Fortune's Second-Chance Cowboy. Marie Ferrarella

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Chapter One

      Dear Lord, what am I doing?

      The question echoed in her brain as Chloe pulled up before the main ranch house of Peter’s Place.

      Yes, she really wanted to be part of a family, part of this family, but did she really want to leave herself wide open like this? To get this close to the Fortunes? After all, she sternly reminded herself, her encounter last month with the clan was less than successful to say the least.

      It all came vividly rushing back to her now as she turned off the ignition and sat quietly in the car for a moment.

      She never should have agreed to this interview. She was too intimidated by Kate Fortune, the family matriarch, who Chloe figured would be at this meeting. And why not? She seemed to run everything associated with the Fortune family.

      Kate Fortune might well be ninety-one years old, but she looked decades younger and was sharp as the proverbial tack. The woman was not exactly the warm, cuddly grandmotherly type.

      Was it too late to change her mind? Chloe thought not for the first time.

      Then again, it wasn’t as if she was exactly hip-deep in job offers, able to pick and choose which position she was willing to accept. Given that, this job that Graham was offering her was at least worth a look. Heaven knew she wasn’t getting anywhere looking for work so far and she knew that Donnie wouldn’t have wanted her to give up on life just because he was gone. And who knew? Maybe she’d actually get it and things would work out for the best.

      There was always a first time, Chloe told herself philosophically, doing her best to bolster up her flagging courage.

      “Well, here goes nothing,” Chloe murmured under her breath as she unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door.

      Glancing up into the rearview mirror before she exited the vehicle, she made one futile attempt to smooth down her wayward curly blond hair. Not that it did all that much good, she thought ruefully. Her hair seemed to have a mind of its own.

      “Just like me,” Chloe murmured, thinking of what her mother had often said.

      You just keep dancing to your own drummer, Chloe. The world’ll come around eventually to join you.

      Satisfied that she looked as good as she was going to look on this crisp March day—the wind had seemed determined to restyle her hair the moment she’d stepped outside—Chloe got out of her sedan and closed the door.

      She didn’t bother locking the vehicle because it wasn’t the kind of car that anyone would think to steal. It had already gone through several owners before she’d bought it a year ago. Close to ten years old, it ran mostly on faith and used parts.

      Warning herself not to expect too much, Chloe went up the three steps to the ranch house front door. Mentally counting to ten as she took a deep breath and centered herself, she knocked on the door.

      The second her knuckles made contact, the door seemed to fly open. As a matter of fact, she could have sworn that the door opened a second before she actually knocked on it.

      But that had to be her imagination—right?

      “Oh, Chloe, you’re here,” Graham said, looking startled to see her.

      He wasn’t in the doorway alone. Chloe recognized the pretty blue-eyed blonde right behind her half brother. It was his wife, Sasha. The petite woman looked even more frazzled than Graham did.

      “I’m sorry. Did I get the dates mixed up?” Chloe asked, looking from Graham to his wife. It was the only conclusion she could draw, given the expressions on their faces and their almost breathless manner.

      “No, no, you’ve got the right date,” Graham assured her. “But something’s just come up. There’s been a sudden family emergency. I just got a call from our babysitter that Maddie—that’s our eight-year-old,” he explained quickly, “decided that she’d give flying off the swing a try.” He frowned, shaking his head. “It didn’t turn out quite the way our fearless daughter had hoped. From all the screaming and crying, the sitter thinks that Maddie broke her arm. We’re just on our way out to meet them at the hospital.”

      “Oh, I’m sorry,” Chloe cried, genuinely concerned. She could just imagine what was going through their minds. But at least they had each other to lean on. “Is there anything I can do?”

      It took him only a second to answer Chloe. “As a matter of fact, there is.”

      “What do you need?” she asked, ready to pitch in and help.

      Chloe thought he was going to ask her to accompany him and his wife to whatever hospital their little girl had been taken. Maybe they were too rattled to drive safely. But that wasn’t what he needed her to do.

      “Would you mind sticking around for a while?” Graham asked her. “I’ve got someone else coming in for an interview and I couldn’t reach him on the phone. I was going to call you as soon as we were on the road,” Graham quickly explained. “When he gets here, tell him that as soon as I make sure that Maddie’s all right, I’ll be back. I know this is a huge imposition on you and I wouldn’t ask if—”

      “That’s okay,” Chloe said, cutting him off. She could tell just by his tone of voice that if he remained, the man’s mind wouldn’t be on the interview. “Go. See to your daughter.” She all but shooed the couple out. “I’ll stay.”

      “We won’t forget this,” Sasha promised, tossing the words over her shoulder as she and her husband rushed out of the house.

      Chloe offered the couple an encouraging smile. “Glad to help,” she called after them.

      After all, it wasn’t as if she was exactly pressed for time, Chloe thought, watching the duo get into their car and drive quickly away.

      Besides, Chloe reasoned, walking back into the ranch house and closing the door behind her, this way she could get a look at whoever it was that she would be competing against for this job.

      Chloe looked around. She liked the looks of the ranch from what she’d seen of it, driving up here. Maybe she was reading things into it, she thought, but it had a good feel about it.

      Chloe sat down on the sofa, prepared to wait. She remained sitting for all of five minutes before she began to feel restless. On her feet again, she started to prowl around the large living room with its comfortable masculine furnishings.

      Definitely a good feel to the place, she thought as she moved about, touching things and envisioning herself working here.

      She looked at an old-fashioned clock with gold numbers on the fireplace mantel, and she could almost feel the minute hand dragging itself in slow motion, going from one number to the next.

      How long was she expected to wait? If she’d had some sort of a handle on that, then she could put things into perspective—or at least know when it would be all right for her to leave.

      The sound of a back door slamming made her jump. As did the sound of a wailing baby.

      The next second, a rather beleaguered-looking older man came in, holding СКАЧАТЬ