aside, he caught her chin and turned her face aside to blow cool air on it. Her tension eased a bit. He put the healing ointment on it. “Sorry about that. Almost done.”
“Son, what about the lady you contacted about being the new nanny?”
David tore a strip of cotton gauze loose from the roll. He hadn’t told his mother that he’d contacted a nanny. He’d simply said that he’d contacted someone about helping them out. That was all he planned to tell her until he heard back from the Boston mail-order bride. His mother wouldn’t approve of it, since she wanted him to find another love match. He wanted to wait to break the truth to her until he was certain the lady was coming. “It’s only been two days. There is no way she’s even received my letter yet.”
Maggie stepped farther into the kitchen to watch him bandage the scratch on Caroline’s arm. “Why can’t Miss Caroline be our nanny?”
All of the grown-ups froze. David’s eyebrow lifted. Had his darling daughter just said “our nanny,” as in she’d consider herself one of Caroline’s charges?
Caroline recovered from her surprise. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I couldn’t.”
Maggie’s eyes clouded. “Why not?”
“Well, I’m not going to be here very long for one thing. For another, I’ve never been a nanny before.”
“Maybe not,” Ida interjected. “But you certainly seemed to have a way with the triplets. I can tell from the quiet in this house that you finally got them to nap. Besides, we wouldn’t need you for long. Only until this nanny David’s trying to hire can get here.”
“Ma, Miss Murray is here to visit her family, not work for ours.” He tied off the bandage. “It wouldn’t be right for us to impose on that.”
“Of course, we wouldn’t want to impose, Caroline, but your family would be welcome to visit here as often as they want.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Caroline touched a hand to her throat as she glanced around the kitchen. Her gaze landed on his, soft as a butterfly, filled with questions.
Did he want her to help them? The answer was an irrevocable no. Did he need her help? Ida’s meaningful glare said yes. When he remained silent, Ida prompted, “We sure could use your help, Caroline. Couldn’t we, David?”
He swallowed hard. “There’s no denying that.”
Caroline bit her lip. “Well, I’m sure my brother and sister-in-law could spare me now and then.”
“We’d need you more than now and then.” David offered up the potential difficulties with a little too much enthusiasm. “You’d have to stay here at the ranch. The triplets need to be fed once during the night.”
“Yes,” Ida interjected, “but there is a stipend that would help compensate.”
Caroline bit her lip. “What about the piano?”
David frowned. “What about it?”
“Would y’all mind ever so much if I played it now and then?”
Ida grinned. “Honey, you can play it as often as you want.”
“In that case...” A smile slowly tilted Caroline’s mouth. “Yes! I’d be happy to help out.”
Maggie let out a whoop and reached for Caroline’s hands. Somehow Caroline seemed to know that was her cue to dance the girl around the kitchen in a tight little circle. Ida sank into the nearest chair with pure relief. David opened his mouth to remind everyone that he was the man of the house with the final say on all of this and he hadn’t agreed to anything. Since doing so would likely accomplish nothing, he closed his mouth and let out a frustrated breath.
He ought to be happy. He had a nanny to help with the triplets—one Maggie had all but promised to mind. They could use Caroline’s help. There was no denying that. There was also no denying that he’d been thinking about her almost constantly since they’d first met. He’d ridden over to Matthew’s ranch earlier today hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Of course, he hadn’t realized that until not seeing her had resulted in major disappointment. He’d been determined to put her out of his mind. That had lasted for about as long as it had taken her runaway horse to gallop across his land. Now he was supposed to be happy about the fact that she’d be living in his house? Not likely.
Still, there was no getting around it. Caroline was here to stay for now. He’d just have to get over his ill-fated interest in her. And it was ill-fated. More than that, it was inappropriate. She was recovering from a broken heart. He’d never quite recovered from his. There was also the little matter of him already having sent off a letter of inquiry to a mail-order bride. Not that he was thinking about Caroline in the context of marriage.
He closed his eyes, shutting off that train of thought before it could go any further. Caroline staying here wouldn’t be a problem. He wouldn’t let it be.
Agreeing to help David had been an easy decision for Caroline. Perhaps too easy, considering she didn’t have all that much experience caring for babies. It would be worth it to have access to the piano. Her fingers were already itching to touch those smooth ivory keys. She knew from experience that as the music flowed through her it would carry her stress and anxiety with it. She desperately needed that release, and she certainly wouldn’t get it at her brother’s ranch. He refused to allow a single instrument into his house.
Of course, she couldn’t tell him that was one of the reasons she’d agreed to move to the McKay ranch. She didn’t want him to think she was being anything like their parents by putting music above family. She wasn’t, but she couldn’t sit around twiddling her thumbs trying not to think about what had happened in Austin, either.
David answered the door the next morning looking a little bleary-eyed but otherwise ready to start the day. He offered a welcoming smile to Caroline and extended a hand to Matthew, who had accompanied her. “Good morning. There’s a fresh pot of coffee on the stove if either of you want some. Matthew, let me take that luggage from you.”
He was speaking in a slightly hushed tone, so Caroline did the same. “Are the babies still asleep?”
“They were just starting to stir when I saw you driving down the road. I let them be, hoping you’d get here before they really got going.”
She removed her hat and gloves. “And Maggie?”
“She was still sleeping last I checked. My ma’s getting ready for the day. She’ll probably be starting breakfast in a few minutes.” He nodded down the hall. “Follow me to the nursery. I’ll give y’all a quick tour on the way. I think y’all have both been in the parlor. The kitchen and dining room are on the left side of the house. On the right we have my study. Next door to that is my bedroom.” They climbed the stairs. “My mother and Maggie are on the second floor with the nursery.”
David set down the luggage to open the nursery door. One of the babies immediately grabbed on to the crib’s bars and stood to greet them with a happy exclamation. Caroline dropped her hat and gloves on the bed on her way to the crib. She cooed, “Good morning.”
He
