Chapter 5
5
Nikki
T ears stung in Nikki’s eyes as she gaped at Mateo. She couldn’t hold back her emotions as she blustered at him. “What? Why?”
Mateo folded his arms tightly against his chest, fury flickering in his gaze as he turned a sharp stare on her. She wanted to shrink away from it, but she couldn’t move. He had her pinned with his eyes in a way that didn’t quite make sense.
She attempted to ask again, motioning to Paxton to hurry to her side as if she could shield him from what was happening. “Show me where it’s against the rules to have my son here. You can’t just fire me because I have a child. That’s against the law.”
For a moment she thought he might sneer at her—tell her that she wasn’t technically hired until he filed the paperwork and got her tax information in order. But he didn’t.
The slew of emotions that ripped through her was achingly painful. She’d gone from disgruntled to being in denial, and already she was ready to drop to her knees and plead for him to let them stay. She needed this job. She needed to get out on her own and take care of her son, and no one wanted to hire a woman who had been absent from the workforce for as long as she had. “Please, Mateo,” she whispered, her fingers digging into Paxton’s shoulders until a surprised sound escaped him. “I need this job. We need it.”
They both looked down at her son, and Mateo shook his head. “I didn’t mean I was going to fire you. But he can’t stay here.” He gestured to the wrangler’s cabin. “As much as I’d like to say it wouldn’t bother me, I can’t in good conscience allow a child to live under the same roof with several men who don’t have completed background checks. If something happened to him, I’d be liable.”
“But I can’t afford to live anywhere else—at least not until I get a few paychecks?—”
He cut her off simply by turning his back on her and heading toward the door where Paxton had materialized. She scrambled after him, taking Paxton’s hand in her own.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I forgot.”
She gave a loving, patient look to her son. “It’s not your fault, sweetheart,” she whispered, “I shouldn’t have taken so long.” She’d gotten so wrapped up in her conversation that she’d let herself forget that she’d only come out of her room in search of a notebook.
Mateo stopped in front of her door and pushed it open. His gaze swept through the small area, and his frown deepened considerably before he motioned to it with disgust. “Aside from the other men who will be staying in this building, I can’t see how you’d think you could live in here comfortably. This space is only meant for one person.”
She pulled Paxton against her front and scowled at Mateo, repeating what she’d told Daniel. “It’s better than living on the street or in a shelter.”
Mateo’s frown intensified. He shook his head and pulled out his phone.
She watched with horror as he lifted it to his ear. Who was he calling? Was Daniel going to get in trouble? Would he go so low as to contact child protective services? “Who are you calling?” she demanded.
“I need to talk to you,” he said into the phone.
Paxton lifted his face so his eyes met Nikki’s, and she brushed at a tear before he was able to see it.
“Yeah,” Mateo barked, still talking on the phone. “I changed my mind. If that’s what you want, you can have it. For the life of me, I don’t get it, but something’s changed.”
He was giving her position away. That was the only thing that made sense.
Mateo hung up his phone and pointed to their room. “Pack your things.”
“Mateo—” she stammered. “Don’t do this?—”
He stopped suddenly, understanding suddenly filling his vision. “I’m not firing you,” he practically growled. “But you really should have told me about…” His eyes dipped to Paxton, and he heaved a sigh before he dropped to a crouch and flashed her son the biggest smile he had. “Do you like horses?”
Paxton’s concern immediately fled from him, and he nodded with a grin. “They’re my favorite animal. They’re so fast.”
“What do you say I take you out to meet a cowboy while your mother and I have a chat?”
Paxton frowned once more and looked from Mateo to his mother.
She nodded. What else could she do? She didn’t want Mateo to fire her in front of her son. Paxton would only blame himself.
Mateo rose, ruffling Paxton’s hair before he gave Nikki a firm look.
The second they were packed, Mateo handled the luggage and guided them out to the barn, where Daniel met them. He nodded to Paxton. “I want you to show the kid around. Let him meet the best horses.”
Daniel’s eyes dipped down to Paxton, and he grinned. Just before he disappeared into the barn, he tossed Nikki a worried look.
The world was falling out from under her. The ground shifted and rocked, threatening to make her stumble as Mateo led the way toward the main house. His office was located there. He was going to have privacy to reprimand her for lying about her son.
She should have just told him when she’d come asking for the job. Maybe she could plead her case better if her son wasn’t there watching everything fall apart.
Unfortunately, she didn’t feel she had a good shot at being successful.
Mateo continued walking, the suitcase in his hand, as they climbed a set of stairs and headed toward the end of a hallway. A door was ajar, and he pushed it open, revealing not an office space but a spacious bedroom with two twin beds.
“I…” Her throat closed up. “I don’t understand.”
Mateo put the suitcase just inside the room and leaned his back against the doorjamb, blocking her from escaping. His expression was cool, unreadable. Gone was the flirty, happy guy she’d been chatting with.
She got the distinct feeling that she’d hurt him by not telling him everything.
“You’ll stay here.”
She gasped, whirling around to face him after getting another good look at the bedroom. “I can’t.”
“You can, and you will. Honestly, I didn’t like the idea of you staying in a building full of men. I’d anticipated hiring a male cook, but…” He lifted a shoulder, and a hint of a smile tugged at his lips. “You made an offer that I couldn’t refuse.”
Heat flooded her body as she once again took in the bedroom. “I can’t,” she repeated. “This room—it must belong to one of your brothers. Or two of them.”
Mateo nodded, not leaving from where he relaxed in the doorway. “This is Marcus’s room. He’s my youngest brother. Sometimes, he shares the room with cousins who come to visit. Sometimes, he shares it with Roman when we have a guest who needs their own room.”
Nikki shook her head again. “But—I really don’t want to impose. Where will Marcus stay? He needs a space?—”
“He wanted to move into the wrangler’s cabin.” Mateo smirked. “Heaven knows why. I’m guessing he’s tired of sharing a house with our sisters. They can be… a bit much.”
“But you didn’t want him to.” That much was clear. Otherwise, Marcus would have already been moved out to the cabin.
Mateo pushed off the door and moved closer to her, making the room feel ten times smaller. “I wanted him to be with his family because there’s nothing more important.” His eyes burned into her with an intensity that made her shiver. “You should have told me you have a son, Nikki. I wouldn’t have turned you away. There’s nothing more beautiful than a mother who would be willing to do anything for her child.”
Those shivers turned into tumultuous waves of chills as they coursed beneath her skin. His voice was so quiet, so sure that she could do nothing but agree with him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “You’re right. I should have told you.”
He nodded, his smile returning to its usual place. “Good. Now that we have that covered, I want to talk to him. Based on the way you were behaving, I wouldn’t be surprised if he thinks I’m the big bad wolf at this point.” He motioned toward the door. “Ladies first.”
Her lashes fluttered as her heart tripped over itself. This was the Mateo she’d gotten to know back when they were in high school. This was the man who could make any number of girls fall all over themselves just to catch his eye. He treated everyone like they were the most important person in the world, so the fact that he was talking to her like this didn’t mean anything.
Not a single thing.
She nodded, reveling in the way her taut, aching muscles had finally relaxed.
Mateo hadn’t fired her. He totally could have—or rather not gone through with the hiring process. She didn’t have the money to fight him on it in court, and she would have been left to find another option, even though she’d been searching for weeks before she’d finally come here.
Nikki focused on her breathing as they left the house and headed to the barn. Daniel and Paxton exited the structure a moment before they reached it, and he came barreling toward her.
His arms wrapped tightly around her legs, and he peered up at her with concern. “Is everything okay?”
She feathered her fingers through his hair and nodded. “Everything is fine. Mr. Palmer here has just found us a different place to stay.”
Paxton pulled back and gazed up at the other tall man in their presence. His head craned upward, and he looked as though he expected Mateo to take a big bite out of him if he got too close.
Mateo chuckled and dropped down to be at eye level with the boy. He held out his hand. “Did you know that I’m trying to build a bigger ranch out here? That’s why I needed your mother. There are going to be lots of mouths to feed, and from what I hear, she’s the best cook.”
Paxton didn’t miss a beat. He nodded firmly and folded his arms. “She’s the best cook ever. She makes the yummiest mashed potatoes.”
Mateo cut a look in Nikki’s direction. “Is that so?”
She flushed and let out a soft laugh as she waited for Paxton’s response.
“Yeah.”
Mateo chuckled. “Well, then I’m guessing we’re going to have to have a lot of potatoes on the menu. What do you think?”
Paxton nodded resolutely.
“You know what else?” Mateo said, turning serious. “I’m going to need lots of help around here this summer. A lot of help. I might even need to hire a few more cowboys.” He seemed to let those words sink in, and then he leaned forward almost conspiratorially. “Do you think you could help me out with that? Can you be a cowboy?”
Paxton frowned and dropped his hands to his sides. “I don’t have a hat. Or boots.”
Mateo tossed back his head with a laugh. “I’m sure I could fix that. Here.” He pulled his hat from his head and placed it on Paxton’s head. It was too large, but Paxton practically glowed from beneath it.
Nikki watched on with adoration, which quickly turned to horror as she realized just what was happening in her heart.
The man was quickly stealing every spare part of it.
This was bad.
Really, really bad.
When Mateo looked over to her, noticing the strained expression that was likely written all over her face, he shrugged. “You can wear that one. I have plenty more at the house.”
If only that was the problem she was dealing with.