch.
“Okay,” Ellie said as she led me through the barn. “That’s Ginger, and that’s Madeline, and that’s Traveler.” She pointed out the horses as we passed. “And that’s Juniper – Red’s mama.”
“Hi, Juniper!” I said, looking at the big, grey-and-black speckled horse in front of me.
“And here’s Red!”
We stopped in front of one of the stalls. Red had been named fittingly. She was a gorgeous animal, sleek and trim, a little smaller than the rest of the horses – likely on account of her age.
Ellie opened the stall and stepped in, and I followed her. Her lack of fear fascinated me around an animal easily four times or more her weight.
“Good girl,” Ellie said, patting Red on her long muzzle. “You’re so pretty. Isn’t she pretty?’
“Very pretty,” I agreed.
“You should pet her – she likes that.”
“You know, I’ve never touched a horse before.”
Ellie’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Really? Never once?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Lived in the city all my life. Not too many horses there.”
“I love horses. It makes me less sad to be here because I get to see them.”
Ellie took my hand and slowly moved it toward Red’s muzzle. Her fur was bristly but soft, a light snort sounding from her nose as I petted her.
“She likes you,” Ellie told me confidently. “I can tell.”
“I like her, too. I bet it’d be fun to ride her.”
“Yeah!” Ellie whooped. “I want Daddy to teach me how.”
“Maybe he can teach both of us. We could learn together – that’d be fun, right?”
Ellie smiled at me. “You’re fun,” she decided. “Not like Daddy always telling me what to do.”
“Well, it’s important to do what the adults say. But I’ll be learning the rules around here just like you. We’ll help each other out.”
Her eyes lit up. “Does that mean you’re staying?”
I realized I’d gotten a little ahead of myself. “Maybe. We still have to see what your dad has to say about it. We’re talking today to see if I’m a good fit for the job.”
“I’ll tell him to let you stay, OK?”
I laughed, not a little relieved. “Okay, that sounds good.”
Ellie petted Red one last time. “Alright, bye Red. Did you like meeting Miss Samantha?”
“You can just call me Sam,” I reminded her. “Like how I call you El.”
She offered another smile. “Sam.”
We said our goodbyes to Red before heading back outside. Right as we stepped out, a big, dark red truck pulled up and came to a stop, the huge tires sending up clouds of dust. The door open
ed and out stepped Chance, a cowboy hat on his head and his eyes hidden behind a pair of aviator sunglasses.
The sight of him was enough to make my heart skip a beat. I never thought I’d be so into cowboys – they seemed like something out of another time. And besides, I’d always thought I was into more urban men, the types who worked in office buildings and lived in sleek, modern condos. But Chance was anything but that, and I really dug it. He was tough and raw and rugged and manly – a combination that turned me on in ways I could hardly wrap my head around.
He sauntered over to us in true cowboy style. His thumbs hooked around his big, gleaming belt buckle. “You ladies have fun?”
“Yeah!” Ellie announced. “I let Sam meet Red, and they’re friends now.”
“Sam?” he asked with a wry smile. “She say you can call her that?”
“I did,” I assured him. “Don’t mind it at all. And you can call me the same.”
“Well, alright, Sam.” He said the name like he was savoring it. I loved hearing it come out of his mouth, hearing him say my name with that sexy-as-hell Texas twang. “Anyway, we oughta get back to the house. Mama G’s about to have dinner on the table.”
“Yes!” Ellie celebrated. “I’m starving.” Then she turned to me. “Are you going to eat with us, Sam?”
I glanced at Chance, unsure of how to answer.
“I think that’d be alright,” he said. “But I’m gonna need to talk to her for a little bit before we do that, alright?”
“Okay,” Ellie agreed.
“Let’s all hop in the truck – El, I’ll drop you off at the house, and you can get washed up for dinner.”
The three of us climbed into the truck. As I stepped in, Chance placed his hand on the small of my back, the sensation of his touch on my body sending a thrill through me. Even though it was simply a polite gesture, it felt electrical. I involuntarily wondered what it’d be like for him to put his hands other places.
Stop it right now, I ordered myself. You’re not even hired, and you’re already fantasizing about the guy. And what are you gonna do if he does give you the job – have some kind of stupid schoolgirl crush on him? Get real.