Porcupine Ranch. Sally Carleen

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СКАЧАТЬ when she leaned over to scrub floors? Her clothes weren’t very housekeeperish, either—a blouse with long, puffy sleeves, a vest and a long flowing skirt. She looked like some kind of an artist, much too unworldly and fragile to handle the ranch.

      She’d come into the stuffy old house trailing the scent of roses, and she had a look about her that made him think of a spiderweb with a drop of dew on it, quivering in the morning sunlight. He wanted to touch her, feel the translucent skin of her delicate face.

      Clayton clenched his callused hands and mentally ordered them to keep away from that porcelain skin. He’d threaten the other guys within an inch of their lives if they got out of line with her, too. From the looks of her, he didn’t think she’d be able to deal with the rough characters he’d hired for spring roundup.

      Nevertheless, this Mr. Taylor had given her a great reference, and, even if he had a choice after Glen Ramsey’s persuasive phone call, he was desperate.

      “My banker said Mr. Taylor has already closed up his place and left for Europe, and you’ll be able to move in and start work immediately.” Those big eyes got bigger. Did she not understand what he meant? “Can you start work soon? Tomorrow? Today?”

      “Tomorrow?”

      He wasn’t sure if she was repeating something she didn’t comprehend or agreeing to start tomorrow. He elected to put the positive slant on it. “Then I’ll see you in the morning.”

      “Morning?”

      She really did have some major communication problems. Thankfully, cooking, washing and cleaning didn’t require a lot of communication. “As soon as you get up, you get dressed and then come on out here.”

      He stood.

      She stood.

      “Would you like to see your room?”

      She shook her head, the motion jerky but a definite negative.

      “In the morning, then. I’m very pleased to have met you, Ms. Lindsay.” He offered his hand to shake and after a second’s hesitation, she took it.

      Her hand was slim, smooth and soft in his. Again the word fragile came to mind. And tantalizing as that concept might be to Clayton’s male ego, it wasn’t a good one for a housekeeper on a ranch in Texas brush country. Out here, only the strongest survived.

      Reluctantly Clayton turned her hand loose even as he fought an urge to pat it and smile and reassure her…and not hire her to take care of his house.

      He moved to the door and opened it.

      She came to life then and, with a wild-eyed look, darted out the door, across the yard, into her car and peeled away in a cloud of dust.

      Clayton shook his head as he watched her go. Such a pretty girl. Too bad she was so odd. Maybe her mother didn’t take enough vitamins when she was pregnant.

      He made a quick check to see if they had enough lunch meat and bread for dinner. Damn! They were running low on mayo. Thank goodness he could stop worrying about things like that come tomorrow.

      So what if Hannah Lindsay was a little strange, a bit off center? She had great references.

       From an elderly man who lived in a condo, not a crew of half-civilized cowboys on a completely uncivilized ranch.

      Determinedly ignoring the nagging voice of doom, Clayton went out to continue vaccinating the hundred plus head of cattle they’d rounded up that morning. The men would work even harder knowing they’d soon have decent meals.

      

      Hannah went straight to Samuel’s apartment, ignoring her own door across the hallway. She banged on the door with one fist while she repeatedly jabbed the doorbell with the other.

      The older man opened the door almost immediately. “Did you meet him?” he asked before she had a chance to say anything. Just seeing him standing there looking so hopeful took the heat from her self-righteous anger.

      His physical resemblance to her own grandfather was superficial, but the kindness in his blue eyes, his uncritical acceptance of her, his caring attitude were hauntingly reminiscent of the man who had been her world. She wanted to return his caring, to do everything she could for him, all the things she hadn’t been able to do for her grandfather because he’d died too soon.

      “Come in and tell me about my grandson,” he said. “How did he look? What did he say?”

      “How could you do this to me?” She tried to force indignation into her tone. “You called somebody at the bank and lied to him, and now I’ve got the job as your grandson’s housekeeper!”

      “But Hannah, you agreed to do it for me.”

      Hannah spread her hands in frustration. “I agreed to apply for the job, but I never dreamed I’d get it! I told you I wasn’t going to lie about my qualifications.”

      “And that’s very admirable of you, but not very practical. That’s why I had to lie for you. If you didn’t get the job, how could you get to know my grandson? How could you smooth the way for me to meet him in person and not just in this cold, flat picture my detective took of him?”

      Samuel looked so sad, so lonely. In the six months since he’d moved in across the hall from her, he’d become a dear friend, and she knew how much this meant to him. She wanted to help him.

      But she couldn’t.

      She’d already crumpled under the impact of Clayton Sinclair’s disapproval. She’d had more than enough disapproval in her life. Working as Clayton’s housekeeper guaranteed she’d give him plenty of occasions for more.

      “Samuel, you know how hard it is for me to talk to people I don’t know.”

      “You didn’t know me when I moved in here.”

      “But you were so friendly, and you reminded me so much of Granddad. It wasn’t like you were a real stranger.”

      “You’ll get to know my grandson even faster since you’ll be living there.”

      Hannah shook her head remembering the way Clayton looked in his blue jeans and western-cut shirt, the way he’d crossed one booted foot over his knee, the easy air of strength and masculinity. She’d love to get to know him…in another lifetime, of course, when she’d be a confident, sexy woman whom he could be interested in.

      But she couldn’t tell Samuel that.

      “You know I don’t even like to go to the grocery store. I’m only comfortable when I’m home with my computer, designing my games.”

      “I know that. I also know the company in Dallas wants you to make personal appearances in an advertising campaign to demonstrate the latest game you’re working on and you told them no. That proves it’s time you get out into the world, get away from the computer and experience life. Going to Clayton’s ranch and doing this for me will be a great place to start.”

      Hannah shook her head. She’d thought Samuel understood that she was experiencing the only life she wanted to experience.

      Opting СКАЧАТЬ