Nanny Makes Three

Two

Going balls-out on a twelve-hundred-pound horse to chase down a fleeing cow required steady hands and a calm mind in the midst of a massive adrenaline rush. As a world-class trainer and exhibitor of reining and cutting horses, Liam prided himself on being the eye of the storm. But today, he was the rookie at his first rodeo and Hadley the seasoned competitor.

“It’s important that you support her head.” Hadley picked up the sleeping baby, demonstrating as she narrated. “Some babies don’t like to be held on their backs, so if she gets fussy you could try holding her on her stomach or on her side.”

Hadley came toward him and held out Maggie. He was assailed by the dual fragrances of the two females, baby powder and lavender. The scents filled his lungs and slowed his heartbeat. Feeling moderately calmer, Liam stood very still while Hadley settled Maggie into his arms.

“There.” She peered at the sleeping child for a moment before lifting her eyes to meet Liam’s gaze. Flecks of gold floated in her lapis-blue eyes, mesmerizing him with their sparkle. “See, that wasn’t hard.”

“You smell like lavender.” The words passed his lips without conscious thought.

“Lavender and chamomile.” She stepped back until her path was blocked by an end table. “It’s a calming fragrance.”

“It’s working.”

As he adjusted to the feel of Maggie’s tiny body in his arms, he cast surreptitious glances Hadley’s way. Did she remember him from her days of barrel racing? He hadn’t seen her in ten years and often looked for her at the events he attended, half expecting her name to pop up among the winners. At eighteen she’d been poised to break out as a star in the barrel-racing circuit. And then she’d sold her mare and disappeared. Much to the delight of many of her competitors, chief among them Liam’s on-again, off-again girlfriend.

“I almost didn’t recognize you this morning,” he said, shifting Maggie so he could free his right arm.

Hadley looked up at him warily. “You recognized me?”

How could she think otherwise? She’d been the one who’d gotten away. “Sure. You took my advice and won that sweepstakes class. You and I were supposed to have dinner afterward.” He could tell she remembered that, even though she was shaking her head. “Only I never saw you again.”

“I vaguely remember you trying to tell me what I was doing wrong.”

“You had a nice mare. Lolita Slide. When you put her up for sale I told Shannon Tinger to buy her. She went on to make over a hundred thousand riding barrels with her.”

“She was a terrific horse,” Hadley said with a polite smile. “I’m glad Shannon did so well with her.”

Liam remembered Hadley as a lanky girl in battered jeans and a worn cowboy hat, her blond hair streaming like a victory banner as her chestnut mare raced for the finish line. This tranquil woman before him, while lovely in gray dress pants and a black turtleneck sweater, pale hair pulled back in a neat ponytail, lacked the fire that had snagged his interest ten years earlier.

“We have a three-year-old son of Lolita’s out in the barn. You should come see him. I think he’s going to make a first-class reining horse.”

“I don’t think there will be time. Infants require a lot of attention.”

Her refusal surprised him. He’d expected her to jump at the chance to see what her former mount had produced. The Hadley he remembered had been crazy about horses.

“Why’d you quit?”

Hadley stared at the landscape painting over the fireplace while she answered Liam’s blunt question. “My parents wanted me to go to college, and there wasn’t money to do that and keep my horse. What I got for Lolita paid for my first year’s tuition.”

Liam considered her words. When was the last time he’d been faced with an either-or situation? Usually he got everything he wanted. Once in a while a deal didn’t go his way, but more often than not, that left him open for something better.

Maggie began to stir, and Liam refocused his attention on the baby. Her lips parted in a broad yawn that accompanied a fluttering of her long lashes.

“I think she’s waking up.” He took a step toward Hadley, baby extended.

“You did very well for your first time.”

Unsure if her tiny smile meant she was patronizing him, Liam decided he’d try harder to get comfortable with his niece. Strange as it was to admit it, he wanted Hadley’s approval.

“Would you like a tour of the house?” Liam gestured toward the hallway. “I’d like your opinion on where to put the baby’s room.”

“Sure.”

He led the way across the hall to the dining room. A long mahogany table, capable of seating twelve, sat on a black-and-gold Oriental rug. When he’d overhauled the house six years ago, bringing the plumbing and wiring up to code, this was the one room he’d left in its original state.

“It’s just me living here these days, and I haven’t entertained much in the last year.” The reason remained a sore spot, but Liam brushed it aside. “When my grandfather was alive, he loved to host dinner parties. Several members of Congress as well as a couple governors have eaten here.”

“When did you lose him?”

“A year and a half ago. He had a heart condition and died peacefully in his sleep.” Grandfather had been the only parent he and Kyle had ever known, and his death had shaken Liam. How the loss had hit Kyle, Liam didn’t know. Despite inheriting half the ranch when their grandfather died, his brother never came home and Liam dealt with him only once or twice a year on business matters.

“I remember your grandfather at the shows,” Hadley said. “He always seemed larger than life.”

Liam ushered her into the large modern kitchen. Her words lightened Liam’s mood somewhat. “He loved the horse business. His father had been a cattleman. Our herd of Black Angus descends from the 1880s rush to bring Angus from Scotland.”

“So you have both cattle and horses?”

“We have a Black Angus breeding program. Last year we sold two hundred two-year-olds.”

“Sounds like you’re doing very well.”

After a quick peek in the den, they finished their tour of the first floor and climbed the stairs.

“Business has been growing steadily.” So much so that Liam wasn’t able to do what he really loved: train horses.

“You don’t sound all that excited about your success.”

He’d thought the abrupt cessation of his personal life would provide more time to focus on the ranch, but he’d discovered the more he was around, the more his staff came to him with ideas for expanding.

“I didn’t realize how focused my grandfather had been on the horse side of the business until after his heart problems forced him into semiretirement. Apparently he’d been keeping things going out of respect for his father, but his heart wasn’t really in it.”

“And once he semiretired?”

“I hired someone who knew what he was doing and gave him a little capital. In three years he’d increased our profits by fifty percent.” Liam led Hadley on a tour of three different bedrooms. “This one is mine.”

“I think it would be best if Maggie is across the hall from you.” Hadley had chosen a cheerful room with large windows overlooking the backyard and soft green paint on the walls. “That way when she wakes up at night you’ll be close by.”

While Liam wasn’t worried about being up and down all night with the infant, he preferred not to be left alone in case something went wrong. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to live in?”

“You’ll do fine. I promise not to leave until I’m sure Maggie is well settled.”

That was something, Liam thought. “If you have things under control for the moment, I need to get back to the barn. I have several calls to make and an owner stopping by to look at his crop of yearlings.”

“Maggie and I will be fine.”

“Candace should be back with supplies soon, and hopefully we’ll have some baby furniture delivered later today. I’ll have a couple of the grooms empty this room so it can be readied for Maggie.”

Hadley nodded her approval. In her arms, the baby began to fuss. “I think it’s time for a change and a little something to eat.”

“Here’s my cell and office numbers.” Liam handed her his business card. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you, I will.”

The short drive back to the barn gave Liam a couple minutes to get his equilibrium back. Kyle was a father. That was going to shock the hell out of his brother.

And Liam had received a shock of his own today in the form of Hadley Stratton. Was it crazy that she was the one who stuck out in his mind when he contemplated past regrets? Granted, they’d been kids. He’d been twenty. She’d barely graduated high school the first time she’d made an impression on him. And it had been her riding that had caught his attention. On horseback she’d been a dynamo. Out of the saddle, she’d been quiet and gawky in a way he found very appealing.

He’d often regretted never getting the chance to know anything about her beyond her love of horses, and now fate had put her back in his life. Second chances didn’t come often, and Liam intended to make the most of this one.

* * *

The grandfather clock in the entry hall chimed once as Hadley slipped through the front door into the cold night air. Shivering at the abrupt change in temperature, she trotted toward her SUV and slid behind the wheel. An enormous yawn cracked her jaw as she started the car and navigated the circular drive.

In order for Hadley to leave Liam in charge of Maggie, she’d had to fight her instincts. The baby was fussier than most, probably because she was premature, and only just went to sleep a little while ago. Although Liam had gained confidence as he’d taken his turn soothing the frazzled infant, Hadley had already grown too attached to the motherless baby and felt compelled to hover. But he needed to learn to cope by himself.

Weariness pulled at her as she turned the SUV on to the deserted highway and headed for Royal. Her last few assignments had involved school-age children, and she’d forgotten how exhausting a newborn could be. No doubt Liam would be weary beyond words by the time she returned at seven o’clock tomorrow morning.

This child, his daughter, was going to turn his world upside down. Already the house had a more lived-in feeling, less like a decorator’s showplace and more like a family home. She wondered how it had been when Liam and his brother were young. No doubt the old Victorian had quaked with the noisy jubilance of two active boys.

Twenty minutes after leaving the Wade house, Hadley let herself into her one-bedroom apartment. Waldo sat on the front entry rug, appearing as if he’d been patiently awaiting her arrival for hours when in fact, the cat had probably been snoozing on her bed seconds earlier. As she shut the front door, the big gray tabby stretched grandly before trotting ahead of her toward the kitchen and his half-empty food bowl. Once it was filled to his satisfaction, Waldo sat down and began cleaning his face.

The drive had revived her somewhat. Hadley fixed herself a cup of Sleepytime tea and sipped at it as she checked the contents of the bags a good friend of hers had dropped off this afternoon. After seeing what Candace had bought for the baby, Hadley had contacted Kori to purchase additional supplies. She would owe her friend lunch once Maggie was settled in. Kori had shown horses when she was young and would get a kick out of hearing that Liam Wade was Hadley’s new employer.

Hadley had a hard time falling asleep and barely felt as if she’d dozed for half an hour when her alarm went off at five. Usually she liked to work out in the morning and eat a healthy breakfast while watching morning news, but today she was anxious about how things had gone with Liam and Maggie.

Grabbing a granola bar and her to-go mug filled with coffee, Maggie retraced the drive she’d made a mere five hours earlier. The Victorian’s second-floor windows blazed with light, and Hadley gave a huge sigh before shifting the SUV into Park and shutting off the engine.

The wail of a very unhappy baby greeted Hadley as she let herself in the front door. From the harried expression on Liam’s face, the infant had been crying for some time.

“It doesn’t sound as if things are going too well,” she commented, striding into the room and holding out her arms for the baby. “Did you get any sleep?”

“A couple hours.”

Liam was still dressed for bed in a pair of pajama bottoms that clung to his narrow hips and a snug T-shirt that highlighted a torso sculpted by physical labor. Hadley was glad to have the fussy baby to concentrate on. Liam’s helplessness made him approachable, and that was dangerous. Even without his usual swagger, his raw masculinity was no less potent.

“Why don’t you go back to bed and see if you can get a little more sleep?”

The instant she made the suggestion, Hadley wished the words back. She never told an employer what to do. Or she hadn’t made that mistake since her first nanny job. She’d felt comfortable enough with Noah to step across the line that separated boss and friend. For a couple months that hadn’t been a problem, but then she’d been pulled in too deep and had her heart broken.

“It’s time I headed to the barn,” Liam said, his voice muffled by the large hands he rubbed over his face. “There are a dozen things I didn’t get to yesterday.”

His cheeks and jaw were softened by a day’s growth of beard, enhancing his sexy, just-got-out-of-bed look. Despite the distraction of a squirming, protesting child in her arms, Hadley registered a significant spike in her hormone levels. She wanted to run her palms over his broad shoulders and feel for herself the ripple of ab muscles that flexed as he scrubbed his fingers through his hair before settling his hands on his hips.

Light-headed, she sat down in the newly purchased rocking chair. Liam’s effect on her didn’t come as a surprise. She’d had plenty of giddy moments around him as a teenager. Once, after she’d had a particularly fantastic run, he’d even looked straight at her and smiled.

Hadley tightened her attention on Maggie and wrestled her foolishness into submission. Even if Liam was still that cocky boy every girl wanted to be with, she was no longer a susceptible innocent prone to bouts of hero worship. More important, he’d hired her to care for this baby, a child who was probably his daughter.

“Do you think she’s okay?” Liam squatted down by the rocker. He gripped the arm of the chair to steady himself, his fingers brushing Hadley’s elbow and sending ripples of sensation up her arm.

“You mean because she’s been crying so much?” Hadley shot a glance at him and felt her resolve melting beneath the concern he showered on the baby. “I think she’s just fussy. We haven’t figured out exactly what she likes yet. It might take swaddling her tight or a certain sound that calms her. I used to take care of a baby boy who liked to fall asleep listening to the dishwasher.”

“I know we talked about this yesterday,” Liam began, his gaze capturing hers. “But can you make an exception for a few weeks and move in here?”

“I can’t.” The thought filled her with a mixture of excitement and panic. “I have a cat—”

“There’s always plenty of mice in the barn.”

Hadley’s lips twitched as she imagined Waldo’s horror at being cut off from the comforts of her bed and his favorite sunny spot where he watched the birds. “He’s not that sort of cat.”

“Oh.” Liam gazed down at Maggie, who’d calmed enough to accept a pacifier. “Then he can move in here with you.”

Hadley sensed this was quite a compromise for Liam, but she still wasn’t comfortable agreeing to stay in the house. “I think Maggie is going to be fine once she settles in a bit. She’s been through a lot in the last few days.”

“Look at her. She’s been crying for three hours and you calm her down within five minutes. I can’t go through another night like this one. You have to help me out. Ten days.”

“A week.” Hadley couldn’t believe it when she heard herself bargaining.

Triumph blazed in Liam’s eyes, igniting a broad smile. “Done.” He got to his feet, showing more energy now that he’d gotten his way.

* * *

After a quick shower and a cup of coffee, Liam felt a little more coherent as he entered his bookkeeper/office manager’s office. Ivy had been with Wade Ranch for nine years. She was a first cousin twice removed, and Grandfather had hired her as his assistant, and in a few short years her organizational skills had made her invaluable to the smooth running of the ranch.

“Tough night?” Ivy smirked at him over the rim of her coffee cup. She looked disgustingly chipper for seven in the morning. “Used to be a time when you could charm a female into doing your bidding.”

Liam poured himself a cup of her wickedly strong brew and slumped onto her couch. “I’m rusty.” Although he’d persuaded Hadley to move in for a week. Maybe it was just babies that were immune.

“Have you considered what you’re going to do if the baby isn’t Kyle’s?”

As Ivy voiced what had filtered through Liam’s mind several times during the last twenty-four hours, he knew he’d better contact a lawyer today. Technically, unless he claimed the child as his, he had no legal rights to her.

“I really believe Kyle is her father,” Liam said. “I’m heading to a clinic Hadley recommended to have a DNA test run. I figured since Kyle and I are identical twins, the results should come back looking like Maggie is my daughter.”

And then what? Margaret was dead. With Kyle estranged from his family, it wasn’t likely he or Maggie would spend much time at Wade Ranch. And if Liam was wrong about his brother being Maggie’s father, Diane Garner might give her up to strangers.

Liam was surprised how fast he’d grown attached to the precious infant; the idea of not being in her life bothered him. But was he ready to take on the challenge of fatherhood? Sure, he and Kyle had done okay raised by their grandfather, but could a little girl be raised by a man alone? Wouldn’t she miss a mother snuggling her, brushing her hair and teaching her all the intricacies of being a woman? And yet it wasn’t as if Liam would stay single forever.

An image of Hadley flashed through his thoughts. Beautiful, nurturing and just stubborn enough to be interesting. A year ago he might not have given her a second thought. Hadley was built for steady, long-term relationships, not the sort of fun and games that defined Liam’s private life. She’d probably be good for him, but would he be good for her? After a year of celibacy, his libido was like an overwound spring, ready to explode at the least provocation.

“Liam, are you listening to me?” Ivy’s sharp tone shattered his thoughts.

“No. Sorry. I was thinking about Maggie and the future.”

Her expression shifted to understanding. “Why don’t we talk later this afternoon. You have a fund-raising meeting at the club today, don’t you?”

He’d forgotten all about it. Liam had been involved with the Texas Cattleman’s Club fund-raising efforts for Royal Memorial’s west wing ever since it had been damaged by a tornado more than a year ago. The grand reopening was three weeks away, but there remained several unfinished projects to discuss.

“I’ll be back around three.”

“See you then.”

Fearing if he sat down in his large office, he might doze off, Liam headed into the attached barn where twelve champion American quarter horse stallions stood at stud. Three of them belonged to Wade Ranch; the other nine belonged to clients.

Liam was proud of all they’d accomplished and wished that his grandfather had lived to see their annual auction reach a record million dollars for 145 horses. Each fall they joined with three other ranches to offer aged geldings, sought after for their proven ranch performance, as well as some promising young colts and fillies with top bloodlines.

At the far end of the barn, double doors opened into a medium-sized indoor arena used primarily for showing clients’ horses. One wall held twenty feet of glass windows. On the other side was a spacious, comfortable lounge used for entertaining the frequent visitors to the ranch. A large television played videos of his stallions in action as well as highlights from the current show and racing seasons.

Liam went through the arena and entered the show barn. Here is where he spent the majority of his time away from ranch business. He’d grown up riding and training reining horses and had won dozens of national titles as well as over a million dollars in prize money before he’d turned twenty-five.

Not realizing his destination until he stood in front of the colt’s stall, Liam slid open the door and regarded WR Electric Slide, son of Hadley’s former mount, Lolita. The three-year-old chestnut shifted in the stall and pushed his nose against Liam’s chest. Chuckling, he scratched the colt’s cheek, and his mind returned to Hadley.

While he understood that college and grad school hadn’t left her the time or the money to own a horse any longer, it didn’t make sense the way she’d shot down his suggestion that she visit this son of her former mount. And he didn’t believe that she’d lost interest in horses. Something more was going on, and he wasn’t going to let it go.

Three

Hadley sat in the nursery’s comfortable rocking chair with Maggie on her lap, lightly tapping her back to encourage the release of whatever air she’d swallowed while feeding. It was 3:00 a.m., and Hadley fended off the house’s heavy silence by quietly humming. The noise soothed the baby and gave Hadley’s happiness a voice.

She’d been living in the Wade house for three days, and each morning dawned a little brighter than the last. The baby fussed less. Liam smiled more. And Hadley got to enjoy Candace’s terrific cooking as well as a sense of accomplishment.

Often the agency sent her to handle the most difficult situations, knowing that she had a knack for creating cooperation in the most tumultuous of households. She attributed her success to patience, techniques she’d learned in her child development classes and determination. Preaching boundaries and cooperation, she’d teach new habits to the children and demonstrate to the parents how consistency made their lives easier.

Feeling more than hearing Maggie burp, Hadley resettled the baby on her back and picked up the bottle once more. Her appetite had increased after her pediatrician diagnosed acid reflux, probably due to her immature digestive system, and prescribed medication to neutralize her stomach acids. Now a week old, Maggie had stopped losing weight and was almost back to where she’d started.

In addition to the reflux problem, Maggie had symptoms of jaundice. Dr. Stringer had taken blood samples to run for DNA, and the bilirubinometer that tested jaundice levels had shown a higher-than-average reading. To Liam’s dismay, the doctor had suggested they wait a couple weeks to see if the jaundice went away on its own. He’d only relaxed after the pediatrician suggested they’d look at conventional phototherapy when the blood tests came back.