“Oh, I heard you call him and his gorgeous bicepsyours.”
I give her the side eye.
She gives me a grin. “Besides, I wouldn’t call them a waste—he did build a pretty impressive house with those biceps.”
“It’s about the only thing impressive about him,” I lie.
“Think you should cut him some slack. The man’s been through some life-altering changes in the span of two seasons,” Rose reminds me. “This dad thing is still growing on him and he’s just taking it one day at a time.”
Immediately, I sober up, feeling like a fool for letting my mind go places it shouldn’t when all this man needs is my help. Not to trick me into falling all over him. That’s clearly a “me” problem. “Right. You’re right. It’s why I stayed,” I remind myself out loud.
She squeezes my leg. “And I’m so happy you did. This is going to be great. Now you don’t need to live with your mother—because we all know you’d rather sleep at the bar for a month than her apartment for one night. And you can save some money for a niceelevatorbuilding in the East Village.”
“Hmm.” I haven’t given much thought to the “after,” since no one really knows how long this case will go on. And I imagine I’m not going to up and leave once he gets legal custody of Ellie. It’ll be too obvious.
“How much does a nanny gig pay around here anyway?” she asks subtly.
“Double what I was making at the bar, which I thought was pretty steep.”
Rose smirks. “They do pay well. It’s probably why Ginger hasn’t retired. Then again, that woman lives and breathes this ranch just as much as the men do.”
I frown. “I still think it’s too much. Ellie’s in school half the day. It feels wrong.”
“The Thornes aren’t hurting for money. They’ve got the land, the cattle, the guest cabins were full all summer too. They’re not your typical big-city billionaires, but they’ve got money,” she says reassuringly. “And don’t sell yourself short. It’s important, what you’re doing for him.”
“Forthem,” I correct her. It’s just as much for Ellie, if not more, as it is for Dallas.
Rose glances over, smiling at me politely. “Right.” She presses a button and the ranch gates creak open, slow and wide.
I nod toward the button. “Boy, that thing sure would’ve come in handy that night you stole this vehicle.”
Rose pushes through with a wistful grin. “Where would’ve been the fun in that?”
That’s the difference between Rose and me. She had to overcome some serious struggles to trust men again. But it didn’t stop her from falling hard for Wilder. For trusting him with her safety, and her heart.
A week ago, I would’ve said I wouldn’t be caught dead falling for anyone’s charm again.
Yet here I am .?.?. letting Dallas slip past every wall I’ve built.
“I’ll drop you back at the house. I wish I didn’t have to go to school today, I’d rather spend time with you,” she whines. “But later, I’m teaching art for kids at the cottage if you want to swing by. Dallas is dropping Ellie off there.”
“I still need to get myself settled and I need to organize those kitchen cabinets. This weekend, Dallas and I sort of shoved things any old place so we could concentrate on the rest of the house before Ellie arrived.”
“Sounds exhausting. You tell your mom you’re staying yet?”
“No.”
“When is she expecting you?”
“Last night.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a call to make when you get home.”
I blink as she pulls up to the estate—the sprawling, endless property, interrupted only by the gentle stream of water that gives the ranch its name and the towering, breathtaking mountains that stand protectively on its periphery.
Home.
It’s after three when I finally gather up the courage to call my mother. I’m slightly annoyed, but not surprised, that she didn’t call to ask why I didn’t arrive last night.
