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Chapter Four
Gabe cranked the engine of his Hummer and put the windows up and the A/C on. The blast of cool air was exactly what he needed after the worrisome issue with the equipment. The problem didn’t make sense. His people took every safety precaution and his company’s tools were top notch. There was no reason for the failure that could have, at the very least, set them back for weeks. At the worst, someone could have been injured. He was proud of Emmanuel Corp’s safety record. Nobody got hurt on his watch.
He was still chewing over the situation when Brooke broke into his thoughts. “Does Vincent work for you?”
Gabe glanced at his neighbor. She’d turned slightly in the seat, gnawing at her bottom lip. At some point while he’d been inside the office, she’d taken down her ponytail. The result made his pulse jump. He’d thought she looked young in running clothes with her hair up. What he thought now was that Brooke Clayton was one beautiful woman. Thick waves of pale blond hair fell past her shoulders and set those huge blue eyes off to perfection. He was lousy at describing a pretty woman, but Brooke was like a poem or something.
“What?” he asked, feeling stupid because he’d completely lost his train of thought.
“Vincent. Does he work at the mine?”
“Oh. Vincent.” He swallowed. “Part-time. He works at a ranch somewhere, too. Why?”
“You shouldn’t trust him, Gabe.”
He blinked, surprised at the vehemence in her tone. He was good at reading people and he’d read friction between the cousins even though Vincent had said all the right things. But so far, he’d found Vincent to be a useful employee.
“Care to elaborate?”
“He’s not a nice person. You can’t trust him.”
Which didn’t tell him a thing. “He’s given me no reason not to.”
Her nostrils flared, but she didn’t argue. She shifted away, crossed her arms and gazed out the side window, silent.
“I’ve heard about the bad blood between some of the Claytons. I don’t need that kind of trouble on my job site. Vincent’s been a big help with the local workforce. I can’t complain.”
Still, she said nothing. Apparently, the bad blood ran thick and deep and straight into the younger generation. He changed the subject.
“Did A.J. behave himself?”
Her shoulders relaxed a little. “He was great.”
“Thanks for riding out with me. I don’t like taking him along but—” He shrugged.
She angled her head in his direction.
“I keep trying to hire a nanny,” he said pointedly. “And everyone turns me down. I’m getting a complex.”
“He’s a good child, very easy and sweet natured,” she said. “You shouldn’t have trouble finding a caregiver, especially this time of year. School’s out. High school kids are looking for summer work. Have you asked at the church? Reverend West could probably recommend someone from the youth group.”
“Teenagers go back to school. I want someone consistent and mature in his life.”
I want you.
His intelligent brain was thumping him upside the head, but his gut and his heart wanted Brooke Clayton. Wanted her for A.J.’s nanny, that is. In the few hours he’d known her, he’d become convinced she was the one, because A.J. had taken to her like a duck to water.
He had, too.
“Hmm. With those requirements, it gets tougher.” Brooke reached over the backseat to do something. Gabe heard A.J. kick his feet in delight and dissolve into gales of laughter. Whatever she’d done had pleased his son to no end.
Gabe dug in his heels. He was a businessman. He ran a corporation. He was a master negotiator. There had to be a way to convince Brooke to work for him, something she needed or wanted that he could supply. “What will it take to change your mind? Name it and it’s yours.”
Brooke, torso half leaned over the seat, kept right on playing with A.J. “I’m not good with kids.”
From the backseat came the sound of a small voice calling for Book.
A scoffing bark of laughter escaped him. “Coulda fooled me.”
“I only watched him for a few minutes, Gabe, while you were inside. You have no idea how we’d do alone.”
