AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Every two weeks, like clockwork,” the grocer stated.
A man cleared his throat from behind and she turned to give the stranger a smile. His lips twisted into what could have been termed a smile and asked, “You’re a housekeeper?”
She laughed. “Not a very good one, I’m afraid. I’m only now learning how to cook.”
“You work for McIntyre full time, then?” the stranger asked with what seemed to be more than just mere curiosity.
“Yes. With a day off for good measure,” she said with a smile.
The man didn’t mince words. “I’ll pay you good money if you’d spend half your day off at my place. I’m in desperate need of help.”
“Really?” she asked, knowing she needed to earn and save all the money she could, for whatever life threw at her.
“Yeah,” the man agreed. “Three loads of laundry and my house cleaned. Hell, I don’t care if you throw my skivvies in with my jeans. Two loads,” he negotiated while she stood with her jaw dropped. The guy sounded dead serious.
“Two loads of laundry while I clean your house? Where do you live?”
“That’d be a huge help and I’d be in your debt, ma’am. I live just past the school, on the edge of town, behind the football field.”
Janet nodded her head in deep thought and then asked Mr. Rigsby, “Can you vouch for him?”
Rigsby glanced up from sacking her merchandise with a surprised look. “Parker? What do you think he’d do to you, miss?”
Realizing that Redwood Falls was unlike anywhere she’d ever lived before, Janet readily agreed. “Thanks, then.” She turned back to the man behind her. “What do you consider good money, Mr. Parker?”
“It’s just Parker, lady. And I’ll give you a hundred bucks a week.”
“A hundred bucks just to clean your house and do your laundry? I have to warn you, I can only give you four hours and I’ll need to bring this little lady with me.”
“Fine by me. Tell you what—if you can start today, I’ll throw in an extra twenty—I’m that desperate.”
It wasn’t quite noon yet. She’d have just enough time to put in four hours at his house and then get back in time to prepare something quick for the McIntyres’ supper. She readily agreed, and after giving her the address and directions, the man called Parker peeled off six twenties from his wallet, trusting her enough to pay her in advance. “I won’t be there. Heading back to work but you should be fine.”
“Can I have a key?”
“A key to what?” Parker asked.
“A key to the house?” she questioned.
“It’s open, miss. Don’t know where you’re from, but you’re in Redwood Falls now. Most don’t lock their doors—you’ll be fine.”
After bundling Hannah into the car, Janet followed the directions to the house, finding it easily enough. It was just as he’d described, with an old green Jeep parked in the driveway and a black and gold mailbox with the name “Parker” inscribed on it.
Janet let herself in and almost came unglued at what she saw. To say the man was desperate was putting it mildly. After situating Hannah in her stroller so she could be with her at all times, Janet quickly set to work.
Four hours later, her fingers were stiff and her back was aching. She’d worked hard for her hundred and twenty dollars, but she knew that no matter how hard the work had been, she was grateful for the chance to earn another hundred the next week.
Chapter Four
Janet arrived back at the Bar M at little later than she’d anticipated. She quickly unloaded her purchases and settled Hannah in her high chair with a sippy cup and Cheerios to tide her over.
The clock read five-thirty and she knew she wasn’t going to have time to cook a real meal, let alone get any beef defrosted by that time. She opened the pantry and searched, hoping to come up with some inspiration, anything.
There were cans of chicken and soup. Deciding to serve both, because it was supper, after all, she began opening cans and toasting bread.
At six o’clock on the dot, Zach walked into the kitchen, followed by his father a few minutes later.
They both sat down to eat, and within minutes, they were tearing into the chicken salad sandwiches and chunky beef soup.
The combination didn’t even sound appetizing to Janet, but the guys were eating it as if it were the best meal they’d had in ages.
Ugh. That was on her. Again.
But she’d show them. Tomorrow would be a new day and she had a stack of cookbooks, which surely wouldn’t lead her in the wrong direction.
The men were finishing up their meal as she sat down at the table and began feeding Hannah from jars of baby food. As her daughter happily played with an infant spoon, Janet could feel Jeff’s unrelenting gaze fixed upon her. “Where you been all day?” he asked, his voice a short Texas drawl, as if it was his supreme right to question her.
She took a swift glance at Zach who quickly looked into his bowl of soup as if trying to be absent from the room. Why did she have the sudden feeling that the rancher wasn’t going to be happy with her answer? And should she answer him at all? The man had readily given her a day off. Wasn’t it hers to do as she wished? But now the time for introspection was gone and she needed to give him at least some form of answer. “We were in town.”
“Doing what?” he asked with narrowed eyes.
Did the man not know there was a line that shouldn’t be crossed? Did he not understand her right to a tiny bit of privacy? Yes, it was true that the rancher had made his sexual interest known, but that gave him no rights over her person. Did he honestly think it did? At any other time, she might have been tempted to give him a small piece of her mind, but with his son sitting at the table, she knew she couldn’t. She needed to keep her explanation simple—and truthful. “We spent a lot of time at the library with Annie, the librarian,” she said motioning her head to the stack of cookbooks on the counter. “We ran some errands and went to the grocery store.”
He listened to her explanation with a stoic expression on his face, but then he purposely glanced at the clock and then back to her with a focused expression of challenge—almost as if he knew her simple errands wouldn’t have taken as long as she’d been away from the ranch.
The food before him all but inhaled, he tossed his spoon to the table and glanced at his son, who Janet could see was practically finished with his meal as well. The rancher looked back to her and gave her a heated stare and held it, even as he spoke to his son. “Zach—you want to finish feeding the baby? I need to speak to Janet.” Although he couched the suggestion as a question, it was anything but.
However, his son didn’t seem to mind as he glanced at Hannah and smiled when he saw the smashed peas dripping down her chin and the mostly toothless grin on her face. Silently, without question or argument, the younger McIntyre slid his chair back from the table and motioned Janet out of her seat.
With a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, she stood to her feet as Zach slid into her chair. She stood waiting as Jeff lifted his glass and drained the iced tea before standing as well.
As the man rounded the corner and silently left the room, undoubtedly expecting her to follow him, she saw that Hannah was content with the switch. “Thanks, Zach,” she mumbled as she turned to leave.
“No problem,” the boy answered as he offered her daughter a bite.
Knowing her child was cared for and not able to put it off any longer, she trailed Jeff McIntyre into his study where he stood by the door, waiting for her. She stepped inside as he quickly shut and locked the door behind her. The feeling of dread intensified—and a wicked, alarming thrill of heat rushed down her spine.
