The Rancher’s Unexpected Nanny

by Jackson, Mary Sue

  "I never said I was good at taking my own advice," Sam grumbled. The noise turned into a series of coughs, and Finn made a move toward the door. Sam's hand went up—the one attached to the arm that wasn't broken in three places—and Finn stopped, uncertain about what to do next.

  “You gonna be okay, man?” he asked, entirely helpless and hating every minute of it. “I mean, you’re going to get back on your feet again in no time, right?”

  “Sure,” Sam said, wincing in pain but smiling all the same. “I’m going to push through. Stupid horse missed all the important organs, right? Only clipped them, at least, so that’s something.”

  "So then, I'll see you back on the circuit, right?" Finn pressed. He wanted to kick himself for his line of questioning, felt like a stupid young kid trying to talk himself out of a tight spot, but for the life of him, he couldn't make himself stop. For reasons he couldn't fathom, he needed to know that everything was on track with Sam. That would mean everything was going to be okay, and he needed that reassurance desperately at the moment.

  “Are you kidding me, mano?” Sam asked, a look of horror on his face so intense it would have been comical if it hadn’t been for the raw emotion of it. “You think I’m going back out there?”

  "Well, sure. You gotta get back on the horse, right?" Finn asked, forcing a smile. He was hoping that the lame joke would work to lighten the mood, but it fell flat. Blinking, he sank into his chair, his hands steepled, his entire body straining toward Sam, feeling like there was something he needed to get from this conversation to come out of it okay.

  “Naw, man,” Sam answered, shaking his head decisively. “That’s not going to happen. I’m out. I’m out for good.”

  “Seriously? But you can’t do that!” Finn said, dangerously close to tears without fully understanding why.

  “I can, though,” Sam shot back, looking at Finn like he was some kind of alien, “and I’m gonna.”

  “But why?” Finn asked. “A little rehabilitation is all it’s going to take for you to be right back out there. Why would you throw in the towel now?”

  “Because. When I was lying on the ground out there? Under all those lights with a bunch of strangers looking down on me? Everything came into focus. I finally realized that I have important things in my life, and this ain’t one of them. I like the rodeo, but it’s not what gets me up in the morning.”

  “Yeah? So then what does?” Finn asked weakly.

  "My daughter," Sam said without a moment's hesitation. "She's not even born yet, and I know that much is true. I know that I would die for her, too, but I'll be damned if I'm going to die for anything less. I want to be there for her. I want to be there for as much of her life as I can manage."

  “But she’s not even born yet!” Finn questioned, getting to his feet and pacing back and forth in front of Sam’s bed. “Believe me, you’ve got time. I’m not even out of my kid’s childhood years yet.”

  “That’s right,” Sam said, staring at Finn with a big question mark written across his face, “so I’ve gotta ask, man, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you with your kid?”

  Finn opened his mouth, and in the next second, he had to snap it closed again. Sam was right, and all at once, Finn knew it without a shadow of a doubt. Despite all his dreaming and scheming to get himself back into the rodeo world, he wanted nothing more than to go back to the world that truly belonged to him. He missed his daughter. He missed Wendy, he missed Callie, he even missed that damn ranch, and the rest didn't seem to matter anymore.

  Twenty-Five

  “I can’t,” Callie whispered to herself, blowing the hair out of her face dramatically. “I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

  She looked at the cobwebs in the rafters of the house she was supposed to love and willed herself not to cry. It was a lot, realizing that she didn't love this house the way she had believed she would. The fact of the matter was, she missed the life she’d had back in good ol' Texas, and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with a realization like that.

  It was even harder to admit to herself that she didn't love the fancy New York job she'd worked so hard to get. Scratch “didn't love it.” She hated it.

  In her old school, she'd had the complete trust of her head of school. Every time she'd burst into her director's office, she had been met with an understanding smile and a willingness to bend the curriculum to Callie's will. Complete autonomy was good for Callie, good for her ability to teach and even better for her ability to feel effective doing it.

  Mrs. DeBeere didn't believe in autonomy. She believed in toeing the line, and she didn't even want to hear Callie's ideas, let alone give them a try.

  “I’m stuck,” she whispered to herself, sitting cross-legged on the window seat that looked out onto the busy New York City sidewalk. “I’m stuck, and I have no idea how I’m supposed to get out.”

  “Who’re you talking to, Callie?” Wendy asked, bounding down the stairs with more pep than she’d displayed since they’d left Texas.

  “Nobody, bug,” Callie said with a hollow smile. “I’m—”

  “Talking to yourself, right?” Wendy finished, hurrying right past the living room and toward the front door. “That’s okay. It’s not that weirdo.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Callie retorted. “Not that weirdo?”

  “Yup!” Wendy said. “Will you come over here?”

  "Come over there for what, kiddo?" Callie asked. "I'm pretty dang tired, if you want to know the truth, and I'm feeling more than a little lazy."

  “That’s okay,” Wendy said brightly, looking up at the closed front door expectantly, “but I’m gonna need help, though.”

  “Help doing what?” Callie asked, curious despite herself. She was halfway to a standing position when a brisk knock on the door sent a jolt of alarm shivering through her body. The only people she could think of in all of New York who knew where she lived were the people she worked with, and she wasn’t too keen on seeing any of them on her off time.

  “Help answering the door!” Wendy shouted triumphantly.

  Callie moved toward the door on legs that felt like jelly. She knew whom she’d like to see standing on the other side; it was just too much to hope that Finn would be there waiting for her. It was insane to think that a girl as young as Wendy, even one so smart, could be complicit in such a scheme. Still, she found herself holding her breath when she got to the door, and the doorknob itself felt as if it were made of fire as she turned it.

  “Hey, darling,” that warm, familiar voice crooned. “I was wondering if you had some charity to spare for an old, washed-up cowboy.”

  “Finn!” Callie shrieked, her hands flying to her face, her eyes instantly filling with tears. “What are you doing here? I didn’t think you were coming to pick Wendy up for another week!”

  “That’s right,” he stammered, “I’m not. I’m not here to pick Wendy up right now.”

  “I...I don’t think I understand,” Callie said, her body trembling all over.

  "I know," he sighed, "Of course you don't. I haven't done much of a job making it clear to you, have I?"

  “No,” she laughed shakily, “I guess you haven’t. So why don’t you try right now?”

  “All right,” he smiled, nodding and taking her hand. “I’ll give it a shot, but try to take it easy on an old ranching man like me.”

  “Not just a ranching man,” she reminded him, “I bet you’ll be a bonafide rodeo star soon.”

  “No,” he corrected, moving over the threshold and kicking the door shut behind him, “I won’t be. I quit.”

  “What?!” Callie exclaimed, taking a step backward from this man she loved so well. “What are you talking about?”

  "It wasn't what I wanted. It wasn't what I thought it would be. That dream I had for myself—it wasn't there, anymore."

  “So then, where was it?” Callie whispered, her heart beating so quickly, she was almost sure it would beat right out of her chest. “Where’s your dream?”


  “You know? For such a smart woman, you can be a little dense sometimes,” Finn laughed, pulling Callie in close to him so that she felt like their two bodies were melting into one another. “It’s you, Callie. It’s been you for a long time now. All I need is for you to say you feel the same, and I’ll be the happiest man in the world.”

  “Yes,” Callie replied, everything in her swelling up so that she felt she’d grown to ten feet tall, “that’s what I have to say to that.” She took a deep breath. “I love you, Finn Henry. I love you, and I want to go back home. Back to the ranch. That’s what feels like home to me now.”

  Finn leaned in for a kiss, and behind them, Callie heard Wendy clapping. For the first time in a long time, maybe the first time in her whole life, she felt that she was really and truly home.

  Epilogue

  One year later

  “Hurry, Callie, you’re going to be late for your own wedding!” Wendy yelled from the doorway as though she were shouting across a football field.

  “I’m coming, bug.”

  Callie took one last look in the mirror, seeming to see herself for the first time. Her skin was positively glowing and had been since they returned from New York. It was as if the sun was different in Texas. Granted, it could also be the relief at crossing New York off her to-do list. Been there, done there, as Wendy was fond of saying. While Mrs. DeBeere had been more than put out by Callie’s sudden resignation, even she would have to admit that it was the right decision and her old school was more than happy to take her back.

  No, Callie was where she was meant to be. Marrying the man, she was destined to spend the rest of her life with. Even so, she still gave herself a little pinch now and again, just to make sure it was all real and she wasn’t dreaming.

  “Callie!” Wendy rushed to her side, grabbed her hand and tugged her to the door. “The music is starting.” With an oomph and another tug from the little girl, Callie allowed her to pull her downstairs toward her new life.

  Stepping out onto the porch, she took a quick look at everyone who’d come out to help celebrate. From the looks of it, the whole town and then some were sitting in neat rows in their front yard and she couldn’t be happier. Finn had touched the lives of most everyone in town and in return, they’d all been welcoming of her, each quick to tell a story of the kind of man her future husband is; something she’d known all along but was happy to stop and listen as it only made her love him more.

  The minister motioned for everyone to rise. As they all turned to look at her, she looked for the most important person in her life. She found him standing by the minister, impatiently waiting for her to walk down that aisle.

  “Are you ready, honey?” At the sound of her dad’s voice, she turned and smiled at him.

  “Definitely.” She was more than ready.

  “If you’re sure. I suspect your soon-to-be would put a quick stop to it, but if you’re having cold feet, we can hop in the car now and have your mother meet us in town,” he offered.

  Callie couldn’t help laughing at the picture of her and her dad running from her wedding but that was the farthest thing from her mind. “No, daddy, I’m good. Let’s do this.”

  As the music changed, Wendy gave her a quick wave before making her way slowly up the aisle dropping flowers as she walked. Once she reached the front, she quickly joined Stacy and turned to watch.

  As the Bridal Chorus began and they walked up the aisle, she looked to Finn again and couldn’t resist a giggle at the thought of being a runaway bride. He must have seen something on her face because he stepped away from his place and covered the remaining distance to her other side. “What are you doing?” she hissed at him.

  Smiling down at her, “You’re the one with the patience, I’d just assume get this over with and whisk you off on our honeymoon now.”

  Chuckles spread around the attendees and Callie couldn’t help smiling as Finn took her other arm and together, the three of them made their way up the aisle to the minister. Turning, she gave her dad a kiss before he returned to his seat.

  The rest of the wedding ceremony was a blur to her and she worried that she’d regret not being in the moment but all she could think about was becoming Mrs. Henry. Wife to Finn and mother to little Wendy.

  As the minister pronounced them, husband and wife, a great cheer went up along with more than a few cowboy hats as Finn swept her up in his arms and kissed her.

  “I love you, Mrs. Callie Henry,” he told her before kissing her again.

  “I love you, Mr. Finn Henry,” she answered him back, breathless from the kisses.

  They’d both finally found their happiness and it was there, on the family ranch. Their ranch. Callie couldn’t wait to share her wedding gift with Finn. Although, truth be told, Wendy was probably going to be far happier to find out that she’s about to become a big sister. Looking at Finn and the absolute joy on his face, then again, maybe not but she certainly couldn’t wait to find out.

  End of The Rancher’s Unexpected Nanny

  Do you love sexy cowboys? Keep reading for an exciting excerpt from my books, The Rancher’s Second Chance and The Cowboy’s Heir.

  Thank you!

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  About Mary Sue Jackson

  Mary Sue Jackson is the romance pen name created for all those cowboy dreamers! This Montana-based cowgirl is a rancher, and knows what hard work means. But despite being up at dawn and working past dusk, she still finds time for what she really loves... romance! With so many hours spent alone, riding across the seemingly never-ending expanse of grasslands, she has plenty of time to dream of love and the romantic tales of ranch life.

  When Mary Sue's not out on the grasslands dreaming up her next story, she's most often spending time with her own personal hunky rancher, her husband. One of Mary Sue's favorite activities is to ride the ranch with her husband in the evening and hold his hand as they watch the sun go down over the prairie.

  To learn more about Mary Sue you can check out all her books on social media and her website.

  About Leslie

  Leslie North is the USA Today Bestselling pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women's contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.

  Find your next Leslie North book visit LeslieNorthBooks.com or choose:

  PS: Want sneak peeks, giveaways, ARC offers, fun extras and plenty of pictures of bad boys? Join my Facebook group, Leslie’s Lovelies!

  BLURB

  Samantha Jenson likes things ordered. She’s managed to carefully plot out her life, creating lists along the way to keep her on track. Leave small town. Get educated. Become an Ivy League professor. So far, she’s put a check in every box but the last.

  When her family ranch in Texas goes to her after the death of her father and brother, she’s forced to return home to put things in order and to make sure the property doesn’t get into the hands of her shady cousin. Enter Cole Baker. Tough, hard, distant. Sexy. The kind of guy you’d want standing between you and an attacking bear. Or in your bed. He’s definitely not on Sammie’s list. But when the two of them are thrown together to save the ranch, her list begins to look not quite so important.

  No one had ever mistaken Cole for one of the good guys. In and out of trouble his whole life, his one brush with respectability came during the brief time he and Sammie dated in high school. Now, fresh out of the army, he finds himself suddenly navigating the world of single parenthood and is desperate. It’s not a good feeling. He needs a job and a place to stay, so when Sammie offers him the job of running the ranch, he swallows his pride and jumps at the opportunity. All his life, he’s let down everyone he
loves. He knows if he pursues a relationship with Sammie, he’ll fail, as he’d done all his life. How can he convince the woman he’s come to love that he’s worth staying in Texas for when he doesn’t even believe it himself?

  The Rancher’s Second Chance

  Available August 8, 2019

  LeslieNorthBooks.com

  * * *

  EXCERPT

  Chapter 1

  Toddlers were cute, no doubt about it. But Cole Baker was pretty certain they all had a death wish.

  His toddler in particular.

  “Devon!” he bellowed, as he chased his laughing two-year-old across the baking hot asphalt. The boy shrieked in glee over the impromptu game of chase and pumped his little legs even faster. How? Cole wondered for what felt like the millionth time this morning. He's barely up to my kneecap—how can he move so fast? “Devon, stop!”

  He snatched his son up into his arms a heartbeat before the little boy ran headfirst into the plate glass door. Cole let out a long, slow breath and waited for his heart to leave his throat and return to his chest.

  “You have to stay with Daddy,” he murmured in his son's ear. Mostly because it felt like he should say something. Something a good daddy would say.

  Of course, Cole had no idea how to actually be a good daddy. This whole parenting thing was still so new. Right now, the only thing he figured he could manage was keeping the kid alive. Which—considering the greatest joy of Devon's little life seemed to be running away from his father in busy parking lots—was proving to be harder than it looked.

  The diaper bag—yes, he'd learned his lesson all too well and now carried a diaper bag everywhere he went, masculine pride be damned—had slid from his shoulder during his pursuit. He hefted it back up with a practiced motion and heaved a sigh. “You stay with me,” Cole half ordered, half begged his son.