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“I’d rather not talk about it,” I said, preparing to get driven away.
“Well.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You’re good with the kids. I assume you aren’t going to teach them stripteases and put any tassels anywhere?”
Shocked, I searched his gaze. All I saw was candid discernment and a desperate need for a nanny. How far did I look for problems? I’d gambled once with Frederick and lost everything. Except now I had nothing to lose and a paycheck to gain. I owed for Mom’s care. I owed Thelma. And I needed to look after myself.
Only I would control my bank account this time. “Any stickers will only go on paper.”
“Good luck catching Ivy before she plasters her dresser.” The corner of his mouth tipped up, and I caught the most dangerous glimpse of him. My breath stalled, and my lungs seized.
The brief glimpse of casual Cody with a sense of humor and an undeniableaw, shuckscharm got my heart racing. I struggled to take in air. I was breathing through a straw, and I wanted this man to give me life. I wanted him to lean in, capture my mouth, and make me forget I needed to breathe to stay alive.
My giggle came out strained, almost painful. “I’ll do my best,” I stammered. I swallowed hard and calmed my rapidly beating heart. He was back to being closed-off Cody. The wall of man I still found irresistible. “Are you sure it’s not a problem? You don’t even know I’m telling the truth.”
“You don’t know the same about me. We’re both taking a risk, but I’ve got two kids to raise and two companies in one to run. I don’t know anyone but my sister and her husband, my sister-in-law, and Thelma in town. You don’t seem like you’re in a much different boat.”
“You have siblings here?” He was rigid, like I might expect an only child to be, but he must be the oldest.
He cocked his head like he didn’t understand my question, then he nodded as if it were suddenly clear. “One of my brothers is getting divorced. My sister-in-law, Sutton, moved here because she’s friends with Aggie, my sister. Wilder is still in Buffalo Gully. I have two more brothers too.”
Were they all devastating to a woman’s senses? I was enjoying this conversation and learning about him too much. “And Buffalo Gully is where?”
“Three hours west, in eastern Montana.”
“Thelma said there’s nothing but cows and oil wells there.” She’d said the same about here but added coal mines and windmills.
“We also breed Arabians. So cows, horses, and oil wells.” The easiness was back in his speech, and his stance had softened. This guy was uptight, but I was getting the impression he didn’t want to be.
“Are two of those your two companies to run?”
His gaze went distant. “Technically, all three of them, but we lump the cattle and horses together.”
“You’re a cowboy?” Did that come out as breathless as it felt? This rigid man on a horse? In cowboy boots? He couldn’t be real.
Not many men I met were.
He let out a puff of air. “Not really anymore. I’m a paper pusher. The oil wells our family company owns are our bread and butter.” He ran his bottom lip through his teeth, doing it more in thought, but my mind took a dive into dark nights and light nips around those tassels I’d mentioned earlier.
Get a hold of yourself, Tova!
“Which brings up the topic of pay. What do you need?”
He didn’t come out of the gate with a lowball number? He ran two companies. He had money. I needed money. Already, I was at a power disadvantage, and for the last two years, I’d turned negotiating contracts over to Frederick. I was still too raw to be a boss-woman negotiator. So I went for the truth. Seeing how Cody reacted would be more enlightening. “I have to be honest again, Cody, if I don’t make at least five grand a month, I’ll have to pick up another job.”
He watched me for a beat. “Five grand?”
I nodded. I needed much more if I wanted a chance to get on my own again, but that amount would allow me to cover Mom’s long-term care costs for the two months he needed a nanny while I figured out a game plan going into the fall. “I would look for evening and weekend work. I’m sure you’re needing help with typical Monday-through-Friday hours. But I want you to know that I wouldn’t be available outside of arranged hours.”
“Six grand, and you don’t have to take other work—but I might need you for weekends and evenings—and some light housekeeping.”
He might need me...
Tingles spread through my belly and circled between my legs. Red flags waved frantically in my head. I shouldn’t work for a man who made me feel like this, but I couldn’t pass up the pay. I had Thelma close by just in case.
I couldn’t abandon all my business acumen. Frederick had taught me an expensive lesson. “I need half upfront each month and the rest paid in weekly installments.”
His gaze lightened, as if he liked to hear me negotiate. An unusual reaction, but then that had been my entire experience with the man. If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t be on his porch right now. “Get me your bank details, and I can arrange the weekly payments. I’ll cut a check for the first half of the month so you can deposit it immediately.”
I had to set up a new bank account with access granted to only me. I didn’t have a car to run a bunch of errands. I hated to use Thelma’s when I couldn’t yet pay for gas. “Can I start tomorrow?”
