as if he were a child with a ridiculous problem. “I have no worries about rumors. My grandparents and my parents are in Bolivia, a little far away to hear rumors. My sisters and my friends know me, and I know myself. I don’t care about anyone else or any silly rumors.”
“So you hadn’t heard wild rumors about me before you came out here?”
“I have heard some things. If you had lived up to them, I would have been gone by now, but you have been nothing but a gentleman.”
Wyatt had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. “You tempt me to throw the gentlemanly facade to the winds, but I have Megan to think about, so the order of the day is to keep this impersonal and professional. One more reason I was in hopes of finding someone older. She would be more settled. There wouldn’t be this temptation to flirt with you.”
“Oh, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that at all. Men like you aren’t tempted to flirt with women like me,” she assured him.
“If I’d kept this interview professional, I’d skim right past that, but somehow we slid out of professional a little while ago. Men like me?”
“You’re experienced and sophisticated. I imagine you like women who share your interests. I’m bookish, straitlaced and a lot of things that don’t attract sophisticated men. Flirting will be no problem, not for me and not for you. Now, how soon did you want your nanny to start?”
“As soon as possible,” he said, once again amused. In her own mild way, Grace was still taking charge, and she had neatly answered his question and taken them back into an impersonal interview.
“I want someone for the long term, not a continual turnover of nannies that will cause more upheaval in Megan’s life,” he said.
“You have no guarantees of a long-term employee with anyone you hire. An older woman could have something happen where she would have to quit just as easily as a younger one. I’m dependable. I told you, I brought references. My college grades are a 4.0 and my attendance in college and at work was and is excellent,” Grace replied, patting Megan’s back as she rocked steadily.
“Do you mind if I contact your current employer?”
“He doesn’t know I’m applying for this, but it would be fine for you to call him. Along with my references, I’ll give you his telephone number.”
“Maybe we better get down to details,” he said, leaning back and stretching out his long legs. “You would be on duty Monday through Friday, all the time, although when I’m here, I’ll spend my evenings with Megan. I want a live-in nanny who will be a stand-in for the mother Megan lost. You’ll live out here. Weekends are your own. No boyfriends on the ranch, no wild parties.”
Her eyes sparkled with the last. “Am I to understand, then, that there will be no wild parties here?”
Again, she amused him. “I meant you, Miss Talmadge, but no, there won’t be any, not by me or by my nanny.”
“I find that satisfactory.”
“You’re trusting.”
“Sometimes when you expect the best of people, they rise to the occasion. And if you don’t, I’ll be gone,” she reminded him, still rocking Megan, who had stopped fussing and fallen quiet.
“Very well. I have some other interviews. Let me have your references.” He crossed to her and Grace gazed up at him, her pulse skittering. “I’ll take Megan now,” he said.
Grace handed him the baby, and as she did, her hands brushed his and tingles raced through her. “She’s sweet.”
“You have her vote,” he said lightly. As he took Megan, her face screwed up and she began to cry again. “Hey, baby. Megan, what’s the matter?” He gave Grace a frustrated glance. “I don’t know what makes her fussy.”
“Maybe she’s cutting teeth.”
“She wasn’t doing this with you.” He walked around, patting Megan and talking to her. Grace, meanwhile, crossed the room and removed some papers from her purse.
“Here are my references,” she said, placing them on the table. “Thank you for the interview. I can let myself out.”
“Miss Talmadge.”
As she turned to see what he wanted, Megan’s wails became louder. “Just a minute. Shh, Megan,” he crooned. Her screams increased, her small face becoming red.
Grace set down her purse and crossed the room to take the baby from him. He shot her a look, but then let her have Megan, who continued to scream for a moment, then quieted and snuggled against Grace.
“Maybe she does want you for her nanny,” he remarked dryly. He had his hands on his hips, and more locks of his black hair had fallen onto his forehead. “You never asked about the salary.”
“If you want me for a nanny and I want the job, I suppose we can work something agreeable out.”
He told her what he planned to pay, and Grace stared at him in shock, because the sum was astronomical. “With a salary like that you should be able to get any nanny you want!”
“No. Women don’t want the isolation unless it includes marriage, which it does not.” He didn’t add, but he knew that his unsavory reputation had turned many away. “The job means devoting your life to a baby.”
“No, it doesn’t. The weekends are free.”
As she sat down to rock Megan, his phone rang.
“Excuse me, please,” he said, striding out of the room. In minutes he was back, watching her rock his sleeping niece. “I’ll take her now.”
“And I must be going,” Grace said, standing to hand the baby to him, too aware of their hands brushing. She picked up her purse. He followed her to the door and she paused, turning to face him. She held out her hand to shake his, conscious of his brief, warm clasp.
“Thank you for the interview. I’m very interested in the job,” she said, looking at Wyatt holding Megan. He stood in the doorway, watching her as she climbed into her car and drove away.
A cloud of dust stirred up behind her car as she headed off. Grassland spread in all directions around her, and she could see cattle grazing in the distance. She would be isolated, but the job sounded good. With the pay that Wyatt offered, she could pay off her student loans, save for her advanced degree, get a newer car and still put some money away. She was astounded he hadn’t hired someone already.
She wasn’t afraid to live out on his ranch with the man, in spite of all she had heard about him. She said a little prayer that she got the job.
When a week had passed without her hearing anything from Wyatt Sawyer, Grace’s hopes for the job dwindled. Three days later she picked up the phone at work to hear a deep, masculine voice.
“Miss Talmadge, this is Wyatt Sawyer. Have you got a moment to talk?”
“Yes, of course,” she said calmly, while her heart jumped with hope.
“Your references gave you good recommendations. I was impressed.
