Millie
As I stepped into the cool air of the arrivals lounge, I took a huge breath and sent a silent prayer to Grandma Armalita, asking her to make this work for me. After my debacle of a wedding, there was no way I could stay around Rickeby, so I gave notice at my job as a nursery school teacher, rented out my house, and packed my bags.
Summer, my cousin, saw an advert in the paper for an agency that specialized in oversees appointments of nannies and pre-school teachers, and while I was having dinner with her and her hot as hell husband, Roman, one night, she persuaded me to contact them. Mum had an absolute fit when, only three weeks later, the agency called to say they had an ideal position for me in a town called Bridge Vale in the United States. At first I wasn’t sure; the job itself seemed okay, it was for a four-year-old girl that needed care during the day and would also benefit from some basic lessons because she was bright for her age. However, when I looked the town up on line, I was swayed and became determined that it was the right job for me.
The town of Bridge Vale consisted of one bar, a bank, a library, a diner, a grocery store, a hardware store and a small department store, amongst a smattering of other small shops and businesses. It was quiet, thirty miles from the next town and, most importantly, no one would know that I had been dumped at the altar for another man.
And so, here I was. Mrs. Connor, the lady who was employing me, had said someone would meet me at the airport, probably her son, but the problem with that was that I had no idea what he looked like and no one was holding up one of those signs with my name on it. Not that I could see, anyway. The only thing to do was to wander down the line as though picking out a felon. I searched the crowd for an older teenager, or young man, but the line of people was mainly made up of older, ruddy faced men wearing cowboy hats. She may have sent her husband I supposed, but these men all looked as though they’d be too old to be the father of a four-year-old.
I was almost at the bottom of the line when I spotted him. I had never believed in love at first sight; it was a myth for fairy tales and girls who believed in bloody unicorns, not me. That was until I saw Jesse Connor waiting with my name scrawled onto a piece of paper, one arm folded across his chest, his dirty blond hair dishevelled and his hard, broad chest and slim waist filling out his white t-shirt and Levi jeans to absolute perfection. His hand went up to run through his hair, causing his t-shirt to ride up, giving me a glimpse of a tanned stomach. I licked my lips, pretty sure that I had drooled. He did not dress like the cowboys I’d seen when Googling ‘ranching’.
When I was standing a mere two feet away from him, my reaction intensified. I couldn’t help but stare as his piercing blue eyes narrowed their gaze onto me. My breath was literally whisked from my lungs and my heart was beating so fast I could practically feel it thumping against my t-shirt.
“You Millie or are you just staring at me for no reason?” he snapped.
“I’m Millie,” I croaked as I swallowed the huge lump in my throat. “You must be Mr. Connor.”
The disappointment hit me like a punch to the stomach. He was Mrs. Connor’s husband, and I would be working for him and his wife. His bloody wife. This was going to be a nightmare. He was my boss and I had never felt such an immediate and deep attraction like this to anyone before. I couldn’t possibly work for a woman whose husband I was crushing on; I was practically panting for the man. The affect that he was having on me was both exhilarating and scary at the same time. Never mind butterflies flying around my stomach, it felt as though there were a couple of Pterodactyls having a fight in there.
“Mr. Connor is my father, I’m Jesse, but call me whatever you please.”
“Oh, so you’re not Addy’s father then?” I asked, trying to hide my excitement.
“Yes, I am,” was his short reply before he took my suitcase from my hand and stormed out of the airport building.
The drive to the ranch was not only silent, but uncomfortable, too. Jesse’s pickup truck was old and battered, the dark red leather seats were worn and torn, with the horsehair padding bidding for freedom. With every bump in the road, I shot in the air, almost hitting my head on the ceiling of the cab.
As we moved along the open road I coughed nervously and turned to Jesse.
“So, tell me about Addy.”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Jesse replied, his eyes remaining firmly on the road.
“Oh, okay.”
A hint, if ever I’d heard one, that no further conversation would be required. I therefore spent the journey to the ranch sneaking glances at Jesse’s profile and staring at his arms. They were tanned and strong, with corded veins, and as I watched them rest on the steering wheel, I had to keep reminding myself to breathe.
His profile was almost as beautiful as the front view of him. He had a strong, square jaw and his nose had a tiny bump in it, and I wondered whether he’d broken it at some time. At one point, I had to sit on my hands to stop myself from running them through his hair; it looked so damn sexy in an ‘I’ve just had amazing sex’ kind of way. Shit, only an hour in this man’s company and I was a goner – how could I feel like this when, at this very moment, I should be settling into married life with my new husband? Evidently, the lack of sex over the last year and a half was taking its toll.
Finally, we drove under a wooden arch made from thick timber posts. On both sides of the arch was a white stone wall and hanging above was a huge sign, crafted from wrought iron that said, ‘Connor Ranch’.
Although the driveway that we were travelling down was brown dust, on either side were thick, lush trees that met above our heads, their leaves dappling the ground as the sun shone through the branches. It was like a magical tunnel that was leading to a new life for me.
We rounded a bend and the ranch house came into view and I almost danced in my seat. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but the sight before me caused me to gasp. As far as the eye could see was green, flat land. In the distance, beyond a wooded area, was a range of hills and mountains, and that along with the beautiful cloudless, blue skies were the perfect backdrop to the most gorgeous house I’d ever seen.
“Wow,” I whispered.
“We just remodeled, last year,” Jesse muttered.
“It’s stunning.”
The house was huge, with a grey slate roof that sloped down on all sides. The walls were all a lighter grey with the upper floor creating a slight overhang to the ground floor, and all the windows were white, a bright contrast against the grey. Because the ground at the front of the house sloped downwards, there was a set of white, wooden steps up to a columned entry with an arched roof that lead onto a white fenced wraparound porch. Stunning didn’t really cover it.
“Taken two years of hard work, but the old house was in real bad shape,” Jesse explained as he pulled the truck up in front of the house.
This was the most that he’d spoken since we’d been in the truck, so I simply stared at him in shock.
“You okay?” he asked, pushing open his door that screamed with old age.
“Oh yeah, sorry. The house, it’s just so pretty.”
Jesse paused and lowered his head back into the cab and stared at me with a lip curl.
“It’s a house, houses aren’t pretty.”
With that he was gone and before I could even get my door open, he was running up the steps to the house carrying my suitcase. Although I was getting the majority of my stuff shipped over, the case was still bloody heavy as I had packed enough clothes for at least a month, just in case a problem arose with my shipment. I almost groaned with desire. Jesse’s strong arms picked the case up as easily as if it were a shopping bag. Shit, what the hell was happening to me? I was like a bloody bitch in heat.
Pushing the truck door shut, I hooked my bag over my shoulder and made my way to the house. As I reached the top of the steps, the door swung open and a woman dressed in jeans and t-shirt came rushing out, wiping her hands on a towel.
“Millie, oh goodness, it’s so good to meet you, honey. I’m Bonnie, Bonnie Connor, we corresponded via email.”
She held out her hand to me and I let out a long sigh.
“Oh, it’s so good to finally meet you.” And it was. The relief at finally being there, finally seeing a friendly face, was immense. I hadn’t realized how tense Jesse’s demeanour had made me.
“I thought you were Jesse’s wife,” I blurted out.
Her pretty face broke into a grin as she flicked her blonde ponytail over her shoulder. “No honey, I’m his momma. Addy is my granddaughter. Didn’t I say that in my email?”
I shook my head. “No you didn’t.”
“Seesh, I’m getting forgetful in my old age. I’m just used to everyone knowing my business I guess. Well, you come inside and I’ll get you some nice, cold lemonade,” she said enthusiastically. “My husband, Ted, is out of town, but he’ll be back in a couple of days, you’ll meet him then.”
“Okay, I look forward to it,” I replied, following her onto the porch.
“Here,” Bonnie said turning to face me. “Let me take your purse.”
I furrowed my brow but with an internal shrug, I fished around in my handbag and found my purse. I smiled and passed it to Bonnie.
“Erm, what…?” She held my purse in her open palm, looked at it and then started to laugh. “Sorry honey, your bag, I mean your bag, not your wallet,” she explained handing me back my purse.
“Oh, God!” I cried. “I’m so stupid, I’d looked up on the internet the different words that you use, but totally forgot that one. You must think I’m an idiot.”
Bonnie shook her head and opened the door. “Don’t be silly. There’ll be lots of things we’ll both have to learn.”
As we stepped inside, my heart somersaulted as the most beautiful, blonde haired child came running towards me and wrapped her arms around my legs.
“You’re here,” she cried. “I’ve been waiting, haven’t I Granma?”
“Yes, sugar, you have. Now let Millie take a seat so I can get her some lemonade.” Bonnie gently pried Addy from my legs and led her over to the sofa, picked her up, and plonked her down on it.
As I placed my bag next to my suitcase, which Jesse appeared to have dumped as soon as he got through the front door, I took a quick look around the room. It was just as gorgeous inside as it was on the outside. The space was huge and sectioned off into different areas by white wooden shelves filled with not only books, but lots of different colored glassware and silver photograph frames of various shapes and sizes. We were in the lounge area where the grey and white of the outside was continued. A four-seater, dark grey sofa dominated the space and was placed opposite a grey stone fireplace. Next to the sofa was a huge teal colored armchair that was partially reclined, and was positioned in exactly the right position to see the large TV that sat in the corner.
“Your home is lovely, Bonnie,” I said as she turned towards me.
“Oh, thank you. It’s all Jesse’s work, he and Melody had a vision of how they wanted it when Ted signed the house over to him. Me, I prefer things a little bit more rustic, shall we say, but Jesse was adamant we stuck to what Melody wanted.”
“Melody?”
“That’s my momma,” Addy cried. “She’s dead.”
My eyes shot to Addy and then back to Bonnie. “Oh God, I’m so sorry.”
Bonnie waved her hand at me. “Don’t worry about it. How could you have known? Something else I forgot to put in my email. I’m sorry honey, everything has just been so hectic around here. We’re in calving season, so you can imagine how busy we’ve been.”
I couldn’t really; the only thing I knew from Bonnie’s email was that we were on a fourth generation cattle ranch with six-hundred pairs of cattle. I’d meant to research the Connor’s ranch on the internet, but my leaving had been a last-minute decision and so I’d been really busy preparing to come here.
“That’s why you’re here,” Addy added from her seat in the middle of the sofa. “Granma is getting too old to look after me and help on the ranch, so we needed you.”
I laughed softly and shook my head. “You sure she’s only four?” I asked. “Her vocabulary is brilliant.”
“She is definitely four, and three months. That three months is real important, hey Addy,” she replied, ruffling Addy’s hair. “But you’re right, she seems older. That’s why we need you, too. She could go to pre-school, but to be truthful, the local one isn’t so great and,” she said on a sigh. “I had a falling out with the teacher when she told me that Addy had behavioral problems and should be tested for ADHD.”
“Really, anyone can see she’s bright and it’s probably boredom.”
“I know, exactly, so you can imagine how Jesse took that when I told him. He told me to pull her out of there and said she’d learn more on the ranch than anything that ‘mean-spirited old witch could teach her’.” Bonnie did air quotes with her fingers to indicate that they were Jesse’s words.
“Could she not start school a little earlier?”
“I tried, honey, but the principle is the husband of the pre-school teacher, so he listened to her. Told me that unless I got Addy tested to prove otherwise, he’d have to accept that she was a badly behaved child and would not be allowed in school until the law required. So, that’s where you come in. Our cook left, and Jesse has struggled to get a replacement; everyone’s already settled into a contract. We have four hands living in the bunk house who need feeding. This means that Monday through Saturday the cooking and packing of lunches for seven men, and the family, is down to me, so I don’t have time to teach her, and,” she said with a glance at her granddaughter, “a bored Addy is a mischievous Addy.”
Addy grinned up at her grandmother and then at me.
“Well, I’m here to help now, and we’ll make sure you have plenty to do. Won’t we, Addy?”
“Yep, we sure will.”
“Okay, Millie,” Bonnie said. “Let me get you that lemonade while you make yourself comfy. Take a seat, honey. Then once you’ve cooled down some, I’ll show you around. But, while you’re here, I want you to treat this as your home. As for caring for Addy, well she’s still a little girl, so I don’t want anything too routine. Make it nice and relaxed, just see what the days bring. The main thing is she won’t be sitting around here trying to amuse herself when I’m busy, and I won’t be run ragged trying to amuse her.”
“Sounds perfect,” I replied, and it did. The money wasn’t brilliant, but I hadn’t taken the job for the money. A year on this ranch was just what I needed.
As I moved over to sit next to Addy, I heard a door open followed by a pair of heavy boots stomping across the room. I looked towards the back of the house as Jesse appeared from what I thought was the kitchen as I could see the edge of a countertop from behind the shelves. He was now wearing a plaid shirt tucked into his jeans and a black Stetson that was pulled down so you could hardly see his eyes.
Jesse stopped, looked at me, and then turned to Addy.
“Hey, Daddy,” she cried, her eyes lighting up at the sight of her father.
“Addy, I’ll see you tomorrow. Be a good girl for Granma.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
I couldn’t help but notice that Jesse barely looked at her as he moved past the three of us to the door. It also struck me that Bonnie had been the one to deal with getting a pre-school teacher. I also couldn’t help but notice that Addy’s eyes were shining and her bottom lip had a little tremble to it.
Once the front door slammed shut, Bonnie bent down and kissed the top of Addy’s head.
“Daddy’s real busy today, sugar.”
“I know. Can I go and play in my room, please?”
“Don’t you want to stay and get to know Millie?” Bonnie asked.
Addy shook her head. “Not just yet, thank you ma’am.”
“It’s okay, Addy,” I interjected. “You go and play, we can have a talk later.”
With a little nod she climbed down from the sofa and ran to the stairs that were off to the right.
“I’m sorry,” Bonnie sighed. “It’s been hard for her. She’s a bright child, but she’s still a child and doesn’t always understand how hard Jesse has to work.”
“It’s okay, Bonnie, I understand.” Actually, I wasn’t sure I did. Jesse seemed to be totally blind to how his behavior was upsetting his daughter.
Bonnie studied me carefully before flopping down onto the arm of the sofa.
“He’s not been himself since Melody died.”
“Well that’s understandable. How long ago was it?” I asked, thinking it would be a few months.
“It’s been almost two years since she died. It was a car accident.”
I gasped and felt my heart break for the little girl who so wanted to be seen by her daddy.
“God, this is too much for you. You haven’t even been here an hour yet.”
“No, it’s fine,” I whispered. “But, poor Addy.”
“I know. He’s shut us all out to be honest. All he does is work and got to Rowdy’s, when he’s not falling asleep on his feet.”
That I did know about; Rowdy’s was the only bar in town.
“So you see, honey, there’s lots of things you can do for Addy, not just teach her math and English, but don’t worry about that just yet. Maybe take a week to settle in, get to know her, and then think about some lessons.”
I smiled and nodded, knowing that this job was probably going to break my heart more than being ditched at the altar.