Chapter Four
He saw how her hands got a tighter hold of the backpack on her lap, and her knuckles grew paler. He wanted to strangle his mother.
“Hold up. I’m going to call my mom.”
“It won’t matter.”
She looked like she was ready to shake apart, and he didn’t know how to make her feel better because he was pretty freaked out himself. He reached behind him and pushed a button on the phone. It rang a few times.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Mom. Is there anything you forgot to tell me?”
There was silence for a moment.
“Well, dear. You and I have discussed your wanting to get married, and last time we talked, you showed your frustration because you didn’t have any time to look, so I decided to help.”
“You’ve put us both in a very uncomfortable situation. She wants to walk back to town.”
His mom gasped. “You can’t let her do that.”
“I know that, Mom. What do you expect us to do?”
“Get to know each other, dear.”
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Don’t tell me you don’t think she’s beautiful. I’ve seen several pictures, and I’ve learned she’s from a very respectful family. I didn’t get to talk to her in person, but she seemed like a lovely young woman. Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about doing the same thing. You’d also say you didn’t have time. Well, I did, and I chose the one I thought would fit you.”
He caught the wince Naomi couldn’t hide and wondered about it.
“So, you want me to try her on for size, and if she doesn’t fit, what?”
“Oh, for God’s sake, where are your manners?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Have I ever led you wrong?”
He snorted. “One word—rabbit.”
“Oh, for God’s sake. You were six years old. How was I supposed to know you thought he’d like to play outside with the dogs?”
Naomi covered her mouth, horrified.
“If I had gotten a puppy as I wanted, it would have been fine.”
He almost laughed at the frustrated growl that came over the phone.
“One of these days, when you have your own children, you’ll be calling me, apologizing and thanking me for not throwing you in with the cows.”
He did laugh at that.
“Now, tell me what you thought of her?” his mother asked.
He looked at her, winked, and grinned. “I think she’d be able to carry a child with a little difficulty. She’s not very big, but I can fatten her up a bit.”
“What did I do wrong?” His mother sighed to no one in particular.
“Fine. She’s beautiful.” He laughed and looked directly at Naomi. “She has the cutest little blush when she’s embarrassed. Her green eyes are so expressive, and the color is unlike anything I’ve seen before. She’s got beautiful long dark hair with a bit of curl.”
“Is she nice?”
“I think so.” He paused and grinned again. “Are you nice?” he asked so his mother would hear.
He chuckled when his mother gasped in outrage.
“She’s sitting right there and listening to us talk about her —that poor dear. I’m so sorry to put you through all of this. I’ve got a few other men in the community I think would take you. My son will let you sleep over and then have one of his men take you to Mr. Simmons in the morning. I’ll call him right now to make sure it’s okay.”
An unreasonable streak of anger darkened his eyes.
“You will not take her to Rohan. The man is a womanizer.”
His mom snorted. “I don’t know why the two of you have butted heads since high school, but Vivian and I think it’s ridiculous. He’s a perfectly nice man, and I trust him.”
“No. Mother, you’re not taking her anywhere. She’s fine here. Hell, I need a housekeeper. She could always have that job.”
“Dear, she’s more wife material. If there’s no chance with you, I’d feel better having her with a man who wants to get to know her.”
He rolled his eyes. “I never said there was no chance.”
“Oh?”
“Mom, I know what you’re doing.”
“Really?” she asked innocently.
“Yes, you’re trying to manipulate me.”
There was a pause. “Is it working?”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes,” he hissed.
“All right then, I want updates. I’d also like to talk to Naomi privately.”
He handed Naomi the phone, pushed the button to take them off the speaker, and crossed his arms over his chest.
He watched the young woman’s face change with different emotions. Fear came first, embarrassment followed, and then a small smile. Naomi said goodbye and then handed him back the phone.
“She said to tell you to keep her updated. She said she’d make a list of possible candidates if it doesn’t work with us.”
He looked at the ceiling in disgust before he looked back at her.
“Have you eaten?”
“Oh, well, no, but I don’t want you to go to any trouble.”
He snorted, pulled her to her feet, and grabbed her bag and backpack.
“Let’s get you fed, and then I think you’d probably like to crash.”
She nodded. “Yes, I am very tired.”
He dropped her bag on the floor by the kitchen door and then walked and opened the refrigerator.
“How does a sandwich sound?”
“Oh, anything is fine. Really.”
She looked around. He’d only kept the light on over the table, putting most of the kitchen in shadows, but what she saw would take work to get it clean again.
He got the fixings out and slapped together several sandwiches. He handed her one of the plates that had one sandwich on it, and he had three.
“Water, milk, or beer?” he asked before he went to the table.
“Water, please.”
They ate in silence. Every once in a while, he’d glance up to catch her looking at him. He grinned because she’d blush and then duck her head.
His mom was right. She was charming and definitely his type. He’d always gone for brunettes over blondes. She was delicately built but not fragile.
He put the plates into the already full sink and grabbed her bag.
“I’m going to put you upstairs…”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I can sleep on a sofa.”
He snorted. “You will not sleep on a sofa when we have six bedrooms. I’ll put you in the one I know is clean or had been clean four months ago.”
“Who’s been taking care of you?”
He wanted to laugh because although he was an adult and could take care of a house, he’d been too busy to do so and had let it turn into a pigsty.
“No one,” he said.
“Will I be leaving in the morning?”
He shook his head as he put her suitcase down on the bed.
“No. Don’t ever tell my mother, but she’s right,” he said and laughed. “I’ve been too busy to socialize, and my dream is to have a family. I think for the time being if you’d like to take the job as housekeeper while we get to know one another, that would be great. How does that sound?”
“I’d like that. Is there anything special you’d like me to do?”
He shook his head. “No. I think you’ll see what needs attention if you look around.”
“Will you want breakfast?”
“No. I’ve been eating at the shack.”
“Shack?”
“It’s where the men are fed every day.”
“What about lunch or dinner?”
“It’s the busy season, so I’ll not take the time to come up to the house for lunch, but dinner would be wonderful. Can you cook?”
“Yes, or well, I used to. It’s been a while, but I think I’ll be okay.”
“I don’t want you to stress about it. If you want to take a couple of days to relax, you can.”
She shook her head. “After a good night’s sleep, I should be fine.”
“Okay, just don’t push it.”
She shook her head.
“Okay. Night.”
He heard her soft reply as he closed her door. He walked across the hall, brushed his teeth, stripped, and fell into bed.
He just knew sooner rather than later that it would be pure torture having her in the house and not being able to touch her. He’d make a concerted effort to get to know her because his mom was right. Dammit, she’d picked a woman he would have himself. He’d never admit it to her, though. God, he’d never live it down if his mother knew.
He stared at the ceiling for a long time, unable to sleep. The thought of one of the prettiest women he’d ever seen in the shower, feet from his bed, was slowly driving him insane. He knew there wasn’t anything he could do about it, so he tried to think of the chores that needed to be done the next day.
That worked until he finally gave in to exhaustion, fell into a fitful sleep, and dreamed about her.