The Rancher's Nanny

He also knew she’d not spotted them both yet, so what he saw was natural for her. In fact, in that moment, watching her, he was sure, he saw her loving his daughter, taking care of her.

“She’s got a good heart,” Mike said, breaking into his thoughts. “Do you want my advice?”

“What is it?” he asked.

“Be careful with her. I know you try to pretend you don’t have any feelings, and that you like to be an asshole, but I think this girl is vulnerable,” Mike said. “You could break her heart, and in doing so, you’ll hurt yourself.” His brother slapped him on the shoulder.

“What about me?” Caleb asked, feeling like an asshole for even saying anything. “Aren’t you worried about my heart being broken?”

“Your heart wasn’t broken when Ivory left, Caleb. You wanted her to leave. I hope you’ve not closed yourself off to the potential of falling in love, or even finding a woman who can make you whole again.”

The moment Maddie and Paige caught sight of them, his little girl squealed for him, and Maddie stood up. He watched as she seemed to get a hold of herself.

They began to trot back toward the backyard, and when he was only a few feet away, he climbed off his horse, and gave Mike the lead so that he could take the horses back to the barn. By the time he turned around, Paige threw herself into his arms.

She was wet, laughing, and it made him so damn happy to see her this way. “I was playing with Maddie, and I got wet.”

“I can tell.” He kissed her head, putting her down onto the floor.

“How’s the fence? Is everything okay for the winter?” Paige asked.

After Ivory left them, in order to give his mother some peace he’d take Paige out, riding in front of him on the horse, and he’d tell her all the chores that needed doing.

“It looks like everything is in order, and we’re all set.”

“Yay.” Paige clapped her hands. “Look what we found in the garden.” She rushed toward the bench and held up an entire basket of vegetables.

“I was going to get around to pulling them out and cleaning them,” he said, looking toward Maddie.

“It’s okay. It was on the list of jobs that you placed on the fridge. It was no biggie. Honestly, Paige did most of the dirty work.”

Paige then held her hands up. “I’ve got to wash them before I go to dinner.”

He ruffled her head.

“Speaking of dinner, it’ll be ready soon. Go and get washed up, and I’ll carry these vegetables inside and we can figure out what to do with them tomorrow.” Maddie lifted the large basket, and Paige was already gone, looking excited about whatever they had planned for tomorrow.

With no one around, he moved up to Maddie, taking the basket from her hands. Placing it back on the bench, he cupped her face, tilted her head back, and slammed his lips down on hers. Her hands moved to his hips, holding him close.

Sliding his tongue across her lips, she opened up to him, and he plundered inside. “I’ve been wanting to do that all day,” he said, pulling away.

“Anyone could see.”

“I don’t care. Mike already knows.”

Her gaze went to the barn. “Do you think that’s wise?”

“It’s my brother. I don’t care what he thinks.”

“What about Paige? It’ll confuse her.”

“She’s not here to see. We can wait.” He ran his thumb across her lips, and just the thought of them wrapped around his cock was enough to make him ache. Something was going on here between them. He enjoyed being with Maddie so much. She made his life easier, and not just that, he loved spending time with her. Caleb had a feeling that when the time came, he wasn’t going to be able to let her go.

He hoped when that happened, she didn’t want to go.

****

Maddie rubbed cream into her face, staring into her mirror as she thought about Caleb. His brother now knew, and it would only be a matter of time before his mother found out. She didn’t know what was going on, and at times that really scared her.

Paige was a dream child. She was so sweet, and always wanted to learn. They spent hours in the kitchen, standing at the counter, rolling out pastry, making cute little cupcakes and decorating them. While they worked, Maddie always asked her questions. Simple math sums, or equations, then of course spelling, and she was such a bright, intelligent child.

She loved her.

There was no doubt in her mind that she loved that little girl, and there were a couple of times that Maddie even wished Paige was her own.

A small knock on the door made her smile.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“It’s Paige.”

“Come on in, sweetheart.”

She watched as Paige appeared. The door was slightly ajar. She wore a pair of bunny pajamas. Maddie had picked them up for her in town a few days ago. With it getting cold, she didn’t want Paige to get a chill.