it made both Sam and Mandy leap to their feet He stood, too, and stretched out his free arm to stop them from rushing to the door. “If you girls don’t mind,” he said, “I’d like to talk to her first.”
The two exchanged a glance, then stepped back, silently indicating their agreement.
“In private,” he added. He held out the sleeping baby to Mandy. “Would you mind looking after Cassie for me while I talk to Merideth?”
Mandy stretched out her arms, her expression softening as she took Cassie from him.
Sam continued to glare at him. “If you upset her again, John Lee, I swear I’ll—”
He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m not going to do anything but apologize. You have my word.”
Not wanting her sisters hovering over Merideth while he made his amends, John Lee headed for the front door and the porch beyond, hoping to intercept Merideth before she reached the house.
Dusk had settled over the landscape since his arrival, leaving the porch in long shadows. He paused there among them, watching Merideth’s approach, noting the droop of her shoulders, the heaviness in her step. He wished he could see her expression, too, but her hair curtained her face and dark sunglasses masked her eyes.
When she reached the foot of the porch steps, he took a deep breath and stepped from the shadows. She froze at the sight of him, then firmed her lips and started past him.
John Lee took a step sideways, blocking her way. “I’d like to talk to you, if I could,” he said quietly. “To explain.”
“There’s nothing you have to say that I want to hear.” She started to go around him again, but this time John Lee caught her arm, holding her in place. When she tried to twist free, he tightened his grip, his fingers digging into her flesh.
“Five minutes, Merideth. That’s all I ask.”
She yanked off her sunglasses to glare at him. “That’s right, John Lee. When charm fails, use muscle. Isn’t that what you cowboys usually do to get your way?”
More than her words, it was the red, puffy eyes and the tracks of tears through her makeup that made John Lee release his hold on her. “I’m sorry, Merideth. I never meant to upset you.”
Fresh tears welled in her eyes and she fought them back. She wouldn’t let him see her cry. “Apology accepted. Now go home to your baby and leave me the hell alone.”
“She’s not my baby.”
Already turning for the house, Merideth stopped.
“She’s my niece.”
Slowly she turned to face him. “Sissy’s baby?”
“Yeah.”
Though the news surprised her, it didn’t soften Merideth’s anger with John Lee. She lifted her chin, her look one of contempt. “I always considered Sissy intelligent, but she certainly has displayed poor judgment in her choice of babysitters.”
John Lee heaved a sigh. “I’m not baby-sitting. I’m Cassie’s guardian. Sissy’s dead.”
The blood slowly drained from Merideth’s face. “Dead?” she repeated in a hoarse whisper.
John Lee thinned his lips, fighting back the emotion, the memory. “Yeah. She was killed in a motorcycle accident a little over a month ago.”
“Oh, John Lee,” she murmured, “I didn’t know.” She pressed a hand against her heart, remembering the towheaded little girl who had shadowed her big brother’s every step from the time she could walk. “I’m so sorry. You were so close. That must have been horrible for you.”
He dipped his chin to his chest and scuffed the toe of his boot at a plank on the front porch. “Yeah, it was, but truthfully I lost Sissy a long time ago.” He lifted his gaze to meet hers, his blue eyes a deep pool of grief that Merideth well understood. “You wouldn’t have known her, Merideth. After Mom and Dad died, she went crazy. Died her hair purple, pierced everything on her body that could be pierced. When she wasn’t living on the streets, she was shacking up with first one guy, then another. I doubt she even knew who fathered the baby.” He shook his head regretfully. “I tried to help her, but nothing I did or said seemed to make any difference. It was as if she was determined to self-destruct.”
Merideth laid a hand on his arm, her touch light but full of compassion. “I wish I’d known. Maybe I could have done something to help her.”
He placed his own hand over hers and squeezed. “Thanks, but nothing you could have done or said would have changed anything. Believe me, I tried it all.” He drew her hand from his arm to clasp it between his own. He dropped his gaze to stare at them. “But maybe there is something that you could do for Sissy.”
Unsure what she could do now that Sissy was gone, Merideth peered at him quizzically. “What?”
John Lee drew in a deep breath and lifted his gaze, his blue eyes meeting hers. “I need help with Cassie. Mrs. Baker, my housekeeper, takes care of her through the day, but the woman isn’t as young as she used to be. And with all her other household chores...well, the baby’s not getting the attention she requires. What Cassie needs is a nanny.”
Merideth tensed, sensing the direction the conversation was taking. “Is that why you invited me to dinner? To persuade me to become the baby’s nanny?”
He had the grace to blush. “Well, yeah, sorta.”
Her lips thinned and she jerked her hand from his. “Then you wasted your time. Look elsewhere. I’m not interested.”
When she turned for the house, John Lee stepped in front of her again. Merideth snapped her head up to glare at him.
“I have looked,” he said. “I really have.” He dug his hands deep into his jean pockets. “You don’t realize how hard it is to find someone competent, someone I’d trust with her. That’s why I was hoping you’d be willing to help me out for a while. You wouldn’t be her nanny, really. More like her friend.”
When her eyes narrowed dangerously, John Lee pressed on. “It’d just be for a couple of months. Just until I can find someone permanent. You told me you didn’t know what you wanted to do with your life,” he reminded her. “This’ll give you something to occupy your time while you’re making up your mind. And you can live on the ranch with Cassie and me. That way you won’t feel like you’re a burden on your sisters anymore. It’s the perfect arrangement for everyone. Don’t you see?”
Though Merideth’s gaze was riveted on John Lee’s face, the image she saw was that of Cassie, that beautiful little baby, standing in the playpen, her arms outstretched to Merideth, tears streaking down her red face, that silent plea in her eyes.
Slowly she backed away from him. “No,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.” Spinning around she ran from the porch and across the lawn.
“Why didn’t either of you tell me?” Merideth demanded accusingly of her sisters.
Mandy
