The Nanny And The Reluctant Rancher. Barbara McCauley

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СКАЧАТЬ her problem?” Logan wondered aloud, but knowing how crabby the woman was anyway, paid no attention. He had some books at the house, maybe they were overdue. He’d better check when he got home, or she might send the sheriff after him.

      At the hay and feed, though, Mike Carson hardly said a word to him, and his son, Jessie, had ignored him when he’d helped load the truck. Maybe it was just his own bad mood reflecting off everyone else, he decided.

      The smell of hamburgers drifted to him from the café across the street and his stomach growled in response. After Sophia’s cooking, one of Stubbs Parson’s big juicy burgers was like a gourmet meal. He’d grab a little lunch for himself, order something for Anna, then make a quick stop at the department store before heading home. Between the food and presents, he’d have his daughter smiling before the sun went down.

      The bell tinkled overhead as Logan entered the café. The lunch crowd had filled most of the tables, but Logan found a spot at the counter and slid onto a stool. He turned the coffee cup already sitting in front of him right side up, then picked up a menu and studied it, trying to figure out what Anna would like.

      Coffee magically appeared in his cup, and a soft, silky voice asked, “What can I get for you, Mr. Kincaid?”

      Logan went still, then slowly lowered the menu and stared into eyes the color of spring sage.

      Well, I’ll be damned.

      Kat Delaney.

      She wore a blue waitress uniform, much shorter than he thought appropriate, though he never recalled having that thought with Ellen, the usual waitress. But, of course, he’d never interviewed Ellen to be Anna’s nanny, either.

      He couldn’t believe she was still here.

      She’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail, emphasizing her large green eyes and thick lashes. The color rising on her cheeks matched the pink of her lips. He had to make a conscious effort not to stare at those lips.

      He tipped his hat to her and forced his voice to be even. “Miss Delaney.”

      “Oh, you can call me Kat,” she said cheerfully, pointing to her name tag. “Everyone else here does.”

      His eyes went to the name tag pinned neatly to her snug-fitting uniform, directly over her full breasts. He ground his back teeth together.

      “Hey, Katie, darlin’, my cup’s empty,” Rusty Burke called from a booth. “How ’bout a refill?”

      “Be right back.” She grinned at Logan and with her coffeepot in hand, sauntered over to the obnoxious man.

      He watched her smile at Rusty and felt the heat rise under his collar. What the hell was a woman like her doing here, talking to guys like that? Was she too damn innocent to know what men like Rusty wanted? It sure wasn’t a cup of coffee.

      His hand closed tightly around his own coffee cup. Who knew better than him? he thought angrily. He’d certainly wanted a hell of a lot more than coffee himself. But at least he knew he wouldn’t do anything about it. The same was not true of Rusty, or a dozen other local cowboys. She had no idea what she was getting herself into, waiting on these men and smiling at them the way she was.

      She came back and pulled a pencil and pad from her pocket. “What can I get for you?”

      Logan nearly groaned. If she asked that question all day long to this group, she was in for trouble.

      “Hey, Katie,” another man called from a table. “You got any honey?”

      Logan turned on the man and growled. “Get it yourself. She’s helping me.”

      Kat raised one eyebrow, but said nothing, waiting with her pencil poised.

      “I’ll have a hamburger,” he said sourly.

      “Would you like it cooked?” she asked sweetly, “or shall I just toss it through the bars?”

      He frowned at her, but when she turned away, he reached across the counter for her arm and gently pulled her back. She was right, he was being surly. She didn’t deserve it now any more than she’d deserved being fired two days ago.

      “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” He wished they were anywhere but the middle of a crowded café.

      She smiled slowly, and the soft upward curve of her lips made his pulse jump. “I admit, I’m a little surprised myself. If it wasn’t for Mr. Parson, I might have given up. He’s been wonderful to me.”

      And I haven’t, Logan thought with a frown. Her skin was soft and smooth where he held her arm. He knew he should let go, but he couldn’t seem to break the contact between them.

      “Look, Miss Delaney—Kat,” he said as quietly as he could over the clatter of dishes and people talking. “About the other day. I didn’t mean to be rude or unreasonable. I just...well, you weren’t what I was expecting.”

      She looked at him for a long moment, then sighed softly and relaxed her shoulders. “How’s Anna?”

      “Logan Kincaid, get your hands off my waitress!”

      Stubbs Parson came around from behind the grill waving a spatula, his bulldog face scowling.

      “Don’t think you can come in here and steal this gem away from me, especially after the way you’ve treated her, Mr. Flimflam man. Word has it from Punch Wilkins you brought her all the way from New York, then fired her faster than he could microwave a tamale.”

      Logan and Stubbs had been friends for years, and Logan, like everyone else in town, had always tolerated and been amused by the ornery old café owner. At the moment, however, Logan definitely didn’t feel very tolerant, and he sure as hell didn’t feel amused. He ignored Stubbs and looked directly at Kat. Her face was bright red and it was obvious that everyone in town knew he’d fired her. No wonder people had been treating him like a pariah. With that innocent face of hers, and that sweet smile, Logan Kincaid would look like the devil incarnate. Logan decided he was going to strangle Punch.

      He also decided he wanted Kat Delaney back.

      For Anna, of course.

      “How much is he paying you?” Logan asked Kat.

      Flustered, Kat looked at Stubbs. “Well, I—”

      “Oh, no, you don’t.” Stubbs waved his spatula at Logan. “To quote Punch, you said that you needed someone older. Well, mister, she might be too young for you, but she’s not for me.”

      “I’m not too young for you, sweetie,” Stella Jones, the town beautician said from the booth behind him. Stella had to be at least sixty, with brassy red hair and a cosmetics-counter face. Logan’s collar was burning now, and the heat moved like wildfire up his neck. He decided he wasn’t going to strangle Punch. That would be too quick. He was going to kill him slowly and painfully.

      “How much is he paying you?” Logan asked Kat again.

      “The tips have been very generous,” Kat said carefully.

      “I’ll bet they have.” Logan looked around the café and saw several of the men staring СКАЧАТЬ