"Did you sleep all right after the excitement last night?" He asked the question with a light tone but she could tell by the look on his face he was still upset.

"Not too bad. You?"

"For a bit. I got up early to get Legend out of here." He shrugged. "He's gone. Hey, the kids are home. You ready to meet them?"

Actually, she was a little nervous. For some reason, the opinions of these children meant a lot to her.

"Can't wait." She followed him through the living room and into the kitchen. Two small children sat on booster seats at the round kitchen table, busily stuffing their faces with fresh homemade cookies. Both of them boasted a headful of blonde ringlets and big blue eyes framed with long, feathery golden lashes.

"Marty, I'd like you to meet my niece and nephew, Bonnie and Brody Hammond. Kids, this is Ms. Donahue. She's going to paint your rooms for you."

Neither child said a word, just blinked those big blue eyes at her.

"And my friend and housekeeper, Nora Billings. Her husband Joe is the caretaker. You'll see him around."

A plump woman in her late 40s with dark hair and a big smile greeted her. Marty smiled back and could tell instinctively she and Nora were going to get along.

"Please, everyone, call me Marty. Hey, kids, are those chocolate chip cookies?"

Two heads nodded solemnly.

"They're my favorite," Marty confided.

"Well, just set right down at the table and enjoy. I took them out of the oven a few minutes ago." Nora wiped her hands on her apron. "I'll get you a glass of milk. Or would you prefer coffee?"

"Oh, it's got to be milk with chocolate chip cookies. I like to dunk my cookies in it. Don't you?" Marty asked conspiratorially as she took a chair next to Brody.

The little boy still didn't speak but grinned slightly as he took another cookie and proudly dunked it in his milk.

"Me, too," Bonnie said, following her brother's actions.

Marty smiled and thanked Nora for the milk then took a cookie and splashed it into her glass before taking a big bite. "Mmm, that's the best."

"I think I'd like to get in on this action," Jake said, taking a seat at the table. "One more milk, please, Nora."

In a moment all of them, including Nora, were sitting around the table munching cookies contentedly.

"You know, I'm not just going to paint your rooms. I'm going to paint a picture on one or two walls in each of your rooms. Anything you want."

"Anything?" Brody asked, his eyes growing even wider.

"Anything."

"Even like dragons or pirates?"

"Yep."

"Princesses or fairies?" Bonnie piped up.

"Yep. Anything you want. Maybe you'll show me your rooms here in a bit and we can talk over ideas."

"Sure. Can we go now?" Brody hurried to scramble off his chair. "I'm ready."

"Me, too." Bonnie climbed down, too. "Mine first."

"No. Mine," Brody declared, giving his sister a glare and planting his fists on his hips.

"Which room do we come to first?" Marty decided to be practical in this argument.

"Mine." Brody said.

"Then that's the one we'll look at first. But we'll spend lots of time in your room, too, Bonnie, okay?"

Bonnie and Brody each took one of her hands and led her to a wide staircase in the living room. She cast a glance behind her at a grinning Jake and noted that he followed them up the stairs.

"If you turn that way, you go to Uncle Jake's room," Bonnie informed her, pointing to the left.

"But if you turn this way you get to our rooms," Brody said, finishing the thought.

They led her down a long hallway, past a spacious loft, making a turn to the right and ending up in front of the door to the first room.

"This is mine," he declared, throwing open the door for Marty to enter.

The room was spacious and sunny, but the walls were a stark white. If there hadn't been bunk beds and a log toy box in the room, no one would have been able to tell a child lived in it. She walked over to the wide window and sat down on the window seat, gazing out at the rolling hills spread before her. Wow. This view made up for a lot.

"This is awesome, Brody."

"Yeah. My old room wasn't near this big. Back at home, I mean." A frown tugged at the corner of his eyes. She could tell the 4-year-old was remembering old times—times when his parents were still both with him.

"Well, we're going to turn this room into someplace very, very special. I need you to think about what kind of picture you want and tell me tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Okay." He sounded a bit hesitant. "You said anything I want, right?"

"Anything. It can be a circus, a jungle, anything at all. Okay, now let's go see Bonnie's room."

They crossed through a Jack-and-Jill bath into the little girl's space. Again, it was spacious, sunny, and very white. Her little white bed was lined with dolls of all kinds with a few stuffed animals thrown in.

"Wow. This is amazing, Bonnie. Look at all your beautiful dolls."

The little girl didn't say anything but her cheeks grew pink with pleasure.

"Okay, now that I've seen your rooms I'm going to take some measurements." She pulled a laser measuring tape and a small tablet and pen from her pocket. "Who wants to help me?"

Both kids leaped at the chance, and for the next few minutes she kept them busy holding the tape measure and basically playing with the tool. Every once in a while, Marty stepped in and took a turn, jotting down the numbers as they went. Both rooms were good sized and she could do a fantastic mural for each child.

The next moment, Marty turned around and realized Bonnie was curled on her bed fast asleep. Brody had wandered into his room and was quietly playing with a set of wooden trucks.

"I think you wore them out." Jake's voice held a chuckle in it.

She whirled, having nearly forgotten he was there. He'd been so quiet, just watching and standing back, that she'd gotten caught up with the kids. Now her nerves tensed again and she eyed the man warily.

"Yes, I guess so. Well, I'm going to go back to the RV and do some sample sketches of things I think they might like." She began sidestepping towards the door, eager to escape his company. She didn't need the distraction right now.

"I'll walk you out," he offered.

Darn.  She'd been trying to get away from him but it wasn't working.

Together they walked back downstairs and then he led her toward a back door.

"This way's closer. You're welcome to use it anytime. Just come on in." He shoved open the large glass door and led the way onto the wide porch that looked out onto a view so stunning is practically knocked the wind out of Marty. Acres and acres of wooded hills rolled away, a sparkling blue lake centered in the middle of it all. An infinity pool was just below them. Off to the right she could see a half-dozen horses grazing in a fenced-in meadow. A symphony of bird calls floated over the air, and Marty watched a rabbit bound across the lawn. It felt like a slice of paradise.

"It's magnificent." Her voice held a reverence in it, stunned by the abundance of natural beauty spread before her.

"When I first came to look at this house I stood on this deck and just drank in the beauty of this place. I knew this was home. I fell in love with it."

"I can see why." Marty didn't take her gaze off the view. It was hypnotic. There was something that drew her in, something that grabbed at her heart.

She felt him standing just behind her and was tempted to lean back against him, sharing the intimacy of the moment with him.  Instead, she straightened her shoulders and drew in a deep breath. Time to get away from this handsome hunk before she started ripping his clothes off.

"Thanks again for walking me out. I'll be in the RV if you need me."

His gaze locked with hers for a moment. Was that regret she saw in his eyes?

 

Jake didn't know what to say. He didn't want her to leave him but had no excuse for keeping her here. He felt like a tongue-tied schoolboy instead of the celebrity he was. What was it about this woman that made him turn to mush and just want to hold her, kiss her, make love to her?

Whoa. Stop right there. She was here as his employee, not his play toy. Hitting on her was morally wrong. He knew it. It could open him up for a lawsuit from hell. Time to put a stop to this shit.

"Okay. I'll see you later." He turned to walk away then hesitated before turning back. "We'll have dinner at seven. Would you like to join us?"

Marty hesitated.  "Okay. I'll see you then." She gave him a smile and turned and headed towards the RV.

As Jake watched her walk away across the lawn, her slender hips swinging gently, he reproached himself--what had he gone and done that for? Didn't he just say he needed to stay away from this woman?

Well, hell. There's no fool like an old fool. He kicked himself in the ass all the way back into the house.