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“Have the sixteen-year-old watch the ten-year-old. I was way younger when I started babysitting.”
“No way. I can’t trust that kid to spit out a piece of gum. He’s gotten into more trouble this year than you can imagine. He’s coming to work with me.”
“Take the ten-year-old too.”
“The construction site is no place for a young girl, and it’s definitely not a way for her to spend the summer. My ex wouldn’t allow it.”
“Don’t you have a bazillion family members? Ask your mom.”
“The ranch is far. No one wants to stay out there for a full summer.”
“Hire a nanny.”
“Absolutely not.”
“I bet you could find a hot one. And who wouldn’t want to live on a ranch with beautiful green pastures and horses roaming around, ready to eat out of the palm of your hand?”
“It’s not that kind of ranch, and there’s no one I trust. Plus, I wouldn’t even know where to find a nanny. I’d have to interview them and do test runs. By the time I settled on someone, the summer would be over.”
Rob’s hand tightens into a fist as he brings it to his mouth and thinks. It’s bothering him, not being able to see his children.
It’s sweet actually—a man who wants his kids to live with him for the summer. I’d find it sexy if he wasn’t so standoffish. I might not want children of my own, but I like kids … a lot. It’s why I wasn’t too harsh on Patrick earlier when I saw him at the bakery and realized his young daughters were around.
Fuck. Patrick.
I nearly forgot about him and his fruit. I’ll be seeing the four of them around town, and I’m gonna have to get used to it. I don’t want to. If I had known he was moving to Newbury, I would have sabotaged that housing deal. Trust me, I would have, and my money’s on the fact that I’d have been successful.
But he’s there, and I’m stuck there too.
Or am I?
Over the years, I’ve done plenty of babysitting for Melissa and Jillian. Hunter and Ainsley aren’t just close to me because I’m awesome. It’s because I’ve cared for them more times than I can count. I can watch a ten-year-old girl easily, all while meandering on a ranch as I decide how to get Patrick and his family to move out of Newbury so I don’t have to watch him live his happily ever after while I’m still desperately trying to find my own.
“I’ll do it,” I state. “I’ll watch your daughter while you work this summer. I’ll be the hot ranch nanny.”
“No, you won’t.”
“I’m awesome with kids. I watch your brother’s stepkids all the time. I had them for a week while he was on his honeymoon with Melissa, and that was seven overnights, where homework was done, after-school activities were accomplished, showers were given, dinner was on the table, and the house didn’t burn down.”
“The answer is no.” He rises from his stool, takes his wallet out of his back pocket, and throws two twenties on the bar.
I stagger backward. “Why not? I’m a completely capable grown-up.”
“You’re a grown child.”
“Says the man who is as stubborn as a toddler. You’re a moody son of a bitch, and you should be happy someone—namely, me—is offering to help.” My words force him to turn around. “And tighten up on the way you talk about your son. You make it sound like he’s a heathen when he’s merely a teenage boy.”
“Jesse and Molly are good kids. They’re just … going through a lot. What they need now is stability. Not someone who is doing something on a whim because it sounds cool to hang out on a ranch.”
“You don’t always have to be so cynical. And stubborn. You’d rather not see your kids all summer than let me—someone who might be too free-spirited for your liking—hang out with you guys. You can’t be so close-minded that you’d spite yourself and your kids. Live a little. Take a damn chance, or you’re gonna end up miserable and alone forever!”
Thank goodness for the music because my voice is loud, as I can get a bit overdramatic sometimes. Still, I mean every word.
Rob doesn’t know me, and while I might need this for a personal benefit, I’m very much putting myself out there to do him a solid in a sticky situation.
He rubs his jaw as he looks down at me—staring, assessing, taking in my offer, and deciding if it’s complete bullshit or not. I grab my purse and start to walk away.
“You’d move to my ranch for the summer?” he asks. I halt.
