“I would expect them to stay out of the way.”
And suddenly she appeared amused, her blue eyes lighting up from within, her whole face transforming, and if he’d thought her beautiful before, that was nothing like the way she looked with a smile on her face.
“I can’t keep my kids in a kennel.”
“No, of course not, but kids are always off doing things, at least in my experience. As far as your dog, I would appreciate you keeping him on a leash, at least until we know how he’ll react around horses.”
“You don’t think your dog will mind having a new dog on the property.”
“What dog?”
Her brows drew together. “The one on your porch. Or it was. It ran off when the alarm sounded.”
“What?”
“By the front door. But like I said, it ran off.”
“I don’t have a dog.”
“No?”
He shook his head. “If you see it, please let me know. I’ll have to call someone to catch it.”
“No. Don’t do that. It’s better to try to re-home a stray.”
“We don’t know it’s a stray.”
She frowned. “I think it is. It looked skinny.”
And she cared. With concern clouding her eyes, she looked younger. She couldn’t be much older than thirty.
Younger than you.
Much younger.
“Let me know if you catch it and we’ll go from there.”
She nodded. “Anything else?”
“One last question.”
She waited quietly. He admired the way the sunlight set strands of her hair afire before he admitted he shouldn’t be noticing that type of thing.
“What if you change your mind?”
“About what?”
“The move. Working as a housekeeper. Living on the ranch.”
She lifted her chin a tiny fraction, but enough for him to realize she was sensitive about the issue. “I won’t. We even drove my old Ford truck all the way out here. And I’ve started the school enrollment process for my kids. They’ll be all set to start at their new school in the fall.”
He studied the woman in front of him. Lauren had told him Naomi worried that her husband’s death had affected her kids far more deeply than she’d surmised. That they were having problems in school and that a move all the way across country would be good for them. He couldn’t say he agreed. Then again, he didn’t have kids, so who was he to judge?
“All right then. I guess we’ll see what happens.”
“Terrific.”
“And your first task will be helping to organize a party I’m having here in a couple of weeks. Local military brass. Short notice, but I’m sure I can easily pull strings and get people here. You’ll have an unlimited budget to make it an affair people will remember. I want to make a big splash.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I—”
“You’ve planned events before, or so you said.”
He saw her take a deep breath. “Of course I have. I just didn’t think I’d be starting so soon.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Good, then I’ll take you on a tour of the ranch next.”
She seemed surprised again.
“Unless you’d like to settle in first.”
“No, no. That’s okay.”
“Good.” He glanced at his watch. “And before I forget, here’s some information I put together for you. My cell phone. Email. Etcetera.” He slid a manila envelope forward. “Meet me in front of your apartment in ten minutes.”
She lifted a hand, saluted. He lifted a brow. She smiled and stood up, envelope held in front of her like a shield.
“It was nice to finally meet you.”
“Same,” he said with a dip of his head.
He watched her slip away, but when she left he spun his chair so that it faced the windows. Maybe he shouldn’t have left the hiring of a housekeeper to his sister. He had a feeling Naomi Jones might prove to be a handful, although he had no idea why he felt that way.
Her eyes sparkled.
As if she saw the world from the big end of a telescope and what she spotted amused her. Usually, he hired people who were far more serious, but he supposed that was to be expected given the nature of his work. Naomi seemed...complicated.
He hated complications.
“Can I tour the ranch with you?”
T.J.’s face was imploring and it killed Naomi to shake her head. “Honey, there’ll be time to show you around later today. Let me spend some time with my new boss first.”
“But I thought you weren’t going to start work until next week,” he said.
She’d thought so, too, but she should have known her new boss was a workaholic. His sister had told her how often he was out of town. That he was driven and impatient and yet the kindest man she’d ever get to know. She’d have to take his sister’s word for it. So far she felt...nervous. He had the ability to escalate her pulse, and not because he was good-looking, although he was that, with his dark hair and blue eyes. Handsome and intimidating as hell.
“Plans changed.” She brushed her hand through T.J.’s hair. “But I promise to explore with you later on today.”
When she got off work she would make sure to show T.J. the ranch, although she’d forgotten to ask Jax Stone about her hours. And what days she’d have off. And a whole host of other questions because when she’d looked into his eyes she’d just sort of gone ooohh.
Someone beeped a horn. Janus stood up from his position at Sam’s feet and began to growl.
“Nein,” she softly told him. That was all she needed to say for the dog to rest his head again. That was the last thing she needed—for Janus to start attacking the door. “Stay inside,” she told her kids, although she doubted Sam heard her. Earphones didn’t quash the sound of music that emanated from
