The Rancher's Housekeeper. Rebecca Winters

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      Lines bracketed his mouth. “To hell with what anyone else thinks. The position would be temporary to anyone I hired—a trial period, if you prefer. Both sides have to find out if the job is a good fit. You did say you only wanted it temporarily.”

      “Yes. What would you say if I work for you until the end of the summer? By then I have other plans and you’ll have had time to find someone really suitable.”

      He studied her for a moment, then said, “End of summer it is. But when you’ve been with us a while, you might not want to stay that long, so your suggestion makes sense.”

      Mr. Brannigan was no one’s fool. Being up front with him was the only honest thing to do. Then it wouldn’t come as a surprise when she gave her notice to leave. By then she ought to have a lead on the whereabouts of her brother’s lover. And child. If it was his …

      “Thank you for giving me this opportunity. How long have you been without a housekeeper?”

      “A month. We’ve been hard hit by our previous housekeeper Mary White Bird’s passing. You need to know she’s been the only housekeeper on the ranch since my brothers and I were born.”

      “That long?”

      He gave her a solemn nod. “Since her death, it’s been hard even to contemplate someone else taking her place.”

      Geena’s thoughts reeled. “She’s the lovely Sioux woman in those pictures?”

      “Yes,” he said in what sounded like a reverent tone.

      “You’re right. No one could ever fill her shoes. I’m shocked that you’d let me sleep in her room among all her precious things. The tobacco bag is fabulous.”

      Emotion darkened his hazel eyes. “It belonged to her husband. I see you know your native American history.”

      Her throat swelled. “I learned a lot from Rupert.” She eyed him directly. “Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. I realize Mary White Bird will never be forgotten, but for as long as I’m with you, I swear I’ll work hard and not make you regret you hired me.” Right now she felt she was the luckiest woman on the planet.

      “In return I promise not to be too terrible a taskmaster, as my brothers continually remind me I am.”

      “Are you going to tell them I was in prison?” She hated the throb in her voice. They were standing close enough she could feel the warmth from his hard body.

      “No. You’ve been exonerated for a crime you didn’t commit, but that’s up to you if you want to tell someone. As far as I’m concerned it’s not information anyone needs to know.”

      She stole an extra breath. He was like a great bulwark in a storm. “You’re a good man, Mr. Brannigan. I’m so thankful for the job I could kiss your feet. But not in front of the service-station attendant, who’s been watching us for some time.”

      The tautness in his expression relaxed. “I’ll buy a tank of gas, then we’ll drive over to Tilly’s and hash out the details of your contract while we eat breakfast. I’m in the mood for a big one. I don’t know about you, but I think better on a full stomach.”

      While he walked over to the gas pump, she climbed in the cab of his Dodge Ram and held her backpack on her lap. Through the back window she could see her bike. She still couldn’t believe he’d tracked her here in order to offer her the housekeeping job. She was definitely being watched over.

      In a few minutes they drove through the town of 1200-plus people to a spot he had to know well. Maybe she was dreaming about the fabulous man who’d just offered her a solid job on a ranch not more than seventy miles from Rapid City. That’s where she would begin her investigation to recover her past.

      The dreams just kept coming after they entered the restaurant. Geena hadn’t had waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for over a year. With some slices of ham added to the plate, she thought she’d never enjoyed a meal so much. “You don’t know how good this tastes.”

      “I can only imagine.” He’d been watching her over the rim of his coffee cup. “Are you up to some more questions? Then you can fire away at me.”

      She sat back in the booth, already knowing the most important thing about him. “Ask me anything you want, Mr. Brannigan.”

      “Call me Colt.” When she nodded he said, “Where are you from?”

      “I’ll try to answer all your questions at once. I was born in Rapid City. My parents died young. My brother Todd and I were raised by our grandmother who lived on a fixed income and rented her home. I always did waitressing. After our grandmother died, I left for college in Laramie. Todd stayed at the house and worked laying pipeline.”

      “How did you manage financially when it was out-of-state tuition?”

      “Through student loans and waiting on tables. I still owe $22,000. After graduation I went to work for a company in Rapid City called FossilMania.”

      “I’ve heard of it. What did you do there exactly?”

      “We went out in teams in vans to find fossils. When we’d get to an area the owner felt contained dinosaur remains, we’d scour a certain section of land to begin a dig with our tools. I’m afraid that doesn’t sound like a résumé for a housekeeper.”

      “Don’t worry about it. Have you ever ridden a horse?”

      “No.”

      “Then I’ll teach you. Emergencies crop up from time to time. You’ll be more useful in that kind of a situation if you can ride.”

      Geena wondered what circumstances he had in mind, but realized he was anxious to learn about her background. The questions she had for him could come later.

      “In Rapid City I found an inexpensive basement apartment to rent from Rupert Brown.”

      She would have moved back to her grandmother’s small house with Todd, but by then he had a girlfriend and she was living with him. Janice had disliked Geena on sight. She was so furtive, Geena knew the other woman had something to hide.

      Her brother didn’t have the best luck with women. Geena feared Janice was the wrong fit for him, but she’d never said anything to Todd because she loved her brother too much and didn’t want to hurt him.

      “Rupert and I shared an interest in artifacts and Native American memorabilia. Over the year I lived there we became good friends.”

      The next part sent a shudder through her. “One day when I came home from doing my field work, the police were there and arrested me for Rupert’s murder. It had happened early in the morning and my fingerprints were all over the trowel I often used.”

      “You were framed!”

      “Yes. A lot of his treasures had been stolen. Several of his irreplaceable books were found in my apartment along with my own small collection of fossils, all with my fingerprints.”

      “Someone had to know about your relationship with the victim.”

      “Definitely. СКАЧАТЬ