Chapter 13
Gran motioned to a chair. “I’ll just get us a cup of coffee. Kade and Declan,” she hollered, “come in here.” She gave Hope a shake of her head. “Might as well include them. They operate under the delusion they have some say around here.”
Hope couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled from her lips. She liked this spirited woman who held her own, and then some, with two overly-handsome cowboys. But there was no way she was interested in the babysitting job. She wasn’t that desperate—yet—that she was going to spend any more time with that insufferable lout who called himself a rancher.
“Ma’am,” Hope started, only to be stalled by a hot mug of coffee forcefully slammed down in front of her.
“Sorry.” Gran grabbed a dishrag and wiped up the sloshed drops. She leaned closer to Hope and in a conspiratorial whisper said, “Don’t mind me, honey. I’m not all that upset, but those two, especially Kade could make a preacher cuss. Sometimes I have to let them know who’s really running this show. Now, you were about to say . . .”
“Ma’am . . .”
“Good Lord, don’t ‘ma’am’ me. Call me Gran.”
“I couldn’t possibly . . .”
“Probably not.” Gran pursed her lips. “Okay, then, call me Ida. That’s what Mark calls me.”
Mark. Hope didn’t think she could take meeting another tall and handsome cowboy.
“Another grandson?”
Gran barked out a laugh. “Not hardly. He’s our foreman. And he’s a handsome cuss, if I do say so. Between you and me, I do say so. ‘Course I don’t let him know that.”
She was great. Hope wanted to bottle Gran and take her back to Elsie’s. A steady diet of Ida would be balm to her troubled soul. If things were different, the job here would be appealing.
It was easy to picture Kade’s grim face with eyes cold as ice and hurt deep within them. Why? But it wasn’t any of her concern. Hope sighed. But things weren’t different, and she’d be smart to get to her feet and quickly head for the front door. When she got home, she’d slowly kill Elsie. “Deliver these cookies for me, will you please?” She’d been set up by her well-meaning sister.
Kade led the way into the kitchen and, none too gently, jerked out the chair directly across from Hope. There wasn’t a flicker of nice about him.
Hope’s hands shook, and she reached for the coffee mug like a drowning person grabs a life jacket. She had to get out of here.
Using the table for support, she rose to her feet and tore her gaze away from Kade’s unflinching glare.
“Ida, thank you for the coffee, but as I said, I’m not interested in the job. If you’ll excuse me . . .”
“Cake?” Ida asked as if she hadn’t heard a word Hope said.
“It’s raisin spice.” Ida turned her back and busied herself dishing out three large slices of the cake resting on the counter.
“Uh, no thanks. I really need to be going.”
“Sit down,” Kade ordered. “When Gran makes up her mind to something, it’s useless to argue. Better hear her out. She’s like a flash flood—a force to be reckoned with.” A hint of a smile hovered around the corners of his mouth, but in a second it was gone.
For a moment, Hope felt as though she could find sanctuary in the sheer magnetism of this man. It would be a needed reprieve to lean into his strength. But the feeling only lasted for a moment. She shuddered at his reaction should he learn what type of woman dared to have her feet under his grandmother’s table.
“Better do as Kade suggests, Ma’am,” Declan drawled. “Between him and Gran, you haven’t got a chance. Besides, as Maddy’s daddy, that’s the little girl Gran needs help with in case you haven’t guessed by now, I’m curious as heck what she has planned. And,” his eyes twinkled, “you’ll get to sample some of the best cake ever made here on earth.”
“Huh.” Kade muttered.
“Make Kade’s and mine big slices, Gran. You know how we love raisin spice.”
“I’ll get you for that,” Kade growled.
“Now, Brother, is that anyway to talk when we have a guest? Why, she just might think you’re not the easy-going pussycat hiding beneath that scowl.”
“Like hell,” Kade gave him a scathing look. The shimmer of warmth Hope had seen was doused like a bucket of water on a campfire.
“Here you go,” and Gran dealt out three large pieces of cake as deft as a blackjack dealer. “Take a bite,” she ordered Hope, nodding to the fork resting on the side of the plate.
Hope sank back into her chair and picked up the fork. She cut a bite and put it in her mouth as three pairs of eyes followed her every movement.
Hope swallowed, licked her lips and said, “Why, it’s delicious. I would love to be able to bake something like this. Absolutely delicious.”
“Try eating it every day, and you won’t think it’s so delicious,” Kade muttered.
“Kade, eat up,” Declan said, mischievous delight oozing from him. “Gran, Kade may want seconds.”
Blithely ignoring the tension between the two men, Gran sat herself down at the head of the table, coffee mug in hand.
“You’re not having any, Mrs., uh, Ida?” Hope asked.
“No, honey. Raisin spice cake isn’t one of my favorites. I just make it for these two. They can’t seem to get enough.”
“That’s right,” Declan smirked.
Kade’s low voice rumbled across the table. “I wouldn’t advise you to go outside unprotected, Little Brother. I have a long memory.”
“Gran,” Declan whined in a mock little boy voice, “Kade’s threatening me.”
“Now stop it you two. We have company.”
“Company because of your ad,” Kade growled. “All right, let’s hear the rest of the story.”
Hope tried to protest that she wasn’t there because of the ad, but at a cold look from Kade, she gave a defeated sigh.
“Yes,” Hope said, matching Kade look for look, “I think I need to hear this, too.”
“Of course you do, Hope, since you’ll be the one taking the job.” Once again Gran held up her hand forestalling any response from the three waiting for her to enlighten them.
“As I said, our precious Maddy is becoming quite a handful.” She smiled at Hope. “Wait until you meet her. She’s brought the sunshine back into this house. That said, I want it understood I’ve enjoyed every minute of her care. But I need help.” Gran punctuated each word.
“We’ll pitch in more, Gran. We just didn’t realize . . .”
Gran patted Kade’s large hand. “I know, but the Double K is a demanding mistress, and there’s only you. Yes, Declan, Kade has you now, but your interests lie elsewhere—always have. You need to get that house started.” She fixed a determined look on each man. “No, Maddy needs a woman’s touch and guidance.”
Gran turned to Hope. “Your sister tells me you’re a teacher.”
“Yes,” Hope said hesitantly, fearing she was walking into a trap.
“Perfect. She also tells me you’re in need of a job. And while this isn’t by any stretch of the imagination,” Gran chuckled, “a school room, we happen to have a very smart student just waiting to be taught. Maddy has been delayed. Declan, or I, will fill you in on that later. She doesn’t yet walk or talk. We think she’s eighteen-months-old, and there’s no doubt, with the right person teaching her, she’ll exceed any of our expectations. Isn’t that right, Declan?”
“She’s right, Ma’am.”
“Hope. Call me Hope,” she smiled at him.
A shimmer of anger at Declan’s returning smile surprised Kade. Why should he care if Hope Jackson favored his brother with a smile?
“Maddy is exceptional. She’s survived things a weaker child would have succumbed to. There’s nothing wrong with her mentally. She’s had every test military doctors could put her through. And by gosh, the more I think on it, Gran’s right. She has the good sense to recognize we need help.”
“Thank you, Declan,” Gran preened.
“Ida, Declan, I’m sure what you say is correct, and I’d love to get to know your Maddy, but I can’t.”
“Why not?” Kade surprised himself by asking.
“I . . .” she stammered under his hard look. “I have personal reasons, Mr., uh . . .”
“McKune. Kade McKune.”
“Mr. McKune. They are personal reasons I don’t care to discuss.”
She’s got fire in her. She’s not a beautiful woman in the typical sense of the word, but there’s a striking, almost exotic look about her. She makes conventional beauty pale in comparison. Kade shook the unwelcome thinking from his mind.
“We’re not asking for your life story,” Kade said sarcastically, anxious to still his thoughts. “You’re refusing the job without even hearing the details, if we can believe your story about delivering Girl Scout cookies and not job hunting.”
“Kade,” Gran cautioned. “Hope, I haven’t had a chance to discuss pay with the boys, but I can assure you it’ll be adequate. As I said earlier, your own apartment is included and, of course, all your meals. Do you like the country?” Gran fired off the question.
“Yes,” Hope said cautiously. “I love the country.”
“Don’t mind being isolated on a ranch? Not many people around here to socialize with. Kade’s busy, and, besides, he’s a loner. Declan’s more outgoing, but he’s got his mind elsewhere. Mark and the hands won’t have much to say, seeing as to how you being a beautiful woman will have them tongue-tied.”
“Thank you, I guess,” Hope whispered, biting her bottom lip, a habit she had when embarrassed. “I don’t mind being isolated. In fact, the way my life has been going, I crave it. And I’m sure your pay will be adequate, especially with the apartment and meals included. But I still can’t . . .”
“Then it’s settled,” Gran popped to her feet and held out her hand past Kade’s and Declan’s surprised faces to an even more surprised Hope. “Welcome to the Double K. Go back to town and pack. We’ll expect you here a week from today. Now, I’ve got things to do.” And with that she bustled from the room.
“What just happened?” Hope asked, looking from each man to the door Gran had just exited.
Kade gritted his teeth. “You’ve just been hired. That’s what just happened.”