have rushed over to give her father a quick hug or peck on the cheek. But this morning, he sat with Aaron Reyes, and they looked rather chummy with their heads bent, going over papers and maps and handwritten lists.
It wasn’t just their obvious involvement in whatever they were discussing that gave Natalie pause. Jake’s warning from the previous night still rang in her ears. He hadn’t told her not to talk to Aaron ever again, but he didn’t have to. She’d worked for Jake in some capacity since she was fourteen and long ago learned to read between his spoken lines.
“Gotta run.” She waved a hand at her father and smiled brightly, hoping neither he nor Aaron realized they were being snubbed. “See you later.” Sipping her coffee, she hurried toward the kitchen.
Natalie had her own list to go over with Olivia Barraza, supervisor of the kitchen crew and indisputable queen of her domain.
“Buenos días, chiquita,” she said to Natalie upon seeing her come into the kitchen. Though it had been a good many years since Natalie was a little girl, Olivia still used the endearment.
When Natalie took over her mother’s position, she’d worried that some of the staff, particularly those employees like Olivia who’d watched Natalie grow up and, on occasion, supervised her, wouldn’t accept her once they were on equal footing.
In Olivia’s case, Natalie’s worries were for nothing. They worked well together. When they weren’t on duty, Olivia treated Natalie like a beloved niece and Shiloh like one of her numerous grandchildren.
“I’ve got the most recent advance-booking numbers to go over with you.” Natalie pulled a stool up to the counter and took a seat. Weekly menus varied, depending on the number of guests staying at the ranch. To ensure the food served was the freshest possible, orders weren’t placed until the last minute.
Olivia dried her hands on a dish towel and came over to join Natalie. She was followed by one of her helpers, who, like Olivia, had been cleaning up after breakfast. The dishwasher, a young man barely into his twenties, remained at the sink, scrubbing a pot.
No sooner would the last fork be washed and dried and put away than the staff would start preparing lunch. When the new season started and there was an army of hungry guests to feed, twice the current staff would run the kitchen sixteen hours a day, operating with the precision and efficiency of a factory assembly line. Olivia tolerated nothing less.
“Before you get into that—” she settled herself onto the stool beside Natalie with a grace that belied her generous size “—there’s something we want to talk to you about.”
“We?”
She nodded at her helper. “Gerrie and I. Lucia and Pat, too,” she said, referring to her other two helpers who weren’t there.
“About what?” Natalie asked, a tad uneasy. Olivia was so rarely somber.
“Shiloh.”
“Shiloh?”
“Yes.” Olivia inched closer. So did Gerrie.
Natalie felt surrounded. “I don’t understand.”
“We know you need a babysitter and can’t find one.”
“That’s true. But—”
“We’ll do it.” Olivia and Gerrie exchanged nods.
Natalie’s glance went from one woman to the next. “You two?”
“We four. Lucia and Pat want to help, too.”
“Don’t look at me,” the dishwasher said from the sink when Natalie turned in his direction. “Kids are scared of me.”
With his piercings, scraggly goatee and full-sleeve tatts, Natalie believed him.
“But your days off,” she sputtered, still struggling to absorb everything Olivia had said. “You’d give them up?”
“Not all of them. We would rotate.” Olivia pulled a folded sheet of paper from her apron pocket and handed it to Natalie. “I’ve already talked to your mother and Briana. We need everyone to make this work.”
Natalie scanned the paper. On it was a seven-day grid with names penciled inside the squares, including her own. Olivia had gone though a lot of work to put it together.
“I don’t know what to say.” Natalie’s throat tightened.
“You say okay and thank you.”
“I’m really touched.” She tried to hand the paper back to Olivia. “But it’s too much to ask of you.”
“This is temporary,” Olivia assured Natalie, patting her arm. “Until you make other arrangements.”
“I’ll pay you,” Natalie insisted. “It’s only fair.”
“All right.” Olivia conceded with a shrug.
Natalie would have refused their plan unless they’d agreed to accept payment, and Olivia knew it.
“You sure, too?” Natalie looked inquiringly at Gerrie.
“Hey, I can use the extra money.”
“What about your boyfriend?”
Gerrie giggled. “Why do you think I need the extra money?”
“Only until I hire a regular nanny,” Natalie reiterated over a catch in her throat.
“Of course.” Olivia beamed.
Natalie drew in a breath, composed herself, then said, “Okay and thank you.”
The three woman hugged. Natalie wasn’t sure what she’d done to deserve such good friends. She’d have to find a way besides money to return their kindness.
For the next ten minutes, Natalie and Olivia went over the bookings and discussed food orders. Afterward, Natalie left through the dining area on her way next door to the main lodge. Her father and Aaron were gone, much to her relief. She wouldn’t have to find an excuse for avoiding Aaron.
Olivia and Gerrie had reminded her of what she already knew in her heart. The employees of Bear Creek Ranch weren’t just coworkers or even friends. They were family.
And Natalie would be a fool to jeopardize her place here by having anything other than a strictly professional relationship with Aaron.
THE CLINK, CLINK of a hammer against an iron anvil resounded through the crisp morning air. Seven horses stood tied to the hitching rail beside the barn entrance, their tails swishing and ears flicking. Six awaited their turn with the farrier. The seventh one belonged to Aaron.
Teresa and another ranch hand Aaron just met that morning helped the farrier. With forty head of riding stock to shoe, they had their work cut out for them.
Aaron’s lone female bunkmate had yet to warm to him, though he was pretty sure he sensed a slight crumbling of her hard exterior. The couch was about as comfortable as a sack of potatoes, and too short for his
