Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
“I don’t know, Daddy.” He rubbed his eye with a fist, lips twisted in a pout that would have been adorable if it wasn’t so damn heartbreaking. “I’m sad.”
“It’s okay to be sad once in a while, kiddo. What’s making you sad?”
“Don’t know.”
I scooped him up in my arms and laughed when his face twisted in disgust. “I stink.”
He nodded. “You stink.” He giggled. “Sorry, Daddy.”
“It’s okay. I do stink, and I need to take a shower.” The housekeeper, Amelia, appeared in the kitchen and waved her arms between us.
“Good Lord, do you stink,” she groaned. “I’ll stick around until you’re scrubbed clean, but Herbert’s taken a fall off the ladder and is in the ER. The damn man acts like he’s still in his forties,” she grumbled with an affectionate smile.
“Thanks, Amelia. You’re the best.” I bussed a kiss on her fleshy cheek as I rushed past her and took the stairs two at a time. It was the quickest shower of my life, but the stink was gone even if all the dirt wasn’t. It was good enough that I hoped she didn’t run for the hills at first glance.
The bell rang as soon as I stepped from the shower, and a groan slipped out. I had no time to dry off, not with Amelia needing to get to the hospital to be with her husband, so I found a clean pair of jeans and stepped into them just as the damn bell sounded again.
“Screw it,” I growled and buttoned my jeans before running down the stairs, nearly tripping over Hunter’s lasso before I took one moment to get myself under control. I didn’t want to look too eager, not after the horror stories I’d heard about nannies over the years. I yanked the door open, and what greeted me was a bouncy blond ponytail.
The woman’s head popped up, and she took her time, letting her gaze crawl up my body, which responded under the heat of her perusal, until her green gaze collided with mine. Her eyes grew wider and wider, and then a blush crept up her skin, and her mouth fell open. A quick change of emotions played on her expressive face before she seemed to get herself under control enough to speak. But nothing came out but a squeak and then an embarrassed strangling noise.
I tossed her a lifeline because I needed this woman. “Molly?”
She nodded, but this time she didn’t even attempt to speak.
“Molly,” I said again, more forcefully because, just like with animals, sometimes people just needed a firm voice.
Her eyes slammed shut, and she nodded to herself. In the next moment, she stood a little taller and squared her shoulders before she opened those big green eyes to me. “Yes. I’m Molly Riggins.” She held out a shaky hand, which she stilled and waited for me to accept.
“Molly. I’m Colton. Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” she said as her shoulders relaxed and a beautiful smile crossed her face. “I’m the new nanny, at least for the next sixty days.”
My brows quirked at that. “Are you planning on leaving after that?”
“Goodness no!” She shook her head, putting a hand to her chest that drew my attention to the ample bosom hidden beneath the cotton t-shirt. “It’s just that I’ve recently learned there are a lot more factors than being competent at play in this job. I’m looking forward to this job and to working with Hunter. May I come in?”
My brows rose. Once the shy little mouse started talking, it was hard to get her to stop. That was a good thing because ranch life was tough, and it wasn’t a life for everyone. “Come on in.” I stepped back and waved her inside and immediately realized what a mistake it was because she smelled so fucking feminine, like cinnamon and sandalwood. The scent itself was heady and sexy, like the curvy woman who currently looked around with wonder in her eyes.
I tried to focus on something else, hell, anything else. My gaze landed on the sight of her thick thighs in the pale denim and the round ass that said she worked hard to maintain her curves. It was too much. Too. Fucking. Much. She was curvier than the road leading to the Davis Mountains Overlook, and my fingers tingled to touch her. The jeans were sinful enough, but that t-shirt that hugged her tits made me bite back a groan. Maybe she was right to give a sixty-day caveat. She’s trouble on two legs.
Molly flashed a girlish grin my way. “Where would you like me?”
In my bed on all fours. What the hell was wrong with me? It had been a long time since I acted like a horny teenager, but this woman brought it out of me for some reason. “The kitchen is fine,” I finally managed. “I need to whip up some lunch since the housekeeper had to go to the ER to check on her husband.”