Читать книгу A Home for Nobody's Princess - Leanne Banks - Страница 7

His daughter hated him.

Benjamin Garner carefully opened the front door to his sprawling two-story house and paused. Even though he was six foot four and had been described as two hundred pounds of muscle due to the hard work he put in on his cattle ranch of over ten thousand acres, he’d become a stranger in his own home.

Why? Because his five-month-old daughter couldn’t stand him.

Every time he came toward her, she gave a shriek that would wake the entire country of New Zealand, and New Zealand was a good fifteen-hour flight away from the town of Silver City, Texas.

He stepped as lightly as he could in his boots. Coco Jordan, the young nanny who had seemed to work magic with baby Emma from the first time the two had met, had assured him that Emma could sleep through regular environmental noises, but he didn’t quite believe her.

Sometimes Benjamin wondered if his daughter had special powers and could smell him or hear him breathe even from the front door when she was upstairs in the nursery. Benjamin scowled at himself. This just showed what a nutcase he was becoming.

His dog, Boomer, limped out to greet him. Boomer had been one of his best herding dogs, but after he’d gotten his leg twisted in some barbed wire, he couldn’t run fast enough. Benjamin figured the dog had earned his retirement, so Boomer spent his days trying to catch scraps from his housekeeper’s cooking and dozing on the sofa. Benjamin reached down to give the mixed-breed dog a rub on his head, but was quiet about it. At least his dog liked him.

Heading for his office at the back of the house, he strode past the kitchen.

“Ah!”

His stomach knotted. He knew that sound. He knew that voice. He kept on moving.

“Benjamin.” The low, sweet voice of the nanny called to him. “You can’t avoid her forever.”

“Ah!” Emma said.

Taking a deep breath, he turned and faced the two of them, standing in the kitchen doorway. His daughter stared at him with big blue suspicious eyes, while Coco was all soft, pretty encouragement. Emma wasn’t screaming—yet. Maybe she was just gearing up for it.

“She just finished eating, so she should be in a good mood. Don’t you want to hold her?”

Hell, no, he thought. A rattlesnake was easier to handle. He shifted his hat back and shrugged. “I haven’t washed up.”

“That’s okay. A little dirt won’t kill her.”

“Okay,” he said, opening his arms, preparing himself for his daughter’s rejection of him. “I’ll hold her.”

Coco moved closer and Benjamin noticed that Emma’s eyes seemed to grow larger with each step she took. “Here you go,” she murmured to Emma. “This is your big strong daddy and he will always take care of you. There’s no need to be afraid of him. He’s on your side.”

Coco gently placed Emma in his arms and he drew her close to his chest, holding his breath. Emma stared up at him, her eyes wide. He counted silently. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

She pressed her lips together and glanced toward Coco. As soon as her lower lip jutted out in a perfectly defined pout, he knew what was coming. His daughter let out a high-pitched sound of distress that quickly grew in volume. He met Coco’s discouraged gaze and shook his head.

“Here,” he said, handing Emma back to the nanny. “There’s no need to torture the poor thing. That’s why I hired you.”

Coco patted Emma on the back in a soothing motion. “But we have to get her used to you. We have to find a way—”

“Maybe by the time she hits her first birthday, she’ll like me better,” he said and turned away, tamping down his own sense of discouragement.

“Wait,” Coco said, and he felt her hand on his arm.

He glanced over his shoulder.

“Maybe she doesn’t like your hat,” she said. “Maybe if you take it off, she’ll—”

“I’ll give it a try next time,” he said. “Right now, I need to enter some stock updates on the computer. Later,” he said and strode the rest of the way to his office.

His muscles twitched. He could manage this ranch with one hand tied behind his back, but he couldn’t hold his daughter for even one minute without scaring her so much she shrieked in fear. Somehow, someday, he needed to change that, but he didn’t know how to do it.

He scrubbed his forehead with his hand. What had Brooke done? He wondered if his ex-lover had told Emma he was a horrid man. He wondered if, before Brooke had died riding on the back of her most recent lover’s motorcycle, she had corrupted Emma’s brain. Was that even possible?

He and Brooke had shared a sexual affair that had lasted a weekend. He’d come to his senses, as had she. Until weeks later, when Brooke had learned she was pregnant. Benjamin had immediately proposed, even though he and Brooke had both known they didn’t belong together. She’d refused his proposal but accepted his support. He’d reluctantly realized that he would be a twice-a-month father. He only saw Emma three times before her mother’s death.

Suddenly he’d become a full-time single father. Who made his daughter cry at the very sight of him.

His gut clenched again. Sometimes he wondered if he would ever hold her without her screaming in fear.

Sucking in a mind-clearing breath, he focused on the computer screen. He wasn’t going to fix his problem with Emma today. Thank goodness he had Coco. Emma felt safe with her. That was why he had hired Coco. She was magic for Emma. She had been the first time she’d held her. Somehow, Coco was an ordinary woman with superpowers when it came to babies, which was exactly what Benjamin needed. Lately, he’d wondered if she could be … more …

Benjamin shook his head. Crazy thoughts. His computer cursor was blinking at him. He should enter the appropriate numbers in his Excel spreadsheet.

There was plenty of trouble in his day before he even thought of Coco.

Coco stared after her tall, broad-shouldered boss as he disappeared into his office. She jiggled Emma to help her settle down. The baby clung to her like a tick, bless her heart. Coco was certain Emma still missed her mama even though her mama had been the type to come and go as she pleased.

Coco was pretty certain Benjamin had tried to hire Emma’s previous nanny, but not everyone wanted to live on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, Texas. Nowhere, Texas, suited Coco just fine after all the days she’d spent with her mother in hospice care. It was nice not to have to live by herself in a tiny apartment, always aware that she wasn’t just alone for the night. Now that her mother had passed away, Coco was truly alone in this world.

Caring for a baby was therapeutic for Coco. Even though Emma was terribly insecure and frightened, she represented light and hope to Coco. After the strange visit Coco had received yesterday from the even stranger two men who had shown up on the front porch of Benjamin’s home, though she’d shooed them away, she was afraid. What did they want from her? Was there some other debt her mother had owed that Coco would need to pay?

She panicked at that prospect. By the time her mother had passed, there’d been nearly nothing left. Coco had taken out a loan so that her mother could have a proper burial and she would be paying college loans for a long time. Coco had quit just shy of getting her degree and was determined to finish it. But that was for later. Now, she just needed to get some of her equilibrium back. From the first moment she’d stepped onto this ranch, something had clicked and she’d known this was the place for her. It didn’t hurt that Emma needed her.

Benjamin’s long-time housekeeper, Sarah Stevens, made a clucking sound as she entered the hallway. “How long is it going to take that man to just sweat it out and hold that baby until she stops crying?”

“I can’t totally blame him,” Coco said. “Emma hasn’t been at all cooperative.”

Sarah’s generously lined face softened. “Well, it’s true the baby has been through a lot of changes. Who knows what kind of environment she was living in with that Brooke Hastings.” Sarah gave a snort. “Party girl. Don’t know how he ever got involved with her.”

Coco had kept her curiosity to herself about the odd pairing of one of Dallas’s most notorious party girls and solid rancher Benjamin Garner. “They must have seen something in each other.”

Sarah snorted again. “Enough for a fling. Of course, as soon as Benjamin found out little Miss Brooke was pregnant, he tried to do the right thing and offered to marry her, but the woman refused. She didn’t want to be tied down. Too much life to be lived.”

“Did she keep partying throughout her pregnancy? That could have been terrible for Emma.”

“I think Brooke dialed it down during the pregnancy, but as soon as Emma was delivered, she was hitting the circuit again. Thank goodness you showed up when you did. The little peanut was usually okay with me as long as I held her every minute, but I couldn’t get anything done around the house. I’m still catching up,” she grumbled.

“It was good timing for me, too,” Coco said. “But I may need to take a couple hours off soon for personal business.”

Sarah sighed. “It’s only fair. You’ve been working two weeks straight with her. I just know that I’ll be the fill-in.” The older woman lifted her finger to Emma’s cheek and cracked a smile. “She’s adorable when she’s not screaming.”

“I’ll try to schedule my break when she’s taking a nap,” Coco said.

“You’re overdue,” Sarah said. “We’ll just have to adjust. Maybe I’ll finagle a way to get Benjamin together with her. Never would have believed a little baby could scare the devil out of a man like him,” she said and laughed. “You let me know when you need your break. I’ll be here for the little one.”

“Thank you, Sarah,” Coco said and wondered if perhaps she should just take Emma with her. She was reluctant to cause any more trauma for Emma or Benjamin.

Later that night, Coco slept in the room next to the nursery. The baby could still be a bit unpredictable. Coco was still bothered by the men who had come to visit her and wondered what she should do. Were they bill collectors? Should she consult a lawyer? It took her hours to go to sleep

A shriek jerked her awake. Coco sat upright, adrenaline pumping through her as she tried to pull herself together.

Another shriek pierced the air and she realized it was Emma. Another bad dream, she thought. Who would have guessed that a baby could have bad dreams? Coco jumped out of bed and darted out of her room toward the nursery next door. She didn’t bother with a light because she knew the way by heart.

Except this time she plowed into a human wall.

She felt her breath leave her body in a rush. Automatically bracing herself, she put her hands on his shoulders. Hot flesh over sinewy muscles. Her heart slammed against her ribs. She felt his arms slide around her to stabilize her.

Coco’s eyes finally began to adjust to the darkness. “Sorry,” she managed, a strange sensual panic racing through her.

“I heard Emma and she wasn’t stopping,” Benjamin said in a rough voice that made goose bumps rise on her arms.

Coco took a step back. “Sorry,” she said again. “I was fast asleep.”

“You need a break,” he said, raking his hand through his hair.

“We’ll figure it out,” she said and pushed through Emma’s partially opened door. The volume of Emma’s screams increased exponentially without a pause. Coco rushed to the crib and picked up the baby, cooing at her.

“There you are,” she said. “You’re fine. You’re okay, sweetie. You don’t need to be upset. You’re safe.”

Emma alternately whined and made hiccupping sounds.

Coco hated that the baby was so upset. She bobbed up and down. “There you go. See. You’re okay.”

Emma gave a heavy sigh. Then another. She felt the tot fasten her mouth against her shoulder and make buzzing noises and couldn’t help laughing under her breath.

“I take it she’s okay,” Benjamin said from a few feet behind her.

Emma continued her happy buzzing noise and Coco turned around to face Benjamin. He was dressed in a pair of pajama pants and nothing else. “Sure sounds like it to me.”

Emma paused a half beat then continued.

“Why does she keep waking up screaming?” he asked, resting his hands on his hips, clearly perplexed.

Jiggling Emma, she stroked the baby’s back. “It’s not every night. She’s just still adjusting. I think she’ll calm down soon.”

“She has an appointment with the pediatrician soon. Maybe he can tell us something. I’ll want you to go to that appointment,” he said. “If I take her, she’ll just scream the whole time.”

“That’s fine. I’d like a few hours off tomorrow or the next day, though. I have some personal business to take care of.”

“No problem. Sarah will cover for you. I may need to hire someone part-time so you’ll have backup,” he said with a sigh.

“We can give her a little more time. With little ones, they can turn a corner before you know it.” Coco could feel Emma’s rigid frame start to relax against her. “Maybe she wouldn’t be so afraid of you in the dark. Come closer and see.”

“I did that earlier,” he said in a dry tone.

“But this is different. It’s dark and you’re not wearing your hat. Maybe—”

“Maybe not tonight,” he said firmly. “I don’t want to get her riled up again tonight. See you tomorrow,” he said and left the room.

Coco slid into the rocking chair with a sigh. She hated that Emma and Benjamin were so tense around each other. When she’d first accepted the position to take care of Emma, she’d thought Emma’s screaming when her daddy came close was just a phase. True, it had only been a few weeks, but it seemed as if the two of them were growing more tense with each other, instead of less. Benjamin wanted to avoid upsetting Emma, which gave them fewer opportunities to interact.

Coco wondered if she should just set Emma in his arms and leave so the two of them could work it out, but she knew that was probably her lack of sleep talking. She felt Emma’s sweet little body go limp with relaxation. The baby’s trust in her never failed to grab her heart. Rising, she returned Emma to her crib and went back to bed. This time, she fell asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Late the next morning, after Coco put Emma down for her morning nap, she dressed to go into town. Just as she descended the steps from the front porch, she saw a black Mercedes pulling toward the front of the house. Her stomach dipped. This was the same car that had brought the strange men who’d visited her two days ago.

Sweating, she glanced over her shoulder, praying that no one would see the visitors. Her heart pounding in her chest, she walked toward the vehicle as it stopped.

The man in the passenger seat opened the door and rose from the car. He was short with gray hair and squinty eyes. “Miss Jordan, my name is Paul Forno. I represent the House of Devereaux. My associate and I need to discuss an important matter with you.”

The House of Devereaux? Coco wasn’t sure if it was a fashion label or a collection agency. When the driver opened his car door, panic raced through her. “Listen, this is private property. This is also where I work.”

“Yes, ma’am. Please accept our apologies, but this is news that must be delivered in person. If you could give us a few moments of your time—”

“Not right now,” she said. “I’m on my way out.”

The man sighed. “As you wish, miss, but we don’t have a lot of time. Please accept my business card and call me at your earliest convenience,” he said and offered her the card.

Confused, but not wanting to show it, she gave a brisk nod, stuffed the card into her small purse and strode to her car. We don’t have a lot of time. What could that possibly mean? And who was we? Her hands shook as she stuck the key into the ignition of her five-year-old economy car. Looking in her rearview mirror, she felt a microbit of relief when she saw the black Mercedes pull away from the ranch.

Coco opened her car window and took several breaths. The men looked like the same kind who had frequented her mother’s home the last two months before she died. Her mother had fallen deeply in debt, and lenders had become impatient with her inability to pay her bills. Coco had helped as much as she could, but near the end she was only working part-time. Her mother’s care had required the rest of her time and energy.

She wondered if somehow she was responsible for some of her mother’s bills. She’d never cosigned loans, but she had used a credit card when they’d had an electrical problem and her car had needed an emergency repair. She’d thought she’d paid it off, but now she thought she needed to review her check register.

Her mind reeling, Coco drove off the property onto the highway into town. All the time, she wondered what she should do. She remembered a friend who had been a legal assistant. Maybe she could call her.

Reaching the small town of Silver City, she pulled alongside the town diner and got out of her car. She wanted a good cup of coffee or hot chocolate or hot apple cider and maybe a little sympathy from her friend Kim, a waitress at the diner. She’d known Kim back in high school, and Kim had since married and moved to Silver City. Coco and Kim had shared a meal when Coco had first come to town last month. Since then, Coco had dropped into the diner with Emma a couple times.

Coco walked inside the homey diner and the hostess immediately greeted her. “How are you doing, miss? Can I seat you?”

“Fine, thank you. Yes,” Coco said. “Please do. Just one.”

“We’ve got plenty of room. I’ll put you in a booth.”

As soon as Coco slid into the red booth, Kim Wash-burn winked and waved at her. Coco shot her a weak smile in return.

A couple moments later, Kim trotted to Coco’s table. “Where’s the little one today?” Kim asked.

“I finally got a couple hours off so I left her sleeping with Sarah at the ready to take over. I need to run some errands.”

“I would say so. You haven’t taken a break since you signed on for this gig, have you? What can I get you?”

“Hot chocolate,” she said. “Or apple cider.”

Kim laughed. “You want both?”

“No. I’ll take hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.”

Kim studied her thoughtfully. “Something wrong? Now that I think about it, you don’t look too happy.”

“Just distracted,” Coco said.

Kim shrugged her shoulders, but clearly didn’t believe her. “If you say so. But if you need some help, I’ll give it my best try,” she said, then headed for the kitchen area.

Coco bit her lip. She was so used to fending for herself that she almost didn’t know how to accept help when it was offered. Kim returned with a mug of hot chocolate overflowing with marshmallows.

Coco smiled. “Thanks. Can you keep something confidential?” she asked in a low voice.

“Sure, what is it?”

“I may need some legal advice,” Coco said reluctantly.

Kim’s eyes widened and she slid into the booth across from Coco. “Well, you’re not married, so you don’t need a divorce. I can’t believe you’ve committed any crimes.”

“It’s not that,” Coco said. “I just need to check on what happens to a person’s debts when they die. I need to know if I’m responsible for my mother’s debts.”

“Well, I can tell you that. As long as you didn’t cosign anything, you’re not responsible. How do I know? When my husband Hank’s parents died, they had a boatload of debt and none of the kids had to pay. Now the repo company took everything his parents owned and that meant no inheritance for the kids, but the kids did not have to pay.” She frowned. “Why are you worried?”

“These strange men have come to Benjamin Garner’s house. They remind me of the bill collectors who kept coming around when my mother was sick,” Coco said.

“Well, if they’re angling to get some money out of you, they’re just crooked. You should tell Benjamin. He’ll take care of them in no time.”

“But he’s my employer. It would be embarrassing to have to tell him about this,” she said.

“If they keep coming around the house, he’s going to find out anyway. Better to nip it in the bud. And trust me, there’s no one better-suited to take care of someone trying to pull some sort of money scheme on you than Benjamin.” Kim thumped the table with her knuckles. “I gotta get back to work. Enjoy those marshmallows and talk to Benjamin.”

Coco stared at the marshmallows, her stomach churning at the prospect of discussing her mother’s debt issues with Benjamin.

“She’s okay as long as I bob up and down. I just hope it doesn’t make my fillings fall out. You’ll have a high dental bill if that happens,” Sarah warned Benjamin as she jiggled Emma.

Emma had spotted him and was throwing a hard glance at him. It amazed him that a kid under six months old could kill a man with her eyes. Maybe she was a chip off the old block after all. He turned to go to his office.

“Not so fast,” Sarah called. “The least you can do is come here and say hello to your daughter.”

“I’ll just make her cry,” he said.

“I’ll take that risk. You can’t run from your own child forever,” she said.

“I’m not running,” he said. “I just don’t see any need in upsetting her.”

Benjamin slowly walked toward Sarah and Emma. The baby glared at him like a gunfighter ready for action.

“Boo,” he said in a low voice.

Both Sarah and Emma gasped. “Why’d you do that? You’re just gonna scare her even more.”

Benjamin shrugged and walked closer. He lifted his hand to the sweet skin of the baby’s chubby arm. “Hey, Princess, sooner or later, you’ll realize that I’m gonna be around a long time. I can just tell you’re gonna give me hell till you figure that out.”

Emma frowned, but she didn’t cry. She shot him another hard look and stared at his hat.

“Does this bother you?” he asked, removing the hat from his head and extending the Stetson toward her. He thought about the sweet nanny he’d hired. At first sight of the woman, Benjamin had sensed a tender heart. “Coco said it might.”

Emma stared at the hat then at him and for one sliver of a second, he saw a softening in those intense blue eyes of his daughter.

The front door opened and Coco’s footsteps sounded in the foyer. He knew her step already. Benjamin automatically turned and Boomer limped to greet her. “Hey, boy,” he heard her say to the dog. Seconds later, she appeared, breathless, clearly a little concerned. “How was she?”

“Ah!” Emma said.

“She’s fine as long as I jump up and down,” Sarah said in a grumpy voice as Emma stretched her hands toward Coco. “Did you take care of your business?”

Coco’s gaze darkened, taking Emma into her arms. “Mostly, but I—uh—I’d appreciate it if I could maybe talk to you sometime soon,” she said to Benjamin.

Surprised, he shrugged. “No problem. Just let me know when. I’m in the office this afternoon and I have a cattlemen’s meeting tonight.”

Coco stared at him for a moment. “So when is a good time?”

He got an odd feeling in his gut at the expression on her face. He hoped this didn’t mean trouble. Benjamin didn’t need one more iota of trouble in his life. And he sure as hell didn’t need trouble from his daughter’s nanny. He’d hired the woman to alleviate his problems, not exacerbate them.

“I can see you up until six today or after nine tonight,” he told her.

She took a deep breath. “After nine. Emma will be in bed by then.”

He nodded and placed his hat back on his head. “Nine o’clock. Come to my office.”

“Can we, uh, meet in the den?” she asked, surprising him with the request.

He shrugged. “Okay. See you at nine. I’ve got work to do,” he said and walked away.

That night, just before 9:00 p.m., Emma fell asleep with no struggle. Coco set the baby on her back in her crib. Emma was totally relaxed and Coco had a feeling the baby might sleep through the whole night. She quietly walked from the room and left the door open just a sliver. She had a monitor, but Coco liked the idea of having more than one modality to hear Emma if she cried.

Now she was second-guessing her decision to talk with Benjamin. She’d almost hoped Emma would take a long time to get to sleep, so she wouldn’t be able to meet with him. Her stomach knotted with nerves. Benjamin was a tough man. She just hoped he would be on her side.