style="font-size:15px;"> “You know what I mean. Aren’t you scared he’ll creep into your bedroom some night and—”
“No, I’m not!”
“You know he had to leave town, and you’ve heard the rumors that when he was seventeen, he got a girl in his high-school class pregnant. She drowned soon after. A lot of people think he might have killed her.”
“I thought you said that the drowning was officially ruled an accident.”
“That doesn’t mean it really was an accident. I’ve heard that he slept with every girl in his class.”
Grace turned around, her hands loaded with folded clothing. “Some of those rumors are absurd, Virginia, if not impossible.”
“No, they’re not. I’ve heard that at least three kids in middle school and high school here are his children. He had to run away. He never finished high school.”
“Just stop, Virginia, and listen to me. He is paying a fabulous sum, more than triple what I’m making. I’m losing my job because the business is closing. Do you realize I can pay off my loans and start achieving my goals? And think about how much I can save.”
“It won’t be worth your life. Money isn’t everything,” Virginia replied.
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous! There is nowhere else I can earn a living like this with my background. The baby is sweet, and I’m not afraid of him. He and I will hardly see each other. I’m sure he’s a busy man.”
Virginia rolled her eyes. “You’ll be a pushover for his charm. You’ve only ever dated two guys, Grace. You’re Miss Innocent and he’s Mr. Seduction, besides being the best-looking man in Texas.”
“You finally got something right there. He is very good-looking.”
“He’s a gorgeous stud! I’ve seen him in town, and he’s awesome!”
“I’ll have to invite you out to meet him.”
“You will? Promise!” Virginia wriggled with enthusiasm.
Grace laughed. “So it’s all right for you to come out and meet him, but it’s not all right for me to work for him?”
Virginia pursed her lips. “That’s right. You’ll be living under the same roof with him. I’ll be visiting. You’ll be his servant. I will have an independent status.” She became solemn. “All joking aside, I’m not sure the money will be worth the heartbreak. I think he’ll break your heart and grind up the little pieces.”
“If he does, I’ll have no one to blame but myself.”
“Mark my words, if you aren’t careful you’re going to fall for him. No red-blooded woman could live under the same roof with that gorgeous hunk and resist him. According to rumors, no woman has ever been able to resist him.”
“I’m not his type, I told you.”
“That won’t stop him from seducing you or breaking your heart.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Your parents don’t know anything about your taking this job, do they?”
“Not yet, but I’ve written them and they’ll think it’s wonderful. They let their daughters lead their own lives.”
“And your sisters are in San Antonio and don’t know anything about Wyatt Sawyer. Are you going to tell them about your new boss?”
“Of course, but my view of him may be a tad different from your view of him. Now stop worrying.”
Virginia stretched and slid off the bed. “Let me carry that suitcase to your car. I will worry about you, by the way. He’s wild, Grace. All the Sawyer boys were and two of them are dead because of that wild streak. The first died in a car wreck—he was driving a hundred miles an hour, I’ve been told—and this other brother thought he could fly through a snowstorm when he was warned not to. And people’ve always said Wyatt Sawyer is wilder than his brothers.”
“I’m taking care of his baby, not him. So stop worrying about me.”
“I’m know I’m being a worrier, but there’s just cause.”
“We’ll see,” Grace said, snapping shut the large suitcase.
Early Monday morning, Grace slowed at the front gate to the ranch, drove over a cattle guard and beneath a wrought-iron arch with the S Bar brand. White pipe fencing stretched for miles on either side, and the rolling land was dotted with oaks and cedars. On a far hill she saw Herefords grazing. Far in the distance she spotted a solitary white horse galloping across a field. The ranch was a beautiful place, and she looked forward to her new job. She tried to avoid thinking about Wyatt’s reputation or Virginia’s warnings. Following a hard-packed dirt road, she crossed a wide, wooden bridge, boards rattling beneath her tires.
She looked down at Cotton Creek, a thin, silvery stream of water. As she neared his house, she topped a hill and saw his sprawling two-story ranch house, more houses beyond the main one, a barn and corral and an assortment of buildings beyond the house and a four-car garage. As she recalled from her first visit, the whole place had a prosperous, well-kept appearance. When she finally reached the house, she saw a shiny black pickup parked on the drive at the side of the house, a large black motorcycle parked beyond it and a sleek, dark-green sports car parked on its other side. She frowned, hoping he didn’t take the baby on the bike.
When she walked up to the door and pressed for the bell, her pulse raced. All morning she’d had butterflies in her stomach, but now her nervousness increased and the butterflies had turned into stampeding elephants. The door swung open, and she looked up into Wyatt Sawyer’s dark eyes and tried not to stand there tongue-tied and starry-eyed. The man was sinfully handsome!
“I thought you might change your mind about the job.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” she said, too conscious of him, noticing the scent of his aftershave. He stood facing her with his hands on his narrow hips, and he wore faded jeans and a T-shirt. He gazed beyond her. “Why don’t you drive around back? I can bring your things in for you.”
As she turned and walked away, her back tingled. She glanced over her shoulder to see that he was still standing in the open doorway, watching her. Taking a deep breath, too aware now of herself, she hurried to her car. She was wearing her simple navy cotton skirt and a white cotton blouse, and she suspected he wasn’t noticing her as a woman. She wondered if he was debating with himself the wisdom of having offered her the job. He had made it clear he’d intended to hire someone older and more experienced.
When she drove to the back, he came striding out of the house, radiating energy and strength. At the same time, she couldn’t stop thinking about the ugly rumors about him when he was in high school. “Just keep your distance,” she said quietly to herself.
Wondering what she had gotten herself into, she popped the trunk and got out of the car.
Wyatt put a bag under each arm and a bag in each hand. “Leave ’em and I’ll get everything for you.”
“I can take something,” she
