began to fuss.
“What place?” Coco asked and turned to pull Emma from the stroller. What a ridiculous question, she thought.
“Your rightful place in the royal family,” the man said. “Surely you know you’re due certain rights and privileges.”
“Not really,” Coco said as Emma began to wail.
“But you’re a princess now,” the female reporter said.
“I’m not a princess,” Coco said flatly. “And you’re making the baby cry. Are you proud of that?” she said more than asked and walked up the steps to the front door.
“What I want to know is how in hell four reporters got past my men,” Benjamin said to his foreman.
“We haven’t been policing it 24/7, Ben,” Hal Dunn said. The two had known each other since Benjamin was eight years old and Hal had been a young new worker on the ranch that Benjamin’s father had then owned. Now Hal was Benjamin’s right-hand man. “They could have sneaked through the wooded area in the front of the property.”
“Well, I don’t want to hear about anyone sneaking in anywhere,” Benjamin said. “And 24/7 starts now.”
“Got it,” Hal said. “But I can tell you that whoever pulls that midnight shift is gonna want extra pay.”
“Done,” Benjamin said. “Just don’t make it too much or you’ll get squabbling over who gets to take the night shift.”
“That’s for darn sure,” Hal said with a rough laugh then turned sober. “Hope they didn’t upset the little one or the nanny too much.”
“Coco said Emma started crying but stopped as soon as they stepped inside the house. Coco seemed pissed off, but I think she may have been more rattled than she wanted to admit. I don’t think she really expected any extra attention from the press, even though we were warned.”
“Well, hell, she’s royalty. That’s big news around here,” Hal said. “Maybe big news everywhere.”
“Because it’s going to change the world if Coco is a princess,” Benjamin said with more than a touch of sarcasm.
Hal gave a combination of a wince and shrug. “Guess that’s true. What else do you want us to do?”
“Just guard the perimeter,” Benjamin said.
“Will do,” Hal said.
A few moments later, Coco bounced down the stairs with Emma bundled in a fleece outfit “We’re ready to go to the doctor,” Coco said.
“What?” Benjamin said. “Why does she need to go to the doctor?”
“It’s a regular appointment,” she said. “Remember, you told me you wanted me to go with you?”
“Yeah, I remember,” he said, thinking he should have added the appointment to his cell calendar schedule. He must have put it on a different calendar. Having trespassers on his property had gotten him sidetracked. “Maybe I should have someone drive you to the pediatrician,” he mused.
“Absolutely not. If we start behaving differently, then we’ll have to do it for the next year. There’s no need for such insanity.”
“I could have one of the men follow her,” Hal said.
“No,” Coco said. “If we take the casual route, then the press will back off,”
Benjamin gave it a second, and even third, thought. “I think it would be a good idea to have one of our men backing you up.”
“Overkill,” she said.
“Better safe than sorry,” he said, enduring her scowl. “We have to think about both your safety and Emma’s safety.”
Her complexion paled. “I would guard Emma with my life.”
“I know you would,” he said. “But I don’t want it to get to that point.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”
Benjamin scrubbed his jaw with his hand. “I’ll reschedule my other appointments for this afternoon. I need to stay on top of Emma’s health.”
Coco blinked and took a quick breath. “Uh, okay. That’s a great idea. You just need to remember to take off your hat.”
Benjamin felt Hal’s confused gaze. “Emma doesn’t like my hat.”
“Damn,” Hal said. “That’s a shame.”
“Tell me about it,” Benjamin said and sighed. He took off his hat and clutched it in his right hand. “Let’s go,” he said to Coco and led the way to his SUV.
“Her car seat is in my car,” she said.
“No problem,” Benjamin said and transferred the seat from Coco’s car to his. He watched as Coco wedged Emma into the car seat and shook his head. “Bet she hates that.”
“If you give her enough toys, she forgets about it,” she said. “But I’m glad we don’t have to go on any long trips.”
“You and me both,” he said as soon as everyone was buckled in place.
He pulled away from the house and drove down the long drive to the public road. He noted a few cars parked alongside the public road and frowned but hoped they weren’t newspeople.
Driving toward town, he checked his rearview mirror, relieved when it didn’t appear that he was being followed. “So what’s the purpose of this appointment? Any shots?”
“It’s a regular checkup. Yes to the shots,” she said.
“Damn,” he muttered. “One more opportunity for her to associate me with pain.”
“They really do forget quickly,” she said.
“I’ll let you hold her during the shots,” he said.
Knowing the bond between Emma and Benjamin was still a bit tenuous, she acquiesced. “This time,” she said.
He slid her a sideways glance. “This time?”
“Yes,” she said. “There may be times when Emma will need support. She may break a leg—”
“Not on my watch,” he insisted.
She smiled. “She may fall and need stitches.”
“You’ll teach her to be careful,” he said.
“Accidents happen. How many broken bones and stitches did you get when you were growing up?”
“That’s
