Colton Family Showdown. Regan Black

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      Fox couldn’t help noticing how effortlessly Kelsey managed everything the baby needed. It was hard not to resent her efficiency, even though that was exactly why he’d hired her. “You make it all look so easy,” he said.

      She glanced at him as he put the truck into gear and the flash of confusion in her hazel eyes quickly gave way to amusement. “Practice,” she informed him. “That’s all.”

      He liked her calm composure and her gentle, warm approach with the baby. And the horses. He wasn’t looking for her to aim that generous spirit or those wide beautiful eyes at him personally. She was here to do a job. He couldn’t trust himself with a baby, despite the assistance of the internet. It was highly unlikely, if he scared off Kelsey, that another capable nanny would wander up to the house.

      Making a decision on the fly was a rare thing for him. He prided himself on thinking things through, exploring all the angles. But last night, he’d gone with his gut and it seemed to be the right call. Only time would tell if she held up to the breeding work, as well.

      “Have you done any breeding?” he asked.

      She sputtered and her pretty mouth dropped open and snapped closed again as she stared at him. “Beg pardon?”

      He replayed the last few seconds in his mind and smothered a curse. “Horse breeding,” he clarified, his face reddening. “Have you done any fieldwork with horse breeding?”

      She toyed with the cuff of her jacket. “Only with the big animal veterinarians in college,” she replied. “Most of my recent experience is in the lab, analyzing data, writing up reports.”

      “What about not-so-recent experience?”

      She twisted in the seat to check on the baby, giving him a big, cheesy smile, but Fox sensed she was stalling. Then again, reading people wasn’t his strong suit.

      “I grew up on a working farm in a remote area north of here,” she replied, facing forward again.

      If only that narrowed it down. There were miles of remote areas north of the Crooked C ranch. He would’ve pressed, but it seemed rude, since clearly she wanted to drop the subject.

      He followed her directions to her car and checked the odometer when they finally found it. “You walked nearly eight miles yesterday?” The Avalanche Killer was still out there doing heinous things.

      “I caught a ride for most of the way,” she said with casual ease. “Worth it since I’m working with the famous Fox Colton.”

      As a nanny. Which, having reviewed her background again this morning, was a position for which she was vastly overqualified. He’d make it up to her, starting with her car. He trailed behind her as she opened the trunk of a faded blue compact sedan that had seen better days. “We’ll load up your things and then I’ll—”

      She slammed the trunk lid, frowned and leaned all her weight on it in a hard push until the latch caught. “Got it.” She smiled. “It’s finicky.”

      “Where’s the rest?” He watched her sling a leather computer bag over her shoulder and roll a large wheeled hard-sided suitcase toward the back of his truck. He jumped into action, lowering the tailgate to load the suitcase into the truck bed. She wisely carried her computer to the cab and tucked it behind her seat.

      “That’s...everything?” She was thirty years old. Shouldn’t there be boxes or books or gear of some kind?