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Before her surgery, she’d thrown herself into each and every job. Before her surgery, she’d always felt like one unit with the families she worked with.
Before her surgery, she’d had dreams.
The hard knot in her chest never eased. Whether she thought of what she’d lost or was just doing day-to-day things, the ache remained a constant reminder.
Scarlett stepped back into the living area and found Beau standing at the patio doors, his back to her. At least he’d put a T-shirt on. Even so, he filled it out, stretching the material over those chiseled muscles she’d seen firsthand. Clothes or no clothes, the image had been burned into her memory bank and there was no erasing it.
“Madelyn’s asleep,” she stated.
Beau threw her a glance over his shoulder, then turned his attention back to the view of the open field.
Okay. Clearly he wasn’t chatty. Fine by her. He must be a lonely, miserable man. She’d always wondered if celebrities were happy. After all, money certainly couldn’t buy everything. Her stepfather was proof of that. He’d been a state representative for years before moving up to governor. He’d wanted his children—he included her in that mix—to all enter the political arena so they would be seen as a powerhouse family.
Thanks, but no thanks. She preferred a simpler life—or at least one without lies, deceit, fake smiles and cheesy campaign slogans.
“If there’s something you need to go do, I’ll be here,” she told Beau. Not surprisingly, he didn’t answer. Maybe he gave a grunt, but she couldn’t tell if that was a response or just indigestion.
Scarlett turned toward the kitchen to take stock of what type of formula and baby things Madelyn used. Being here a short time, she wanted to make sure the transitions between Maggie and her then back to Maggie went smoothly. Regardless of what Scarlett thought of Beau, Madelyn was the only one here who mattered.
Before Scarlett could step into the kitchen, a knock sounded on the front door.
Beau shifted, his gaze landing on the closed door. He looked like he’d rather run in the opposite direction than face whoever was on the other side. Given that they were on private property, likely the guest was just his family, so what was the issue? Wasn’t that why he’d come home? To be with his family for the holidays?
When he made no attempt to move, Scarlett asked, “Should I get that?”
He gave a curt nod and Scarlett reached for the knob. The second she opened the door, she gasped.
Sweet mercy. There were two of them. Another Beau stood before her, only this one was clean shaven and didn’t have the scowl. But those shoulders and dark eyes were dead on and just as potent to her heart rate.
“Ma’am,” the Beau look-alike said with a drawl and a tip of his black cowboy hat. “I’m Colt Elliott, Beau’s twin. You must be the replacement nanny.”
Another Elliott and a twin. Mercy sakes, this job was not going to be a hardship whatsoever if she had to look at these men each day.
She knew there were four Elliott sons, but wow. Nobody warned her they were clones. Now she wondered if the other two would stop by soon. One could hope.
“Yes,” she said when she realized he was waiting on her to respond to his question. “I’m Scarlett.”
Colt’s dark eyes went from her to Beau. “Is this a bad time?”
Scarlett stepped back. “Not at all. I just got the baby to sleep. I can wait outside while you two talk. It’s a beautiful day.”
She turned and caught Beau’s gaze on her. Did he always have that dramatic, heavy-lidded, movie-star stare? Did he ever turn off the act or was that mysterious, sexy persona natural?
“If you’ll excuse me.” She turned to Colt. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”
“Pleasure was mine, ma’am.”
Somehow Scarlett managed to get out the front door without tripping over her own two feet, because that sexy, low Southern drawl those Elliott boys had was rather knee-weakening.
Once she made it to the porch, she walked to the wooden swing on the end in front of her bedroom window. She sank down onto the seat and let the gentle breeze cool off her heated body. December in Texas wasn’t too hot, wasn’t too cold. In this part of the state, the holiday weather was always perfect. Though the evenings and nights could get chilly.
Good thing there were fireplaces in this cabin. Fireplaces that could lead one to instantly think of romantic talks and shedding of clothes, being wrapped in a blanket in the arms of a strong man.
Scarlett shut her eyes as she rested her feet on the porch and stopped the swaying swing. There would be no romance and no fires...at least not the passionate kind.
Raised voices filtered from inside. Clearly the Elliott twins were not happy with each other. Two sexy-as-hell alphas going at it sounded like every woman’s fantasy, but she couldn’t exactly barge in and interrupt.
Then she heard it. The faint cry from her bedroom, right on the other side of the window from where she sat. Well, damn it.
Scarlett pushed off the swing and jerked open the front door. Hot men or not, powerful men or not, she didn’t take kindly to anyone disturbing a sleeping baby.
As she marched toward her bedroom, she shot a warning glare in the direction of the guys, who were now practically chest to chest. She didn’t have time to worry about their issues, not when Madelyn had barely been asleep twenty minutes.
Scarlett crossed to the crib and gently picked up the sweet girl. After grabbing her fuzzy yellow blanket, Scarlett sank into the nearby rocking chair and patted Madelyn’s bottom to calm her.
Madelyn’s little sniffles and heavy lids were Scarlett’s main focus right now. She eased the chair into a gentle motion with her foot and started humming “You Are My Sunshine.” Madelyn didn’t take long to nestle back into sleep and Scarlett’s heart clenched. She’d just hold her a tad longer... It had been so long since she’d rocked a little one.
She had no idea what happened with Beau and the baby’s mother, but the tabloids and social media had been abuzz with a variety of rumors over the past few weeks.
Well, actually, the couple had been quite the fodder for gossip a lot longer. It was over a year ago when they were first spotted half naked on a beach in Belize. Then the pregnancy seemed to send shock waves through the media. Of course, after the baby was born, there was all that speculation on the state of the mother and she was seen less and less.
Chatter swirled about her cheating, then her rehab, then the breakup.
Then there was talk of Beau. One online source stated he’d been passed over for a part in an epic upcoming blockbuster. One said he’d had a fight with his new agent. Another reported that he and his ex had been spotted arguing at a party and one or both had been inebriated.
Honestly, Beau Elliott was a complication she didn’t want to get tangled with, so whatever happened to send him rushing home was his problem. That didn’t mean, however, that a child should have to suffer for the sins of the parents.
Once Madelyn was good and asleep, Scarlett put her down in the crib. There was a light tap on the door moments before it eased open.
Scarlett turned from the sleeping baby to see Beau filling the doorway.
“Is she asleep again?” he whispered.
Stepping away from the crib, Scarlett nodded. “Next time you want to have a family fight, take it outside.”
His eyes darkened. “This isn’t your house,” he stated, taking a step closer to her.
Scarlett stood at the edge of the bed and crossed her arms. “It isn’t exactly your house, either,” she retorted. “But Madelyn is my job now and I won’t have her disturbed when she’s been fussy and obviously needs sleep. Maybe if you put her needs first—”
In a second, Beau had closed the gap and was all but leaning over her, so close that she had to hold on to the bedpost to stay upright.
“Every single thing I do is putting her needs first,” he growled through gritted teeth. “You’ve been here less than two hours, so don’t even presume to know what’s going on.”
Scarlett placed her hand on his chest to get him to ease back, but the heat from his body warmed her in a way she couldn’t explain...and shouldn’t dwell on.
She jerked her hand back and glanced away, only to have her eyes land on the pile of lacy panties she’d thrown on her bed when she’d started unpacking earlier.
There went more of that warmth spreading through her. What were the odds Beau hadn’t noticed?
She risked glancing back at him, but...nope. He’d noticed all right. His eyes were fixed on her unmentionables.
Beau cleared his throat and raked a hand over the back of his neck before glancing to where his baby slept peacefully in the crib on the other side of the room.
When his dark eyes darted back to her, they pinned her in place. “We need to talk.” Then he turned and marched out, likely expecting her to follow.
Scarlett closed her eyes and pulled in a breath as she attempted to count backward from ten. This was only the first day. She knew there would be some bumps in the road, right?
She just didn’t expect those bumps to be the chills rushing over her skin from the brief yet toe-curling contact she’d just had with her employer.
* * *
Beau ground his molars and clenched his fists at his sides. It had been quite a while since he’d been with a woman and the one currently staying under his roof was driving him absolutely insane...and it wasn’t even lunchtime on her first day of employment.
Those damn panties. All that lace, satin...strings. Mercy, he couldn’t get the image out of his head. Never once did he think his nanny’s underwear would cause his brain to fry, but here he was with a silent seductress helping to take care of his daughter and he couldn’t focus. Likely she didn’t even have a clue how she was messing with his hormones.
Scarlett honestly did have Madelyn’s best interest in mind. She was none too happy with him and Colt earlier and he wasn’t too thrilled with the situation, either. Of all the people angry with him for his actions and for being away from home so long, Colt was by far the most furious. Ironic, he thought. He’d figure his own twin would try to have a little compassion.
Unfortunately, there was so much more contention between them than just the missing years. Coming home at Christmas and thinking things would be magical and easily patched up had been completely naive on his part. But damn it, he’d been hopeful. They’d been the best of friends once, with a twin bond that was stronger than anything he’d ever known.
Delicate footsteps slid across the hardwood floor, interrupting his thoughts. Beau shored up his mental strength and turned to face Scarlett. Why did she have to look like a walking dream? That curvy body, the dark eyes, her flawless dark skin and black hair that gave the illusion of silk sliding down her back.
Damn those panties. Now when he saw her he wondered what she wore underneath her clothes. Lace or satin? Pink or yellow?
“What do you want to talk about?” she asked, making no move to come farther into the living area.
Beau gestured toward the oversize sectional sofa. “Have a seat.”
She eyed him for a moment before finally crossing the room and sitting down on the end of the couch. She crossed her ankles and clasped her hands as if she were in some business meeting with a CEO.
Beau stood next to her. “Relax.”
“I’d relax more if you weren’t looming over me.”
Part of him wanted to laugh. Most women would love for him to “loom” over them. Hell, most women would love him under them, as well. Perhaps that’s why he found Scarlett of the silky panties so intriguing. She truly didn’t care that he was an A-list actor with more money than he could ever spend and the power to obtain nearly anything he ever wanted.
Beau didn’t want to make her uncomfortable and it certainly wasn’t his intention to be a jerk. It pained him to admit it, but he needed her. He was only a few weeks out on his own with Madelyn and he really didn’t want to screw up this full-time parenting job. This would be the most important job he’d ever have.
“We probably need to set some rules here,” he started.
Rules like keeping all underwear hidden in a drawer at all times. Oh, and maybe if she could get some long pants and high-neck shirts, that would certainly help. Wouldn’t it?
Maggie sat straighter. “I work for you, Mr. Elliott. Just tell me the rules you had for Maggie.”
Beau nearly snorted. Rules for Maggie were simple: help with Madelyn while Beau was out working on the ranch and trying to figure his life out. The rules for Scarlett? They’d go beyond not leaving your lingerie out. He mentally added a few more: stop looking so damn innocent and sexy at the same time, stop with the defiant chin that he wanted to nip at and work his way down.
But of course he couldn’t voice those rules. He cleared his throat and instead of enumerating his expectations, he took a different approach.
“I’m a hands-on dad.” He started with that because that was the most important. “Madelyn is my life. I’m only going to be at Pebblebrook for a short time, but while I’m here, I plan on getting back to my roots and helping to get this dude ranch up and running.”
That is, if his brothers would let him in on realizing their father’s dream. That was still a heated debate, especially since Beau hadn’t been to see Grant Elliott yet.
His father had been residing in an assisted-living facility for the past few years. The bad blood between them couldn’t be erased just because Beau had made a deathbed promise to the one man who had been more like a father to him than his real one.
Still, Beau was man enough to admit that he was afraid to see his dad. What if his dad didn’t recognize him? Grant had been diagnosed with dementia and lately, more often than not, he didn’t know his own children. Even the sons who’d been around the past few years. Beau wasn’t sure he was strong enough to face that reality just yet.
“Beau?”
Scarlett’s soft tone pulled him out of his thoughts. Where was he? Right, the rules.
“Yeah, um. I can get up with Madelyn during the night. I didn’t hire a nanny so I could be lazy and just pass her care off. I prefer a live-in nanny more because I’m still...”
“Nervous?” she finished with raised brows. “It’s understandable. Most first-time parents are. Babies are pretty easy, though. They’ll pretty much tell you what’s wrong, you know, just not with actual words.”
No, he actually didn’t know. He just knew when Madelyn cried he wanted her to stop because he didn’t want her unhappy.
Beau had spent the past five months fighting with his ex, but she’d only wanted Madelyn as a bargaining chip. He’d finally gotten his lawyer to really tighten the screws and ultimately, Jennifer James—wannabe actress and worthless mother—signed away her parental rights.
As much as he hated the idea of Madelyn not having a mother around, his daughter was better off.
Beau studied his new, refreshing nanny. “I assume you don’t have children since you’re a nanny full-time.”
Some emotion slid right over her, taking away that sweet, calm look she’d had since she’d arrived. He could swear an invisible shield slid right between them. Her lips thinned, her head tipped up a notch and her eyes were completely unblinking.
“No children,” she said succinctly.
There was backstory behind that simple statement. He knew that for sure. And he was curious.
“Yet you know so much about them,” he went on. “Do you want a family of your own one day?”
“My personal life is none of your concern. That’s my number-one rule that you can add to your list.”
Why the hell had he even asked? He didn’t need to know her on a deeper level, but now that she’d flat-out refused to go there, he wanted to find out every last secret she kept hidden. He hadn’t asked Maggie personal questions, but then Maggie hadn’t pulled up emotions in him like this, either.
Even though he’d just vowed to stay out of Scarlett’s personal business, well, he couldn’t help himself. If she was just standoffish, that would be one thing, but hurt and vulnerability had laced her tone. He was a sucker for a woman in need.
Scarlett, though, clearly didn’t want to be the topic of conversation, something he not only understood but respected. He told himself he should focus on his purpose for being back home and not worry about what his temporary nanny did in her off time.
Beau nodded in affirmation at her demand. “Very well. These three weeks shouldn’t be a problem, then.”
He came to his feet, most likely to get away from the lie he’d just settled between them. Truthfully, everything about having her here was a problem, but that was on him. Apparently she didn’t care that his hormones had chosen now to stand up and pay attention to her. She also didn’t seem to care who he was. He was just another client and his celebrity status didn’t do a damn thing for her.
While he appreciated her not throwing herself at him, his ego wasn’t so quick to accept the hit. This was all new territory for him where a beautiful woman was concerned.
“I’m going to change and head to the main stable for a bit.” He pulled his cell from his pocket. “Give me your cell number and I’ll text you so you have my number. If you need anything at all, message me and I’ll be right back.”
Once the numbers were exchanged, Beau picked up his boots by the front door and went to his room to change. He slipped on a pair of comfortable old jeans, but the boots were new and needed to be broken in. He’d had to buy another pair when he came back. The moment he’d left Pebblebrook years ago, he’d ditched any semblance of home.
Odd how he couldn’t wait to dig right back in. The moment he’d turned into the long white-fence-lined drive, he’d gotten that kick of nostalgia as memories of working side by side with his brothers and his father came flooding back.
