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No wonder the man was behaving in such an insolent manner. His boss—and hers—wasn’t here. For very realistic reasons, she trusted the rancher who’d rescued her and had expected him to be here. Rowdy Davis, on the other hand, made her nervous.
Clutching Sophie closer, she glanced around, suddenly feeling alone and vulnerable. All she saw was barns and fences and acres and acres of serenely grazing cattle. In the distance several cowboys rode horses across a field. They were so far away no sound carried on the wind except the occasional bawl of a calf.
Jenna licked dry lips. It wasn’t every day a Carrington hired on as a domestic and encountered a leering cowboy. The man must be either out of his head with loneliness or the kind of guy who thought every female was fair game. Jenna suspected the latter. But she was a new mother with a baby in arms that grew heavier with every second. The opposite sex was the last thing on her mind.
“Where is Mr. Coleman?”
The cowboy got that look again as if he was holding back a laugh. “Gavin got a bloody nose on the playground so Dax went to pick him up.”
“Gavin?”
“Dax’s son.”
Gavin. Of course. He’d mentioned a son.
“Come on in. I’m supposed to help you with your things.”
The man pushed the door open and stepped to one side. Finally, he was demonstrating some knowledge of etiquette. Miss Manners would have been aghast at his previous behavior.
Holding Sophie’s diaper bag against her side with one elbow, she started into the warm foyer. The cowboy’s body crowded the narrow space. Jenna slanted slightly to one side, hoping he’d get the message that with her load, and attired in a heavy woolen coat, she needed more room. He didn’t budge. He didn’t even offer to help. Her backside accidentally brushed against him. She jerked away, face hot, and moved across the stone-tiled entry to the carpeted area beyond.
When she glanced back, Rowdy remained in the doorway, grinning. Her flush deepened.
“I have a number of things in the car if you wouldn’t mind getting them please,” she said stiffly, hearing the haughty tone her mother reserved for servants. Hopefully, the man would get the message that she did not want to play his game—whatever it was.
Rowdy’s dark eyes glittered and continued staring at her several beats longer before he said, “I’ll get them in a minute. Let’s get you and baby situated first.”
Jenna felt flustered. She wasn’t sure what to make of Rowdy Davis. He had done nothing wrong, but he looked at her in a way that was disconcerting, as though he knew her secrets, as though he knew something she didn’t.
He was young and good-looking and a tad bit cocky. Maybe that was her problem. His confidence was the antithesis of hers.
The sooner he went on his way, the sooner she could relax.
“Would you mind showing me to my quarters?” she asked. “Then I won’t trouble you any longer.”
The corner of Rowdy’s mouth hiked higher. “Sure thing, ma’am. Your quarters are this way.” He emphasized the word. “And you aren’t troubling me one little bit.”
“Thank you,” she said, mustering her dignity. “I should like to see them.”
Still wearing a strange smirk, Rowdy led the way down a hallway to the left of the massive living/dining area. He ambled in front of her with a slow swagger as if wanting her to notice his lean, fit body and tight blue jeans. Purposefully, she focused her attention elsewhere.
The ranch home was lovely in a Western manner. Spacious and well-appointed in colors and textures that glowed with warmth and reflected light from a pair of large patio doors in the dining area. The ranch was so different from the old mansion she’d escaped, and its modern warmth drew her like a magnet. She could really enjoy tending to such a lovely place.
“Dax wants you to have this section of rooms,” Rowdy was saying as he pushed open a door down a hall and to the back of the kitchen area. “This larger bedroom has an adjoining bath and opens into a smaller room intended as a nursery.”
“Oh, this should do nicely. Thank you.”
Rowdy chuckled again as if she’d said something amusing. She didn’t understand his behavior. But then her experience with the opposite sex was limited to one cheating husband, her absentee father and a host of older male employees.
“Dax set up the crib already. Said you could arrange things any way you wanted.”
Jenna stopped in the doorway and lowered the diaper bag to the floor. Still unaccustomed to the weight of a baby and a bag, her arm ached. “He bought a crib for Sophie?”
“Gavin’s old crib was in storage. Dax just dragged it out of the shed and cleaned it up a little.”
