I shrug. "We aim to provide what our workers need."
Boots. Monitors. Kisses.
No, not kisses, Zane. Fuck.
I clear my throat. “How are you settling in?”
“All right.”
“I stopped at the garage. Cash hasn’t started on your car yet, he’s busy, but he said he’ll get to it this afternoon. It might be a few days for parts.”
I expect her to look frustrated at that update, but her expression is closer to relief as she processes the news.
“That’s all right, then?” I ask.
“Yes. I do want to get back on the road, but…I could use a few extra days of work, to be honest. And Bellamy is enjoying herself here.”
“Good.” I stop at the hose and unfurl it from the hook. There’s a slope away from the barn, and a worn dirt divot at the low point before the grass starts to rise again, heading toward the greenhouses.
It’s the perfect spot for a little girl to stomp in a puddle.
“Watch out,” I say as I turn on the water. The first spurt is sun warmed, but it quickly turns cold, coming straight from the deep artesian well that taps into the aquifer under our land.
Bellamy shrieks in delight as a puddle spreads over the dirt. Once there’s a good pool of water, I turn the tap down so the water slows to a trickle, then I lay the hose down so it keeps refilling the puddle to a splash-worthy depth.
“Oh, she’s going to make such a mess,” Hope says, rubbing her hands on her cheeks.
“But that’s a lot of fun.” I grin. “I come in from the fields muddy all the time. And then the hose is right here for cleaning up.”
She takes a deep breath and smiles. It makes her eyes sparkle. “Okay. Whew, I bet she’s going to nap well this afternoon. Thank you.”
I hold her gaze. “It’s nothing. We’re happy to have the help around here.”
“I appreciate that more than you can know.”
“Oh, no, the appreciation is firmly ours. Luna likes you, which is something. She’s actually quite prickly about letting us hire her help.”
“Why do you call her by her given name?” Hot red spots spark on the apples of her cheeks. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s all right.” I rub my thumb against my moustache as I think about it. “Well, for one thing, Luna’s not her given name. It’s her chosen name. She picked Luna when she was a teenager—and we always knew that? Her birth name is Leeann, and I wouldn’t call her that. But here on the ranch, we’re all equal partners. I call her Mom when we’re alone, or when she’s giving me shit about my brothers.”
“I can’t picture her giving anyone shit. She’s so soft—even when she’s prickly.”
Grinning, I nod. “Sure, when you haven’t just run through her house in muddy boots.”
“Did you do that a lot as kids?”
I chuckle out loud. “That was three months ago.”
She laughs with me, and that sparkle in her gaze grows, until it’s all that I can see.
Which is my cue to leave, because I made myself a promise a few days ago that I would rendermyself invisible to this woman, and I haven’t managed to do that. At all.
But if there’s any chance of staying on the employer side of a line drawn between us, it will only be because I learn how to remove myself from moments where I just want to lean in.
“All right, I’ve got chores to do. Do you mind making sure the hose is cranked off nice and tight when she’s done playing?”
She nods, her gaze lingering on my face. “I can do that. And we’ll definitely take off our boots at the front door.”
