Chapter Four
Caleb strode into the kitchen after doing early chores and came to a complete and utter stop. Considering it was barely six a.m., the last thing he’d expected was to be greeted by the scent of fresh biscuits and hot coffee.
He didn’t usually start making breakfast for the girls until after seven, and the hour break he took between chores and when they crawled out of bed was when he caught up on as much paperwork as he could stomach.
Now not only did the kitchen smell like a bit of heaven, the view was damn good too. His gaze shot like a homing beacon to land on Tamara’s ass.
In his defense, she was bent over, pulling a pan from the oven, but it was wrong how he couldn’t seem to look away. Sweet curves wiggled at him temptingly, and he stepped behind the island to put something solid between her and his rising erection.
She stood and twisted on the spot, lowering the pan to a couple of hot pads she’d placed beforehand before smiling enthusiastically. “Morning. I made coffee. You’ll have to let me know how you like it.”
He was pretty sure he would like anything she was willing to give him. Beyond the obvious.
Dammit, dirty daydreams meant Caleb was having a hard time remembering how to talk. “What’re you doing?”
Other than making every hormone in his body percolate past high. Sexy, half-naked woman in his kitchen, cooking breakfast and making him coffee? It was far too tempting to let his imagination go wild.
Tamara frowned. “Something wrong?”
Something had to be wrong. Otherwise he would simply have grabbed a cup of coffee and gone on with his day, right? Because the instant his cock eased up control enough to let his brain function the tiniest bit, he realized she was doing what he’d hired her to do.
Nannies cooked and made breakfast, and that’s all she’d done.
“Caleb?”
He’d been standing far too long without answering which just compounded the problem. “You need to put some clothes on.”
The words came out in a rush. The instant they escaped, he wished he could take them back because number one, he sure the hell didn’t mind the way she was dressed, with her long limbs under what was a perfectly decent knee-length robe.
Number two, what had been a happy expression on her face slammed closed into something far more guarded.
He waited for her to call him on his bullshit.
She didn’t fight, though. Her chin rose, but her response was soft and meek. “Okay.”
Nothing more as she turned to the oven and clicked off the power.
That was not what Caleb expected. He had an apology on the tip of his tongue before he noticed that instead of taking the shortest route from the kitchen possible, she’d stepped counterclockwise. A move that would needlessly march her past him.
He leaned against the island, resting his hands on the surface as he waited to see what was up.
He should have been a lot more worried than curious, because unlike most women who would turn their back as they passed a man, Tamara faced him. In the brief second as she moved through the narrow space between the island and kitchen chairs, her soft breasts slid across his chest. Her hip brushed his groin, and the whole attack sent his cock into full alert.
She stepped toward the hallway, the swells of her butt cheeks twitching against the silky fabric of her green robe, and he was mesmerized. Unable to look away.
A half step before she vanished down the hall, the robe slipped from her shoulders giving him a split-second, tantalizing-tease of naked back and a pale blue, barely-there nightie.
Caleb moved slowly in deference to his unruly erection, stepping to the refrigerator. He jerked open the freezer door and stood there with cold air pouring down as he prayed for strength.
Stupid ass.
He closed the door and went to get a coffee, pacing the room uncomfortably. Would she come back, or had he already scared her away?
But not even five minutes later, when he’d barely settled on stool by the island, she moved past him briskly, her rigid back to him as she poured herself a cup. A light-blue T-shirt tucked into jeans covered her curves, and when she twisted toward him, he jerked his gaze upward to make sure he was gazing into her eyes and not anywhere else.
Apologizing was the right thing, but God, it was awkward. “I’m sorry. My comment earlier was out of line.”
She dropped a spoonful of sugar into her cup then stirred vigorously, staring at the surface. “I’m sorry for overreacting.” She lifted her gaze to his. “It probably doesn’t seem like it considering I keep doing stupid things, but I really want this job to work.”
Him as well.
It suddenly struck him— “What happened to your job at the hospital? You were a nurse. Why did you want to become a nanny?”
She sank her teeth into her bottom lip for a second, and he was damn near shocked. She wasn’t the type to hesitate.
When she spoke it wasn’t with her usual flair. “Dare never told you?”
Caleb shook his head. “She’s my sister. I trust her. She says you’re the one for the job, and I believe her, God help me.”
Amusement lightened her expression as a snicker escaped. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. You really think you need heavenly intervention with me working for you?”
He needed it to stop dreaming about decidedly non-heavenly pursuits. Like her lips, soft and delicious. And those damn glasses she wore—he’d never realized he had a thing for glasses, but obviously, he did. The ones she had on today were black-rimmed with tipped-up outside edges. The way she peered at him through them made the dirty thoughts rise, along with his cock.
Which wasn’t completely surprising because it had been a hell of a long time since the thing had gotten attention from anything other than his hand…
…and this was a direction he needed to avoid heading in the future.
Tamara spoke in a rush, probably taking his silence as judgment. “I didn’t do anything terrible, but I was hoping to keep small-town gossip from starting before I’d been here twenty-four hours.”
If she’d been sent by anyone other than his sister, that wouldn’t have been nearly enough. “Dare wouldn’t let you come within two inches of my little girls if she didn’t know everything, and still trust you. I don’t suppose I need details.”
She visibly relaxed.
“Dare knows?” he asked, just to be sure.
Tamara nodded. “We sat down and talked before I came out. I hope you don’t mind, but she also gave me all the details about your family. I mean, the part about how your parents and hers were best friends, and how after the accident you made sure that she got to stay at Silver Stone, fostering her as a sister.”
The stupid, tragic, accident that had taken his parents, Dare’s and her little sister in one moment. Caleb took a deep breath, the pain still sharp after all these years. “She’d lost enough. I figured she didn’t need to lose all of us as well.”
“Still, she thinks a lot of you, taking her on when you already had Ginny and Dustin to look after. Making sure that you all got to stay together as a family.”
“It was the right thing to do.” Caleb met her eyes. “Dare was a good kid who’d been dealt a shitty hand for a sixteen-year-old. I’m glad it worked for her to live with us. And I had help. Luke was twenty, and Walker nearly eighteen.”
Tamara spoke softly. “It was a kind thing, that’s all I’m saying. I’m sure being in familiar surroundings helped a lot.”
“I think routine and familiarity was good for us all back then.” There’d been times he’d wondered at the people who jumped from place to place all their lives. “There’s something special about living in one place your entire life, but it’s also a strange sort of burden.”
She was nodding slowly, fingers brushing the handle of her coffee mug in slow circles. “I went away to go to school, but other than that, I’ve lived in Rocky Mountain House. It feels strange to realize the next time I go to town I won’t see familiar faces at the grocery store.” Her lips twitched. “It also means I won’t be hit on by Samuel Tate. Can’t say I’m going to miss that part.”
Caleb hesitated in the middle of stealing a not-so-hot-anymore biscuit off the cooling rack. “He an old beau of yours?”
“He’s an old something, but normally the words on either side of old would be dirty and man. He’s mostly harmless, but a local hazard I don’t mind leaving behind.”
“I’m sure someone in Heart Falls will be just as annoying.”
Her half smile slipped into full bloom. “Well, now, you do have a sense of humour.”
“Never said I didn’t. Just don’t feel the need to poke and tease as much as Luke does.”
With a firm dip of her head, Tamara pulled over a notepad she’d had ready on the island counter. “I went over the email you sent, but your list of what you wanted me to do on a daily basis was a little bare-bones. I thought I should double-check what you want me to focus on here for the next while.” She glanced around the room. “You mentioned a calendar last night, but I don’t see one.”
“It’s in the office.”
She made a few notes on her paper. “If you don’t mind, I’ll set one up out here that we can all see. That will make it easier for me as I get into a routine. Probably make it easier for the girls as well.”
Caleb brushed crumbs from his fingers, wondering if he could snag another biscuit or if that would be pushing it. “Smart idea. Go ahead and get what you need. We have an account at Independent Grocers that you can charge stuff to. Just get them to phone me for approval the first time.”
Her eyes widened for a second before she brought it under control. “Now that’s something I haven’t heard in a long time. They let you keep a running tab at the grocery store?”
“I know Rocky Mountain House is small, but I have a feeling Heart Falls is even smaller. We’ve got some things we still do with a nod and a handshake.”
“I kind of figured that when my total job interview and acceptance letter was something to the effect of you saying, Fine, show up on Tuesday.”
Caleb shrugged. “Didn’t see the need to discuss it. You wanted to be here, and the girls need a nanny.
“List of jobs?” she reminded him.
He rotated a finger in the air. “Keep this place from burning to the ground or being condemned. That’s all. Your to-do list is whatever that takes. When you cook, make enough for six, and if there’s leftovers we’ll eat them for lunch the next day if my brothers don’t show up at midnight to demolish them. They aren’t usually here. Walker and Luke both have spaces in the bunkhouse, and Dustin moved out there the instant he finished high school. They eat with the hands most of the time, and yes, we have a cook, but his name isn’t Cookie.”
“You crazy break with traditionalists. What is it?”
“Jalaj Patel, but he asked the crew to call him JP. He’s Indian. We’re the only ranch in the area that serves dahl as often as beans.”
Tamara grinned before glancing at her watch. “You ready for breakfast? Or do you want to wait and eat with the girls?”
He rose to his feet along with her, a little uncomfortable as she reached into the fridge and pulled out a container of eggs. “You don’t have to do that.”
She stopped, laying the food on the counter so her fists could settle on her hips. “Caleb Stone, you hired me to do a job, so let me do it. You want to eat now or later?”
He ignored the twitch of pleasure that struck to see her standing her ground. “I’ll wait.”
“What time will the girls be ready for breakfast, usually?”
“Seven fifteen. Bus picks them up at seven forty-five and drops them off at three thirty.”
She nodded decisively then basically shooed him from the kitchen. “Go do whatever. I’ll have breakfast at your usual time. If you can be here today, that will help ease us into the routine.”
He picked up his coffee cup and went to the pot to top it up. “I intended to eat with the girls. You being here doesn’t change that.”
He added a shot of cream to his coffee before lifting his mug in the air in a salute. No choice but to go and face his office and the paperwork he hated.
“Caleb,” she interrupted before he left the room. “How do you like it?”
Sheer willpower kept him from stumbling. “Excuse me?”
Tamara gestured toward his hand. “The coffee. Is it the way you like?”
Oh. Coffee, not sex. “I like it stronger.”
She nodded. “More kick in the pants. Got it, boss.” Then she turned to the fridge and started going through it, moving on with her day.
Caleb forced himself to move on with his, sliding down the hall to his office with that strange sense that more than just an additional person had entered the house.
There was a force of nature.
Tamara used the next forty-five minutes to finish exploring the kitchen, doing inventory on supplies and starting a shopping list. Cooking for the family wasn’t enough to scare her. She’d spent enough time during her university days taking turns on the chore with her roommates, and later making large batches of stuff to exchange with her friends. Not to mention cooking for the horde of her extended family when they got together.
She could make more than toast, although the menu would get a little repetitious after a while, but that wasn’t her biggest challenge.
She had half an hour each morning to figure out more about the little girls, then an entire day to go through before they were home. The empty hours loomed.
Luckily, she still had this morning to distract her. She went with what was simple. There was a plethora of cereal in the cupboard, plenty of bread and eggs. She set the table with a few choices including juice and cut fruit and the biscuits cooling on the counter.
Then she sat down with fresh cup of coffee from a new pot—Caleb was right, she’d made the first batch far too weak—and planned out her day, pretending having open spaces was a complete treat.
Ten minutes later she looked down at her chore list and laughed. What a bunch of baloney—she could hear her cousins cursing her shitty attitude.
So what if she was going to be home all day instead of turning up for a shift at the hospital? She had a ton of work to keep the house running efficiently, and ignoring that fact was insulting to everyone who worked at home.
She closed her notepad with a smack just as Caleb returned to the room.
He glanced at the table, hesitating before clearing his throat. “It looks good, but we usually eat breakfast at the island. It might be better—”
Tamara held up a hand. “You’re right. I’m not looking to mess with their routine. It’s enough of a change for me to be here.”
“I should have warned you.” His shoulders relaxed in relief, and he helped her grab the plates and move them to the island. “If we’ve got more than four for breakfast, we do eat at the table. It’s just that usually it’s only me and the girls, and when Ginny is here, she joins in at the side.”
“Which side?” Tamara asked, thinking back to yesterday’s faux pas with sitting in Ginny spot.
Caleb’s thoughts must’ve gone there as well. He pointed to the far end of the island. “There.”
Tamara placed her plate on the opposite end of the counter, moving to adjust the stools. “Then I’ll sit over here. It’s a small enough change.”
Caleb took his cup and went for another cup, sniffing the new stronger batch she’d made with appreciation before settling into the chair next to where she intended to sit.
There was no time to feel awkward because an instant later Sasha and Emma rushed into the room. They tossed their backpacks on the dining room table before they turned and stopped dead, examining Tamara.
That ever-present suspicion was strong in Sasha’s eyes, as if Tamara was going to sprout horns and grab a pitchfork at any moment.
Caleb seemed oblivious. He slid off his stool and opened his arms. “I thought you two were hibernating for the winter.”
They scooted in for a hug before climbing on what had to be their usual stools.
“Anybody want a fried egg, and if yes, how do you want them?” She pointed at Caleb. “And unless you change your mind all the time, I should be able to get it right after you’ve told me once.”
Caleb reached for a biscuit and the jam. “Sunny side up, if you can.”
“Emma and I want ours cooked all the way through, not yucky like Daddy’s.”
Tamara glanced at Emma but she was reaching for a bowl and the cereal, so Tamara went with it. “Sunny side up, and two not yucky, otherwise known as over-hard. Got it.”
She put the food together, including one for herself, then joined them. Other than watching Emma make longing eyes at Caleb and her plates, the rest of breakfast went off without a hitch.
It was the calm before the storm, followed by the mad rush of brushing teeth, gathering school supplies and forgotten homework, then she and Caleb walked the girls to the front road just in time for the yellow bus to appear on the main highway.
“You have to put the shelter up soon, Daddy. It’s going to start snowing, and we need our castle to hide in,” Sasha informed him.
“I’ll put it on the to-do list.” He ruffled Emma’s curls and gave Sasha’s ponytail a tug before kissing them both and sending them on the bus.
The bus driver eyed Tamara curiously before glancing at Caleb. “Going to have snow before the week’s out,” he warned, an echo of Sasha’s words. “Better make sure the girls are bundled up tight.”
Caleb mostly grunted in response. He gestured to Tamara. “Dan, this is Tamara, the girls’ nanny. She’ll be the one meeting the bus most days. She’s okay.”
“See you this afternoon.” Dan glanced back into the bus before closing the doors and heading into town.
A moment later, Caleb took his leave as well. “If you need me, my cell number is on the fridge. You don’t have to worry about lunch. I’ll eat with the crew since it’s Walker’s first day back.”
He tipped his hat then strode across the grass toward the barns without another word.
Tamara watched him go, giving in to the urge to admire the view.
It was a truth that had to be admitted—the man looked good coming or going.