Chapter 3
Chapter Three
The Ranch
Twenty minutes into making lunch, Salem and Hadley’s husbands trickled into the main house. When Brooks arrived, he quickly kissed Poet and Lottie hello and then spent a moment staring at his surprise niece who was currently standing at the counter battering chicken cutlets with Muddy.
Brooks nodded his head at Archer and the two of them escaped out the back door. The rest of us were left wondering about Lenni and how she came to be, but none of us knew. Not yet at least.
Mr. Powell and his pregnant fiancée joined the fray, greeting Lenni like she had been expected, and not some curveball that had been thrown into Archer’s life.
When Archer and Brooks returned, Archer’s eyes sought mine first. He inclined his head, and I gave him a sympathetic smile before turning away. Poet was staring at me, and she raised her brows in a silent question that I wasn’t going to answer.
We sat down at the dining room table, Lenni sandwiched between Archer and me. Conversation felt forced, and Lenni was staring at her plate.
Archer kept glancing at his daughter like he wanted to say something to her but wasn’t sure what. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, “I work here at Elk Ridge.”
Lenni shoveled in a bite of green beans.
“I’m a blacksmith and a farrier.” When there was no inkling that Lenni had heard him, Archer went on, “I shoe horses.”
Lenni bobbed her head in understanding.
Muddy lifted the plate of chicken and held it out toward Lenni. “Another piece?”
Lenni yawned and hastily covered her mouth. “No thanks. I’m kind of tired.”
“You want to hang out in the den?” Muddy asked. “The couch is comfortable, and we allow goats on the furniture.”
Muddy made sure Lenni was settled in the den—with the gaggle of animals trailing after her.
Hadley brewed a fresh pot of coffee. Salem and I put the leftovers into containers. Declan and Cas loaded the dishwasher. Brooks sprayed the table and wiped it down.
Muddy returned to the dining room, closing the double doors behind her. “I got her set up with the TV. But I don’t think she’ll be awake longer than ten minutes. Mildred was curled up right next to her. Tempest and Fig were at her feet.”
“And Lottie?” Poet asked.
Muddy shot Poet an amused look. “Top of the couch cushion.”
“Who wants coffee?” Hadley asked when the pot had finished brewing.
After the coffee was poured, everyone congregated around the dining room table once again. I sat next to Archer and could feel the heat of his leg next to mine.
Muddy peered at Archer with her hands around her coffee mug. “Okay. Start talking.”
Archer looked at Brooks who nodded in encouragement. Archer sighed.
“Brooks and I used to be in a motorcycle club in South Dakota,” he began. “And Lenni’s mom was . . . one of the girls we hung out with.”
“That’s a polite way of putting it,” Brooks added.
“Yeah.” Archer rubbed the back of his neck. “One day, she just stopped showing up at the clubhouse. I figured she’d moved on, you know? I had no idea she was pregnant.”
Archer wrapped his hand around his coffee mug as he formed his words. “Nancy said when Blair found out she was pregnant she left South Dakota and moved down to Georgia. She didn’t want to raise the baby around a bunch of bikers. I don’t blame her for that . . . at all.”
He swallowed as he stared at the mug. “Six months ago, Blair died in a car accident on her way to pick up Lenni from school.”
“Fuck,” Cas murmured.
“Who’s Nancy?” Muddy asked. “In relation to Lenni?”
“She was Blair’s best friend. Blair named Nancy guardian in her will. Nancy said they’d talked about it once, but it was more of a verbal agreement. No one actually thinks this kind of stuff really happens, you know? She was shocked as hell when the will was read.”
“That would be a shock to anyone,” Muddy said.
“Nancy’s an accountant for a Fortune 500 company. Got a job offer in Hong Kong. Dream promotion that will make her career. Perfect for a single, career driven woman. Only . . .”
“Only she had Lenni,” Grampy finished.
“Yeah. Nancy tried the best she could for a while, but she never really wanted kids. She knew I wasn’t in the club anymore—Blair had been keeping tabs on me.
Checking on me every now and again. She told Nancy she was thinking about reaching out to me.
Nancy tracked me down after she got the job offer. And here we are . . .”
“How could she shirk her duty like that?” Salem demanded.
“Can’t really blame her, can you?” Mr. Powell asked. “To not even want kids and then all of a sudden be the guardian of an eleven-year-old girl? That would throw anyone for a loop.”
“Yes, I can blame her. You didn’t see that girl run after the car,” I said. “You don’t do that to a kid. You just don’t.”
“It’s shit for Lenni. Losing her mom. And then Nancy. Now she’s stuck with me. Poor kid.” Archer shook his head in defeat.
“You can’t feel sorry for her,” I warned. “I mean, you can. But don’t let her know that. She’ll just think you’re someone else who doesn’t want her.”
Archer looked at me. “And how do you know that?”
“Wyn’s a nanny,” Hadley said.
“And she got her bachelor’s in psychology with an emphasis on childhood development,” Poet informed him.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m also a girl. And I’ve actually been an eleven-year-old girl.”
“Oh yeah.” Poet nodded. “That too.”
“Right, a nanny,” Archer said as he looked at Poet. “You told me.”
“Why would she tell you that?” I asked in confusion. “I mean, how did that even come up in conversation?”
Poet waved her hand. “Just me talking about you over dinner one night.”
“You guys haven’t met before now, have you?” Muddy asked.
I shook my head. “Nope.”
“But I sent Wyn and Poet photos,” Salem announced. “Of the Rudolph Lancaster photoshoot.”
Archer looked at me. “So, you knew who I was? When Nancy showed up needing to see me?”
I nodded.
The photo hadn’t done him justice. His brown eyes were liquid maple syrup, and his smile was boyishly crooked, and his mustache—
“Funny story,” Salem said. “Wyn’s currently between jobs. She just quit her last gig.”
“Salem,” I warned.
“What?” she demanded. “It’s true. Not your fault your boss was a creeper.”
I closed my eyes and took a breath.
“A creeper?” Archer asked.
I opened my eyes and looked at him. “I handled it. And took Mildred as my severance.”
“This is perfect,” Hadley said.
“What is?” I asked.
“You need a job,” Hadley said. “And Archer needs help. Don’t you, Archer?”
“Yeah, I do.” Archer turned toward me. “Lenni likes you. She likes your dog. And you’ve already braided her hair.”
“Fishtail,” I corrected.
“Huh?”
“It’s a fishtail. Not really a braid.”
“See? I need a crash course in girl stuff. Please don’t make me beg. I mean, I will if I have to. I have no pride here.”
“But—I live in New York,” I stammered.
“Technically, yes. But you were living in the Carrington’s Park Avenue apartment,” Poet said. “You don’t have a permanent residence there since you quit.”
“My due date is Christmas. You aren’t going to go back to New York before then,” Hadley said. “You can’t miss Christmastime at the Ridge.”
“And if you’re staying for Christmas, then you should stay for New Years. And I’m due in February,” Salem added. “Might as well just stay through then.”
Poet grinned. “And I’m due just a few months after Salem . . .”
“Look how that all worked out,” I muttered.
“Please, Wyn?” Archer asked, his voice low and gravelly. His eyes were earnest, pleading.
Could I really say no to him? To Lenni?
“All right,” I said, my gaze bouncing around the table and finally landing on Muddy, whose face was carefully blank. “I’ll take the job.”
“Thank you,” Archer said with a sigh of relief.
“There’s just one problem,” Brooks said.
“Just one?” I smirked.
“Where are you gonna stay?” Brooks asked.
“I haven’t had time to think about that yet,” I said. “I guess I can stay here, right?”
Muddy piped up. “Only room left in the house is the den. You’re welcome to stay here, but you’ll be sleeping on the couch, and you’ll wind up keeping ranch hours . . . and you won’t have any privacy.”
“It might not be ideal, but Archer already lives on the ranch in his RV. Once Lenni moves in with him, you’ll all be in close proximity,” Poet said.
Archer shook his head. “No. I’m getting that kid a house. She’s had enough transition recently and the RV screams temporary. I don’t want her thinking we’re moving anytime soon.”
Grampy rubbed his jaw. “I’ve got an idea.”
“I’m all ears,” Archer said.
“I’m renting a furnished house downtown. It’s got three bedrooms and a few bathrooms. It’s too big for an old bachelor like me. Why don’t the three of you move in there, and I’ll crash in the RV?”
Archer let out a slow exhale. “You don’t mind an RV? Really?”
“I’ve slept in worse places, believe me,” Grampy said.
“You’re a lifesaver,” Archer said.
“Hang on a second,” I voiced. “I don’t need to live with you and Lenni. I can stay here. Or—”
“Why wouldn’t you stay with us?” Archer asked.
“It makes the most sense. You need a place to live anyway and I’m going to have to head to the ranch crazy early.
If you don’t stay with us, you’ll have to get up at the ass crack of dawn every day and drive to town before I leave. Do you even have a car?”
“No, but I don’t know you,” I stated. “I’m not living with a stranger.”
“You didn’t know Hadley and me before we moved into the New York apartment, either,” Salem pointed out. “We were strangers.”
I glared at her.
“I know Archer. I’ll vouch for him.” Poet winked.
His argument was sound. And yet I knew it was a bad idea. It would’ve been so much easier if the man had looked like a normal father. Balding. Paunchy. Completely unattractive.
Everyone was waiting for me to say something, and I knew whatever I said would just be a flimsy argument.
“I’m not doing this just for room and board,” I said. “I’ll need a salary.”
“We can talk about that later,” Archer said. “But you’re kind of in a power position here. I’m willing to give you my left kidney if it’ll convince you to stay with us.”
“What if I want the right one?” I asked.
“Sorry, only the left is in negotiation.”
I sighed. “You okay with a dog? Mildred and I are a package deal.”
Archer’s shoulders relaxed. “Yep.”
“Keep your kidney, I’ll do it,” I announced.
His smile was one of relief. “Thanks, Wyn.”
My insides warmed.
Oh, this is such a bad idea. Close proximity with a man with dark eyes and a sexy mustache? No! Remember the penis embargo!
The pocket doors slid open, and Lenni shuffled out of the den. She looked around the room, her clear eyes landing on me. “What are you guys talking about?”
Everyone was quiet.
“We were discussing dessert,” Hadley blurted out.
“Yes, I want dessert,” Salem added.
“We should go out for it,” Mr. Powell said. “How about Hawthorne’s?”
“They have the best root beer floats,” Jane said.
Everyone sprung up from the table as if they were being directed in a play. The women chattered and headed for the door as the men followed behind them.
“We’ll meet you there, yeah?” Brooks asked, his gaze shooting to Archer.
“Yeah,” Archer said. “I just need to talk to Lenni first.”
Brooks bobbed his head and then headed out, closing the door behind him.
“I’ll wait for you on the porch,” I said, taking a step toward the door.
“No,” Archer commanded. “I mean . . . please, stay.”
I swallowed and nodded.
“They left the goat and pig behind,” Lenni said in confusion. “And then they left them inside. Is that a good idea?”
“Tempest and Lottie are actually better behaved than Fig,” I stated. “She’s a terror when left alone.”
“You want to sit?” Archer asked her.
Lenni moved a chair out from the table and sat down. She placed her folded hands onto the tabletop and waited. I retook my seat and tried to appear casual. Lenni and I waited for Archer to speak, but he was steadfastly silent.
“You know Poet’s Grampy?” I asked, taking pity on Archer.
Lenni nodded.
“Well, he’s been renting a house downtown. A couple of blocks from Poet. He offered it to us,” I explained.
“Us?” Lenni repeated.
“Yeah, so, Wyn’s going to move in with us,” Archer announced.
“Wyn’s moving in with us?” she asked in confusion. “Why?”
“You expect him to fishtail your hair?” I teased. “Archer asked me to be your nanny, and I said yes.”
A hint of a smile crept across Lenni’s mouth. “Does that mean Mildred is coming too?”
“Yep,” I said.
Hope filled her eyes. “Can she sleep in my bed?”
“If you can lure her, absolutely. Put treats underneath your pillow, and you’ve got a chance.”