2
Levi yanked his boots off by the back door, sweat clinging to his brow. The sun would be setting within the next hour, but he’d been working since before it came up. Another day of checking fences, hauling feed, and patching the busted irrigation line that just had to choose today to blow.
June’s giggles echoed faintly from the living room. His mom was probably letting her watch one of those baking shows she liked– the ones full of sugar and chaos.
He stepped into the kitchen and paused.
Margaret was sitting at the table, looking suspiciously pleased with herself. That was never a good sign.
Levi narrowed his eyes, looking at his mom. “What’d you do?”
Margaret didn’t even blink. “What makes you think I did anything?”
“You’ve got that look. The one you get right before I end up with another barn cat or someone’s Jell-O fruit salad I didn’t ask for.”
She sipped her iced tea like she hadn’t just betrayed him. “I posted an ad.”
Levi’s breath hitched. “What kind of ad?”
“For a nanny.”
“You did what?”
Margaret shrugged. “You need help, Levi. You’re dead on your feet every night, and June’s asking why you don’t have time to build pillow forts anymore.”
Levi rubbed his hand over his face. “That’s not—Mom, I don’t need a babysitter. I’ve got it under control.”
“No,” Margaret said, standing and pushing in her chair. “You’re exhausted. You’re missing time with your daughter. And she notices Levi. She misses you.”
He clenched his jaw but didn’t argue, because deep down, he knew she was right. And accepting that felt like a punch in the gut.
“She needs you to be actually present, not just here and half-asleep with work on your mind. Let someone handle the housework so you can focus on just being her dad.”
“Someone already messaged me,” she added casually. “A nice young woman who’s staying in town. Said she’s between jobs; I told her you’d meet with her.”
Levi groaned, leaning against the fridge. “Unbelievable.”
Margaret walked into the kitchen and patted his shoulder. “You’re welcome.”
He stared at the floor, jaw ticking. “Who is it?”
“Her name is Emery. She’s house-sitting in town and looking for something short-term. ”
“Is she even qualified?”
“She admitted she hasn’t worked with kids professionally, no—but she’s smart, capable, and she didn’t flinch when I mentioned June’s energy levels,” Margaret smirked. “She has a kind face. I honestly think she will be great.”
Levi scowled. “This is a bad idea.”
“She’ll be here in five minutes; you’ve got just enough time to wash your face and pretend to be a little less grumpy than you are.”
Levi stared at her. “Five minutes?”
Margaret raised an eyebrow. “Unless you want to meet her covered in dirt and smelling like the barn, go clean up.”
He muttered something under his breath as he stomped off to throw on a clean shirt.
Margaret just smiled, moving through the kitchen to the cupboard to grab two mason jars and a pitcher of tea from the fridge to set out on the porch.
? ? ?
Emery held the steering wheel tighter as she hit a set of potholes that she didn’t expect to be so deep and turned off the gravel road.
She slowly took the long, uneven driveway up to the farmhouse.
The sun lowered slightly, casting a golden tone over the fields and the weathered white siding of the house.
She noted the way that the setting sun added a calming feel she wasn't used to.
Parking beside an old pickup truck, she shut off the engine, giving herself one last pep talk.
It’s just a conversation. Not a commitment. In. Out. See if it’s a fit.
She glanced in the mirror, noticing her hair was a little wilder than she’d like for a first impression, piled in a messy bun on top of her head–the kind that had started practical and turned chaotic somewhere around 2 p.m. With a sigh, she stepped out of the car.
The farmhouse was charming in a rugged, aged kind of way. A big oak tree stretched its limbs a short distance off to the side of the front porch, with a swing swaying slightly in the breeze.
Back inside the house, Levi was toweling off his face at the laundry room sink when Margaret peeked around the corner.
“She’s here,” she said cheerfully. “I’m going to run June’s bath.”
“What? Wait—no intro? No backup?”
“You’re a grown man, Levi,” Margaret called, already heading down the hallway. “Try smiling. It won’t kill you.”
He stepped outside, wanting to get this over with. And there she was.
Pretty, Levi thought, against his better judgment. Too pretty. Trouble.
He didn’t smile, just stood there on the front porch in all his Levi Walker grumpy cowboy glory.
Broad shoulders. A short but well-groomed scruff covered his strong jawline.
A clean but worn thin flannel that he was still buttoning up as he walked her way, jeans smudged with dirt, and—no boots, just standing there in plain white socks.
She couldn't help but notice the way he smelled as he walked closer. How did he smell so good while simultaneously looking like he’d been rolling in the hay all day?
He smelled gentle and strong at the same time, like juniper and rosewood, like sandalwood and citrus with a tiny touch of hay.
“Sorry for wasting your time,” he said flatly. “This isn’t going to work.”
Emery blinked. “Wow. That’s your opener?”
He cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. “Look, I didn’t ask for help. My mom went rogue. I’m sure you’re…fine,” he said, looking her over, eyes critically landing on her flip-flops. “But I don't need a nanny.”
Emery arched a brow, stepping just inside, but not any closer. “So, you let me drive all the way out here just to say no before I even made it to the door?”
“I didn’t let you do anything,” Levi said, folding his arms across his chest. “I didn’t even know about the damn ad until five minutes ago.”
She gave a short, humorless laugh. “Charming.”
He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated and more flustered than he wanted to admit.
She wasn’t what he expected. Not even close.
She looked city-smart and sharp, but almost tired in a way he recognized.
There were shadows under her eyes, and her clothes were casual but well-worn.
She wasn’t there to impress anyone. That part. .. he respected.
And still. He needed this whole thing to go away.
“I don’t need a full-time nanny,” he eventually said. “I need someone who gets how things work around here. This isn’t some weekend babysitting gig.”
Emery lifted her chin. “I’m not here to beg for a job. I saw a post. I thought I could help. If you’re not interested, that’s fine. But you could’ve just said that in a message instead of playing cranky cowboy at the door.”
“I just don't think it's a good idea. Mom mentioned the part where you don’t have experience with kids.”
She shrugged, unbothered. “And you clearly don't have a lot of experience with basic manners.”
That hit a nerve—Levi’s jaw flexed, the crease in his brow deepened, but he didn’t speak.
She turned, clearly done with the conversation, and headed back towards her car.
“Wait,” he said before he could stop himself. Knowing that his mom would never let him hear the end of it if he didn't at least see if this could help, he knew that she was right. He was drowning, and it was June who was getting the bare minimum of his attention.
She stopped, not turning to face him.
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Look, I’m... not great at this. Especially when I feel cornered.”
Now she turned. One eyebrow raised.
“Maybe we just... talk for a few minutes,” he said gruffly. “No pressure.”
He nodded toward the porch and the little table beside the porch swing, where the pitcher of sweet tea his mom had set out was slightly sweating in the evening heat, along with two empty glasses.
“Five minutes,” he said. “And then decide for yourself if I’m as big of an ass as you think I am?”
Emery studied him, standing there in his socks. Still kind of scowling. But there was something behind the gruffness, a thread of vulnerability she hadn’t expected.
She walked up the steps, took a glass, and lowered herself onto the swing.
“I’m not promising anything,” she said, taking a sip.
“Didn’t ask you to,” he replied, settling on the top step a few feet away.
The ice in Emery’s glass clinked as she took another sip of the tea. Sweet, a little too sweet, but somehow comforting.
Levi rested his forearms on his knees; his eyes fixed on some point in the field beyond the barn.
“So,” Emery said, breaking the silence. “What exactly would you be looking for in this job, if you weren’t dead set on hating the idea?”
He let out a dry laugh. “That’s the problem. I don’t even know.”
She waited.
“I’ve always done everything myself,” he said after a beat. “Ever since June was born. Her mom... left not long after. Said she wasn’t cut out for this. Small-town life. Or being tied down. Or maybe she meant motherhood. I stopped asking which one she meant.”
Emery didn’t interrupt.
“So, it’s just been me. Getting her to school. Running the farm. Switching laundry at midnight. Packing lunches and googling what the hell a Dutch braid is.”
He didn’t say it for sympathy, more like a fact. “But lately, it’s like… I get her to bed, and I realize I’ve barely had a conversation with her that wasn’t ‘put your shoes on’ or ‘eat your dinner.’ It’s like I’m here, but I’m not with her. And she’s too good of a kid to deserve that.”
There it was. Not just exhaustion, but guilt.
“So, your mom’s trying to give you a way to show up better,” Emery said, voice gentle now.
“Yeah,” he muttered. “But it feels like I'm failing.”
She leaned back in the swing. “Sounds more like you're struggling to let someone try to lighten your load. Which—spoiler alert—is not failing.”
Levi looked up at her then. Really taking her in. “You sure you’ve never worked with kids? That sounded suspiciously like mom logic.”
She smiled. “I used to manage high-powered execs with the emotional maturity of toddlers. Close enough.”
He let out half a laugh, but a real one this time.
Emery tilted her head, studying him. “Okay, so if you had help... what would it look like?”
He rubbed his jaw. “I guess getting June to school in the mornings would be a big one. The mornings are chaotic, especially during harvest. Maybe a few chores.
Just enough so I’m not doing dishes at ten o’clock and missing her telling me how she learned to spell dinosaur.”
Emery nodded slowly. “Just someone who fills in the cracks.”
“Exactly,” he said. Then, after a pause, “And maybe someone who doesn’t mind glitter. June’s in a serious princess phase.”
She grinned. “I’m not scared of glitter.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You say that now.”
Emery leaned back into the swing with her tea. “You know… you’re not completely insufferable.”
Levi huffed. “High praise, I'll take it. Did you decide if I’m the jackass you probably assumed I was?”
Emery gave him a side-eyed glance. “Jury’s still out.”
His mouth twitched. Another almost smile.
Silence fell again. But it wasn’t awkward anymore. It felt… like something. Like a shift.
Emery swirled the ice in her glass, then settled her gaze on Levi. “So… what if we didn’t overthink it?”
His brow creased. “That sounds careless.”
She ignored the comment. “What if it’s just a trial? Short-term. Five weeks. While my cousin’s still gone and I’ve got the time. If it doesn’t work out, you can say thanks but no thanks, and I will go back to my life. No drama. No hard feelings.”
Levi looked at her skeptically.
“You wouldn’t owe me any explanation,” she added. “And I wouldn’t be stuck here. We both get to walk away if it’s a disaster.”
He rubbed his jaw, considering it.
“It’s not forever, just enough time to see if having a second set of hands around helps you function a little easier.”
He didn’t answer right away.
“I just don’t want anyone coming in and thinking they’re going to fix things,” he finally said .
Emery smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to fix you. Just to follow you around and clean up some of the messes you make.”
He gave a grudging, crooked grin. “You’re a little mouthy, you know that?”
“Only when someone tries to fire me before I’ve even been hired.”
That earned her a low chuckle.
“Alright,” he said. “Five weeks.”
She nodded. “Five weeks.”
He leaned back on his hands, the tension in his shoulders loosening a bit more. “June gets out of school around three. Tomorrow, you can come by and meet her. Spend some time with her, see how you two get along.”
“Sounds good.” Emery stood and handed him her empty glass.
Levi took it, his fingers brushing hers for a brief second, rough and warm, like he didn’t know how to be gentle but was trying anyway. “Thanks for not walking off when I tried to get rid of you without even meeting you.”
She smiled. “Thanks for not being as big of an ass as I thought you were.”
He nodded. “Yet.”
She turned, heading down the porch steps, her sandals tapping softly against the worn wood.
As she reached her car and opened the door, something made her glance back.
Levi was still sitting there on the porch, glass in hand, watching her. As if he wasn’t quite sure what to make of her yet, but he wasn’t done trying to figure it out.
Emery slid into the driver’s seat, closed the door, and let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
Damn. He was good-looking. That whole rugged, work-worn, strong-silent-type thing? Yeah. It worked for him.
Too bad she didn’t need anything complicated. Or broody. Or men who looked at her like that.
Still… she didn’t hate the way looking at him made her stomach flip. Besides, looking didn't have to be complicated, right?