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“Yes. And have a campfire and—”
“Roast marshmallows?” Maddie piped from the twin bed across the room, grinning. “I like the marshmallow part better than the fishing part.”
Mac laughed then stood. “First, we’ll go fishing.” He bent, kissed Nadine’s forehead then crossed the room and kissed Maddie’s. “Then, we’ll roast as many marshmallows as that little belly of yours can hold.”
“Did Mama like roasting marshmallows?” Maddie leaned up on her elbows, brushed the ever-present pink bow from her eyes and blinked up at him. “Is that why I like them so much?”
Mac’s breath caught in his throat, making it difficult to speak. Roasting marshmallows was one of the few things Nicole had liked about hiking and camping. She’d never been a fan of the outdoors. Not even when they were teens. But she’d loved snuggling by the campfire and sharing marshmallows with him. That part’s the sweetest, she’d always said.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “She did. That was always her favorite part.”
Mac cleared his throat and walked to the door.
“Dad?”
His hand stilled on the doorknob. Nadine smiled gently at him, a hint of sadness in her eyes. As though she knew...
“It’s okay if we don’t go hiking tomorrow.” She shrugged. “We’ll find something else to do.”
Mac’s smile returned. “I’m sure you will. But please check with me before you do it and no running off without telling anyone. Now, go to sleep.”
He made his way through the family wing of the lodge to the next bedroom then hesitated, fist lifted, at the closed door. Nadine and Maddie might not be stress-free but at least they were easy to talk to. Jaxon, not so much.
“Jaxon?” He knocked then cracked the door open. “You ready for bed?”
A bed creaked and sheets rustled. “Yeah.”
Mac entered, stooping to pick up a pair of muddy jeans, several baseball cards and a glove then toss each in its proper place. “Thanks for cleaning the cabin floor today. You did a good job.”
Jaxon sat up in the bed, a small smile appearing.
Mac’s throat thickened. Lord, it’d been so long since he’d seen Jaxon smile, he’d forgotten how much it eased his mind and brightened the day. It’d hit him hard earlier this afternoon when he’d watched Jaxon share a laugh with Dani. That was the first time Jaxon had laughed in ages.
“Think you could clean up just as well in here tomorrow?” he asked, glancing around.
The lamp’s low glow highlighted little-boy clutter from one corner of the room to the other. Darts, baseballs, rumpled papers and toy guns littered the nightstand, dresser and chest of drawers. And dirty clothes, comic books and socks were strewn across the carpet.
“It’d be a tough job. But...” Mac narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin. “I think a hardworking man like you can handle it.”
Jaxon’s smile widened. “Yeah. I can do it.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Does that mean you’re gonna increase my allowance?”
“Don’t push it.” Mac grinned, ruffled his hair then reached for the lamp switch.
Jaxon grabbed his wrist and peered up at him. “Ms. Dani did a good job today, too. Didn’t she?”
Mac hesitated, studying the hopeful gleam in Jaxon’s eyes. “I suppose she did.”
“Then why’d you make her clean the stalls instead of chopping the wood?”
“Well, she was obviously worn out. And sunburned. And...”
Sweaty. So sweaty that her clothes had stuck to her. With the sun at her back, her every swing of the ax drew more male attention to her enticing curves. Almost every hand he employed had lined the fence to gawk, crack lewd jokes and mock her. And, even though she’d seemed oblivious to it, he’d been damned if he’d allow it to continue.
“She’s got good aim, you know?” Jaxon said, leaning forward. “Better than Mr. Cal. And she likes baseball, too. Said she watches the Mets. I told her she’d be killer at bat. Did you know she’s from New York?”
Mac frowned as Jaxon paused to catch his breath. “New York?” She hadn’t listed any prior residences or work experience in New York on her application. “What makes you think that?”
“She told me so.” His face lit up. “I bet she’d play ball with me. She said she liked having me around and could use my help. So can I help her again tomorrow? You are gonna hire her, aren’t you?”
“Slow down, Jaxon.” Mac placed his hands on his shoulders and eased him back against the pillows. “We just met her and I can’t say for sure if I’ll be able to hire her or not. Besides, I think you’re spending too much time with her as it is.”
All afternoon, in fact. Jaxon had trailed after Dani the entire day, only returning to the lodge when she’d knocked off for the night and joined the other hands in the commons for supper. Mac stiffened. His intense attraction to Dani unnerved him enough on its own. But the contradictions surrounding her and her dodgy mannerisms caused him even more concern. Especially when it came to Jaxon and Nadine who were both clearly taken with her.
“Why? I ain’t bothering her. I’m helping.”
“I know but I’m telling you to ease up.” Mac braced his hands on the mattress and leaned close. “And I expect you to obey me when I ask you to do something. As in earlier this afternoon, when I asked you to come inside with your sisters and you disobeyed me instead.”
The last remnants of Jaxon’s smile vanished. His face flushed and he burrowed deeper into the bed, pulling the sheet up to his chin. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to hang out with her.” He bit his lip. “She listens to me and...likes having me around.”
Unlike you. Mac flinched, the unspoken phrase darkening Jaxon’s gaze and thickening the air between them.
“I like having you around.” Mac cupped a hand around Jaxon’s head. “And I promise you—” Jaxon moved to speak and Mac firmed his features. “I promise that when things slow up, we’ll spend more time together.”
Jaxon stared up at him, eyes doubtful. “When?”
“When I get this place back in order. But for now, I need you to be patient and do as I say.”
Jaxon nodded reluctantly then rolled over, his back and shoulders stiff.
Mac kissed the top of his head. “Good night, Jaxon.”
He received no response. As expected.
Mac turned the lamp off and left, striding swiftly down the winding staircase to the front porch. He leaned on the porch rail, the screen door slamming shut behind him, and sucked in a ragged breath.
Damn. He’d screwed up. Again. He hated dictating orders to Jaxon. Arguing with him. Offering weak platitudes in place of actually spending quality time with his son. He was a weak, pathetic excuse for a father and Nicole would be disappointed in him.
Head pounding, he rubbed his forehead and stared at the starlit sky above him. But what was he supposed to do? Call it quits? Sell the ranch, uproot his kids and hope he had better luck elsewhere?
He’d barely survived losing Nicole to cancer. Losing his family’s land—the only tangible memory he had left of his deceased parents—might just finish him off.
The incessant pounding grew stronger and he stilled, realizing the heavy thumps weren’t just in his head. They echoed across the grounds, too. He shoved off the porch rail and followed the sound, his steps halting beside the stable.
Dani stood in front of the chopping stump, the waning moon overhead and a camping lantern at her feet casting competing glows of white and yellow light against her curvy figure. She swung an ax and split a log. Shifting the ax to one hand, she grabbed one half of the split log and tossed it onto a freshly cut pile of wood, her long ponytail swinging across her upper back.
“Working late, huh?”
She jumped and spun around, hand pressing to her chest. Her eyes narrowed as they peered into the darkness surrounding him. “Good grief, you scared me.”
He stepped into the pool of light, smiling gently. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to. I heard the noise from the lodge and thought I’d check it out.”
She nodded then turned away and grabbed the second half of the split log.
“You don’t have to do this, you know?” Mac gestured toward the ax at her side. “I told you I’d take care of it in the morning.”
“After you let me down easy?” She shrugged and tossed the log onto the pile. “Figured I’d earn my stay tonight before I move on tomorrow.” Pausing, she studied the ax handle then glanced at him. “Thank you for offering me a chance here but I don’t think this is going to work out for either one of us.”
He blinked, chin lifting as he examined her face. “What makes you say that?”
Her head tilted and a humorless smile spread slowly across her face. “Well, let’s see. I wasn’t what you were expecting. You don’t think I can pull my weight.” She ticked each concern off on her fingertips. “You banished me to the stable to scoop poop, as Nadine puts it, because I wasn’t passing muster with the ax—”
“Now, hold up.” He held up a hand. “That’s not true. The fact of the matter was half my hands had lined up to ogle you while you worked and I was—”
“Protecting the weak, trouble-stirring girl?” Her eyebrows rose. “Telling me what I could and couldn’t do for my own good?”
“No.” He clenched his teeth, a streak of anger burning his gut. “I was trying to be a gentleman.”
She stared, shoulders dropping and head lowering. “I appreciate that,” she whispered. “But I’ve had enough of men telling me what I can and can’t do. It’d just be really nice to have a choice for a change.”
The resigned look on her face tempered his frustration. “Not all men are the same. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
She smiled. A real one that sent a rush of pleasure through his veins. “Not all women are the same. And I’m sorry I took offense.”
Mac shoved his hands in his pockets as she retrieved another log and balanced it on the stump. “So where you movin’ on to? Back to New York?”
Dani sprang upright and faced him, expression guarded.
He examined her more closely, trepidation creeping up his spine. “Jaxon said you told him that’s where you’re from.”
Her features relaxed and she nodded. “Yes. That’s where I’m headed.”
“What do you do there?” He gestured toward the stack of firewood. “I don’t get the impression that you’ve been doing this type of work for very long.”
Her stance stiffened. “I’m in...sales.”
“What kind of sales?”
“The boring kind.” She sighed. “The kind that keeps you holed up in an office staring at walls all day.”
“So you came here for a change of scenery?”
“I suppose you could say that.” She hesitated, voice softening. “I definitely needed a change and it is beautiful here.” She hefted the ax into her hands, shooting glances at him. “I enjoyed spending time with Jaxon today. He’s a wonderful child.”
Mac smiled. “That he is.”
“He admires you a lot and talks about you often,” she said. “He told me about how you taught him to split wood and how important his safety is to you.”
His face heated and he looked away. “Yeah, well, everyone has to pitch in around here to keep things running.”
“He misses you.”
Mac’s eyes jerked back to hers, the pointed look filling the blue depths conjuring deep-seated guilt. “Putting the shoe on the other foot now, huh?” he asked. “Giving the man pointers on parenting? Going to tell me what a bad father I am?”
“No.” She looked genuinely appalled. “God, no. If anything, I’d say the opposite. I may have only been here a day but it’s obvious how much you love Jaxon. And Nadine and Maddie.”
He stared down at his boots, the heat in his cheeks scorching down his neck. Her words lingered in his head then eased into his chest, delivering a sense of comfort that he wanted to hold on to.
“I don’t have children and I have no clue what it’s like being a single parent.” Her scuffed sneakers appeared in his line of vision and the fresh scent of grass and sun-seasoned wood drifted in. “But I know what it’s like to want to be seen. Noticed. My father is a hard worker like you and when I was young, he’d always say we’d spend time together. Tomorrow or the next day. But time got away from him and it just never happened. Our relationship hasn’t been the same since.” Her tone softened. “That’s all Jaxon wants. To be seen. Noticed.”
He raised his head, finding her closer than he’d expected. The once-creamy skin of her cheeks and forehead was sunburned a cherry red and freckles were scattered across the bridge of her nose, giving her an earthy, attractive air. Her wide eyes blinked up at him, patient and kind, then focused on his mouth and darkened.
She stepped back and shook her head. “Anyway, it’s my turn to apologize. It’s none of my business and I didn’t mean to offend you. I like Jaxon and just thought I’d give you my two cents before I left.”
She moved farther away and resumed splitting wood, her movements slow and unsteady.
Mac hesitated then went into the stable and fumbled through a couple shelves in the storage room until he found a pair of small gloves. He returned to Dani and held them out.
“Here. You’ll wake up with more blisters than you can count if you don’t put these on. They’ll be too big but will help at least. And breakfast is at six if you’d like to have a decent meal before you leave tomorrow.”
She paused between swings, breathing heavily, and took the gloves. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He hovered, waiting as she tugged on the gloves then returned to the task at hand. He headed back to the lodge, walking carefully along the moonlit stone path, and listened as the strokes of the ax echoed across the fields.
There was no need to mull over whether or not to hire Dani. She’d decided to leave on her own accord. That thought alone should ease his worries. She’d been a risky hire from the start and she was still far too guarded for his peace of mind. But in just one day, she’d made Jaxon smile more than he’d managed to in months.
So...what if he asked her to stay?
His steps slowed. With a new hand, he’d be freed from chores more often and would actually be able to follow through with some of his promises to Jaxon. But he’d have to invest a great deal of time in training her for the job first. And judging from today, he’d bet it wouldn’t be a smooth transition with the rest of the hands.
Mac stopped and looked back. Either way, Dani had a point. If he didn’t try something different soon, he could lose a lot more than his land. He could lose the respect of his son.
Chapter Three (#u49e8906d-ad4a-5d59-9bca-d7c2c116aacc)
This was either the best decision Mac had ever made or the worst. At the moment, he couldn’t tell for sure which one it’d turn out to be.
“Want me to climb through the window?”
Mac stopped knocking on the door of Dani’s cabin and glanced down at Jaxon. “No. Absolutely not.”
But he had to do something. He was beginning to worry.
After a night of tossing and turning, he’d gotten out of bed this morning with the express purpose of offering Dani the job and asking her to stay. But she hadn’t shown up for breakfast, much to Jaxon and Nadine’s disappointment, and no one had seen her all morning. Eight in the morning elsewhere might be considered early, but at Elk Valley Ranch it was the equivalent of noon.
She hadn’t left yet. Her tattered car still sat in the back parking lot where she’d parked it yesterday morning before starting work. But she hadn’t answered the door, either. Even though he’d been banging on it and calling out to her for the past five minutes.
“I bet a bear got in there.” Nadine lifted to the toes of her unlaced shoes and peeked in the window. “He probably ate her.”
