His Texas Christmas Bride

“She’s a strong woman, but not as strong as she once was, either mentally or physically. You’re her nurse so you must see that she’s frail. I won’t let someone take advantage of her.”

“I would never do that.”

“But you haven’t denied taking the money and you’ve let her return to the house when I arranged for assisted living.”

She looked up at him now, her brown eyes blazing. “I didn’t steal anything, Liam.”

Her voice was quiet but lethal. Liam realized he’d misread her stillness. He thought it might be masking guilt, but now he saw she was reining in her anger. Anger that he would accuse her of something so awful.

“I’m sorry, Natalie. The way the accountant spoke it was too much of a coincidence to ignore. You started working for her and soon after money goes missing from her savings account.”

“Does she know you’re monitoring her finances?”

Liam blew out a breath. “She does now.” He watched as she put two bagels in the toaster, then poured the egg mixture into the heated pan. “She’s mad as all get out.”

“Do you blame her?”

“I want to keep her safe. People know I’ve settled money on her and that she barely touches it. I would have expected someone to take advantage of her long before this. That’s why I keep track of things.”

“All signs to the contrary in your life, you can’t always bully or manipulate people into doing what you want. Ruth can make her own decisions about her savings.”

“Trust me, I know very well that not everyone bends to my will just because I want them to.” He thought of a night long ago when Natalie had made him believe his heart was breaking in half. “But why is she acting like she doesn’t know what I’m talking about? Why isn’t she the least bit concerned the money is gone? That’s not like her. She’s hiding something. Maybe it’s not that someone is stealing from her. But there’s more to what’s going on. I’m going to find out what it is.”

He saw her fingers tighten around the handle of the pan. “Either way, I’m sure Ruth will be glad to see you. If you want to use the guest bedrooms upstairs, Austin and I can move out.”

“Natalie.” He placed his fingers on her shoulder. His chest took a direct hit as she flinched at the contact. “Kicking you out or waging some kind of war with you was never my intention.”

She took a stack of plates from the cupboard, her sweatshirt rising above the waistband of her pants as she reached for a high shelf. His mind went blank for a moment at the sight of the creamy strip of skin across her lower back and the small birthmark that peeked out from her hip. Memories flooded back to him, along with a rush of heat to the lower half of his body.

“You accused me of stealing from a woman we both love. How is that not waging war?”

He shook his head to bring himself back to the present. “I had to be sure.”

“And you are now?” Something about her tone and the way she wouldn’t make eye contact with him made his skin prickle with doubt.

“I’m not getting the whole story, but I will figure it out.”

“Go for it,” she snapped back quickly. “I don’t have Ruth’s money.”

Her movements jerky, she dished eggs, bagels and sliced bananas onto the plates.

“It wouldn’t matter if you did,” an unsteady voice called. “Thanks to Liam, I have plenty to spare.”

Liam turned as Ruth and Austin appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. His breath caught as he watched her lean heavily on a carved wooden cane. He’d arrived in Crimson late last night, so he hadn’t seen his former nanny before this morning. Knowing she was an early riser like him, he’d come to the property at the crack of dawn. She’d been awake but still in bed, so he hadn’t fully noticed how frail she looked compared to the hearty, healthy woman he once knew. Ruth had always been larger than life, the only constant he’d known for most of his childhood. She’d seen his shock this morning and had immediately sent him off to survey her property.

After checking to make sure things looked good around the house and small pond near the edge of the forest, he’d returned to the house to find Austin curled up next to her in her bed. Liam had never been the type of kid to snuggle with anyone, let alone his nanny. He’d been too busy getting into trouble as a kid. He envied Natalie’s son the easy affection he had with both his mom and Ruth. Austin was clearly loved, a thought that gave Liam an unfamiliar stab of envy for what he’d only felt as a boy from the paid help.